Scan barcode
A review by gembaskerville
Falling Kingdoms by Morgan Rhodes
3.0
Wow um idk how to even start with this book.
I enjoyed it to an extent but I guess going from amazing high fantasy like the Stormlight Archive to this fluff and expecting to enjoy it was being a lil optimistic.
Plot:
The plot of this book, the first in what seems to be a pretty lengthy series, was meh. I felt a little like I’d read it before through the whole time I was reading it, like every trope of fantasy was just mushed together into a YA angst-filled fantasy trope fest. That being said, I didn’t hate it. The varying points of view meant I didn’t get too bored too quickly and the characters themselves had some pretty clear motivations even if they were a little easy. The ending is nice and sets up well for the next book in the series, subverting some expectations and killing off some main characters which is always nice in fantasy. The magical element however doesn’t get much explanation and seems to be conveniently thrown in there at the climax without much to imply that it was coming. In fact the world building in general is definitely lacking, with no good explanations given as to what the countries look like or clothes or houses or anything.
The romantic subplot also has much to be desired. It isn’t an insta love as such but damn I still found myself being like wtf out loud when certain characters declared their love for each other. Especially as they don’t actually have that much interaction with each other beforehand. One of the other romantic subplots however is done well, not with the outcome you’d necessarily think but still a satisfying development.
Characters:
Cleo: Cleo was one of my least favourite characters of the series, she comes across as a little naive (though this does leave room for character development as she discovers her role in the world) as well as being quite helpless compared to the other female characters in the book. Her relationship with her sister is lovely, definitely a great point in the book and makes the reader warm up to her a little more. All in all though, she does just come across as your classic female YA fantasy protagonist who’s beautiful and sweet and kind who has a legion of men in love with her because of course she does. Props for not making her a suddenly badass assassin/fighter though.
Jonas: Jonas was a solid character that I felt we didn’t spend enough time with. His friendship with his friend Brion is nice, good character interactions and we stan a supportive m/m friendship. His motivation of avenging his brother is a little cliche but I was willing to let that go until he latches his hatred onto Cleo bc of course he does. This point literally makes no sense and meant I actually came out of the book a few times just to be like ‘uh what you dumbass’. His character development is pretty good, he seems to be pretty clever but again, the plot does seem to conveniently work out for him for no other reason than plot.
Magnus: Now Magnus is an interesting character for sure. Magnus is the first son of the King of Blood (I’m not actually sure how he got that name, maybe he’s a vampire or something bc we don’t see any of this blood until way later in the book) and older brother to Lucia. Magnus unfortunately is in love with Lucia (yep his younger sister) and spends a lot of time beating himself up about it in the first part of the book. This gives him some unique and interesting takes on the world however meaning that all in all, Magnus’s chapters with his interactions with his sister and father meant that they were actually fairly enjoyable.
Character development for this character seems to veer off a little sharply towards the end because stuff happens and now he is hUrTiNg but again, I don’t hate it too much.
Lucia: Lucia is a sweet soul who we don’t hear enough from who’s character arch actually makes sense. Good character, needs more depth, strong 6.5/10.
Writing:
Rhode’s writing style is pretty decent, nothing too poetic but definitely accessible and easy to read. You can 100% tell it is aimed at young adult readers. One frustrating feature was the tendency to make all characters sound the same despite the fact that they come from completely different countries and walks of life. Some character voice variation would have made it seem a little more realistic and immersive for the readers. I also spotted a fair amount of lazy cliches that really pull you out of the writing.
All in all, I didn’t mind this book and would recommend it to younger audiences as maybe their first fantasy read. The comparisons to Game of Thrones that are strewn all over the cover are definitely a LOT farfetched, I’d recommend you read Sanderson or Rothfuss if you want a true well-written fantasy
I enjoyed it to an extent but I guess going from amazing high fantasy like the Stormlight Archive to this fluff and expecting to enjoy it was being a lil optimistic.
Plot:
The plot of this book, the first in what seems to be a pretty lengthy series, was meh. I felt a little like I’d read it before through the whole time I was reading it, like every trope of fantasy was just mushed together into a YA angst-filled fantasy trope fest. That being said, I didn’t hate it. The varying points of view meant I didn’t get too bored too quickly and the characters themselves had some pretty clear motivations even if they were a little easy. The ending is nice and sets up well for the next book in the series, subverting some expectations and killing off some main characters which is always nice in fantasy. The magical element however doesn’t get much explanation and seems to be conveniently thrown in there at the climax without much to imply that it was coming. In fact the world building in general is definitely lacking, with no good explanations given as to what the countries look like or clothes or houses or anything.
The romantic subplot also has much to be desired. It isn’t an insta love as such but damn I still found myself being like wtf out loud when certain characters declared their love for each other. Especially as they don’t actually have that much interaction with each other beforehand. One of the other romantic subplots however is done well, not with the outcome you’d necessarily think but still a satisfying development.
Characters:
Cleo: Cleo was one of my least favourite characters of the series, she comes across as a little naive (though this does leave room for character development as she discovers her role in the world) as well as being quite helpless compared to the other female characters in the book. Her relationship with her sister is lovely, definitely a great point in the book and makes the reader warm up to her a little more. All in all though, she does just come across as your classic female YA fantasy protagonist who’s beautiful and sweet and kind who has a legion of men in love with her because of course she does. Props for not making her a suddenly badass assassin/fighter though.
Jonas: Jonas was a solid character that I felt we didn’t spend enough time with. His friendship with his friend Brion is nice, good character interactions and we stan a supportive m/m friendship. His motivation of avenging his brother is a little cliche but I was willing to let that go until he latches his hatred onto Cleo bc of course he does. This point literally makes no sense and meant I actually came out of the book a few times just to be like ‘uh what you dumbass’. His character development is pretty good, he seems to be pretty clever but again, the plot does seem to conveniently work out for him for no other reason than plot.
Magnus: Now Magnus is an interesting character for sure. Magnus is the first son of the King of Blood (I’m not actually sure how he got that name, maybe he’s a vampire or something bc we don’t see any of this blood until way later in the book) and older brother to Lucia. Magnus unfortunately is in love with Lucia (yep his younger sister) and spends a lot of time beating himself up about it in the first part of the book. This gives him some unique and interesting takes on the world however meaning that all in all, Magnus’s chapters with his interactions with his sister and father meant that they were actually fairly enjoyable.
Character development for this character seems to veer off a little sharply towards the end because stuff happens and now he is hUrTiNg but again, I don’t hate it too much.
Lucia: Lucia is a sweet soul who we don’t hear enough from who’s character arch actually makes sense. Good character, needs more depth, strong 6.5/10.
Writing:
Rhode’s writing style is pretty decent, nothing too poetic but definitely accessible and easy to read. You can 100% tell it is aimed at young adult readers. One frustrating feature was the tendency to make all characters sound the same despite the fact that they come from completely different countries and walks of life. Some character voice variation would have made it seem a little more realistic and immersive for the readers. I also spotted a fair amount of lazy cliches that really pull you out of the writing.
All in all, I didn’t mind this book and would recommend it to younger audiences as maybe their first fantasy read. The comparisons to Game of Thrones that are strewn all over the cover are definitely a LOT farfetched, I’d recommend you read Sanderson or Rothfuss if you want a true well-written fantasy