Too many books too little time. As a result I decided to DNF this as it just wasn't clicking in the way I would of liked.

I did not read this book but would like to in the future. Unfortunately for me, it was archived before I could download it.

Thank you so much for the opportunity to read this book. Unfortunately, while the blurb really interested me, I have been unable to get into the book.

Halayda by Sarah Delena White is an imaginative adult fantasy romance featuring the fae.

A human alchemist has been working with the fae king for some time. There is a little bit of romantic interest, but it's ridiculous to pursue because he's immortal and she's not. Then the annual festival in which the fae world joins with the human world for a brief few hours is sabotaged. Something explodes, and the next thing the very-human-alchemist knows, she is waking up with wings on her back. What? As she seeks out answers, she must also do whatever she can to stop the war that is about to erupt between the fae and the humans.

I really enjoyed Halayda. It was fast-paced and full of interesting characters and an imaginative story world. The plot was somewhat unexpected, which I always love. The main characters were great, filled with depth and development. And the romance was good. It was overall a very interesting book, and I really liked it.

There was a dark tone to the story, and, if I remember correctly, it bordered just across the edge of clean: not too bad, but I'd probably stick to older teens and adults for readers. I didn't like that one of the main characters was sort of, kind of a demon. He didn't act evil, but I don't like when people try to de-demonize a demon, like they're romanticizing them. It doesn't sit well with me, which is why I'm not planning to read book two in spite of my next comments.

My favorite part of this story was the Halayda bond, but I shouldn't spoil it for you by explaining it. Let's just say that it's a promise, like marriage, but better and more beautiful. And although this book is in no way Christian at all, it reminds me strongly of the beautiful relationship Christians have with God. I love this book for it, as unrelated as it is.

So if you like a bit of romance, battle, and the complicated immortal fae mixing with the human world, then this book is one you will likely enjoy.

I received a complementary copy of this book from NetGalley. I did not receive compensation for writing a review. All opinions are entirely my own.

I really enjoyed reading this book! I read this book in one sitting because I could not put the book down, I highly recommend reading this book!

Oh my God I loved this book so much!!! It’s absolutely amazing. A must read. The story flows beautifully and I can’t wait for the next book in this series.

I love a Fae story! They are my favourite and when the story has mean Fae, I really love it. This story is really fun and unique. It took me a while to get into. That is my only reason for being a little hesitant on my rating. I enjoy romance stories but sometimes I couldn’t tell if this was a fantasy romance or a romantic fantasy. Which wasn’t too much of an issue, but I found myself asking that a lot. The ending was nice and I enjoyed it, and I am interested in the sequel.

The story had some plot twists that I didn't see coming at all, but that I appreciated -- particularly because once they had happened, they made sense in the story world and there were hints beforehand, but I hadn't anticipated them.

Similarly, one of the great strengths of this book was the "otherness" of Faerie. The world building was very cohesive, yet it felt appropriately alien to me. I was able to empathize with Sylvie's confusion, uncertainty, and wonder as the story unfolds, because everything that was new to her as a character was new to me as a reader, as well.

I love stories where characters get to grow and deepen, becoming more themselves and more suited to fill their role in the world, so I enjoyed that the characters all had areas for growth driven by both external circumstances and by their own character flaws and pasts. I think the combination of redemption happening at a very large level in Faerie and at a smaller level in individual characters makes for a powerful story of redemption.

I would highly recommend this book to anyone who enjoys speculative fiction, romance, stories of redemption, or opportunities to think through growth and responsibility.

What a wonderful story, falls right in line with all things Faerie with a new definition for the Hunt. Sylvie is the compassionate heroine who posses strength that she doesn't even realize fueled not by hate but by love. Love of all things as she also learns love of self. What story would be complete with out a Fae King for romance and halflings as loyal friends. On the edge of my seat and can't believe I had taken so long to load this to the Kindle. Thank you NetGalley for being able to read this incredible story that is right up there with Red Queen, the Lunar Chronicles, and The Shadow and Bone series.

I had waited a lot to write the review for this book because I liked it and I enjoyed the reading, but I didn’t fall in love with it and I didn’t find something really peculiar to say about it. I’ve read it this some months ago and I was hoping for a good idea, but nothing came up and in the end and now I am here to write the few things that I have to say.

It wasn’t a bad reading, and it has a lot of good things in it: the world building is quite interesting and original, for example, and I loved the mix between the fae mythology and the alchemy. It’s original and I may be a sucker for alchemy, too. It’s a world full of wonder and of magic, and the author did a great job with it.
The story is fast-paced and it’s full of things, you don’t get bored, that’s for sure. But I wasn’t so enthralled by it. It wasn’t bad and it wasn’t boring, yes, but it was lacking in something. Or maybe the fault is with the characters. To me, the weak point of this book is about the characters. I didn’t empathize with them, sadly, and I found a lot more interesting the side characters than the main ones.
Sylvie is a nice girl, and she has a really big heart, and King Taylan was an interesting character with some depths, but… I found them plain. I liked more the “side-kick” but they weren’t so well developed, even if we learn some interesting things about all of them, that really helps us to see them as persons and not just as wallflowers.

