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For seventeen years, Eloise Hart had no idea the world of Faery even existed. Now she has been abducted and trapped in the Rath of Lord Strahan, King of Faery. Strahan was only meant to rule for seven years, as Faery tradition dictates, and then give up his crown to another. But he won’t comply, and now chaos threatens both worlds.
The only one who can break his stranglehold on the Faery court is his wife. . . Eloise’s aunt Antonia. Using Eloise to lure Antonia, Strahan captures his wife, desperate to end the only threat to his reign. Now Eloise must become the rescuer. Together with her best friends Jo and Devin, she must forge alliances with other Fae, including a gorgeous protector named Lucas, and Strahan’s mysterious son, Eldric—who may or may not betray them.
ALY XANDRA HARV EY is the author of Haunting Violet, Hearts at Stake, Blood Feud, and Out for Blood. She studied creative writing and literature at York University and has had her poetry published in several magazines. She lives in an old Victorian farmhouse with a few resident ghosts, her husband, hawk, and two dogs.
alyxandraharvey.com
Truly_Bookish
Posted Mon Apr 02 00:00:00 EDT 2012
I’ve heard great things about Alyxandra Harvey’s Drake Chronicles series so when I saw that she had written a fey book, I just knew I had to read it.
Stolen Away is set in a small town that despite it being fall, is having an awful heat wave brought on by the fey king, Lord Strahan, who refuses to step down even though his reign is up. Eloise has no idea that her eccentric aunt is even married much less to a fey king. She finds out the fey are real when she is attacked and kidnapped Strahan’s minions so he can use her to lure her aunt, his wife, to him.
The story is told from the first person’s perspectives of both Eloise and her friend, Jo. Other reviewers have complained that the alternating perspective was confusing but I had no problems with it. Eloise with her rockabilly hair and tattoos and Jo with her British accent and funky clothes are both cool, likable characters.
The book is fast paced, has lots of action and has really great descriptions of the fey world. Unfortunately, the plot was not very developed and the whole story seemed rushed. Another thing I’m not crazy about is the relationship between Jo and Eldric. While not exactly insta-love, their relationship develops very fast. I was actually surprised when Jo admitted that she was in love with Eldric after talking to him a few times and spending very little time with him.
Harvey is obviously an imaginative storyteller and while I loved the idea behind Stolen Away, I wish it had more depth. The book is a quick, fun read and appears to be a stand alone novel. While Stolen Away has its flaws, I liked Harvey’s writing enough to try some of her other novels.
Content: Profanity, kissing and violence
2 out of 2 people found this review helpful.
Was this review helpful? Yes NoThank you for your feedback. Report this reviewThank you, this review has been flagged.Stolen Away is a fantastic faerie adventure with a double shot of romance. Alyxandra Harvey always makes me laugh with her sarcastic humor. Stolen Away is told through Eloise and Jo's POV. These two best girl friends are hilarious, and their romances are an adventure in itself with the two gorgeous fae guys. I love the way Harvey writes. Her stories are a fun adventurer with characters full of personality. I know when I read one of her novels to sit back and enjoy the hilarious fun. She just has that amazing talent in her writing for making you laugh.
Eloise and Jo are best friends, and they are total opposites. Eloise is tee shirt and jeans while Jo is into long skirts and filly blouses. But these two a true best friends and when Eloise is kidnapped by the Unseelie King, Jo is right there to rescue her. But what starts out as a rescue mission for Eloise turns into them going to war against the Unseelie King to save Eloise's aunt Antonia, who just happened to be the Unseelie wife. Let alone the gorgeous new guy Jo is crushing on, who is the Unseelie King's son, Eldric. Then we have Eloise's gorgeous shining Faery in armor, Lucas, the son of the Seelie King, who has come to save and protected her.
Lucas and Eldric are just as opposite as the girls are. Lucas is there in front to fight for the girl he loves while Eldric is trying to hide and get the girl he loves to just run away with him. Both these guys are swoon worthy and I love them both.
Stole Away is double the fun, double the romance, double the adventure, double the sassy girls, double the gorgeous guys, with a few heart tender moments. I recommend Stole Away as a fantasy fun must read.
1 out of 1 people found this review helpful.
Was this review helpful? Yes NoThank you for your feedback. Report this reviewThank you, this review has been flagged.Confusing!!
Review brought to you by OBS staff member Dawn
I’m sad to have to write this review. I’ve read The Drake Chronicles and I loved each one of them. I enjoyed Haunting Violet as well.
However, Stolen Away did nothing for me. I finished the book but it was painful.
I found the different points of view confusing and unnecessary. The book is bogged down with too much detail and bickering. I could not keep the secondary characters straight – they weren’t fleshed out.
Eloise was kept in the dark, kind of ridiculous considering what’s at stake. Her mother and aunt felt they knew best and ended up putting her and her friends in danger.
