I finally decided to jump on the bandwagon of reading the 'Falling Kingdoms' series. After watching Bre Faucheux's review and Lainey's recommendation on YT I decided to give it a try.
Title: Falling Kingdoms
Author: Morgan Rhodes
Genre: High Fantasy, YA
Publication Date: December 11th 2012
Publisher: Razor Bill
Goodreads summary:
Treacherous betrayals, secret alliances, unforeseen murders, and forbidden love —
The world of Mytica will hold you captive:
AURANOS - Privileged Princess Cleo is forced to confront violence for the first time in her life when a shocking murder sets her kingdom on a path to collapse.
LIMEROS - The king’s son, Magnus, must plan each footstep with shrewd, sharp guile if he is to earn his powerful father’s trust, while his sister, Lucia, discovers a terrifying secret about her heritage that will change everything.
PAELSIA - Rebellious Jonas lashes out against the forces of oppression that have kept his country cruelly impoverished—and finds himself the leader of a people’s revolution centuries in the making.
Witches, if found, are put to death, and Watchers, immortal beings who take the shape of hawks to visit the human world, have been almost entirely forgotten. A vicious power struggle quickly escalates to war, and these four young people collide against each other and the rise of elementia, the magic that can topple kingdoms and crown a ruler in the same day.
The world of Mytica will hold you captive:
AURANOS - Privileged Princess Cleo is forced to confront violence for the first time in her life when a shocking murder sets her kingdom on a path to collapse.
LIMEROS - The king’s son, Magnus, must plan each footstep with shrewd, sharp guile if he is to earn his powerful father’s trust, while his sister, Lucia, discovers a terrifying secret about her heritage that will change everything.
PAELSIA - Rebellious Jonas lashes out against the forces of oppression that have kept his country cruelly impoverished—and finds himself the leader of a people’s revolution centuries in the making.
Witches, if found, are put to death, and Watchers, immortal beings who take the shape of hawks to visit the human world, have been almost entirely forgotten. A vicious power struggle quickly escalates to war, and these four young people collide against each other and the rise of elementia, the magic that can topple kingdoms and crown a ruler in the same day.
My review:
I would like to start off by saying I absolutely adore the cover of this book, it's so beautiful. The inside of the book is also nice, I really like the map.
Something I found really helpful was the character list, you can easily go back to it when you get confused.
The story is told from multiple perspectives and I really liked that. It's a good way to get to know a lot of the characters and the world.
Besides the good character development there is also great world building. Morgan Rhodes paints a great picture of the differences between the three countries. The story is told from the perspective of different characters - mostly - within their own country.
I liked the distinction between 'mere' witches and sorceresses.
Characters:
*Cleo: This is the character that has the best character development in my opinion. When we first meet her she is a spoiled little brat, but you soon discover that she is faithful and strong-minded. She knows what she wants, but she doesn't always think before she acts.
*Aron: Urgh, the first character I did not like. What an arrogant bastard!
*Theon: Oooh, Theon, he's loyal, dutiful and totally swoonworthy :-)
*Nic: He is a funny, loyal friend to Cleo.
*Jonas: He's a very strong character, driven by his desire for revenge.
*Magnus: I know some people instantly liked Magnus, but I simply don't know what to think of him. I like that he stands up to his father, but most of his actions infuriate me.
*Lucia: I can't really say much about her without spoiling the story, but like with Magnus I'm not sure yet how I feel about her.
*King Gaius: What a horrible man! The way he treats Magnus is infuriating.
*Chief Basilius: What a fraud!
Overall opinion:
I really enjoyed this story. The writing is really good, not too complicated. Most of the characters are well developed. The world is described very well. The pacing is just right. It was a real roller coaster of emotions.
I gave the book 4 out of 5 stars on Goodreads.
Let me know in the comments if you've read this book and whether you liked it or not. Please don't put spoilers in the comments! I have a spoiler review up as well, so we can discuss the book more in detail over there.
Bye for now
Annelies
Besides the good character development there is also great world building. Morgan Rhodes paints a great picture of the differences between the three countries. The story is told from the perspective of different characters - mostly - within their own country.
I liked the distinction between 'mere' witches and sorceresses.
Characters:
*Cleo: This is the character that has the best character development in my opinion. When we first meet her she is a spoiled little brat, but you soon discover that she is faithful and strong-minded. She knows what she wants, but she doesn't always think before she acts.
*Aron: Urgh, the first character I did not like. What an arrogant bastard!
*Theon: Oooh, Theon, he's loyal, dutiful and totally swoonworthy :-)
*Nic: He is a funny, loyal friend to Cleo.
*Jonas: He's a very strong character, driven by his desire for revenge.
*Magnus: I know some people instantly liked Magnus, but I simply don't know what to think of him. I like that he stands up to his father, but most of his actions infuriate me.
*Lucia: I can't really say much about her without spoiling the story, but like with Magnus I'm not sure yet how I feel about her.
*King Gaius: What a horrible man! The way he treats Magnus is infuriating.
*Chief Basilius: What a fraud!
Overall opinion:
I really enjoyed this story. The writing is really good, not too complicated. Most of the characters are well developed. The world is described very well. The pacing is just right. It was a real roller coaster of emotions.
I gave the book 4 out of 5 stars on Goodreads.
Let me know in the comments if you've read this book and whether you liked it or not. Please don't put spoilers in the comments! I have a spoiler review up as well, so we can discuss the book more in detail over there.
Bye for now
Annelies
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