Review: The Faerie Ring by Kiki Hamilton

Book: The Faerie Ring (Faerie Ring #1)
By: Kiki Hamilton
Published: September 27, 2011
Published By: Tor Teen/ Macmillan

Description: Debut novelist Kiki Hamilton takes readers from the gritty slums and glittering ballrooms of Victorian London to the beguiling but menacing Otherworld of the Fey in this spellbinding tale of romance, suspense, and danger.
The year is 1871, and Tiki has been making a home for herself and her family of orphans in a deserted hideaway adjoining Charing Cross Station in central London. Their only means of survival is by picking pockets. One December night, Tiki steals a ring, and sets off a chain of events that could lead to all-out war with the Fey. For the ring belongs to Queen Victoria, and it binds the rulers of England and the realm of Faerie to peace. With the ring missing, a rebel group of faeries hopes to break the treaty with dark magic and blood—Tiki’s blood.

Unbeknownst to Tiki, she is being watched—and protected—by Rieker, a fellow thief who suspects she is involved in the disappearance of the ring. Rieker has secrets of his own, and Tiki is not all that she appears to be. Her very existence haunts Prince Leopold, the Queen’s son, who is driven to know more about the mysterious mark that encircles her wrist.

Prince, pauper, and thief—all must work together to secure the treaty…

My Thoughts: I have been eyeing the Faerie Ring for quite some time. After hearing all of the many reviews on it, I was worried that once I read it, it may not live up to the hype.

We follow Tiki, a recently turned orphan with a strange tattoo who lives with a family of fellow orphans in London. In order to survive they tend to pickpocket and steal, and are really quite good at it. After nearly being caught pickpocketing a drunk and ruthless man, Tiki sneaks aboard a carriage and after uncharacteristically falling asleep, she finds herself at a party. Entering the kitchen reveals platters and platters of food, which, of course, she steals some of. She nearly gets caught. It's then that she runs through the halls of the building and ends up in the library crouching below a table. One thing leads to another and soon, Tiki is slipping out of what we learn is Buckingham Palace with a ring.

We soon learn that this is no ordinary ring, it holds and binds the treaty between our world and the otherworld, and without it, destruction begins to befall our world, and danger begins to stalk Tiki. She has to make some very tough decisions if she ever plans to come out on top.

This was a good book. As I stated before, the hype over it made me expect a lot out of this book and I was a bit let down. My heart wasn't pounding and my fingers weren't glued to the pages. It was a great storyline though and I really liked it, I just didn't love it as much as I thought I would.

The ending wasn't a cliffhanger despite the fact that there will be more books and for that I was thankful. It ended with a nice bow and some sprinkles to make you feel quite hopeful. I would have hoped for a few more answers, but I suppose that's why there is another book coming soon.

In terms of the main guy, Reiker,  I didn't "swoon" over him. He was nice I guess, but he was a bit of a stalker. I did love the supporting male, Prince Leo. I'm not 100% sure why though. He just had something that Reiker didn't.

All in all, this was a good book. I will most likely read the next book in the series. My rating is 3.5 stars.