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YA

Review: The Faerie Queen by Kiki Hamilton

Andge @ Down the Rabbit Hole

Series: The Faerie Ring #4

the faerie queen -kiki hamiltonThe Winter King has ordered Tiki’s death and hunts her in both the Otherworld and London. War looms ever closer and the mysterious Four Treasures of Faerie seem to offer the Seelie Court their only hope of stopping Donegal from claiming all of Faerie. The ever-enigmatic Larkin issues a threat regarding Clara that forces Tiki to choose between a child and a kingdom….

A ruthless opponent, a powerful treasure, an unforgettable decision…

4 Drink Me Potions

Oh boy, what a conclusion!

If you have read any of my other comments of the previous books in the Faerie Ring series, I have always mentioned that Kiki Hamilton is a master storyteller. She weaves in so many layers, particularly in the plotline (even the tiniest event of a previous book could have a significant meaning later), but also in her characters!

First, I have to say, Larkin is the most amazing and complex character I have read yet. She always seemed like a villain, or at least an antagonistic force when it comes to Tiki. Yet it’s been so hard to decipher what her ulterior motives are or what other random information she’s been hiding from everyone else. One moment, she seems to be acting like a guiding counsel for Tiki as she learns more about the world of the fey, and the next moment, she’s the most arrogant woman ever and seemingly aiming to claim the throne for herself. Which side should we believe? And that’s the beauty of it. She has that many layers to her.

Then comes the complexity of the plot. Thrown into the end of the The Seven Year King, she goes and says what? Clara’s her child. But wait! Other crazy relations are also revealed at Dain and Rieker’s heritage (yet again). And here I thought that it was crazy enough that Rieker even had family left. There’s more?

With this being the final book in the series, somehow, Hamilton was able to weave everything together and tie all loose ends into one happy conclusion. Yes, a happy ending, folks. Of course, some of the epic things that went down were kind of predictable, but it was still great to see how the new plot twists fit into it all.

Amidst all these crazy revelations, there’s a war to be prepped for and a treasure hunt for the last of the Four Treasures of the faeries. It seems only Tiki can find it and unite the courts of Faerie as that is her destiny. I think the ending fit well with what her character would do. She really has grown over the course of this book and possibly the previous one. Hard to imagine that the series spans only about 1.5 years or so in their lives.

Anyway, cutting this review short ’cause I could gush on and on about it some more. The Faerie Queen is an example of how an epic conclusion to a fantasy story should end. With action, suspense and tying in the crazy plotlines, Hamilton more than delivers all these elements and more. And if you’re a lover of any ancient locations (particularly those that we can actually visit) associated with the fey, London and parts of Scotland are mentioned throughout the novel. It makes me want to go there now…

Overall Recommendation:
The Faerie Queen was the epic conclusion to an ultimately heart-stopping historical fantasy series. Further plot twists (who knew there could possibly be more room for those?) all tie in nicely together for an unpredictable, yet happy, ending for Tiki and her friends. It’s like a fairy tale but with more action and character development! And who wouldn’t like a fairy tale, hmm? I recommend this series, and particularly this book, to anyone who loves adventure, fantasy, factual history and romance. It won’t disappoint, trust me. This book deserves all the praise it can get.

YA

Review: Frostfire by Amanda Hocking

Andge @ Down the Rabbit Hole

Series: Kanin Chronicles #1

frostfire -amanda hockingBryn Aven is an outcast among the Kanin, the most powerful of the troll tribes.

Set apart by her heritage and her past, Bryn is a tracker who’s determined to become a respected part of her world. She has just one goal: become a member of the elite King’s Guard to protect the royal family. She’s not going to let anything stand in her way, not even a forbidden romance with her boss Ridley Dresden.

But all her plans for the future are put on hold when Konstantin– a fallen hero she once loved – begins kidnapping changelings. Bryn is sent in to help stop him, but will she lose her heart in the process?

4 Drink Me Potions

Before I started reading this book, I wondered if I had to have known a little bit about the Trylle series in order to understand the workings of this “world” Hocking has created. Fortunately, as a first time reader into the land of the Kanin and Trylle, it seemed understandable enough.

