Book Review | The Falconer | Elizabeth May

Title: The Falconer
Author: Elizbeth May (web | twitter)
Series: The Falconer #1
Genre: Fantasy YA, Historical Fiction YA, faeries
Amazon | Goodreads | B&N
Publisher: Chronicle Books
Release date: May 6, 2014
Source: egalley from the publisher via Edelweiss (Thanks, Chronicle!)

Heiress. Debutant. Murderer. A new generation of heroines has arrived.

Edinburgh, Scotland, 1844

Lady Aileana Kameron, the only daughter of the Marquess of Douglas, was destined for a life carefully planned around Edinburgh’s social events – right up until a faery killed her mother.

Now it’s the 1844 winter season and Aileana slaughters faeries in secret, in between the endless round of parties, tea and balls. Armed with modified percussion pistols and explosives, she sheds her aristocratic facade every night to go hunting. She’s determined to track down the faery who murdered her mother, and to destroy any who prey on humans in the city’s many dark alleyways.

But the balance between high society and her private war is a delicate one, and as the fae infiltrate the ballroom and Aileana’s father returns home, she has decisions to make. How much is she willing to lose – and just how far will Aileana go for revenge?

I sometimes have a hard time really getting into books with super heavy faerie elements, guys. I don’t know what it is, but that particular sub-genre is very hit-or-miss for me. I’ve read faerie books and LOOOOVED THEM, but I’ve also read—or not even finished—others. For whatever reason, I approached Elizabeth May’s THE FALCONER with very little trepidation. I think that had something to do with being set in a historical period, specifically in Scotland, a setting that is Amy-nip. Whatever the reasons for my excitement to read THE FALCONER, it lived up to all of the great things I was hearing from other bloggers as well as my super excitement to read a historical fantasy. BEST.

THE FALCONER is the story of Lady Aileana Kameron, a young Scottish lady who is living not just on the brink of womanhood and marriage, but also under the terrible grief of the brutal death of her mother at the hands of a vicious faery. Juggling her social responsibilities as the daughter of a Marquess and her secret life as a faery assassin is not easy for Aileana. So she helps her own self out by manufacturing her own weapons, specially designed to take out all the faeries. Of course, she is not alone in her quest  for revenge against the faery who killed her mother. Aileana has been training with a mysterious and beautiful faery named Kiaran, who is harboring his own secrets about the faeries in Edinburgh, and Lady Aileana will play a much larger role in their story than she ever realized.

First of all, I know I’ve mentioned before how much I endlessly heart books set in Scotland. THE FALCONER was no exception. Historical fiction Scotland is one of my favorite places, and Elizabeth May brings all of that city’s great atmosphere to bear on Alieana’s story. The mists and the city and the dark nights all make THE FALCONER extra special.

But of course, Alieana is the centerpiece of THE FALCONER, and I was constantly blown away by her badassery. She lives to avenge her mother’s death, tracking the faery who killed her–in front of Alieana, taunting her all the while–across Scotland, making her own weapons to kill any faery she finds in the meantime. Alieana is fearless most of the time, and even when she is afraid–of the faeries, of her feelings for Kiaran, of her future, of things about herself that she is only just learning–she doesn’t shy away from it. Plus she’s got a quick wit and a sharp tongue. Big fan of her.

Since faeries are the backbone of THE FALCONER, it stands to reason that the most important relationship is between Alieana and her faery teacher, Kiaran. Kiaran is a powerful fae himself who has been teaching Alieana how to slaughter his own kind for reasons that he keeps to himself. They have a powerful connection that sometimes appears to go beyond a student-teacher relationship. Whatever their relationship is, it’s complicated to start and only becomes more so when the truth about Aileana’s gifts for killing faeries comes to light, and again when the events at the end of THE FALCONER make things incredibly complicated for everyone. Obviously I’m really DYING to know what happens with them. There’s another guy as well, but I’m not getting super strong triangle vibes from that end, which is good. But he’s an excellent character himself.

Another thing that I enjoyed a great deal in THE FALCONER was the steampunk element. Aileana has all kinds of gadgets in her room, and she’s incredibly adept and manufacturing them. She often longs to sit at her worktable tinkering with her weapons. I LOVED THIS. I loved her affinity for engineering, which isn’t something often encountered in YA, and I loved that Aileana had not only an aptitude but a fondness for it because she’d always done it with her mother.

There’s a ton of action in THE FALCONER and I thought it was wonderful. The end was very fast and had a lot of things going on that sometimes got muddled in my brain, but the big picture is pretty intense. Relationships are made more difficult, lives are in danger, and Aileana and Kiaran have not yet seen the worst of what’s to come. But the end was SUPER abrupt.

I enjoyed the CRAP out of THE FALCONER, friends, despite my love-hate relationship with faeries. Elizabeth May’s debut was fun and dramatic and dangerous and all the good things. Can’t wait for book 2!

Check out some other reviews of The Falconer by Elizabeth May!

Anya @ On Starships and Dragonwings: “While The Falconer stumbled a bit at the end, it is an addictive read and I’m dying a bit for the sequel.”

Kelly @ The Belle of the Literati: “…I just want ALL the info about the history of the fae, what really happened to them, A BIOGRAPHY OF KIARAN’S LIFE! I need so much more! When is 2015?”