December 3, 2012

Review: Falling Kingdoms by Morgan Rhodes

Falling Kingdoms by Morgan Rhodes
Release Date ~ 12/11/12
Format ~ ARC
Publisher ~ Razorbill
Source ~ Publisher for review
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?
(taken from Goodreads)
Morgan Rhodes' high fantasy debut,  Falling Kingdoms, as stated on the back cover, is perfect for younger fans of George R.R. Martin's A Song of Ice and Fire saga. The plots are very similar and there are characters that play practically the same role as characters play in Martin's novels. So in short, if you love Game of Thrones but maybe don't love all the violence, sex, and language, Falling Kingdoms is definitely the book for you. Regardless of similarities to Martin, Falling Kingdoms wasn't a half-bad read for me either.

The book is told through the eyes of four different young people in from three different kingdoms, Auranos, Paelisa, and Limeros. Having different characters narrate the story is definitely something I want to see more of in YA. However, Rhodes gives us four equally lovable characters from three different sides in a war, which makes it hard for you to choose sides. From the reader's point of view, it's just very goddamn annoying when you don't know who to root for. I understand if the author wants to mess with our minds, but when the book is having a massive showdown between sides, in my opinion, you want us readers to have someone they want to lose and someone they want to win. None of the narrators were people I strongly didn't like, so it just ends up with you wondering how to choose your side. Because when all I feel as a reader is indifference, I'm not very enthralled.

The settings in Rhodes' story and the words she used to describe them were one of the highlights for me. Every scene was a beautifully painted canvas with lush describing words to enhance the story and make you feel like you were there, seeing, hearing, smelling, and even tasting the scene for yourself.

Though it may of been hard to make up your mind of which of the kids you liked, the adults are pretty easy to form an opinion on, and that opinion for me was they were all utter bastards. A bunch of manipulative, lying, self-serving, blood thirsty rulers who didn't care about anyone but themselves and their quest for land and power.

The action is written in a very high-stakes format with lots of (non-gory) violence and adventure to keep you on the edge of your seat and blood pumping through your vanes. Action scenes in books and movies often bore me, but Rhodes does an excellent job of keeping things entertaining.

Though there was some romance, Falling Kingdoms was a bit of a breathe of fresh air in the young adult genre, as romance was not a huge part of the story and didn't take up that much of our time. Though I have no problem with romance, it's nice when it's not always forefront. Interesting relationships did develop though.

In short, Falling Kingdoms will be eaten up by the bucket-load for high fantasy addicts. As for the rest of us, it's does make for a fun, somewhat-enjoyable read.
Cover Comments:
This cover is one of my favorite released this year! I love the use of blues, grays, and blacks, along with the hooded figure. Nice job, Razorbill design team!

27 comments:

  1. I just actually reviewed this book too! Yeah, there was surprisely not very much romance, but I'm glad there wasn't! Romance usually causes drama, which I don't favor too much. Great review!

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  2. This one sounds promising and I was worried that ARC reviewers weren't going to like it! I'm really glad too see that you gave it 4/5! I liked to hear that the romance wasn't in the forefront. It's nice to see that for a change of pace in YA :)

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  3. I've been hearing such mixed things about this book, I'm anxious to read it myself and find out! I'm glad you liked it. I love Game of Thrones and anything in that vein.

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  4. I`ve been waiting to get my hands on this book.Thanks for the great review, I`m definitely gonna check it out now! ;)

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  5. Oh, great review! I just love this books and plan on get myself a copy soon.

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  6. Thanks for this honest review. I'm an adult but still into YA books. I've just started to get back into reading and have been searching high and low for books to read.

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  7. I can't waaaait to read this!! I feels like its taking forever to come out! Thanks for the awesome review :D

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  8. This sounds like an interesting story. It is refreshing when romance isn't the main content in these books. Thanks for your thoughts!

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  9. I'm so glad to read this review. I'm happy too that there wasn't a main focus on romance. I'm so looking forward to this book.

    Thanks!

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  10. I love books with many perspective. But I hope there won;t be any repetition scene.
    I hope I can get the chance to read this

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  11. Interesting that it is from multiple POVs. Is it in first person though? And it is action-packed and it is not a romance book pretending to be a high fantasy book based on your review. Lucky you! You were able to read it in advance!

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  12. I'm not a fans of fantasy actually, but would love to try this one

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  13. Great review! I've heard nothing but amazing things about this book. I normally don't read high fantasy, but I'm going to make an exception with this one. :)

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  14. Great review! I have heard so many good things about this book. It is on my to buy list and I might have to push it up a few!

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  15. I really enjoyed your review and am somewhat glad there is not much romance. That means this is something my husband will read as well :) I'm always on the lookout for a book that we will both enjoy!

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  16. Awesome review! While romance is my favorite genre, I also love these fantasy type novels. I saw that someone compared it to Kristin Cashore's Graceling (which I loved!). GOT is one of my favorites, though I have not read it yet, only watched the show. I am sure the books are better. :)
    Honestly, the cover caught my eye first and then when I read the blurb, I immediately added it to my TBR.
    Thank you for sharing your thoughts!

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  17. This sounds really promising! I love fantasy and this sounds like a good read, since you gave a 4 star rating!
    Thanks for the awesome review, as always!

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  18. I've been seeing so much on this book and wondered if my daughter would like it. She's 12 but reading at high school level, so picking out books is a challenge since she's too young for some of the YA books. This sounds like something she may like though. Thanks1

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  19. It sounds like a fascinating story and I like reading from different perspectives.

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  20. This looks good! I might have to buy it sometime soon!

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  21. I have heard good things about this book and I like fantasy, so this sounds like a good fit for me! It's interesting about the comparisons to Game of Thrones, thanks for the review!!

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  22. I'm so glad you liked this! I've been eager for this book so hearing good reviews about it is pumping me up :)

    Thank you for the review.

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  23. This book sounds amazing and I want to thankyou for the review

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  24. I love fantasy books. This is another book that I will be putting on my to-read list! Thanks for your honest review.

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  25. Great review!! I'm a big fan of YA Fantasy!! I've seen this book on a lot of blogs and having been dying to read it!! Its already out?! Oohhh I'm going to B&N and buying this one!! Thank you for doing a review on this awesome sounding book!!

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  26. I haven't read the book yet, but it's on my tbr list. I agree with you on the cover, they did a great job!

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  27. Great review! I got my copy a week ago and I also love the cover. I'm only just starting to read it and already am loving it!!

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