Book Review: The Falconer by Elizabeth May

Title: The Falconer
Author: Elizabeth May
Publisher: Chronicle Books
Release Date: May 6th 2014
Pages: 288
Format: eARC
Source: Edelweiss
Age Group: Young Adult
Genre: Fantasy

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?

Let's take a moment to appreciate the beauty of the cover. SIGHS. Moving on, I first noticed The Falconer on someone's WoW post and immediately added it to my tbr. Then JLA (aka Jennifer Armentrout) posted the trailer for the book and that's when I knew I was all in.

Ailena had a horrible awakening when she witnessed the death of her mother. Nothing in life is as pretty as it use to be. Nothing makes Ailena feel better than sticking a knife into a fairy. And she will stop at nothing to get her revenge.

Ailena isn't your typical girl main character who likes to dress and wonder about her future. Basically she's this badass chick who kicks butt and also lies here and there to cover her tracks. By day she's a debutante who's suppose to be securing a future husband.

"Time for sit up straight, shoulders back, smile."

And by night she's a killing machine.

"I swing the hammer back and slam it into the redcap's temple."

You would think that Ailena hated ALL fairies but nope she doesn't; she knows TWO. Yes you read that right, I was shocked too so I'm only going to tell you about one. Derrick is so damn adorable, he's small like Tinkerbell. Fyi, I want my own Derrick so I can feed him HONEY all the time. 

This is probably my second time reading a book where the main character is an assassin and  I liked every moment. I couldn't get enough of this steampunk world and all it's awesome gadgets. (I think the gadgets were my favorite part of the story, they were so cool. I wish I knew how to build some of the things Ailena uses.)

Oh and The Falconer releases in 5 DAYS! Make sure to grab your copy!