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3.8 AVERAGE
3.8 AVERAGE
My expectations were so high for this book given that The Falling Kingdoms series is one of my all time faves. However, I went into this book totally blind and not expecting at all that a part of it took place into our world. This made it difficult for me to really get into the book. It was pretty good, overall I liked it, but I couldn't stop comparing it to my ohsoloved Falling Kingdoms books.
The concept and plot of these books were great, but I couldn't find myself connecting with any characters except for Maddox who was the only one from Mythica. I liked Becca's character too and hope to read from her perspective in the next book, but Crys and annoyed me for the most part.
I believe I will enjoy the second book much more now that I'm prepared.
Would still recommand ;)
The concept and plot of these books were great, but I couldn't find myself connecting with any characters except for Maddox who was the only one from Mythica. I liked Becca's character too and hope to read from her perspective in the next book, but Crys and annoyed me for the most part.
I believe I will enjoy the second book much more now that I'm prepared.
Would still recommand ;)
3.75⭐ This was very fun and quite entertaining! I especially loved the secret society plotline. I just wish I would have read it closer to finishing Falling Kingdoms so the history made more sense
For most of this book, I planned my review, as I normally do. I had planned to give it two stars, but it eeked out another star because I enjoyed the reading of it more than I thought. I wanted to love this, but coming off of the Scorpio Races was too hard for this to match up to. The plot was beautifully done, but kinda confusing for me; but then again, I've never been a fair hand at understanding complex plot lines.
The characters were alright...at the end, one guy really pulled out with a twist, but the others were kinda lackluster. They were stereotypical, but realistic in that, if that makes any sense. Becca is bookish and sweet, Crystal is rebellious and artsy, and Maddox is timid and justice-driven. Farrell was the best of all of them (not my fave, though), being surprisingly more kind and loyal than I expected.
The romance bit included insinuations (not the mention the language), while the actual plot line felt too Disney - which I like, don't get me wrong, I still enjoyed this - where everything moved too fast. The two lovers seemed to hit it off right away, seeming to magically sense in each other something that didn't really read for me right off. Having the lady describe her suitor as, "kind and sweet and strong and loyal and brave," felt too wordy, for one, and too...I don't know. But I didn't really get that vibe off of him that fast. At least, not all at once.
Overall, this was a solidly good book. But compared to Scorpio Races? Plot is better here, everything else is better over there. I will definitely consider reading the second one.
The characters were alright...at the end, one guy really pulled out with a twist, but the others were kinda lackluster. They were stereotypical, but realistic in that, if that makes any sense. Becca is bookish and sweet, Crystal is rebellious and artsy, and Maddox is timid and justice-driven. Farrell was the best of all of them (not my fave, though), being surprisingly more kind and loyal than I expected.
The romance bit included insinuations (not the mention the language), while the actual plot line felt too Disney - which I like, don't get me wrong, I still enjoyed this - where everything moved too fast. The two lovers seemed to hit it off right away, seeming to magically sense in each other something that didn't really read for me right off. Having the lady describe her suitor as, "kind and sweet and strong and loyal and brave," felt too wordy, for one, and too...I don't know. But I didn't really get that vibe off of him that fast. At least, not all at once.
Overall, this was a solidly good book. But compared to Scorpio Races? Plot is better here, everything else is better over there. I will definitely consider reading the second one.
4.5 stars. I devoured this book. Can I have the next one already?!
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This book touches the world of her Falling Kingdoms series in such an interesting way. I loved the two stories that were told alongside one another: one was a contemporary mystery tale full of fascinating characters; the other was a fantasy tale taking place in long-ago Mytica. I absolutely ADORED the main characters, especially Crys! I had a blast listening to this story and I can’t freaking WAIT for more!
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This book touches the world of her Falling Kingdoms series in such an interesting way. I loved the two stories that were told alongside one another: one was a contemporary mystery tale full of fascinating characters; the other was a fantasy tale taking place in long-ago Mytica. I absolutely ADORED the main characters, especially Crys! I had a blast listening to this story and I can’t freaking WAIT for more!
oh man was this book epic! Morgan does it again! I am in loveeee Crys and Becca are amazing and I am pretty partial to Maddox as well and I cannot wait for the next one.. and now I just wanna re-read the falling kingdom books... which I might do because I love the world Morgan flawlessly created read ittttt 5/5 stars heart stopping breathtakingly amazing and just all around epic
Paper book review.
This took a long time to finish, but that doesn't mean it wasn't a great book! Just not my preferred medium anymore, I guess. I like the idea of parallel worlds, one modern with a twisted secret cult recruiting family members to the group, and the other a magical kingdom under the rule of a woman who seeks to destroy all magic she cannot bend to her own purposes. A girl from the modern world is pulled away in spirit to the magical world where only a boy with magical abilities can see her. We follow her sister back in the modern world where she blames herself for her sister's coma and fights off the cocky advances of a cute but crazy boy who is under the spiritual influence of a dark magical immortal. There are so many side characters and story arcs that are probably developed further in stories to come. I liked this story, but not enough to continue on at this time. I would recommend to anyone who likes urban fantasy YA!
