Goodreads helps you keep track of books you want to read.

Start by marking “Legacy of Kings (Blood of Gods and Royals, #1)” as Want to Read:

Other editions

Enlarge cover

Rate this book

Clear rating

1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars

Open Preview

Legacy of Kings

(Blood of Gods and Royals #1)

Eleanor Herman (Goodreads Author)

3.65 · Rating details · 4,788 ratings · 1,066 reviews

Imagine a time when the gods turn a blind eye to the agony of men, when the last of the hellions roam the plains and evil stirs beyond the edges of the map. A time when cities burn, and in their ashes, empires rise.

Alexander, Macedonia’s sixteen-year-old heir, is on the brink of discovering his fated role in conquering the known world but finds himself drawn to a newcomer… ...more

Get A Copy

Hardcover, 428 pages

Published August 18th 2015 by Harlequin Teen

More Details... Edit Details

Friend Reviews

To see what your friends thought of this book, please sign up.

Reader Q&A

To ask other readers questions about Legacy of Kings, please sign up.

Lists with This Book

YA Novels of 2015

1,539 books — 8,927 voters

Buzzworthy YA Fall/Winter 2015

108 books — 184 voters

More lists with this book...

Community Reviews

Showing 1-30

Average rating 3.65 ·

Rating details

· 4,788 ratings · 1,066 reviews

More filters

Sort order

Start your review of Legacy of Kings (Blood of Gods and Royals, #1)

Sep 20, 2015 Jesse (JesseTheReader) rated it really liked it

(3.5)

This was a solid start to an epic fantasy series & I can't wait to see what the rest of the series has to hold. The world building was probably my favorite part of this book. It was done SO WELL. ...more

flag 309 likes · Like · see review

Sep 17, 2015 Christine Riccio rated it really liked it

This was slow moving but I think the world was super interesting and built a lot of potential for the next books! Here's my booktalk: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4Ss_w... ...more

flag 299 likes · Like · see review

Aug 18, 2015 Emily May marked it as dnf

Shelves: young-adult, fantasy, 2015

DNF

I realize that this may be a bit premature but I've read so many unoriginal fantasy novels that I don't want to waste anymore time on them. I could easily be persuaded to come back to this if the reviews are positive, but here's my review of the first chapter:

A girl called Kat~~niss~~ is hunting in the woods when she is suddenly distracted by her longtime best friend turned sexgod, ~~Gale~~ Jacob.

“A pair of strong, tanned legs stands before her, leading up to the broad, commanding form of her old

...more

flag 206 likes · Like · see review

Feb 28, 2015 Jessica ❁ ➳ Silverbow ➳ ❁ rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: rabid-reads-reviews, netgalley, mythology, ya, fantasy, historical-fiction

Reviewed by: Rabid Reads

There's a certain rivalry between English and History majors . . .

The university I attended required its students to attend a weekly convocation. Several times a year, rather than all of the students meeting formally, we would have interdepartmental gatherings, and once a semester the English and History majors would stuff themselves into the largest classroom in our main building for a *coughs* friendly game of College Bowl.

The outcome of this game determined who got to ...more

flag 109 likes · Like · see review

Mar 31, 2015 KL (Cat) rated it did not like it

Shelves: aint-nobody-got-time-for-that, 1-star, assassins-spies-and-serial-killers, everyone-sucks, did-not-finish, so-much-potential-though, ya-disappointments, ya-2015

Honestly, fuck this book and fuck its historical inaccuracies.

Warning: This is basically me being all annoyed and comparing how the book made shit up to actual historical truths.

1. Historical Alexander was hella gay so often; it was ridiculous to the point that sometimes I need to set down whatever material I was reading on him and just gape.

I mean, a) he kissed a boy and he liked it, ~~to misquote Katy Perry.~~
So there was a dance that Bagoas performed that was apparently so damn fine he agreed t ...more

flag 90 likes · Like · see review

May 25, 2015 Maria V. Snyder rated it really liked it

I was given an advance reading copy of this book with the hope that I'd like it enough to give it a cover blurb. This one is an epic fantasy with lots of characters, political intrigue, action, and history. The story is mostly about a young Alexander the Great and since Herman is a historian and has written non fiction history books, she really knows the historical setting. It was pretty neat that the setting details were accurate, yet the magic and mystery was all fiction.

