Tithe discussion

Mesmerizing, dark, and edgy, that is what I look for in a good book. Holly Black has been able to bring to life the ancient Seelie and Unseelie court of the faeries, with her well described, and humour filled novel. Black not only brought fantasy to a whole new level, she was also able to bring in the real world struggles of teens trying to find their place in the world.
The characters in this novel are brought to life by Black, each with an individual and unique trait. Kaye was never ordinary, but after returning to her old town in New Jersey, her life is turned upside down when she finds out that her imaginary friends were real after all, and she is not the person she thought she was. Black created this heroine, not like the typical innocent teenager in ordinary novels, but the typical adolescent, people face every day. She is witty, edgy and cunning, which adds a lot of dark humour into the book. She creates the character in such a developed way, that you can not help but become attached to them. When they were scared I felt scared, when they were mad I got mad. While her new friend Corny is a homosexual teen, who works at a gas station,trying to find himself. Corny is a very strong and very supportive character in the novel, who helps Kaye through the whole ordeal of finding herself.
But what really draws you into the story, and keeps the pages turning, is the mysterious, and slightly evil Roiben. I don’t know about everyone else but for me, I can not help but be drawn to bad guys that have a hint of goodness in them. He is also the definition of chivalry, with a tortured soul.
The plot in this novel keeps makes you want to curl in bed and hide under cozy blanket, while reading, due to its chilling twists and turns. I would recommend this book to anyone who is not afraid to read a book that holds back nothing from sex drugs, and rock and roll, to dark and wickedly evil faeries.!
-Donnub J.

I completely agree! I never buy books, but this and the rest of the books in the series I actually bought. This series is the reason she's my favorite author and the YA genre is losing this ability as writers. She adds bits of everything in a way to connect all people together. The teen life is believable. Most of the YA books I find after reading her books have cut and dry antagonists and protagonists and the characters are already molded and shaped through following other writers. Nothing is new.

I'm still searching for an author that writes like she does. Including the "true" folklore into the core of the story definitely upped the quality of the book. Guess thats just what happens when you grow up reading WB Yeats

Loved the book

I enjoyed the whole series. I like that they were written before the Gothic/Supernatural craze. They were unique at the time.

even after the craze, no book has been able to top it for me.

Darci wrote: "even after the craze, no book has been able to top it for me."

I know right! I loved this series because of it's darkness and real situations! I just felt like it wasn't stereotypical or fake. Very realistic! I love faeries and this was the best!

its one of my favourites books....
i love them both..

This is my favorite book of all time. My grandmother bought it for me when it first came out at a school book sale. She later sent me Valiant. I bought Ironside myself and am disappointed to say that my Tithe book is taped together. I read Tithe probably once a month still, and I have to buy a new copy soon. This book in electronic format doesn't do it for me. I really wish that Holly Black would write more about Roiben and Kaye. He is the ultimate hunky hero. No one has ever compared. :( Holly Black, if you're reading this, PLEASE GIVE US MORE!

Oh Roiben... I wish there were more books with main characters like this. *sigh*

Well, the troll in Valiant was a great character too! Just, Roiben... *drool*

I started reading this book, but soon left it alone, uninterested.
It's hard to follow a plot -- or to even understand a character's personality -- when practically every other word is a cuss word! Like the author was filling in space with unintelligent language unnecessarily. Very distracting.

Tithe or Iron King - Tithe for me every time. I enjoyed The Iron King, but nothing can top Tithe!

I don't think this is the best book that I have read since I have gotten into my fairie craze, but it's definitly at the top. I glad to find some fairie books that don't involve the fairies being categorized along with the tinkerbells of disney. I myself prefered the Wicked Lovely series by Melissa Marr or the Iron Fey series by Julie Kagawa.

Ehh, the sequels are better.

this book set me up for any other fairy book after that, when they mentioned glamour, or anything else, i knew exaclty what their were talking about. for example, paranormalcy, i was totally prepared.

I enjoyed it very much! How many other books are there in the series?

Which one comes next after tithe?