City of Fae by Pippa DaCosta

3 "So-So" Stars 

 

Back Cover Blurb -

 

From the moment Alina touches London's hottest fae superstar, breaking one of the laws founded to protect all of her kind, her fate – and the fae – close in.

Below ground, the fae High Queen plots to claim the city as her own and places her pawns, ready for the battle to come. A battle she cannot lose, but for one small problem – Alina. There are four ancient keepers powerful enough to keep the queen in her prison. Three are dead. One remains … And to fight back, Alina risks sacrificing everything she has come to love.

This New Adult urban fantasy is packed with action and suspense and will have you yearning for more forbidden fae romance.

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I absolutely adore fantasy books, especially one’s that involve the Fae, so I was crazy excited when I read the blurb on the back of this book and could not wait to get my little book nerd hands on it. The book boasts of having such things as forbidden romance, intrigue, a strong heroine, evil villains and a lot of action…what’s not to like right? Well, the problem with making such claims, is that you set a reader’s expectations really high and if the book fails to deliver on any of those promises, then it can turn out to be a real disappointment. City of Fae was not a complete disappointment to me, but it didn’t make good on all the things it promised, so instead of being an excellent read for me, it ended up being just so-so.

 

If you have read even a few books involving the Fae, then there are a few things that you already know about them. Most Fae are beautiful, they are tricksters through and through and you never, ever, ever mess with the Fae or Fae royalty without severe punishment, torture or even death. There are a lot of other things that are left up to the imagination of the author, like do they have pointed ears? Or, do their eyes glow different colors? But the main abc’s of Fae, typically stay the same. So with that being said, you can understand why I was so disappointed in the lack of ferocity and cunning in our antagonist, I have come across mere human antagonists in books that were a lot meaner and scarier than was the case in this one. All I can say is that it was very disappointing.

 

Okay, with that little rant out of the way, let me get to the good stuff. The story line was very different and I liked that, it wasn’t one that was played out and I was genuinely interested in seeing what was going to happen next and see what turns the story was going to take. I liked the cast of characters for the most part and even though some fell short of their potential in my opinion, some of the others were interesting enough and kept the story flowing. Though this one ended up being just a so-so read for me, it wasn’t for lack of action or plot.

 

Overall, I would recommend this book as a good “in between” read. One of those books you pick up while looking for your next great read or waiting on the release of your next favorite book or first time readers of this genre. I think it comes down to personal preference and expectations on this one. If you go into this one without much expectation, you might really enjoy it, but hard core Fae and fantasy fans might find themselves terribly disappointed.

Happy reading, until next time…

I would like to thank NetGalley and Bloomsbury Publishing Plc for the ARC of this title in exchange for an honest review.