Of Blood and Honey

May 08, 2011 Elizabeth rated it 4 of 5 stars Recommends it for: Kat

Shelves: 2011, in-by-of-the-americas, fantasy-sci-fi, irish, reviewed, fey

I don't usually start an urban fantasy review with Virginia Woolf but reading both at the same time leads me through some strange connections. I like that; it gives me perspective on what I read, both ways. I'm not sure one of the other doesn't suffer somewhat and I do end up in some strange places but I'm not going to stop.

So, Woolf, addressing the National Society for Women's Service in 1931, said:

I now record the one act for which I take some credit [...] -- I turned upon that Angel and cau

...more

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Apr 17, 2011 Megan rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: 4-stars, fiction, historical-fiction, paranormal-and-supernatural

Edited: To correct a character's name. I'm bad with names and can't read my own notes, apparently!

Edited again: So, adding this a year later than my initial review! Other people's responses to this book have opened my eyes to some fairly ugly aspects to this book that I in my ignorance didn't notice let alone comprehend. It was pretty obtuse and disappointing of me to not recognize some stock examples of problematic representation, even if I'm not as familiar with Irish history specifically. Thi ...more Edited: To correct a character's name. I'm bad with names and can't read my own notes, apparently!

Edited again: So, adding this a year later than my initial review! Other people's responses to this book have opened my eyes to some fairly ugly aspects to this book that I in my ignorance didn't notice let alone comprehend. It was pretty obtuse and disappointing of me to not recognize some stock examples of problematic representation, even if I'm not as familiar with Irish history specifically. This review provides an immensely thoughtful analysis of the issues that I was ignorant of and will keep in mind if I reread this book or continue with the series.

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While I love good supernatural/paranormal/urban fantasy stories, I've never really understood the appeal of fairies (the fae, the good folk, etc., etc.) and lacked the mythological background to conceptualize them as something other than, say, Tinker Bell (who is awesome, don't get me wrong), or the fairies from A Midsummer Night's Dream (who I just find irritating). I'd have never picked this book up had the publisher not offered it for free. And it'd have been my great loss! Of Blood and Honey is the sort of urban fantasy that makes other urban fantasy series look bad, it's just that creative and different.

The book is set in Ireland in the 1970s. Set amid the Troubles, violent things happen. Dark, twisted things happen. For those interested in warnings, (view spoiler) Much of the graphicness is implied, rather than explicitly or exploitatively stated, which I really appreciated. I really appreciated the details and the historical reality Leicht constructed and smoothly presented.

The conflict is a fascinating one, and well-layered. Fairies, fallen angels and the priests who hunt them, Catholics, Protestants, and Liam, a half-fae young man from Derry who struggles to repress the demons inside him. The fairies played only a small part in this book, but I suspect the sequel will delve further into their world.

My main issue with this book was how much the other characters kept Liam in the dark about who he was and the supernatural struggle that was drawing him in. It was just very frustrating, that a couple truthful and timely conversations might have made things easier for Liam! Other than that, though, the book was a smooth, engaging, unique read, and I look forward to the sequel when it's released.(less)

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Feb 12, 2011 Chris Aylott rated it 4 of 5 stars

Strong first novel that puts urban fantasy in one of the last places you would expect it -- Northern Ireland in the 1970s. Liam Kelly is Irish Catholic but (mostly) non-political, trying to keep his head down and mind his own business. That plan doesn't work out so well as events draw him into the Troubles and an older, far more secret war.

Leicht takes an ambitious approach, telling a complex story set over years in an unfamiliar society, but the gamble pays off. Some of this is the setting; I d...more

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Feb 10, 2012 Brandi rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

I have to offer you all reading this, and my recent reviews, an apology because I am having one of my mental "episodes" and my writing and thinking are quite erratic. The doctor calls it neural degradation. I get confused really easily, and forget things as soon as I hear/read/see them. So my reviews are horrible when I'm going through it, sorry. :)

I'm feeling pretty cheated by this ending to be honest. There were SO many things that hadn't been explained, and even with an epilogue, I have no be...more I have to offer you all reading this, and my recent reviews, an apology because I am having one of my mental "episodes" and my writing and thinking are quite erratic. The doctor calls it neural degradation. I get confused really easily, and forget things as soon as I hear/read/see them. So my reviews are horrible when I'm going through it, sorry. :)

I'm feeling pretty cheated by this ending to be honest. There were SO many things that hadn't been explained, and even with an epilogue, I have no better understanding of it.

There is a great deal of things about this book that I didn't like, but I was able to enjoy the story (for the most part) despite that, and I think it might be because of my adoration of all things Irish. There are a lot of needless sentences and paragraphs that should have been culled, as well as missed details and bad transitions. This was also really long! I spent all day reading it yesterday and I still had 10% left to go yet.

