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3.8 AVERAGE
3.8 AVERAGE
I refuse to DNF a book.
But man, this was rough.
Mytica should not be mixed with modern day.
I did not like it.
I didn’t like the magic, I didn’t like the storyline of Toronto.
I just didn’t like it.
But man, this was rough.
Mytica should not be mixed with modern day.
I did not like it.
I didn’t like the magic, I didn’t like the storyline of Toronto.
I just didn’t like it.
5/5 Stars
SOOOO different from Falling Kingdoms, but just as amazing!!!!
SOOOO different from Falling Kingdoms, but just as amazing!!!!
I really wish this book had a completed trilogy behind it, but sadly it doesn’t. I honestly did not think I was going to enjoy it as much as I did and since I knew there wasn’t going to be a third and final book to this trilogy, I didn’t mind if I didn’t like it as much. But there was just something that honestly felt really awesome about this book.
I didn’t think urban fantasy would be my jam, but this specific book is.
I didn’t think urban fantasy would be my jam, but this specific book is.
First off, there will probably be a few references to the Falling Kingdoms series in this review so if you haven’t read up to Gathering Darkness, then I suggest you don’t read this review.
Hey, Crystal you should be more appreciative. You’re in Canada, I’m pretty sure you get free college unlike us Americans.
Crystal and Becca’s mom get a mysterious book from their aunt. It then makes Becca collapse.
We then meet Farrell (stupid name) who is getting drunk when his little brother, Adam, texts him asking for help. Farrell goes and his new friends basically want to rape this drunk/drugged woman. Stay classy.
Then we meet Maddox who gets stupidly tricked by a thief but then his abusive guardian, Livius, helps him out. Maddox goes to this noblemen’s house to “purge” an evil spirit. They’re actually just conning a gullible rich guy. However Maddox doesn’t have some kind of special power to see spirits because then he sees Becca.
This brings up an interesting question, how do these time lines work? Maddox is in “ancient Mytica” and since Valoria is still around I’d assume this takes place far before Falling Kingdoms. But then in our world it’s modern day. How does that work? Does time in Mytica just move way faster than it does in our world?
Back to the story, so Crystal’s sad that her sister is a Coma and reaches out to her dad for answers.
So Farrell is from this really rich family and they got this secret society called the Hawkspear Society and it’s time for Farrell’s younger brother to join the club. So they go through these secret underground tunnels to get to this theater.
Before the meeting starts, Lucas calls over Farrell. Lucas is Farrell’s dead older brother, Connor’s best friend. Lucas says that Markus King, the leader of this society wants to bring Farrell into his inner circle. Farrell really can’t say no but the meeting starts.
Then things go from weird to what the fuck because Markus calls up Adam, they bring out this drug dealer. They decide that he’s evil and so Markus just straight up murders him because that’s his job, to destroy evil. The blood of the drug dealer gives the members of the society power because it’s blood magic. Then Adam is offered to join, he says yes because he’s not an idiot, Markus carves a symbol into Adam’s arm and now he’s part of this fucked up cult. Farrell’s parts are intense.
“‘It’s a daguerreotype,’ she said, pushing her glasses up higher on her nose. She had already known the answer, but there was a descriptive plague right next to it that explained everything which she read from. ‘‘Named for Louis-Jacques-Mandé Daguerre, iodine-sensitized silver plate and mercy vapor.’’
‘Sounds like a lot of effort.’
‘Too much. I wonder what this guy would have thought of digital.’”—Page 83
Hey! It’s totally worth to get that sharp, reflective style! It’s like a mirror. Sad face. If you don’t get this reference please go play Life is Strange.
I’m a quarter of the way through and I really don’t give a shit about Crystal.
“‘Yes, really. With Connor, I had such high hopes—that he would be famous artist, that he’d soon get married and give me grandchildren. That he’d carry on the Grayson name. For Adam, his teachers say he has an incredible mind, that he’s meant for medicine, law, business. Whatever he chooses, they believe he’ll be successful. But you…’ Her discerning gaze swept him from head to toe. ‘I have no reason to think you’ll ever amount to anything of note. Therefore, I expect very little from you.’”—Page 101
Well, Farrell’s mother is officially irredeemable. Who the hell says that to their kids? Rhodes better not try to make this character sympathetic because there’s no coming back from this. I’m pretty sure when she and King Gaius die, they’re gonna meet up in hell and high five each other because they were both equally horrible parents.
