Falling Kingdoms (Falling Kingdoms, #1)

Dec 06, 2012 Sam rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: arc-or-galley, fantasy-or-pn-favourites, fantasy-or-paranormal, fantasy

“Even in the darkest and most cruel person, there is still a kernel of good. And within the most perfect champion, there is also darkness. The question is, will one give in to the dark or the light?”

My compatibility with the fantasy genre is inconsistent at best, to say the least. Where a small handful of fantasy releases this year have resulted in a longing to read high fantasy after high fantasy, the other portion of those have left me oddly reluctant to stray anywhere near the genre. Morgan...more “Even in the darkest and most cruel person, there is still a kernel of good. And within the most perfect champion, there is also darkness. The question is, will one give in to the dark or the light?”

My compatibility with the fantasy genre is inconsistent at best, to say the least. Where a small handful of fantasy releases this year have resulted in a longing to read high fantasy after high fantasy, the other portion of those have left me oddly reluctant to stray anywhere near the genre. Morgan Rhodes’ fantasy debut, I am thrilled to say, falls within the first category. There is hope!

Falling Kingdoms is all war, blood and politics. Better yet, it is interesting war, blood and politics. Following the contrasting lives of four young people – the advantaged princess, Cleo, the less privileged royals, Magnus and Lucia, and Jonas, the poor wine-maker’s son – essentially gives us three different stories which all subtly intertwine to form one. With centuries-long hostility between the three kingdoms of Mytica being tipped by the alliance of Limeros with Paelsia, a war is on the horizon between the allied kingdoms and Auranos. This builds slowly, creating an apt tension as the story progresses, one that insists pages must be turned. While much of the book is fuelled by the conflict and opposition between the kingdoms – all triggered by the death of Jonas’s brothers at the hands of Cleo’s friend – there is also an underlying need to find the lost magical elements known as Kindred. All four together will give ultimate power. And what is politics without power?

Normally, the thought of a split narrative is enough to make me groan. It worked incredibly well in this book, though, giving all four characters, and sometimes one or two more, a significant role in the story. They are an interesting bunch, but, admittedly, not always easy to connect with on a personal level. Cleo is impulsive, fortunate and very much oblivious to the repercussions of her actions (or lack of). She is not, however, unlikeable, with genuine compassion and bravery eventually making an appearance. Jonas, on the very opposite end of the spectrum, is little more than a peasant, making do with the little he has and very much supporting a takeover of Auranos. The amount of hate and anger in him is alarming, but not at all unrealistic given the situation. Magnus and Lucia, the royal siblings of Limeros, make up the quartet, with perhaps the oddest story to contribute. Magnus’ forbidden feelings for his sister battle with her prophesised magical abilities for centre spotlight.

Although the characters are all somewhat difficult to appreciate at first (and some of their speech implausibly modern), the level of growth throughout the book is impressive. By the end, I felt strongly for all of them, despite the very disturbing mistakes a couple of them make. With the final few chapters delivering the strongest and most engaging part of the story, with plenty of action and swordplay to satisfy, the story is set up perfectly for a very engaging sequel. The situation is thrillingly unresolved, but not at all a frustrating cliffhanger. If I had to fault any part of the book, it would be the very slight romance between Cleo and her bodyguard, Theon. I failed to fully understand its purpose in the story but I have a strong suspicion a new romance will form in the second book, one, perhaps, more to my liking.

Overall, ignoring some very small blemishes, Falling Kingdoms proved to be the perfect read for a fantasy revival, and one that I needed just before the new year. If you are looking for high fantasy read that isn’t overly complex, I highly recommend you pick this up!

(This review also appears on my blog)(less)

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Jan 01, 2013 Emily May rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: ya-na, fantasy, 2012, coverly-love

After a beginning I wasn't too sure about, Falling Kingdoms surprisingly became an extremely enjoyable - if somewhat unoriginal - story. Rhodes' world was a fascinating and exciting place that I am eager to explore more of in the sequel, her characters were complex individuals often torn between political and moral duty, and the tensions between the lands of this world (Limeros, Paelsia and Auranos) were highly convincing. My final opinion of this novel is such a turnaround from my first impres...more

After a beginning I wasn't too sure about, Falling Kingdoms surprisingly became an extremely enjoyable - if somewhat unoriginal - story. Rhodes' world was a fascinating and exciting place that I am eager to explore more of in the sequel, her characters were complex individuals often torn between political and moral duty, and the tensions between the lands of this world (Limeros, Paelsia and Auranos) were highly convincing. My final opinion of this novel is such a turnaround from my first impressions that varied from indifference to a little disgust at Magnus' not-so-brotherly love for his younger sister (but more about that in a bit).

Rhodes puts her characters through several levels of hell in this story and she doesn't shy away from unpleasant events. One of the best things that she does is pulls you inside the lives and minds of those within each kingdom - people who are enemies and wish one another dead - and gets you to sympathise with each and understand every point of view, even those that contradict one another. For example, she introduces you to Cleo's world and her desire to escape her forced engagement to a man she does not care for, she is flawed but still thoroughly likeable - that is, until you see her through the eyes of Jonas whose brother was murdered while she stood idly by and let it happen. There is more than one side to every character in this story and it makes for a very interesting book.

At the end of the day, the plot of this novel is really nothing different from the vast majority of high fantasy novels out there already. It features the usual political battles for the throne, a touch of romance, a fair bit of magic, throw in an ancient prophecy for good luck and you have the perfect mixture to create a fantasy novel like all the others. But... the difference is in the details here, the way Rhodes builds up such a complex set of characters and the relationships between them, and it is this which has made it so I have to pick up the next book. There's such a fine line between good and evil in Falling Kingdoms that you find yourself reevaluating your opinions of certain characters and their actions all the time. I cannot wait for more.

But, yeah, I can't put a status update about incest and then not address the issue properly. Technically, biologically, the feelings that Magnus has for Lucia are not incestuous because she isn't his real sister by birth but I have two things to say about that. For one, he isn't aware of this fact and he believes her to be his sister by blood. For another, whether you agree with me or not, one of the weirdest things for me about incest is the fact that these people have grown up with one another, maybe ran around naked together as toddlers, been brought up to love one another as siblings... I've read those news stories where siblings separated at birth have by some weird chance ended up meeting in later life and becoming lovers, only to then discover the horrible truth, but this seems less weird to me than two youngsters who do not share the same genes being brought up together and then getting it on. This is why I prefer to view Wuthering Heights as a kind of gothic tragedy, rather than a romance, even though Cathy and Heathcliff are not blood relations. Though, I will say for those of you who are put off by incest in books, so far Magnus' feelings for Lucia have been viewed as disgusting by Lucia and the other characters - hopefully, nothing will come of it.

