Fae Hunter

“When the barriers were weak, they came in. They were smoke and mirrors. They were dust and mist. They stole into our minds as smoke under a door. They slid through our thoughts as oil in water. We welcomed them. We wanted them. We were them.
– Tales of the Faewald”

‘Fae Hunter (Tangled Fae #1)’ by Sarah K.L. Wilson was a really nice surprise. After a sea of reads last month that were often less than stellar, authors like her have really improved my outlook going into March.

The story is about a girl trained to be a hunter, named Allie and the twin she loses to the ‘Star Stones.’ Basically, the stones are a take on the faerie circles of lore and in the event where her sister is lost, the main character also loses her sight.

“It was the eyes. It was those dark, magnificent eyes that seemed to see all your secrets at once. They dreamed the dreams of devils and angels, suggesting that rays of sunshine could kiss the shadows and create something utterly new.”

With the fae sneaking into town and beginning to take anything they want, bit by bit, Allie struggles to find a way to stop them while the townsfolk blame her for the danger they’re in to begin with.

What really caught me off guard in this story is how likable I find the young huntress. Like any solid character she wrestles with blame (both internal and external), self-doubt, and personal setbacks. She’s young and sometimes she wants to give up, but she’s never whiny about it.. and whining is something I can’t stand in an MC.

She has few supporters in town. Hulanna, her sister, was the pretty, popular one. She’s the plain one, which of course is a pretty typical trope.. but she’s also the pragmatic one. She’s the type who just shoves down what’s getting to her and pushes on.. and you can’t help but root for her.

“You’re the thorns, Hunter. I’m light as a feather.”
I rolled my eyes to his laughter. “This is funny to you.”
“Like you wouldn’t believe.” His eyes widened innocently, and his smile became angelic.

Enter in the evil, yet amusing.. fae protagonist who tells Allie to call him ‘Scouvrel.’ His visage slipping back and forth between the usual beautiful fae appearance and something rotten and broken, I’m actually still uncertain which is true. I don’t know if one represents who he really is and one his image, or if it’s as simple as the glamor vs actual appearance. But he’s intriguing.. and even though you know better.. you can’t help but feel drawn to him and his wicked mouth.

There are many betrayals here and there throughout the story, both big and small. Also, there are lots of actions being taken that cause more issues by people who could have avoided them with just a little patience or faith in others. I found some brief, albeit unexpected brutality coupled with moments of beautiful imagery.

“Truth or lie?” I asked grumpily as I packed up my flint and knife. “You are cold without your shirt on in this icy wind.”
“Lie.” His tone was playful. “Only my heart is cold.”

Definitely give this title a try. It’s a really fun bit of dark fantasy and I’m pretty certain there’s more to Scouvrel we haven’t discovered yet. I suspect he’s glamored me a bit.. because I’m determined to find out.. and that means I’ll be off looking for the next book too, ‘Fae Captive,’ in hopes I can find the answers I seek.

(I received this title as an ARC. All opinions are mine and freely given.)

*I received a free copy of this book which I voluntarily chose to write an honest review for.

What a great start to a new series this book is! We get introduced to this world where there are twin sisters who have been raised to believe that the Fae are just stories. One sister does not agree though and convinces the other to do a dance with her by the circle of stones that are forbidden to be around. An innocent dance turns into so much more when the instigating sister is taken by one in the ring after the dance and the one left behind is injured losing her sight. One crazy story follows as she tries to adapt to what happens then and next with twists on every page. The fantastic writing style really let’s you picture it all as it happens totally hooked to the story until you hit the final page wondering what will happen next with that doozy of an ending. Perfect for fans of fantasy and the Fae I must say. I really liked it so I give it 4/5 stars.

I’ve seen this book around lately, and after seeing a few mentioned in different places, I took a closer look at the title, and snagged a review copy after reading the blurb! I’m so glad I did, I wasn’t sure I’d like it since it’s a new title by a new-to-me author, so I didn’t have anything to go on, but like some of my other ‘golden’ finds, I found I liked it that way! This is one I loved seeing unfold as I read, so going in ‘blind’ was ideal and I’m so glad I took a chance and picked it up! Such a fun Fae/paranormal read that has a little of everything, and is full of surprises!

I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.

Fae Hunter is a Young Adult/New Adult Fantasy novel Book 1.

