Holly Black is another first-time author for me, and I believe this book was one of her firsts, if not the first. Tithe is book one of the Modern Faerie Tale series.

I gave this book three stars. When I was reading it, the only thing I was excited about was getting it over with. But after I put it down, I started thinking about it and wanting to keep reading.

Tithe is about a 16 year old girl, Kaye, who is drawn into the world of the Fae. She learns that not only can she see the fae, but she is a Pixie. Apparently, she was switched out with the "real" Kaye at a very young age, and was raised as a human with a very strong glamour to conceal her true form from other humans, as well as herself. She un-knowingly saves the life of the Unseelie Knight, Roiben, and the in-depth plan of the Unseelie Queen comes to light. Kaye tries to defend the folk fae by almost sacrificing herself to the Unseelie Court.

I had a hard time adjusting to Holly Black's writing style. It felt disconnected and very matter of fact. I'm not sure if this is a Kindle defect (I read on a Kindle), but there was NO separation between scenes. She'd finish a thought with Kaye, and then the next paragraph would be in a completely different setting/time/place/character. There were several times I had to backtrack and figure out what the hell was going on. Usually, authors put some sort of dividing break in between scenes to let the reader know something new is going on. But nope, not here. There was no transition, and it bothered me. But like I said, that may have been a Kindle formatting issue. I've seen Kindle formatting issues way crazier than that.

I had a hard time relating with Kaye. A REALLY hard time. I didn't understand how she can have the attitude she did, and then be so caring for Roiben. She was very 2 dimensional to me, and so was Roiben. I still don't know where the "love" is in their "relationship". They story really didn't build that feeling for me. Lutie was more exciting than those two. (I looove Lutie-loo.) But to give Kaye credit, the situation with her mother and grandmother was very weird and disfunctional. I suppose you can except some attitude from a 16 year old with home issues. Kaye's mom is in a band, and isn't a very good mother. You get the feeling she'd just party harder if Kaye wasn't there, so there wasn't really a mom-daughter relationship that was healthy. There were several times I was very thankful I didn't grow up like that.

However, I liked the theme of the book. I liked where it was going and I liked the secondary characters. I like books about fae and anything paranormal, and I did appreciate the more adult theme to the book.

I plan on reading the sequels, Valiant and Ironside, but do so with great apprehension.