However, let's not get carried away with the negative! This is pure fast-paced entertainment with characters who you can't help but care about. Definitely worth reading if you're a fan of fantasy books filled with Kings, Queens and magic.(less)

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Sep 20, 2012 Steph Sinclair rated it 4 of 5 stars Recommends it for: High fantasy fans

Recommended to Steph by: Anna

Shelves: young-adult, 2012-release, penguin, 2012-reads, action-packed, alternating-povs, high-fantasy, i-liked-it, i-really-enjoyed-it, original-and-creative, serve-me-up-insta-love, superb-world-building, gave-away

This marks the second book I've read of the Breathless Reads collection from PenguinTeen and so far, I have not been disappointed. And now, I'm making it my personal mission to check out the others in the collection. With Origin I had edge-of-my-seat suspense, but with Falling Kingdoms I had conspiracies, action, war... blood. :D

Falling Kingdoms follows the story of four young people from different kingdoms whose destinies become intertwined during the strain of peace between the lands. We have...more

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Dec 14, 2012 Mitch rated it 3 of 5 stars

In Falling Kingdoms, Morgan Rhodes (longtime paranormal author Michelle Rowen under a pen name) tries to do something that hasn't really been attempted much in the Young Adult genre - write a complex high fantasy focusing on the political intrigues surrounding an expansive cast of characters. I have to give Rowen credit, she's a versatile writer who seems to have switched genres seamlessly enough, but, unfortunately, there's a reason why there aren't more Young Adult Game of Thrones on the marke...more In Falling Kingdoms, Morgan Rhodes (longtime paranormal author Michelle Rowen under a pen name) tries to do something that hasn't really been attempted much in the Young Adult genre - write a complex high fantasy focusing on the political intrigues surrounding an expansive cast of characters. I have to give Rowen credit, she's a versatile writer who seems to have switched genres seamlessly enough, but, unfortunately, there's a reason why there aren't more Young Adult Game of Thrones on the market, this genre simply doesn't translate well from an Adult to a Young Adult audience. I have a feeling Falling Kingdoms will be better received by those who aren't as familiar with the genre, perhaps with just the ubiquitous Game of Thrones, but as for me, a longtime fan of these kinds of books, not really impressed.

My problem? I get a distinct feeling that the aim of this book was to be conventional and unambitious. Nothing wrong with that, after all, I liked the book, but it didn't pull me in, either with the fantastical setting or the palace intrigue, as much as others I've read in the past have. All the Game of Thrones imports you'd expect to find, the bastard son, the incest, the conniving mistress, the violent character deaths, the magical overtones, yep, they're all here - but beyond that, the story is rather stiff. The whole thing's driven by the death of one wine seller's son and ends in war and massive bloodshed, which is actually pretty cool and kind of poetic if you think about it, but the way Rowen writes the story from point A to point B is really simplistic and just doesn't have that feel of epicness, emotional investment, or intrigue that I've come to appreciate from many a book I've read before.

Take Jonas Agallon for example, he's a nobody until some stuck up royal kills his brother, that sets him on his quest to become a somebody. But it's almost too easy how his name is suddenly on everyone's lips, not just the poor peasants of his native Paelsia, but literally everyone knows the name Jonas Agallon - even the kings. First and last name. Just because his brother died. For me, it would've been much more believable, and I'd been much more invested, if Jonas had to work at it, put some sweat equity into his name seeking justice for his brother before that name gets the kind of meaning everyone instantly associates it with. And that's what I mean by conventional and unambitious, Rowen has a good plot figured out but the execution was just simple storytelling with the plot plowing ahead without much consideration for subtlety.

Speaking of subtlety, this is supposed to be a genre that excels with interpersonal relationships, and Falling Kingdoms... doesn't. The characters themselves are fairly well crafted, Cleo the pampered princess trying to prove she's more than just that, Jonas the victim of tragedy trying to get vengeance, Magnus the prince trying to survive in an unforgivingly harsh court, but... the interpersonal relationships are extremely straightforward. Every single relationship between every character and every other character is entirely transparent, pick two characters, put them together and I know exactly how they feel about each other. Character interactions are a huge part of this genre, but there's just nothing of substance, no complexities between any of these characters. I wanted to see unexpected alliances of convenience, out of nowhere betrayals... but guess not, everyone just behaved in an entirely predictable manner.

Otherwise, I will praise Rowen's handling of the multiple points of view and parallel narratives. For a story about multiple kingdoms, multiple personalities, multiple ways of life, I liked how each character brings something different to the table, so Cleo who's mostly a good person can still be viewed evilly, or Jonas who's vindictive to the point of singlemindedness gets some redeeming qualities (even if some of the points of view are repetitive to the point of yeah, I already get how you feel, like six chapters ago). And I liked how the mythology surrounding the magic's incorporated into the story, there's no expositionary information dump at the beginning, but the backstory's built up over the course of the story and developed in a way that sets up the sequel. Easy to get into without requiring extensive lorekeeping.

Still, all of it wasn't enough to really cover up how simple Falling Kingdoms struck me as. I suppose that's not a problem for readers new to this genre, but I prefer something a little meatier.(less)

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Dec 13, 2012 Katy rated it 3 of 5 stars

2.5 stars - I've never read The Game of Thrones, but I've watched the first season and was told the series followed the book pretty closely. Well, this book kind of felt like The Game of Thrones - only far more elementary-ish.

Don't get me wrong, the story has a lot of potential. There was a lot going on with the different kingdoms, the struggle for power, the socioeconomic discriminations, a few action scenes and budding romances. Usually right up my alley.

However, I felt the writing was a bit t...more 2.5 stars - I've never read The Game of Thrones, but I've watched the first season and was told the series followed the book pretty closely. Well, this book kind of felt like The Game of Thrones - only far more elementary-ish.

Don't get me wrong, the story has a lot of potential. There was a lot going on with the different kingdoms, the struggle for power, the socioeconomic discriminations, a few action scenes and budding romances. Usually right up my alley.

However, I felt the writing was a bit too simple - to the point where it wasn't very captivating. I felt Rhodes rushed through a lot of the scenes, (view spoiler)

At the same time, I felt that Rhodes laid everything out there and lined everything up too well so the story development was beyond predictable. I kept trying to convince myself that she was going to throw in a huge twist that would blow me away because there was no way that she could go from 1 to 2 to 3 so methodically.

A few examples? DO NOT CLICK IF YOU HAVE NOT READ THE BOOK. (view spoiler)

The last quarter was much of an improvement, but I think it's only because we have a fight scene. Even then, it wasn't a complex end, nor did it go into much details about what was going on. Still, it gave readers a little something to look forward to if they're struggling to get through the book.

I also hope Rhodes has more in stored for us in the sequel as far as symbolism and deciphering hidden meanings. (view spoiler)

Anyway, it was a good enough story, but I just wished Rhodes delved a little more into certain aspects and spent more time to make the whole thing a more complicated so it's not an easy, straight path from beginning to end.(less)

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Dec 01, 2012 Zuleeza rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: high-fantasy

Hear ya, hear ya, fantasy books lovers.

Falling Kingdoms?

I heard that Falling Kingdoms has been dubbed as the YA Game of Thrones?

Well, I don't totally disagree, it's just that...there's a lot of violence, alright.

And a lot of blood.

Murders.

Throat slicing.

Well, you get the picture.

