Customer Reviews

Tithe (Modern Tale of Faerie)

5 star:		(8)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Not sure why this book is being sold for $70 and more on this site, when it is still readily available at any book store. Don't get me wrong, it's a wonderful book, and worth it, but this seems a little dishonest to customers. The book can be bought for less than $10 pretty much anywhere.

I am 61 years old and I picked this book up for my niece but the cover intrigued me soo I started to read it. I have read it 6 times icluding the sequel Ironside. I assumed Holly Black was a writer just for kids. Boy was I wrong. She is like J K Rowlings her books are soo well written the are for all generations. Bravo! Ms. Black . I am now reading YA authors that I would have never read before your books and for that I thank you.

this book follows Kaye who finds out she is a changeling( which is a faerie that was made to look like a human child and the faeries took the human child). This book makes makes Faeries non-perfect, cause both the "good" and "bad" sides are pretty much trying to kill her. Kinad like the book WAR OF THE OAKS but much better. Holly Black is writting a sequel to tithe called valiant due out in summer 05 i cant wait. I read this book 3 times in a row and it gets better every time. The perfect urban fantasy.

I thought this book was a great book. I would recommend it to any fantasy lover in sixth grade or older. This book gave me goosebumps and gave some great ideas for a new story. I hope that when I grow up I write a book as good as this one.

I read this book when I was 16 and am now re-reading it... but I think it's a really good book.

Faeries, faeries, faeries! I love reading about them. I thoroughly enjoyed Holly Black's fae. They were dark and mysterious revealing more and more of who they were and their motivations as the plot progressed. There was a thin line between dark and light that was constantly blurred and there was ever a sinister otherworldly feel to both the Seelie and Unseelie courts. I hope that in the next books I learn even more about the Solitary fae, the glimpse I got of them in Tithe was fascinating.

The heroine, Kaye, is a quirky and sometimes eccentric teen. She portrays such a tough girl image, but her actions also show that she has some baggage from the unusual lifestyle she's lead. Tithe left me with many unanswered questions about Kaye but not in a way that left me frustrated with the story. I feel like Kaye is a heroine that I'm going to enjoy watching grow from book to book in this series. As she comes to understand more about herself and who she really is, I think that she will only become stronger and more confident. I'm not sold on the romance yet, but I'm sure that will come.

Another stand out character for me was Corny. While I loathe his character name, he was probably the most intriguing character to read. He has many issues, and a tendency toward violence, yet the kind of loyalty only those with a sensitive heart can possess. I enjoy the way he and Kaye interract and hope that their friendship continues throughout the series.

I was lost in this dark and gritty, sometimes even savage world. Somehow this author managed to combine the darker elements of faerie magic and stark reality to create something unique and incredible. I don't know why I waited so long to read Tithe, but I know I won't put off picking up Valiant.

I enjoyed the story and the characters, there was humor and fantasy, both good and bad. However, parts of the book read as if the story was written for a teen, and than other parts were for a more mature audiance - this was a little annoying for me, I am 50 so I would have prefered the book being written for more of the a mature audiance. If there was a second book with the same characters, I would read it, however it appears that the other books are totally different stories and characters.

I would recommend the book, but not give it the 5 stars the other reviewers did.

Stories about a girl who finds out she's part/all faerie and becomes enmeshed in that world are a dime a dozen now. But Holly Black first started this trend, with the darkly glittering "Modern Faerie Tales: Tithe" -- a clever, entrancing story that brings a bit of urban grime to the faerie world without sacrificing any of its beauty.

Kaye Fierch has spent years traveling with her mother's rock band, until one night when her mom's boyfriend/guitarist tries to stab her. So with the band broken up, her mom whisks her back to her grandmother's New Jersey house, where Kaye reminisces about some "imaginary faerie friends she had as a child.

But then she encounters Roiben, a wounded faerie knight whose life she saves -- and soon she learns that she is a changeling, who is targeted by the Unseelie Court as a sacrifice ("the sacrifice of a beautiful and talented mortal"). Now on the run with Roiben, she must deal with the faerie world's attacks on the mortal one... including her human friends.

Holly Black is one of the best urban fantasy authors writing today, mainly because her stories truly are urban fantasies -- they combine faerie glitter and ethereality with the grime, wire and subway tunnels of New York and New Jersey. She truly makes you feel as if both the faerie realm and the mortal cities are jumping out at you.

Her writing has a dark, raw beauty, studded with moments of poetry ("Moss and mud slid from its dripping flanks as the thing turned its head to regard Kaye with luminous white eyes"). And she never turns away from the uglier facets of her world -- there are hints of cruelty, madness and heartbreak, as well as the love and persistence in Kaye.

And she writes really, really good characters who run all across the board. Kaye is a very likable, heartfelt heroine -- she's initially a little fey and odd, and she has some painful growing up to do. Roiben is a rather alluring character, being all mystery, bad reputation and unearthly beauty, and you really want to see him get together with Kaye.

"Modern Faerie Tales: Tithe" is the vibrant, haunting story that spawned a thousand "I'm a faerie girl who never knew it!" knockoffs, and like many originals, it's one of the best. Delicious.

I love this book!! I've read it 5X already and can't get enough of it. I hope Holly Black writes more about the Unseelie King, Roiben and his love.

This book was wonderful. Though I wouldn't recommend for younger minds, it had a wonderful blend of reality and fantasy that came together seamlessly. The faery aspects keep you entertained to the last.