The Ruins of the Heartless Fae: Book Review

“The Ruins of the Heartless Fae” by Mahem Fatemi, is a fantastic change of pace.

Anytime the fae is mentioned, they are the powerful, the oppressor, and the hunters of humankind. But what if, in this world, that is not the case?

What if, the humans are the hunters and the fae are the hunted?

This fantasy book was refreshing because Fae is not on top of the world in this storyline. They once were, but were hunted down and killed due to their powers and their vast physical appearances. With so many hunted down and killed, few of the Fae kind are left. Many are in hiding such as our main character Kolfinna.

Born as a Fae with pink eyes, she is alone and constantly on the run. Charged with murder, she goes from one town to the next avoiding capture and worse possibly being killed by Hunters. But her luck finally runs out when the Royal Guard finds her and captures her.

To avoid being put to death, the leader of the Royal Guard strikes a bargain, to help them get into old castle ruins that were once populated by the fae, in exchange for her freedom. She grudgingly agrees due to having no choice in the matter.

There at the castle, many go in but no one comes out. The danger is lurking at every corner and it is up to Kolfinna to use her Fae magic to figure it out.

Kolfinna is such an amazing and well-written character. These days, strength is portrayed by women who have confidence through the roof and these amazing abilities that can conquer anything. Not with Kolfinna, she has amazing abilities; you can see that in the book. But she also has insecurities as well. Insecurities developed due to being on the run and being defeated by her enemies. She isn’t perfectly thin and is put into skin-tight outfits that fit the main character perfectly. She wasn’t perfect and most of her decisions were driven to just surviving another day. You felt her vulnerabilities and her indecision in certain situations. To me, Kolfinna was real and beautiful from the inside out.

There is a slow and painful burn romance in this. It isn’t insta lust but an actual mutual respect form and feelings slowly beginning into the female main character.

Did I see the ending coming? No. But this did end on a happy note and left you wondering how the story is going to develop next.