The world building
I think this was the most fascinating and probably my favourite part of the book. Initially, I saw huge parallels to the fantastical world that was created in Graceling. Even the sound of the blurb on the book made me think of it, one of my personal fantasy/adventure favourites. So Frostfire truly had something to live up to for me.

What broke away and made this world so unique to me was that it was still set in today’s modern world. Like, what? Magic and tribal wars…set in the woods in the prairie provinces of Canada? Kings and Queens ruling over rustic city capitals like Doldastam, which reminded me of the grand palace and city in Throne of Glass. It was the strangest idea, yet somehow it unfolded into such a delicious way to deliver central themes in the story.

I’m still kind of grasping at the amazing way Hocking managed to put this wonderful world and its history in a way that intertwined with modern day human society. Honestly. Mind blown.

The characters
I liked Bryn well enough. She was a tracker, someone who went out into the “human world” to bring back changelings, people of her kind that were put into the human world so they could get their trust fund from their host families before returning to Doldastam. She was independent and worked hard for her career. I just didn’t like her near-obsessive attitude towards her job sometimes. Like, talk about being consumed by it.

Family was an important aspect in the story too. Bryn worked with her father, the Chancellor or appointed voice of the people, as well as with the royals occasionally. That’s what drove her to hunt down the traitor who nearly killed her father prior to the story’s timeline. I liked that her parents were more than just very miniscule secondary characters, but that they actually had big roles to play.

And that brings me to the one aspect that I DID NOT like.

The romance….Wait, what romance?
Honestly. What romance? I was expecting some sort of forbidden love to actually DEVELOP. It was just Bryn discovering her feelings for Ridley. I liked him, I truly do. And of course, through their mild flirting, I’m sure he likes Bryn too.

But hello! Nothing REALLY happens. He’s dating another girl, and Bryn sure as heck doesn’t want to put anything in jeopardy with her career. She freaking flipped out on one of her best friends for getting pregnant and having to not work for a while. That was totally not her call to yell at her friend for “letting that [pregnancy] happen to her”.

Anyway, the sum of their forbidden romance in this story? One kiss. Whoop-dee-doo. And Bryn flips out (of course) and avoids confronting those feelings. Sighhh. I hope Ridley does something in Ice Kissed, aka book 2.

Oh, and even worse than the lack of romance? I smell a love triangle in the air. I absolutely abhor love triangles. I don’t find them necessary to prolong a trilogy and add drama to a relationship. But what’s even worse than that? The potential other suitor is most definitely NOT someone I’d approve of to move to that status. Sure, as the story progresses, it sounds like he’s more “complicated” than his initial portrayal, but hey! That doesn’t right everything he’s ever done.

Why do I get the feeling that he may win Bryn over Ridley? I may flip a table or two if that day comes. Just saying.

Last Thoughts
I loved the world building and the actual plot too much to let my disappointment in the romance department hurt my rating. There is a lot of potential for where this story is going. I do think that Amanda Hocking could’ve extended this story a little longer. She ended rather abruptly at a cliffhanger, but one that was only slightly built up to at the end. I didn’t really feel like a whole lot actually happened in Frostfire, strangely enough. The author just set the stage of her wonderfully-crafted world and threw in some tidbits of action. I can’t wait to see what happens next (with fingers crossed that it doesn’t break my heart or cause some table-throwing action).

Overall Recommendation:
On some level comparable to great titles like Graceling and Throne of Glass, Frostfire delivers a beautiful world of magic and royalty right smack in the present day world, located somewhere in the middle of Canada. Where it lacks heavily in the romance department (and oh boy, I mean heavily), hints of conspiracy and attacks on the children of the Kanin have left me anxiously awaiting for the next installment to the Kanin Chronicles. Hopefully, it’ll live up to expectations.

YA

Review: Black Ice by Becca Fitzpatrick

Andge @ Down the Rabbit Hole

black ice -becca fitzpatrickSometimes danger is hard to see… until it’s too late.

