The Faerie Ring #1 The Faerie Ring

Medieval England and the Fae folk....definitely a very good combination indeed. Presenting The Faerie Ring #1 The Faerie Ring by Kiki Hamilton.

Here is the summary of the book:

Debut novelist Kiki Hamilton takes readers from the gritty slums and glittering ballrooms of Victorian London to the beguiling but menacing Otherworld of the Fey in this spellbinding tale of romance, suspense, and danger. The year is 1871, and Tiki has been making a home for herself and her family of orphans in a deserted hideaway adjoining Charing Cross Station in central London. Their only means of survival is by picking pockets. One December night, Tiki steals a ring, and sets off a chain of events that could lead to all-out war with the Fey. For the ring belongs to Queen Victoria, and it binds the rulers of England and the realm of Faerie to peace. With the ring missing, a rebel group of faeries hopes to break the treaty with dark magic and blood—Tiki’s blood. Unbeknownst to Tiki, she is being watched—and protected—by Rieker, a fellow thief who suspects she is involved in the disappearance of the ring. Rieker has secrets of his own, and Tiki is not all that she appears to be. Her very existence haunts Prince Leopold, the Queen’s son, who is driven to know more about the mysterious mark that encircles her wrist. Prince, pauper, and thief—all must work together to secure the treaty…

Set in Medieval, foggy and carriage-drawn London and among the streets and alleys of pick pockets. Tikki and her gang of pickpockets scourge pockets and steal whatever they can do to survive everyday and every hour. Somehow while on one of her excursions gets inside the royal palace and unknowingly steels a shiny ring....the biggest mistake of her life. A ring of great importance, it was the one thing that ensured the peace between the humans and the Fae folk. Now that it is stolen both factions are clamoring to get it back before a full blown war breaks out. As the enemies start closing it is upto Tikki to get the ring back into the Buckingham Palace and under the royal's guard before major catastrophe happens.

Tikki is the protagonist and she is a pick pocket. Very stubborn and righteous she takes care of the ones in her group and is rather very famous with her heist adventures but still there is more to her than meets the eye.....she is much more connected to the human and the fae folk than she ever realized. Then there is her counterpart, another pick pocket named Rieker. At first he seems to be just a pestering presence. Face it no pick pocket trust their competitions. But Reiker while suspects that Tikki had something to do with the disappearance of the ring seems to genuinely help her and really care for her. Then there are the two princes William and Leopold, and the other orphans. All of them provide a myriad variety of characters that push the story forward and give it an alluring feel.

I've been hearing so many great things about this book that I knew I couldn't resist not reading it any longer. And it was the best thing that I ever did. A quick read Ms. Hamilton's story takes us from the fog filled alleys to the high society masquerade balls, spinning a fantasy so grounded in reality that it takes you in from the first page till the end making you come out different and hungry for the next one.