The mystery surrounding Aunt Antonia was revealed too soon, anti-climactic at best.
Stolen Away is VERY repetitive. A similar situation happens to the characters a few times. It became absurd, the characters fell into the same trap over and over.
Alyxandra Harvey dealt with bullying in the book, that I commend. It’s a tough issue and she handled it well.
This review and more at openbooksociety dot com
Anonymous
Posted Thu May 24 00:00:00 EDT 2012
The frist time I picked up this book I loved it. People who have not read this then try it now you will love it as I do trust me. What could you loss by just trying it out, it;s like a dress you dont know if it fits if you dont try it on! YOU WILL FALL IN LOVE WITH IT!
Was this review helpful? Yes NoThank you for your feedback. Report this reviewThank you, this review has been flagged.maeizzle
Posted Thu Apr 26 00:00:00 EDT 2012
so, i was deciding on random books to read and i came across this one. The title alone just captured me and i ordered. when the book was delivered to my house, i opened the book and began to read. I could literally never let it go! i read the book nonstop in a total of three days because i thought it was so interesting! i've never read books about Faes(sp?) so albeit this being the first one... i now want to read more of these stories! Harvey is a very good writer, unlike some of the other fantasy writers i've seen. i recommend this book for people who are just beginning to read Fae or mythical fiction stories :]
Was this review helpful? Yes NoThank you for your feedback. Report this reviewThank you, this review has been flagged.Ladystorm
Posted Thu Mar 29 00:00:00 EDT 2012
Alyxandra Harvey is one of my favorite authors, so I was curious about her faery book. Though I am not a huge fan of faery books, I really enjoyed this one. It has the same typical theme as a lot of fairy stories have, but it was well written and fast paced.
Every girl dreams of her knight and shining armor, but Eloise gets a medieval looking pirate instead. Eloise doesn't want anything to do with Lucas nor does she believe any of the weird stuff he is talking about until some crow people kidnap her and take her to Faery. Eloise is a nice strong character, she is tough, but still gets frightened. Eloise is willing to take on Lord Strahan to free her aunt and she has a couple of loyal friends to help her out.
The story is told from two POV's Eloise and her friend Jo. Jo is the boy crazy one of the bunch always dreaming of that knight and shining armor. She is a very fun character also, who ends up falling for Eldric, Lord Strahan's son. Will he end up being a good guy or a bad guy? (read and find out) Jo is very protective of her friend Eloise and shows it by going to great lengths to help her, I love the tight friendship they share.
Both Lucas and Eldric have that sexy, going to save my girl qualities that we all like. Out of both of them I do think I liked Eldric the best, though it really is tough to choose between them and they are both really good characters.
Over all I think that Alyxandra Harvey did a great job putting this novel together, it was light, fun and full of faery goodness that any one who loves these types of books would enjoy. The only thing I thought was off was that she made the Red Caps out to be not as evil as I think of them as being, but then I think Red Caps belong in a great horror novel... :) Also not real keen on the cover.
If you love books about the Fae then I would recommend you check out this book, because Alyxandra Harvey is a excellent author!
I really enjoyed this book. I didn't love it as much as I did Haunting Violet, but I still found it extremely enjoyable. It was a fun, quick read.
I didn't care too much for Eloise. I liked her well enough, but she's not one of my favorite characters. She was kind of, um, I hate to say it, but boring. She was too serious for my taste. Deep down, she was more emotional, but on the outside she was too stiff. Still, she was actually a pretty intricate character, but definitely had room for improvement.
I loved Jo! She was such a flirt! She was exciting and emotional. While on the outside she appeared flighty, inside she was more vulnerable. She had a nice, solid background. I enjoyed her part of the story immensely. Jo was, in my opinion, a better character than Eloise. I really, really liked her. Honesly, I'd like a sequel just so I read my of her story. She's fresh and exciting and moreover, alive. But, uh, she was a bit too British for an American.
Mmmm. What can I say? I totally fell in love with Eldric. I mean, who doesn't love the gorgeous stranger? He was one of my favorite characters, hands down. He seemed genuinely caring but also passionate. And perfectly mysterious!
Hmm. I was okay with Lucas. I thought he seemed pretty cute, but overall I just wasn't feeling it. He was from a different world, sure, but, um, overall I think Harvey overdid this point. He acted really weird at some points and it was just kind of not realistic or believable. Sure, he had his good points, and I love him for it, but as a general rule…not so much.
Devin was sweet and I really liked how he stayed a part of the story! A fun, layered character who I really enjoyed reading about.
Eloise's mother was peppy and upbeat. I liked her a lot. She was a fun addition to the story.