Also your eldest son committed suicide, I’m pretty saying shit like this is only going to make the number of your dead sons only increase.
Maddox and Livius are in the dungeon and they’re going to meet Valoria.
Livius will not be missed.
Farrell is now a part of Markus’s inner circle, he’s given a mark that makes him a tineye, like in Mistborn.
I just realized something Markus…Mark us. Well played Rhodes, well played.
Farrell’s first assignment is to see what Crystal is up to.
Why are Limerian guards, no matter what time period it is, always just fucking dicks? Is it because they’re always under a repressive regime? Like first was Valoria and then King Gaius who’s basically Valoria.
I ship Becca and Maddox so hard, Becca trying to motivate him and saying that she’s his friend is just so nice.
So crazy Barney comes into the cell with Maddox (and Becca) but he turns out to not be crazy. His name is Barnabas, he knows about Maddox, he wants to break out of jail and destroy Valoria before she can destroy Mytica. Why is Mytica always hanging in balance and about to be destroyed?
It is revealed that Valoria is looking for the golden dagger that Markus has.
So Farrell was attempting to flirt with Crystal to try to do his mission but Crystal (kind of hilariously) rejected his efforts to focus on Becca. Now Farrell is incredibly pissed off but he’s no a date with Felicity, a girl his mom wants to hook up with. He decides to get his little brother because he’s drunk and coked up. It ends with Farrell almost beating a dude to death, clearly this is Markus’s mark doing this.
So, with Maddox, Barnabas escape the Limerian palace, killing Valoria’s snake and stealing this magic box. Barnabas reveals that Maddox is a necromancer and seems to know a lot about who Maddox is…
Any way, with Crystal she’s walking along when she’s Farrell in his car and sees that Lucas in the limo with him. She recognizes him as the guy who mugged her and realizes that he’s been playing her for a fool.
She then meets with Markus, who is also the golden boy at the university. He reveals that he and Crystal’s grandfather had cofounded the Hawkspear society.
“‘Why were you at the university that day?’ she asked.
‘Simply because I take classes there.’”—Pages 255-256
See Crystal? Even possibly evil immortals understand the importance of higher education.
Also that motherfucker Markus knows about Vega and the Bronze Codex. He knows pretty much everything, let’s be honest.
Crystal you just spring all this Hawkspear shit on your mom, when she’s barely had her coffee? Cruel. But seriously we get a whole bunch of plot twists. First that Jackie and Markus were madly in love with each other, had a baby and that baby was Becca.
Back in Mytica, Maddox is drunk and tells Becca how he’s so sad that she has to leave. My poor baby.
So Julia goes to pick up Jackie, Crystal goes to Vega to find out that he was mugged by Markus’s goons and got a bunch information out of him, including that Becca is in a…book induced coma? Then it’s discovered that Becca has been kidnapped by Markus. Crystal gets a call from her dad to get the Bronze Codex and she’ll be picked up in 1 hour.
So the ugly witch’s sister “betrays” them to Valoria and it’s revealed that Barnabas is the hunter that Eva fell in love with. I didn’t see that coming, but I did see coming that Barnabas was Maddox’s daddy. Also the fact that Sienna didn’t really betray them and this was all a trick to get Valoria there.
Valoria was stealing magic before it was cool.
The trap doesn’t work but Maddox ends up using his magic, that will probably turn him crazy like Lucia, to make her go away. I’m surprised that Barnabas is still alive but now they’re going on a quest to find the lost heir.
And finally, Markus decides to give Crystal and Becca all three marks, however Daniel double crosses them. He had called Adam to pick them up in the elevator of the fancy restaurant. Daniel ends up snapping Lucas’s neck, but lets Farrell because…main character, let’s be honest.
Then Markus, I think is making Farrell his right hand man. He forces Farrell to kill Daniel, then gives him the third mark. Now Farrell is under Markus’s complete control.
