The Demon King (Seven Realms, #1) in SOS: Serious Overload of Series

Feb 02, 2018 Vanessa Gayle ⚔️ Fangirl Faction rated it really liked it

Shelves: can-their-love-burn-any-slower, grief, audio, dramarama, romance, cliffhanger, own-ebook-read, bad-boy, dual-or-multi-pov, reviewed

04/01/2023: Reread! (Audiobook.)

This review MAY contain spoilers. Read at your own risk.

Wow! This was such a great start to this series! This is my first venture into the Cinda Williams Chima world, and I do not regret it!

I have to admit that when I first picked up this book I found the pacing, in the beginning, to be a little slow for my tastes. I wouldn't say that I was bored, but I didn't feel fully invested in the book until several chapters in.

The world-building was fleshed out really wel 04/01/2023: Reread! (Audiobook.)

This review MAY contain spoilers. Read at your own risk.

Wow! This was such a great start to this series! This is my first venture into the Cinda Williams Chima world, and I do not regret it!

I have to admit that when I first picked up this book I found the pacing, in the beginning, to be a little slow for my tastes. I wouldn't say that I was bored, but I didn't feel fully invested in the book until several chapters in.

The world-building was fleshed out really well. The first few chapters had a lot of world-specific lingo and terms to get familiar with and I felt that there may have been too many of those so early on in the book. Apart from that, once you get used to this book's world structure, it is apparent that The Demon King really boasts a colorful fantasy world full of rich details. Plus, this fantasy world has a queendom, not a kingdom, and that is rad to the max!

The characters in this were really great. They were fleshed out extremely well and I had a clear vision of each character and the life that they lived. The only thing about the characters that I didn't love was that I didn't feel a strong connection to them. I read about them, I understood them and their motives, but I didn't care as much as I would have liked to. It's strange to see wonderful characters with excellent stories to tell, like them, but feel disconnected from them. I can't put my finger on what exactly they are missing, but perhaps some depth.

The plot of this story is fantastic! Some things in the book are fairly predictable, but not overly so. Some things definitely surprised me. There were some twists and turns lying in there and plenty of story growth. I liked the big reveal at the end of the book and I think that it was orchestrated beautifully throughout the developing plot.

This book does cover a lot of mature themes in the backdrop of things, which I really liked. Some Young Adult books can shy away from serious issues and flawed characters. This book is very upfront about them.

I didn't really care for the romance. Granted, these are teenagers and they aren't tied down to serious relationships, but I expected a little more in that regard. These teens hop from one love interest to another just kissing everyone in sight all willy-nilly. I would have preferred a more mature approach to relationships, but maybe I'm just old-fashioned. I never like romance to dominate my books, but I also want some feels when it comes around.

Overall, I was quite impressed with this vivid fantasy story. I am so eager to read the next book in this series! I have a feeling that this series is going to be something special. Cinda Williams Chima has gained a new fan and I cannot wait to devour her current library of already published books! If you are a fan of high fantasy, then this is the read for you! Don't hesitate on this one.

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Jan 12, 2012 Kalynn rated it really liked it

I really wanted to read some kind of old school fantasy, and this fit the bill nicely. There is nothing blindingly original in the story. We have a feisty princess chafing against the bonds of royalty and palace intrigue, a faithful gaurdsman, a power hungry wizard, an oblivious queen with marital problems, a thief with a mysterious background and a ragtag rebellion, all familiar fantasy elements. These elements, however, work well here and make for a very enjoyable read. The book is slow at tim ...more

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