Falling Kingdoms
by Morgan Rhodes
Release Date: December 11th, 2012
Spoilers
Synopsis:
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 realize that the heart can be more lethal than the sword....
My Thoughts:
I gave this book 5 stars. It was fast paced and intriguing and I could not get enough of it.
I started this book right after I finished the Book Thief, and that definitely impacted my mood towards this book. I was sad over what had happened in the book I read earlier, and angry, which at first made me hate an abundance of characters. Seriously, I was in a very hateful mood. I even made a list:
- Sabina, (Sorceress) for obvious reasons. (She's Evil)
- Both kings, because one was being a misogynist while the other was just evil
- Aron, (Some random lord's son) for even existing
- and Emilia (Cleo's older sister) for suggesting that, the reaction people had to what Aron did, was just blown out of proportion, what he did was terrible.
At one point in the book I was even annoyed by Cleo, because she was just taking everything, her father told her she was going to marry Aron, even though she hates Aron, and she was just like, "Yes, Father." Also, I was annoyed that she wouldn't stand up against Aron just because of her secret. I didn't care what her secret was, it was not worth some man's life. Now, even her secret annoyed me. She got drunk and screwed Aron. She's a fricken princess, shouldn't she have guards to protect her from someone who might want to exploit her like that? Cleo has in fact grown on me, I'm excited to read the next book, the character development for Cleo is going to be amazing.
Let's talk about Magnus. He had a crush on his sister? What? I mean, I figured out early on that his sister was the baby from the prologue, so she wasn't really his sister by blood, but still. They were raised like siblings. She only thought of him as a sibling. Oh my gods, when he kissed her. I had to close the book. I had to ready myself because I so badly wanted to read on, but I wasn't ready for the second hand embarrassment I was going to get. Let's just say this did not end well. Magnus is just sort of the King of bad choices.
When I found out about Emelia and her father's guard. I was a little, meh, about it at first, but as she explained more, it just got really cute. I loved it. It was the perfect set up for Theon and Cleo.
I love Theon so much, right from the beginning, he was more than just protective of Cleo, it wasn't just about his job, he wanted her safe because he loved her and I loved him. I was so mad at Magnus. Theon swooped in and saved Cleo after she took off to find a magic seed to save her dying sister, and he takes out her kidnappers. Then when Magnus comes to try and Cleo with him to his king father who wants to use her for leverage. Theon takes out Magnus's guards and then when he checks to make sure Cleo is all right, Magnus stabs Theon in the back. Theon is dead. I cried so hard over this. I actually had already spoiled his death for myself because I read something online. It didn't help at all. I think it even made things worse.
Something I enjoyed in this book, was seeing one of the big four from the eyes of another. When describing Magnus, he sees himself with a mask on, he is very good at hiding his emotions, his sister also knows that he is hiding his emotions well, she can tell. When Cleo meets him for the first time, she describes him as malicious looking and cruel, cold even. It was very different than how he was earlier portrayed.
I've noticed that there are many attempts to kidnap Cleo, there were several attempts only in the first book, I can just imagine the rest of the series. Cleo is very good at playing the damsel in distress.
Now, I wasn't as much of a fan of Jonas. The other characters all seemed a bit more interesting than him. He just has a very bad temper and a vendetta. I mean the others had a little more going for them, Magnus is a prince who is in love with his sister and trying to prove himself to his father. Cleo is a spoiled brat who has a very sick sibling who she loves, along with the fact that she is also engaged to some guy she hates and is in love with someone else. And then Lucia is a sorceress who is insanely powerful and everyone wants to use her for her powers. I mean, in the next book Jonas will probably be getting more interesting considering it's hinted that there will be an uprising. Well actually it's just the most logical next step.
I really can't say that I was surprised by the Cheif's death. It was coming sooner or later. I mean, he was a total phoney and the King really didn't even need him, or want him for that matter.
The final battle was the worst, Cleo lost everyone that she loved. Her sister finally died frothier disease before she could get the magic seeds, her father was murdered, Theon was already dead. She is now officially the Queen, but has to go into hiding from the King, but she get's caught anyway. Things are going to go down. The Author did an amazing job setting up everything for the rest of the series.
Quotes:
“Even paradise could become a prison if one had enough time to take notice of the walls.”
“Then his heart, now broken into a thousand pieces, slowly began to turn to ice.”
“Hate is such a strong emotion. Much more powerful than indifference. But those who burn with hate can also love just as intensely. Can't they? When you hate--or love--do you do so with all your heart? So much that it feels as if you might die from it?”
“I have stories. But stories are not facts.''I like stories. Love them, actually. Most of the time they're better than facts.”
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