The story begins with our main character, Liam, being wrongly imprisoned and thrown into the worst of the prisons; Long Kesh. While he only spends a few months there, it will forever change him in ways that are never resolved in this part of the story. It is here that he meets a huge wolfhound and realizes that he is not normal. He has a monster inside of him.

From there Liam goes home and makes a pact with his girlfriend to be wed when he has the ability to keep her, but he is once again thrown in jail. This time he spends a couple of years there.

After he is released he marries his girlfriend and begins life in Dublin during the war. He becomes one of the volunteer fighters, and this is the main focus of the entire book up to the fight with the bad guy in the supernatural world.

There was very, very, little by way of Fae/supernatural and I never understood the reason for the title. The honey in particular. There is also a incredible use of genuine Irish slang, or even regular, language and while I had to figure out the meanings I loved reading it. Like the trunk of a car is called a boot, and getting beaten is called a hiding, and killing (or maybe just shooting?) someone is called top. I did get a little frustrated by it, even as I loved it, because some things weren't easy for me to figure out their meanings. Like taig I gathered easily enough is some sort of derogatory term, but for what and how? There is also Irish spoken, and I always thought it was called Gaelic so that was neat to learn I was wrong, and mostly it is translated but a couple of times it wasn't. I actually went to see if the author was from Ireland because of the command of their slang, but she is from the US.

It was really disappointing that I didn't get to learn more about Liam's monster, or Bran even, but it would appear that information is left up to future novels. I still think that more could have been given about at least Liam though, and still had more than enough to cover for later. Liam got on my nerves many times as well because he failed to ask about anything! Like when his wife was ill he didn't have the common sense to figure it out, or wonder at what was really going on. His devotion to his wife made me melt, and I wish I could have gotten more of the two of them, and less of the conflict fighting.

All in all it was an okay book with lots of flaws, but there is potential here. It needs to be less heavy with the nonsense filler and more true to what the synopsis says it's about. If I am told I'm getting a book about Fey, I expect a book about Fey. In total fairness it deserves much closer to two stars, but I have such a huge weakness for all things Irish that I bumped it up because of that. (less)

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Mar 14, 2013 Laura Lee Nutt rated it 5 of 5 stars

Of Blood and Honey adds something new to the fantasy genre. It takes place in 1970s Ireland during The Troubles, thus helping expand urban fantasy into the rich realm of past history, and incorporates fey, demons, the IRA, and a halfbreed puca in an epically rich, wonderfully dark, and gut-grippingly tragic fashion that has placed Stina Leicht on my must read pile.

The story breings into the fray Liam Kelly, a relative innocent in the political affairs of Ireland and the secret wars between the f...more

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Mar 03, 2013 L rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: fantasy-supernatural

To categorize this as fantasy feels wrong. Yes, it is urban fantasy, in that it does involve conflict between the Fallen, the Fey, and "humanity," particularly a small sect within the Catholic Church bent on eliminating the Fallen. Set in Northern Ireland in the '70's, however, it's more about the Troubles than the "war" between supernaturals. In fact, the supernatural elements are so well integrated with the tale of key characters and their experiences (day to day, religious, the Irish Catholic...more

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Jan 24, 2013 John rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Set during the Troubles of Northern Ireland, this book is a harrowing read in parts, especially if (as I am) you’re British. It’s about Liam, a young Irish lad who lives in Derry, and then in Belfast. It follows the first chapters of his life, starting out as a teenager imprisoned for a crime he didn’t commit. Martin McGrath, an Irish Nationalist with direct experience of the Troubles, wrote an excellent analysis of the book and what’s wrong with its portrayal of the Unionists, the British and t ...more Set during the Troubles of Northern Ireland, this book is a harrowing read in parts, especially if (as I am) you’re British. It’s about Liam, a young Irish lad who lives in Derry, and then in Belfast. It follows the first chapters of his life, starting out as a teenager imprisoned for a crime he didn’t commit. Martin McGrath, an Irish Nationalist with direct experience of the Troubles, wrote an excellent analysis of the book and what’s wrong with its portrayal of the Unionists, the British and the Nationalists. I had read the blog post without realising that it was a review of a Campbell-nominated author’s novel, and so I liked the chance to reread it having some of the context for the book that it was talking about.

