Pippa DaCosta

Look, but don't touch. Touch, but don't feel. Feel, but never ever love. From the moment Alina touches London's hottest fae superstar, breaking one of the laws founded to protect all of her kind, her fate – and the fae – close in. Below ground, the fae High Queen plots to claim the city as her own and places her pawns, ready for the battle to come. A battle she cannot lose, but for one small problem – Alina. There are four ancient keepers powerful enough to keep the queen in her prison. Three are dead. One remains ... And to fight back, Alina risks sacrificing everything she has come to love. This New Adult urban fantasy is packed with action and suspense and will have you yearning for more forbidden fae romance.

A London Fae Novel

City of Fae

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I received a free eARC of this book from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

“City of Fae” has one of the most stunning book covers I have seen this year. Even if it doesn’t have the most creative plot, it is an engaging and gripping read that will leave fans of the urban fantasy genre satisfied.


The Plot

While the premise of the novel is not particularly innovative, I still found the plot entertaining and engaging. There were plenty of plot twists I did not see coming and I was pleasantly surprised by.

A major plus is that the novel never wastes time waiting around for anything to happen - it quickly kicks straight into action and goes at a steady pace from start to finish. It never feels like it’s lagging which contributes for the immersion of the reader. It is easy to complete in one sitting - you just cannot put it down.

Some of the inconsistencies that are established in the beginning (such as Alina being only 19 and already having a job as a reporter) are plausibly cleared up by the end of the novel. However, plenty of questions still remain and the ending alludes to the possibility of a sequel or of another book set in the same universe - which I welcome as I feel I could use a better understanding of the world of the novel.


The Setting

I never quite got a full grasp of the world Alina lives in. For me, London is a very atmospheric city with very peculiar qualities - none of which came through the pages. Alina could have easily been in New York or Berlin and I would have not known the difference. Overall, I feel that the book lacks the atmosphere that would have made it enchanting instead of just engaging.

In addition, the mythology of the novel needs better explanation. I was very interested in the history of the world of “City of Fae”, as well as how it has changed the modern world (which is supposed to be a literary alternative universe of ours). I understand this could not have been possible without adding more pages to the book but at the same time I wish the author had managed to add those details and clarify the setting better.


The Characters

I loved loved Alina. She is so independent and determined to achieve the goals she has set for herself; she is inquisitive and curious and does not give up easily; she can stand her own against any of the fae. She is an awesome lead that I wish I could see more from.

I cannot believe that it has gotten to this, but I am honestly pleased that Reign is not the total jerk that most novels set their main male leads to be. On the other hand, he does not seem to be anything particularly impressive as a character either.

The romance between the two of them is central for the book even if I found it very unbelievable (I mean, they have known each other for less than a week when they seem to fall in love with each other). However, the tension between Alina and Reign is simply electrifying and I often found myself cheering them on in their moments of closeness.


The Verdict

“City of Fae” may not be the best book ever or even the best book published this year, but it is a thrilling read. A page-turner you cannot put down until you find the answers to every single question you have had, until you uncover every last secret and solve every mystery surrounding Alina and the fae.

Sarah Escorsa

❣ A Marital Buddy Read (MBR™) with my delicious bloodshed-loving wife Maria ❣

» 
  And the moral
 of this reread is: I just survived this Love Quadrangle of Doom-embellished NA tale for the second bloody shrimping time. Sigh. Pippa DaCosta, you truly have thoroughly ruined me forever. I do not like you very much and stuff. But you might want to write a third instalment in this series, just in case. I wouldn't read it, obviously, but some people would. Not me, though. Oh, no absolutely not.

Also: spiders. Cutest pets ever.





[Original review]

▧ An announcement from Goodreads Support ▧

Dear Goodreads users,
 
Please stop harassing our team with your suspicions that this former nefarious breeder of murderous crustaceans' account has been hacked. Yes, said user gave 5 stars to a Freaking PNR Novel. Yes, said user gave 5 stars to TWO Freaking Epic Fantasy Novels in a row. And yes, said user just gave 4 stars to a Freaking NA Novel about the Silly Fae. We, at Goodreads Support, once again certify that this ACCOUNT HAS NOT BEEN HACKED. So get off our backs. Thank you. PS: yes, the fact that this account has not been hacked does mean the end of the world is near. Sorry.