Hey Adam, you better not get in the way of my Maddox-Becca ship.
But the book ends with Jackie taking Crystal and Becca into hiding. This was an amazing book, Crystal still hasn’t really grown on me but I still really enjoyed it. I’m excited to see where the story goes and I think the next book comes out soon, so I’m excited to read it! On to Frozen Tides!
Hey, Crystal you should be more appreciative. You’re in Canada, I’m pretty sure you get free college unlike us Americans.
Crystal and Becca’s mom get a mysterious book from their aunt. It then makes Becca collapse.
We then meet Farrell (stupid name) who is getting drunk when his little brother, Adam, texts him asking for help. Farrell goes and his new friends basically want to rape this drunk/drugged woman. Stay classy.
Then we meet Maddox who gets stupidly tricked by a thief but then his abusive guardian, Livius, helps him out. Maddox goes to this noblemen’s house to “purge” an evil spirit. They’re actually just conning a gullible rich guy. However Maddox doesn’t have some kind of special power to see spirits because then he sees Becca.
This brings up an interesting question, how do these time lines work? Maddox is in “ancient Mytica” and since Valoria is still around I’d assume this takes place far before Falling Kingdoms. But then in our world it’s modern day. How does that work? Does time in Mytica just move way faster than it does in our world?
Back to the story, so Crystal’s sad that her sister is a Coma and reaches out to her dad for answers.
So Farrell is from this really rich family and they got this secret society called the Hawkspear Society and it’s time for Farrell’s younger brother to join the club. So they go through these secret underground tunnels to get to this theater.
Before the meeting starts, Lucas calls over Farrell. Lucas is Farrell’s dead older brother, Connor’s best friend. Lucas says that Markus King, the leader of this society wants to bring Farrell into his inner circle. Farrell really can’t say no but the meeting starts.
Then things go from weird to what the fuck because Markus calls up Adam, they bring out this drug dealer. They decide that he’s evil and so Markus just straight up murders him because that’s his job, to destroy evil. The blood of the drug dealer gives the members of the society power because it’s blood magic. Then Adam is offered to join, he says yes because he’s not an idiot, Markus carves a symbol into Adam’s arm and now he’s part of this fucked up cult. Farrell’s parts are intense.
“‘It’s a daguerreotype,’ she said, pushing her glasses up higher on her nose. She had already known the answer, but there was a descriptive plague right next to it that explained everything which she read from. ‘‘Named for Louis-Jacques-Mandé Daguerre, iodine-sensitized silver plate and mercy vapor.’’
‘Sounds like a lot of effort.’
‘Too much. I wonder what this guy would have thought of digital.’”—Page 83
Hey! It’s totally worth to get that sharp, reflective style! It’s like a mirror. Sad face. If you don’t get this reference please go play Life is Strange.
I’m a quarter of the way through and I really don’t give a shit about Crystal.
“‘Yes, really. With Connor, I had such high hopes—that he would be famous artist, that he’d soon get married and give me grandchildren. That he’d carry on the Grayson name. For Adam, his teachers say he has an incredible mind, that he’s meant for medicine, law, business. Whatever he chooses, they believe he’ll be successful. But you…’ Her discerning gaze swept him from head to toe. ‘I have no reason to think you’ll ever amount to anything of note. Therefore, I expect very little from you.’”—Page 101
Well, Farrell’s mother is officially irredeemable. Who the hell says that to their kids? Rhodes better not try to make this character sympathetic because there’s no coming back from this. I’m pretty sure when she and King Gaius die, they’re gonna meet up in hell and high five each other because they were both equally horrible parents.
Also your eldest son committed suicide, I’m pretty saying shit like this is only going to make the number of your dead sons only increase.
Maddox and Livius are in the dungeon and they’re going to meet Valoria.
Livius will not be missed.
Farrell is now a part of Markus’s inner circle, he’s given a mark that makes him a tineye, like in Mistborn.
I just realized something Markus…Mark us. Well played Rhodes, well played.
Farrell’s first assignment is to see what Crystal is up to.
Why are Limerian guards, no matter what time period it is, always just fucking dicks? Is it because they’re always under a repressive regime? Like first was Valoria and then King Gaius who’s basically Valoria.
I ship Becca and Maddox so hard, Becca trying to motivate him and saying that she’s his friend is just so nice.
So crazy Barney comes into the cell with Maddox (and Becca) but he turns out to not be crazy. His name is Barnabas, he knows about Maddox, he wants to break out of jail and destroy Valoria before she can destroy Mytica. Why is Mytica always hanging in balance and about to be destroyed?
It is revealed that Valoria is looking for the golden dagger that Markus has.
So Farrell was attempting to flirt with Crystal to try to do his mission but Crystal (kind of hilariously) rejected his efforts to focus on Becca. Now Farrell is incredibly pissed off but he’s no a date with Felicity, a girl his mom wants to hook up with. He decides to get his little brother because he’s drunk and coked up. It ends with Farrell almost beating a dude to death, clearly this is Markus’s mark doing this.
So, with Maddox, Barnabas escape the Limerian palace, killing Valoria’s snake and stealing this magic box. Barnabas reveals that Maddox is a necromancer and seems to know a lot about who Maddox is…
Any way, with Crystal she’s walking along when she’s Farrell in his car and sees that Lucas in the limo with him. She recognizes him as the guy who mugged her and realizes that he’s been playing her for a fool.
She then meets with Markus, who is also the golden boy at the university. He reveals that he and Crystal’s grandfather had cofounded the Hawkspear society.
“‘Why were you at the university that day?’ she asked.
‘Simply because I take classes there.’”—Pages 255-256
See Crystal? Even possibly evil immortals understand the importance of higher education.
Also that motherfucker Markus knows about Vega and the Bronze Codex. He knows pretty much everything, let’s be honest.
Crystal you just spring all this Hawkspear shit on your mom, when she’s barely had her coffee? Cruel. But seriously we get a whole bunch of plot twists. First that Jackie and Markus were madly in love with each other, had a baby and that baby was Becca.
Back in Mytica, Maddox is drunk and tells Becca how he’s so sad that she has to leave. My poor baby.
So Julia goes to pick up Jackie, Crystal goes to Vega to find out that he was mugged by Markus’s goons and got a bunch information out of him, including that Becca is in a…book induced coma? Then it’s discovered that Becca has been kidnapped by Markus. Crystal gets a call from her dad to get the Bronze Codex and she’ll be picked up in 1 hour.
So the ugly witch’s sister “betrays” them to Valoria and it’s revealed that Barnabas is the hunter that Eva fell in love with. I didn’t see that coming, but I did see coming that Barnabas was Maddox’s daddy. Also the fact that Sienna didn’t really betray them and this was all a trick to get Valoria there.
Valoria was stealing magic before it was cool.
The trap doesn’t work but Maddox ends up using his magic, that will probably turn him crazy like Lucia, to make her go away. I’m surprised that Barnabas is still alive but now they’re going on a quest to find the lost heir.
And finally, Markus decides to give Crystal and Becca all three marks, however Daniel double crosses them. He had called Adam to pick them up in the elevator of the fancy restaurant. Daniel ends up snapping Lucas’s neck, but lets Farrell because…main character, let’s be honest.
Then Markus, I think is making Farrell his right hand man. He forces Farrell to kill Daniel, then gives him the third mark. Now Farrell is under Markus’s complete control.
Hey Adam, you better not get in the way of my Maddox-Becca ship.
But the book ends with Jackie taking Crystal and Becca into hiding. This was an amazing book, Crystal still hasn’t really grown on me but I still really enjoyed it. I’m excited to see where the story goes and I think the next book comes out soon, so I’m excited to read it! On to Frozen Tides!
I enjoyed this book very much. It definitely has a slower pacing than Falling Kingdoms but our world in it is interesting, so are all characters. I can't wait to see this series crossover with Falling Kingdoms!
Fast paced. Nervous. Excited.
My Synopsis:
The Hatcher sisters received an ancient book, which was directed to their mother, from their aunt. After touching the book, Becca went into a coma. Crystal wanted to find out what happened to her sister. She found out a secret society which had a lot to do with her dad's runaway...