To be honest, there's not a whole lot going for the plot. It's predictable and small, not going over a wide range of events but focusing on a climax. Still, it was nicely thought out. There wasn't too much extraneous stuff going on that detracted attention from the main focus. Honestly, it was really good. I only wish there had been a bit more depth and length to it.
There's not a whole lot that goes on with Eloise's romance, not really. It's pleasant, but a tad bit instalovey. Still, I did think it was nicely written. Once or twice it was too disgustingly father-daughter, but I got over that and it got better.
I enjoyed this so much better. Jo's romance was more fun, but again, it leaned towards instalove. The big moment was sweet, but when I was reading it I actually thought about how unbelievable it was. Anyhow, I did enjoy her romance. It was an equal romance with a bit of fairytale mixed in.
Some of the writing was…questionable.
As aforementioned, Jo is too British for an American. This includes her Brit-speak, which just sounds kind of odd and misplaced. It really wasn't necessary.
I liked this writing. Harvey has a pretty writing style that I really like. It was pleasant and quick to read, and I didn't have to go back to try and understand.
While a bit too predictable for my taste, it was still fine. It wasn't random or odd; it really fit and I'm sure Harvey did a fair bit of thinking before she chose to end it this way. I don't want to give this ending away, though! So all I'll say is that I liked it very well. It wasn't my favorite, perhaps, but it was still a very good choice for an ending.
I would definitely recommend this book to others!
Stolen Away took me back to why I’ve always loved Harvey’s books. I fell in love with the story completely.
It I really liked reading Harvey’s take on the Fey. Which was pretty traditional, I liked the whole aspect of the fey shape shifting into birds. If you’ve read Harvey’s other books you’ll also know that she creates very strong friendships bonds. Which is always refreshing, because Eloise Hart and Jo are a great duo. They’re strong-brave YA female characters, who always have each other’s back, the ideal besties. As El and Jo’s story are told from two different POV’s, I felt like Jo’s story overpowered El’s. Jo story was way more interesting, a leading story.
Love interest Lucas(Eloise) and Eldric( Jo) are totally different characters. It’s really a good vs. evil kind of thing. But they both have the same background; strong, dark, protective personalities that make them both good guys for these two amazing girls (which makes me jealous lol.) At times like Jo & El, Eldric overshadows Lucas. Eldric comes from a“brokin home” I understand his character, while Lucas on the other hand is like the “golden boy.” I want to know him deeper than him just liking Eloise.
The writing as always with Harvey was perfect; I’m so use to just breezing through her books but the pacing was a little roller-coaster-y; fast at the beginning but towards the middle it seemed to drag a little then the pace picked but up in the end. But that was just because Harvey had a lot of background to cover with Elise’s family and such. Be prepared to be stolen away in this wonderful Fey tale!
First off, I love fae stories. They always intrigued me to no end. Not to mention that I love Alyxandra Harvey. Her stories are always so full and passionate that I can always expect such a wonderful reading adventure. The story line of this book is not unique but is so well done! I love that Ms. Harvey can take the storyline and make it like new. The description and emotions of each character are written well.
The other part I loved about the story are the love interest. There are two and no love triangles. Each girls find her love. I adored that both girls fight for what is right and who they love. Both guys are commendable guys and deserve the girls they found. What I also loved about this story is the great point of view switches. The point of view switches are nicely done. They don't confuse the reader but flow along with the story.
The pleasure of reading Stolen Away is leaves me giddy. The enchantment of the story is delightful and appealing, enjoyable till the very end.
Stolen Away is the second book I’ve read by Alyxandra Harvey. I adored this book just as much as I did Haunting Violet. Mrs. Harvey has a wonderful way of weaving together story that will grab your attention and keep you hooked to the pages. I love her books, and am looking forward to reading a lot more of her work!
Eloise Hart is your average teenage girl. Her world is pretty normal, until the day she discovers the existence of Fae after being kidnapped and held captive by Strahan, King of the Faery. Eloise’s Aunt Antonia, who is also Strahan’s long lost wife, comes to the rescue, but is then taken captive herself. It is up to Eloise, and her two best friends, Jo and Devin, to save Antonia, and possibly the Fae world and their own world.
The story is told in alternating viewpoints between Eloise and her best friend Jo. I really loved both of these girls. While Eloise comes off as quiet and shy at the beginning of the book, she definitely grows and finds her voice throughout the book. Jo is the exact opposite of Eloise; she is extremely confident, strong-willed, and a little bit snarky as well. I really loved this about her. Their other best friend, Devin, was great as well. I wish we had seen a little bit more of him in the book.
The love interests in the book were great. I loved both of the boys, Lucas (Eloise), and Eldric (Jo). The relationship between Eldric and Jo was a bit intense, and it was right on the borderline for insta-love for me. It just happened really quickly. The relationship between Lucas and Eloise was sweet, and grew over a much longer period of time. I did enjoy both couples!
