Book Review- Stolen Away

I just finished reading Stolen Away by Alyxandra Harvey for an Around the World ARC Tour.

From Goodreads:

For seventeen years, Eloise Hart had no idea the world of Faery even existed. Now she has been abducted and trapped in the Rath of Lord Strahan, King of Faery. Strahan was only meant to rule for seven years, as Faery tradition dictates, and then give up his crown to another. But he won't comply, and now chaos threatens both worlds.

The only one who can break his stranglehold on the Faery court is his wife. . . Eloise's aunt Antonia. Using Eloise to lure Antonia, Strahan captures his wife, desperate to end the only threat to his reign. Now Eloise must become the rescuer. Together with her best friends Jo and Devin, she must forge alliances with other Fae, including a gorgeous protector named Lucas, and Strahan's mysterious son, Eldric-who may or may not betray them.

First a little side note.  I really really really like this cover.  There's something so striking about the colors.  So pretty!  Okay, done :)
 
Stolen Away started off pretty slow for me.  The beginning didn't really hold my interest.  There were even a couple of parts I had to go back and re-read.  I remember thinking that I was disappointed because I love Alyxandra Harvey's Drake Chronicles series so much.  I didn't really care about any of the characters at first either.  But it did pick up.  And by the end, I was invested in the story.
 
I never really cared about Eloise.  Yeah, she was the main character but there was nothing about her that I liked (or disliked for that matter).  But I really liked Jo.  She was clumsy and sweet and flirty and had a love of all things British.  Yeah, she was my favorite.  And she had spunk to her! 
 
As for the plot, once the teens decided that they were going to try to save Eloise's aunt from the Fae, that's when everything picked up for me.  And there was a little bit of romance.  But it was enough for me to enjoy and it was a sweet and happy one!
 
I gave this book a rating of 3.5/5.

Stolen Away will be released on January 17, 2012.
 
This book fulfills items in the following challenges:
2011 100+ Reading Challenge: 101
2011 ARC Reading Challenge: 81
2011 Young Adult Reading Challenge: 81 
 
*FTC Disclosure: I was given this book for free for an honest review as part of the Around the World Tours.