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3.97 AVERAGE
3.97 AVERAGE
adventurous
challenging
emotional
medium-paced
This was a good first book of the series!! Lots of world building and background, and the pacing at the beginning reflected that. It is important to have it in there to understand the story. I absolutely loved our FMC Prisca and her badassness…. She is devoted to family and friends and it shows. She also does not back down from a challenge. I also loved the supporting male characters of our MMC. They were absolutely amazing to Prisca and would immediately do anything for her. Our MMC…. He pisses me off lol… I know why he is the way he is but he needs to break those dang walls down!! He is devoted and will do absolutely anything for our FMC but he does it in the most infuriating way! The story itself has so many things going on- it is action packed once it got going- lots of moving parts and twists…. The magic system was super cool and explained really well. The plots twists at the end- WOW!! It was excellent and not what I expected. I knew it wasn’t going to be a conclusion by any means but it was a SURPRISE! I definitely need to see how the story continues and how a certain someone is going to dig themselves out of the hole they dug because someone else is PISSED lol…
Re-read update. I wasn’t so pissed at Lorian this time. He was dealing with a lot and adding Prisca wasn’t really something he wanted to do. The line that resonated with me regarding his treatment toward her especially when training was:
“You fought for your survival. You made it through that forest until you found me again. When I saw you—and your poor attempt to sneak up on us—I wanted you so badly, I was enraged. So I buried it down deep, vowing to never even think of acting on it. And then I realized what power you had, and even as I loathed myself for it, I was relieved.”
“Why?”
“Because I would get to keep you for a little while. And I vowed that even if you hated me for it, I would make sure you were able to survive.”
I didn’t like that he basically kidnapped Prisca at the end but she definitely would not have gone with him otherwise. Explain himself to her. So I could understand that as well.
The little things Lorian did for Prisca without her really knowing- the Valeo, I’m pretty sure he supplied the second necklace, the healer for Asinia, showed how much he was falling for her even though he didn’t want to. Not to mention the possessiveness even against his best friends and how he acted when he thought she was dying….. it resonated with me more the second time around. Perhaps it’s because I knew what was going to happen in the end…..
Anyway. I gave more grace to our naughty Lorian the second time around.
Re-read update. I wasn’t so pissed at Lorian this time. He was dealing with a lot and adding Prisca wasn’t really something he wanted to do. The line that resonated with me regarding his treatment toward her especially when training was:
“You fought for your survival. You made it through that forest until you found me again. When I saw you—and your poor attempt to sneak up on us—I wanted you so badly, I was enraged. So I buried it down deep, vowing to never even think of acting on it. And then I realized what power you had, and even as I loathed myself for it, I was relieved.”
“Why?”
“Because I would get to keep you for a little while. And I vowed that even if you hated me for it, I would make sure you were able to survive.”
I didn’t like that he basically kidnapped Prisca at the end but she definitely would not have gone with him otherwise. Explain himself to her. So I could understand that as well.
The little things Lorian did for Prisca without her really knowing- the Valeo, I’m pretty sure he supplied the second necklace, the healer for Asinia, showed how much he was falling for her even though he didn’t want to. Not to mention the possessiveness even against his best friends and how he acted when he thought she was dying….. it resonated with me more the second time around. Perhaps it’s because I knew what was going to happen in the end…..
Anyway. I gave more grace to our naughty Lorian the second time around.
adventurous
dark
emotional
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
“Don’t survive for anyone else. Survive for yourself. Survive because the thought of not surviving, the thought of letting those who would hurt you win, is so repulsive, you can’t stand it. Survive because you deserve to survive.”
The story begins at a gifting ceremony. A villager has reached 25 winters and their power taken from them by the Gods at birth is returned to them. Humans' power is taken from them at birth in return for the king's protection from the merciless and deadly fae. If a human manages to keep theur power they are deemed corrupt and are burned alive.
Prisca is one of the corrupt and is forced to flee her village when her power is discovered. In order to survive Prisca makes a deal with Lorien and his group of mercinaries....she helps them sneak into the city and Lorien will help her learn to wield her strange, dark power. But Lorien is hiding secrets of his own, threatening the safety of everyone Prisca holds dear.
This first installment of Stacia Stark's Kingdom of Lies series is phenomenal. The worldbuilding is done theough the eyes of Prisca as she travels. This avoids the reader feeling bogged down by pages and pages of info dumping.
The FMC Prisca is fiery and resourceful. The MMC Lorien is dark, broody, and morally gray. The magic system is unique, and easy to understand. Its complexities are revealed theoughout the story and you learn more as Prisca begins to unserstand the power she and others possess.
I really enjoyed this story and cannot wait to get into book 2.
I am leaning on 3.5 for this one... There were for sure some moments where I rolled my eyes, and some moments where I was really peeved at the chapter layouts... If you switch POV just start a new chapter, why do you have to make a chapter an hour long... I digress. Other than that this was a solid read, I feel like the series will get a lot better and I am invested now. The twists at the end were pretty good too, I wasn't expecting some of that, but i totally get the "Kingdom of Lies" bit... yup that makes perfect sense... I suspect there will be more of that coming lol
adventurous
challenging
dark
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
this was fun!! some cringe and predictable moments but overall a fun read with strong characters and character relationships. i don’t know why it’s so rare but i love when the fmc actually has female friends…
AHHHH why have I taken so long to start this series! This book was absolutely amazing from start to finish and I am so excited to pick up the next book.
5 stars
5 stars
challenging
emotional
funny
lighthearted
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes