(Book 2 in the Falling Kingdoms Series)

Author: Morgan Rhodes.

Length: 401 pages.

“Evil is a choice one makes, not a natural state of being.” 

Goodreads Synopsis.

After a bloody siege, Auranos has been defeated, its young queen orphaned and dethroned. The three kingdoms—Auranos, Limeros, and Paelsia—are now unwillingly united as one country called Mytica. But the allure of ancient, dangerous magic beckons still, and with it the chance to rule not just Mytica, but the whole world over…

At the heart of the fray are four brave young people grappling for that magic and the power it promises. For Cleo, the magic would enable her to reclaim her royal seat. In Jonas’s hands, it frees his nation, and in Lucia’s, it fulfills the ancient prophecy of her destiny. And if the magic were Magnus’s, he would finally prove his worth in the eyes of his cruel and scheming father, King Gaius, who rules Mytica with a punishing hand.

When Gaius begins to build a road into the Forbidden Mountains to physically link all of Mytica, he sparks a long-smoking fire in the hearts of the people that will forever change the face of this land. For Gaius’s road is paved with blood, and its construction will have cosmic consequences.

My Thoughts.

This books was definitely more interesting than the first one. In retrospection, Falling Kingdoms was a great first book and it set up the plot very well for this installment. I enjoyed very much reading about the different paths that the characters took and I was surprised time and time again with everything that happened. Similarly, I love this author’s writing style. One of my main struggles with fantasy books is how difficult it can be to follow everything that’s going on. I consider that Morgan Rhodes really conveys everything that’s happening beautifully, but in a simple manner. Perfect for fantasy beginners (aka me).

Darkness will always try to extinguish the light. The light will always try to repress the darkness.

Plot wise, I really enjoyed everything. We learned a lot about the story, its origins and the potential future. In spite of that, I have no idea what will happen next. Obviously, I have my suspicions but, unlike the first book, what happened in this one wasn’t as predictable and I was constantly surprised. On the other hand, there is no way that I can give my thoughts on this book and not mention how much all of the deaths pissed me off. Don’t worry this isn’t a spoiler cause I imagine that if you read the first one, you would know that mercy basically does not exist in this world. Lots of characters died and I was mad all the time.

I’m really excited to find out what will happen next and now, I can definitely say that I recommend this series. An amazing second book!