But epicness-wise, Falling Kingdoms is definitely something. I haven't read Game of Thrones to be honest (I know, LAME!), although I vaguely know the basic outline of the story. So, it's not my call to make, whether to...more

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Jan 16, 2013 Maja rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: 2012-favorites, cover-lust, fantasy, favorites, magic, multiple-povs, reviewed-in-2012, ya

Falling Kingdoms is a story about three countries, three neighboring kingdoms with nothing but deep-seated hatred between them. On two sides are Auranos and Limeros, both prosperous but different in everything but in wealth. Between them sits Paelsia, a poor, hungry kingdom drained by its neighbors from both sides. In all three kingdoms, resentment and prejudice are passed through generations, but they maintained peace for decades. Then a young and stupid nobleman from Auranos kills a young man...more Falling Kingdoms is a story about three countries, three neighboring kingdoms with nothing but deep-seated hatred between them. On two sides are Auranos and Limeros, both prosperous but different in everything but in wealth. Between them sits Paelsia, a poor, hungry kingdom drained by its neighbors from both sides. In all three kingdoms, resentment and prejudice are passed through generations, but they maintained peace for decades. Then a young and stupid nobleman from Auranos kills a young man from Paelsia and gets away with it, and in this situation the king of Limeros recognizes a chance to destroy a despised rival king.

Falling Kingdoms does not focus on a single hero’s perspective. It is told from several points of view (too many, some have complained) and we are offered insight into each of the three countries. It is a game of three kings, and as a huge fan of political intrigue, I enjoyed it immensely. What made it even more interesting was that I was unable to choose sides. All three kingdoms and all the central characters existed in a gray area, with only a few exceptions among the secondary characters.

Even in the darkest and most cruel person, there is still a kernel of good. And within the most perfect champion, there is darkness. The question is, will one give in to the dark or the light? It's something we decide with every choice we make, every day that we exist. What might not be evil to you could be evil to someone else. Knowing this makes us powerful even without magic.

In Auranos, the younger princess Cleo is to be engaged to a man she despises, a nobleman who killed a wine-seller’s son in Paelsia right in front of her for some petty reason and later showed no remorse. Cleo could maybe convince her father to choose someone else for her, but Lord Aron knows something about her that no one else must ever find out.

In Lumeros, the king’s only (legitimate) son Magnus, heir to the throne, struggles with his father’s eternal disapproval and cruelty while fighting to deny, even to himself, the inappropriate feelings he harbors for his younger sister Lucia. When his father decides to start a war with Auranos and use the opportunity to finally bring Magnus into his fold, the young prince is forced to choose between his desire to please his father and his desperate need to protect Lucia.

In Paelsia, Jonas, the wine-seller’s younger son, is desperate to avenge his older brother. But instead of focusing his hatred on the young nobleman who stabbed Tomas in the throat, he sees Princess Cleo as the embodiment of all evil.

There is, of course, the “small” issue of Magnus’ feelings for Lucia. The fact that they’re not really brother and sister won’t change much in the eyes of those readers who feel that being raised as siblings invariably makes any romantic feelings incestuous. It doesn’t help that Magnus had no knowledge of Lucia’s parentage; he really thought she was his sister. Personally, I wasn’t bothered by it. I am bothered by many things, but this does not offend my moral values in the least. However, I’m sure many readers will find it unforgivable. Consider yourselves warned.

The only thing that truly fell flat in a book I otherwise loved was a huge emotional scene in the second half that was meant to be a tear-jerker, but that left me completely cold. Surprised, maybe, but not nearly as sad as I was supposed to be. I suspect my lack of emotional reaction came from not being truly invested in the romance in question or the character(s) involved, but there were plenty of other characters that more than made up for it.
The ending left enough things open for what will surely be an even better second book. Rebel Spring is a book I’m eagerly awaiting, and one I will undoubtedly pre-order as soon as it gets a cover, hopefully as pretty as this one.

(less)

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Jan 13, 2013 Renu rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: for-review-from-publisher, favourites

“Even in the darkest and most cruel person, there is still a kernel of good. And within the most perfect champion, there is darkness. The question is, will one give in to the dark or the light? It's something we decide with every choice we make, every day that we exist. What might not be evil to you could be evil to someone else. Knowing this makes us powerful even without magic.”

Falling Kingdoms is told from the perspective of four young people from different kingdoms whose destinies intertwine...more “Even in the darkest and most cruel person, there is still a kernel of good. And within the most perfect champion, there is darkness. The question is, will one give in to the dark or the light? It's something we decide with every choice we make, every day that we exist. What might not be evil to you could be evil to someone else. Knowing this makes us powerful even without magic.”

Falling Kingdoms is told from the perspective of four young people from different kingdoms whose destinies intertwine during the brewing war between the lands. I'll admit right of the bat that these characters aren't completely likeable. Despite this though I liked (most) of them. Why? Because they were flawed and went through a lot of growth as the book progressed. Rhodes has done a brilliant job of pushing these character to their limits, having them make tough decisions and face their destines head on. Normally I'm not a fan of multiple POV's, but their individual arcs flowed seamlessly together and each voice was distinctly different from the other.

Cleo - Out of all the characters Cleo is the one I least got on with. She was meant to be portrayed as fiery and stubborn, but most of the time I found her to be spoiled, reckless, and, whiny. She's so used to getting her own way that when denied something she foolishly goes and does it anyway, not fully thinking about the consequences of her actions. And towards the end of the novel when she finally does get some sense knocked into her it sadly comes at a very high price.
A trait of hers that I did like, however, was her devotion towards her sister and her friends.

Jonas - He's clearly the under-dog and I really enjoyed his story arc. His brother is murdered by a royal from another kingdom and through his blood-lust for revenge a revolution begins.

Magnus is by far my favourite character out of the lot. He cares deeply for his sister Lucia and will do absolutely anything for her. After discovering his love is unrequited, however, Magnus grows closer to his father - a cruel and manipulative man who enjoys conflicting pain on others. It's much easier for him to put a barricade around his feelings than to feel hurt, so he becomes the prince of ice, and his father's greatest weapon. But, buried deep within him there is still some good and I can't wait to see where Rhodes take his character in book 2.

Lucia - Even though we're not in her head that often compared to the others I felt most connected to her. She loves to read and soak up knowledge, something I think us book lovers can relate to. As she struggles to figure out who she is and why strange things keep happening to her, she discovers some truths about her past that shock her and isn't sure how to handle that. At times I wanted to shake her because she was so naive. She never questioned anything and accepted things way too easily. I have a feeling that she'll play a larger role in the sequel so I hope we get more of her perspective.

Falling Kingdoms is a must read for Game of Thrones and fantasy fans alike!

This review also appears on my blog The Page Turner.(less)

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Jun 11, 2012 Rebecca rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: fantasy, arc, bea-2012, 2012-fantasy-challenge

This book came really close to being a 5 star read for me but fell a bit short. If I could use half stars I would rate 4.5/5.

I really loved the story, setting, and that it is told from the point of view of multiple characters. There are four "main" characters and a number of side characters. This book is somewhat similar to Game of Thrones, since it's set in a fantasy world with multiple leaders fighting for power, and there is a large cast of characters - and with the exception of the one reall...more

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Apr 01, 2012 Jessica Khoury rated it 5 of 5 stars

Falling Kingdoms races along at a breathtaking pace, achieving more plot and character development than most high fantasy does in an entire trilogy. The comparison to A Game of Thrones is well-founded, as Falling Kingdoms similarly explores every side of the conflict; no character is entirely good or evil, but rather, they are all human, exhibiting a complexity not often found in the trope-based genre that high fantasy is. A refreshing, exhilarating read that both conforms to expectation and tra...more

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Jan 22, 2013 chris rated it 2 of 5 stars

Yes yes, it's that book they're calling the "Young Adult Game of Thrones." Don't be fooled. The marketing genius who came up with that plug, which seems to be heartily embraced by Goodreads reviewers, deserves a massive promotion.