I enjoyed it - I did h ...more

flag 57 likes · Like · see review

Mar 06, 2015 C.G. Drews rated it really liked it

Recommended to C.G. by: http://www.epicreads.com/blog/cover-r...

Shelves: young-adult, read-2015, epic-fantasy

Well. THIS is going to be hard to review. Gee, never let anyone say being a bookworm is easy -- BECAUSE WRITING REVIEWS AND DECIDING RATINGS IS HARD. I really loved this book (it was so epic and fantastical) but I have a small boatload of quibbles with it. Some of them are kind of ridiculous quibbles, but SOME ARE LARGE FRUSTRATED ONES. So yes. But, honestly!? I LIKED IT. And, quibbles aside, that's what's important.

So basically it's a historical, magicy fantasy, about Alexander the Great! Which ...more

flag 53 likes · Like · see review

Jun 16, 2015 Jillian rated it really liked it

Daaaaaaaaaaaamn this was really good. Full review to come

flag 41 likes · Like · see review

May 26, 2015 Cinda rated it it was amazing

Shelves: ya, fantasy, historical-fiction, blurbs

Legacy of Kings is fantasy just the way I like it: a mingling of history, intrigue, romance, murder, and magic. It prompted me to spend time researching an era I know little about--the age of Alexander the Great.

flag 40 likes · Like · see review

Aug 06, 2015 Luce rated it did not like it · review of another edition

Shelves: netgalley-read, did-not-finish

I recieved a copy of this book from the publisher via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

Get ready for the honesty.

This was one of my most anticipated releases of this year. As soon as I heard about it, I wanted it.

Unfortunately, I'm not even going to finish this. I love Alexander the Great. I find him endlessly fascinating. So when I get bored with a book about him after only 17%, there's a problem.

The thing is, this book ISN'T about Alexander the Great. He is just one of five main prot ...more

flag 38 likes · Like · see review

Oct 01, 2016 Adam Silvera rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Shelves: 2016-reads

Fans looking for a YA Game of Thrones should get on this!!

flag 35 likes · Like · see review

Feb 09, 2020 Sana is currently reading it

now that I’ve finished learning the renegade dance, it’s time to learn how to enjoy reading again 😳🙈😋

flag 35 likes · Like · see review

Mar 05, 2015 Giselle rated it really liked it

Shelves: 2015, genre-historical, arc-electronic, requested-for-review, genre-fantasy, genre-romance-instant-love, age-young-adult, 4-star, genre-romance, diverse-characters

An Electronic Advance Reader Copy was provided by the publisher via NetGalley for review. Quotes have been pulled from an ARC and may be subject to change.

This is a retelling of Alexander the Great. Now I don't know much about him or his historic achievements, so I literally went in this with a clear head. No comparing to actual historic texts or even movies. So imagine my surprise that I pretty much fell for it.

There were so many sub-plots woven in that I couldn't really distinguish which one w ...more

flag 34 likes · Like · see review

Jul 02, 2015 Lisa Mandina rated it it was amazing

First, thanks to Harlequin Teen for sending an advanced readers copy of this title out to the bookstores, where I was able to grab it at the Barnes and Noble where I work to read. I'd been seeing it around on other blogs on Waiting on Wednesday posts, and it sounded really good. A historical fiction about Alexander the Great as a teenager? Yeah, right? Sounds awesome! And it was! At first it took a bit to get the flow, as there are many characters we are following. But a little ways in I could r ...more

flag 34 likes · Like · see review

Sep 06, 2015 Mikee (ReadWithMikee) rated it liked it

HOLY CRAP. IT WAS A CHORE FORCING MYSELF TO FINISH THIS BOOK.

I was looking forward to reading Legacy of Kings, but my hopes and dreams literally feel like they've been crushed from how disappointed I am with this book. It could've been so much better. I feel like the way everything was carried out didn't reach its full potential. The concept itself was different compared to anything else I've read before, but I just think that Eleanor Herman didn't handle this one too well. The opportunity was t HOLY CRAP. IT WAS A CHORE FORCING MYSELF TO FINISH THIS BOOK.

