A book with a beautifully intricate web of storylines, Falling Kingdoms took me by surprise and might've just become one of my favorite stories of all time.
Despite a slow beginning, Falling Kingdoms managed to make me want to beg for more (so good thing I bought the entire series in bulk). It took me about 100-200 pages to get full-on into the book, but once I did... I couldn't stop myself from snowballing through its entirety.
I might've already mentioned that third person isn't my favorite POV * However, the world building, and each of the separate storylines were woven together so flawlessly that I couldn't help but love this third-person POV novel.
*while very good when written well, I've always preferred first person. I like that close glimpse inside the deepest recesses of the main character's mind, don't you?
‣ The separate storylines were all intriguing and intricate.
Usually, more often than not, I read third-person novels with multiple story lines rather than just one (which typically follows only one character). And as if third-person novels already test the amount of patience and attention I can pour into the story, multiple story lines only exaggerate those feelings of impatience and boredom. When an author writes from multiple characters' point-of-views, it's often hard for the reader to be equally interested in each and every story line and character. However, that was not the case for Falling Kingdoms. I loved and was interested in each and every character and story line that was featured in this novel. And there were not just two, or three, but there were points told from around five characters. That's a lot! So it was quite impressive that Morgan Rhodes managed to make every character impressive and interesting in a nearly equal way for the readers.
‣ How chapters were not quite separated by character POVs, but rather by location by country.
This is probably not an aspect of the overall story that readers/reviewers really get into while dissecting and analyzing Falling Kingdoms and how they feel about the story, but I think this is a really important aspect to touch base on. I really loved how the chapters were not split based on which character POV was being told. Instead, chapters were split based on what country the characters were in at the time. I thought this was perfect, because location is a tough thing to keep track of when reading novels, especially when you read from multiple characters' POVs and in a world with multiple countries to keep track of. Since Falling Kingdoms is written in third-person, it was easy to figure out whose point-of-view I was reading. Therefore, it would've been unnecessarily excessive, and therefore pointless, for the chapters to state whose POV we were reading from. Instead, the headers of the chapters had the name of the country that was the setting for the chapter. I believe this added new information to the story and kept things more organized, as well as didn't restate any information that we already knew (such as whose point-of-view each chapter was in).
“Even paradise could become a prison if one had enough time to take notice of the walls.”
‣ The writing flowed perfectly and I was immediately entranced.
It's not hard to notice that Morgan Rhodes has truly exceptional writing. The word selection was flawless, the descriptions were on-point, the plot pacing (except for one little detail I will get to in the dislikes list below) was exceptional. Everything was immaculately done and I was so impressed and drawn to this fictional world that Morgan Rhodes has created. I will definitely be reading the rest of the series in the weeks to come. And there will be no stopping me since I own all of the books of the series!
‣ Princess Cleo, who is not perfect or skilled or ready for the responsibility that's thrown at her.
Cleo's character is probably one of my favorites. She's not perfect; She's weak (but still has room to grow), slightly delusional, and definitely inexperienced and unaccustomed to the true darkness and savageness of the world around her. But she is real, which is more than I can say about most YA fantasy main characters I have read about. She's not quite accustomed to fighting because she's a Princess, but she can still hold her own when she needs to. I love how Rhodes did not portray Cleo as badass Princess who has a secret and sudden skill for fighting and leading a rebellion. Cleo is an average girl (however, a little on the pretty side considering the amount of admirers she has) with average abilities and I love it. She's relatable and she's kindhearted. She made mistakes and handled opposition honorably and that just furthers my respect for her.
‣ Magnus, with a cruel father and an undying admiration for his sister who he'd destroy the world to protect.
Magnus is unquestionably my favorite character in this book. If I have a character weakness that will automatically make me love a character, then it's definitely troubled boys who deal with and battle inner and familial darkness. They're super complicated, shut themselves off from emotion and the world, and succumb to their darkness a lot of the time. But what I live for is their redemption or the turning point where they finally realize they have something to live for, to fight for, and that hope changes them for the better. I really look forward to potentially seeing this character change in Magnus. If you read the book and are seeing into his mind, you'll know that Magnus is actually really sweet, especially to his sister Lucia, even while his father is cruel. Yet Magnus decides to be an ass to everyone else, even lovely Cleo. Honestly, I'd love to see something between him and Cleo (I always tend to ship underdogs or characters that will often never end up together because they're random, but it's whatever. Examples of this include Katniss and Gale from The Hunger Games, Bella and Jacob from Twilight, etc.), but with the way Cleo and Magnus hate each other, I'm not so sure.
‣ Lord Aron, who is more than slightly pompous, extremely self righteous, supremely selfish, and just really arrogant in general.
I've definitely hated characters more than I dislike Aron, so that's a good sign. But I'm still not a big fan of Aron despite the fact that he's less aggravating to me than, say, Prince Andreus from Dividing Eden or Feyre's sisters from A Court of Thorns and Roses. Aron is very selfish, super cowardly, and just very unfeeling towards those around him. He could not care less about anything or anyone that isn't him or doesn't affect him.
‣ There was a case of insta-love that about had me closing the book for good.
If there's one thing that I see a lot (even in great writers) that ruins the magic of a fantastic book for me, and that causes me to want to DNF books (I never go through with DNFing, but still, the urge to do so is there. Trust me.), it's the concept of instant love. Insta-Love is when a love interest comes out of the blue, or when two characters fall in love in a short amount of time, without any time for them and the readers to see their relationship grow, complicate, and change over time. Love is tricky to write, and it is usually a make-or-break situation. If the love doesn't feel authentic to me because it is rushed like insta-love tends to be, then it can pull be away from the entrancement of the book and cause me to be a detached reader. That happened in this book, and while the writing and plot was enough to keep me going, I'm glad that the insta-love crisis was averted (despite the means by which this aversion came about) and I hope that in further installments of this series (which I will begin reading immediately after this review is posted) Morgan Rhodes can stretch out and pace the romance better, so that it's more believable and heart-wrenching emotional.
“Then his heart, now broken into a thousand pieces, slowly began to turn to ice.”
‣ Lucia, who had nothing wrong with her in this book, but I extremely disliked her anyway.
Do you ever come across characters as you read that you dislike for no reason at all? Like they are perfectly nice, have good morals, only do good things, etc but you just can't find it in you to like them? Instead, you feel annoyed by them and suspicious of everything they do, even though there's no reason to be suspicious? Yeah, that's how I felt about Lucia. She's nice and all and did terrifyingly sweet things to protect her family. But ..... I ..... just ..... didn't like her. Not one bit. She's done nothing wrong really, but still don't like her. Don't know why. She's a bit fishy in my opinion. I don't know if anyone else feels this way (hope I'm not alone in this), but I just can't bring myself to like and trust this girl.
Falling Kingdoms by Morgan Rhodes
412 Pages / Paperback
Published December 11th, 2012
Publisher / Razorbill
Rate / ★★★★☆
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....
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