Falling Kingdoms (Falling Kingdoms #1), by Morgan Rhodes → Start Date: July 1st, 2017

[Kikijanika]

Join me and Vicki as we read the first book of the Falling Kingdoms series :)

[Vicki]

I'm excited to start this series!

Thanks for making the thread.

[Kikijanika]

Me too!

[Michelle]

I might just join you guys for this one. I've been wanting to read it for so long. Maybe this can be my excuse to pick up a copy!

[Kikijanika]

Great Michelle! Welcome :)

[Sarah]

I seem to like your guys' taste in books :)

If I get a copy of this between now and then, I'd like to join in too.

[Kikijanika]

Yay! Welcome :)

[Sarah]

Kikijanika wrote: "Yay! Welcome :)"

Thanks :)

[Sundara]

I would love to join in :)
Wanting to read this for a really long time...

[Kikijanika]

Great. Welcome Sundara!

[Sundara]

Thanks Kikijanika :)

[Kikijanika]

Great to have you join us ☺

[(Liene)]

I'm just going to follow this discussion, as I love this series so much! :)

[Kelsie]

Hey hope I can join in! I really have been wanting to read this!

[Kikijanika]

Sure you can :)

[Eunice]

I'd like to join in too! I've been wanting to read this for a long time.

[Kikijanika]

Awesome..so many of us already ☺

[Kikijanika]

Are you ready to start this? I'll be starting tomorrow ☺

[Katriann]

I'm going to join this buddy read and I'm going to start the book right now. :)

[Sarah]

I'm hoping to get started on this tomorrow! I was able to get it from the library :)

[Eunice]

I'll try to start this today or tomorrow

[Katriann]

I have now read 16 chapters and here are some of my thoughts.

I really like this book so far! (view spoiler)[ I like all the main characters although they clearly aren't flawless. I also like how the countries are all different from each other. It's easy to see why there would be some tension between Auranos and the other countries. I do think, however, that it's quite narrow-minded from Jonas to hate all Auranians. After all, it's not like everyone in Auranos wants to see the Paelsians starve. Or at least I think there would be some people who'd like to help. But of course, it may be hard for Jonas to look at things like that when he lives in constant poverty and everyone in the neighboring country has more than enough food and money. (hide spoiler)]

I hate (view spoiler)[ Aron! He's selfish and arrogant and clearly doesn't care about anyone but himself. It makes me so angry when he keeps saying that Tomas deserved to die, when he himself treated Tomas and the others like trash. (hide spoiler)]

I wonder if (view spoiler)[ the king and the queen know that Lucia is not really their daughter. I would think that the king knows considering Sabina is his lover. I'm not sure about the queen, though. (hide spoiler)]

I don't know why (view spoiler)[ but I find it a little weird that Theon and his dad would both fall in love with one of the princesses. Couldn't they try to find girls they can actually be with? Well, I guess in Theon's case it kind of makes sense since he has to spend all his time around Cleo. (hide spoiler)]

[Kikijanika]

I still haven't started actually but I will today.

[Kikijanika]

I'm done with chapter 10.

I seriously (view spoiler)[ dislike Aron. He's so arrogant and annoying! I definitely agree on your thoughts about him Katri! He makes me want to scream. All other characters I actually like, except for the kings but they're kings and try to rule their countries. (hide spoiler)]

I bet (view spoiler)[ Cleo will fall in love with Theon. And I also thought it strange that both men of Theon's family would end up with the princesses. I wonder if Cleo will be able to save Emilia. I hope so. (hide spoiler)]

I read how (view spoiler)[ Sabina stole Lucia from her mothet but I seriously didn't even realize what it means for the royal family. That also could explain Magnus's feelings for Lucia. Not that he'd know they're not really related. I don't trust the king when it comes to Magnus. I think he doesn't really care at all about his son. I also wonder what's the real reason he hates the king of Auranos because it can't possibly be Magnus hurting himself since he was the one who actually hurt him. (hide spoiler)]

[Katriann]

Yes, (view spoiler)[ I also think Cleo will fall in love with Theon and yes, hopefully she will be able to save Emilia. I just wonder why she is dying. What's really causing her illness? Is it sadness or just some virus or is it because she prayed to die? (hide spoiler)]

I actually never (view spoiler)[ stopped to think about that. Why would the king make a big scene of Magnus getting hurt in Auranos, when he hurt Magnus himself? Did he just want to hide the fact that he hurt his son or did he want an excuse to hate the Auranians? I don't think the king really cares about Magnus either. I think he just wants to use him. Or maybe he cares about him to some extent, but I'm sure he would sacrifice Magnus just like he sacrificed Tobias if he ever found it necessary. (hide spoiler)]

[Katriann]

25 chapters

Okay, I wonder if (view spoiler)[ Magnus and Lucia's relationship will change now when Magnus knows they're not really siblings. Of course Lucia doesn't know it yet and, to be honest, I'd find it pretty weird if Lucia fell in love with Magnus just because they're not related by blood. Lucia was raised to think of Magnus as her brother and I don't think that will change just because they're not really related. (hide spoiler)]

It seems like (view spoiler)[ there's going to be war. I'm pretty sure King Gaius does not plan to divide Auranos evenly between Limeros and Paelsia. I'm pretty sure he wants to rule all three countries himself. Do any of the Paelsians even know he sent Magnus to get Cleo and bring her to Limeros? (hide spoiler)]

Well, I did not see (view spoiler)[ Theon's death coming. I thought he was going to stick around for a love triangle between Cleo, Nic and himself...or something. Personally, I found him more interesting than Nic who, I think is rather boring. (hide spoiler)]

[Sarah]

I'm only about 50 pages in but this is really not doing it for me so far. I'm hoping it gets better.

