A Court of Honey and Ash (The Honey and Ice Series Book 1) by Kelly St. Clare and Shannon Mayer
A Fantasy Novel published by Hijinks Ink Publishing (07/06/21)
Summary:
“Pride and iron. Both destructive to the fae in ways I knew all too well.” (51% Kindle edition).
Alli is half-human and half-fae. She is an outcast in the fae society and grew up in the orphanage after her human mother died. She won’t let the prejudices of the fae keep her from training to be one of the best fighters so she can place highly in the fae society. She is on an upward trajectory in life, overcoming the circumstances of her birth, when the ancestral home of the fae disappears and she’s the one being blamed. She has no choice but to flee. The only way to clear her name is to find out what really happened to Underhill.
Keywords:
Fantasy, Metaphysical, New Adult, Folklore, Fairy, Fae, Alaska, Friendship, Romance, Fighting, Power, King and Queen, Realm, Magic
My Review:
I almost put this book down in the first few chapters. It was written like the middle of a book, a movie’s musical montage of a hero’s final test. I really, really wanted more intriguing sensory details and character building in these first few chapters. Because the narrative moved so fast, I didn’t feel like I really connected with Allie, nor did I understand or empathize with her. The author tells me that Allie is somewhat of a loner, an outcast in society, but she has some very loyal friends – a best friend even. Allie is supposed to be an underdog, someone to root for, someone with a lot to overcome and prove to her society but she didn’t feel like much of an underdog. She has amazing fighting skills, great friends, and the fae/humans who aren’t prejudiced immediately like and help her. I didn’t feel much of a connection to Allie.
I didn’t like how Cinth was described every time she appeared. The sexualization/overly physical descriptions were disconcerting. Most of the physical descriptions were concentrated on her chest. Cinth seemed like a simplified character and I wanted more personality and background on her. I wanted more character building in general from this novel.
The way the plot is revealed slowly as Allie tries to figure out what happened to Underhill and the mystery behind all the secrets of the fae kept me reading until the end. The hint of romance was the most intriguing part of the book. I think my favorite character was Drake. He seemed like he had the most interesting backstory and I really, really enjoyed every scene with him and Allie.
I really liked the plot twist that connects Alli to Underhill and thought this twist was very creative and gave the plot a deeper level of fascination.
This novel was published by Hijinks Ink Publishing on 7/6/2021 and is available on Amazon here.
TL;DR Star Rating: 3.75
Links for more information:
Rachel Author Barnard 