A review by katherinecg
Once a King by Erin Summerill

4.0

Okay, okay. When I said I loved King Aodren and wanted him to have a happy ending, this wasn’t particularly what I had in mind. Lirra and Aodren, an unexpected pairing, work together to end a dangerous new drug sweeping through Malam and neighboring kingdoms. Predictably, they fall in love along the way and are ultimately able to unite the Malamian people. This book was very predictable and feel-good. It gave you everything you expected with no huge challenges. A good, easy read, with even less romance than the prior books. I know it is YA, but at least have the same level of passion as book 2. Don’t go backwards. I still love the magic system in these books, and would have loved to see it have more of an impact beyond ‘these women have this power they rarely use in the books and people either honor or fear them for it and there is no in between’. I’m happy the characters got the happy ending I craved. I just wanted so much more. Also, if you liked the audio book version of the first two books, don’t listen to the audio book version of this. Many of the names are pronounced differently, and the way the voice actor depicts beloved characters (ie., Leaf and Aodren) will really get on your nerves. Stick to the written one instead.