Review: Stolen Away by Alyxandra Harvey

Summary/Cover Image from Publisher's Website:

Alyxandra Harvey brings her trademark romance and adventure to the world of Faery

For seventeen years, Eloise Hart had no idea the world of Faery even existed. Now she has been abducted and trapped in the Rath of Lord Strahan, King of Faery. Strahan was only meant to rule for seven years, as Faery tradition dictates, and then give up his crown to another. But he won't comply, and now chaos threatens both worlds.

The only one who can break his stranglehold on the Faery court is his wife….Eloise's aunt Antonia. Using Eloise to lure Antonia, Strahan captures his wife, desperate to end the only threat to his reign. Now Eloise must become the rescuer. Together with her best friends Jo and Devin, she must forge alliances with other Fae, including a gorgeous protector named Lucas, and Strahan's mysterious son, Eldric--who may or may not betray them.

Review: 

After reading the ghostly and exciting Haunting Violet, Alyxandra's first standalone novel, I couldn't wait to get my hands on a copy of her next book, so when the chance came up to read and review Stolen Away, I jumped at the chance. Sadly enough, I didn't end up enjoying it nearly as much as Haunting Violet, but it still was a fun and quick read.

Eloise has always lived a relatively normal existence. She lives with her single mom, has friends she adores, and a pretty sweet looking future. However, everything changes soon after her seventeenth birthday. Suddenly, magical creatures start popping out of nowhere, and Lucas, a good looking yet seemingly crazy boy, appears, claiming to be her "guardian." Eloise doesn't know what to think, and before she can even manage to gain any knowledge into this, she lands in world of faery under the thumb of Strahan, an evil and conniving man. Eloise doesn't know what they exactly want with her, but she is pretty sure it has something to do with her aunt Antonia. As Eloise tries to piece everything together, her friends Jo and Devin as well as Lucas devise a plan to save her once and for all. However, what happens when everything is thrown to the wind? Only time and more pages can tell in this exciting read! 

I liked the characters in this one well enough. I enjoyed how the story was told from the viewpoint of Eloise as well as Jo, because it gave me a view into what was occurring in the faery world as well as the human one. Both were fun characters to read about on their own. Eloise was sweet, mild mannered while Jo was fierce, and someone not to mess with. I also enjoyed the addition of their friends as well as perspective love interests. However, there was one small problem: I never really became fully invested in their stories. Don't get me wrong, I liked reading about them, but I never really came close to fully relating to them, and that's where problem number laid in my eyes. 

The number two problem was in the plot itself. Everything in this book seemed rushed. The characters were constantly running back and forth between faery land, and while a fast paced story as much as the next person, I also enjoy development. I felt that some plot lines (such as Aunt Antonia as well as the faery land itself) could have been more fleshed out. However, I will admit that I enjoyed the overall story. It was whimsical and exciting, but with just a tad more development, it would have been fantastic. 

Alyxandra Harvey's writing was good though. She did a fabulous job switching between the narrators as well as their worlds. I also really enjoyed the premise she spun together within this one, and even though I enjoyed Haunting Violet more, I still look forward to Alyxandra's future books.

In all, Stolen Away is a good enough novel, but not one I highly suggest. For die-hard faery fans, though, this one may just be the book for you. So give it a try, hopefully you'll enjoy it more than I did

Grade: B-

Stolen Away (Amazon, Barnes and Noble, Goodreads) is now out! 

Source: Publisher via Netgalley

More about the author/book: website/twitter

Haunting Violet by Alyxandra Harvey

Summary/Cover Image from Publisher's Website:

A ghostly murder mystery set in Victorian England brings an exciting change for Alyx Harvey fans

Violet Willoughby doesn't believe in ghosts. But they believe in her. After spending years participating in her mother's elaborate ruse as a fraudulent medium, Violet is about as skeptical as they come in all matters supernatural. Now that she is being visited by a very persistent ghost, one who suffered a violent death, Violet can no longer ignore her unique ability. She must figure out what this ghost is trying to communicate, and quickly because the killer is still on the loose.

Afraid of ruining her chance to escape her mother's scheming through an advantageous marriage, Violet must keep her ability secret. The only person who can help her is Colin, a friend she's known since childhood, and whom she has grown to love. He understands the true Violet, but helping her on this path means they might never be together. Can Violet find a way to help this ghost without ruining her own chance at a future free of lies?

Review:

Ever since I saw the beautiful cover and the intriguing synopsis for Alyxandra Harvey’s Haunting Violet, I have been dying to read it, as if there is one thing I love its well-written historical fiction, especially if it involves something supernatural as well. Thankfully, this book perfectly fit the bill!