Falling Kingdoms has nothing in common with Game of Thrones other than a few rudimentary elements common in nearly all high fantasy, such as the handy map of a warring continent published at the beginning. It's even shaped liked Westeros for maximum comparisons.

Where ma...more

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Feb 03, 2013 Cass - Words on Paper rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: review-copy, 2012-release, debut-novels, read-2012

[Review posted at Words on Paper]

3/5

Note: this is just my opinion. It seems I'm in the minority with this one, as there are lots of people raving about it but I just didn't buy into it all. If you're looking for more positive reviews, check other reviews.

~~~

When I first heard about Falling Kingdoms I was so excited. Good high-fantasy is rare in YA so I've always got my high-fantasy radar on. Although Rhodes' debut novel didn't exactly live up to my expectations it was a fast-paced, compulsive re...more

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Dec 15, 2012 Jennifer rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: decemeber-releases

I'll admit straight off I am not a big fantasy fan. I do love Game of Thrones but I can't think of any other fantasy shows or books I like. There is a large cast of characters that was a little confusing for the first few chapters but there is a very helpful map and character guide at the beginning. Once I got all the characters down, I was totally hooked. An exciting ride full of revenge, backstabbing, blackmail, and power hungry people desperate for more land, more power, no matter what it tak...more I'll admit straight off I am not a big fantasy fan. I do love Game of Thrones but I can't think of any other fantasy shows or books I like. There is a large cast of characters that was a little confusing for the first few chapters but there is a very helpful map and character guide at the beginning. Once I got all the characters down, I was totally hooked. An exciting ride full of revenge, backstabbing, blackmail, and power hungry people desperate for more land, more power, no matter what it takes to get it. No one was safe. That was exciting and depressing at times. As soon as I started to care about a character they were killed! With so many characters it is hard to get into them but I'll outline a few things I liked about each one.

Auranos was my favorite kingdom and Princess Cleo was my favorite character. This is the wealthy land that all the other kingdoms are jealous of. Cleo makes a poor decision in the beginning but she does learn from it. She was also always willing to sacrifice herself for the people she cares about. Although she may be a somewhat spoiled and sheltered princess she never let that hold her back from doing her best for the people she loves. Her character had the most romance. She is engaged to Aron, an awful guy that is blackmailing her. Cleo begins to fall for her new guard and also has a best friend Nic who I adored.

Limeros had by far the most evil leaders. Magnus is heir to the throne and was an intriguing character but I just couldn't like him. I do think most of his actions were based off his horrible father but I was hoping he would stand up against him more. Magnus is in love with his sister, Lucia, which I know threw people off but they are not blood related and that is clear from the beginning. Still weird since they grew up together but I got over it.

Paelsia was the poor land where they struggle to get enough food. They have the best grape crops so they are known for their wine. But often the rich refuse to pay a good price for it. Jonas suffered a tragic family event and wants revenge. When this first happened I felt horrible for him but then I thought he took his revenge too far. Towards the end I think he began to have the potential to be a strong character and I think in the next book he will right his wrongs.

I loved the way the plot brought all the characters together. At times I didn't know who to root for with all the treachery and deceit but that just made it more fun. The language was some what modern which I liked. The ending left me wanting more. Not so much a cliffhanger but I am dying to see what these characters will do next. I am a new fan of fantasy!

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"Even in the darkest and most cruel person, there is still a kernel of good. And within the most perfect champion, there is darkness. The question is, will one give in to the dark or the light? It's something we decide with every choice we make, every day that we exist. What might not be evil to you could be evil to someone else. Knowing this makes us powerful even without magic."

“You’re not just any girl; you’re the princess. It’s my sole duty now to protect you. So wherever you run off to, you can be certain of one very important thing.”
She waited, her breath catching at the intense way the handsome young guard watched her. “And what’s that?”
When he smiled, the look was equally menacing and enticing. “I will find you.”

“If this magic is evil—”
“It’s not,” he said firmly.
She frowned. “Witches have been tortured and executed for what I can do.”
“If a witch could really do what you can, she would never let herself be executed.”(less)

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Feb 25, 2013 Niki Hawkes rated it 2 of 5 stars

Via www.nikihawkes.com

The cover and overall idea for Falling Kingdoms grabbed my attention as soon as it came out of the box. I immediately stopped what I was doing and thought, “Oooh! I definitely want to read this!” Having finished it just last week, I’ve been trying to figure out why I didn’t like it as much as I thought I would…

There was nothing particularly “wrong” with the book: the characters were well-rounded and interesting, the overall plot line was well-woven, and the writing style le...more

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Jan 11, 2013 Scott Pilgrim rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: fantasy, magic, epic, mythology, wizards-witches-warlocks, series-i-want-to-continue, favorites, best-of-2013

Seen at Scott Reads It

Everything about Falling Kingdom made me desperately want to read it. Falling Kingdoms has received fantastic reviews, it has been compared to LOTR and Game of Thrones, and it is a magical high fantasy. I am seriously convinced that Morgan Rhodes (a.k.a Michelle Rowen) wrote this book for me exclusively (I am only kidding!). Everything I love in a book makes an appearance one way or another in Falling Kingdoms.

Falling Kingdoms has a really complex story line so I am no...more Seen at Scott Reads It

Everything about Falling Kingdom made me desperately want to read it. Falling Kingdoms has received fantastic reviews, it has been compared to LOTR and Game of Thrones, and it is a magical high fantasy. I am seriously convinced that Morgan Rhodes (a.k.a Michelle Rowen) wrote this book for me exclusively (I am only kidding!). Everything I love in a book makes an appearance one way or another in Falling Kingdoms.

Falling Kingdoms has a really complex story line so I am no going to bother to explain the plot. There are 3 kingdoms called Paelsia, Limeros, and Auranos; a war is brewing between the kingdoms. The story switches from the perspective from 4 characters who are unrelated in the beginning but in the end their fates intertwined beyond measure.

I think the most remarkable thing about Falling Kingdoms is not the plot but the characters. All the characters in Falling Kingdoms are extremely well developed and believable. In the beginning I had a bit of trouble remembering who was who and what kingdom they were from. Once I found the character sheet, differentiating between the characters became a cinch. Trust me in the first few pages the character sheet will be an invaluable tool ! I really liked the way Rhodes portrays the antagonists because they aren't viewed as purely evil. The antagonists are not depicted as wholly evil and they are described as having a "kernel of good". To most people this may not seem like a big deal but I hate when villains are portrayed as being evil to the point where they are completely inhumane. In my opinion even the most evil of people have even the tiniest bit of good in me. When characters are solely evil, it becomes harder to connect and empathize with them.

