Whenever I pick up a new book, it always starts off as being 3 stars in my head. 3 stars, to me, is an average score, one that straddles the line perfectly between condemnation and praise. While I read, the score has the potential to decrease, increase, or remain the same; it's a system that helps me stay neutral about a piece of work until I can make a more informed decision.I got about halfway through reading The Faerie Ring before I knew that it was unlikely those 3 stars would fluctuate. It's not a terrible book, but it's not amazing either. The first hundred pages are slow as molasses and even when I read past that point I still wasn't on the edge of my seat. There's a lot of back and forth that goes on with the plot. Very little action takes place, but I did appreciate the author's use of dialogue. I'm so finnicky about dialogue; I hate when there's too much and hate when there's too little. I hate when there are too many descriptors and I hate when there aren't enough. Hamilton nails it in this book, and I have to say, it makes a world of difference.Sadly, the actual language used in The Faerie Ring is a far cry from that of Victorian London. I'm no historian but even I know when something sounds anachronistic, and there are a lot of instances of that in this book. That distracted me quite a bit. Not only that, but the author expects us to suspend our disbelief to the point where a homeless orphan sneaking in and out of Buckingham Palace is totally normal. Why is there so little security there when she breaks in the first time? Furthermore, how is it that only ONE person calls her out as a thief the entire time she's there? I find it a stretch to say that she could sneak in and out of (what should be) a heavily secured place without being seen or questioned by the guards. It's not as if she's clean and dressed in fine clothing to divert attention; she obviously looks like she does not belong there.And that leads me to another annoying tidbit: she attends a ball at the palace, an event to which only the finest nobility is invited - and we're supposed to believe that no one recognizes that she's dressed in cheap clothing? Nah dude. Just... nah. They would notice right away. Like, right away. She would stand out like a sore thumb next to all of the extravagantly dressed women with their fine silks and jewels and shoes and hairstyles. There is NO WAY that anyone could throw on a pretty dress, put her hair up in pins and blend in at a royal ball. Especially not in Victorian London, where fashion was way more luxurious than it is today. And the fact that everyone she interacts with assures her that she's breathtakingly gorgeous (behind a mask, mind you) further solidifies the fact that Hamilton has a fundamental misunderstanding of the social order during such a period. The people who tell Tiki these things are either noblemen or princes, for God's sake! Correct me if I'm wrong but were royals in 1871 chummy with the lower class? I'll have to research that, but something tells me no. There wasn't all that much political correctness back then, no pressure from the media to mingle with commoners. Royals and nobles generally turned their noses up at the working and lower classes. Shit, they still do so today. They just aren't as open about it.Anyway, try to imagine someone with like, $40 to their name trying to buy items necessary for a ROYAL BALL. At best you could buy a dress from Target and hope to get some nice shoes on clearance. That still leaves the matter of jewelry, hair (which is unlikely to look appropriately styled when all you have is a bar of soap to wash it with), makeup, etc. There's more to it than what Hamilton describes, but no one says a word about it. She mentions that Tiki isn't wearing a crinoline (one of those hoop things worn underneath a dress), but it elicits nothing except an offhand comment. Not wearing one of those to a ball in 1871 would be more than uncommon, it would be downright strange. Makes me think of Jo in Little Women, refusing to dress up in frilly frocks to impress the rich. Do you think British royals would have treated her with respect, even affection? I realize I'm making a big deal out of this but it's common sense! Money plays a big part in our society and an even bigger part in high society, where people have nothing better to do than criticize everyone else. And do you know what rich people criticize more than anything? Appearance! Oy vey.Now that I'm done with my rant, I will say that I did enjoy the rest that the story had to offer. There's a lot of intrigue about the history of the fey and I really liked that Hamilton gave us the point of view of Prince Leopold. It provides a fresh perspective and it's relieving to know that he isn't a complete dunce. Believe it or not, I kind of like him more than Rieker. Is that weird? It's funny, I actually liked Rieker more than Leo at first and then the opposite became true by the end of the book. At first, Leo comes off as sort of conceited and bullheaded, while Rieker is this mysterious bad boy that Tiki has the hots for. But as the book goes on they develop into much different characters. Leo shows himself to be a gentleman with a reasonable, rational side. Rieker brings his walls down and confesses the truth behind his past, but it only serves to make the reader confused as to the motivations behind his actions. He has vast amounts of money, as well as his own three-story house, but the most he's ever done for his pickpocketing buddies is buy them some food every now and then. Sure, Rieker offers for Tiki and her family to come stay as guests at his house, but only after she and him profess their love for each other, and then he hastily adds that it will be temporary. He also comes up with an idea for opening up a school, and this sudden reveal of good guy Rieker just begs the question: would he offer the same kind of charity if he had fallen in love with a rich girl? I know, I know, it's not a requirement for rich people to donate to charity all the time. You're not evil if you want to spend your money on yourself and your loved ones. But it's not like he's using it for anything else, and he seems to have wayyy more than he needs or even wants. He lives in luxury and only chooses to escape when he feels overwhelmed by the thought of his dead family. Surely he could do more than feed a few mouths? I guess that's why Hamilton has him turn a new leaf at the end of the book, but it feels a bit flimsy and based entirely on his love for Tiki rather than honest philanthropy. His love for her in and of itself is flimsy - there are numerous times throughout the book where he grabs her arm and refuses to let go when she tells him to, touches her intimately before she has revealed her feelings for him, sees her get hurt and doesn't go over to check on her injuries; those little moments seem superfluous to most but to me they're sort of frustrating to read about. I try to give him the benefit of the doubt, saying he grabs her because he's looking at her birthmark, he touches her to try and comfort her, he doesn't check on her injuries because he doesn't want to give Larkin a chance to attack him, etc. But even though I tell myself those things, I can't ignore them either. So I'm on the fence about his character. I don't think he's a scumbag or anything, just that his portrayal as some perfect, selfless guy doesn't match up with his actions.I didn't even expect to write this much, I guess I had more opinions about it than I originally thought. I'm hoping that the next installment has more action because The Faerie Ring was a little too slow for my liking. I want more thrills, Hamilton! More thrills and more chills. :) This is the first book in a series and the first book by the author Kiki Hamilton.I really enjoyed the book, I loved the setting of Victorian England, the descriptions of London and Buckingham Palace were so well done that I felt as if were there with Tiki and her little family of orphans.This is adventure story that includes fairies, poor orphans, even members of the royal family and it centers around a mysterious beautiful ring.I had a wonderful time reading this book and I am looking forward to reading the others in this series.
What do You think about Tündérgyűrű (2012)?
Really want to read this but I can't get it on the kindle.
—juanjosegg
I couldn't put this book down. A fun and easy read.
—BOWEN
