The Tower Must Fall

The Tower Must fall I believe that this is the first book I have ever read by S.E. Bennett, and I have to say that it won’t be the last. I am impressed with the imagination she has to create this unique story and the characters in it. This book is a good mesh of fairy tales and steam punk and takes place in the kingdom of Charmant generations after Cinderella’s story. The kingdom of Charmant is impoverished and filled with unhappy subjects, each trying to survive as best as they can. In this kingdom and across the others, one thing is the same. The extreme hostility and prejudice to anyone considered Unnatural, who are beings that resemble humans but have special abilities.

This story is about Enyo a young woman who had been taken from her family as a child, brainwashed and trained to hunt, and kill the rest of her kind. Enyo is THE Knight of the Animus, the boogeyman of the Unnaturals. Due to fear of what these beings can do, they have been hunted and killed even as children, to prevent them from reaching the full potential of their powers. Enyo for the longest time believed that with every death, she can gain absolution for her sins of being born an Unnatural. Until she comes to the conclusion that she is nothing more than a murderer and a tool to the Animus. On her journey to get away from the order, she meets Marek, a traveler in a pub about to be killed by guards loyal to the King of Charmant. Although Marek can sense that Enyo is dangerous, he decides to save her life when she is about to be shot from behind. This decision irrevocably links their fates together.

Enyo is now honor bound to save Marek from those who would hunt him at all cost, because he is Unnatural as well. Together these two embark on a journey of self-discovery, gain new friends/allies, and eventually fight for the freedom of the oppressed and hunted Unnaturals together.

A must read!!!!

Anyone who reads my reviews knows I can't say enough for this publisher. If you like great unique reads... read books from Curiosity Quills. As for this book....

The monsters from Fairy tales live in the real world. They are called Unnaturals. and Cryptids, They hid to keep from being killed. They are hunted by a hidden group called the Animus.

Marek is such a Cryptid, a traveler who dreams of being free to walk the world without being hunted. He's a little clumsy and that is part of what lands him in hot water with an Aminus hunter who is as pretty as she is deadly.

Leading into a great story of learning about your enemy, I was impressed at the depth the author connects with these characters. There is views on respect and diversity as well as entertainment and I recommend it for its lessons that are taught inside the pages. I also love the relationship between Marek and Enyo. Perfect read for those who love Fairy tales...

The Tower Must Fall Review

***I received a free copy of this book in exchange for my unbiased review of it. The opinions stated are solely my own and no one else’s. ***
The Tower Must Fall by S.E. Bennett is a story that revisits some of our favorite fairy tales and shines a new light on them in a unique way. In this story the world has changed from the one of where fairy tales are feared and reviled to where technology is trying to take a hold on the world and the creatures that were once feared are now hunted, enslaved and persecuted. But only because they are different and viewed as less than by the mortals who have come and driven them out of their homes and into hiding or into slavery for those who have survived. We are quickly introduced to Marek, who is a 7th son of a 7th son, who was abandoned by his mother and ignored by his father. His aunts and other female relatives help raise him into the man he becomes. He’s a traveler but he is something more and not just because he is a 7th son of a 7th son. His mother abandoned him but only to try and protect and shield him from the truth. Marek gets into some trouble while in Fernab and meets a young woman who he quickly realizes who and what she is…Animus…one of the hunters of the UnNaturals. But she tells him she has no intent of harming him…he reads his tarot cards and learns it’s true. But by being a fugitive from running from the city guards he has brought danger to the bar where he takes refuge and ends up saving this woman’s, who is Animus, life. She is now honor bound to him. So she vows to keep him safe no matter what. But there is a very rough road ahead of them and The Tower Must Fall…
This book took a bit to get warmed up for me. Typically if a book doesn’t capture my attention in the first couple of chapters I put it down but this book managed that but there came moments when it was a bit hard to keep me engaged because the story line was slow in coming together and become truly interesting for me but when it did…it became hard to put down. In this story we follow our two main characters Enyo and Marek as they learn about each other and work to bring around a new age for Cryptids so that they need no longer live in fear of being hunted, killed or enslaved to the mortals who have decided there is no place for them in this world anymore. Enyo is an Animus assassin but she is a Cryptid too but she was trained and told that if she killed enough that one day she would be worthy of being saved and she believed…until one day her faith in that lie broke. I have been reading a lot of fairy tale rewrites lately but I have to say that when I got to the first retelling of a fairy tale I was immediately hooked in and couldn’t wait to read another. It was so interesting and engaging to read the fairy tales that we grew up with being told a certain way to be told in such a unique and different way altogether of where what we believed to be true was just a twisted version to make another look better and to hide the evil that was done. It was sad to learn of the fates of those who had suffered so much but it enhanced the book so much.
There is a bit of romance in this story but not a lot for those who aren’t that into it but just a taste for those who are hoping for some. I really enjoyed the steampunk references throughout the book as well in the weapons and in the cities with how the technology has crept in bit by bit and I love how the kingdoms and cities are named for their unique queens as well. The story has so much uniqueness and so that much that makes it different from other books in its genre that I really believe that one day it will stand out on its own and really be something good. I also liked that there was room left for another book to be written if the author chooses which I would really love because I would love to revisit Enyo, Marek and all the other characters as they build, rebuild and fight for what is right.
Initially I had planned on just giving this book 3.5 stars but the more I read it the more I liked it and the more engaged I became in so I give this book 4.5 out of 5 stars. The beginning was a bit rough for me of where it took a bit to get warmed but once it got going it was very hard to put down. Well worth the read and very enjoyable. I look forward to reading more from this author in the future. Rating: 4.5 out of 5 stars Two thumbs up

