(Book 3 in the Falling Kingdoms Series)

Author: Morgan Rhodes.

Length: 416 pages.

“And those with dark pasts didn’t always yearn for dark futures.” 

Goodreads Synopsis.

In GATHERING DARKNESS, book three of the New York Times bestselling Falling Kingdoms series, the stakes have never been higher as three teams push forward on a race to find the Kindred, the four elemental crystals possessing ancient all-powerful magic, first:

Prince Magnus has just witnessed torture, death, and miracles during the bloody confrontation that decimated the rebel forces. Now he must choose between family and justice as his father, the cruel King Gaius, sets out to conquer all of Mytica. All Gaius needs now are the Kindred – the four elemental crystals that give godlike powers to their owner. But the King of Blood is not the only one hunting for this ancient, storied magic…

The only certainty in the dark times is that whoever finds the magic first will control the fate of Mytica… but fate can be fickle when magic is involved.

My Thoughts.

Oh. My. God. (*queue Janice*) What a ride.

There is so much going on. So much drama. So much conflict. So much confusion.

These characters are all spread out. Allegiances have changed and everyone is fighting each other to become the most powerful ruler in the world. This is a race and we don’t know who’s going to win. I think the author has done an amazing job in creating real characters that make true mistakes. No one is completely good or completely bad, which is something that I have always loved reading about. I consider that this really helps the reader identify themselves even more with the characters and it forces us to accept them and learn to love them.

You don’t cry when someone pushes you down. You get up. You get up and you fight back. And pretty soon nobody’s going to shove you anymore because they’ll see it’s not worth it.

I am always very passionate when it comes to the characters that I love and those that I hate. And let me tell you… I hate so many people in this book. There is so much betrayal and I don’t trust anyone. In my mind all the new guys are immediately suspicious. Not even the reader can tell what is going on, considering that I was blindsided several times (even when I felt that I was prepared for some of them). This story is growing so much and something absolutely horrible is brewing amongst the depths of it. I am 100% sure that the finally battle will be epic, because things are going so badly. The ‘good’ guys are struggling so much and they are as lost as we are. I may sound cruel, but I LOVE this.

I can’t wait to read book 4! If you haven’t picked up this series yet, please do. It’s amazing, particularly for beginner fantasy readers (I’ve said this a lot, but I can’t stress it enough).