The Grayson's is the richest family in Toronto. It had been a year since the eldest brother, Connor, died. Adam now was sixteen and he was granted to get into the secret society which his family all were a part of it. Farrell was the trouble kid, the second child. He had been promoted into the inner circle of the society and he still had a lot to learn...
In ancient Mytica, goddess Valoria was reigned. She forbad any magic performances. However, Maddox could do some tricks. He actually didn't know how to control them well. He could see the spirits and draw shadows. And oddly, he met a soul named Becca...
Bookpick:
Morgan is one of my favourite author. I love Falling Kingdoms series very very much. (You can find all the reviews here.) Spirits & Thieves series is a spin-off of Falling Kingdoms series. I'm a huge fan of Mytica, so ,of course, I had to pick up this book. Besides, it has set on my shelf for a time.
See full review here: https://remivfoliage.wordpress.com/2016/07/15/review-a-book-of-spirits-thieves-by-morgan-rhodes/
Happy reading, guys ~ :D
My Synopsis:
The Hatcher sisters received an ancient book, which was directed to their mother, from their aunt. After touching the book, Becca went into a coma. Crystal wanted to find out what happened to her sister. She found out a secret society which had a lot to do with her dad's runaway...
The Grayson's is the richest family in Toronto. It had been a year since the eldest brother, Connor, died. Adam now was sixteen and he was granted to get into the secret society which his family all were a part of it. Farrell was the trouble kid, the second child. He had been promoted into the inner circle of the society and he still had a lot to learn...
In ancient Mytica, goddess Valoria was reigned. She forbad any magic performances. However, Maddox could do some tricks. He actually didn't know how to control them well. He could see the spirits and draw shadows. And oddly, he met a soul named Becca...
Bookpick:
Morgan is one of my favourite author. I love Falling Kingdoms series very very much. (You can find all the reviews here.) Spirits & Thieves series is a spin-off of Falling Kingdoms series. I'm a huge fan of Mytica, so ,of course, I had to pick up this book. Besides, it has set on my shelf for a time.
See full review here: https://remivfoliage.wordpress.com/2016/07/15/review-a-book-of-spirits-thieves-by-morgan-rhodes/
Happy reading, guys ~ :D
4.5 stars
I absolutely loved this book and everything about it was fab. I wasn't too sure about how the fantasy world meets real world would work but it was done so well by Morgan Rhodes. I also thought I would be constantly comparing it to the Falling Kingdoms series but this book really came into its own instantly and I didn't feel the need to compare it at all.
There were times where I was more interested in reading about what was happening in our world rather than what was happening in Mytica. I think that was down to my interest in the different characters rather than the world building. This book was so fast paced, but the second half I read in one sitting because of all of the shocking plot twists and because of how exciting it was.
The characters were all brilliantly written, especially Crys and Farrell. Crys was so bad ass and strong, she was one of those 'rebellious' characters but it wasn't shoved in our faces every few pages. I also really loved Farrell, because we've seen his journey from the guy he was to this anti-hero he has become we still are able to empathise with him and I just think he is such an interesting character who I can't wait to read more about in the second book. Maddox and Becca were a bit 'meh' for me, they were a bit dull at times and I didn't enjoy reading in Maddox's POV as much as I did the other two. Their insta-love romance was a little bit frustrating but I definitely saw it coming. I was much more excited about Crys and Farrell's relationship, perhaps because it reminds me a bit of Magnus and Cleo from Falling Kingdoms, but I cannot wait to read more of their banter and hopefully a romance, in the second book!
I absolutely loved this book and everything about it was fab. I wasn't too sure about how the fantasy world meets real world would work but it was done so well by Morgan Rhodes. I also thought I would be constantly comparing it to the Falling Kingdoms series but this book really came into its own instantly and I didn't feel the need to compare it at all.
There were times where I was more interested in reading about what was happening in our world rather than what was happening in Mytica. I think that was down to my interest in the different characters rather than the world building. This book was so fast paced, but the second half I read in one sitting because of all of the shocking plot twists and because of how exciting it was.
