This book was action packed and I liked the main character a lot. She went through a traumatic experience and came out the other side powerful, strong, and willing to do whatever it takes to avenge her mother's murder. Overall I liked the plot and characters, and although there is a lot of violence, I think most people would wnjoy this book.

I LOVED THIS! Yes to all the Kam and yes to all the Kiaran. I cannot decide who I love more. I devoured this book in one day. I shirked my responsibilities, went late and left a party early, and stayed up till the wee hours reading this. The characters in this book are amazing. They are rich, quirky, and lovable. Whether it be Kam's dangerous actions and her willingness to defy society, or Kiaran's turbulent soul, I love them all in between. This is a must read for anyone who loves detailed characters, steampunk adventures, and Fae.

I love all things faerie, so had I realized that was what The Falconer was about, I probably would have picked it up much sooner. As it is, I guess I have pretty great timing because the final book in the trilogy will be out in June 2017. That means I don’t have to wait for a painfully long time to find out how everything ends! The Falconer is a great mash-up of Scottish culture, steampunk, and faeries so if that sounds like your thing, you should definitely check this one out.

Aileana Kameron has been hunting and killing faeries ever since her mother was brutally murdered by one a year ago. She goes out nightly to track, hone her skills, and satisfy her thirst for vengeance, but since her formal return to society, this has become somewhat more difficult. Her trainer and battle-partner Kiaran is a faerie, but for a reason unknown to Aileana, he has turned against his own kind. Aileana is also assisted by Derrick, a pixie addicted to honey and unable to keep himself from mending her torn dresses. Aileana’s determination to avenge her mother is admirable, though this also causes her to exhibit rash behavior that is threatening to herself and, on occasion, those close to her. She no longer feels she fits in with her peers and doesn’t hold the same goals she did a year ago, meaning no more dreams of a handsome husband, a nice home, and children. I admire her courage and the fact that she is aware and accepting of the problems she faces amongst society and even the turmoil this causes between herself and her father.

As with most fantasy, Aileana can’t simply just go out and satisfy her vengeance by killing the faeries that prey off humanity. She must have her vengeance on the very powerful faerie that murdered her mother. Throw in a standard save the world (or at least the country) plot line and you’ve got 75% of the fantasy books on the market today. While these tropes are common, it doesn’t change the fact they’re really fun to read about when done well. Elizabeth May managed to not make me roll my eyes at the plot, so for that The Falconer deserves a decent rating. Throw in some human-fey forbidden love, an unwanted engagement, and a tough chick that makes steampunk weaponry and I’m a sucker for it.

The Falconer had everything that I love reading about in a book. Admittedly, these are kind of guilty pleasures (I love the fey-crush thing) but it was a great story! I’ll definitely be checking out the next two books and will probably be picking them up in hardcover because the covers are lovely. I’m always on the lookout for more book similar to this (especially if there are dark, bad faeries) so send recommendations this way if you’ve got them!!

So, this book was a surprise. There were moments when the book felt, strange, for lack of a better word. I wasn't expecting it to be as good as it is.

I was half expecting it to be kind of cut-and-paste YA Fantasy story. But it wasn't. There is a romance, but it is really understated and barely there. It only really shows up in the last maybe 3-4 chapters. You sense there is a mild attraction, but it never overshadows her mission for vengeance.

I am really glad this was an eBook, because there are some Scottish Gaelic words, that I didn't know how to pronounce, or what they meant. So being able to tap on the word and find out was nice.

There are parts that dragged a little, and I found myself skimming those parts. I really liked the characters, though some felt strange in this book at times. I'm not sure what their bigger purpose will be, if they'll even have one.

I really hope my Library has the sequels, I would like to finish this series. And I really hope the romance never overshadows the more important part of the plot.

I received this book from Netgalley for an honest review.

This was a very interesting addition to the YA Fantasy genre. It was also the first real steampunk YA I've ever read. I really liked how the main female character kicked butt and realized there was more to life than fancy parties and planning a wedding. The action was well described and I really liked how she would keep her hands busy by messing with her inventions. I was very sad at the end because I want to know what happens next! Did her love interest die? Will she save the day? Can't wait until the next one comes out.

2.5 Stars

This rating might be harsh, as I can think of several things I liked about The Falconer, but after finishing last night and waking up still incredibly annoyed, the best I can do is set it to Goodreads' 3 star instead of flat 2.

