The Fallen Kingdom (The Falconer #3)by Elizabeth May
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Synopsis:
The long-awaited final book in the Falconer trilogy is an imaginative tour-de-force that will thrill fans of the series. Aileana Kameron, resurrected by ancient fae magic, returns to the world she once knew with no memory of her past and with dangerous powers she struggles to control. Desperate to break the curse that pits two factions of the fae against each other in a struggle that will decide the fate of the human and fae worlds, her only hope is hidden in an ancient book guarded by the legendary Morrigan, a faery of immense power and cruelty. To save the world and the people she loves, Aileana must learn to harness her dark new powers even as they are slowly destroying her. Packed with immersive detail, action, romance, and fae lore, and publishing simultaneously in the UK, The Fallen Kingdom brings the Falconer's story to an epic and unforgettable conclusion.
Kiaran goes still. “Save me, Kam?” His low, bitter laugh is cold enough to freeze my heart. His next words are whispered against the pulse at my throat. “(view spoiler), you’d wish you had killed me.”
So many times a person will pick up a book-or book series-and immediately put it down when it doesn’t suit them. I can’t say I do this often, but when I do, I generally don’t go back and give it a second chance. But, for some reason, I might have saw this on my feed or maybe I saw it on my iPad-I can’t remember-and I immediately wondered…did I really give this a fair shake?
“Bad habit,” I murmur.
“The worst,” she agrees.
My laugh is low, forced. “You know those stories where the lone hero saves the world?” I ask. “Do you ever notice that they don’t talk about what happens if the hero fails?”
Catherine looks impatient. “That’s where it began, wasn’t it? Thinking it was your duty to protect us all.” She shakes her head. “We’re not your responsibility, Aileana. This world isn’t your burden. It belongs to all of us.”
The Falconer seems to be a very polarizing series. In some ways, it is revered and a large group of people LOVE it. On the other end of the spectrum, people hate it with a fiery burning passion. As I said-that makes it difficult for a mood reader like me to decide if I should crack on or move on. But, again, for some reason, when I saw this, I just knew I had to try again. It pulled me in, made me wonder, made me remember how little I read fantasy back when I first tried it. That, and I read it with a dud of a friend who shall remain nameless-that tends to taint things when there’s a ridiculous black cloud hanging over everything, doesn’t it? Either way-I decided to try it…
“Threats? Too easy. If he doesn’t listen, I’ll challenge him to a duel and beat him a few times with a blunt instrument. He likes that sort of thing.” In fact, I seem to recall it being Kiaran’s idea of flirting.
…And wow did it start out JUST as bad as I remembered. I hated it. Well-no-I just saw why I had put it down. The focus was fuzzy and I had nothing that really drew me in. Well-I decided to push for a few more chapters-why not? It was free, I’d already bought it years ago, and I had nothing else pressing. And I am SO. GLAD. I. DID. Because not one chapter after I was about to put that heaping pile poo down (and about when I put it down last time, though I made it a bit longer this time, obviously) my whole world was tilted on its axis and I lost my breath in a crescendo of ravaging stomach butterflies. Why, you ask? Come now…you all know me better than that.
Why love a butterfly when it starts to die the moment it gets its wings?
It always starts with a boy, doesn’t it? The minute I met the dark and mysterious Kiaran…I knew I was a goner. I knew I’d be finishing book one, and I knew I’d like it quite a bit. From the moment he appeared, the minute they began training, it’s as if the story opened up and the sun shone brighter. I actually was really loving it. The end was epic, mildly so, but on the epic end I’d say, for most, if not a little convoluted, and it began a newer, darker path for our MC and the guy she had grown to love.
“Are you trying to forget me, MacKay?”
Kiaran looks up at me, his beautiful lilac eyes oddly vulnerable. “Say that name again.” His voice is rough with emotion. He does feel. And if he still feels, then he’s Kiaran. And he’s worth saving. I smile.
“MacKay.”
His fingers slide down my ribs. Lower. “Again.”
“Kiaran MacKay.”