[Kikijanika]

Chapter 20.

I also wonder whether (view spoiler)[ Magnus's and Lucia's relationship will change. Things might seem different for Magnus now but not for Lucia. I wonder if he's going to tell Lucia at some point. I didn't see Sabina's death coming but I can't say I'm sad about it. (hide spoiler)]

Quite a coincidense that (view spoiler)[Jonas learned Cleo's location. Or at least he suspects it's Cleo. Interesting to see if they'll meet again. (hide spoiler)]

I agree that (view spoiler)[Gaius doesn't seem like a person who happily divides the lands of Auranos. But perhaps the chieftain has something up in his sleeve and well. (hide spoiler)]

I hope you'll like the book better as it progresses Sarah. But you can't like all the books, can you? At least you've then tried this series ☺

[Katriann]

Sarah wrote: "I'm only about 50 pages in but this is really not doing it for me so far. I'm hoping it gets better."

Yes, let's hope you'll like it better when you read a little more. :)

[Katriann]

@Kikijanika, (view spoiler)[ Yes, quite a coincident indeed. Cleo is traveling around Paelsia and just happens to end up in the same village as Jonas. :D Although, maybe she's just exploring the villages closest to the harbor. They did come to Paelsia by ship both times, didn't they? So maybe they are quite close to Jonas's village. (hide spoiler)]

[Kikijanika]

Yeah. That's possible.

[Kikijanika]

Yeah... (view spoiler)[ I definitely didn't expect Theon to die. Too bad because I also liked him more than Nic. I don't believe Nic and Cleo will make it to Auranos. I think Magnus will capture them, or at least Cleo, again. (hide spoiler)]

[Kikijanika]

I finished and I think this was a good book.

I knew the (view spoiler)[ king of Limeros was not to be trusted. I wonder if Aron survived. Probably because he was so eager to surrender. Sorry people like him always seem to make it. It's too bad Emilia died Cleo actually possessing the seeds all the time. I actually wonder if Emilia was a witch, too. She has that nose bleeding after all. I wonder what will happen to Cleo now. Maybe they'll decide she should marry Magnus. (hide spoiler)]

It'll be interesting to see what's gonna happen in the next book!

[Vicki]

Sorry guys, but my book still hasn't arrived and I am leaving for Hawaii in the morning and I won't possibly be able to start this until the 16th. I wish I could buy EVERY book so I don't run into this problem!

[Kikijanika]

Yeah, I know the feeling! Hope you'll have a great time in Hawaii!

[Katriann]

Hopefully you'll get the book after your trip Vicki! And have a great time in Hawaii! :)

[Katriann]

I also finished.

I liked this book a lot and will definitely read the next one when I get a chance.

@Kikijanika (view spoiler)[ I also wondered about Emilia's nose bleed at some point. It could be a coincidence, but who knows, maybe Emilia was a witch. And yes, maybe they will decide that Cleo should marry Magnus. I don't think she'd like that any more than she liked the idea of having to marry Aron. (hide spoiler)]

I wonder what (view spoiler)[ Jonas is planning. It's clear his plans include Cleo, but what does he hope to gain from working with her? Does he just want the support of Auranians or does he have more detailed plans? (hide spoiler)]

Interesting that Cleo (view spoiler)[ can now look for the kindred because she has the ring. Maybe the prophesy about a sorceress who can find the Kindred was actually about Cleo not Lucia. It's still possible that Lucia's just a powerful witch. Well, it's not like Cleo has shown any signs of magic, so perhaps she will have to rely on the ring in her search for the kindred. Guess we'll see. (hide spoiler)]

[Kikijanika]

Yeah, the thought of (view spoiler)[ Cleo being the sorceress occurred to me, too. However, the watchers seem to think that it's Lucia so I don't know. (hide spoiler)]

[Sarah]

A little over a hundred pages in. Still just not feeling this one.
I just don't feel like I'm connecting to the characters. Maybe its the style, maybe its the characters, maybe its me. Not usre.

Going to give it a couple more chapters and hope it improves.

[Kikijanika]

Hope it gets better for you but if not then hopefully you find something better next ☺

[Sarah]

I've made it to chapter 16 and now it is finally getting interesting for me!
Hopefully it will go faster now that I'm getting into it more.
Thanks for encouraging me to stick with it, Kikijanika and Katriann!


But at this point I think Cleo needs a good whack upside the head with some common sense!

[Kikijanika]

Haha..yeah. She wasn't the most sensible person! But I'm glad you find the story better now!

[Katriann]

Yes, Cleo can be a bit annoying at times. :D

[Vicki]

Hey everybody, I FINALLY got my book so I'll be starting this one today or maybe tomorrow.

I'm glad to see you loved it, Katriann and Kiki. I hope Sarah and I do too!

[Sarah]

Finished this today.

It got better but in the end was just an ok read for me.

Cleo annoyed me until the end. Certain things were just a little too convenient to work for me (view spoiler)[ like Cleo and Nic being in a village and Jonas just so happening to be in the same one...really? (hide spoiler)]
I may try to continue with this series at some point, but it won't be soon.
This is the third book I've read lately that was just meh for me. Hoping the next book I try works out better for me.

[Vicki]

Good luck Sarah.

[Sarah]

Vicki wrote: "Good luck Sarah."

Thanks, Vicki!
I just seem to be in one of those slumps where nothing really seems to be what I want, but I can't figure out exactly what it is I want. It is very annoying!

[Vicki]

I've definitely been there!

[Kikijanika]

I agree that some things were quite convinient for the story. Hope you like your next book better.

[Katriann]

I agree. It was a bit of a coincident how (view spoiler)[ all those characters ended up in the same village. (hide spoiler)]