I was looking forward to reading Legacy of Kings, but my hopes and dreams literally feel like they've been crushed from how disappointed I am with this book. It could've been so much better. I feel like the way everything was carried out didn't reach its full potential. The concept itself was different compared to anything else I've read before, but I just think that Eleanor Herman didn't handle this one too well. The opportunity was there, but she just didn't grasp it.

Too much was going on but at the same time, it felt like not enough happened.

Before I started reading the book, I knew that there were multiple perspectives. Everyone kept complaining about them and I didn't think that it could've been THAT bad. But honestly, IT WAS BAD. There was a total of 7 different POVs (Katerina, Jacob, Alexander, Hephastion, Cynane, Olympias, Zofia). Each chapter focuses on one character's storyline. At first, it didn't seem so bad. Seven perspectives would be the most POVs I've read in a book, but I was so sure that I'd be able to keep up.

WRONG, WRONG, WRONG.

I've never been this overwhelmed over a book before! The first act, okay. Five chapters, five different POVs. No biggie. However, it went by super duper slow and to be completely honest, it didn't really capture my interest. Of the seven characters that were introduced, I only liked four of them: Hephastion, Cynane, Zofia, and Jacob. That should've been a warning sign for me to DNF because I instantly didn't click with the center figure of the story, Alexander the Great, or even Katerina, who I can say is the main female protagonist. In fact, I already had a growing irritation beneath the surface for Katerina.

The idea of different POVs didn't bug me because I love a variety of characters. But because there were TOO many POVs, it took awhile for the story to progress because we would always have to pause in between storylines. If you wanted to hear more about Alexander, you would have to wait about five or so chapters to continue where you left off. Even though Alexander is supposedly the most important person in this story, he's BARELY in it. The book focuses more on Katerina, if anything. She's the only one who seems to have a motive to do anything. Everyone else is simply irrelevant. They didn't need a whole storyline dedicated to them and would've been better as supporting characters within the main POVs (Alexander and Kat).

However, it did start to pick up in the last 100 pages or so and made the last couple chapters bearable. And the story finally decided to shift over to show more of Alexander.

I appreciate Eleanor Herman's attempt to give the readers a variety of different characters to love but she just tried to do too much at once and it became overwhelming. Even though I almost DNF this book, I might give the sequel a chance and try to finish this series. Hopefully, the author tries a different approach in the next book. ...more

flag 24 likes · Like · see review

Jan 26, 2015 Sophie rated it really liked it

Shelves: 2015-releases, read-in-2015, 4-stars, arcs-read

I received an Advance Reader Copy from the publisher via NetGalley. This in no way impacted on my view.

As soon as I heard about this book, I knew I needed it. If you don't know, I'm currently studying History and Ancient History at university, and recently completed a module on Alexander the Great and the Hellenistic World. To be able to read about a young Alexander, during his regency of Macedon in his father, Philip's, absence, was like a dream come true. Thank you so much, Harlequin Teen, for I received an Advance Reader Copy from the publisher via NetGalley. This in no way impacted on my view.

As soon as I heard about this book, I knew I needed it. If you don't know, I'm currently studying History and Ancient History at university, and recently completed a module on Alexander the Great and the Hellenistic World. To be able to read about a young Alexander, during his regency of Macedon in his father, Philip's, absence, was like a dream come true. Thank you so much, Harlequin Teen, for the opportunity.

That being said, I was, to some extent, disappointed with this book. I knew going into it, from reading other reviews, that the writing style would take some getting used too. I think I counted seven different points of view, each of which that weren't all that distinctive. Perhaps if these PoVs had been in first person, it may have been more enjoyable. However, even though this seemed excessive, each and every PoV was needed in order to give the reader a full understanding of the story.

