Review: Falling Kingdoms by Morgan Rhodes

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?

Review

Thank you so much Razorbill Canada for allowing me to be on the tour! OMG THANK YOU!

Plot related stuff
The story started out with a bang! First chapter it initiated the spark! And within 50 pages of the book the "OMG! OMG! OH! OH! OH!" moments came in. Yup. :)
The unfair kingdoms/magic/fighting/unrest is not a new idea but it is an idea what never gets old. This familiarity creates relatability. The magic reminded me of all those tales about the elements (Avatar anyone?), fate, and prophecies. The unfairness reminded me of the Ishbalans (or Ishvalans) from Full Metal Alchemists. The anger that brewed in my stomach was strong and hot. This is why I love reading, it can provide not only new worlds for me to explore but also familiarity and emotions. This familiarity is comforting. With that said, familiarity, or should I say repetitions can be bad. It is only tolerable in certain genres, and fantasy is one of them. Haha, I guess one of the reasons why I like fantasy and why I don't get annoyed by it. :p

The world building is good, not the best but good enough. I can imagine a lot of the things by myself. Morgan gave the readers rooms to explore with their own imagination. The prologue was very different - in an attractive way. I did get confused when I was a few paragraphs in. I wasn't sure what was going on until later on. But it was intriguing.

Characters
Love the characters! Cleo was perfect in every single way. She didn't stand out to be any particular type: not completely whiny, not completely rebellious, not completely strong. She can't be pinned down as one type. She has a multitude of colors and rays that developed in this character that you simply can't hate. She is not perfect, nor fake. She is marvelous.

Theon, oh wow. I love you, pure and simple. I love you. *dives into daydream* :) He is sweet, strong, protective...just *rolls around the floor from embarrassment and excitement* so perfect!

I particularly like to hate Aron. He is the type of character that lacks responsibilities, chase freedom and fun. He can be a hassle and a pain. He is the type of jerk that you want to throw frying pans at and stab with a million pencils. Yup...I swear, I am not a psychopath. That's why I like to hate him. He is full of character.

Nic was just a friend that I am looking for. He is seriously a friend you can count on and make you happy. The relationship between Nic and Cleo is...just AWESOME! There is no I-loved-you-since-forever-but-I-secretly-hid-it kind of thing. They are just amazing friends! (Kind of jelly right here :3).

Magnus has, well, I won't say depth, but there is something about him that makes me intrigued. The romance for him is sweet, tender, and soft. Like a delicate flower petal, it gently brushes the readers' hearts, well at least for me it did.

But other characters such as Jonas brought unspeakable emotions to me. My heart wanted to burst in sorrow. Morgan seemed to transform simple words into threads of magic that pulled at my emotions. Oh Paelsia, how I cry for you. Alexius had me intrigued and my heart beating from the moment I was introduced to him.

There are way too many characters to discuss separately (it might just bore you to death), but each had their uniqueness, their magic, their soul.


This book really reminded me why I love YA/MG fantasy. *sigh* :) I would recommend this to YA high fantasy lovers. If you enjoy the Storm Glass, Graceling, a clean version of Game of Throne etc., you will love this. :)

But I guess the reason why this book is not a 5/5 is that it didn't have that something that made it FLAILS-worthy. It didn't make me go crazy, running around the house screaming or shoving the book in my family's faces. It didn't have that spark of something that made me give this a perfect score. It wasn't "perfect" but it didn't deserve a 4.5, so therefore 4.75.


Ashley's Bits and Pieces
Love how there were a list of characters and their role at the front of the book. I find a lot of the time with high or epic fantasy that I lose track of people. This book had a lot of characters and this simple addition made it a lot easier on me. I just want to give my thanks to it! :)


<-- actual rating is 4.75