The Vanishing Throne Review: Pros and Cons of a Faerie Apocalypse

September 13, 2021 by Bec | Books

The Vanishing Throne Review: Pros and Cons of a Faerie ApocalypseThe Vanishing Throne by Elizabeth May
Series: The Falconer #2
Published by Chronicle Books on November 19th, 2015
Source: Purchased
Genres: Fairy Tales & Folklore, Fantasy & Magic, Historical, Steampunk, Young Adult
Amazon | Book Depository | Publisher | Angus & Robertson | Booktopia | Barnes & Noble
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Everything she loved is gone.

Trapped.

Aileana Kameron, the Falconer, disappeared through the fae portal she was trying to close forever. Now she wakes in an alien world of mirrors, magic, and deception—a prisoner of the evil fae Lonnrach, who has a desperate and deadly plan for his new captive.

Tortured.

Time after agonizing time Lonnrach steals Aileana’s memories, searching for knowledge to save his world. Just when she’s about to lose all hope, Aileana is rescued by an unexpected ally and returns home, only to confront a terrifying truth. The city of Edinburgh is now an unrecognizable wasteland. And Aileana knows the devastation is all her fault.

Transformed.

The few human survivors are living in an underground colony, in an uneasy truce with a remnant of the fae. It is a fragile alliance, but an even greater danger awaits: the human and fae worlds may disappear forever. Only Aileana can save both worlds, but in order to do so she must awaken her latent Falconer powers. And the price of doing so might be her life…

The Good Things

  • Book two in the Falconer trilogy by Elizabeth May, a YA historical fantasy series filled with vicious faeries.
  • I found a new favourite character in Aithinne! Her sarcasm is just amazing.
  • I laughed so much more than I expected to! There are some brilliant sibling dynamics and great dry humour.
  • I loved that we got to explore a lot of this world’s faerie lore and history! It’s based on the traditional tales but has some really interesting new elements, especially in the new post-apocalyptic type world.
  • The character growth! I just want to gush about it. Also the slow burn romance that chugs along nicely on the sideline. It was the right balance of angsty and sweet.
  • Another ending that left me screaming (in a good way!). It’s the best kind of cliff hanger that turns the world on its head but isn’t mid scene like the first book. It’s left me with another book hangover.

 

The Not-So-Good Things

  • I don’t have many things I didn’t like. More like an absence of things I loved from the first book.
  • As much as I enjoyed exploring the lore and world, I did miss the non-stop action and steampunk elements that had a heavy presence in the first book. Saying that, there were some epic action scenes and steampunk inventions.

 

Once again, I’m wondering how this series isn’t more popular?! I loved this second instalment of the Falconer trilogy. It has a vicious world, lots of faerie lore, and fantastic characters. I feel like all I do is gush about these books as I sink into the book hangovers they give me! I’ve now read four books by Elizabeth May (two Falconer books, and two of her historical romance written Katrina Kendrick) and I can confirm I have a new auto buy author.

Rating: 4.5 out of 5

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Bec is an Aussie blogger and reader who loves all types of novels. Fantasy, sci fi, and historical are my usual go-to genres. If I’m not binge reading, I’m usually gaming, trying to take decent photos for bookstagram, or freaking out about silly things.

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