The seven PoVs were as follows:
- Alexander, Prince Regent and Heir Apparent of Macedon
- Hephaestion, Alex's best friend
- Queen Olympias of Macedon, mother to Alexander and wife of Philip II
- Cynane, Princess of Macedon, half-sister of Alex
- Katerina, an orphaned, peasant girl with a mission in Pella to kill the Queen
- Jacob, Kat's adopted-brother, and contestant in the Blood Tournament
- Zofia, Princess of Persia, who is to be engaged to Alex

Of these PoVs, I liked Kat's, Alex's, and Cyn's, and didn't enjoy Zo's. I felt, at least in book 1, that Zo was pretty much obsolete, and could only really see her connection to Alexander in a historical sense by her little sister, Roxana, who I'm guessing is the same Roxana who married Alexander in 327 BC. and bore him his only child, Alexander IV. Kat and Alex were my favourite characters overall, and I had sort of guessed their connection before it was revealed, but not to it's full extent. Their relationship was very sweet, and I'm glad it wasn't romantic, but rather a platonic love between them. Prince Arri (Philip Arrhidaeus, the disabled son of Philip II) was also a wonderful secondary character, who just needs caring for, and protecting.

Being an ancient history student, perhaps I'm looking too much into the historical accuracy of this book, rather than reading it from a layman's view. Nevertheless, the fantasy aspects of Legacy of Kings was as enjoyable as the historical accuracy. The book was slow to start, but once it picked up, the action was there. I especially enjoyed the battle scene towards the end of the book, which I'm guessing is based on the battle against the Thracian Maedi during Alexander's regency.

Though I was a tad disappointed in this book as a whole, I'm extremely excited to read book 2, Empire of Dust. I'm mainly can't wait to see how the revelations at the end of the book are dealt with, and I kind of want to see Philip return, and see that his son isn't weak, and will, one day, be the 'Great' king we know him to be. I think I just had too high an expectation about this book, and that is what let it down. For people who just want to read more about Greek, particularly Macedonian, history, this book would be perfect. It has the right balance of fact and fiction, and was a truly enjoyable read, once I got over my expectations. ...more

flag 21 likes · Like · see review

Mar 01, 2015 Alyssa rated it liked it

Shelves: 2015-releases

***Review posted on The Eater of Books! blog***

Legacy of Kings by Eleanor Herman
Book One of the Blood of Gods an Royals series
Publisher: Harlequin TEEN
Publication Date: August 18, 2015
Rating: 3 stars
Source: eARC from NetGalley

Summary (from Goodreads):

Imagine a time when the gods turn a blind eye to the agony of men, when the last of the hellions roam the plains and evil stirs beyond the edges of the map. A time when cities burn, and in their ashes, empires rise.

Alexander, Macedonia’s sixteen-yea ...more

flag 19 likes · Like · see review

Aug 06, 2015 Jeann (Happy Indulgence) rated it really liked it

Shelves: review-copy, fantasy

This review appears on Happy Indulgence. Check it out for more reviews!

Blending historical fiction with an engaging YA fantasy, Legacy of Kings takes a look at Alexander the Great during his teenage years before his rise to power. And what a rich and fascinating world it was, bringing to life a period in history where Greek royalty practiced the occult, where a 16 year old skilled in war strategy and tactics ran an army, where the world worshipped Greek gods and goddesses.

Although there were ma This review appears on Happy Indulgence. Check it out for more reviews!

Blending historical fiction with an engaging YA fantasy, Legacy of Kings takes a look at Alexander the Great during his teenage years before his rise to power. And what a rich and fascinating world it was, bringing to life a period in history where Greek royalty practiced the occult, where a 16 year old skilled in war strategy and tactics ran an army, where the world worshipped Greek gods and goddesses.

Although there were many point of views here, covering the brief perspectives of at least six characters, I never struggled to keep track of them. Each and every character was there to give us a different perspective of life back then, from the royalty and corruption of the Greek courts to the Persian slave traders and their thirst for gold.

Although Alexander was the drawcard here, with his charisma, humility for all people whether friend or foe, and strategic mind, I was drawn to the strong female characters. From the peasant girl Katerina and the mystery behind her mother’s death and thirst for revenge, to the insufferable but alluring Cynane, a princess who would rather fight in battles than be constrained to a life of domestic duties, they each had strong personalities. They were all flawed characters with strong objectives, yet with admirable traits to balance them out, so they felt realistic.

