From the Bookshelf of The Mortal Instruments…

Tithe (Modern Faerie Tales, #1)

Holly Black

Why we're reading this: Because Holly's writing is beyond brilliant.
Because Holly and Cassie are Friends.
Because this series and …more
[close] Because Holly's writing is beyond brilliant.
Because Holly and Cassie are Friends.
Because this series and the TMI series have homages to one another in them.
Because this book is spectacular.

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What Members Thought

Nov 07, 2009 Hannah rated it liked it

Shelves: urban-paranormal

My initial reaction, at around 25 pages (2 chapters?) into the book, was one of irritation. Irritation, because Holly Black has an effortless style of storytelling that draws you in, and that particular magnetism forced me to keep reading when I was ready to throw the book across the room with annoyance. That is some feat, considering I was sorely tempted to throw it aside 3 times - the main character was that annoying at the beginning.

Kaye and her friends are seriously troubled kids; they smoke My initial reaction, at around 25 pages (2 chapters?) into the book, was one of irritation. Irritation, because Holly Black has an effortless style of storytelling that draws you in, and that particular magnetism forced me to keep reading when I was ready to throw the book across the room with annoyance. That is some feat, considering I was sorely tempted to throw it aside 3 times - the main character was that annoying at the beginning.

Kaye and her friends are seriously troubled kids; they smoke, drink, hang out with druggies, and shoplifts for fun. How am I supposed to like this girl? She is the type of person that says strange, scary things and make you want to stay far away - I was rather creeped out when she commented to her friend that the sun looked like it had been murdered, with blood spilling out, and the moon was the murderess that was watching coldly. With her as a main character, it made it difficult to continue, had Black lacked her vivid vision for faery. Thankfully, that eased as she separated herself from the life of a "normal human" and the story really kicked in.

My only other gripe with this book is the transition between different scenes, which often resembled a movie which had large, fairly important chunks cut out of it without a care for the flow of the story and whether it would make sense to the audience. Tithe is the same; there are many major events that drew little reaction and was passed over pretty quickly. The characters also changed back and forth, such as the relationship between Roiben and Kaye. He was furious with her the night before, and the next day, he seems to be overly friendly. True, she had supposedly "explained" the reason why she had withheld her true identity from him, but it felt like a dream sequence, and one wasn't really sure what to make of it.

That aside, I found Tithe quite enjoyable once we moved past the initial setting. The harsh, gritty depiction of the fey was a welcome one, compared to recent fiction that had tended to glamorize and somehow "tame" the supernatural. The world building was also done extremely well; I could really picture the way the two worlds melded together and overlapped. Roiben and Kaye's relationship felt slightly unnatural and underdeveloped, but perhaps that will happen more slowly. My advice if you want to enjoy this book, or at least give it a fair go: push yourself past the beginning, until her "normal" life starts falling apart and she is forced to take part in faery politics. It is only then when you may find yourself enjoying the ride. I'm looking forward to picking up Valiant! ...more

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Jul 09, 2009 Amy rated it liked it

This had a pretty slow start. I was a bit turned off by all of the cursing, which I definitely wasn't expecting in a YA novel, but I understand that Holly Black was trying to really put the reader into the situation of Kaye's life.

It took me a few chapters to really be interested in the story, but once it kicked in, I liked it! It definitely is a modern fairy tale :)

Three stars only because of the beginning. ...more

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Sep 06, 2007 Marcy Jo rated it it was amazing

Shelves: signed-copy, personal-favorites

Tithe is one of those books that I devoured in one sitting, and absolutely loved. The problem with books like that, is that I often forget how much I love them since I spend so little time with the characters in my inability to stop reading straight through.

I finally got my hands on a copy of Ironside, and wanted a refresher on Tithe so I wouldn't be lost or miss any of the subtle nuances of the story.

It happened again. I drank this story down, closed the final page and gave a great sigh of sa ...more

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Nov 10, 2007 Allie marked it as to-read