Elizabeth May

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?

The Falconer

Elisa Bieg

This is the third time I pick up this book and I managed to stick with it and finish it this time! Aided by the audiobook, no doubt ☺️

The MC is also the narrator and the book is told in first person, which always takes me a bit to get into because I feel like I have to *want* to hear from this person, and at first I don’t know if I want to, because I don’t know them. This MC was one I wasn’t sure about, but she sort of grew on me. 
I do like the setting a lot, though I think it could have been more vivid. The author wasn’t entirely able to paint a picture IMO, no matter if the scene was very descriptive or action-filled. BUT once you understand what’s going on, the story is interesting enough to want to continue and read the whole trilogy, so I was happy to find the other two books as kindle deals as well! 🎉

The real appeal of this book IMO is in the character dynamics. There is a very charming best friend with a very handsome brother (who is also a friend), a grumpy fae prince, a honey-drunk pixie, and a host of other characters that mostly succeed in annoying our MC. But damn, that love triangle. Even if you hate that trope, I dare you to pick your corner!

One thing that puzzled me a bit was the inclusion of steampunk elements, as I didn’t feel that they really enriched the narrative most of the time. They felt mostly unnecessary and made things a bit clunky sometimes.

Overall, not a new favorite, but not bad. I’ll read the rest of the series. 
3 1/2 STARS

Kacy Rulison

It was a bit hard to get into but the end is a nice cliff hanger and has me ready to pick up the next one. Cool blend of history and technology.

The Falconer

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