All in all, I enjoyed the reading, but I was expecting something more and I won’t go on with the series.

So, to be honest, I didn't *super* love this book. I enjoyed the fae/human relationship story, and the fact that one world cannot quite be well without the other, but I don't think it hit the right buttons for me.

Firstly, I felt as though there was a whole chunk of backstory/character development that went on before the story started that we didn't get to see at all. It was like the reader was supposed to automatically be invested in these characters when we weren't really given a whole lot of information about them. I just felt like something was missing in the beginning that we should have been told in order to aid in our understanding of the world and characters.

Secondly, I felt as though the first half of the book dragged a bit. I knew there was some big reveal coming, but I just felt like I was waiting....and waiting...and waiting to finally get the big reveal about the whole Dragonfly thing. Plus, it was kind of predictable, what with the "half-human, half-fae alchemist Chosen One" thing going on. Once we heard about the mysterious, elusive, and rarer-than-rare "Dragonfly", it was pretty clear that the story was heading toward a "SOPHIE IS THE DRAGONFLY" billboard.

Other than that, I did like the dynamic between the different races of Fae. I loved the Banshee general and the mysterious and dangerous qualities of Taylan, and even, yes, the abilities and idea of the Dragonfly. Once the story got moving and something of consequence actually happened, I enjoyed the rest of the read!

I went into this expecting something amazing and unique and sadly I got none of that. i am not interested in writing a review.

If you love fantasy like I do then this is the Fae story you've been looking for! This story is rich in world building and captures the story so well you feel everything with the characters. It is full of action, fighting, politics and some romance. This is a book I didn't want to put down and will definitely re-read again!

Sylvie is half-human and half-fae. She lives in the neutral area between the world of fae where Fae are dangerous creatures not to be trifled with and the human world full of alchemists and scientists because halflings are looked down on and treated just as bad. She decides to take care of the halfling orphans and give them hope while doing the best she can to teach them. She becomes acquainted with the Fae King when he helps her with supplies for the orphans. One day she gets marked with the sacred mark of the Fae savior. Now she must travel past the veil into the Fae world with her alchemist human friend and learn everything she can about what the mark means and what she should do.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for providing a copy of the book for a fair and honest review!

This was a wonderful book for anyone interested in A Court of Thorns and Roses or any faerie book for that matter! it was an amazingly written book and the descriptions were amazing!

Nope, nope, hard nope. I had to DNF this book because I had several major issues with it. For one the pacing is all over the pace and for two? It's just not good. I got about halfway before I had to stop and move on to another title.

Books about the Fae are always interesting, especially when the author decides to take it a different way. The author of Halayda certainly did. However that was one of the few things it had going for it I felt. Maybe this is a case of me and not the book as a lot of other people seem to be quite taken with it.

The book focuses on Sylvia and Taylan. Sylvie is a half-fae, alchemist and lives in the mortal world (though not ours from what I gather). Taylan is the king of Fae who comes to the mortal world 4 times a year. Instead of being hidden from the mortal world, here the Fae go amongst the mortals a few times a year but there are of course tensions. Especially when old enemies surface.

The idea that the mortal world and the Fae have contacts and that the Fae are known in this mortal world is really interesting. The tension between the two groups would also be very realistically. I also liked that there were different fae with different elements, like shadow and light. Unfortunately those were really the only ones that were mentioned. In that I really missed the world building.

There were certainly also plot holes here and there. The Dragonfly was never properly explained for instance. Or how the pathfinders really fit in. There was also the thing where Sylvie was taken care of orphans and then she left and the older ones were just suppose to take care of the younger ones and that was that. Yeah nope. If you are going to add in that she takes care of orphans and kids, do it properly. Not half. Not as an afterthought. Not just added in to make her look like an amazing person. Nobody who would take care of kids and orphans would be so flippant about it. Wouldn’t stop thinking about them. It bothered me.

About half way through the book I lost interest. I only finished as this was a review copy. The characters didn’t stand out. In scenes with multiple characters the focus was completely on the two love interests. And yet we also got added in a point of view of another character. But in those other scenes she was so easily tossed to the side. It was annoying to read.

I also didn’t understand how the hunt so easily turned, even if they were under some sort of mind control. They are suppose to be fierce and dangerous. Yet I never felt like that for a minute. I think it could have been approached a bit more believable.

SIGN ME UP FOR ALL THE STAR-CROSSED LOVERS! Simply stunning, with a great steampunky kinda vibe. Maybe steampunk isn't the right word. Anyway. I loved it.

This book was a light entertaining read! Definitely pick it up!

Fantastic fantasy story!

I had the privilege of reading this story before its official release date and it's definitely worth buying when I can. The characters were very real and I was drawn in immediately from page one! I would definitely recommend this book.

I really enjoyed this book. When I first started reading it, I thought it was going to be different, it took a few chapters to really grab me. It started out differently than I had expected it to. But once things started rolling, it didn't really stop. It's not what I would call "action-packed" because it kind of wasn't. But each chapter was really engaging and the way things are revealed is done in a way that kept me interested in the story, it never dumped a bunch of information on me or slowed down the plot.