The only character I had trouble connecting with was Jacob, who seems to blindly “love” his best friend Katerina, yet he never seemed to understand her all that well. Jacob spends much of his time playing mind games with Katerina. Just because she doesn’t want to hook up with you, doesn’t mean she doesn’t love you! It was annoying how he thought the world revolved around himself.

It’s the mythology and world building in this book that made it feel really authentic. The author’s a historian who presented historically accurate details of the time period, the people, the cultural and their beliefs in a really engaging way. I loved the time period represented here, where heroes will rise and fall, where they believe in mythical creatures and blood magic, where the legendary figures in Sparta, Greece and Persia are brought to life.

Although the historical setting is what I loved about the book, at times the writing felt a little too simplistic with what was trying to be conveyed. This made it readable and easily digested when it came to the descriptions however – it didn’t feel like ‘boring’ historical fiction.

Legacy of Kings covers a time where legends are embodied in mortals and where worshipping, magic and legendary historical figures in Ancient Greece are brought to life. I personally LOVE this time period and enjoyed the historical setting. Those who enjoy multiple point of views and ancient history will enjoy this book, although those who don’t enjoy many point of views may find themselves struggling to connect to some of the characters.

I received a review copy from the publisher in exchange for an honest review. ...more

flag 19 likes · Like · see review

Sep 06, 2017 Laura rated it it was ok

Shelves: fantasy, ya, historical, paranormal, 2-star

“Questions are answered not when you want an answer but when the time for answers is right.”

That quote is right … because no question was ever answered in this book.

Legacy of Kings was not a bad book per se, but I found it a confusing, frequently boring one. Perhaps I had high expectations for this novel – hello, it’s about Alexander the Great – and those expectations were just not met. Or maybe this book just wasn’t worth the hype.

Legacy of Kings is a magical fantasy novel full of myth and ...more

flag 18 likes · Like · see review

Jul 21, 2015 Hannah ◇Reader in the Rough◇ rated it liked it

Shelves: fantasy

2.5 Stars.

This book would have been four stars were it not for:

1) The unnecessary POVs of Jacob and Zophia (though I do like Zophia, her POV detracted from Alexander's story and was too disjointed from what was happening in the rest of the book). Authors: stahpppp with the Jacobs. Jacobs as love interests are overrated (DAMMIT Stephanie Meyer).

2:The games/tournament was stupid (and very copycat, *cough, cough* Hunger Games). And (minor spoiler) is actually pointless and null because of later e ...more

flag 18 likes · Like · see review

Feb 06, 2016 Christine Wallflower & Dark Romance Junkie added it

Shelves: blah-blah-snore, fantasy-and-magic, historical

DNF @ 43 %

Great premise by I got bored after this book became a story about horny teens and a text book on Ancient Greek history and mythology. Nope not for me. ...more

flag 17 likes · Like · see review

Mar 16, 2015 Elena rated it really liked it

I loved so many things about this book but at the same time I feel like it took me ages to get through it. When I was reading it I loved it but as soon as put it down I forgot about it.
Overall I think the characters were interesting and somehow complex and I can not wait to find out how their stories continue !

flag 16 likes · Like · see review

May 13, 2018 k rated it it was amazing

Shelves: my-not-so-comfortable-comfort-reads

can't wait to read the sequel.

I love everything about the book except Cyn. I mean, she's a bitch, okay?
...more

flag 16 likes · Like · see review

Jul 11, 2017 Caitlin rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: 2017-read, 4-stars

This book has been sitting on my shelf since January. I randomly found it in Dymocks and it sounded right up my alley so I bought it! However, the reviews I've seen have been pretty bad and a lot of people didn't enjoy this book so I was pretty nervous going into it. I really shouldn't have waited so long to read this book since it was actually pretty great.

My mum and I are huge history buffs - especially ancient history. My mum studied Alexander the Great a lot when she was my age and she alwa ...more

flag 17 likes · Like · see review

Aug 18, 2015 Vilma rated it it was amazing

An utterly spellbinding and fascinating mix of magic and history.
Epic in every sense of the word.