Now. That’s that. I was very up and down with this series-I’ll straight up admit it-but I didn’t want to quit on it. I just….felt something, ya know? Sometimes you get a feeling that if you just hold on a little while longer, it will pay off in the end. Well, it did. And, frankly, this might be one of the best finales of a trilogy I’ve ever had the pleasure of reading. Gone were the useless, tedious side characters that made me grit my teeth. Gone was the ridiculous humor and not-so-witty banter that really took away from the story. Here, we got to see a fully fleshed out story where we have our main 4 or 5 characters, a dark curse entwining not one-not two-but many characters that led to death no matter the path they took. Now…THAT is a story. That’s a story I’d sacrifice my soul for.
“Easy.”
Right. Just battle four dozen soldiers to get the attention of my lover, who may or may not be evil depending on what mood he’s in.
“You know,” I say lightly, “I think we need to rethink your use of easy. Just a suggestion.”
“I have taken your suggestion under consideration and decided to ignore it.” She steps back with a smile. “Ready?”
I recall another portal Aithinne opened for me to cross between islands. “You’re not going to have me nearly crushed by tree branches again, are you?”
“No, no. Crushed by water.”
I know some people still found issues, but this is the one time I’m going to call them out. It’s cool that you wanted a darker character (they know who I’m talking about), and of course that would be freaking awesome, but the balance this author struck between longing, tortured, and dark was impeccable and I honestly don’t think it would have added a single thing. It wasn’t ‘rip your head off’ dark, yet you still always felt like you were teetering on the precipice of something that our characters couldn’t come back from. That they just might not win-or-someone would lose among their group. And, not to mention, she also added a weird tilt of balance where an evil character kind of made bad things happen when they wouldn’t have, and I think that’s the angle the author went for, as opposed to our characters losing large, irredeemable parts of themselves that would be hard to clean up in the finale.
“What’s your plan?” Aithinne asks.
“Go back, find the girl, and kill the Morrigan.”
“Simple. Effective. Small chance of success.” She smiles. “I like it.”
I just…I was in astonishment at the pure perfection that encompassed these pages and I could lose myself in them every single night. It’s a story I felt was written just for me-the tortured love, the sense of hopelessness, the way that we got glimpses of how much they cared for one another and how it could not/would not/will never be, all while battling an evil entity that is everywhere they turn, playing with their minds endlessly and???? I mean…how is this NOT peak entertainment? How are people not falling head over heels for this? I’m sorry, I know people have high standards but come ON…it is SO worth it to just let it all go and just feel and enjoy! But…hey…that’s just me.
Maybe the price of saving the world is forgetting how to live in it.
And I won’t praddle on too much longer, but I must say that I appreciated that author kept the silly humor far out of this one. We got snarky comments that could be cheesy, sure, but they finally balanced in and it added levity when things were bleak or the characters were losing their way. And, I’m sorry the nonexistence of a certain character in this one literally made this book work. If I had to hear that dumb **GRRRR** make any more silly, frivolous, or childish comments on the side, I’d have ripped my hair out. In fact, this person was the reason I about quit the series in book two. It’s just. Too. Much. And it is NOT good. So…the lack of presence there, I was here for it. And I also loved the way a certain evil character was incorporated in, how it added tension to Kiaran and Kam’s relationship, and how we finally were able to learn more about her-and I didn’t even know I wanted that. Go figure.
What does that make me, when a faery is capable of more humanity than I am?
SO. Do I recommend this series? Yes and no. Can you overlook the silly to get to the epic? Normally I can’t. But I did, and It was 100% worth it and I will be getting the hardbacks as soon as possible. This book series is for you if you can put aside the annoying side parts, if you can push through, if you can embrace that slow darkness that creeps in. But, if you want you perfection from every angle, no plot holes ever…then I don’t know. Obviously it’s not for you because this series is far from perfect. But I do feel bad for you- because book one, while not without issues, is a delight. Book two has a huge payoff, a dark, bleak look into what’s to come. And book three is dark, tortured, romantic, and a anguished lovers peril scenario lover’s greatest delight. Is it for everyone? Nah. But as the stakes finally became high enough-my biggest quabble from before-my tears were flowing and I was blubbering, fangirly mess in the end…and I couldn’t be happier I rediscovered this series and found a forever favorite. I hope you can find it in these pages, too.
(view spoiler)
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Where in the world was this author hiding that level of writing??? Holyyyyy shit, that was epic and everything I needed to make this series one I will never forget. Y’all are sleeping on this one.
Review to DEFINITELY come.
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