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Path of Pins
Everything we thought—everything they told us, every secret our supposed guardians shared—was a lie. They told me to find the Rose Queen, that stopping her would halt the catastrophe. They told me that she was trying to kill us all. They were wrong. They lied. And the truth?
The Fey are still dead. My father is still missing. And no one can be trusted.
Now it’s up to me & my best friend Jim to save the world, find my dad, and discover what happened to Roger. First, we have to run from those trying to control us. And then?
There’s only one thing left for me to do:
Kill the demon Koschei.
Make it hurt.
My name is Kat Finnegan, and this is the part where everything burns.
The Fey are still dead. My father is still missing. And no one can be trusted.
Now it’s up to me & my best friend Jim to save the world, find my dad, and discover what happened to Roger. First, we have to run from those trying to control us. And then?
There’s only one thing left for me to do:
Kill the demon Koschei.
Make it hurt.
My name is Kat Finnegan, and this is the part where everything burns.
283 pages, Kindle Edition
First published March 14, 2014
11 people want to read
About the author
Hannah Kollef
6 books21 followersHannah Kollef was born on the anniversary of Genghis Khan's death. She believes this is responsible for her poor table manners and love of pillaging.
Hannah is proud to hold the title of Master of Science, even though that science is library science and the only thing she has mastered is a proper Librarian Glare when people organise their bookshelves by colour. While travelling Europe as an English teacher she self-published three YA fantasy novels inspired by fairy tales and the dangerous histories behind them. "The Danger in Bohemia", her first romantic thriller for adults, was published with Dreamspinner Press in 2016. After a break to move to the UK and settle permanently, she is back at work on her next series for adults, an urban-fantasy dulogoy described as Neverwhere meets Winter's Orbit.
In addition to her novels, Hannah has been published in various magazines including In General magazine and Hometown Quarterly. She has also worked as a freelance copywriter, editor, and social media consultant. She currently lives in the UK where she analyses data during her day job and at night manages the feeding schedule of a very demanding, mildly overweight cat.
Hannah is proud to hold the title of Master of Science, even though that science is library science and the only thing she has mastered is a proper Librarian Glare when people organise their bookshelves by colour. While travelling Europe as an English teacher she self-published three YA fantasy novels inspired by fairy tales and the dangerous histories behind them. "The Danger in Bohemia", her first romantic thriller for adults, was published with Dreamspinner Press in 2016. After a break to move to the UK and settle permanently, she is back at work on her next series for adults, an urban-fantasy dulogoy described as Neverwhere meets Winter's Orbit.
In addition to her novels, Hannah has been published in various magazines including In General magazine and Hometown Quarterly. She has also worked as a freelance copywriter, editor, and social media consultant. She currently lives in the UK where she analyses data during her day job and at night manages the feeding schedule of a very demanding, mildly overweight cat.
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Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews
May 27, 2014
Following immediately where Path of Needles ends, Kat and Jim have escaped one enemy only to find that there is a more powerful one behind it all. The spirit Koschei, previously Ivan Ivanovich, Tsar of Russia, is searching for their father, who is still missing, for reasons no one is able to tell them. Kat and Roger have been separated, with Roger walking the path of pins while Kat struggles to negotiate the fairy tale underground. Ranging from New York City to Prague to the Underworld, the story quickly amps up the danger and destruction.
Warning - I am starting with the few things I didn't like. To get them out of the way. Because there was a lot more to like about the book, as you can see by my rating.
I have to say I wish there was more Roger in this book. I know that we are seeing it all from Kat's point of view, but Roger's role in this skyrocketed in importance and (for me, at least) interest. Instead of taking center stage as he walks the inspiration for the title of the novel, his journey is set up as an aside, the stage on which Kat's story was built. And that really bothers me. Roger is the solution to the problem, but I always felt like he was more a footnote as the story progressed.
Also, from an editorial standpoint, there are a few bits that read a bit younger than the young adult genre - specifically when someone has given Kat something to use "when really needed." Twice. And when she remembers about that thing, she remembers them saying to use it "when really needed." Twice. That stood out to me, for some reason.
End rant.
Everything else, however, I really enjoyed. Kat's ability to see into the past, to see the Truth of things, comes in handy as she is forced to unravel the mystery around her. Not only does she need to find her father, she must find him before Koshei does. And all the time, staying hidden from the Shades and Nycterent (demon-dog-hunter-creatures. nasty). And negotiating the personalities around her. And work closely with more than one person who wants to kill her. And deal with loss and betrayal. So she's got a bit more on her plate than the normal teen.
Kat's strong, though, and even when she has no idea what to do, even when she fails, she tries. And that's worth a lot in my book. She is able to work with those around her, even when, as I said, they don't necessarily want to help her. She is the nexus around which the plot rotates.
Jim's role was far more interesting as well - he's discovered more about his own abilities, and knowing the ending as I do now, I wonder what those abilities will bring to his future.
I think my favorite character, however, is Niall the Kelpie. I loved reading his interactions with Kat, with Kat's mother, and with Jim. I hope we do get more of him in the future, and that we get to see him freed. Hopefully without it killing Kat.
So yes, overall, I really enjoyed this book. I did receive my copy from the author in exchange for an honest review, and I would like to apologize for taking so long to get that review up. Looking forward to the next!
Warning - I am starting with the few things I didn't like. To get them out of the way. Because there was a lot more to like about the book, as you can see by my rating.