Of all the characters in Falling Kingdoms my favorite was Princess Cleoina without a doubt. Through thick and thin Cleo proved herself to be a true heroine and I just loved everything about her. Even when Cleo managed to screw up royally, I couldn't help but continue to root for her. Cleoina is one of my favorite female protagonists due to many factors. First of all Cleo is completely believable everything about her felt so raw and genuine. Cleo wasn't perfect but her flaws never bothered her once. Unlike a bunch of female protagonists, she wasn't insecure and she didn't complain how she isn't drop dead gorgeous.

The way Rhodes manages to pull of the switching of perspective is quite brilliant because I really enjoyed seeing the story from so many different perspectives because you really get a sense of what living in all 3 kingdoms is truly like. I didn't think this technique would work so well because I thought the alternating perspectives would become convoluted and confusing.

Why do people find incest so fascinating? Honestly between Flowers In The Attic, Star Wars, Mortal Instruments and A Game Of Thrones I feel that the world has enough incest. Incest isn't something I enjoy reading about at all yet in Falling Kingdoms I feel the incest aspect was executed phenomenally. Even though I don't approve of incest at all, I really liked Magnus's character dynamic. His "romance" with Lucia adds a lot of tension, suspense, and plot twists. Even though incest creeps me out, I can't really imagine Falling Kingdoms without it because it feels essential to the story.

The mythology of the 3 kingdoms is truly spellbinding and intriguing. It amazes me how Rhodes managed to create such complex yet interesting myths. Falling Kingdoms just wouldn't have been the same without all the tales of the Watchers. Were-Hawks anyone? The incorporations of these myths into the main plot line kept me on the edge of my seat through out the novel. The complex mythology was not original but it also was executed well.

I could go on and on describing my fan boy love of Falling Kingdoms. Where can you go wrong with a fast paced plot, a complex plot-line numerous plot twists, and tons of magic? Falling Kingdoms has made me realize that it's been too long since I have read high fantasy. I look forward to the next installment in the Falling Kingdom series immensely. I hope Rebel Spring has all the gory battle scenes, magic, high stakes tension, and fantastic character development that made me love Falling Kingdoms. I hope to get to read A Game of Thrones this year but it's length is very intimidating. I highly recommend Falling Kingdoms without a doubt in the world to all fans of fantasy!(less)

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Oct 02, 2012 Eyehavenofilter rated it 1 of 5 stars

Shelves: other-worlds, time-i-will-never-get-back, to-trade, arc

I must admit the cover is awesome, a cloaked hooded figure, holding 2 daggers, crouched on what looks like the top of an old cathedral. Thers a hint of a castle in the nighttime background and a large winged bird flying above.
The blurb on the back of the book says it's ideal for George R.R. Martin fans. So I ask you fans,do any of these things sound familiar?
"Blood magic, Theon, " life is full of possibilities", ?,Yes well they sounded familiar to me too, and all these things are in this book as...more I must admit the cover is awesome, a cloaked hooded figure, holding 2 daggers, crouched on what looks like the top of an old cathedral. Thers a hint of a castle in the nighttime background and a large winged bird flying above.
The blurb on the back of the book says it's ideal for George R.R. Martin fans. So I ask you fans,do any of these things sound familiar?
"Blood magic, Theon, " life is full of possibilities", ?,Yes well they sounded familiar to me too, and all these things are in this book as well, but not as deftly written, as in any of the Game of Thrones books.
To be honest I went into this thinking that it would be a great book to read, so I could satisfy my GRRM fix. It started out moderately well during the introduction, but when it delved onto the biggest part of the story, it fell flat. The story has potential, but it's just too, "fluffy". That's the only word I can think of to describe this. However,I still think that many people will love this book but it just didn't satisfy my "itch". It had the right skeleton for a great story but just not enough meat, muscle, density, or guts.
This is definately written for the YA audience. Ages 12 and up. No vivd, or discriptive sex, not that sex is necessary for a successful story, with mild violence. But there was much pouting and falling in love in an instant, many temper tantrums and typical " too modern "obnoxious teenage behavior. There is magic, goddesses, witches, shapeshifters, Watchers, elementals that control the 4 elements, earth, air, fire and water. A prediction of the birth of a sort of "super witch" who is stolen as a babe, and raised as a Princess so her "father" one of the Kings can rule the 3 kingdoms that have separated.
Average age of the more important characters 16 to 22, everyone else is either a power crazed King, Queen, Prince,Bastard, or someone who has all 3 nations best interest at heart but can do nothing about it right now, and can only observe, and report. ( book two and three coming up?)
This is more of a sanitized GRRM book, yes there are surprises, deaths of likeable characters, when you supposedly least expect it, however in comparison, the character and plot developement needed major work. There is a whole section involving an important plot point, a journey from one country that was at war with the other, that was glossed over with no detail at all. It was as if the trip was a pleasure cruise. You know that should have involved some sort of passage issue but no our Princess and her pal slipped into the country virtually unnoticed?
Seriously?
There seems to be alot of murders and people seem to die just for the single purpose of making the reader feel badly for one character or another.
I really wanted to like this.... But.....ehhh?(less)

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Dec 13, 2012 Jason rated it 2 of 5 stars

Shelves: magic, stupid-triangle

It’s pretty funny that this is being labeled “Game of Thrones for YA” given that almost all of GoT’s protagonists are younger than this book's characters: Arya (9), Sansa (11), Bran (7), Jon (14), Robb (14), Daenerys (13). Mostly I just like Arya+Sansa; Daenerys and Cersei are archetypes that can be very interesting in the hands of a strong writer, but alas they come off as pretty typical if still relatively admirable figures for helping to paint a wide range of strong female characters.

Much be...more It’s pretty funny that this is being labeled “Game of Thrones for YA” given that almost all of GoT’s protagonists are younger than this book's characters: Arya (9), Sansa (11), Bran (7), Jon (14), Robb (14), Daenerys (13). Mostly I just like Arya+Sansa; Daenerys and Cersei are archetypes that can be very interesting in the hands of a strong writer, but alas they come off as pretty typical if still relatively admirable figures for helping to paint a wide range of strong female characters.

Much better than this book, which has zero likable characters and only one interesting one (the apparent main protagonist for the series) who’s often a stupid, irritating Mary Sue. The world-building is poor and ridiculously contrived. The prose is okay, but there are few if any quotable bits. But…the plot while wildly unoriginal still manages to be relatively engaging. I did get to the end of the book. I feel like there’s enough material here to sustain a trilogy, but I think it’s supposed to be an “epic series” like GoT? So, blah, maybe I’ll skim through sequels to catch the gist of plot movement and waste just a few minutes of my time.

Notes While Reading: (view spoiler)(less)

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Dec 05, 2012 Nemo (the Moonlight Library) rated it 2 of 5 stars

Recommended to Nemo (the Moonlight Library) by: Steph Sinclair

Shelves: arc, mine-mine-mine, ebook, series, teens-rule-the-world-yo, i-smell-magic-in-the-air-or-bbq, sts, 2012-read, candidate, magic-and-swords-and-other-worlds, i-like-princesses, publisher-6-penguin

See this review and more on The Moonlight Library!

Falling Kingdoms pulls no punches. It’s exactly about what the title says. No ambiguity there. When a peasant boy is killed by a noble of another kingdom, the leaders of the two poor adjacent lands decide it’s the perfect opportunity to invade their richer neighbour and take their green and fertile land for themselves. The story is told from multiple points of view: there’s Jonas, who is the dead peasant boy’s brother, a spoilt princess Cleo from...more See this review and more on The Moonlight Library!