One important thing to note about this novel is that, despite the fact some parts seemed jarring to me and I noticed a very one-sided portrayal of the issues, involved, it made me want to know more. Speaking as a young Briton who only vaguely remembers hearing about the Good Friday Agreement on the radio, I don’t know much about the Troubles. After finishing this novel one of the first things I did was start looking stuff up on Wikipedia, and reading. As far as I can tell from browsing Wikipedia and some other sources, there were some Republicans, who did bad things; some Unionists, who did equally bad things; and the British Army, some of whom were doing their job as best they could but some of whom had far too much sympathy for the Unionists to be anything other than terrorists in British uniforms. (This is a gross oversimplification but I think that’s the gist of it; McGrath’s excellent post will give you an idea of what I mean.) I’m happy that I was spurred into learning more about this, since I think it’s really important that people are aware of the history here, but what I’ve learned has diminished my enjoyment of the book due to the above issues.

As a consequence of all this, I feel really conflicted about the novel. I thoroughly enjoyed it, from cover to cover – although it’s a very melancholy tale so don’t read it if you don’t have easy access to hugs! – but I’m uncomfortable about how skewed the image I came away with was. As far as I can tell, the Troubles in Northern Ireland are a hell of a lot less black and white than Leicht would have us believe. The comments on McGrath’s blog highlight Leicht saying, “I guess you can say it’s my way of finding a real situation that fits extreme good versus extreme evil.” That, to me, suggests that she thinks anyone in Ireland who’s a Catholic is ‘extreme good’, and anyone who is not is ‘extreme evil’. Given that, as a Briton, I guess I would fall under the ‘extreme evil’ classification, that’s obviously an opinion that I have certain issues with.(less)

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Dec 19, 2012 Jacqie rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: didnt-finish

Another didn't-finish. Hope I break out of this soon.

I was really looking forward to reading this one, but I think I was expecting a different book. I knew that the main character lived in northern Ireland during the 1970's, that his father was a Fae, and that this book was about Liam learning about his heritage. From this I hoped that we'd get a rich mythology in the story, with shout-outs to all the Celtic fairy tales I've seen referenced in other fantasies. Even something like Among Others,...more Another didn't-finish. Hope I break out of this soon.

I was really looking forward to reading this one, but I think I was expecting a different book. I knew that the main character lived in northern Ireland during the 1970's, that his father was a Fae, and that this book was about Liam learning about his heritage. From this I hoped that we'd get a rich mythology in the story, with shout-outs to all the Celtic fairy tales I've seen referenced in other fantasies. Even something like Among Others, with its feeling of nuance and numinousness, would have more than satisfied me.

However, this book just never drew me in. I couldn't immerse myself in the story because I never got a good picture of anything. How old is Liam when we first meet him on his way to the internment camp- 13, 15, 16? What does his mother Kathleen look like? What is the basis of their faith and how is it important to the shape of their world? This is the 1970's- why is the book set then? There are no visual or contextual clues for me to know the year except for the headings at the beginning of each chapter. Why are the British soldiers all such asses?

And then there's one of my pet peeves. Liam doesn't know anything about his heritage because his mother doesn't want to tell him and has made his father swear not to reveal this knowledge either. It's the return of my least favorite plot ever: main character acts out of ignorance because the people who "want what's best for him" have decided that "the time isn't right" to reveal his background or that "he couldn't handle the truth, so let's not tell him". No way that could possibly go wrong! Boooooo!! And then, there was the rape scene that I saw coming a mile away. It came inexorably, and was followed with nothing that gave me the idea that our main character was relating to it in a psychologically complex way- it could have been out of a morality play as far as how the results of it played out. I got the feeling that the author put it in to be gritty, but then shied away from really getting into her character's head and finishing what she started. Sorry, I feel like I'm being glib about this rape scene, but I feel like if you're going to put something like that into your book, you need to give more than boilerplate reaction to it and give your readers something which makes them think instead of just playing on their emotions.

So, I never got a look at any of the mythology behind the surface story. I didn't feel the magical world edging into this one. It didn't feel like urban fantasy at all. I'm okay with subtlety, but this just seemed flavorless. (less)

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Oct 30, 2012 Paul Genesse rated it 5 of 5 stars

Review: of Blood and Honey by Stina Leicht
(Minor Spoilers Present)

This first novel in the Fey and the Fallen series, of Blood and Honey, had my attention from the start and kept me fascinated the whole way through. Campbell award nominee, Stina Leicht’s debut novel is brilliantly crafted, fast-paced, and completely engrossing. It’s a very dark urban fantasy about a young Irishman, Liam, growing up in the 60’s and 70’s in Northern Ireland, mainly Derry and Belfast, as the fight between the Protes...more

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Sep 29, 2012 Moonglum rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: fantasy, historical-fiction

I don't normally enjoy urban fantasy (buffy the vampire slayer being an exception), but I loved this book. I think the problem I have with the urban fantasy that I have read is that the world that the vampires/witches/cultists/demons/wizards/werewolves/fey/etc. inhabit, a world of TV, fast food, malls, and cell phones, belies the power of the mythology and folklore that is being drawn upon. 'Of Blood and Honey' describes a reality-- personal, economic, and political, that is at least as awful an...more

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Jun 14, 2012 K. Bird rated it 5 of 5 stars

I didn't know what to expect going into this book. I guess I was thinking "Charles de Lint" and so the first few pages I spent readjusting to both the lingo, the political climate of 1970's Ireland, and a brutally honest and realistic story of a young man, Liam, wrongfully thrust into one of Ireland's most brutal prisons: Long Kesh.