I have to say I wish there was more Roger in this book. I know that we are seeing it all from Kat's point of view, but Roger's role in this skyrocketed in importance and (for me, at least) interest. Instead of taking center stage as he walks the inspiration for the title of the novel, his journey is set up as an aside, the stage on which Kat's story was built. And that really bothers me. Roger is the solution to the problem, but I always felt like he was more a footnote as the story progressed.
Also, from an editorial standpoint, there are a few bits that read a bit younger than the young adult genre - specifically when someone has given Kat something to use "when really needed." Twice. And when she remembers about that thing, she remembers them saying to use it "when really needed." Twice. That stood out to me, for some reason.
End rant.
Everything else, however, I really enjoyed. Kat's ability to see into the past, to see the Truth of things, comes in handy as she is forced to unravel the mystery around her. Not only does she need to find her father, she must find him before Koshei does. And all the time, staying hidden from the Shades and Nycterent (demon-dog-hunter-creatures. nasty). And negotiating the personalities around her. And work closely with more than one person who wants to kill her. And deal with loss and betrayal. So she's got a bit more on her plate than the normal teen.
Kat's strong, though, and even when she has no idea what to do, even when she fails, she tries. And that's worth a lot in my book. She is able to work with those around her, even when, as I said, they don't necessarily want to help her. She is the nexus around which the plot rotates.
Jim's role was far more interesting as well - he's discovered more about his own abilities, and knowing the ending as I do now, I wonder what those abilities will bring to his future.
I think my favorite character, however, is Niall the Kelpie. I loved reading his interactions with Kat, with Kat's mother, and with Jim. I hope we do get more of him in the future, and that we get to see him freed. Hopefully without it killing Kat.
So yes, overall, I really enjoyed this book. I did receive my copy from the author in exchange for an honest review, and I would like to apologize for taking so long to get that review up. Looking forward to the next!
March 12, 2014
With the second installment of the Paths series, Path of Pins, the world remains on the brink of destruction. The Rose Queen has been destroyed but a powerful undead villain is released and he won't stop until until everything is consumed by darkness and the balance between life and death is lost. Kat and Jim try to stop this from happening while Kat continues to search for her father. Roger has been separated from his sister and Jim, and he must find his own way back to them along the path of pins.
For a second book in a series, it was good. The story moves along at a steady pace, although it's a much darker story than in the first book. More characters are killed off and new fairytale and mythology elements are introduced. The characters' individual powers (Kat's, Jim's and Roger's) develop as they encounter increasingly dangerous situations. The descriptive content is particularly well done.
As with the first book, the bulk of the story is carried by Kat. However, in Path of Pins, Roger has a larger part as sections of the tale follow his journey as well. For me, the story didn't flow as well as it did in the first book because of this breaking up of plot lines. Also, by relating some of the folk tale content through Kat's visions or when some of the characters injected it through their histories the story didn't feel as seamless as it did in the first book. Overall it was a good story, but I didn't enjoy it as much as I did the first book.
I do recommend this one as a continuation of the Paths series and look forward to the next one.
For a second book in a series, it was good. The story moves along at a steady pace, although it's a much darker story than in the first book. More characters are killed off and new fairytale and mythology elements are introduced. The characters' individual powers (Kat's, Jim's and Roger's) develop as they encounter increasingly dangerous situations. The descriptive content is particularly well done.
As with the first book, the bulk of the story is carried by Kat. However, in Path of Pins, Roger has a larger part as sections of the tale follow his journey as well. For me, the story didn't flow as well as it did in the first book because of this breaking up of plot lines. Also, by relating some of the folk tale content through Kat's visions or when some of the characters injected it through their histories the story didn't feel as seamless as it did in the first book. Overall it was a good story, but I didn't enjoy it as much as I did the first book.
I do recommend this one as a continuation of the Paths series and look forward to the next one.
April 5, 2014
3.5 Stars
I received this book free from the author in exchange for an honest review.
This is the second book in the Paths series by Hannah Kollief that I have been able to read. I didn't like this one quite as much as the first one. I found it harder to get into this story but once I did I really enjoyed it. My only other complaint was I did find it to be a bit jumpy between the different POV's and the flashbacks. When there were action scenesI really got interested and despite the author killing off some of the characters I couldn't help but to lose myself in the story.
I liked getting more information on these characters. There were a lot to keep track of so by learning even more about them I could relate and remember who was who easier. I do look forward to carry on with this series because I haven't had my fill of the characters yet.
I would recommend this book and series to fantasy lovers. I am really excited to see where it will go from here after that plot twist.
I received this book free from the author in exchange for an honest review.
This is the second book in the Paths series by Hannah Kollief that I have been able to read. I didn't like this one quite as much as the first one. I found it harder to get into this story but once I did I really enjoyed it. My only other complaint was I did find it to be a bit jumpy between the different POV's and the flashbacks. When there were action scenesI really got interested and despite the author killing off some of the characters I couldn't help but to lose myself in the story.
I liked getting more information on these characters. There were a lot to keep track of so by learning even more about them I could relate and remember who was who easier. I do look forward to carry on with this series because I haven't had my fill of the characters yet.
I would recommend this book and series to fantasy lovers. I am really excited to see where it will go from here after that plot twist.
February 26, 2014
A really interesting and enjoyable second novel to the brilliant Paths series. I really enjoyed reading this. Like the first novel, I loved how the characters were portrayed, especially Kat again. I was hooked to the novel from the beginning thanks to how much I enjoyed the first novel.
Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews