Thoughts on the Overall Book: This book definitely has an interesting concept and is an entertaining enough read. Not quite sure it did enough for me, but I'll explain that later.Cover--Yea or Nay: I do like the cover, you can't see the girl's face, and I do like blades on bookcovers ;)Characters: Aileana is an interesting character. She actually was more likable than I anticipated. She is very Scottish, I will say that. I think I liked the fact that, while she hated society it wasn't because she hated being a 'normal woman' it was because she had better things to do than be frivolous. She was a young lady once, but her mother's murder changed things. And she did well acting as a lady when she needed to as well. She's never going to be a favorite character but she's tolerable. I also like that she can fight, but she's not so good that she always wins without a scratch. It's more realistic. Kiaran I liked, but at the same time, he almost seems like just your typical non-human male lead in any paranormal/supernatural YA novel. Dark, handsome, angsty. There wasn't anything to set him apart. He was kind of just...boring. I liked Gavin a little better, at least he had more of a unique character. My favorite character was Derrik the pixie. He was funny, and awesome, and I liked his friendship with Aileana. The baddies, honestly, were bad, but we didn't get to know them very well. I was a little disappointed with that.The Romance: There is a bit of romance, and you definitely get that Aileana and Kiaran like each other, or will end up together eventually, but thankfully, there's not a lot of that. Not enough to bog the book down. It seems like there might be a triangle between her and Kiaran and Gavin, but thankfully, that is pretty much annulled. Writing Style: It's not the best ever, but it was okay, and entertaining. I didn't mind Aileana's narration, she never annoyed me, which is good, because I'm not a huge fan of strong female narrators. She was funny on occasion as well. The world was well-described, which is always good dealing with steampunk or historical fantasy books. I would have liked a more Scottish feel to the story, but they are lowlanders.Accuracy/ Believability: Amazingly, even with the steampunk aspect of this book, Aileana still acts like a Victorian lady would. That is a nod I have to give the author here for at least keeping that accurate.Problems/What bothered me: This is where it gets a little tricky. I did enjoy the book. I love Faery stories and steampunk stories, however...I'm not so certain putting them together isn't too much of a good thing. The idea is actually really awesome and I love it, however, the steampunk aspect in this book just seemed too overshadowing. You already have Fae, I thought all the steampunk was a little distracting. We could have kept the cool weapons and maybe a couple other little things, but the flying machines, and the stitchers (which I didn't understand how they worked) and drink dispensers were a little much. It seemed like it took too much out of the storyline to explain all of it. Good idea, a little less attention to detail might have made it better. If it was strictly a steampunk novel with no faeries, it would have been okay.The other problem I had was really just personal preference. I love Faery lore and Irish and Scottish folklore and, yes, I am a bit of a geek about it. I've done the real research, and the lore in this book doesn't match up. It annoyed me on occasion, because this is just a pet peeve of mine. It's not going to annoy everyone. I did like how the Faeries were dangerous, but the way this was written seemed like it should have been a demon themed story line instead of Faeries. That's just how it kind of came across to me. But again, personal preference.Conclusion: 3 stars. An entertaining read despite my minor issues. I will definitely be keeping up with the series. This one ended in quite a cliff-hanger!Recommended Audience: Girl read, 16 and up. If you like strong heroines without a real attitude and steampunk with your faeries, this is for you. You had me at Steampunk faeries! Let me preface this review with the fact that I love Shadowhunters. If you can't get with me on this then you may not enjoy this wonderful little fantasy as much as I did. I really enjoyed both the characters and setting of this period novel. The main character, Aleana was both flawed and strong. The action was not overwhelming but fast paced and fun. The mythological beings were fantastical and unique. And the boys were both comical and super-swoony! All in all a very fun read that I would definitely recommend to readers of the genre.Final Recommendations: if you like shadowhunters (especially the Clockwork Angel type), butt-kicking heroins, hot faeries, humorous pixies, steampunk
Do You like book La Cacciatrice Di Fate (2014)?
Really loved the book, but hated the ending. Will probably read the sequel when it comes out though.
—gaplachem
