We are so excited to be a part of the blog tour for The Vanishing Throne by Elizabeth May! This book and this series is so amazing you guys! Before we share our interview with Elizabeth how about learning a bit about the book!
The Vanishing Throne by Elizabeth May (Website, Twitter, Facebook, Goodreads)Published by Orion Publishing Company on June 21, 2016
Pages: 368
Format: ARC
The second book in the Falconer trilogy is packed with surprises and suspense.
Aileana Kameron, the Falconer, disappeared through the portal that she was trying to close forever. Now she wakes up in the fae world, trapped and tortured by the evil Lonnrach. With the help of an unexpected ally, Aileana re-enters the human world, only to find everything irrevocably changed. Edinburgh has been destroyed, and the few human survivors are living in an uneasy truce with the fae, while both worlds are in danger of disappearing altogether. Aileana holds the key to saving both worlds, but in order to do so she must awaken her latent Falconer powers. And the price of doing that might be her life.
Rich with imaginative detail, action, fae lore, and romance, The Vanishing Throne is a thrilling sequel to The Falconer.
Describe THE VANISHING THRONE in 5 words.
Badass lady survives faery apocalypse.
What was the hardest scene for you to write in THE VANISHING THRONE and why?
Definitely the scenes at the beginning of the novel between Lonnrach and Aileana. Aileana’s resilience and strength is tested, she’s tortured by him, and she isn’t given the time to grieve the loss of her home. Those scenes were emotionally hard for me, because even though they added emotional heft to the novel, getting into the mindset to write them was so so so difficult. I’m a sensitive writer, so getting into the headspace of a character is part of my process, and this one was agonizing.
Can you share (without spoilers) a line or section of THE VANISHING THRONE that is your favorite?
One of my favourite lines is, “He is the faery whose gift is death, and I am the girl whose gift is chaos. We go together like fire and black powder.”
Since we’re talking 2016 books, what upcoming 2016 release (besides your own) are you most excited to read?
CROOKED KINGDOM! SIX OF CROWS was one of my favourite reads this year and I’m so eager to get my hands on the sequel. And out of books that have already passed, THE WINNER’S KISS was another one I was so excited about, and I read it and it was the best possible ending to a superb trilogy. I adored it.
Do you have any strange writing habits?
I have to write near a window with a lot of natural light and a view outside. Something about confined space and four walls makes it difficult for the words to come; I like to be able to look out over a view while I’m thinking.
What are you currently reading?
I’m currently reading Dahlia Adler’s LAST WILL AND TESTAMENT and I’m loving it.
Any advice for aspiring writers?
Write what makes you happy and don’t worry about whether it’s good enough or whether it’s perfect. You can always fix it later. Keep going. Keep writing. You’re doing great.
What’s next for you? Are you working on anything right now that you can tell us about?
I just finished edits for THE FALLEN KINGDOM, which is the last book in The Falconer Trilogy. After that, I’m cowriting a project with my friend Laura Lam, and working on another fantasy YA project.
Tell us 3 random facts about you.
I’m originally from California. I have a PhD. I am a landscape photographer in my spare time.
Favorites
Favorite Song (right now): “Wicked Games” by The Raign
Favorite Book (right now): “Deathless” by Cathrynne Valente
Favorite TV Show/Movie: Jessica Jones/Shawshank Redemption
Favorite Word: Fiercely
Favorite Color: Indigo
Favorite Curse Word: Fuck, of course! ;D
Jaime’s Thoughts
I distinctly remember grabbing The Falconer off my shelf on my way to BEA in 2014 and becoming so engrossed in it that I didn’t care about our delays, and I refused to leave the hotel room until I turned the last page because the story was absolutely amazing. The Vanishing Throne quickly became the book highest on my ‘OMG I must have it list!’
Let me just tell you that this second book was well worth the two years it took to arrive in my hands!
If you read The Falconer, you know how it ended… Aileana became trapped in the portal that she was attempting to close, and now Lonnrach spends all his spare time torturing her, stealing her memories to find the information he will need to save his world, all while Edinburgh becomes a wasteland.
