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echristian3 's review for:
A Kingdom of Lies
by Ben Alderson
adventurous
emotional
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:
Complicated
A Kingdom of Lies is the Second Book in Ben Alderson's Realm of Fey series. Robin is now king of the Icethorn court, though he has no subjects to rule. Determined to get revenge, he sets out to find an army, even if that army is consisted of his enemies. Robin allows himself to be captured by the hunters in order to strike a deal with their leaders, and along the way finds allies in the most unexpected of places.
I truly enjoyed this book, though there is something about it that was not as outstanding as the first book. I honesty think what I missed in this book was the characters. Robin goes out on his own during this book, and while I think it was essential for him as a character and for his development, it was not what I wanted. I missed the individuals from this first book. I will say that while the character development for Robin was outstanding, I was not a fan of the individual whom he was in a relationship with in this book (spoiler it is not Erix). This relationship felt forced, which is something that I did not enjoy. I get why Erix and Robin needed to almost fall apart in order for Robin to grow, but I do not think creating what is bound to be a love triangle was necessary. To be honest, that is one of the largest reasons that this book was not a five star read for me. I loved the character development, and I loved the plot, but the romance felt forced and there was a lack of characters whom I traditionally love. I am really excited to see where the series goes from here, and I hope we see more of the magical fey that were trapped because I think that will add in a unique perspective. This book contains a lot of fascinating themes that I personally really enjoyed and it brings up the question of how long do you stick with peace or the solution that logically makes the most sense, before you do something controversial?
Thank you to Angry Robot, Ben Alderson, and NetGalley for giving me an eARC of A Kingdom of Lies in exchange for my honest review.
I truly enjoyed this book, though there is something about it that was not as outstanding as the first book. I honesty think what I missed in this book was the characters. Robin goes out on his own during this book, and while I think it was essential for him as a character and for his development, it was not what I wanted. I missed the individuals from this first book. I will say that while the character development for Robin was outstanding, I was not a fan of the individual whom he was in a relationship with in this book (spoiler it is not Erix). This relationship felt forced, which is something that I did not enjoy. I get why Erix and Robin needed to almost fall apart in order for Robin to grow, but I do not think creating what is bound to be a love triangle was necessary. To be honest, that is one of the largest reasons that this book was not a five star read for me. I loved the character development, and I loved the plot, but the romance felt forced and there was a lack of characters whom I traditionally love. I am really excited to see where the series goes from here, and I hope we see more of the magical fey that were trapped because I think that will add in a unique perspective. This book contains a lot of fascinating themes that I personally really enjoyed and it brings up the question of how long do you stick with peace or the solution that logically makes the most sense, before you do something controversial?
Thank you to Angry Robot, Ben Alderson, and NetGalley for giving me an eARC of A Kingdom of Lies in exchange for my honest review.