Review: Falling Kingdoms (Falling Kingdoms #1) by Morgan Rhodes

In the kingdom of Mytica, magic had been forgotten until three three very different rulers look for what was once lost.

In the north where Prince Magnus lives, the King of Blood rules and longs for power and unlimited magic. In the middle region, which is full of rebels lives Jonas…and there the people are ruled by a chief claiming to have magic but none have seen it, and in the south a prosperous region exists where Princess Cleo lives in a wonderfully naive world where magic is the stuff of myth and legend.

When a man is murdered in cold blood by Princess Cleo’s friend, his death sparks a revolution putting all three kingdoms against each other. The time is ripe for the King of Blood to seize all of the kingdoms for himself…and conquer he will…..by any means necessary. For him to rule, he must do so through magic and sacrifice.

There are four central POV characters, Cleo, Jonas, Magnus, and the sorceress, Lucia (also Magnus’s sister). All of these main characters are caught in a dizzying world of treacherous betrayals, shocking murders, secret alliances, and even unforeseen love.

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Review: The Heart of Betrayal (The Remnant Chronicles #2) by Mary E. Pearson

Princess Lia and her handsome Prince Rafe, are being held captive in the barbarian kingdom of Venda.

In an effort to save her from certain death, Kaden, Lia’s would be assassin, tells the Vendan Komisar that she has the sight and will be a great asset to the Vendan people.

The Komisar agrees to spare her life…..for now. But her position is precarious. The same goes for Rafe, he lies to the Komisar and tells him that he is an emissary sent on behalf of the  Dalbreck Prince to negotiate an alliance.

But this lie has only bought Rafe at best a month before his sham is revealed.

Lies. Lies. And more lies. Lies roll off of Rafe’s tongue with ease. This makes Lia nervous…..though she loves her prince, she doesn’t know if she can trust him.

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Review: The Book of Life (All Souls Trilogy #3) by Deborah Harkness

Diana and her vampire husband, Matthew, have returned from the 16th century and their home coming wasn’t necessarily the most joyous experience.

After dealing with the loss of a close companion and friend, Diana and Matthew must face what the future holds and acquire the elusive book, Ashmole 782, also known as The Book of Life before it falls into the wrong hands.

What they don’t expect is that one of Matthew’s homicidal vampire children,Benjamin, stands between them and the book. If Matthew and Diana hope to defeat Benjamin they must rely on their comrades and some past enemies to do it.

They must stop Benjamin at all costs and sometimes that means going down different roads, join Diana and Matthew as they seperate to search for the missing pages of Ashmole 782, the book itself, and the cure for blood rage.

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Review: Shadow of Night (All Souls Trilogy #2) by Deborah Harkness

The last time we saw Diana Bishop and Matthew Clairmont, they were time traveling back to the 16th century in search of a witch who could help Diana control her powers.

As a historian, Diana is actually pretty excited about being a time traveler, but less excited when she arrives and discovers that she isn’t quite crazy about 16th century vampire Matthew.

Matthew has been a collector of secrets his whole life. Having lives secrets and lies so long, he is not accustomed to sharing things with his wife, though he loves her unconditionally.

Both Matthew and Diana think that once they arrive in Elizabethan England, they will quickly find a witch and find Ashmole 782, the book they have been searching for, and return to the present relatively unscathed.

Wrong.

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Review: Successio (Roma Nova #3) by Alison Morton

As many of you are aware, I have been very impressed with this new series. This is the first and really, the only, alternative history book that I’ve come across in all my literary adventures.

Successio is the third book in the series and I still stand by the ‘read the series in order’ theory. I’ve seen some people say that these books read easily as stand alone novels but I completely disagree.

The world of Roma Nova is complex and the back story is very detailed so I would say if this novel looks at all eye catching to you, then start with the first book and fully immerse yourself in the rich world of Roma Nova and Morton’s stunning characters.

In this third book, we catch up with Carina Mitela, the heir of a leading family in Roma Nova. While things in the empire are more or less at peace, things in Carina’s world are far from that.

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