Book Review | The Eye of Leviathan

The Eye of Leviathan by M.A. Carrick delivers an interesting spin on faeries that I haven’t seen before.

Set in an alternate Spanish Golden Age, fae are trying to avoid prosecution from the Spanish Inquisition. Discovered faeries are stripped of their wings since they are a “blasphemy” against angels. The author also takes the Spanish Age of Exploration and expands it onto the Spaniards trying to conquer all of the faerie realms as well. I thought this was a clever blend of fantasy, religion, and history.

Moreover, Estevan is a really fascinating MC. He’s an ancient fae trapped in the body of a human child, watching the world he knew drastically change around him. He’s forced to watch his own kin get persecuted as he tries to maintain his human disguise. I really got a sense of his confliction and turmoil. Him I actually I cared about.

On the other hand, I found I wasn’t as invested in the mortal girl's storyline. The Hungry Girl is infuriatingly naïve, and the fae she’s living with felt cartoonishly one-dimensional. They weren't fleshed out enough for me to care whether they succumbed to the island’s curse or what the Spanish explorers did to them.

All in all, this book had some cool worldbuilding concepts, and it’s refreshing to see fae in the Renaissance period. However, Hungry Girl’s POV and the flatness of some of the side characters brought down my enjoyment of the story.

Thank you, NetGalley and Orbit, for providing me with an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

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