Book Cover: 5* – WOW! Just wow. This cover is amazing and I love how the main character, Alastru “Allie” Hunter looks. I was a little worried at first as not all books with the main character on the cover actually looks like how they are described in the book. Well no worries there clearly, because as soon as Allie mentions some physical traits on her, I was able to picture what was on the cover VERY clearly. Not to mention I was super curious about the glowing cage. No worries there also as the book explains that too. Oh, the cover also made me curious about the surrounding characters in grey tones. I think those are fae characters we will meet throughout the series, because I haven’t seen all the characters in this one book alone.

Summary/Tagline: 3* – Hmmm, the summary is a simple, there’s bad things happening because fae and the main character, Alastru(Allie), has to solve and save everyone in her village and save her twin sister . . . even though her village doesn’t deserve her at. All!

Characters: 4* – Now to be honest, the 4 stars is all for Alastru because the characters from her home village, Skundtown, are just the worst. Her supposed friend, Olen, isn’t really a friend and is more like a selfish brat that blames Allie now for ALL the bad things that have happened to the village, even though those same bad things have happened to Allie as well, not because they ARE her fault, it’s more like s*** keeps happening, and she sometimes happens to be there for it, but the town doesn’t care and would much rather impede on a partially blind girl who is literally trying to save her town, her father, her twin sister, AND Olen’s father from the Faewald(Faerie world). I’m not kidding, Allie goes through so much and is instead looked down upon, mocked, name called, etc., but she keeps going because at least she’s trying to help, the rest of the town would much rather now forget the whole bad things are happening and assume it’s because Allie is trying to stop the fae/mess with the fae, and ignore the people that have been taken, one of which is the towns Hunter. Allie steps up to be that, and they take that away from her too, because bad things keep happening because you do things so stop doing things . . . Yeah she basically says f*** that and continues trying to save her family and friend . . . Well at least she ends up saving one of them. Allie also ends up capturing a fae near the beginning of the story who is a . . . interesting character. To be honest, I can’t say if I like him or just get creeped out by him, it could be both, but I’m curious how he turns out come book 2.

World Building: 3* – Hmmm, now this one was a tricky one, but because the magic and fae are VERY new to Alastru(Allie), she is more learning as she goes, and we do get to learn a bit about the fae. I can tell the author did some research on faeries from Celtic mythology, the author just also added that faes in her books are such terrible terrible beings lol. It was interesting, but nothing drew me in.

Story: 4* – The story starts when Alastru(Allie) and her twin sister Hulanna go into the woods behind their village and dance at a circle made up of stones, more for fun, and then, well, the circle opens and someone comes out. A fae princely looking man/male centers himself in the center of the circle, successfully seduces his sister into joining him in the Faewald(Faerie World), and that’s that. Allie’s sister is taken and she WAS supposed to be taken too, but despite telling her twin not to listen, not to go, the seduction doesn’t work on Allie and she runs from the 2nd fae that stepped through the circle after Hulanna went through. Suddenly, Allie hits something and goes blind, partially actually. After waking, she comes to find that her sight is different, not blind to the world, not fully, but its like she can see another side of people, a 2nd sight as Allie’s mother calls it, that also allows her to see magical trails to certain magical objects to help Allie find the faes, stop them, and save her sister. Problem was, because she decided to follow a trail TO an objects, her father and Olen’s father, end up stepping through the stone circle as well, assuming Allie went through to Faewald to Hulanna. Now, Allie must save more people from the fae, but she’s not going to do it alone. As I said earlier, Allie goes through so much to try and save her family and village from the fae, and gets almost nothing back but hostility and blame. The things that happen to her and the town, in my opinion, is not her fault, especially when its demanded by the village that she try and do something, and when she does, people just scuff and say do harder or stop someone else will do it better. The village never liked Allie and constantly compared her to her identical twin sister, who is apparently better in every way, even “beauty”. Because of such mockery from her town, she has chosen to distance herself from them, which has only made them dislike her even more. Honestly, I hate this town and feel like Alastru can do SO much better than the people in it lol.

Over All: 4* – I very much like Alastru(Allie), but I don’t care for the people of Skundtown. Her mother is such a caring and loving mother who is also forced to deal with a town turning on her as well because of what’s happening. Allie and her mother don’t deserve the s*** the people keep blaming them for, but I guess living in a medieval like time period where people only like you enough so long as things go right and you play the part THEY prefer you to play only to quickly turn on you once things go bad. It’s frustrating and annoying, but Alastru actually makes me bare it with how clever and quick witted she is. Not to mention, her banter with her fae prisoner was pretty good. They were interesting and made me chuckle a few times lol. The series is complete at 5 books long and I recommend this book if you want a female protagonist who is strong, or strong willed as I should say, clever, and quick witted while also having such patience to deal with a ungrateful, cowardly village, but is also a teenage girl who also gets bothered when such hateful words actually hurt and “friends” who easily abandoned her once things get tough. I like that, Alastru can be strong, but she’s also human. I think other readers will enjoy following her story so far. Also, I very much recommend just collecting the series as a whole, because that cliffhanger SUCKS! Lol.

