Tithe (Modern Faerie Tales #1)

I’ve read several books on fearie with similar theme by Raconteur, Neighbors, Wheeler, McIsaac, Drummond, Moore, etc – and lots of other books by Holly Black so this had to be a good combo. This one was similar of the idea of a teen girl human with lot’s of teen angst issues but in this one was certainly a twist similar to Drummond’s Druid series in which she finds herself being part of something from childhood she didn’t realize she is born into – not just an outsider. The further she goes she realizes more and more she goes into a rabbit hole and the the worse things get for she and her friends. But on the other hand she does meet a love interest along the way so nothing so bad about that. Overall a pretty interesting story with political intrigue between the Seelie and Unseelie Courts/Rulers and the main character Kaye that kept my interest all the way through.

Kaye follows her band singer mother from crappy bar to crappy bar in northeastern US. Moms an alcoholic; Kaye picks up after her and holds herself together by working in dumps and shoplifting. But she holds memories of her New Jersey childhood that provide a toehold into a different world; one containing not so imaginary friends. When they return to Jersey to live with her grandmother, this other world Faerie comes to find her. Soon after she is immersed in a cruel and beautiful conflict between warring factions of magical peoples. The first of three in a trilogy, Tithe is an exceptional story about a troubled girl coming to terms with her real identity. Kaye is well drawn, exotic but relatable, and the story line executed to perfection. Holly Black deftly swings between the battered environment of the urban poor and the dark and exotic banquets of the Fey. Highly recommended for fans of urban fantasy; read with dark red wine and rich purple fruits.

I read Tithe by Holly Black randomly after I saw that there was going to be a read-a-thon (#Faireathon) of Hollys fairy books. Ive meant to read a book by Holly Black since Cruel Prince was released but never made time for it. Now I can catch up until her next books releases.

Overall, this book was interesting to read, and I look forward to reading the next Modern Fairie Tale book next month during the read-a-thon. This book wasnt my favorite book, but it had an interesting storyline to it with the main character Kaye finding out who she truly is in this book. Although, this book is written during the earlier 2000s. There were times I was going to put this book down and not finish it on how certain characters were portrayed in it. I had to remind myself its a fictional book and is not the real world. I did enjoy the male lead in this book Roiben even though he is a dark character at first. Kaye though was a troubled character who I didnt like a couple of times in the story. She was selfish at times. Her mother is focused on herself in the story, and she doesnt care what her daughter Kaye does with her life. Her grandmother tries to be strict with her, but Kaye is a teenager that likes to talk back and not listen to her elders.

The character Kaye has seen the fairy world for a while, especially when shes back in town with her grandmother, while her mother gets back on her feet. No one believes Kaye at first until they end up in the crossfires with the fairy world. Kayes friends in the fairy world mentioned the Tithe that the Unseelie court is looking at doing to have the other faires work with them. Kaye is going to end up being apart of the Tithe, even though shes not really what they are looking for since she has a secret. The Seelie court and Unseelie court are not what they seem, and the main squeeze Roiben is what kept me reading the story. Hes one of the knights for the Unseelie Court, and he is a force to reckon with in the story. I adored his character and looked forward to reading more about him in the third book of the Modern Fairie Tales.

I did enjoy where the story was going in Tithe. The Tithe is explained in detail in the book. Some serious issues arise in the book that I wont go into detail for my review. I dont want to spoil it for anyone that hasnt read the book. If you are a fan of Holly Black, then I recommend this book. Please bear in mind this book was written earlier in the 2000s though.

Story Rating: 3.5 stars.
Standalone or part of series: Standalone.
Do I recommend this book? Yes.
Will I read other books from the author? Yes.
Tropes/Elements: Fairies; Magic

I was told about this story and had heard the author is well regarded, so decided to read this. The beginning was kind of intriguing, but I didn’t really like the main character, and as the story progressed I found the tale less and less interesting. The plot moves along quickly, but all the descriptions are very shallow, with turns developing conveniently without any overall logic. Yes, perhaps faerie worlds don’t follow human logic, but there is nothing very original here. I especially disliked it when the human main character (spoiler alert!) turns out to be perhaps not human, after all. This reads like a story for 12 or 13 year olds, and that age-group may find it more interesting that an adult reader will.

You would be better served reading Melissa Marr’s books, Carrie Jones books and Kelley Armstrongs Omen series over this nonsense. I’m going to keep this short because my previous lengthy one clearly did not make the cut. So-

This was a dull hard slog of a book that just spins it’s wheels unnecessarily. The characters were uninteresting and equally annoying. The lead character Kaye was in dire need of a boot up the rear as well as a brain transplant. The so called ‘romance’ makes no sense when there is about as much passion between Kaye and Roibin as two single cell’s in a petri dish. Why does Roibin like Kaye? Hell if I know. Why does Kaye like Roibin? Because he’s really, really, pretty and she wants to ride him all night long. I wish I was kidding. Thankfully Roibin is about as passionate as an ice cube—unless you are his queen/mistress then the goo goo eyes come into play, which ticks Kaye off. There is no emotional build between these two and their so called romance isn’t convincing at all. Even the moments concerning the fae are glossed over fairly quickly to return to Kayes creepy obsession with Roibin.

Multiple times Kaye abandons her friend in the company of the most dangerous creatures to save her own hide and betrays her friend Janet multiple times by, “Seeing where this is going” with her boyfriend/not boyfriend Kenny. The ‘shock reveal’s are easily spotted from the introduction of certain characters and comments made by Kaye. This book has all the subtlety of a ten car pileup. The motivations of the characters is also baffling. Why do the Unseelie insist on their tithe? What does it achieve? It just isn’t a good book, a good story and is devoid of even good characters. Failing all three, what does this book have? Very little if I’m being honest.

Galaxyaudiobook Member Benefit

- Able to comment

- List watched audiobooks

- List favorite audiobooks

- Bookmark will only available for Galaxyaudiobook member