In the Kesh, Liam undergoes a brutal experience that lets loose the darkness in him that is a legacy from his unknown father.

Even when he is let out of the Kesh, he c...more

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Mar 31, 2012 My Awful Reviews rated it 4 of 5 stars

Description (From Indiebound): Liam never knew who his father was. The town of Derry had always assumed that he was the bastard of a protestant - his mother never spoke of him, and Liam assumed he was dead. But when the war between the fallen and the fey begins to heat up, Liam and his family are pulled into a conflict that they didn't know existed. A centuries old conflict between supernatural forces seems to mirror the political divisions in 1970's era Ireland, and Liam is thrown headlong into...more

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Jan 25, 2012 Feather rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: read-kindle

I picked this up on the kindle after seeing a few splash ads for the publisher, Night Shade Books. I've got to say, I really liked it! I could tell the ending was altered from what the author originally intended when it was decided to make it a series, but I enjoyed the characters too much and the writing to be bothered. Besides, MORE BOOK at a later date! The last few pages were the only loose story point of the entire book, which impressed me for a debut author.

The story is based during the 70...more I picked this up on the kindle after seeing a few splash ads for the publisher, Night Shade Books. I've got to say, I really liked it! I could tell the ending was altered from what the author originally intended when it was decided to make it a series, but I enjoyed the characters too much and the writing to be bothered. Besides, MORE BOOK at a later date! The last few pages were the only loose story point of the entire book, which impressed me for a debut author.

The story is based during the 70s in Ireland during the Troubles, and this is the only fictional book I've ever read based during that time. I picked up a sample, extremely weary because of the subject matter, but I was not disappointed in the least. It is a dark book, as it should be to match the times. There is no Happily Ever After. Religion and Politics way heavy on the protagonists, there is a constant undercurrent of violence, and there is death. Loads of it.

Liam, our protagonist, is half Fae. And he is no Edward Cullen sort of sparkle, perfect supernatural guy. He's actually a little bit on the slow side, more mechanically minded (what he can do because anything metal hurts to touch after a while), and he doesn't really know what's going on (he was a great unreliable narrator). I liked Liam. He is a good guy, caught in a situation entirely out of his control, and even though he makes mistakes (and sometimes rather huge ones), he tries his hardest to be a good person, even when he thinks he might not have a soul. He spends 1/3 of the book in prison for crimes he didn't commit, and shockingly, that messes him up! I liked that the things that happened earlier in the book do continue to haunt the characters, that there is no "pass" on any of the tragedy.

No one in the story is just good or just evil. They're all complicated, have a moral outlook that might not be easy to express in the warzone many find themselves in. People make mistakes, and there are consequences for those mistakes. No one gets a free ride here.

Like I said, it is a dark book. It was not so dark that I was depressed to read it (though, I was very sad when one of my favorite characters died rather horribly), but still, dark. It's a good book, though. It's like the Good Folk: a turn for the good, a turn for the bad. Magic isn't nice.

If you're looking for a more reality based fantasy, try this one!(less)

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Jan 09, 2012 Nicholas Whyte rated it 4 of 5 stars

Set in Northern Ireland during the 1970s; at the same time as the human conflict unfolding on the streets of Belfast and Derry, there is a supernatural conflict being waged between the Church and the Otherworld. It would be very easy to do this badly, but Leicht has avoided almost all the obvious pitfalls; the two plots reinforce each other rather than seeking clunky parallels. Her viewpoint character, Liam Kelly, is swept by circumstance into the IRA and co-opted by his supernatural paternity i...more

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Mar 11, 2011 Incandragon rated it 5 of 5 stars

Of Blood and Honey is a nicely woven story of the Liam, a well-intentioned but hot-headed young Irish man during the times of Ireland's 1970's troubles. Without giving anything away, I can say there's good and evil, and there are monsters and heroes, but not in a swashbuckling high fantasy kind of way. It's too steeped in modern history to be that straightforward, and, well, people are complicated.

