Tithe: A Modern Faerie Tale, Book 1

If you believe in fairies, or wished you did, this is the book to read. A wonderful story and an ending which is both satisfying and unexpected. In fa

Kaye, ordinary girl finds out she isn't so ordinary.....This was such a fun read! Enchanting even! I was so hooked!The world building was superb, the plot, fabulous and the characters were very likeable...........One in fact more than the others.....Roiben! I'm not ashamed to say I was rooting for him and Kaye, and I'm not ashamed to say that he stole my heart!'Everything is balance. Everything is ritual. Everything is pain.'

I recently read a short story by Holly Black that blew me away, so I was really looking forward to reading one of her full length books. I enjoyed this and read through it quickly, but I was a bit underwhelmed.There are two main things that separate this story of a girl dragged into an ancient conflict between two warring fairy courts from the average teen paranormal romance/urban fantasy.First, the realistic bits and the female lead are very gritty - there's trailer parks and shoplifting and smoking and swearing. Our heroine is a high school dropout. From what I've seen in reviews, lots of readers are either offended by this or love its edginess. I was fairly ambivalent, but I appreciated the fact that the author had gone for a slightly unusual setting and characters.Second, in a similar vein, the world of Faerie is incredibly dark (particularly for a YA book though even for an adult book) with all sorts of tortures and cruelties and depravities. I thought this bit was well done, with a real sense of both magic and danger created.Beyond that though, the book felt a bit "same old same old" with a human girl who turns out to be special and a dark-but-sexy non-human love interest. Don't get me wrong, I love that sort of plot, and I still think authors can do new and interesting things with it, but here, there was nothing that really captured my imagination. For me, this type of book stands or fails on the strength of the love interest, and though Roiben-the-hot-Faerie had an interesting back story and internal conflict, he just didn't leave me besotted and swooning. Equally, I just couldn't quite understand the relationship that developed.I liked some of the plotting and politicking, but some parts of the plot didn't quite work for me. In particular, it seemed a little inconsistent about what Kaye knew at any given time and a little all over the place in terms of some supporting characters' motivations and loyalties. The idea that Kaye had seen fairies since she was little rather than discovering their existence as a teenager was an interesting one, but it sometimes almost made me feel like I was missing a first volume, or at least a prologue, and sometimes made her a bit too blase about the whole thing.Overall then, I wasn't wowwed, but this was still a fun read with a dark and gritty edge, and I'm giving the sequel a chance.

There were two reasons why this book amazed me so much. The first is that, being the first book by Holly Black that I have read, I was surprised at just how good it is. Secondly, I was completely amazed to see that it is actually supposed to be for children. I would not even consider allowing a child of any younger than 15 reading this book. This is not the traditional fariy tale at all - the main female character is not sweet and innocent; she is headstrong and rebellious. The faeries are not traditional either - although they may have the appearance of pretty winged things from children's books that we all know and love, these are often wicked, devious and amoral. Even the knight in shining armor is not quite what he seems.The story is about Kaye, a sixteen year old with a single mother who is a band. Most of her life has been spent following her mum around the country on tour, usually looking after her as she drinks too much and sees various men. An attack on her mother after one of her gigs forces both of them back to Kaye's grandmother's house - a place where Kaye spent a lot of time during her childhood, and where she made friends with the faerie folk (or her imaginary friends as every else called them).Kaye's already messed up world is turned even more on its head when she discovers that she is not a mortal but actually a changeling (she was swapped with a pixie at birth).As Kaye returns to her childhood home and learns exactly who she is, she finds herself entangled in the faerie world as never before, only this time the faeries and things she expereinces are like nothing from her childhood.That is all of the stroy I am going to give you - there are many twists and turns, and it is better that you discover them yourself. All I will say is that this book will definitely be like nothing you have read before. It is a mixture of horror, folklore, magic and romance. The ending will more than likely surprise you (definitely in a good way though).If, unlike me, you have children, I would recommend you looking over the book and deciding if you think it is appropriate for them before letting them read - but if you decide it isn't, I recommend you keep this book for yourself, you will certainly enjoy it.

There are a couple of minor mistakes here that pulled me out of the narrative. That said I have binge read this in two days and rather enjoyed it. The blending of the fae and real world is rather well done and the book has a brisk pace that kept me interested.

If you like fantasy and grunge then you should like these books. Perfect for ages over the age of about 14 I'd say and is still one of my favourite books. Personally I like tithe and ironside slightly better than valiant (the sequel) but all three are wonderful and I would strongly recommend you read these. Imagery and the fey world are both wonderfully described and fleshed out and the characters are very engaging. Please read.

Holly Black has officially become one of my favourite authors of all times. Just when I thought that books like The Coldest Girl in Coldtown, The Cruel Prince, The Wicked King, Queen of Nothing and How the King of Elfhame learnt to hate stories were amazing books, I found myself discovering related stories to her Fae Folk series with this book. Loved her characters of this series. Corny, Kaye,Roiben and Louis will always live in my heart. Don't miss this story!

Habe das Buch vor kurzem zuende gelesen und es geliebt. Ich liebe sowieso Holly Blacks Bücher und wenn man die The Folk of the Air Reihe mochten, wird man dieses Buch auch mögen :)

This book was even better than the first time I read it. Many years ago. Thank you!!

good book

I have developed a recent faerie addiction, reading everything I can find relating to it! Tithe is my new favorite; it's dark, full of faeries and other supernatural beings, and addicting. I loved the plot and the characters. Holly Black has become a new favorite and I will be devouring more of her work asap.Basically the story revolves around Kaye, who has always had faery friends but no one has ever believed her. After moving away (from her childhood home and the faeries), she begins to think maybe it was all a daydream. Then her and her mother return home, only for her to reconnect with all things faerie. It isn't long before she meets Roiben, the dark faery Knight of her dreams. But things are never what they seem; is he really good and able to be trusted? Or is he one more bad boy Kaye needs to avoid? Of course, that whole relationship is moot compared to the faerie court planning to make a sacrifical lamb out of Kaye. I couldn't put this book down, and you won't be able to either!The only thing that dragged, for me, was the constant smoking. I don't smoke, and while it does bother me (irl), it usually doesn't bother me in books/movies. Until now. It seemed like everyone was constantly smoking, and as this is a book directed at YA, it seemed too make smoking way cooler than it was, and that really struck me wrong for my concern of younger readers. Smoking should never be glorified.But that said, it probably won't bother most people the way it did me, and even bothered by it I still give this book (and series) a glowing 5 star review as it is excellent. Pick the whole series up today or you'll be beating yourself up when you finish Tithe and don't have the next two!