Title: Falling Kingdoms (#1)
Author: Morgan Rhodes
Teaser: “It’s the eve of war… Choose your side.”
Genre: YA High Fantasy
Number
of pages: 412
Released: December 11th, 2012 by Razorbill
Description:
In the three kingdoms of Mytica, magic has long been forgotten.
And while hard-won peace has reigned for centuries, a deadly unrest now simmers
below the surface.
As the rulers of each kingdom grapple for power, the lives of their subjects are brutally transformed... and four key players, royals and rebels alike, find their fates forever intertwined. Cleo, Jonas, Lucia, and Magnus are caught in a dizzying world of treacherous betrayals, shocking murders, secret alliances, and even unforeseen love.
The only outcome that's certain is that kingdoms will fall. Who will emerge triumphant when all they know has collapsed?
It's the eve of war.... Choose your side.
Princess: Raised in pampered luxury, Cleo must now embark on a rough and treacherous journey into enemy territory in search of magic long thought extinct.
Rebel: Jonas, enraged at injustice, lashes out against the forces of oppression that have kept his country cruelly impoverished. To his shock, he finds himself the leader of a people's revolution centuries in the making.
Sorceress: Lucia, adopted at birth into the royal family, discovers the truth about her past—and the supernatural legacy she is destined to wield.
Heir: Bred for aggression and trained to conquer, firstborn son Magnus begins to realise that the heart can be more lethal than the sword....
As the rulers of each kingdom grapple for power, the lives of their subjects are brutally transformed... and four key players, royals and rebels alike, find their fates forever intertwined. Cleo, Jonas, Lucia, and Magnus are caught in a dizzying world of treacherous betrayals, shocking murders, secret alliances, and even unforeseen love.
The only outcome that's certain is that kingdoms will fall. Who will emerge triumphant when all they know has collapsed?
It's the eve of war.... Choose your side.
Princess: Raised in pampered luxury, Cleo must now embark on a rough and treacherous journey into enemy territory in search of magic long thought extinct.
Rebel: Jonas, enraged at injustice, lashes out against the forces of oppression that have kept his country cruelly impoverished. To his shock, he finds himself the leader of a people's revolution centuries in the making.
Sorceress: Lucia, adopted at birth into the royal family, discovers the truth about her past—and the supernatural legacy she is destined to wield.
Heir: Bred for aggression and trained to conquer, firstborn son Magnus begins to realise that the heart can be more lethal than the sword....
Trailer:
Positives:
-There
are so many characters in this book, you would think that reader couldn’t keep
up or connect with each one of them, but this isn’t a problem in Falling
Kingdoms. I had emotional connections to
the characters, some pissing me off and others breaking my heart.
-From
this first book, you can already tell that the author isn’t scared to let bad
things happen to the characters – including death. Although this leads to my sadness and
frustration, I actually love it. I hate
it when things are portrayed as ‘dangerous’ in a story, but yet nothing ever
happens to any of the characters.
-The
world. Well-built and creative. Plus – MAP in the front. I love books with maps.
Negatives:
-Honestly,
I can’t really think of any. The
characters, plot, and setting were all astounding. Some may dislike the jumping from character
to character in chapters, but I think it was done very well. I never felt like one character got more
attention than another.
Overview:
This
story is high fantasy at its best. If
anyone wants an introduction into the genre, this would be a great one to start
with. The world was creative – with culture,
setting with map, spirituality, and differences in class. I absolutely loved to learn about the
spirituality in the form of goddesses in this book. I found myself wanting to know more. Listening to the old woman’s story about how
the two goddesses came to be was well-developed. A lot of times when worlds are created like
this I can’t help but notice all the ‘holes’ and ‘gaps’ and it drives me
nuts. Not in this book!
The
plot flew perfectly with surprises, heartbreaks, moments where I want to clap
with excitement, and edge-of-your-seat moments where you wonder who is going to
win. There are a few particular parts in
the books where I was truly surprised to what happened to particular
characters. Losing some of them that I
was really drawn to broke my heart. I
was warned the book would do that before I started reading it!
The
end of the book left the story at an ‘ending’ point, but also with a great
cliff-hanger. When deciding on
continuing with a series, it feels like I keep reading but the ‘passion’ for
the story isn’t there. It’s more like a –shrug-,
I guess I’ll keep reading. This is a
series I will –have- to go to the library for and keep reading.
The
romance in the story is perfect.
Why? The author doesn’t give me
what I want right away! No insta-love in
this book and (spoiler ahead) – the couples don’t just ‘get together’. This is yet another cliffhanger at the end of
the book. It left me looking forward to
reading more and more scenes with them.
I love it when an author can keep me drawn in and anticipating a romance
between characters despite the fact that it takes a while to get them
together. The best part is – I get to
ship more than one couple!
Rating:
Recommended
to:
-Those
who LOVE MAPS at the beginning of books.
-Those
that enjoy the high-fantasy genre.
-Those
who can handle more than one character as the protagonist.
Not
Recommended to:
-Those
who hate having multiple protagonists.
-Those
who dislike jumping from character to character’s POV by chapter.
About
the Author:
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