One thing that I really enjoy in a book is when I feel like I've learned something real about my ow...more

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Oct 17, 2011 Megan rated it 2 of 5 stars

Shelves: drugs, history, magic

(Re-posted from http://theturnedbrain.blogspot.com/)

I finished this book a while ago, but I’ve held off on writing a review on it. Mostly because I was trying to figure out what I didn’t like about it, because while it’s clear to me that Stina Leicht’s debut and I didn’t connect, I can’t for the life of me figure out why. I think I can confidently say that the issue is between me and the book, and not with the book its self. Blood and Honey has garnered itself a slew of positive reviews across t...more (Re-posted from http://theturnedbrain.blogspot.com/)

I finished this book a while ago, but I’ve held off on writing a review on it. Mostly because I was trying to figure out what I didn’t like about it, because while it’s clear to me that Stina Leicht’s debut and I didn’t connect, I can’t for the life of me figure out why. I think I can confidently say that the issue is between me and the book, and not with the book its self. Blood and Honey has garnered itself a slew of positive reviews across the internet, many from sources I trust.

It was these positive reviews that led me to picking up the book in the first place. When it was first released I gave the blurb a once over and disregarded the book as another urban fantasy, yawn. But then the reviews started coming in, painting the story as something much more. The book is set in 1970's Ireland, an era not exactly known for its stability, and revolves around a young kid called Liam. Liam has a real knack for being in the wrong place at the wrong time, and despite being mostly innocent, can’t seem to keep himself out a string of really nasty prison camps. On top this, and unbeknownst to poor Liam, it turns out that he’s part fae. Part nasty, violent, hard to control, beast shaped fae.

This is a dark, gritty book. Normally when a fantasy novel is described as dark or gritty you might expect a certain kind of style. But 'Of Blood and Honey' is not dark in that over saturated, hyper realized Abercrombie/Tarantino kind of way, it’s dark in a much more realistic, human kind of way. This might be at the root of why this book did not work for me. I make no apologies for the fact that I read to escape and be entertained, and there’s little escapism to be found in a book so deeply rooted in the muck and mire of the real world. Reading, for example, about Jant Shira of Steph Swainstan’s Castle book’s drug addiction was entertaining, reading about Liam’s addiction to heroin was just depressing.

The fantasy aspects of this book were fairly limited. This was a consequence of Liam being in the dark as to his true heritage for almost the whole novel, and I think we’ll see a lot more of the other worldly stuff in the sequels. What we do see certainly held promise. We have the fae and fallen angels at war with each other, and an order of human priest who think all other world creatures are on the same team, and are trying to eradicate them. Often in these books the ‘ancient order” or what have you has all the answers, and probably my favourite aspect the book was watching the priest assigned to watch over Liam trying to figure things out. The fallen angels, what little we see of them, are delightfully creepy.

But as I said, this novel definitely leans more on the urban than it does on the fantasy. Which is another aspect that probably effected my enjoyment. Knowing that the sequel is going to be more fantasy heavy is all well and good, but it doesn’t help with the book I’m reading now.

The characters are well drawn. We see the most of Liam, and he’s likeable enough and well meaning, but also a bit of an idiot. He’s definitely more passive than a usually like my characters to be, he tends to do what others tell him or to react to what others do, instead of ever taking the initiative for himself. The character I liked most, who we saw only little of, was Liam’s fae father Bran. Here’s a character with spark and wit, one who makes things happen. We see glimpses of a fascinating backstory, and more importantly, we get the impression that his current story, playing out almost entirely off page, is even more interesting. At the risk of repeating myself, I think book two is where a lot more of Bran will be seen.

The question is, can I forget how overall meh I found this book enough to pick up the sequel?

I would like to stress one last time that my feelings for this book were hugely subjective. Leicht writes very well, and despite my misgiving I never considered not finishing this book. I think this is one that you’ll have to try for yourself.(less)

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Mar 01, 2012 April Steenburgh rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: fae, fantasy, historical-fiction

Liam has a talent for being at the wrong place at the wrong time, and in Ireland during the Troubles this can be a fatal affliction. Having done his time for crimes he did not commit, Liam is finally driven to taking a political stance by being unwilling to take anymore. He volunteers with the IRA to get a job to support his new wife and to gain some measure of control over his life.

But Liam has never met his birth father, and it seems the man left him more than anyone could have imagined. Somet...more

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Nov 29, 2011 Chris rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: lit-ireland, fairy, werewolves-are-awesome, fantasy-historical, fantasy-urban

The Troubles. Here, in America, it is not too uncommon to find people who don't even know where Ireland is on a map. Truly. It's funny watching people read Swift's Modest Propsal and seeing that they believe Swift was serious. Honestly, it makes me want to yell at them; and I'm not even Irish! I just like U2, the Corrs, the Wildes, all those fair folk, Ballykissangel, The Hanging Gale (ah, the McGanns) and so on.

And Guiness. But I love Guiness, so that'a different story.