Aileana is a likable, believable heroine. After witnessing her mother's savage murder a year ago, she's been training to kill the Baobhan sìth—the fae seductress—who committed the act. Her reputation is in tatters as most of her peers believe she murdered her mother, and she is trying to balance a daylight life of propriety and socializing with a night life of hunting and killing the fae.

Aiding her is Kiaran, a high fae of sorts—sìthichean as he prefers to be called—though why he has been helping her track down and kill his own kind is a mystery. They've kept their distance personally, sharing only the hunt and training, until the night much more powerful fae begin crossing their path. With an impossible mission now set before her, Aileana has a matter of days to prepare for the battle of her life...and she is nowhere near ready.

"Laughing bitterly, I say, 'I'm glad you weren't there. She could have broken me so easily if she wanted to. I can't believe I let her—.'
I stop, unable to say the words. I can't believe I let her weaken me again. I can't believe I let her murder my mother again. I can't believe I let Kiaran get in my way."

I quite liked Derrick, a pixie that has taken up residence in Aileana's dressing room. He is a fun little companion, and I found myself smiling at many of his snarky comments. He is fiercely protective of Aileana, despising Kiaran for unknown reasons.

"'Oh good, he's finally here. I believe I vowed to tear out his innards.'"

So, getting into my issues now. The pacing is rocky, jumping from tense moments between characters to "all is forgiven" seconds later. Emotional build up to outbursts and breakdowns is unconvincing, though the story reads quickly and I never found it dragging. There are not many explanations of anything. Granted, I know this aids to the mystery of it all, but at a certain point in every story the MC (and the reader) need to be enlightened. This includes the very language used. I appreciate the authenticity of nouns like baobhan sìth, sìthichean, and sgian-dubh, and while I pride myself on excellent pronunciation of several languages, Gaelic is not one of them. So if you're going to throw that much Gaelic into your story, one of those nice little glossaries would have been a good reference so I wasn't saying baobhan sìth like "Bay-oh-baan Sith." (That one's pronounced "Bah-van shee" by the way, so I butchered it the entire time until I finally caved and went to Google)

Moving on. Steampunk is a genre I've tried to get into on occasion, but haven't had much success. Endless gadgets, flying contraptions, steam locomotives with a million switches and buttons...I like to keep these to a very bare minimum. Luckily, the elements in The Falconer worked well-enough for me, and there's an interesting tie-in at the end with technology and astronomy. Still, there were some odd clashes, mostly when steampunk met folklore:

"I step into the locomotive and settle next to Kiaran, then flip the switches to start the engine. It comes to life with a mechanical whir and steam rises from the stack at the front."

Something about picturing this powerful fae being sitting next to her in battle dress, with swords, driving a steam car is just...off. Like I said...I don't really click with steampunk all the time.

But this brings me to my biggest issue...the end. Or lack thereof. I understand why cliffhangers are necessary, and if you want a great one, see Sarah J. Maas's A Court of Mist and Fury, wherein several main conflicts were concluded, yet we are left with the two halves of our heart split in different places, with so much left to do. AHH even just typing it here made me wail for book three!

Okay, FOCUS! *quietly tucks thoughts of ACOMAF away*

The Falconer concluded nothing; literally stopped mid-battle with every question hanging open in the air. We were given no answers at all—not about Kiaran, not on the outcome of the battle, not on the state of the city, not on who of her friends survived (if any)—and this is why I am so annoyed with this book.

I could have lived without an answer to Kiaran's survival, and really I assumed that's where book two would pick up. Is he alive and trapped? Tortured? Do we really know who he is at all, or should we be focusing on how everything he's taught us was not to trust him, because he has no humanity? The fact that I'm most upset about Kiaran tells me I was hooked on the romance of this story alone, and I am just dying for another Rhysand and Feyre.

"'I'm someone who has slayed for you, who pulled you from that river, saved your life, and taught you all the ways to kill me and mine. But never make the mistake of thinking I'm a man. I aid you because I've deemed it necessary to do so. I don't value honor.'"

Whatever you say, Kiaran, because this ship still sails for you. Hard.

I'll keep The Vanishing Throne on my radar as just a maybe.