▧ End of announcement from Goodreads Support ▧

You have got to be kidding me. Goodreads Support interrupting one of my fascinating reviews once again?! Damn. I must have done some seriously wicked crap in a past life to deserve this. Dear lovely Goodreads Support people: don't you think this whole "I'm loving books I should be hating with a vengeance" ordeal is traumatizing enough for me? You have to chase me to the dark recesses of my reviews to rehash it, too? Have you no heart, people?!



Yeah, that's what I thought. Oh well, nothing to be done about it so let's get on with the traumatizing ordeal in question, shall we? 

So. Pippa DaCosta. I've already said the woman would be the death of me one day. And she is proving it one bloody book at a time. I would NEVER have read a New Adult *shudders* story, had she not written it. Not even under the most horrifyingly painful, terrifyingly agonizing, viciously cruel torture. Me? Read NA? I'd rather die, thank you very much. But Pippa wrote it. And so I read it. And so I liked it. And so life will never be the same. 

✎ Reason #1 why I should have hated this book: N. Freaking. A.



I am allergic to PNR. I am allergic to YA. But NA? NA I hate with all my might. Because STOOPID. Because ridiculous. Because OTT. Because trying too hard to be deep and meaningful and ADULT, and ending up being clichéd, trivial, laughable, and pathetically juvenile instead. Because taking itself way too seriously. AND because I'm too old for this shit *gleefully waves at NA-loving trolls* 

✎ Reason #2 why I should have hated this book: the Silly Fae



Sorry, don't have much to say here. I've always thought fairies –oops, excuse me, I meant to say Fae, not fairies. Yeah, "Fae" is a much cooler word. Besides, fairies are so desperately ordinary and frightfully unremarkable. Nothing in common with the ever-awesome, awe-inspiring Fae ☢ sarcasm alert ☢ But I digress. Short story even shorter: I don't like the Fae. They rarely ever add anything to a story. I don't find them scary. I don't find them interesting. I just find them boring as hell *yawns*

✎ Reason #3 why I should have hated this book: instaluuurrrrvvve



Need I say more? Didn't think so.

✎ Reason #4 why I should have hated this book: the Love Triangle of Death



You know what's worse than a Love Triangle of Death (LTD™). A Love Quadrangle of Death (LQD™). Yes, there is such a thing. Right here. In this story. Add some "we love each other but can't be together because spoilers" stuff and you get the Love Quadrangle of Death, Doom, Destruction, and Immediate Extinction of All Life on Earth (LQDDDIEALE™).

►► Time for simple maths:
Reason #1 + reason #2 + reason #3 + reason #4 = I couldn't put this book down. 

Makes perfect sense, right? Right. Well that's Pippa DaCosta Magic (PDCM™) for you. I'm pretty sure the woman is a witch with evil, supernatural powers. I see no other possible explanation. Okay, so Pippa might just be a teensy little bit talented. Yes, that might be another explanation. And it is true that this book doesn't fulfil the STOOPID-RIDICULOUS-OTT NA requirements *faints* And it is true that the heroine might only be nineteen but she's not a completely immature, superficial airhead *chokes* And it is true that there are fairies Fae here but they are uncharacteristically non stupid and actually pretty cool *gasps* And it is true that there is a devious instalurrrrve attack but it didn't awaken the homicidal maniac in me *hyperventilates* And it is true there is a LQDDDIEALE™ but it didn't bother me the slightest *stops breathing altogether* 

I originally wanted to give this book 3.5 stars. And then I thought, "to hell with your reputation, Sarah! Be bold! Be fearless! Rate it 4 stars!" And since I'm wise and stuff, I listened to my little self. Because, Pippa DaCosta managed the impossible and made me enjoy a NA story about the Silly Fae. I don't care what you clueless dear people think, the woman deserves a 4-star rating. Damn right she does.
 


✎ Book 2: City of Shadows ★★★★★

City of Fae A London Fae Novel

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