For Violet Willoughby, she is starting to become sick of the life she has been given. She cannot stand watching her mother constantly trick people into giving their money over for her so-called séances, which are the definition of fake, as well as dragging poor Violet and Colin, her mother’s young assistant, along for the ride. Better yet, she is also tired of her mother constantly telling her to marry a rich man when all Violet really wants to do is find someone she truly loves, someone who will let Violet be Violet. However, everything changes when Violet and her family are called to Lord Jasper’s house to help conduct séances for his guests’s entertainment. Soon enough Violet is involved in a murder mystery involving a snobby, elitist society girl and her dead twin sister who Violet is actually able to see. Will Violet be able to save the day before someone else is killed? Or will Violet soon become shark’s bait herself? And will Violet ever be able to get out of her mother’s plans for the future? Only time and more pages can tell in this mystery that will have nearly any reader thinking, “Who did it?”

From start to finish, I adored and rooted for several characters in Haunting Violet including Violet, of course. Strong yet sweet, Violet is a girl who has her head on her shoulders but yet isn’t afraid of letting her heart lead her way sometimes. It was always fun to see Violet interact with the different society people, and for Violet to allow for her talents in spiritualism grow also, as this portion especially allowed for Violet’s coming of age. I also adored the addition of Colin, Violet’s adorable Irish love interest, as well as Elizabeth, Violet’s hilarious and headstrong best friend.

The plot of Haunting Violet was also intricate. Not only because of the complex murder mystery subplot, but also because of the sprit powers Violet possessed. The murder mystery especially kept me turning the pages, and even though I had a basic gist of who the murder was for a portion of the book, I still managed to be a little surprised at how everything turned out in the end. I also loved Violet’s romance subplot. Not only because it developed in a realistic speed but also because it wasn’t a main focus of the story.

Lastly, Alyxandra’s writing was great in this. I had only read one book by Alyxandra prior to this (Hearts at Stake, the first in the Drake chronicles), and while I enjoyed her writing in that one, it took an even better turn in this book. I always felt like I was right there with the characters in the 1870s because of her descriptions, and her characters never failed to jump of the page and come to life. The only aspect I was a little shaky on was how I felt she modernized some of the dialogue between the characters at times.

Full of adventure, mystery, and romance, Haunting Violet is the perfect summer read. Best of all, it contains a solid, standalone ending, and what’s not to love about that?

Grade: B+

Haunting Violet is now out!

Source: Publicist at Bloomsbury/ Walker books- thanks Kate!

To find out more about Alyxandra and her books, be sure to to visit her website.

Book Trailer:

Hearts At Stake by Alyxandra Harvey

Summary:

On Solange’s sixteenth birthday, she is going to wake up dead. As if that’s not bad enough, she also has to outwit her seven overprotective older brothers, avoid the politics involved with being the only daughter born to an ancient vampire dynasty, and elude Kieran Black—agent of an anti-vampire league who is searching for his father’s killer and is intent on staking Solange and her entire family.



Luckily she has her own secret weapon—her human best friend Lucy—who is willing to defend Solange’s right to a normal life, whether she’s being smothered by her well-intentioned brothers or abducted by a power-hungry queen. Two unlikely alliances are formed in a race to save Solange’s eternal life—Lucy and Solange’s brother Nicholas, and Solange and Kieran Black—in a dual romance that is guaranteed to jump start any romance-lover’s heart.

Even fans of the genre who’ve seen it all will find a fresh read with kick-butt characters and family dynamics that ring true for all brothers and sisters—vampire or otherwise.
 
Review:
 
While I'm always kind of hesitant to read anything involving vampires (with the exception of Vampire Academy and Evernight series, of course), I still decided to give Hearts At Stake a try and I have to stay that I was mostly pleasantly surprised with this new addition to the Vampire YA genre.


Hearts At Stake was told equally in the voice of two best friends- Lucy- the sarcastic and funny one that I had an easy time liking from the beginning - and Solange-  the quiet one who would rather do pottery and hang out with with Lucy then be a vampire princess. While both were pretty much well developed, I personally would have preferred the tale be told just from one girl's perspective because at times it was kind of hard to distinguish one from the other. Plus, as I've stated before, I'm not the biggest fans of stories told in multiple perspectives. Though, it did work okay and didn't detract from the overall story much.

The plot was interesting and easy to get in to because of the simple writing that flowed well. I loved the action, the sibling squabbles, and the romances that sprouted up throughout. Plus, the government system was mostly fresh and new even with the slight similarities it had with the Vampire Academy series
 
In all, Hearts At Stake is a pretty decent debut. I look forward to reading the next in the series which is due out next year.

Grade: B

Hearts At Stake will be released December 22, 2009!

Source: Publisher. Thanks Walker books!