From the first time I read the synopsis, I knew this was the kind of book I would devour. Appealing to both my love of history and my love of fantasy, bestselling author Eleanor Herman delivers a fascinating and gripping story with her YA fantasy debut. Known for her historical novels, Herman imbues that same richness and depth in Legacy of Kings, as is evidenced by not only her world building, but a ...more

flag 14 likes · Like · see review

Jan 05, 2015 Amber (Books of Amber) rated it did not like it

This review was originally posted on Books of Amber

If you have known me for a while then you'll have no trouble recalling that I am a total nerd when it comes to Ancient History. It started when I was five years old with Xena, which I used to watch with my grandparents at all hours of the night, and then the fascination progressed when we studied Egypt, Rome, and Greece in school. And then it became a full blown obsession when I watched Spartacus back in 2011, which then eventually led me to study Classical Civilisations as a hobby in my free time and gain a qualification in it. The point of this story? Well, Alexander the Great was one of my modules, and ever since I started reading more about him I decided that he's one of the most interesting people of Ancient Greece and I needed to know everything. So when Legacy of Kings popped up on my radar, I had to get it.

I'm sure you can all see where this is going. I didn't like the book. This is partly because I'm an Alexander stan (it's a thing) and partly because I just didn't like the book itself, historical inaccuracies and injustices aside. I'll talk about the book stuff first without all of the other stuff because I feel like it'll be best to get the bits that I'm least passionate about out of the way first.

My biggest two issues with this book were the multitude of points of view and the writing style. Firstly, there were... seven? I think? points of view in this book and it was too much for a 380 page book. If you're going to have that many points of view, then your book needs to be longer. You need to do a George R. R. Martin. And your writing had better flow and it had better not be boring as hell. Herman really didn't accomplish any of those things with Legacy of Kings. I was bored through most of it, and the constant changes of viewpoints were jarring at best. Not only that, but I signed up for a book about Alexander, not about a million other side characters who will probably be more relevant later on in the series but as of right now I don't give a shit about any of them. At all.

And now I've got that off my chest, let me tell you about how Legacy of Kings completely ignores all historians and facts and proof that Alexander the Great was anything other than straight. And yes, this is a young adult book, and so perhaps Alexander just hasn't realised how not-straight he is just yet, but there should have been at least some HINTS. That's all I ask. You see, it's pretty much universally accepted by everyone that Alexander was either bisexual/pansexual/gay. Unless you talk to people who are in complete and utter DENIAL, who try to say that Alexander's kiss with a eunuch dancer was nothing and his relationship with Hephaestion was PLATONIC, even though Alexander compared them to friggin' ACHILLES AND PATROCLUS, THE TWO GAYEST MEN IN CLASSIC FICTION. Ehem.

I could go into an essay about how, as the classical world started to crumble, our modern world started to veer towards homophobia and thus suppressed all mentions of homosexuality and tried to erase it from history, but I don't think this is the time or the place for that right now.

Onwards.

So there was no Alexander/Hephaestion and I was distraught. There were also "games" (think a mild version of the Hunger Games) in an "arena", which weren't really a thing in Ancient Greece because those guys thought they were too good for bloody fights and such caveman ways (the Romans should probably have taken note...), and there was also a Macedonian character called Jacob. Yes, I get that it's just a name and I suppose people were called all sorts of things, but that form of the name "Jacob" is Hebrew. Why not go with the Greek form? It was odd. Also, how were all of these female characters not married already? Herman makes it seem like women in Ancient Greece had a choice and were able to stay single until they were twenty. Ha.

I skimmed the ending because I really wasn't enjoying this book in the slightest. As you can see, I had a lot of issues with it that I just couldn't look past, and I didn't even go into the romantic tropes and pairings that were so dull and lacking in chemistry that I was hoping someone would get stabbed with a sword to make those scenes more interesting.

The only way I would carry on with this series would be if Herman decided to do a 180 and actually do Alexander the Great and the LGBTQ+ community some justice and have the character come to realise that he's not 1000000% straight. Because I would read a boring book for a better depiction of Alexander. But I don't see that happening.

