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A review by briarrose1021
The Royal Trials by Kwame Mbalia
5.0
In this sequel to Last Gate of the Emperor, which picks up not long after the previous book's ending, we find Yared struggling to adjust to his new life as a prince. Instead of being known as Yared the Gr8, he is now Lij Yared the First, Prince of Axum. Where before it was just Uncle Moti and Besa protecting him, Yared now has to contend with bodyguards, advisors, and parents.
Not only that, but Yared learns that he is to give the opening speech of the Royal Trials, a huge gaming tournament that he also hopes to compete in. Of course, while doing all of this, Yared also has to find time to save the world from the attacking pirates. Has Yared gotten in over his head or will he find a way to pull all of that off?
Just as in the first book, we get this story from Yared's point of view, including all the snark I loved from the first book. From his crazy commentary of the goings-on to his one-sided conversation with Besa - and anyone who's ever been selected as a cat's human will get a kick out of them - I was again entertained from the very first page. At this point, I should just realize that if Kwame Mbalia has written a book, I am going to read said book. It's inevitable.
In addition to Yared, there is a whole host of other great characters throughout, some new and some returning from the first book, all of which add to the story. One really touching scene is when Yared is talking with his father, the Emperor, about what he should call him. He points out that it's easy for him because there is only one word - son - for him to call Yared. But there are so many different options for Yared to use, he doesn't know which one is best. In typical Yared style, there is levity and snark in the question, but it ends up working really well and highlighting the strange situation he's trying to navigate.
The world-building in book 1 was fantastic, but it begins to pale compared to this book. Book 1 was set almost entirely on Earth, even if it was a futuristic Earth with lots of tech that we don't have at the moment. But this book allows us to explore that larger galaxy, with other planets, space stations, and various ships showing up.
As with the first book, I listened to the audiobook version of this book, which was also narrated by Prince Araya Mengesha. As with the first book, he did a fantastic job with this book. His performance of Yared's personality was spot on and absolutely raised to book to another level. I will absolutely be listening to him narrate book 3 when it comes out, because there's no way that Mbalia and Makonnen could leave the story where it ended in this book. I mean, they could, but it would be mean. LOL.
Not only that, but Yared learns that he is to give the opening speech of the Royal Trials, a huge gaming tournament that he also hopes to compete in. Of course, while doing all of this, Yared also has to find time to save the world from the attacking pirates. Has Yared gotten in over his head or will he find a way to pull all of that off?
Just as in the first book, we get this story from Yared's point of view, including all the snark I loved from the first book. From his crazy commentary of the goings-on to his one-sided conversation with Besa - and anyone who's ever been selected as a cat's human will get a kick out of them - I was again entertained from the very first page. At this point, I should just realize that if Kwame Mbalia has written a book, I am going to read said book. It's inevitable.
In addition to Yared, there is a whole host of other great characters throughout, some new and some returning from the first book, all of which add to the story. One really touching scene is when Yared is talking with his father, the Emperor, about what he should call him. He points out that it's easy for him because there is only one word - son - for him to call Yared. But there are so many different options for Yared to use, he doesn't know which one is best. In typical Yared style, there is levity and snark in the question, but it ends up working really well and highlighting the strange situation he's trying to navigate.
The world-building in book 1 was fantastic, but it begins to pale compared to this book. Book 1 was set almost entirely on Earth, even if it was a futuristic Earth with lots of tech that we don't have at the moment. But this book allows us to explore that larger galaxy, with other planets, space stations, and various ships showing up.
As with the first book, I listened to the audiobook version of this book, which was also narrated by Prince Araya Mengesha. As with the first book, he did a fantastic job with this book. His performance of Yared's personality was spot on and absolutely raised to book to another level. I will absolutely be listening to him narrate book 3 when it comes out, because there's no way that Mbalia and Makonnen could leave the story where it ended in this book. I mean, they could, but it would be mean. LOL.