Reviews with content warning for Alcohol - Tithe

Reviews tagging 'Alcohol'

Tithe by Holly Black

10 reviews

misosouplvr's review against another edition

this book is just…not very good.

the main character, kaye, is just boring! nothing about her is new, she’s a teenage girl who has never know what a home is and her mom is described as dysfunctional, the book quite literally starts out with her (Kaye) smoking a cigarette and drinking.

as I was reading this, I got more and more confused cause the words were literally jumbled to me and nothing made sense to me cause somehow we went from one scene to something entirely different?

another thing that peeved me was the big reveal that

Kaye is actually a faerie, a pixie to be exact yet her reaction is non-existent.

i literally checked this book out from my library VIA libby and returned it on the same day.

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camiclarkbooks's review against another edition

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adventurous dark mysterious tense fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.75

This was the first teen book I remember reading. It was dark and unsettling, showing the “true” side of Faerie instead of the Disney version to which we’ve grown accustomed.

If you read Holly Black’s “Folk of the Air” trilogy but wished it was just a little creepier, check out “Tithe.”

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qwib_reads's review against another edition

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adventurous dark funny fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

2.0

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halfelfschollar's review against another edition

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dark emotional funny tense fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes

4.0

Most of the spaces I see consumed by fey and fey adjacent characters in modern stories tend to avoid actual weird fucked up fairy shit. And while the main love interest is still technically a pretty person with pointed ears, the inclusion of the other fey in the book more than made up for it. The use of real fey lore in the book was something I really enjoyed as someone who really likes folktales.

While I wouldn't call Kaye an unlikable character she certainly isn't the type of lead that is for everyones tastes. She's not the type of character I relate to but her perspective works for the story at hand and that's why she's a good pick for the story. Her questioning of the world she's now presented with and emotional outbursts make sense for the character we are introduced to, a young girl who's had to grow up far too fast.

This book is heavy on the urban fantasy, so if that's not you're genre this is not the book for you. The book also includes underage drinking and drug use with some sexual content. The age difference between Kaye and Rioben is also something I personally dislike but is also often something inherent in fey stories.

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noa_45's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging dark mysterious sad tense fast-paced

5.0

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mmefish's review against another edition

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adventurous dark medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

3.5

Even though this was definitely weaker than “the Cruel Prince” (no wonder, with whole 16 years difference), I still enjoyed the story and the characters. The early 2000s vibes are strong, the faeries – as wicked as I like them. A fair amount of scenes and dialogues are awkwardly written (sudden changes in mood, kisses out of nowhere etc.), but with some polishing “Tithe” could hold up even today (though it certainly would never get published as YA).

Few things that bothered me:
1. Corny’s violent thoughts/behaviour (expressing the urge to hurt people, even his mother);
2. The age difference between Kaye and Roiben. He is clearly an adult man and she is sixteen. Made me feel icky every time I stopped to think about it, especially since they both act in accordance with their age.

P.S.: “She let out a breath she hadn't known she was holding” (x3)

Edit: thinking about this book after a few months, the depiction of homosexuality and race is definitely… not done well.

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half_bloodreader's review against another edition

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dark

Written in 3rd person, past tense.

Gritty almost edgy early 2000s YA type. I do not miss the writing from this time tbh, as a teen myself I disliked the teens from the edgy fiction era, I was always siding with the adults for good reason. I much prefer current YA.

It was still interesting to see how Black writes their dark fae fantasy, a good introduction to their writing. And I'm glad I read this before more recent works, or it might have been very disappointing. That being said, I couldn't care about most characters, though why was the only gay human character the one to go through that bs?

I hope The Folk of the Air lives up to its hype.

Oh, and fae can outright lie which is one of my pet peeves. Otherwise, many were too straightforward instead of cunning.

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