Britt Pfeiffer has trained to backpack the Teton Range, but she isn’t prepared when her ex-boyfriend, who still haunts her every thought, wants to join her. Before Britt can explore her feelings for Calvin, an unexpected blizzard forces her to seek shelter in a remote cabin, accepting the hospitality of its two very handsome occupants—but these men are fugitives, and they take her hostage.

In exchange for her life, Britt agrees to guide the men off the mountain. As they set off, Britt knows she must stay alive long enough for Calvin to find her. The task is made even more complicated when Britt finds chilling evidence of a series of murders that have taken place there… and in uncovering this, she may become the killer’s next target.

But nothing is as it seems in the mountains, and everyone is keeping secrets, including Mason, one of her kidnappers. His kindness is confusing Britt. Is he an enemy? Or an ally?

BLACK ICE is New York Times bestselling author Becca Fitzpatrick’s riveting romantic thriller set against the treacherous backdrop of the mountains of Wyoming. Falling in love should never be this dangerous…

4 Drink Me Potions

I wasn’t sure for the longest time what I would end up rating this book as. The first approximate half of the book dragged out a little longer than I would’ve liked, with our protagonist Britt and her bestie Korbie being dragged into a hostile situation with two men in the middle of a huge snowstorm. That’s basically what the synopsis already says, right? So I was waiting to see the action come in rather impatiently.

That being said, Black Ice really surprised me after reaching a certain point. I know a lot of other reviewers were anguished with the apparent Stockholm syndrome developing between Britt and one of her captors, Mason. However, I never really felt that Becca Fitzpatrick depicted him as a clear-cut “bad guy”.

Whatever the situation may have been, even when it got downright scary and menacing for the girls, Mason was always surprised with what his partner was willing to do or say to get what he wanted. It was like he didn’t want any of this to happen, but was helpless in stopping it. He was a puzzle to be solved because he clearly wasn’t simply a straightforward criminal. He hadn’t even wanted the girls to get kidnapped in the first place.

So, Stockholm syndrome? It might still be a little bit, on Britt’s part. But as the story progressed, she had many chances to get away. Mason wasn’t really holding her captive anymore. She had the choice. Can I really say that their ensuing chemistry bothered me? No, not really. It went as any fast-paced and intense romance went. Some chick-lit books have even faster whirlwind romances. Boy meets girl, BAM. Instant love.

Their attraction, I felt, was realistically played out, especially when it came to the conclusion of the story. I can’t say much more than that without giving away too much, but I really think Black Ice has a lot more to offer than the initial thought of “Eww, why does she have to fall for one of the kidnappers?”.

Britt is also the kind of girl who has always depended on the men in her life to help her with things. She has a protective father and older brother who baby her. She just felt that if it came to trouble, they would be there for her. Now, I liked that she was able to grow a backbone and figure out through this horrible situation that she could be strong on her own, and even be relied on by a male. Mason helped her do that, so how can I possibly dislike him? He’s sweeter than any other character in the story, including Britt’s somewhat deranged best friend Korbie.

Why do I call Korbie deranged? She keeps a list in her diary comparing her and Britt’s achievements or owned accessories. Then she gives out points between them, like 10+ points for having a more luxurious car than Britt’s old Wrangler. Like, come on! What kind of best friend would do that? Honestly, Britt needs to find better people in her life. Don’t get me started on Calvin.

The plot “twist” was rather predictable, or at least I saw it from 100+ pages away. Don’t let that deter you. Fitzpatrick still makes it interesting as you follow along and see how Britt can possibly get off this mountain alive.

Overall Recommendation:
Black Ice deserves more than its label as being a rather creepy romance delving into Stockholm syndrome. Mason was never a clear-cut “bad guy” that we were meant to hate immediately upon reading about him. There was a whole lot more to his story than what the situation may have made him seem. Sure, Britt may have started to fall for him while she was still under his “captivity” but she was even knowledgeable about what Stockholm syndrome was, and she knew there was a mystery to be solved around his presence in the mountain.

The intensity of the story picks up in the latter half, but I’d say that living through the slow pace of the first half was worth it for what happens later. With loose ends being tied up, and the ever constant nagging thought that a murderer is among them on the mountain, Black Ice may be quite the entertaining read.