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