The Falconer (The Falconer #1) by Elizabeth May

Heiress. Debutant. Murderer. A new generation of heroines has arrived. 

Edinburgh, Scotland, 1844 

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?

My Rating: 3.3/5
Genre: Urban Fantasy, Paranormal (Fey), YA

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Guilty Pleasures by Laurell K. Hamilton

" My name is Anita Blake. Vampires call me The Executioner. What I call them isn't repeatable.Ever since the Supreme Court granted the undead equal rights, most people think vampires are just ordinary folks with fangs. I know better. I've seen their victims. I carry the scars... But now a serial killer is murdering vampires -- and the most powerful bloodsucker in town wants me to find the killer. "

Description of the Berkley Trade edition:

Published over ten years ago by Ace, Guilty Pleasures marked the debut of a series that was destined to grow from cult favorite to a major New York Times bestseller. Now, for long-time Anita Blake junkies and newfound fans, Guilty Pleasures makes its trade paperback debut. Readers will learn how Anita Blake started raising the dead-and killing the undead. And how she met Jean Claude, the master vampire destined to become not only her biggest nemesis, but her greatest lover...



My Rating: 3.5/5 stars
Genre:Urban Fantasy, Paranormal (Zombies, Necromancers, Vampires), Romance


Paperback, 272 pages 
Published October 1st 1993 by Ace Books

Anna Dressed in Blood (Anna #1) by Kendare Blake

Cas Lowood has inherited an unusual vocation: He kills the dead. 

So did his father before him, until he was gruesomely murdered by a ghost he sought to kill. Now, armed with his father's mysterious and deadly athame, Cas travels the country with his kitchen-witch mother and their spirit-sniffing cat. Together they follow legends and local lore, trying to keep up with the murderous dead, keeping pesky things like the future and friends at bay. 

When they arrive in a new town in search of a ghost the locals call Anna Dressed in Blood, Cas doesn't expect anything outside of the ordinary: track, hunt, kill. What he finds instead is a girl entangled in curses and rage, a ghost like he's never faced before. She still wears the dress she wore on the day of her brutal murder in 1958: once white, now stained red and dripping with blood. Since her death, Anna has killed any and every person who has dared to step into the deserted Victorian she used to call home. But she, for whatever reason, spares Cas's life.



My Rating: 4.4/5
Genre: YA, Dark Fantasy, Urban Fantasy, Horror, Paranormal (Ghosts), Romance

Ebook, 387 pages 
Published August 30th 2011 by Tor Teen

Daughter Of Smoke & Bone (Trilogy) by Laini Taylor

The Daughter of Smoke & Bone Trilogy is composed by three books: Daughter of Smoke and Bone, Days of Blood and Starlight, Dreams of Gods and Monsters. From master storyteller and National Book Award finalist Laini Taylor comes a sweeping and gorgeously written modern fantasy series about a forbidden love, an ancient and epic war and hope for a world remade.

My Rating: 4.9/5

Genres: Urban Fantasy, Young-Adult
Read from September 5 to 16, 2014

First published by Little, Brown Books for Young Readers

The Iron Queen (The Iron Fey #3) by Julie Kagawa

My name is Meghan Chase. 

I thought it was over. That my time with the fey, the impossible choices I had to make, the sacrifices of those I loved, where behind me. But a storm is approaching, an army of Iron Fey that will drag me back, kicking and screaming. Drag me away from my banished prince who's sworn to stand by my side. Drag me into the core of conflict so powerful, I'm not sure anyone can survive it. 

This time, there will be no turning back. 



Paperback, 358 pages 
Published January 25th 2011 by Harlequin Teen 



My Rating: 3.5/ 5
Genres: Fantasy, Young-Adult
Read from August 4 to 5, 2014

The Iron King (The Iron Fey #1) by Julie Kagawa

Meghan Chase has a secret destiny; One she could never have imagined.

Something has always felt slightly off in Meghan's life, ever since her father disappeared before her eyes when she was six. She has never quite fit in at school or at home.

When a dark stranger begins watching her from afar, and her prankster best friend becomes strangely protective of her, Meghan senses than everything she's known is about to change.

But she never could have guessed the truth - that she's the daughter of a mythical faery king and is a pawn to a deadly war. Now Meghan will learn just how far she'll go to save someone she cares about, to stop a mysterious evil, no faery creature dare face; and to find love with a young prince who might rather see her dead than let her touch his icy heart.

Paperback, 363 pages

Published February 1st 2010 by Harlequin Teen (first published January 1st 2009) 
My Rating: 3.5/5
Genre: Fantasy, Young-Adult
Read from July 25 to August 01, 2014
Order online in Alibris


THE REVIEW:

Overall, The Iron King by Julie Kagawa is a book i enjoyed reading. It has a very interesting storyline, that carried out well though it was based on the play A Midsummer Night's Dream. That alone made it a challenge, because.. ehm, Shakespeare is still Shakespeare and The Iron King is just another teen-arlekin-young-adult novel. Knowing that quality difference between the two i was not dissapointed. On the contrary, i admired the author who created a world i could not get enough of. That book made me wanna scream

[SPOILER]

What made me hesitant really, is the fact that there is a love triangle comprised by the main characters, Meghan, Ash and Puck/Robbie. And guess what? Love triangles are not my thing. What made me continue reading this is the fact that both boys have interesting story plot between them and the both have strong personalities which do make it difficult to choose between the two. None of the two is perfect (say hello, Twilight) without loosing the glamour of their faery nature.

Meghan was really getting on my nerves at first. Whiny, erratic and unable to get a hold on her daily problems - all being things i dislike. But as the book carried on, i got along with her because she changed to someone more focused, determined and mature.

[End of Spoiler]

Unfortunately the poor language Julie Kagawa used is what really let me down. My personal opinion is that a more... lyrical style of storytelling would be more fitting. It's based on "A Midsummer Night's Dream" after all. What kept me interested is the catching story, with its twists and turns that i wasn't expecting at all. Ashe, the brooding prince, Puck/Robin the prankster, Grimalkin the infuriating and lovable cat and Meghan made quite the team - I laughed, loved and cried with them and in the end i was caught in a bargain. I would go on with the second book of the series. And you know how unbreakable the faery bargains are! :) 

If you want to check out my reviews on the rest of the books in the series, click on the image below to be redirected: