Children of the Veil by Colleen Halverson – a Review

Children of the Veil by Colleen Halverson – a Review

 

Children of the VeilAmazon / Barnes & Noble / Kobo / BAM

Description:
Two worlds. One fate.

Elizabeth Tanner has one goal: to find her mother in whatever dimension she’s imprisoned. But to do that, she has to face her estranged father, and to do that, she needs a shot of whiskey…or seven. But after an attempt on her life and the return of her lost love, she wakes up with one hell of a hangover and a whole barrage of questions.

Finn O’Connell doesn’t know why the Fianna want him to aid Elizabeth in her search, but he’ll take any excuse to be near her again. Together, they dive headlong into the shadows of her mother’s secrets and find themselves embroiled in a Fae rebellion that will test Finn’s loyalties and their love.

With the Faerie realm verging on chaos, Elizabeth and Finn will embark on a quest that will lead them from the streets of Chicago to London’s seedy Fae underground. But rescuing Elizabeth’s mother means journeying to a place Finn can’t follow, and Elizabeth is forced to make a choice between finding her at last or saving her own soul.

 

Review;

Finally, the next installment of Colleen Halverson’s Aisling Chronicles is here!! I’ve been waiting on pins and needles to see what’s in store next for our hero and heroine, Elizabeth and Finn. 

Children of the Veil did not disappoint as it continues to follow their adventures in the Fae world.  Ms. Halverson continues with her rich   world building by bringing us into the seedy underground of the Fae community and introducing us to new and interesting characters, as well as adding more twists, turns and dire circumstances for both Elizabeth and Finn.

How Elizabeth and Finn manage to find time for themselves to further their relationship and Fae/Trinity laws be damned is beyond me, because I felt like I was running a marathon reading this one with everything that was happening. There were a few times Ms. Halverson had my head spinning and my stomach tied up in knots over the events and actions of characters in this one.  This book flew by as I read it, and before I knew it is was over and once again left me hanging.  Umm, Ms. Halverson, can you please do me a favour and stop with the cliffhangers already!!!  LoL, yes I know I’m an impatient reader, and don’t like having to wait around for the next installment to find out what’s going to happen next.

As I said this book is filled with fast paced action, battles, struggles with one’s conscience, romance, and pretty much everything but the kitchen sink tossed in for good measure.

Children of the Veil picks up a few months down the road from where the first book ended and poor Elizabeth is not in a good way. She’s depressed over losing Finn, not knowing what happened to or where her mother is and feeling like a failure where her Aisling powers are concerned.  My heart was breaking for our heroine and was thankful when Finn came to her rescue.  He was sent by the Fianna on a mission to help her seek her mother.  Thus the adventure begins and keeps the reader turning page after page.  As their adventure unfolds Elizabeth must face many obstacles in the hunt for her mother and it’s through this hunt we learn just who and what the Children of the Veil are.  They were a secret society of Fae creatures who didn’t like certain laws and actions being placed upon the Fae community. They were pretty much rebels, and we also learn that Elizabeth’s mom was a part of this society.  So I guess we can say the apple doesn’t fall far from the tree where Elizabeth is concerned because to me she is a little rebel, and the archaic laws of the Fae and Trinity College be damned where she is concerned.  We get to see more into her mother’s life as she becomes an Aisling, her parents life, how much her mom and dad loved each other and Elizabeth, but just wanted to keep her safe from the rules and regulations that come with being Fae.  It gives us a much better understanding of Elizabeth and how she is able to balance her humanity with her Fae powers.  One thing I wasn’t a fan of however, was the end result for Elizabeth and her mom.  I get why Ms. Halverson did what she did in that scene, but at the same time I’m not happy with it.  It does however, spur Elizabeth on to be the leader she needs to be for her Fae community, and with Finn at her side loving and supporting her, she readies herself for the rebellion that’s coming. 

Children of the Veil once again is a well thought out story with creative storytelling, an eclectic and rag tag band of characters coming together for the same purpose, with suspense, drama and intrigue at every turn.  If the first two books in the Aisling Chronicles are testament to Ms. Halverson’s writing abilities, then I know I’m in for a wild ride in the next installment as our troops get ready to battle in a Fae rebellion.  Just please Ms. Halverson, no more cliffhangers, I want Elizabeth and Finn’s HEA, they’ve been through enough already.