This took a long time to finish, but that doesn't mean it wasn't a great book! Just not my preferred medium anymore, I guess. I like the idea of parallel worlds, one modern with a twisted secret cult recruiting family members to the group, and the other a magical kingdom under the rule of a woman who seeks to destroy all magic she cannot bend to her own purposes. A girl from the modern world is pulled away in spirit to the magical world where only a boy with magical abilities can see her. We follow her sister back in the modern world where she blames herself for her sister's coma and fights off the cocky advances of a cute but crazy boy who is under the spiritual influence of a dark magical immortal. There are so many side characters and story arcs that are probably developed further in stories to come. I liked this story, but not enough to continue on at this time. I would recommend to anyone who likes urban fantasy YA!
The synopsis of the book drew me in, but sadly that's where it ended. The characters were incredibly two dimensional and "Mary Sue" (even the the villains were stereotypical in their villainy), the plot was predictable, and the book just didn't flow well. I felt like I was reading fanfic, not an original novel. I was very surprised to read the author is a NYT best seller! No offense, I just really did t get that from this particular book. Giving it a two star because the plot really was an interesting idea, I just didn't feel it was executed well.
The Falling Kingdoms series is one of NY favorites (I started them thus year but I'd already put it in my top 5) and I was excited and curious about this new spin off series that combined a modern day contemporary with the fantasy world she created in the FK series and it definitely worked!!! I really enjoyed this and loved all the characters perspectives and loved how this story came together and I'm excited to continue with it and see where it goes! I don't quite love it as much as FK series but her good story telling and twists were all there and I do recommend it!!
Wow! Spinoff series don’t always work for me. They can feel washed up, like the author lost steam or ran out of ideas.
Not so with this series. The storyline is very different from Falling Kingdoms, but it works really well. I thought it was interesting that much of the book is set in our world.
I liked Crystal a lot. Farrell reminded me a bit of Magnus. I don’t like him right now, but I have a feeling there’s more to him than meets the eye. I didn’t like Maddox quite as well as the other two, but it was interesting to see his story come together. As with the Falling Kingdoms series, the secondary characters are great as well. I loved Becca and especially Adam.
Morgan Rhodes does not disappoint. Now on to book 2!
Not so with this series. The storyline is very different from Falling Kingdoms, but it works really well. I thought it was interesting that much of the book is set in our world.
I liked Crystal a lot. Farrell reminded me a bit of Magnus. I don’t like him right now, but I have a feeling there’s more to him than meets the eye. I didn’t like Maddox quite as well as the other two, but it was interesting to see his story come together. As with the Falling Kingdoms series, the secondary characters are great as well. I loved Becca and especially Adam.
Morgan Rhodes does not disappoint. Now on to book 2!
The premise was interesting. I like a good parallel world/fantasy/magical story. Unfortunately, it was written more at the level of middle school- the way the characters thoughts were laid out and how the sentences were structured just did not capture my attention in a good way. And maybe I was picking up on it more by the end, but I felt like the writing just got worse as it went on.
Typically I gravitate towards the fantasy/medieval instead of the modern ages in books- however, I simply could not be brought to care about Maddox and Becca, and what happened to them. Maddox was annoying and I would have preferred to have seen his world through Becca's eyes. She was instead reduced to being a plot point, in both worlds. And Valoria just felt like a villain from Candy Land to me- or if she had a mustache to twirl, it would've been perfect.
The modern world, with it's secret society, was infinitely more interesting, but unfortunately I could not relate to anything that anybody did, except maybe Adam. I found it highly unlikely slash idiotic that Becca and Crys's mom and aunt were fighting this evil secret society- literally a life and death fight- and hadn't mentioned anything to the girls except for giving them a few lessons in self-defense? Prepare your children for life, please, especially if life is probably going to be rough.
I want to care enough to pick up the second book and finish this to the end, but unfortunately it was just too much like playing a round of CandyLand- nothing made sense and everything felt too contrived, and it was altogether too boring to continue.
Typically I gravitate towards the fantasy/medieval instead of the modern ages in books- however, I simply could not be brought to care about Maddox and Becca, and what happened to them. Maddox was annoying and I would have preferred to have seen his world through Becca's eyes. She was instead reduced to being a plot point, in both worlds. And Valoria just felt like a villain from Candy Land to me- or if she had a mustache to twirl, it would've been perfect.
The modern world, with it's secret society, was infinitely more interesting, but unfortunately I could not relate to anything that anybody did, except maybe Adam. I found it highly unlikely slash idiotic that Becca and Crys's mom and aunt were fighting this evil secret society- literally a life and death fight- and hadn't mentioned anything to the girls except for giving them a few lessons in self-defense? Prepare your children for life, please, especially if life is probably going to be rough.
I want to care enough to pick up the second book and finish this to the end, but unfortunately it was just too much like playing a round of CandyLand- nothing made sense and everything felt too contrived, and it was altogether too boring to continue.