We all know that second books in series can sometimes be hit or miss and I worried so much that this might be the case because I loooooved The Falconer, but I can tell you that this book was even better than the first for me, despite a bit of a slower start.
Aileana… her memories have gradually been taken from her as Lonnrach tortures her, digging through her mind trying to find the information he needs. Trapped in the Fae world but never truly giving up hope that she’d escape, the opportunity arrives from someone unexpected. But the horror that she finds when she finally gets home forces her to realize that she will need to awaken the powers hidden within her. Aileana holds the key to saving both the city and the lives of her friends and family, but it requires her to figure out how to access her Falconer powers, and the price to doing so could be incredibly high.
When Aileana finally reunites with her friends she realizes that she’s been gone for three years, and not only has the outside world changed, but those she was closest to have as well. Among those she’s reunited with is Kieran and while I liked him in book 1, I found that I loved him here. We learn so much more about his past as Kadamach and the horrors he dealt. Now Aileana has to come to terms with the idea that Kieran, this Fae that she has come to know and care for in very deep ways, did these things and determine if she can be okay with that.
I will say that the tension and romance between these two was so well done. The relationship has always kind of been there under the surface for them, and the one person that Aileana is able to hold on to while she’s being tortured is Kieran, so upon her return, she often turns to him for comfort and support and we definitely get to see their connection deepen and move forward.
His hands are on either side of my face, the gentlest of touches. ‘Aoram dhuit.’
I will worship thee.
‘You said it was a pledge. Do I make it, too?’
‘No, Kam.’ His eyes lock with mine just before he presses a kiss to the pulse of my throat. Then his lips are at my ear, whispering, ‘You let me honor my words.’
May does an amazing job of bringing the secondary characters into this story a bit more. Of course we have Derrick, Catherine and Gavin, but my absolute favorite became Aithinne, I really loved the connection that formed between her and Aileana… unfortunately their common ground wasn’t due to happy times, but it really bonded them in ways that no one else could understand.
We also get a lot more of Sorcha and all I can say is that I can’t wait for her to get hers because .. UGH.
So the ending… you guys it’s a bit cliffhangerish, but despite that, I am so glad I read this one when I did. I am so excited to get my hands on book 3.
If you haven’t started this series yet, I can’t tell you how much you need to change that. This series will have you so enthralled… crafted with a steampunk feel, filled with action and twists and turns you won’t see coming, it’s a story you don’t’ want to miss.
Thank you to Chronicle for an early copy in exchange for my honest thoughts.
You can read excerpts here
The Vanishing Throne: The Falconer Book II
About Elizabeth May
Elizabeth May was born in California, where she lived during her formative years before moving to Scotland. She has a BA in Anthropology/Sociology from Marlboro College and a PhD in Social Anthropology from the University of St Andrews. When she isn’t writing, she can be found hiking through the Scottish highlands with a camera in hand.
She currently resides in Edinburgh, Scotland, with her husband. For more information, follow her on Twitter @_ElizabethMay or visit her website www.elizabethmaywrites.com
5 Things about Elizabeth May:
1. She penned 9 unpublished manuscripts before finally writing The Falconer, her debut novel.
2. Incidentally, she wrote The Falconer three times to get it right before seeking publication.
3. Her degrees are in anthropology, and her speciality is folklore. Which comes in handy when writing about Scottish faeries.
4. Her photography has been published on an array of book covers and in magazines.
5. She wrote her first book at the age of 12, a terrible, messy manuscript about a half-vampire with amnesia. She hasn’t been able to stop writing novels since.
Follow The Tour
6/21 – The Reader’s Antidote
6/22 – Tales of The Ravenous Reader
6/23 – Once Upon a Twilight
6/24 – Mundie Moms
6/25 – Fiction Fare
6/26 – Cracking the Cover
6/27 – Stack in YA Books
6/28 – Finding Wonderland
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