...more

flag 13 likes · Like · see review

Feb 23, 2018 ☙ nemo ❧ (pagesandprozac) marked it as nein-nein-nein · review of another edition

from the best-selling writer of "if achilles and patroclus aren't queer i ain't interested" comes the startling sequel "if alex and hephaistion ain't queer i ain't interested"

...more

flag 13 likes · Like · see review

Feb 23, 2016 kippen (uponthepages) rated it liked it

Thank the Gods I discovered this book. It's been on my shelf for a good while now but I finally was in the mood for a Fantasy novel. In preparation for the sequel coming out this month, I finally picked it up. This cover just screams an epic Fantasy. Eleanor Herman is New York Times bestselling author of nonfiction works including Sex with Kings, Sex with the Queen, Mistress of the Vatican, etc. Not only that, but she also hosted several episodes of Lost Worlds, a History channel TV show. I have Thank the Gods I discovered this book. It's been on my shelf for a good while now but I finally was in the mood for a Fantasy novel. In preparation for the sequel coming out this month, I finally picked it up. This cover just screams an epic Fantasy. Eleanor Herman is New York Times bestselling author of nonfiction works including Sex with Kings, Sex with the Queen, Mistress of the Vatican, etc. Not only that, but she also hosted several episodes of Lost Worlds, a History channel TV show. I haven't read anything else by her but i'm assuming she excels in writing smut. She decided to write a Young Adult novel inspired by Alexander the Great because as she says, they're "faster, edgier, and more compelling." Throughout reading Legacy Of Kings, it was noticeable that she's usually an Adult writer due to it's heavy description, scandalous scenes, and gore filled fight scenes. Yet, so beautifully written based on History with magic excessively weaved in. The magic in this story was based off of actual myths during 340 B.C. and it was so engaging. I got so excited when it was brought up while Kat was reading the scrolls. I wish we could of learned more about it then that one part. Also, Does Alex have some sort of power? I wasn't sure I completely got that part at the beginning. I'll have to read the next one just to experience their magic more.
I was fond of all the characters, especially Cyn and Heph. Except that one cliche scene when she asked what it would be like if they kissed. *thumbs down* Other than that, Cyn was such a badass. I think she was my favorite part of the book. Kat and Jacob's romance kind of disgusted me. It reminded me too much of Gale and Katniss (whom I actually hated while reading.) I felt like Jacob was useless to the story and near the end, I definitely could of done without him. I also didn't enjoy reading from Zofia's POV. I felt so apathetic trying to push myself through them. I know she was betrothed to Alex but I don't see her importance to the plot yet. I don't know how I feel about Kat, though. I think her magic is interesting and especially her family. The story about Helen was so gripping because we never got enough information until the end.
This was obviously a build up to the sequel. The world building was insanely well done but the story went slow. I finished this in the span of 4 days, though. I kept coming back to it because the end of each chapter made me want more. But, the last fews days I was wondering, when will this blow my mind? I can't say I exactly felt like it did near the end, but I know i'm going to read the sequel and I actually can't wait for it. For my first Historical Fiction book, I don't regret reading it. Despite it's cons, I think it has so much potential.

...more

flag 12 likes · Like · see review

Jan 18, 2015 nick (the infinite limits of love) rated it liked it

Shelves: arc

2.5/5

I saw pictures of Eleanor Herman at BEA rocking her Ancient Greek attire and thought that she seemed like a really cool author. I promptly looked into the summary of her debut Legacy of Kings and basically wept with joy because it sounded so epic. While the setting and the history themselves were rock solid, I struggled with quite a few elements in Legacy of Kings.

My first issue: the multiple POVs. I'm generally not a fan of multiple POVs, but I've enjoyed a few in the past. In Legacy of Ki 2.5/5

I saw pictures of Eleanor Herman at BEA rocking her Ancient Greek attire and thought that she seemed like a really cool author. I promptly looked into the summary of her debut Legacy of Kings and basically wept with joy because it sounded so epic. While the setting and the history themselves were rock solid, I struggled with quite a few elements in Legacy of Kings.

