To Kill A Fae Review | Jamie A. Waters

I thought the premise for this book sounded engaging. A blend of magic and adventure; romance and danger. While it was an enjoyable book, it also missed the mark by a fraction. The potential was huge, the delivery not quite as strong. Here’s my review on To Kill a Fae.

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Genre: Fantasy | Publisher: Jamie A. Waters | Date: 2019 | Buy it here*

Plot: The darkness holds more than just secrets…

Marked for death, Sabine escaped from her home more than ten years ago. 

But the Wild Hunt will never give up.

It should have been easy to stay hidden. All Sabine had to do was keep her head down, avoid telling anyone about her past, and above all else — not let her glamour drop. Even the best-laid plans eventually fall apart.

When a charismatic stranger arrives in the city, Sabine finds herself unwittingly drawn to him and the power she can sense hidden within him. Keeping her distance is nearly impossible, especially after a life debt is called due and she’s tasked into helping steal a rare artifact.

Sabine is the only one who can break the magical barriers protecting the item, but that means revealing the truth about her identity and exposing her darkest secrets.  Unfortunately, the Fae aren’t the only ones hunting her. And the most dangerous monsters aren’t always confined to the dark.

I received To Kill A Fae from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

To Kill A Fae Review

I enjoyed this book. The characters are engaging and the growing attraction between the main characters made it fun. There was some mass over-sexualisation of the main character, however. The pacing also felt a bit off at times with long trips down memory lane. Enjoyable, but didn’t blow me away.

Characters

There’s no denying the characters are an eclectic mix!

Our main character is Sabine, a fae with a secretive and complicated past. She’s powerful with both weapons and magic. Sabine is headstrong and knows her own mind, which makes her a fun protagonist. It’s hard to define some of her relationships but she cares deeply for those she’s close to.

Malek is an enigmatic stranger. He was my favourite character, but for a lot of the book, you’re held at an arm’s length. You know he is hiding his identity and a little too much was focused on his big secret. It felt he could have done more if this was revealed earlier.

Bane and Dax are demons, although I never felt I knew what that meant apart from an aversion to sunlight and possessiveness over Sabine. Dax’s attitude towards Sabine annoyed me. It was over-sexualised and made him hard to like, despite his potential as a good guy. It was overplayed and extreme, which also undermined Sabine.

There’s also a human witch and a pixie thrown in for good measure!

“You’re going to pull this nonsense now? We’re under siege here. Pull your heads out of your asses and focus, people. We don’t need to be fighting amongst ourselves.”

To Kill A Fae by Jamie A. Waters

Themes

At its core, this is a book about magic.

The main plot is focused around retrieving an artefact. As it’s revealed what this object is, you know it holds powerful magic.

But more intriguing is what the characters themselves can do. You’re led to understand Sabine is strong, although I never felt it was clear what the rules of the magic were or what she could do. It was refreshing she wasn’t omnipotent though and you saw the consequences of her magic.

Malek has power, even if I can’t say it’s magic per se. Same with Bane and Dax – you know they’re magical, but not what it means.

Secondary themes run throughout, with the budding romance between Sabine and Malek taking centre stage. It’s the classic case of secrets keeping lovers apart though, which was a touch predictable.

The danger felt like it was constantly overshadowed, which undermined the tension.

Writing

The writing is good, but not the strongest.

The main problem was the pacing. A lot of energy is focused on Sabine and Malek hiding things. There’s some deliberate skirting around the secrets so the reader remains in the dark, but it didn’t add intrigue.

There’s a lot of exposition and repetitive confrontations between characters, leaving me feeling like the book could be shorter and not lose any content.

Final Thoughts

To Kill a Fae is a solid read. It has its flaws and could’ve done with a faster pace. But the characters are generally likeable, the magic adds mystery, and I loved the different types of creatures that were involved. If you’re a fantasy fan, then you might enjoy this.

Grab your own copy!

Does this sound like your kind of book? Let me know!

You may also like:

• Book Review: Dragon Untameable by Ava Richardson
• Book Review: Lords of Deception by Christopher C. Fuchs

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