DNF
I initially requested this book because of the cover. It was beautiful and instantly drew my eye. But upon opening the first page, I felt tepid. Elizabeth Tanner is the type of character who seems to constantly be trying to display that she is strong, independent, and bad-*ss when in fact, she is not. And this type of behavior, I found off putting. I tried to push on and see if the story improved but it didn't. I just couldn't get sucked into this world and it's time to admit, that I never will.

The book did not really work for me. I DNF'ed it. I wasn’t able to connect with any of the many characters in the book and I found myself putting down the book a lot because it was never really catching my attention.

Fairies, love, hidden talents, the weight of saving the world…. No problem for Elizabeth. While working on her thesis translating a mysterious book for college she begins to wonder about the world. Things are changing, she is seeing things… is she going crazy? Enter Finn. With the introduction to Finn her whole world is changed.

Finn and Elizabeth have a tortured relationship. They keep secrets, love each other, are forced to be together, then forced not to be together… it is an interesting relationship. Yet, I loved them. Together they were unstoppable, apart they were miserable. Each of them have powers that make them unique and powerful but the care and love they had for each other makes everything else seem non-important.


Through the Veil is the perfect mix of romance and fantasy. The pace of the story is wonderful. Elizabeth and Finn are amazing. There is nothing about this book I would want to change. I started it and kept reading, turning pages, unable to stop. I definitely recommend checking out Through the Veil.

I received this from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review. This took me a long time to finish. I just wasn’t a huge fan of this. The main character grows through terrible times but I just didn’t like how after a huge battle she just gives up and doesn’t fight. It was frustrating and the story was just hard to enjoy I just wasn’t in love with the characters.

I couldn't get into this book. Ended up DNFing it. Maybe I'll try it agin when all of the books are out in the series.

Through the Veil is the first book of the Aisling Chronicles series by Colleen Halverson. It is one-of-a-kind story which was inspired by Irish myths and legends. Now I am not an expert on the matter, but the way the author developed the story is very deep and detailed; she created a new world with believable characters. There was also a lot of violence, blood and beating, so it may not suited for a person who doesn't love that kind of stuff.

Elizabeth Tanner is preparing her master thesis on an ancient Irish text, The Book of Arranmore, but this volume is not what is seems. Her dream would be get a scholarship from Trinity, an association about Irish studies that could help her get her degree. Finn O' Connell is a representative of Trinity and an acquaintance of Elizabeth's professor. When he sees the book she's studying, he wants it, but from there a never ending turn of events happens and both Finn and Elizabeth won't be the same they were when they met.

I am a sucker for paranormal/urban fantasy books because the fact that there's a fantasy story set in a real world makes me believe it could be true. I love when an author makes me feel like there really is another world that we may not know about. One of the goals of an author is creating new dimensions to take their readers into, and Colleen Halverson succeeded.

Through the Veil is a page turner starting from the first chapter. I had to read a couple of them to get into the gist of the story but it was natural because things were not revealed all at the same time but with patience (as it should be). I couldn't figure out what would happen next and this is a good point because it is hard to find something that still makes you want to continue and doesn't bore you.

The MC of this story, Elizabeth, is a common girl who is about to get her degree. Like everyone else, she has dreams, and they include Irish culture - but you find her reasons as you move forward with the story. I generally liked her because she didn't want to be saved and was a bit stubborn about that, but sometimes I thought she was contradictory. This is not bad, I mean, us human are indecisive as well and a character can't be white or black. Elizabeth was a shade of grey. I hope things will work out for her because she has been through a lot and we are still at the first book and she hasn't got her happy ending yet.

The other MC, Finn, was such a finding. He is a man with lots of history, mysterious and a bit skeptical and attached to his duties, but he will reconsider his values after he meets Elizabeth. He is the guy you love to hate because he is also trying to survive in the veil world and protect Elizabeth at the same time, although she doesn't want him to! It's funny how they protect each other but I like couples like this. I can understand his POV. He has lived most of his life as a commander and he is obedient but times are changing. He is surely one of those book boyfriends I would like for myself. lol.

There were a lot of side characters as well and I hope the writer will make us see more of them in the sequel, like for example Grainne and Eamonn. I am also interested in the evil characters, because they look like the super evil type that don't give away their thoughts easily; they are interesting because you will never know what they will do next.

Now I wonder what will happen. We were left with an open ending because of the sequel, but I know things will be alright.