Another one I did not expect to have turn out as well as it did, but Alyxandra blows my heart away pretty much at all times. I loved the swaps, the mysteries, the reasons, the slow unwind, the catapult into a world you don't know, the strange and wonderful and right and wrong. And I would love love love there to be more to go on in this series, or for it to become a series, but it's a lovely little stand alone all by itself, too. ( )

Love the rockabilly theme in the main characters, also the strong women making their way. ( )

I really did like this story. I liked the fairy lore throughout the book, I think the characters were interesting and I liked their relationships and how they interacted with each other. The one thing I will say is that it seems as if there is more to this story and maybe a 2nd book or a series should have been considered? I did have a lot of leftover questions when I was through. Overall though, if you like fairies and/or paranormal romance, this was a nice, fun, quick read. ( )

After bringing us humor, romance, a little violence and a lot of adventure (along with some some vampires) in her Drake Chronicles series and romance, humor and a very swoon-worthy boy in the spiritualist era stand-alone Haunting Violet Alyxandra Harvey is back, this time with the fae, in Stolen Away.

Eloise is a normal seventeen-year-old, spending early days of fall with her friends, trying to escape the oppressive summer hear that won't seem to break. She is eating ice cream with her best friends Jo and Devin when a strange young man approaches her. It's his attire (easily something more out of A Knight's Tale era than today), calling her Lady Eloise while kneeling, and insisting she come with him to be safe that disconcerts Eloise. Of course, he is gorgeous, too, but that's not really of issue at the moment.

The three friends are able to get away from Lucas. But it's definitely not the only time they see him and he is definitely not their only problem. In fact, his warnings might have been right.

Eloise is stolen away by Lord Strahan and imprisoned in his Rath. She knew little to nothing about the fae beforehand but now she is their prisoner. Strahan is only meant to rule for seven years, as faery law dictates but he refuses to comply. He hopes to use Eloise to lure her, somewhat elusive and mysterious Aunt Antonia, his wife to him as she is the only thing threatening to end his reign. A continued reign that is wreaking havoc on both worlds.

Eloise knows, as everyone works to rescue her, that she is going to have to rescue her aunt - even if it means working with the fae.


Stolen Away is another absolute stunner of a book from Alyxandra Harvey. She has taken all of her strengths from her previous novels, the humor, the romance, the action and adventure and introduced them - and readers - to an entirely new world and characters. And the fae.

Harvey has a talent for writing best friend relationships that seem so absolutely real that you, as a reader, just almost need to be their friend, too. There's closeness, humor, background, history, jokes, sometimes fights, everything in those relationships that make them honest and realistic and amazing. She writes my favorite best friend relationships in books. (Besides the friend relationships in The Drake Chronicles and in Haunting Violet, the only other best friend relationships that good are in Jennifer Lynn Barnes' Raised by Wolves series - maybe it's something with the Devon/Devin name?)

I think I really, truly adore that Alyxandra Harvey's books have characters that are sneaky and backstabbing and manipulating . . . unless they're supposed to be.

This is a story that - when it's not making you just that little bit anxious as to the outcome and sometimes even then - makes you happy to read. There are lines that make me smile, the characters interactions are sweet or snarky - or both. The way they work together is brilliant and refreshing. It's a book that will make you smile.

The only, only thing I didn't love to pieces was that I thought Jo was 'in love' a little fast with her guy. I don't think it affected the plot any (in fact, I think it actually helped it) but I just wasn't seeing where her words came from, personally.

The faery lore used is really great. While I don't read a ton of fae themed/focused books, I do read quite a few and there were several things in Stolen Away that either I hadn't heard before (or had possibly forgotten) or they were things that were rarely, rarely used. Alyxandra Harvey really draws from outside of the commonly used faery mythology in Stolen Away.

After reading Stolen Away (and Bleeding Hearts just about a month ago), Alyxandra Harvey is in my top three favorite author - if not the very top!

Review courtesy of Dark Faerie Tales

Quick & Dirty: This novel has a bit of a dark storyline with some humor, but with the dueling POV’s, I kept having to double check who was narrating.

Opening Sentence: “I hate this town,” Jo complained.

The Review:

Stolen Away by Alyxandra Harvey is a young adult paranormal novel that is told through the point of views of two teenage girls, Eloise and Jo. The two girls, along with their close friend Devin, are almost inseparable and they know each other well enough that when something is wrong, and they believe in trust in each other. Both girls don’t know that the world of the Fae is so close to their town of Rowan and each will find out it exists in their own different ways.

Eloise and Jo are just trying to make it through the incredibly hot and dry October when each notice a cute new boy in town. They are different boys, there are no love triangles here. Eloise thinks Lucas is cute but he seems to dress funny. He really must like renaissance faire costumes complete with sword. Eloise feels like she is being stalked by Lucas because he keeps turning up in strange places, like the roof of her apartment building. Lucas tells her that she is in danger and that he must protect her but she doesn’t believe him until it’s too late.

On the other hand, Jo meets a mysterious boy that only seems to turn up when she is alone. She describes him as looking like a rock star. He never reveals too much about himself but he does help her solve some problems.

From their descriptions, these two girls couldn’t be more different. Eloise has been raised in a single parent household. She has a Bettie Page haircut and she loves to dress in the style of rockabilly. She loves to hang out and work at the local tattoo shop. Out of her friends, Eloise is probably the most level headed because inside she fears that she has an anger problem so she tries not to get too mad. She’s not to crazy about boys. On the other hand, Jo is boy crazy enough for the two of them. She loves to check out all the hot boys in town. She loves to wear long flowing dresses or skirts unless she’s working on her grandparents farm. The farm is her other love after boys. Jo is a little more hotheaded and has no problem speaking her mind.

I wasn’t a huge fan of the dueling POV’s because even though the girls were so different on paper, I really couldn’t tell a difference between the two. I kept having to double check the name on the chapter. I’ve read dueling POV’s before and haven’t had too much of a problem but I guess I still prefer there to be a main protagonist and from the synopsis I felt that should have been Eloise but it wasn’t. Overall, I had a hard time connecting with either one of these characters.

Stolen Away was one of those books that I enjoyed while reading it but afterwards felt like there was a lot that was missing and I would have loved to see a more in depth world, especially when it comes to the world of the faery. After reading it, I was still confused about how most of the Faery politics worked, how rules apply to some but not others.

I really enjoyed the side character Isadora. She is a hilarious tiny little Faery with a huge anger problem. I would really like to read a story based on her.

Overall, Stolen Away was a fun and quick read even with some of the stupid hangups I had with it. The story is a bit dark with the torture and imprisonment of some creatures and another part talked about an orgy going on (but not in detail) so it is not an entirely “light” read. I had no problems with that but some people might.

Notable Scene:

I made my way toward the west end of the park. The pond glimmered, framed by the banks and sprinkled with wild lilies. A swan floated on the surface and ignored me completely. There were slight rolls and dips in the grass but nothing I’d call a proper hill without a great deal of wishful thinking. I kicked at the weeds, finding nothing but more weeds; no convenient magic door or wooden sign painted with THIS WAY TO YE OLDE FAERY COURTS.

There was, however, a tiny winged fairy lifting out of a hawthorne bush.

I might have thought it was a blue jay or a really big butterfly, something normal anyway. But then she turned her head and looked straight as me.

I slid right off my feet and onto my butt, choking on a scream.

It’s not that I hadn’t believed Eloise. I mean, the trick with my computer had been pretty unfathomable, but this was something else entirely.

“You’re real!” I gaped.

She sniffed. “Of course, I am. You humans don’t get any less arrogant, do you?”

“Uh.” Brilliant, Jo, I thought. I swallowed, forced my brain not to skitter around like a bee at a windowpane. “Where did you come from?”

“I’ve always been here.” She hovered, letting the light breeze lift her up. Part of me was looking for invisible wires. “You must have been Touched, to see me now.”

FTC Advisory: Walker Childrens/Bloomsbury provided me with a copy of Stolen Away. No goody bags, sponsorships, “material connections,” or bribes were exchanged for my review. ( )