Review: The Fallen Kingdom by Elizabeth May

Title: The Fallen Kingdom

Author: Elizabeth May

Series: The Falconer #3

Genre: Mythology/Steampunk/Fae

Publisher: Chronicle Books LLC

Publication Date: June 13th, 2017

Edition: Kindle Edition, 400 pages

Source: Purchased

Purchase: Amazon US | Barnes & Noble | Book Depository | BAM

Synopsis:

She’s on borrowed time…and she has only one chance to set things right.

Find life.

   Deep in a forest, Aileana Kameron claws her way out of the earth. Back from the dead with no memory of who she is or what has happened to her, the Falconer now possesses even greater otherworldly powers and a ruthless instinct to kill—and the one piece of knowledge that can change everything.

Find Kiaran.

   Two fae monarchs, Aithinne and Kadamach, stand on the brink of war, and according to an ancient curse, one must die at the hand of the other or all the worlds will perish. Once, Kadamach was known as Kiaran, and he was mentor, protector, and lover to Aileana. Now, under the grip of the curse, his better nature seems lost forever.

Find the book.

   Aileana’s only hope lies in the legendary Book of Remembrance, a book of spells so powerful that it can break the fae curse and even turn back time. But the book has been lost for centuries, and many are looking for it, including its creator, the Morrigan—a faery of terrifying malevolence and cruelty.

Sacrifice everything.

   To obtain the book and defeat the Morrigan, Aileana must form an unthinkable alliance, one that challenges every vow she has made to herself—even as the powers that brought her to life are slowly but surely killing her.

Review:

Well, add this to the stack. This book made me cry.
I was doing fine, things were rough but I could handle it, then in the last third of the book, a character death happens that I wasn't expecting; then I was tearing up/damn near crying for the rest of the book. This was a roller coaster of a series, even though it's been nearly five years between reading the first and finishing the series I was still hit pretty hard by what happened in this book. Reading the final two back to back might have been a mistake, should have taken more of a break. It was pretty emotional for me, as I quickly got reattached to the characters.

I love all the characters and the world this series is set in. I wasn't sure where this book was headed, or how it would get there once the plan unfolded. This book was really intense, from page one. And things hardly let up. The downtime in action was often suspense-filled, waiting for the next shoe to drop. 

While there was a lot of action, there was also a lot of great character development and character interactions. Kiaran and Aileana have such fantastic chemistry, it's easy to believe their love. They don't take each other for granted, and they truly do see each other as equals in every way.

I even hated some, well one, of the past antagonists a little less than I did before by the end of this book. Their past was made clearer, and while their actions couldn't completely be forgiven, they were understandable, somewhat.

There was no way for me to expect how the current problem was going to be resolved, just that I wasn't expecting that to be the solution. And the ending was very bitter-sweet.

While I want more of these characters, the way things wrapped up, I don't see room for more. Maybe a book about Aithinne? I will miss these characters and this world, that's for sure.