Review: Falling Kingdoms by: Morgan Rhodes

Falling Kingdoms by: Morgan Rhodes (2012)

412 pages

Genre: YA/High Fantasy
Publisher: razor bill

Source: The Library

Purchase: Barnes and Noble | The Book Depository

Goodreads Summary: In a land where magic has been forgotten but peace has reigned for centuries, a deadly unrest is simmering. Three kingdoms grapple for power—brutally transforming their subjects' lives in the process. Amidst betrayals, bargains, and battles, four young people find their fates forever intertwined:

Cleo: A princess raised in luxury must embark on a rough and treacherous journey into enemy territory in search of a magic long thought extinct.

Jonas: Enraged at injustice, a rebel lashes out against the forces of oppression that have kept his country impoverished—and finds himself the leader of a people's revolution centuries in the making.

Lucia: A girl adopted at birth into a royal family discovers the truth about her past—and the supernatural legacy she is destined to wield.

Magnus: Bred for aggression and trained to conquer, a firstborn son begins to realize that the heart can be more lethal than the sword. . . .

The only outcome that's certain is that kingdoms will fall. Who will emerge triumphant when all they know has collapsed?

My Review

Falling Kingdoms is kind of a PG-13 version of the Game of Thrones series. I did like this novel, but it lacked the elements to make me love it.

It took me a really long time to care about any of the characters in Falling Kingdoms. I’m not sure if it was because I only got a little bit of time with each one due to the rapid POV shifts, but I just didn’t really have a connection with any of them. Cleo was too naïve and spoiled and weak, although she does get better. Mangus was kind of a jerk, even though I kind of see where he is coming from. Lucia was somewhat boring, even considering her important role. Jonas was a somewhat irrational/a little crazy character. I could go on and on considering there are more characters who we get POVs from but I don't want to get into every single one of them. (See what I mean by a lot of POVs? I should have counted them all.) The romance in this book is crazy and weird, and not really in a good way. I did however love the romance between Cleo and her guard, even though it was insta-love. The other romance, well it was somewhat icky, I’ll just let you find out about that one on your own. Oh and then there was the romance where Jonas just uses someone to get his way and doesn't really like her thing. Sigh. I like drama, and I like crazy events in my books, but for some reason I just wasn't loving what was going down in Falling Kingdoms all the time, though at others times I was engrossed.

Falling Kingdoms is a well written fantasy novel. It was fast paced (seriously, crap hits the fan in the first couple of pages) and the general story was good. Rhodes did a wonderful job with the world building. The three lands are well described with a nice amount of background so the reader can easily understand what is going on in the book. Although I didn’t love this book and it wasn’t one of my favorites, I did start to get more into the book towards the end. So I will probably be reading the next one. (I mean this story isn't even close to being finished and I want to know what happens.) I loved the bloody battle scenes and the deaths that came unexpected that had me seeing red. Another great thing about this book, the lines between good and bad are blurred, it isn’t always cut and dry and that is a very nice change from the norm.

If you are looking for a young adult version of Game of Thrones (death, backstabbing, and crazy relationships) this should be your pick. Falling Kingdoms is also a good book for fantasy lovers who enjoy a good bloody battle among other things. 

RATING 3.5/5 

Review: Throne of Glass by: Sarah J. Maas

Throne of Glass by: Sarah J. Maas (#1) (2012)

404 pages

Genre: Young Adult/High Fantasy

Publisher: Bloomsbury

Source: The library

Purchase: Barnes and Noble | The Book Depository

Goodreads Summary: After serving out a year of hard labor in the salt mines of Endovier for her crimes, 18-year-old assassin Celaena Sardothien is dragged before the Crown Prince. Prince Dorian offers her her freedom on one condition: she must act as his champion in a competition to find a new royal assassin. Her opponents are men-thieves and assassins and warriors from across the empire, each sponsored by a member of the king's council. If she beats her opponents in a series of eliminations, she'll serve the kingdom for three years and then be granted her freedom.

Celaena finds her training sessions with the captain of the guard, Westfall, challenging and exhilirating. But she's bored stiff by court life. Things get a little more interesting when the prince starts to show interest in her... but it's the gruff Captain Westfall who seems to understand her best.

Then one of the other contestants turns up dead... quickly followed by another.
Can Celaena figure out who the killer is before she becomes a victim? As the young assassin investigates, her search leads her to discover a greater destiny than she could possibly have imagined.

My Review

Warning: When you start reading this book, which you should right away, even before finishing this review is fine, you should be warned that late night reading and possibly no sleep will incur once you begin reading Throne of Glass.

Throne of Glass, to put it simply, was an amazing read. Why oh why did it take me so long to read this? Luckily, there is one upside for waiting so long to read Throne of glass (only one mind you) and that is I now don’t have to wait long for the sequel because it comes out in August! So listen here, I’m going to start my review off with a simple request, READ THIS BOOK RIGHT NOW! Seriously, stop what you are doing and get a copy in some way. This book is especially perfect for fans of Graceling by Kristin Cashore. Did I mention that I’m not even a big high fantasy fan but I loved this book?

I will admit this book is not perfect, (well it is 99% perfect which is pretty darn close) but it was so darn good that I gave it 5 stars anyway. I only had a few very tiny issues with Calaena’s character and a tiny issue with trying to follow the magic in the book, but I’m thinking the magic part will work itself out more in the next book.

The relationships in Throne of Glass were done right. Nothing too unbelievable and the love triangle (well there isn’t too much of one but I think there will be) didn’t bother me at all, and that is saying something. Both men were complex, sexy, and I can’t even choose which one I love more.

Now I will be a little creepy…  Celaena is a heroine that is so kick ass that I’m pretty sure I am in love with her. She has a few flaws and I was hoping to get to see her more in action, but in the end she had my heart. This assassin rocks my world in so many ways. I love listening to her strategic assassin type planning whenever she is in any kind of situation, always checking for exits and the best way to take someone down. She is also girly at times and a little full of herself, but I thought that really rounded out her character. Oh and I guess I should mention the minor characters, they all rock in their own way too. I think that about sums that up.

The world building was great. A castle made of glass, crazy cool. The magical history worked for me. The evil king that I wanted to throttle was also spot on. The descriptions of everything from the people to the castle to the city were well done. Even the gory type scenes were well written, although I will warn you that they are graphic. I had so many feels while reading Throne of Glass. My heart reached out for the poor souls being treated horribly in a slave camp and for other innocents that had a horrible fate, and especially for Celaena, assassin or not, I felt for her. Oh and the book does get a little crazy but in a glorious way, and the action scenes are perfection and are in abundance.

In case you didn’t go pick up the book like I insisted you do earlier, now is the perfect time. If you are not a fan of high fantasy you may not enjoy this book, but other than that I think many people will enjoy Throne of Glass if they give it a try.

On to the novellas I go while I wait for the next installment.

My Rating: 5/5