The Falconer Read Along (Chapters 1-11)
We are delighted to welcome Daphne of Winged Reviews back to the blog for the second of our The Falconer Readalong posts. In today’s blog post Daphne recaps Chapters 1-11 The Falconer.
Hi guys, how was your week of reading? How did everyone enjoy the first 11 chapters of The Falconer? I love the start of this book – it’s exciting and unashamed.
Aileana is gossiped about as her mother’s murderess at a society ball, and her only saving grace is her good friend Catherine. Soon after, she smells a faery in the mansion, hunts it down, and kills it.
The action was pretty non-stop and the start of the book introduces the characters so well. I love the friendship between Catherine and Aileana. She’s Aileana’s only real anchor to her past life. They genuinely care about each other, even though they are now so different. Catherine believes in Aileana, even though she knows there’s something she’s not telling her. That’s true friendship to me.
After Aileana’s near miss at the ball, she comes home a wreck and who should be there but her not-so-trusty pixie tailor, Derrick? Derrick is a fantastic character. He’s grouchy, evasive, and unabashedly takes pleasure in other faes’ suffering. Plus he gets drunk on honey. I’d definitely like Derrick to reside in my closet!
I love how little steampunk touches are littered throughout. The gun with the expanding barrel. The stitching spiders. The ornithopter. And my personal favourite, of course, the tea dispenser. Tying the steampunk and inventions into Aileana’s relationship with her mother was also a great touch.
Then we meet him. Kiaran MacKay, the sort of hero of the story. He’s a bit shady and a bit gruff and I’m sure everyone reading will swoon over him. He’s a classic anti-hero; a fae that kills his own kind. He has trained Aileana into the killing machine that she is, but his intentions aren’t clear. They fight well together, even though Kiaran doesn’t trust her on her own. So she kills fae without him knowing and builds bombs with a special thistle. Kill count: 2 fae and one bridge.
There are also little hints of what’s to come, with Catherine’s brother Gavin being mentioned in passing, fae escaping from underground, and the titular ‘Falconer’.
The section ends really well with Aileana’s two worlds colliding when she and Catherine run into Kiaran on their afternoon stroll! Stay tuned and keep reading!
Let me know what you think of the book so far in the comments below! I’ll be back next week to recap Chapters 12-22!
Are you reading The Falconer? Join our readalong group on Goodreads.
The Falconer is out now in paperback and eBook. The Vanishing Throne is out in bookshops and online on the 19th November.
You can find out more about our guest blogger Daphne her blog and Illumicrate by visiting her website, or following her on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook.
Goodreads Book Giveaway
The Vanishing Throne
by Elizabeth May
Giveaway ends November 30, 2015.
See the giveaway details
at Goodreads.