Thursday, March 1, 2012

Stolen Away by Alyxandra Harvey

Title: Stolen Away
Author: Alyxandra Harvey
Publisher: Walker Childrens
Publication Date: January 17, 2012
Source: Thanks Netgalley and Walker!
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Summary: 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: Stolen Away is a unique spin on Faery lore that is done exceptionally well. Though there were some things that I didn't care for in Stolen Away is still proved to be a fun and enjoyable read!

One of my main problems with Stolen Away is the characters. I just didn't understand the need for alternating chapters between Eloise and Jo. Jo, in my mind, had almost nothing to do with the story. She's was just Eloise's friend. She really didn't have to be a main character. It would have been better, though, if you could tell the difference between the two narrations. They read very similar.

The beginning of the story was a tad slow at first, and I was so lost! I felt like I was just thrown into Stolen Away. It was clumsy and just a tad uncomfortable.

But, after awhile, I was drawn into the plot and the book just flew! The faery plot line gets very intriguing.  It's hard to put down Stolen Away after you're quite a way through the book, because it actually gets good! The end was simple and sweet, too. I definitely enjoyed that.

There was also some romance that I liked. I did not enjoy Jo's insta-love but Eloise's romance was awfully cute! I adored it! Eloise and Jo did grow on me after awhile but they just were SO similar, voice wise.

Overall, Stolen Away is a fun read. There's nothing too spectacular in it in terms of characters but I did appreciate the plot line and Harvey's writing. Since Haunting Violet is such a favorite of mine, I'll probably pick up more of her books. Yet, I'm just disappointed that I didn't like this one as much as I could have.

Rating: 3.5 stars

4 comments:

Christy @ TheReaderBee said...

I thought this was a quick, fun read as well. :) I totally know what you mean about Jo's insta-love. I totally could have done without that. :) Great review!

Lisa said...

I do enjoy alternating POVs but I agree that all the sections need to relate to the other all theme of the story. Otherwise it just gets confusing.

I am so over insta-romance. I feel like it's becoming a trend and I don't like it.

Mary @ BookSwarm said...

Hum, I wonder why the author felt it necessary to alternate POV's, especially if one of the characters isn't really key to the story. Love a good faery story!

Lauren M said...

I agree with you on the characters. Jo and Eloise were essentially the same person. I was disappointed with Stolen Away on the whole, since I (like you) completely adored Haunting Violet. The Drake Chronicles books are good as well. I guess it was just Alyxandra's turn to write a "meh" book. =/

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