The characters were all brilliantly written, especially Crys and Farrell. Crys was so bad ass and strong, she was one of those 'rebellious' characters but it wasn't shoved in our faces every few pages. I also really loved Farrell, because we've seen his journey from the guy he was to this anti-hero he has become we still are able to empathise with him and I just think he is such an interesting character who I can't wait to read more about in the second book. Maddox and Becca were a bit 'meh' for me, they were a bit dull at times and I didn't enjoy reading in Maddox's POV as much as I did the other two. Their insta-love romance was a little bit frustrating but I definitely saw it coming. I was much more excited about Crys and Farrell's relationship, perhaps because it reminds me a bit of Magnus and Cleo from Falling Kingdoms, but I cannot wait to read more of their banter and hopefully a romance, in the second book!
Dates: 9/10/2019-12/10/2019
Format: Physical
Stars: ★★★
Grade/ rating: C
~ Notes:
Format: Physical
Stars: ★★★
Grade/ rating: C
~ Notes:
The magic & story line was good, but besides Barnabus none of the characters were interesting at all.
Actual rating 4.5 stars.
I really liked this book. It saved me from reading another book that I really wasn't enjoying which was a bonus! This book is part contemporary, part fantasy, part urban-fantasy. I think the author's writing has improved since the first 'Falling Kingdom' book was released.
I enjoyed the different perspectives and was keen to see how the story was going to tie together. The three main characters POV's were all really interesting and different. Swapping perspectives can be dangerous - sometimes one or more characters are better written than another or all the characters end up sounding the same - but it really works here.
Crystal was a great female character, I absolutely loved her! She thought about every decision she made, and had good reasons for making them when maybe it wasn't the best choice. I love characters that don't do stupid things for the sake of the plot! Everything about her character worked for me. She was strong and feisty with a good dash of commonsense, she had her flaws, but she wasn't annoying.
And Farrell - Definitely a grey character with questionable morals, which makes him that much more compelling. He actually sounded and acted like a guy - hurrah! - and his story was equally as interesting as Crystal's. I loved when Crys and Farrell were in the same scenes together, their interactions were great. I'm equal parts excited and nervous about where his story arc goes. Please, please don't make Farrell turn evil, I still hold out hope for him!
I found Maddox's POV to be the weakest. While I wasn't bored by his story, I did prefer to be in the other characters heads more. It's interesting that the 'fantasy' side of the story, which I normally adore, didn't peak my interest as much as the "contemporary" side.
The good news is that you don't have to have read the 'Falling Kingdom' series to read this. At this stage anyway, it's totally unrelated. A pretty exciting read and I can't wait till the next book :)
I really liked this book. It saved me from reading another book that I really wasn't enjoying which was a bonus! This book is part contemporary, part fantasy, part urban-fantasy. I think the author's writing has improved since the first 'Falling Kingdom' book was released.
I enjoyed the different perspectives and was keen to see how the story was going to tie together. The three main characters POV's were all really interesting and different. Swapping perspectives can be dangerous - sometimes one or more characters are better written than another or all the characters end up sounding the same - but it really works here.
Crystal was a great female character, I absolutely loved her! She thought about every decision she made, and had good reasons for making them when maybe it wasn't the best choice. I love characters that don't do stupid things for the sake of the plot! Everything about her character worked for me. She was strong and feisty with a good dash of commonsense, she had her flaws, but she wasn't annoying.
And Farrell - Definitely a grey character with questionable morals, which makes him that much more compelling. He actually sounded and acted like a guy - hurrah! - and his story was equally as interesting as Crystal's. I loved when Crys and Farrell were in the same scenes together, their interactions were great. I'm equal parts excited and nervous about where his story arc goes.
I found Maddox's POV to be the weakest. While I wasn't bored by his story, I did prefer to be in the other characters heads more. It's interesting that the 'fantasy' side of the story, which I normally adore, didn't peak my interest as much as the "contemporary" side.
The good news is that you don't have to have read the 'Falling Kingdom' series to read this. At this stage anyway, it's totally unrelated. A pretty exciting read and I can't wait till the next book :)