I didn’t think I was going to like the storyline for the book; Fae has been a little overused. But I ended up really enjoying the storyline. It was very mysterious, and that and the pacing of the book kept me hooked to the pages. I finished this book in one day, it was that good. The ending of the book was very satisfying, and is definitely left open if Mrs. Harvey ever wanted to do a series.
Overall, I thought this book was so great. I am officially an Alyxandra Harvey fan, and can’t wait to read more of her work!
I've wanted to read the Drake Chronicles by Alexandrya Harvey ever since I've heard nothing but good things about the series- but sadly have never been able to read a single book. So you can imagine just how happy and lucky I felt when I was told I got to read another Alexandrya Harvey novel Stolen Away. I won't lie. At first I was a bit hesitant, but after reading the synopsis and seeing the beautiful cover with Eloise on the front- I knew that I would fall in love with Stolen Away quickly and like I predicted, I ended up loving it more and more with every single paragraph. Maybe it was because Harvey's writing flowed properly and at an enjoyable pace, or maybe it's because I fell in love with all of the characters.
I'll never know.
To make things even better, the novel was written from two different perspectives, from two different characters (duh moment) in the story! And with it being a supernatural romance novel that meant getting to read two different supernatural romance stories. What's not to absolutely love about that?
The two characters who we get to learn from were Jo and Eloise. I wasn't sure which of our main characters I liked more and there were a few reasons for that, though long after I finished the novel I finally came to terms with the fact that I loved the way Jo acted. I found her personality funny for some reason (especially her love for anything British/Victorian) and a lot more realistic despite the novel being fictitious and about fairies... and I loved her relationship with Eldric who is now my new official fairy- boyfriend- crush.
Even though I didn't think of Eloise as my favorite narrator, I still loved her quiet personality and her love for anything with rockability. I even thought it was both scary and cool that she was kidnapped by Strahan and used as bait to lure her aunt out from hiding. One of the other things about Eloise that I loved were the friends she had. I found it heart warming with how Jo and Devin immediately tried to help Eloise time and time again (plus Devin was a cutie ;).
I would recommend this to anybody who wants a faerie romance or just a supernatural romance in general that is also a quick read. You won't regret it
I flew through Stolen Away like a breeze. It easily grabs your attention with upbeat humor as well as believable scenarios, and a bit of rockabilly kick-assery!
Eloise and Jo take turns in voicing out their point of views. I enjoyed reading Eloise most because she was modest and even though she knows how to hold her own she doesn't show it. Jo on the other hand, I wasn't too keen on. She was way too focused on guys and fell for Eldric (as in love) way too quickly, right from the start.
The male characters are lovable. Lucas and Eldric are swoon worthy, and Devin just makes me want him as my BFF too.
The story wasn't so much as a big bang that would blow your mind, but it was enjoyable and romantic in some sorts. It's just that the fae/faery stories are really big these days that you have more than likely have already read the various plots/takes, I just wished there was some more pizzaz or that certain something that can make it more distinguishable than the rest.
In the ending, I was left feeling that it was more Jo's story instead of Eloise which kind of bummed me out.
All in all, Stolen Away by Alyxandra Harvey is amusing, humorous, and goes great with a cup of tea!
Icecream18JA
Posted Tue Jan 17 00:00:00 EST 2012
Looking for a tale that incorporates faeries and romance? This book will become a favorite among Harvey's fans. Jo and Eloise are the main characters, the book vacillates between their different points of views. They both get to experience the Faery realms in unique ways and acquire love interests. After that, their similarities end. Jo is far more boy-crazy and very outgoing as compared to Eloise who is shy and not nearly as dramatic. The reader will find their contrasting personalities refreshing as he/she gets to know the two very well.
Eloise learns early on in the story that her family has certain connection to the Faery Realms that could leave her in danger, Lucas acts to protect her as an ally. Jo has the ability to see Faeries too and meets a handsome, enigmatic stranger who she slowly falls in love with. Devin, both girls' friend, adds comedic relief and truly has the girls' best interests at heart. The characters are very engaging and easy to like right off the bat.
The events of this book are very fast. The reader learns of Faery quickly and from there the book flies. The novel has several surprises that will make the reader think twice and the twists in the plot will keep the reader entertained. This book will be enjoyable to teen/young adult readers.
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Overview
For seventeen years, Eloise Hart had no idea the world of Faery even existed. Now she has been abducted and trapped in the Rath of Lord Strahan, King of Faery. Strahan was only meant to rule for seven years, as Faery tradition dictates, and then give up his crown to another. But he won’t comply, and now chaos threatens both worlds.
The only one who can break his stranglehold on the Faery court is his wife. . . Eloise’s aunt Antonia. Using Eloise to lure Antonia, Strahan ...