I really loved Fae Hunter. I liked the author’s attention to detail and descriptions. It was easy for me to imagine Allie’s world and become completely immersed in her tale.
Allie starts a little naive but she’s quick to figure out the things she doesn’t know. Learning from her mistakes along the way. I admire her determination, resilience and loyalty to the ones she loves.
I could see Allie becoming quite a formidable opponent as her character grows stronger with knowledge and experience.
I haven’t quite made my mind up about Scourvel but I think I like him.
I’m eager to find out how the next part of Allie’s journey will play out and if my feelings toward Scourvel will change.
I would definitely recommend this book.

Wow, this was even better than I’d imagined!! I loved the darker themes, twisted games, and intense emotions I felt. Wilson has crafted a unique, imaginative story that will suck you in and have you questioning everything. I also loved Wilson’s wit in writing and dialog and felt it balanced the heavier events well. If you love fae, adventure, gray characters, and a hint of romance, don’t miss this! It was fantastic! I felt the narrator did a good job of capturing the characters’ personalities and conveying the depth and darker themes of the story very well. While I initially wasn’t enthralled with her voice, this changed as the story progressed and I feel her voice is well-suited to the story. I would definitely listen to her narrate again.

*I read this as an audiobook.

Fae Hunter by Sarah K.L. Wilson is the first book in her new series. Instead of giving us the stories that we have become accustomed to, Sarah K.L. Wilson is giving us the stories that have slipped away back into the shadows. The times of where people were warned about the fae, to not trust them, that they were dangerous, and would steal you away giving the opportunity. Allie is about to come face to face with the hard fact that the legends…held more truth than they wanted to believe.
Fae Hunter is a fast-paced and gripped story that pulls you in from the beginning and leaves you wanting more by the end. Allie and her sister do something that they know they should not do and pay the price. But it’s not just one who pays…they both do. Now, there is a fae on the loose and they are wily and dangerous. Thanks to an accident while she was trying to run Allie has lost her sight, but she has gained something else in turn…another way to see. She sees things that others cannot, but instead of it gaining her some ground with the village and her family, she seems to lose and be dismissed. When she embarks on a brief quest for answers, she finds that it has cost her yet more.
If I had to say whether there was anything that I didn’t like about this book I’d have to say that there isn’t anything. I just want more! Allie is an interesting character and I find that she fits rather well into this story. She has her moments, but that just makes her feel more real as a character. She comes off as well developed in this book and engaging as she seeks to find answers buried in the rhymes and stories that they were taught as children.
If you are a fan of Sarah K.L. Wilson then I highly recommend that you pick up this book. It is a refreshing change from the regular fae stories that are prevalent everywhere. We get a nice darker twist that shows that not all beauty is true. I am rating this book 5 out of 5 stars. I can’t wait for the next book.

Fae Hunter by Sarah K. L. Wilson is a great read in the world of the fae!
It’s dark and twisty and just a really great storyline. I really like as the lead character, Allie, grew and overcame the many obstacles that she faced.
Looking forward to the next in this series!

I stumbled across this author, grabbed this book thinking it could be fun, and then couldn’t put it down! The imagery was amazing, the characters had depth and were interesting, and it was full of unpredictable twists. It was original, and I appreciated that, as this genre can be full of the same story told a million different ways. Not this one. If you enjoy stories of the Fae, you’ll love this!

I thoroughly enjoyed this fantasy with a new to me author. I found it entertaining and the pacing kept me reading all night so I could finish it quickly.
Allie is a very determined person even when she is faced with the impossible and she is my favorite part, but I also found myself frustrated with some of her choices. The small village setting is harsh and filled with challenge after challenge for the lead.
I found the plot involving fae written in an intriguing and unique way. We are only given a small sampling of them but they are cruel and not glamorous. This has been compared to An Enchantment of Ravens and I would agree although there is less of a focus on romance compared to it. I suspect the next will contain more and I cannot wait to read the next book.