Falling Kingdoms pulls no punches. It’s exactly about what the title says. No ambiguity there. When a peasant boy is killed by a noble of another kingdom, the leaders of the two poor adjacent lands decide it’s the perfect opportunity to invade their richer neighbour and take their green and fertile land for themselves. The story is told from multiple points of view: there’s Jonas, who is the dead peasant boy’s brother, a spoilt princess Cleo from the rich invaded kingdom, a brother and sister royal pair (Magnus and Lucia) from the third land, and also from the point of view of a ‘Watcher’ – a exiled god who takes on the form of a hawk to spy on people. There is also random head hopping which may be removed from the final version.

There’s a lot of points of view, and even though I went into this book knowing it, I don’t think in the end that it worked for me. For a start, Rhodes chose to make each narrator unreliable, which led to a lot of what-the-fuck moments on my part. Each narrator saw things very differently – at first I appreciated this, because they all have different backgrounds and different interpretations, and I thought it was clever. It’s great to have these points of view all reporting horribly different things, but it makes it extraordinarily difficult to choose who to ‘root for’ (for lack of a better term). Magnus was my favourite character until other people were telling me about how dangerous and heartless he was. Cleo was insufferable and annoying until other people were telling me how beautiful and brave and capable she was. When Jonas decided Cleo needed to die because she was directly responsible for his brother’s death (when we had clearly seen her standing by and not being involved) I simply thought he was going mad. When other characters saw nothing but an evil king but we are deliberately shown tender moments from his daughter, I didn’t know who to believe, and I didn’t like the floundering trying to figure out who was more reliable or trying to figure out who I wanted to come out successful.

Princess Cleo annoyed me the most. She constantly had people telling her she needed to be strong and others all love her for her beauty and intelligence and wit, but when her friend admired her for shooting down a guard using ‘nothing but her words’, all I could think was, ‘She’s a PRINCESS. She crushed him with her RANK and then threatened his life. There’s nothing clever about her.’ Likewise, everyone praised her from escaping a dangerous situation ‘all by herself’ when she really sat on her butt feeling sorry for herself until she was rescued by a big strong man. Cleo simply infuriated me. She was so spoilt and entitled and demanded every man to step in and save her life. There was one point where she was standing next to a coward, her life at risk from a third character, and she had nothing but scorn for the coward because he wanted to surrender instead of fight to save her life. It’s like, Cleo, pick up a damn sword and be responsible for your own safety. We are constantly told how amazing she is from other characters, and shown over and over again how she is not. She is clearly meant to be the darling of the novel, and I just hated her so much I wanted her to die.

Another thing that I struggled to accept was Jonas’ blind hatred of Cleo. I was okay with it until he started going on about how beautiful she was. In the sequels I believe he’s going to fall in love with her – it was far too much of a hint for anything else (the kind of hint that wallops you over the head again and again screaming I’M A HINT, NOTICE ME.). In the real world, when you hate someone, you certainly don’t see their good points in their physical attributes. If Jonas really hated her, he wouldn’t have seen her as beautiful at all.

Magnus was my favourite character for a long time. I liked his brooding angst, and he seemed loyal and defensive in a stalkerish kind of way towards his sister. Then his heart broke and he completely changed character to the point where I didn’t like him anymore. Which is a pity, because he was the only character I liked and the only reason I kept going. Yes, there are hints of incest, but to me that lent Magnus a wonderful personality and character that I really liked – until he went batshit crazy and had a personality transplant.

Lucia’s point of view was completely superfluous. It could have been narrated by Magnus – god knows he spent enough time with her. Lucia was also a bland character, given a massive gift she clearly hadn’t earned and learned to use it far too quickly for my liking, with nary a struggle.

I found Rhodes’ writing to be choppy, which is strange because she’s not a debut author. It certainly is possible to use modern slang in a fantasy setting, (it works quite well in Maria V Snyder’s books) but in this novel the language seemed stilted and trying too hard to be poetic and dramatic, so every instance of ‘asshole’ or ‘bitch’ seemed jarringly out of place.

Overall I didn’t enjoy this novel as much as I wanted to, and I probably won’t be reading the sequels either. The inconsistent characterisation annoyed me, as did the ineffectual use of modern slang.

An advance reader copy was kindly provided by the publisher.(less)

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Mar 09, 2013 Ruth rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: bought-jan-2013, 2013-prn-fantasy-challenge, fantasy, read-in-2013, ya-fantasy

I was pleasantly surprised by how much I enjoyed Falling Kingdoms. I was expecting a novel that was somewhat Game of Thrones-lite but instead the storyline was fairly complex and the setting, although not overly original, was interesting and richly detailed. The story takes place across three very different kingdoms: Limeros, Paelsia and Auranos. Limeros, the Northern kingdom, is ruled by a tyrannical King who instills fear in the populace and rules with an iron fist. Paelsia is the middle kingd...more I was pleasantly surprised by how much I enjoyed Falling Kingdoms. I was expecting a novel that was somewhat Game of Thrones-lite but instead the storyline was fairly complex and the setting, although not overly original, was interesting and richly detailed. The story takes place across three very different kingdoms: Limeros, Paelsia and Auranos. Limeros, the Northern kingdom, is ruled by a tyrannical King who instills fear in the populace and rules with an iron fist. Paelsia is the middle kingdom and is ruled by a chieftain who is rumoured to have magical abilities. Paelsia is a poor country and its people suffer, struggling to survive in an increasingly impoverished environment. Auranos is the Southern kingdom and is the most envied, as its denizens enjoy a life of prosperity under the more benevolent leadership of their King. There are tensions between each of these nations and violence and bloodshed will soon overtake the lands.

The book follows the viewpoints of several main characters and each get their own third person point-of-view chapters. Princess Cleo is the first main character we are introduced to. Cleo and her companions are visiting Paelsia from their neighbouring kingdom of Auranos. It is during this visit that a tragic event occurs. One of her companions Aron, a young nobleman who Cleo greatly dislikes but is forced to accommodate due to him having some kind of leverage over her, has an argument with a young man from Paelsia and ends up killing him in cold blood. Cleo does nothing to stop the argument from escalating and she feels terrible guilt about this throughout the rest of the novel. This tragedy serves as a catalyst for the events which are to come. Cleo is a likeable yet somewhat naive young girl whose great beauty often allows her to get away with acting immaturely and selfishly. Cleo has very noticeable character flaws but you feel for her, especially when she is forced to endure a betrothal to the young nobleman she so thoroughly despises. Cleo shows an enourmous amount of character growth throughout the novel and what she has to endure throughout the book only makes her stronger and more determined. I ended up really rooting for her towards the end, though I could not really get interested in the side-plot of her romance with her young personal guard Theon (view spoiler).

Jonas is the brother of the young man who was killed and he puts the blame firmly on Princess Cleo, who stood by and let her companion drive a knife through his elder brother's throat. Jonas, filled with grief and thoughts of vengeance, vows to destroy Princess Cleo. He soon joins forces with the chieftain of Paelsia, who is determined to take down Auranos and is willing to work with the King of Limeros in order to do so. Jonas was an interesting and conflicted character. I felt sympathy for his loss and could understand why he hated Cleo but his memory of the tragedy that happened before his eyes is warped by his own misapprehensions of the situation. Jonas had very little page time in comparison to some of the other characters and I wished that he had been fleshed out a bit more. As it is he comes across a little one-sided and his thirst for revenge is a little bit tiresome (view spoiler).

