Mundie Moms

Friday, November 27, 2015

FALLING KINGDOMS by Morgan Rhodes / Flashback Friday: Book Review #FallingKingdomSeries

Happy 'Flashback' Friday! 



To celebrate the upcoming release of FROZEN TIDES by Morgan Rhodes, I've teamed up with Penguin Teen, and I will be spotlighting the first three books in The Falling Kingdom series each week to count down to the release of Frozen Tides. During the release week of Frozen Tides, Morgan herself will be stopping by the blog for an interview! Stay tuned for that, and my review of Frozen Tides!

 If you haven't yet picked up this series, I highly recommend that you do! My review below was originally posted here

ABOUT THE BOOK 


Published by: Razorbill / Penguin Teen
Released on: December 11th, 2012
Purchase from: Amazon | Barnes & Noble

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? -quoted from Goodreads

Wow, where do I start with this book. There are so many things I loved about it. As much as I want to list all the things that made me love this book, I'm going to be a bit vague in what I'll mention so I don't spoil anything, because there is  a lot that happens! First, I have to say I LOVE this cover! It does this story justice and I love that it contains some important things from the book in it. I love it when a cover compliments the book like this one does. Story wise, there are so many fabulous twists, betrayals and "holy crap, he did not just do that!" moments. Yeah, let me just say, I was stunned over some of these scenes and totally heartbroken over who dies in this book. Morgan Rhodes is not afraid to kill off characters I totally loved *sobs*. This is a book that once I started reading it, there was no stopping till I was done with the it. I got so wrapped up into what was going on with the three different kingdoms, and some of the characters, that I over looked some of the things that at first bugged me about the book. 

The magical element, forbidden love, danger and that wanting to know more about certain characters are what hooked me with this book. I'm intrigued with the series's history and magical mythology, though I'm left wanting to know much more about it. I suspect we'll learn a lot more in the next book. Normally I'm not a fan of the insta-love, but for some reason Cleo's and Theon's is one that worked for me and I liked it. Okay maybe that has to do with the fact he's her personal bodyguard and a Knight (coughs, there you go Sophie, and he has a sword!). There was something about him from the get go I liked.

I'll be honest, Cleo wasn't a character I at first liked. I had issues with her and there's a pivotal scene in this book that made me lose all respect for her, until I saw how much it ended up effecting her. I over looked her spoiled ways and chalked it up her being the youngest Princess of her family, and having grown up in a sheltered like I guess I couldn't except her to be any different. Some where along the way I started to see her in a different way and I liked the changes I saw in her, and by the end of the book I saw a glimpse of the strong character I think she's going to become in the next book.

One of my favorite characters is Prince Magnus. No not the one that glitters from Cassie's series. This Magnus is brutal, lethal, dark and yet there's something vulnerable about himself he tries so hard to hide behind his mask of steel. I couldn't help but like him. He's torn between his duty and doing what he feels, and I like that about him. I have a feeling he's going to surprise me in the next book. Then there's Jonas. For much of this book he's driven by rage and the yearning to seek revenge for the death of his brother, and I couldn't blame him for that. There's a moment at the end of the book that shocked me with him and I can not wait to find out what he does next! This turn of events is completely not what I expected and I love that!

Morgan's writing really surprised me, and she made it so easy for me to become hooked with this story. At first I both liked that she included a list of the different kingdoms and characters who are from each kingdom, and at the same time I might have blanched that there were so many characters I didn't think I could keep them straight. I love it when I'm proven wrong, because Morgan's writing is such that I had no problems keeping up with who was who, and part of which kingdom. Everyone had distinct voices, making it easy for me to keep up. I liked that this is a book that's written from three different points of views, one for each character representing each of the three kingdoms in this book. Though there are four main characters, each new chapter not only kept up with the overall story line, it also allowed me to get to know more about each one of the main characters. 

There is a wide range of emotions that drove this plot line. Love, jealously, forbidden love, greed, hatred, secrecy, betrayals, an impending war and much more. The timeless feel to the book, the vivid world building, and getting to understand the emotions that are behind the characters actions are just a few of the things I enjoyed. I loved getting to read about the three kingdoms who make up this world, being able to read about some of the characters who play important roles in this book, and being able to understand what it was that drove some of the characters to do what they did. This is a book that has moments of romance, plenty of action scenes, and heartbreak. There's a lot of tense moments, times where feelings of helplessness are felt and moments of hope. I can not wait to jump into book 2 when it's out next year. 

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