Author: Morgan Rhodes
Published: December 11th 2012
Source: Hardcover
Pages: 412
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.
REVIEW
The prologue was amazing! The only other book that has really sucked me in right from the prologue is The Final Empire by Brandon Sanderson. It was such a great peek into the world, writing style, plot and pace of the story. If you are hesitant about starting this book, read the prologue and if you enjoy it, you will most likely enjoy the rest of the book. :) I simply love it when I am hooked from page 1 of the book.
All the characters were so well-developed and everyone had their own arc! We follow 4 different characters' POV and it was amazing getting to look at the issues/drama from the different angles! You will find yourself rooting for every single one of them even though they have conflicting opinions. The writing was just that good! It is a very interesting and refreshing way to tell a story and I really appreciated it!
My favourite character is probably Magnus. He has so much inner conflict and I just find him so intriguing. His love interest situation kinda disturbed me but I am surprisingly open to how it plays out and I have faith that Rhodes is going to handle this really well. The way Magnus describes his love for her just makes me feel his pain and I'm willing to overlook to unconventional aspect of it.
Cleo has so much room for growth. We can see her slowly growing in this book and if she keeps continuing in this direction I think I am going to love her! I think that Cleo is supposed to be a strong female character by the end of the series so we are witnessing her progress towards that. I love how realistic the book was in portraying her, she was not perfect and could not just go around doing whatever she wanted to just cause she was the MC. She knew her limits and did not behave like the usual bratty YA female characters. I also really loved how the other characters belittled her because she was female and did not praise her for being rash or when she was making stupid decisions. THANK YOU FOR THE MANY DOSES OF LOGIC, RHODES.
Jones was kind of annoying and idiotic, he was the only one that I didn't really get but thank god he had very small parts in this book so I could easily overlook him. Maybe he'll play a bigger role in the future? For now he seems to only be there to drive the plot along.
This is high fantasy done right. Rhodes was smart to only have 3 kingdoms in her world and I think that was a good move. The number of characters and kingdoms were kept to a decent number so that things didn't get overly convoluted *ahem*Snow Like Ashes*ahem*. This is YA and with the comparatively shorter length, unlike adult fantasy, there just isn't even enough time to really flesh out an eight kingdom world. Keeping it simple is key, quality > quantity. Final Kingdoms was very well-paced, it wasn't bogged down with unnecessary info-dumping and the injection of world building was spaced out very well. HOWEVER, I had issues with the lack of depth in world building. I wanted to know more about the day-to-day life of the commoners outside of the palace so that I could really imagine the world. We also never really got to witness all that talk about the citizens being overly religious and whatnot in the kingdoms. I felt a little disconnected to the world, there was a lot of telling and very little showing when it came to world building. I am really hoping that this will change as the series progresses!
The number of plot twists really kept me on my toes! Shocking things happened throughout the book (like GoT) and I can see why this is compared to Game of thrones but tbh they should not have marketed it as such. Many people went into this expecting the depth that GoT has and were obviously disappointed. The plot started off a little shaky but it got better as the story progressed.
All the characters were so well-developed and everyone had their own arc! We follow 4 different characters' POV and it was amazing getting to look at the issues/drama from the different angles! You will find yourself rooting for every single one of them even though they have conflicting opinions. The writing was just that good! It is a very interesting and refreshing way to tell a story and I really appreciated it!
My favourite character is probably Magnus. He has so much inner conflict and I just find him so intriguing. His love interest situation kinda disturbed me but I am surprisingly open to how it plays out and I have faith that Rhodes is going to handle this really well. The way Magnus describes his love for her just makes me feel his pain and I'm willing to overlook to unconventional aspect of it.
Cleo has so much room for growth. We can see her slowly growing in this book and if she keeps continuing in this direction I think I am going to love her! I think that Cleo is supposed to be a strong female character by the end of the series so we are witnessing her progress towards that. I love how realistic the book was in portraying her, she was not perfect and could not just go around doing whatever she wanted to just cause she was the MC. She knew her limits and did not behave like the usual bratty YA female characters. I also really loved how the other characters belittled her because she was female and did not praise her for being rash or when she was making stupid decisions. THANK YOU FOR THE MANY DOSES OF LOGIC, RHODES.
Jones was kind of annoying and idiotic, he was the only one that I didn't really get but thank god he had very small parts in this book so I could easily overlook him. Maybe he'll play a bigger role in the future? For now he seems to only be there to drive the plot along.
This is high fantasy done right. Rhodes was smart to only have 3 kingdoms in her world and I think that was a good move. The number of characters and kingdoms were kept to a decent number so that things didn't get overly convoluted *ahem*Snow Like Ashes*ahem*. This is YA and with the comparatively shorter length, unlike adult fantasy, there just isn't even enough time to really flesh out an eight kingdom world. Keeping it simple is key, quality > quantity. Final Kingdoms was very well-paced, it wasn't bogged down with unnecessary info-dumping and the injection of world building was spaced out very well. HOWEVER, I had issues with the lack of depth in world building. I wanted to know more about the day-to-day life of the commoners outside of the palace so that I could really imagine the world. We also never really got to witness all that talk about the citizens being overly religious and whatnot in the kingdoms. I felt a little disconnected to the world, there was a lot of telling and very little showing when it came to world building. I am really hoping that this will change as the series progresses!
The number of plot twists really kept me on my toes! Shocking things happened throughout the book (like GoT) and I can see why this is compared to Game of thrones but tbh they should not have marketed it as such. Many people went into this expecting the depth that GoT has and were obviously disappointed. The plot started off a little shaky but it got better as the story progressed.
VERDICT
Falling Kingdoms is definitely a great start to an amazing series with a decent cast of characters, great pacing and amazing storytelling. World building is a little lacking, it is not lacking per say but it would've been nice if there was more depth to it. The writing was a little dry at times but the plot really made up for it. I already have the next 2 books checked out from the library and I can't wait to continue on with this! I would recommend this to anyone who appreciates a well-paced high fantasy and is looking for a very exciting read!
Plot: 4/5
Pacing: 4.5/5
Originality: 4/5
Writing style: 3.5/5
Characters: 4/5
Feels: 4/5
Cover: 4/5
Overall rating: 
Awesome review! Added it to my TBR after you said "this is a high fantasy done right". (: Sounds really good!
ReplyDeletePearl @ AsteriskPearl's Book Blog
Yay! :) Can't wait to see what you think of it!
DeleteOoooh, now that's a cover. And when it comes with 4/5 feels, I have to check it out. Glad to find your blog via FF, followed you up!
ReplyDeleteThe covers for the entire series are amazing! And yes the feels would smack you right in the face :P All the twists and turns are so good. Thank you! :)
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