Title: Tithe: A Modern Tale of Faerie
Author: Holly Black
Publisher: Simon & Schuster
Genre: Romance & Fantasy
Rating: 3.8/5

Synopsis

Sixteen-year-old Kaye is a modern nomad. Fierce and independent, she travels from city to city with her mother’s rock band, until an ominous attack forces them back to her childhood home.

To the place where she used to see Faeries.

They’re still there. But Kaye’s not a child any more. This time she’s dragged into the thick of their dangerous, frightening world. A realm where black horses dwell beneath the sea, desperate to drown you… where the sinister Thistlewitch divines dark futures… and where dashing Faerie knights are driven to perform acts of brutal depravity for the love of their uncaring queens.

Once there, Kaye finds herself an unwilling pawn in an ancient power struggle between two rival Faerie kingdoms – a struggle that could end in her death …

Review

If you are an avid reader of my blog, you must have seen through me that I have a fetish for supernatural beings, regardless I like it or not. So I’m not surprise seeing myself picking up this book. In fact, I have read a lot of books on fantasy and always hungry for romance books except for pure romance stories where lovers roll from the bed to some lake.

But to be honest with you guys, I actually bought this book on impulse. I was in this bookstore to collect my birthday voucher but cannot!!! I have to collect it within seven days after my birthday. How dumb is that? And I was there 3 days before my birthday. So determined to get something before I leave, I randomly pick a book from the fantasy shelf. Oh… don’t worry this is not my first time doing so.

As usual, I was attracted to the cover because it exudes some gothy feelings with this sort of dead preserved butterfly or moth on the cover. It feels good in my hand too. Yes I know I’m very shallow. To show I’m not that easy to be cheated, I got this book also because it was a nominee for a Mythopoeic Award. No idea what award is that.

I like how Black spins the story. From the first page you read until the end, it is a flow of logic and short and sweet descriptions about the main characters and the events. Rich enough for you to drift into fantasy.

The main characters are - I have to admit they are nothing new – fey creatures. Of course, you don’t expect to see an alien with two big bulging blue eyes and greet you “I come in peace from Uranus” in a fantasy realm, right? The male protagonist is a knight elf, Roiben, who works for the bad queen and main female is a pixie, Kaye, clad in human glamour.

Kaye is a kind of a girl that some people might term weird because she could see fey. No one believes her. What’s more is she didn’t see any more fey when she was nomad-ing in the bigger city, where she console herself she has lost her innocence. As a school drop out, she works in a Chinese restaurant to support her mum and involves in activities a normal teen would venture – smoking and drinking. I feel Black has successfully captured the lifestyle of a teen like Kaye and also her feelings and mindset of every event flows in the story including the scene of her falling in love with Roiben. Oh well, which girl doesn’t fall in love with a handsome gorgeous elf even if he’s just a gardener?

The way Black writes about Roiben could make me imagine how he looks and I didn’t drool over him. Gosh… Who ever said that? But you can see that Black emphasizes more on Kaye’s characteristics and personality than Roiben. So Roiben’s past is still a shrouded mystery to the readers. One thing I’m a little confused with Roiben is of a page. Black explains that Roiben keeps on recalling how he threw Kaye to the floor and freezes the reaction image of her face over and over again. And then he kisses her when he met her the next time. Ha? You fall in love with a girl with a shocking expression? What an uncommon way to fall in love. But my point is … thinking back of that image doesn’t mean it is love or rather he’s simply confused over why Kaye has that expression? Usually people reminisce over something because we don’t understand that something. Could that something give birth to love? I need to forward this question to Black.

When you discovered Roiben also likes Kaye… you would surely go “OMG OMG” especially fans of gorgeous supernatural beings. How did it end? Did they manage to get together? Woah … calm down girls. The ending gives you a 100% satisfaction so no fretting over this weird couple.

Overall, this is an enjoyable Young Adults fiction that I don’t mind reading it for the second time. Warning: there’s part two.

Theory
In my blog, I said I would spit out my theory on why Black didn’t win the award. Let me iterate this. This is just my theory.

I have read a few winning award books before especially YA. The common trait of all those story winners is you get a lesson out of the story. A lesson that makes you think back of your life or leaves some very not comprehendible impression and also makes you to apply critical thinking.

For this story, it is just another happy-ending fey story. All well ends well.

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The nightmare I had didn't affect my sleep the next night. In fact I dreamed of something nice but I guess that will freak you guys again. Hang on, don't go away first before I finish my sentence: there's nothing horrifying in this blog. Just sweetness. Trust me.

I don't know why these few nights recently I have been freezing at night. I keep on rubbing my temple on my small square pillow next to my shoulder. I would hug it and rub my temple into the pillow every mid morning. As I said I have been freezing recently not only by the chillness in my room but also by my wall fan right at my toes. The wind is icy cold when it lands on my face so I guess that's why I rest my temple on the pillow. But this night I was so freaking cold I unconsciously covered my whole head with the blanket.

And I slept. In my unconsciousness/ sub-conscious, someone actually remove the blanket from my face and made sure the blanket covered my head and cheek so I still could breathe easily. Haha but unfortunately the blanket was still covering my head when I woke up!

Not scary right? Haha.. and I know who was that in my dream...

Hope you guys will have a sweet dream after reading my blog entry.

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I had this weird weird and quite eerie dream this morning. It all happened when I was imagining what my friend who just came back from Africa would tell me about her volunteering work. I'm expecting to see pictures taken by her and I don't know somehow why I keep on picturing where this picture of her would have some bodiless skulls beside her. Not one but 5!! And the reaction I had in my imagination is running away from it and hiding a corner in the office.