Review of The Falconer, by Elizabeth May
I received this ARC in exchange for an honest review. The Falconer was published May 6, 2014 by Chronicle Books. The sequel, The Vanishing Throne, was published June 21, 2016, and the third book in the series, The Fallen Kingdom, comes out June 13, 2017.
Steampunk Edinburgh, 1844, is essentially devoid of fairies. For the moment.
Lady Aileana Kameron is supposed to be a delicate flower in a garden of delicate flowers, trying to foist her sweet scent, and her considerable dowry, upon some respectable, eligible man. But the gossips whisper murderer behind her back, and they are almost correct.
Since witnessing the vicious murder of her mother, Aileana has let her rage transform her. And she uses that rage to destroy fairies who hunt humans. She is the Falconer, the last of her kind, and she has no idea what is coming.
I love books that combine things that don’t normally go together, in this case: Steampunk and the Fae. Alongside her ancient fae-slaying abilities, Aileana is also an inventor and mechanic.
All together, The Falconer is an interesting, fun read! My main critique is that there are a bunch of side characters that have the potential to be super interesting, but they aren’t given much screentime, as it were. Aileana’s best friend Catherine is willing to break the rules, but never does except to cover for Aileana. Catherine’s brother Gavin is given some juicy traits, but the consequences of those traits are ignored except when being used to further the plot. Other characters fall into tropes for their type, and it felt like all of the character development went to our leading lady.
I gave this book four out of five stars, for being quick and emotional and exactly in my genre wheelhouse. I’m surprised this book didn’t show up on my radar earlier! I’m picking up the sequel tomorrow and highly anticipating the next book in the series!

Loved this book. Tons of action and fantasy make for a great read. I couldn't put it down. I loved the added steampunk.

I adored this! I couldn't put it down, already almost done with 2

Kam is not your ordinary Victorian debutante. She was quite an eligible catch in Edinburgh society—that is until the grisly murder of her mother. Now Kam lives under dual shadows of pity and suspicion. But Kam cares little about how others see her—much less than she once would have—for with her mother’s murder she discovered another world, a world that changed her life. Now Kam spends her evenings battling and killing faeries, and her greatest challenge is how to hide her new badass self in the façade of the demure debutante she once was.

Ironically, the only ones who know Kam for her new faerie-slaying self are her partner and trainer, an uber-powerful faerie and the pixie who inhabits her closet, fixes her clothes, and drinks all the honey he can get his little hands on. Soon, Kam’s going to have to get beyond her one-faerie-a-night killing spree because the most powerful faeries, the ones that have been safely locked away for thousands of years, are about to get free, and if Kam doesn’t stop them, they’ll be coming for her and for everything she loves best.

I requested this book from NetGalley because the title led me to believe I’d be delving into a world of medieval bird wielders. Well, not so much, but I certainly was not disappointed. A strong heroine is exactly what appeals to me in a Victorian setting. I much prefer the young woman whose main concern is hiding her weapons in her ball gown than the one who’s agonizing about how to fill her dance card. The steam punk elements are great fun to contemplate, and the main characters’ histories and personalities are complicated enough to be mused over in the times one must stop reading to attend to real-world responsibilities.

I went from this book straight to The Vanishing Throne, the second book in the series which did not disappoint. The Fallen Kingdom, the third book in the series, is out in June. I’ve got the ARC waiting in my reader, and I’m eagerly awaiting the moment that it rises to the top of my to be read list!

Aileana Gordon witnessed the faery kill her mother. The memory has haunted Aileana and drove her to become a trainer killer of the faery, invisible creatures that feed off of human energy and kill their victims. Trained by a mysterious faery who hunts his own kind, Kiaran, she kills them with weapons developed by her own hand. As the story progresses, she is dragged deeper into the mysterious world of fighting the fae and finds out the truth about her mother's death, discovering how the future of the world rests on the edge of a knife.

Elizabeth May has created an intriguing new world in The Falconer, a world full of ornithopters, automatic punch dispensers, and faery magic - a mix of genteel society and fantastical magic. Stir in some romance, a broken hurting soul bent on revenge, and a chivalrous gentleman. I found myself drawn into this world, cheering for the heroine and for those who fought alongside her.

Thank you to NetGalley and Chronicle Books for an e-copy of this book. All opinions above are my own.

I just finished reading "The Falconer" by Elizabeth May. I am sitting here more than a little stunned by the ending of the novel. To start with, it took me a while to really become enveloped within the story. It was a slow start but it ramped up so fast. The last third of the novel was packed with action and intrigue. I am still in shock of the end. It is the biggest cliffhanger that I think I have ever read! There is no predicting what will be entailed in the following volume. The story takes place in a steampunk version of Scotland. Fae creatures are among us but only a few humans can see them. Those humans who can see them must use special item or be a seer (one who has been close to death). Lady Alieana is a huntress. She seeks revenge for the murder of her mother by a dark fae. She hunts by night and follows the social set during the daylight hours. Her reputation is in shambles and is only saved by a childhood friend. If you enjoy tales of gadgets, faeries, and the thrill of the hunt, this is a tale for you. I myself will be looking for the next installment to see how the story continues.

The world-building for this book was bizarre: Scotland, seemingly arcane views of women, yet it includes all kinds of gadgets that seem much more suited for a futuristic setting. That having been said, the book still managed to draw me in and left me hanging at the end wanting to see what happens to the characters.

The Falconer pleasantly surprised me. At first I thought it was going to be boring and slow, but it was not, actually. Even though there is a lot of first person narration, the pace is pretty good.

The only parts where I kinda fast forwarded were the talks between Aileana and Catherine's mom.

What I loved:
Kiaran. I love Fae creatures. So. That summs it up.

Setting. I recently visited Edinburgh and the Highlands, so the fact that I could see the places in my mind was fantastic.

Romance. Slow( as in not rushed), sure and clean. The best.

Overall, it was an nice read and totally recommend.

I received a copy of The Falconer from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

Aileana Kameron used to dream of a gorgeous wedding, of finding a man she could love and raising a happy family. Until the day a year ago when a faery killed her mother. She's spent the past year training alongside Kiaran, a faery who doesn't mind killing his own kind, building deadlier and deadlier weapons with her skill as an inventor, and listening for news of her mother's murderer, so she can one day exact revenge.

I loved Aileana. She's so fierce and dark and vengeful. She cares for nothing more than killing faeries, to the point of addiction. She's not stable and I love it. And then there's Kiaran. Often when you have a badass female lead, the love interest is some even more badass guy who spends the entire series trying to prevent the girl from doing anything dangerous (*cough* Mortal Instruments *cough*). Kiaran has no interest in keeping Aileana safe. If anything, he pushes her far past what she thinks the can handle.

This book has well-written badass characters. It has a romance that isn't a living trope and that isn't the focus of the book. It has plot twits and the most glorious and shocking and perfect ending. And it has plenty of killing. So so so much killing.

If you love steampunk, if you love strong (and maybe kind of serial killer crazy?) female leads, if you love gore, if you love plot twists and cliffhangers, you need to read this book right now.

Aileana's life was forever changed when a fairy killed her mother. Now, a year later, Aileana has transformed from debutante to cold-blooded fairy killer. With a broken seal threatening to release thousands of angry fae into Edinburgh, Aileana is the only one capable of saving her world.

I enjoyed this book. It was a quick and fun read. The only drawback was the ending! The author needs to be educated on the way that stories work. Stories begin with the first act which ends at the inciting moment. The second act continues through the rising action and ends slightly before the the climax. The third act picks up moving through the climax to the denouement. In a series, each book has its own distinct three act structure with each part usually completing one of the acts in the overarching 3 act structure of the series. (Why else would trilogies be so popular?) This book ends in the middle of the climax. There is no satisfaction, no resolution of any type. Nothing but an abrupt end in the middle of a battle. You can't do that! I understand cliff-hangers. They usually work with a new adventure beginning or being revealed the second the original adventure is resolved. This was not that at all. The ending dropped this book from a 5-star for sure I would recommend this book to a 3-star not sure if I will purchase for my library. I certainly wouldn't recommend it until the next book has been released. The ending of The Falconer is lazy writing.

Cant wait for the next installments - my middle school girls love a series

I absolutely loved this book. It was a different take on the strong young female lead. Aileana's character wasn't just strong but also intelligent. Her relationship with Kirian and Gavin definitely added to the storyline and left me wanting more. I can't wait to read the Vanishing Throne.

Clever, intense, and fast-paced, this treasure will have readers anxious to read book two in the series!