Word Revel

Initial thoughts: This book wasn't on my TBR pile because it specifically interested me. No. I picked it up because it's in Crini's dreadful series jail and Sana and I bet Crini we would break her resolution not to read those books until their series are complete. So, it is under those circumstances that I came to read The Falconer with no expectations at all.

I ended up listening to The Falconer because I had no other unheard audiobooks left on my phone while travelling this month. I must say, it turned out glorious. It took me a while to get used to listening to the Scottish accent without losing concentration. I'm so used to American audiobooks, which are so effortless to listen to in comparison, the maximum speed I could set The Falconer to was 1.25x. In any case, the narration lent it more authenticity and taught me how all these words, cù sìth, seilgflùr, sìthichean and so are supposed to be pronounced. That was a huge plus to me. Had I read these words myself, I wouldn't have remembered the distinctions between all these creatures.

Aileana's journey was a whirlwind adventure set in historical Scotland where a woman's sole duty was to be married. Yet marriage was the last thing Aileana wanted. Instead, she was much more consumed with revenge. This struggle that she faced between who she wanted to be and the who she had a duty to be propelled a huge part of the plot. And while there was romance in The Falconer, it boiled under the surface and spiralled Aileana into confusion, regardless of who was involved. I liked the friendship between Aileana and Catherine, as well as Catherine's brother, Gavin.