The Faerie Ring: Review

Title: The Faerie Ring

Author: Kiki Hamilton

Release Date: September 2011

Published By: Tor Teen

Pages: 352

Goodreads Rating: 4.08 stars

Review: It's 1871, and Tiki lives with a group of orphans in a deserted hideaway in London where their only hope of surviving is to pick pockets. One night she steals a innocent-looking ring, and sets off a chain of cataclysmic events that could lead to war with the Fey. A rebel group of faeries want to break the ring by using dark magic and blood - that is to say, Tiki's blood.

One aspect of THE FAERIE RING that I really loved was the premise. There are so many fairy (or should I say "faerie") books out there, but this one was quite original in that it had both faeries and a historical setting in London, not to mention that the protagonist was a tough orphan instead of a high school girl.

It wasn't just the premise that was good but the writing and characters. The narration flowed smoothly and, for the most part, maintained by attention, and the characters were endearing and dimensional. I especially liked Rieker, though that may have a lot more to do with his attractiveness (and he's a thief, too) than anything else. Still, cheers for a romance that wasn't like one in every other faerie book out there.

This book wasn't completely perfect, though. What mainly bothered me was the lack of faery lore or really much involvement from the faeries at all. They were present in the book, but almost completely in the background with very few direct interactions with them, and I felt like this was an aspect of the book that should have been brought more to the spotlight.

All in all, THE FAERIE RING was a unique novel with a fascinating setting and honestly portrayed characters, and of course, a lovely romance. The only real downside is that the actual faerie involvement in the plot is much lower than you might expect, and since that part of the book was interesting, I found that to be quite disappointing. Still, if you're looking for a fairy book unlike every other one out there, definitely give this one a whirl!


I received a free copy of this book from the publisher. This in no way affected my review.