Anyway. This book takes p...more

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Jun 19, 2012 Erik rated it 5 of 5 stars

This book is not an easy read, and it took me a while to get into it, but by the end it had grown into one of the best urban fantasy novels I've ever read.

I think my struggle with reading it was a result of Liam, the protagonist, being so reactive towards the beginning, and not having any idea what was going on. It made him less sympathetic, and even the narrative held him at a distance. It started as almost an omniscient viewpoint.

As the novel went on, however, it sucked me in. Liam became more...more This book is not an easy read, and it took me a while to get into it, but by the end it had grown into one of the best urban fantasy novels I've ever read.

I think my struggle with reading it was a result of Liam, the protagonist, being so reactive towards the beginning, and not having any idea what was going on. It made him less sympathetic, and even the narrative held him at a distance. It started as almost an omniscient viewpoint.

As the novel went on, however, it sucked me in. Liam became more proactive as he became more aware of what was going on. The narrative focused in on him and became more limited third-person. I got more involved until I found myself in tears at some of the more dramatic moments.

The writing is also concise. The whole book is fewer than 300 pages, not a word is wasted, and the story is absolutely full of stuff happening and characters growing.

The book is a historical urban fantasy, taking place during the Troubles in Ireland in the 70's, and the historical elements are handled elegantly. They weave into the narrative, and are never intrusive, and always fascinating. I actually feel like I learned quite a bit about the living conditions at the time.

The mythical elements were also handled fantastically. When a Fey or a Fallen shows up, it feels like a really magical, epic moment. The mundane every-day of the characters makes the appearances of the mythical beings something really special.

Jesus, even the Catholic Church was handled well. I grew up Catholic, and Stina Leicht shows a really balanced perspective on the Church -- it's an entrenched institution that's conservative and has trouble changing and isn't always fair to new ideas, but it's also a great source of solace to people in desperate times. It is most present in the character of Father Murray, who really cares for the people he's trying to help, though he might make mistakes along the way. He's full of tough love and a resilient humor. One of my favorite lines comes when he offers Liam a glass of whiskey, saying "If it's too strong for you, consider it part of your penance."

I really can't tell you how much I loved this novel. I thought about it even when I wasn't reading it, and I'm still thinking about it after finishing it. It challenged me, but like all great novels, it rewarded all the effort I put in.

Ireland is one of my favorite places in the world, and I left a piece of my heart there. This book tapped that love, and affected me deeply.

Highly recommended.(less)

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Apr 07, 2011 Michelle Morrell rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: faerie, x-read-2011

This book was recommended to me by a friend, and as I've been into faerie-tinged reality a lot lately, I picked it up right away. I loved this book! Set in the turbulent northern Ireland of the 70s, the backdrop is technically a war between the Fae and fallen angels, though that didn't appear too much. The main story is the tale of Liam, a half-fae boy coming to adulthood without knowledge of his heritage and the trials he goes through with the violence that seems to follow him.

I found the writ...more

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Aug 03, 2012 Crystal rated it 4 of 5 stars

At some point in reading this book, I wanted to give it five stars. It's truly a great read. I read so many wonderful reviews, but still I was reluctant to start the book because urban fantasy is rarely my thing. There are basically two reasons for this: 1) I've read too much urban fantasy that was poorly written, and 2) I have a difficult time suspending disbelief where magic interacts with the contemporary world. I prefer my heroes wielding either guns or swords, not both.

I didn't have either...more At some point in reading this book, I wanted to give it five stars. It's truly a great read. I read so many wonderful reviews, but still I was reluctant to start the book because urban fantasy is rarely my thing. There are basically two reasons for this: 1) I've read too much urban fantasy that was poorly written, and 2) I have a difficult time suspending disbelief where magic interacts with the contemporary world. I prefer my heroes wielding either guns or swords, not both.

I didn't have either problem with this book. Stina Leicht writes like she was born to do it. It's not so much the lyrical prose that I often prefer or the frequent occurrence of a lovely turn of phrase. It was a believable plot and real, flawed characters that drew me into the story.

By the end, however, I felt less satisfied by the book and had to subtract at least one star. The main difficulty is that the book is so dark. The protagonist rarely has a nice thing happen to him in his miserable life. And that would be fine, but it's hardly something I enjoy reading. It's also hard to believe. I would think inserting a moment of levity or beauty into the story would make the dark parts easier (like life, as a matter of fact). I was also disappointed in the character of Mary Kate. (view spoiler) There was also sexual victimization in this book, and I'm getting tired of that. (view spoiler) Basically I'm just getting tired of reading about it. My last major problem was that Liam ends up rather whiny and annoying at the end. If I were Father Murray, I would have eventually snapped and told him to get a life. He really says the same things over and over. I get that horrible things happened, but complaining about it ad nauseam doesn't make it go away or change the past.