Until next time, happy reading!!

Reviewed by Marcie

Copy provided by Publisher

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Through the Veil by Colleen Halverson – a Review

Through the Veil by Colleen Halverson – a Review

 

Through the VeilAmazon / Barnes & Noble / Kobo / BAM

Description:
Elizabeth Tanner is no Tinkerbell, and her life is no fairy tale. Broke and drowning in student loans, the one thing she wants more than anything is a scholarship from the Trinity Foundation. But after the ancient Irish text she’s studying turns out to be more than just a book, she becomes their prisoner instead. And when Trinity reveals Elizabeth is half-Fae, she finds herself at the center of a plot to save the magical races of Ireland from a brutal civil war.

As Commander of Trinity’s elite warriors, Finn O’Connell isn’t used to having his authority challenged. He doesn’t know whether to punish or protect the infuriating young woman in his custody. When he discovers the Dark Fae want to use Elizabeth’s abilities to control the source of all power in the universe, he’ll risk everything to help her.

At the mercy of Trinity and enslaved to the Dark Fae, Elizabeth finds herself alone on the wrong side of an Irish myth thousands of years in the making. Refusing to be a pawn in their game, Elizabeth has to fight her way back to the man she loves, but to do so, she must wage her own war against the magic that binds her.

 

Review:

Through the Veil is Colleen Halverson’s debut novel, and for a debut novel I was rather impressed, even though she left me annoyed and wanting to pull out my hair after reading the last page. If anyone knows me in regards to my reading habits, cliff hangers in series are not my fancy, as I hate waiting to see what’s going to happen next. Let me just say, I’m on pins and needles waiting for the next installment to Ms. Halverson’s Aisling Chronicles. I need to know what’s in store for our hero and heroine, Finn O’Connell and Elizabeth Tanner. Things just can’t end the way they did in book one. They deserve their happily ever after and screw the archaic laws of Trinity and Amergin. Don’t even get me started on that character, I absolutely hated him and in my books, he’s a villain and not on Finn or Elizabeth’s side. I’d love nothing more then for Elizabeth to use her aisling powers on him and send him off to some dark cave or nether region never to be seen again. But I digress, and sorry for my ranting. As you can see Ms. Halverson definitely captivated my interest with Through the Veil and has earned herself a new fan.

At first I was torn with our hero Finn and how he was towards poor Elizabeth who knew nothing of her Fae heritage. He drove me absolutely batty with his double treatment of Elizabeth. One minute he was sweet, charming and falling for her, then the next he’s cold, detached and trying to push her away. It wasn’t until midway through the story, and then near the very end where it all falls into place why he was acting that way. Being the gallant hero he is, Finn was trying to protect both him and Elizabeth from the archaic laws of Trinity and the Fae world. I was heart broken to learn of their fate should their relationship be discovered. In the end Finn did win my heart and I wanted nothing more then for him to find true love and happiness with Elizabeth.

Elizabeth is such a well written heroine. She’s strong, intelligent, feisty, with a vulnerability that draws you too her. Having known nothing of her Fae heritage poor Elizabeth is literally thrown into a whole new world she knows nothing about, but bravely accepts everything that is thrust upon her. One thing I did like was the way Ms. Halverson balanced Elizabeth’s humanity with her Fae powers. As she’s learning her Fae powers as an aisling(a creature able to travel between worlds/dimensions) she never forgets her humanity and the rights or wrongs of her actions in using her powers. Elizabeth is quickly becoming a force to be reckoned with in the Fae world and I can’t wait to see where her aisling powers will take her.

Through the Veil is a well thought out story, with rich world building and twists and turns at every corner surrounding our heroine and hero. The character development for not only our leading couple, but also the amazing cast of secondary characters helps propel the story forward and keep the reader intrigued and hanging on every word uttered by our amazing cast of characters. It’s definitely a page-turner and you don’t realize how fast a read Through the Veil is until you’ve read the last line and scream, NOOOOO it can’t end that way. Yes that was my response to the last line of this story, LOL!! Okay, so I like my HEA’s tied up nice and neat at the end of good story, what can I say I’m a romantic at heart. 🙂

Until next time, happy reading everyone!

Reviewed by Marcie

Copy provided by Publisher

 

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