Magnus is the heir to the kingdom Limeros. In many ways I found Magnus to be the most interesting character, albeit one whose actions became increasingly hard for me to overlook. Magnus holds a shameful secret. He is deeply in love with his sister Lucia, who is the only person who has ever shown him any real affection, as his father has never much cared for him and his mother, the Queen, is a cold and distant figure in his life. To be honest, having read many fantasy novels which include incest (George R. R. Martin's A Song of Ice and Fire series, Katharine Kerr's Daggerspell etc.) this element never really bothered me as much as it probably should. In real-life I would most certainly not be so understanding of it mind, but in a fantasy setting it seems I can just easily accept it and move on.

It is soon revealed that Magnus and Lucia are not blood-related but I can see why many people would have a problem with this part of the story as Magnus only becomes aware of this during the course of the novel and his feelings go much further back. They have been raised as brother and sister and Lucia certainly does not share her brother's feelings. Magnus starts off as a deeply troubled young man and the events in the novel only serve to make him more cold and self-loathing. He is on a dark path and the choices he makes get darker as the story progresses (view spoiler). Magnus, somewhat in spite of himself, wants to gain his father's approval and joins with him to bring down his long-time enemy, the King of Auranos.

Lucia is the only main character who I never really developed any attachment to. Although she has her own point-of-view chapters and her story may become more interesting, her character was a bit of a cypher. We are told she is destined to become a very powerful sorceress, which that is why the King took her in and raised her as his own, but her character did not have much weight for me and fell a little flat.

There are a lot of familiar elements in this novel which are standard fantasy-fare: political manipulations, nations fighting each other for the throne, magic, romance, a long-awaited prophesied one, even the mysterious Watchers who have been keeping an eye on Lucia and her developing abilities are a fairly common fantasy trope. However, while this novel may not be overly original, it is a lot of fun. The plot is exciting, most of the characters are interesting and the climax leaves you anxious for the next book. I wasn't completely bowled over but I was very entertained. It was hard to get to grips with the characters at first as the book flips between the different and varied point-of-views but you did get to see every perspective of the conflict and feel sympathy for characters who will be soon pitted against each other in the forthcoming war and what follows thereafter. I am really looking forward to the next book Rebel Spring as I think the story has the potential to be even better than the first.

Four stars ****(less)

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Jan 25, 2013 Luu rated it 2 of 5 stars

Shelves: fantasy, worst-reads-of-2013, young-adult, dropped-series, review-me

Dávam dve hviezdičky. Pokojne môžete dať tri alebo štyri a nepomyslím si o vás nič zlé. Kameňom úrazu je to, ako veľmi poznáte fantasy knižnicu a koľko najväčších klišé žánru dokážete zniesť. Pre mňa je to 5/10 a myslím si, že okrem spomenutých klišé je to:

- prvoplánové
- s kvantitou na úkor kvality
- so štyrmi hlavnými postavami, pričom žiadna nie je rozvinutá
- s world-buildingom jednoduchým ako z rozprávky (Boli raz tri kráľovstvá, a tie sa nemali rady.)
- s naivnou, akože "epickou" zápletkou o p...more Dávam dve hviezdičky. Pokojne môžete dať tri alebo štyri a nepomyslím si o vás nič zlé. Kameňom úrazu je to, ako veľmi poznáte fantasy knižnicu a koľko najväčších klišé žánru dokážete zniesť. Pre mňa je to 5/10 a myslím si, že okrem spomenutých klišé je to:

- prvoplánové
- s kvantitou na úkor kvality
- so štyrmi hlavnými postavami, pričom žiadna nie je rozvinutá
- s world-buildingom jednoduchým ako z rozprávky (Boli raz tri kráľovstvá, a tie sa nemali rady.)
- s naivnou, akože "epickou" zápletkou o prípravách na vojnu medzi kráľovstvami
- s nerealistickou atmosférou (králi a meče fantasy nerobia)

Ak čítavate fantasy, ostaňte čítať fantasy. Nečítajte Falling Kingdoms. Nope. Falling Kingdoms sú fantasy, ktorá ešte nevychodila prvý stupeň základnej školy. Takto nejako si predstavujem prvý pokus fantasy autorov, ktorí si tak ako Morgan Rhodes neuvedomili, že by si pred písaním možno mali skúsiť prečítať niečo od velikánov žánru, vziať meč a ísť si zašermovať na LARP alebo sa vôbec o tento žáner nejako pozaujímať, skôr, než ho začnú sami písať, lebo videli v telke Pána prsteňov a páčili sa im novozélandské krajinky.

Môžem pochváliť to, že autorka udržiava vo všetkom prehľad, ale to je len vďaka tomu, že sú príbehy každej postavy také primitívne jednoduché, že sa v nich stratiť nedá. Princezná Cleo chce nájsť liek pre svoju sestru, Jonas chce pomstiť bratovu smrť zabitím Cleo (view spoiler), Lucia v sebe nachádza magické schopnosti a Magnus sa zamiluje do svojej sestry - Lucie - o ktorej nevie, že je adoptovaná (nie je to spoiler, je to v prológu) a má z toho v hlave chaos. To je všetko. Plus-mínus nejaký rodič, osobný strážca alebo súrodenec.

Jednou vetou: Trochu lepšie napísaná kniha, ktorá sa snaží hrať na epickú fantasy po vzore Hry o tróny, ale akonáhle opustíme sféru citov, autorka tápa v temnote, o čom má vlastne jej "fantasy" byť. (less)

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Dec 03, 2012 Jen (The Starry-Eyed Revue) rated it 4 of 5 stars

Recommended to Jen (The Starry-Eyed Revue) by: Damaris (GoodChoiceReading)

Shelves: 2012, fantasy, witches-wizards, arcs, magic-time-travel

Issues...I got 'em. Kinda fantasy-lite. Not what I was expecting...where's that assassin-ish person from the cover? I want to read that book. Good, not great, but I'll definitely continue the series.

************

Falling Kingdomsis one of those books that I seriously coveted, almost to the point that I would beg, borrow, or steal to get it. I actually did beg...a little. When I did score an ARC, I made myself hold off reading it until a little closer to the release date, just to build up my antici...more

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Dec 26, 2012 Deniz rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: fantasy, ya

I finished this! FINALLY! took me longer to read this than anything ever before...
Though the second part was much better than the first- it still didnt manage to live up anywhere near to my expectations.
Adding this to the list of books that I need to review.. hopefully

26.12.12

Doesn't the summary just sound amazing? Oh it sound just like my kinda book! It has such promise. And the cover? Beautiful isn't it?
I coveted this book, from the moment I had discovered about it online sometime in July or...more

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Nov 07, 2012 Damaris (GoodChoiceReading) rated it 5 of 5 stars

This book is amazing! I really don't know what to say besides that this book deserves as much hype as possible. It's written so well and the story is unbelievably good. It will leave you with so many emotions, good and bad, that once you're done reading it, I promise you that you will close the book, sigh, and think wow.

The story follows three kingdoms. You get a sneak peek of what it is like for the people living in each one. Each chapter is from the point of view of one of the characters. It s...more This book is amazing! I really don't know what to say besides that this book deserves as much hype as possible. It's written so well and the story is unbelievably good. It will leave you with so many emotions, good and bad, that once you're done reading it, I promise you that you will close the book, sigh, and think wow.

The story follows three kingdoms. You get a sneak peek of what it is like for the people living in each one. Each chapter is from the point of view of one of the characters. It starts off from Cleo’s point of view and her two friends. They are off to buy some good wine to bring back with them. While there, things quickly get out of hand and one little mistake changes the lives of all three kingdoms. Lives are lost, love is discovered and revealed, friends become enemies, enemies become friends, and some characters are not what they seem at all. I was turning pages fast and even found myself reading ahead at times. I just couldn't believe what was happening and the suspense was killing me.