My first issue: the multiple POVs. I'm generally not a fan of multiple POVs, but I've enjoyed a few in the past. In Legacy of Kings, there were way too many POVs, approximately 5 or 6, which took away from my enjoyment. The problem with having so many character point of views is that I had a hard time keeping up with the characters. We meet one character in one chapter and then have to wait 5 more to meet them all over again. This ultimately led me to not really connecting with any of the characters. I did like Katerina quite a bit, but because we spent so little time with her over the course of the book, I just didn't find her to be very memorable. I firmly believe this book would have been so much tighter and so much more awesome if the book were only told through Kat and Alexander's voices and it would not have taken anything away from the plot at all. I will admit that I was quite fascinated by the villains in the book, like I usually with many fantasy books. They had that creepy and twisted minds thing going on for them and I was just waiting for them to bring a storm into the lives of the other characters. What I did enjoy in Legacy of Kings, however, was the world building. Eleanor Herman used history and incorporated it together with her own ideas to craft this phenomenal setting that was engaging from start to finish. That being said, the book was incredibly slow in the story department. I was waiting for something to happen, but the book wasn't eventful at all. It also didn't help that I was able to guess most of the twists that the author had in store for readers.

Overall, Legacy of Kings was a rather disappointing novel. I think I had too high hopes for this book and together with the multiple characters and the shaky plot, it lead to me feeling rather bored while reading. For now, I'm not sure if I'll be picking up the sequel, but if I hear good things about it, I might because this is a series that has the potential to be really good.
...more

flag 12 likes · Like · see review

Jul 17, 2015 Booknut rated it really liked it

Shelves: fantasy-tales

Legacy of Kings is a YA fantasy novel that is easy to read and enjoy.

Fantasy is a brilliant genre. But often it's overshadowed by its reputation for having convoluted plot and descriptions. There is a misconception that for a fantasy novel to be enjoyable, it needs to be complicated. But that isn't the case at all.

Legacy of Kings proves this. It provides readers with a cast of intriguing characters and allows them to develop naturally alongside the development of the book's plot. Eleanor Herman ...more

flag 12 likes · Like · see review

« previous 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 … next »

new topic
Discuss This Book

topics	posts	views	last activity
All the Books!: Legacy of Kings by Eleanor Herman	1	4	Aug 31, 2017 07:21AM
YA Buddy Readers'...: Legacy of Kings by Eleanor Herman --> Restarting September 19th 2016	32	78	Oct 11, 2016 11:01PM
Crazy for Young A...: Legacy of Kings (Blood of Gods and Royals #1) by Eleanor Herman→ Start Date: July 1st, 2016	15	22	Jul 18, 2016 09:34AM
Crazy for Young A...: Legacy of Kings (Blood of Gods and Royals #1) by Eleanor Herman → Start Date: March 12th, 2016	33	27	Mar 15, 2016 07:12AM
Crazy for Young A...: ✗Pair 10: Trisha and Iphigenia (December 2015)	22	120	Dec 28, 2015 04:28PM
Advanced Copies f...: Legacy of Kings Giveaway!	1	43	Aug 10, 2015 08:30PM
Free Books, .99, ...: Legacy of Kings	1	6	Aug 10, 2015 08:29PM

Readers also enjoyed

See similar books…

Genres

Fantasy

653 users

Historical > Historical Fiction

354 users

Young Adult

301 users

Historical

137 users

Romance

72 users

Young Adult > Young Adult Fantasy

65 users

Fantasy > Mythology

48 users

Fantasy > High Fantasy

40 users

Retellings

37 users

Fiction

34 users

See top shelves…

About Eleanor Herman

Eleanor Herman

854 followers

New York Times best-seller Eleanor Herman's new non-fiction book, The Royal Art of Poison: Filthy Palaces, Fatal Cosmetics, Deadly Medicine, and Murder Most Foul, is set to come out in June 2018. Think royal palaces were beautiful places to live? Think again!

Herman offers a rare combination of skills for a historian – her research is intensely scholarly, yet she writes the story in a colorful, wit ...more