There were a few more minor quibbles. I greatly dislike gaps of time in character-driven stories such as this one. A few months or so would pass from one paragraph to the next. They surely have a place, since everyday life is fairly boring and unnecessary to recount in detail, but I feel like those transitions could have been handled more smoothly. The magic system, while woven subtly and expertly into the story, could have used more justification. More details will surely emerge in future books, but so little explanation was used to distinguish between the magic of Angels and Fairies that I wasn't quite sure what was going on. I may not read any further, so I would like to know at least the basics.

I've spent a large time on complaints, but that was because I had to think so hard to find any. The book is well-written and believable, and I can see why it won a Campbell Award. This is high quality fantasy literature.
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Apr 16, 2011 Jackie rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: e-book-edition-for-review, read-in-2011

Of Blood and Honey is a debut novel you do not want to miss reading... Dark, gritty urban fantasy full of magic, myth and very real horrors that mankind as well as the supernatural inflicted on each other... I was drawn in to this story of Liam, his mother Kathleen, step father Patrick and his "Fey" father Bran from the start... Not only is there quite a bit of history gleaned about the infamous Irish IRA and also the British Armies conflicts in the 1970's but there is a brilliantly descriptive...more

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Jul 25, 2012 Shara (Calico Reaction) rated it 3 of 5 stars

The premise: ganked from BN.com: Liam never knew who his father was. The town of Derry had always assumed that he was the bastard of a protestant - his mother never spoke of him, and Liam assumed he was dead. But when the war between the fallen and the fey began to heat up, Liam and his family are pulled into a conflict that they didn't know existed. A centuries old conflict between supernatural forces seems to mirror the political divisions in 1970's era Ireland, and Liam is thrown headlong int...more The premise: ganked from BN.com: Liam never knew who his father was. The town of Derry had always assumed that he was the bastard of a protestant - his mother never spoke of him, and Liam assumed he was dead. But when the war between the fallen and the fey began to heat up, Liam and his family are pulled into a conflict that they didn't know existed. A centuries old conflict between supernatural forces seems to mirror the political divisions in 1970's era Ireland, and Liam is thrown headlong into both conflicts! Only the direct intervention of Liam's real father, and a secret catholic order dedicated to fighting "The Fallen" can save Liam... from the mundane and supernatural forces around him, and from the darkness that lurks within him.

My Rating: Worth Reading, with Reservations

Of Blood and Honey is dark and brutal, and from the start, utterly captivating in every respect. My enthusiasm for the book waned as I read it though, At first, I wasn't sure who I was going to pick for the Campbell Award, but by time I reached the book's end I realized there really was no contest. On the surface, the book definitely feels unique, but there are some missteps and manipulations along the way that tried my patience. I wish the conflict between the Fae and the Fallen had more of a link to the real world conflict between the Catholics and the Protestants, between the Irish and the British. Perhaps I'll see more of that in the sequel, which I'm still interested in, but not as desperately as I was when I first started reading the book. Yet for all my reservations, and the revelations about historical inaccuracies, this is certainly a unique urban fantasy. I've not seen one like it, and in that regard, the book is worth reading. If you're one to catch the inaccuracies because you're familiar with the Troubles in Ireland, the book will likely drive you batty. But if you're ignorant, the tale is worth reading (and then learn about the inaccuracies afterword, because if you're going to enjoy the book, you owe it to history to learn what the author got wrong). Leicht definitely shows a lot of promise and has a lot to offer, but I hope she grows as a writer and gets better as she goes. I'll definitely be keeping my eye open as her career progresses.

Spoilers, yay or nay?: Yay. There's a lot to talk about with this book, especially given how it works as fantasy versus historical fiction, and all the problems that arise when the two are mixed. The link to the full review, with spoilers, is below. Comments and discussion are most welcome!

REVIEW: Stina Leicht's OF BLOOD AND HONEY

Happy Reading!(less)

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Dec 14, 2011 orannia rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: urban-fantasy