Morgan Rhodes took me by surprise with every page. She has created such a believable world that you can easily picture vividly in your head. Her descriptions were on point, everything flowed together perfectly, and she entwined every characters life with the other perfectly. There is NOTHING I can find wrong with this book. The writing, the world building, characters, action, it was just all amazingly done. I found myself entertained and wanting to scream don’t end!

This is a book that I promise you will love from beginning to end. You will not find another like it. And if you do, please let me know! After reading Falling Kingdoms, I am on the hunt for another book just as good. I know I’ve said this about fifty times, but it’s just so, so, so, AMAZING! No complaints on my end. Not one. I loved every single minute of it.

I got the chance to read an advance copy, and to be honest, I wish I hadn’t because now the wait for the second in the series is even longer. I guess I will just have to re-read it over and over again until the sequel.

10 out of 5 stars! :)
(less)

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Feb 13, 2013 Rebecca ♥ Ash, Jem, Warner ♥ rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: fantasy, young-adult, magic, local-library, reviewed

A version of this review also appears at: A Match Made in Heaven

For me this was another mediocre disappointment for YA fantasy. Since Graceling and Fire I have been hoping to find more amazing YA fantasy. Every time another is released my hopes go up, but I am ultimately disappointed. Falling Kingdoms follows that trend.

The scope of this is large. The story takes place over 3 kingdoms, with several character POVs. I can think of a total of six, although some are more prominent. Namely Cleo, Jon...more A version of this review also appears at: A Match Made in Heaven

For me this was another mediocre disappointment for YA fantasy. Since Graceling and Fire I have been hoping to find more amazing YA fantasy. Every time another is released my hopes go up, but I am ultimately disappointed. Falling Kingdoms follows that trend.

The scope of this is large. The story takes place over 3 kingdoms, with several character POVs. I can think of a total of six, although some are more prominent. Namely Cleo, Jonas, and Magnus, each from a different kingdom. There are very poor relations between the three kingdoms and war is brewing. This reminds me a bit of a YA take on A Game of Thrones; featuring several kingdoms, several characters spread out over the kingdoms, war, and death. There are a lot of character deaths like in Game of Thrones. Dont get too attached to anyone. Unfortunately I did and I cried 3 or 4 times. There are also a lot of dark and evil characters.

My favourite character is by far Magnus. He is such a conflicted character, trapped by his circumstances. I feel so much pity for him. The kind of character you just want to hug. One of the things that I didnt like about this book was the fact that all the characters hate each other. There is so much bias and prejudice between the different kingdoms, and although I see inside their lives and their minds and can grow to appreciate them, they hate each other fervently. Jonas' glowing hatred for Cleo made me hate him for most of the book. He seemed so blind to it that I just could not like him. Although his eyes started to open near the end. And I also really enjoyed Cleo's character, so when she and Magnus met, it was especially painful to see them through each other's eyes. I dont want them to hate each other, Magnus especially does not deserve such hatred. Or maybe I am the biased one now, but I just love Magnus so much. And although I loved Cleo, she could be annoying at times, a bit entitled. I also enjoyed the characters Lucia and Theon, who had some POV chapters, but not as many.

This isnt a romance. There are a few romantic connections, but none are the focus, and there is still no indication of who will end up with who in the end. I havent a clue. Magnus and Lucia? Alexius and Lucia? Magnus and Cleo? Cleo and Jonas? Or no one? I see the possibility of any of the listed combinations although it could be none. But I am leaning towards believing there will be a romance in the end, since there was enough mention of love in this book to think the other wont let it drop yet. And all the characters are between the age of 16 and 18.

I will most likely read the sequel Rebel Spring, although I didnt enjoy the hatred in this book, or the death. The characters we care about most need to meet and start working together instead of against each other. I suppose the book was just too dark and sad for my likely. (less)

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Sep 26, 2012 Amelia, the pragmatic idealist added it

Edit: I knew it! The postmodernist attitudes and amorality of characters work somehow with George Martin, who writes for adults. Characters who are this screwy (literally) are very unbecoming in YA, and it seems to me like a desperate ploy to sell books. I am grateful to the candor of reviewers - you saved me a ton of time and potential headaches!

Original: I don't even know why I'm marking this a 'maybe.' (view spoiler)...more

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Aug 24, 2012 Lelia Nebeker rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: arcs, fantasy, read-in-2012, ya-fantasy, ya, books-i-own, high-fantasy

When I read that fans of Kristin Cashore and George R.R. Martin would enjoy 'Falling Kingdoms,' I didn't think it would be able to live up to the comparison, but I'm officially ready to eat crow. This epic high fantasy novel is completely engrossing, with a cast of characters that, while not exactly likable, are unique and interesting (with one possible exception of the main narrators). The chapters alternate in perspective, so you get to see the story from points of view of the three kingdoms o...more

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Jan 17, 2013 Alicia rated it 2 of 5 stars

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here.

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Mar 02, 2013 Monica rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: top-5-recent-favorites, favorites, witches-warlocks

I started this book a couple of days ago and honestly it was all I could think about! It is unusual for me to read a book where fighting and death are in the forefront, but Falling Kingdoms was the perfect mixture of forbidden romance, loss, magic, and some of the most interesting characters I have met (or read about)!!! I will be the first in line for Rebel Spring!

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Aug 19, 2012 Stephanie Diaz rated it 2 of 5 stars

Disclaimer: This review is based on an advanced copy of the book.

After hearing this book compared to George R.R. Martin, I went into reading it with high hopes for it. But while the plot is fast-paced and has several shocking--and a couple not-so-shocking--plot twists, the book falls short in terms of character development. Certain elements felt forced, such as the romantic subplot and some of the actions the various characters undertake. I found myself wanting very much to climb into the world...more

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Sep 30, 2012 Gabrielle Carolina rated it 2 of 5 stars

Shelves: penguin, december, 2012-debut-author, own, didn-t-finish

Did not finish, stopped on page 170.

I thoroughly enjoyed the first hundred, hundred and twenty pages or so, but like many other reviews have mentioned, the story began to fall away from there.

I could feel a sincere shift in the author's narratives and the character Cleo, in particular, became insufferably annoying while her storyline leapt from insta-love to a mildly confusing and abrupt plot turn. The whole thing became suddenly very average when it was above-average only a few short pages bef...more

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topics	posts	views	last activity
The (Not-So) Aust...: Falling Kingdoms - April Read Discussion	1	4	Apr 01, 2013 07:18pm
Theon. SPOILER ALERT!!	7	54	Mar 31, 2013 09:33pm
LOVED FALLING KINGDOMS!!!!!!!! IT'S A MUST READ!!	1	19	Feb 23, 2013 01:49pm
Favorite characters-Magnus	21	68	Feb 07, 2013 01:11pm

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Falling Kingdoms (Falling Kingdoms #1)

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