Freaky? Then I thought "Wow, renaye has got some new inspiration to write some horror story." Sounds good?

I woke up in the middle of the night to go to the toilet. As I walked to the toilet, I felt something not right. My inner self kept on asking me to turn on my room light before I go to the toilet. And of course I turned on the toilet light. The feeling of not right still hung with me as I walked back to my room. I didn't turn on my room light because I thought I was just being a scaredy-cat and thinking too much.

I went back to sleep. Actually I still feel something wrong! And I just told myself to go to sleep and then I drifted into a dream. It was haphazard (which dream is not?). I was walking in a school with rows of classes where all primary students were working in their exercises book. I continue walking on and I think I went to the second floor. I think I was wearing jeans with a blue or pink top. Continue walking and then I saw my Malay language teacher from high school asking me what was I doing here. I replied I got no classes today. He looked weird in the dream because of the hair-do. Weird hair-do.

And then I wanted to shower in the toilet. Don't know what toilet. There was a shower room but I can't go in. It was not locked but blocked and I could just peep a little. A white door was blocking it. So I ended up showering in a toilet unit.

Later, I was on a rooftop. Not the kind of rooftop where it is designed to hang your clothes whatsoever. I was just standing on the rooftop looking at row of houses. Jolenesiah was with me. We were looking together and she pointed to me a house. Her house. I looked left and right. And suddenly, we were travelled back to time. The time before other houses than jolenesiah were built. The land was tarred. And on my right was a Maze garden... Jolenesiah and I were trying to get a picture of the scene. So she got a digi-cam to take it and I was nagging her for her inaccuracy. Of course. She wasn't looking where she was taking! Then we climbed off the roof.

This is where the freaky part comes in.

The digi-cam was in my hands and I looked back at the photos contained in the camera. It was a green and black picture of me and Jolenesiah. It was very very dim where you like are in a photogragh room with light blood red except mine was in black and green. The first picture was we are sitting in a china wooden chair with tea in our hands. We were laughing. And the second picture was even scarier. It was a picture of me wrapped up in Persian-like design shawl on my head and dressing in some costume. Unidentifiable. She was laughing too looking at our direction. The third picture was me and Jolenesiah laughing - again with different gestures. The same goes to the fourth picture but this time the 'me' is not really looking at our direction ... she was looking ...

Damn ... my sister woke me up because I woke up 10 minutes late.

The picture's ambience was eerie. And looking at the 'me' wrapped in the shawl was ever scarier. Oh well, I can't the 'me' very well but someone inside me told me it was 'me'! And how possible for that 'me' to be me when I'm so tomboyish?

Recalling this dream now really really sends the chill to my spine. I really hope my friend who just got back from Africa didn't attract any unwanted visitors.

Oh I'm from Saturn by the way. >.<

You Are From Saturn

You're steady, organizes, and determined to achieve your dreams. You tend to play it conservative, going by the rules (at least the practical ones). You'll likely reach the top. And when you do, you'll be honorable and responsible. Focus on happiness. Don't let your goals distract you from fun! Don't be too set in your ways, and you'll be more of a success than you ever dreamed of.

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I just finished a romance, adventure book called Tithe by Holly Black. It was a short-listed award candidate and by finishing it I know why it was not a winner. I would explain my theory when I do a review on this book. Yes I am going to do a review. But that would be after me finish reading another adventure but forbidden romance book called Wicked Lovely by Melissa Marr. I forgotten to get a soft cover instead of hard one since it would be cheaper but I have discovered the joy of holding a hard cover book again. I thought it was lost.

I'm now reading 2 books: Be Mine by Laura Something and Wicked Lovely by Melissa Marr. Both of them are equally good. And I'm clearly paying the price for reading 2 interesting books at a time. I feel like I want to read both of them at the same time. I could if I knew Kage Bunshin Jutsu (Dopplehanger).

Gee. Speaking of which to read first, I'm now watching Engineering Empire: Egypt. Very damn interesting to see how the Egypt people build the pyramid without any machines other than 2 hands. I think it's a genius work because I simply don't have a brain that works like that.

But I'm also torn between tonight's programme because I also want to watch Scary Movie 4 which starts the second hour of the programme I'm watching now.

Ouch.

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Meow everyone!

My birthday just passed and this is the list of the things I have received!!

1. Headphone with mike from Wormx2
2. Optical mouse from Wormx2
3. Batik handkerchief from jolenesiah
4. Hush Puppies top from AA & II
5. 1/3 birthday cake from Pakcik
6. Wicked Lovely storybook from renaye
7. Wicked picture from Kitty
8. Adorable kitten picture from Kitty
9. Webcam from Mr. A

Lots of kisses and hugs from renaye!!!!

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Renee washes her face like she does every morning but this time she was looking into the mirror solemnly. She studied her heart-shaped face with scrutiny especially the eyes when she could hear her sister's wailing of eye bags, fine lines and crow feet playing and rewinding in her mind amid the grogginess.

Her dreamy doe-eyes were still gazing at the other her in the mirror. She reminded herself today is her birthday; older and wiser. She sighed at the word "older" and doubted her wising part. She looked closer into the mirror and wondered if she had looked "older and wiser". But which part of her should be older and wiser? She wondered aloud. Any parameters?

Renee didn't let go of the intent look in the mirror. But what can she do on this day? Freeze the day so that she could never be "older and wiser"? She heaved heavily and released the gaze of the girl that just looks like her and wished Happy Birthday.

*Thank you for the birthday wishes!

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