I didn't finish this book as an ARC because I purchased it. I was immediately hooked! I loved the characters, the story and the world building. I love that we have a flawed heroine and a naive but valiant hero.

Go and buy this if you haven't.

A fantastic, new re-telling of the fairy tales I grew up with

This is the first book I have read by S.E Bennett and it will not be the last. A world where there are no happy ever afters. I will be posting a video review and this book is going on my re read list as it was so amazing

"The Tower Must Fall" was way better and less confusing than I thought it would be. Once I got into it, I couldn’t put it down! I seriously loved how this book was the perfect combination between a fairy tale retelling(s) and a completely original story full of action, blood, betrayal, magic, love and monsters. I really loved how the “unnaturals” (also known as the cyptids), the humans and the Animus lived around these different kingdoms we are introduced to through the story, and how they interacted with one another. The unnaturals bringing fear to the humans. The humans either bring fear or panic to everything—but I admit it, there is always the exception that accepts the monsters for living creatures with the right to exists in a peace, not in fear. And the Animus? The Animus, whenever they went, they brought fear, ruin, and death to the unnaturals. If you wonder why, you'll have to read to find out!

Another thing that really captivated me about "The Tower Must Fall" was S. E. Bennett's wonderful writing and the setting she created. Her writing was beautiful, rich and powerful, making the story more vivid, intense and intriguing. The setting she created for Marek and Enyo's story was huge and all kinds of amazing! We get to visit multiple locations like: Marek's and the travelers home, Fernab, the Dark Woods, the Sanctuary, and the different kingdoms. Through them, we got to meet multiple and new characters and have some intense scenes, and the best thing about it is that everything was pretty easy to imagine and follow. But, what I mainly loved about this setting was that its respective kingdoms were all—or most of them, I'm not sure by now—connected to different Kings and Queens from different classic fairy tales like: Cinderella, Snow White, etc.

“He ran and he burned in the dark.”

Through Marek and Enyo’s journey to Sanctuary and their search for any kind of revolution, we get to meet multiple unique and diverse characters that go from humans, to unnaturals, to members of the fearsome Animus. And the best thing about it is that they all play important parts that will change the story one way or another and will make you either love them or hate them. Some of them are: Marek’s family, Morrigan—Enyo's "family", Red Ryder—leader at Sanctuary—, Liesel, Annika, Kian, Hunter, Yelissaveta, Dieter, and many other who are and aren't part of Sanctuary and just as important and as mysterious and the ones that I've mentioned already. I found them all very well introduced and developed, especially Enyo, Marek, and Kian's characters. Those three grew through the story and I loved how they understood their current situation and how each one of them discovered and accepted who they were, what they were, and what they were able to do.

In the end, the story that developed through S. E. Bennett’s writing was all kinds of wonderful and intense! It had everything I love in a book and many, many secrets that once you discover them along with the characters, you’ll be screaming like crazy for more—like me! If you're looking for a great fantasy/retelling read with lots of monsters, a hint of romance, blood and pain, look no more! This is the right one for you!

I thought this a very good retelling on the idea of what really happened behind fairy tales. Everyone knows the classic stories of Cinderella, Snow White, and Sleeping Beauty. But here a story is told of all the things the fairy-tale glossed over, as well as the aftermath of those epic quests. Set 100 years after the last fairy-tale, we read about Marek and Enyo. Two very different people in a world that doesn't like fairy-tale creatures. The story tends to jump forward in time a bit between chapters. I felt like I missed some personal growth from the characters that led to their current decisions.

Thank you NetGalley for providing this arc in exchange for an honest review.