I've tagged Of Blood and Honey as urban fantasy rather than fantasy as to me that is what it is. Of Blood and Honey is set in Northern Ireland in the early to mid-1970s. This was a troubled period (to say the least) in Northern Ireland's history; a period known as 'The Troubles'. The discontent, the frustration, the anger...it all comes across starkly in the book. And that is one of the reasons why it is so hard to read. It is very dark. But...more than that, it's...familiar. Dark fantasy is one...more I've tagged Of Blood and Honey as urban fantasy rather than fantasy as to me that is what it is. Of Blood and Honey is set in Northern Ireland in the early to mid-1970s. This was a troubled period (to say the least) in Northern Ireland's history; a period known as 'The Troubles'. The discontent, the frustration, the anger...it all comes across starkly in the book. And that is one of the reasons why it is so hard to read. It is very dark. But...more than that, it's...familiar. Dark fantasy is one of my favourite genres. Because it is fantasy, I can be caught up in the story, care for the characters, but still...keep myself apart. Know that it is just a creation of the author's and no more. And even when the author goes that extra step and writes a book that is not black and white, but myriad shades of grey (my personal favourite), when the characters aren't all good or all evil, I, while being even more hooked, am still - in some small way - separate. I couldn't do that with Of Blood and Honey. Just like with the conflict in Northern Ireland during 'The Troubles' there is no black and white in this book. Just endless shades of grey. And what's harder to bear is that you know that what is experienced by the characters is likely a reflection of what occured in Northern Ireland.

I was disussing the book with a friend last week. We both agreed that it was the sort of book that was gripping when one was reading it, but that...one almost didn't want to pick up again after a break. I guess what I'm trying to say is that it...resonated, just not in the way I was expecting. It's like when you realize that the worst you can think of is about to happen, when time slows down, but there is nothing you can do to stop it? That is what I felt while reading this book.

So I'm guess you're wondering why the five stars? Because the book resonated so strongly. Because it has made me want to know more about Northern Ireland's history - thank you Stina Leicht for including a list of potential non-fiction books at the end of Of Blood and Honey! Because my great-grandfather was born in County Derry and being that he was one of a number of children it is likely I had distant family living in County Derry during 'The Troubles'. So will I be reading the sequel? Yes. Just at a time when I know I can cope with the dark knocking on my door.(less)

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Apr 10, 2012 Dawn rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: freebie, fantasy

This was a Kindle Freebie and listed under fantasy. I had no idea what I was getting into and so it was interesting to discover along the way.

This is an urban fantasy, set against the highly explosive political climate of Ireland during the 1970s. Liam, the main character, is the son of a human woman and a member of the Good Folk, but doesn't know it and isn't told what this means for much of the book. I definitely shared Liam's frustration at key details of his life being kept from him while ot...more

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Feb 21, 2011 Graham Starfelt rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: fantasy, fiction

Much as I'm a fantasy geek, the premise of this book seemed deeply unappealing to me. Fairies and angels and angsty Irish folk- it covers ground that has been endlessly and fruitlessly trod by innumerable terrible authors. But the book was recommended by a friend whose taste I respect, and I'm quite happy I picked it up. This is probably the best piece of fantasy writing I've read in the last few years. The story is a bit disjointed, but the characters are excellently written- the protag in part...more

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Jul 09, 2012 Dina rated it 2 of 5 stars · review of another edition

All right. I'm pretty sure my opinion of this is going to be in the minority. All over the Internets, reviewers are RAVING about this author's staggering, impressive, astounding debut novel and are even clamoring for award recognition.

Why? I ask.

Ah, maybe because the historical details of Ireland's Time of Troubles (against the backdrop of the bitter Protestant-Catholic fighting) are thorough and appear to be meticulously researched. Or that the narrative is gritty and realistically bleak. Or, p...more

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Jul 14, 2011 Ranting Dragon rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: stephan

http://www.rantingdragon.com/of-blood...

I don’t usually read urban fantasy, especially not the trashy, fallen angel type (obviously, “trashy” is my own opinion — a wrong one at that, as this review will prove). So even though I heard good things about Stina Leicht’s Of Blood and Honey, I vowed never to read it. Of course, I did read it in the end… and I blame Leicht for that. She abused a Twitter conversation in order to convince me. “It has car chases,” she promised. Considering no book from Ni...more

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Dec 23, 2012 Martin Stein rated it 4 of 5 stars

The book is about the irish troubles (I think the civil war that happened there in the 70s and 80s was called) from the viewpoint of a werewolf. That sounds strange but the real world is well interwoven with the irish spiritual world. It was a thrilling book that I finished in two days.
I liked the characters that appear in the book they appear to be quite three-dimensional. The evil characters appear to be pure evil, they seem to have no motives for their badness.

I think the author tried too har...more

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Feb 09, 2011 Teresa Frohock rated it 5 of 5 stars

This novel rocketed me right out of my chair. It's that good. I think it’s wonderful to see something fresh brought to the fantasy genre, and Stina Leicht does it with flair.

Set in the 1970s when the Provisional Irish Republican Army (IRA) and the British Army (BA) clash, Leicht’s story opens with action that doesn’t stop until the last page is turned. Ireland’s Fey are at war with the Fallen, and as that conflict escalates, so does the confrontations between the IRA and the BA. Caught up in the...more

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Of Blood and Honey (The Fey and the Fallen #1)

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