Falling…

Falling...

And gone...

All my hopes that this book would actually turn out well.

I hate to be so harsh, especially since I’m an aspiring novelist, but this story needed some serious help. Books like this one give me hope that I too can get published.

The real hit in the gut was finding out that Morgan Rhodes is a nom de plume for Michelle Rowan. I haven’t read any of Rowan’s previous work, but an experienced writer, such as herself, should be able to pull off a better story than the one I read. Why did she need to use a nom de plume in the first place? Maybe Falling Kingdoms isn’t in her traditional genre but, if you are a good enough writer, your work should be able to carry you over.

One random look at the cover and I would never have decided to read this book (it was chosen for my book club). I still sit here, having fully read the whole thing, and wonder how the cover ties into the story at all. The cover makes you believe the story is full of epic characters, skilled in fighting and stealth, taking down kingdoms, with a little bit of magic mixed it. All just a load of false advertising.

In whole, the entire story was boring. We’ll first start with the characters. If you want to make a YA version of Game of Thrones, then you need to do a good job. Don’t let your characters dangle in the wind, feeling pointless and soulless. We weren’t given a John Snow to rally behind or even a Joffery to cringe from. Instead, just a girl that can’t make a decision until it’s extremely moronic, who is played off as the spoiled girl turned heroine, and some kid that loves his sister - which just seems like a poor rip off of you know who. Rhodes does kill her characters, yet even her timing of it all is poorly done. I really never saw the point.

And then we come to the plot. Sometimes authors can get away with poorly done characters if the plot is fantastic. Ya, no…. Not in this case. It was a snooze fest and, again, if I didn’t need to read this to discuss it with the group I would have put it down. The first two chapters did have me hopeful; killings betrayals, kidnappings, and hidden powers… oh boy… and all done within the span of a few pages. But maybe that was the problem. All the good stuff was thrown into the beginning. Rhodes sets you up on a high adventure and then leaves you waiting on the corner in cosplay with your paper sword and shield in hand. There was nothing to carry you through to the end. Nothing but a bunch of moments that left you sitting there going wtf.

I have heard that you need to read the first two books before the series really takes off. I tip my hat to anyone who read the first two books without knowing there was hope. Since I’m a sucker for hope, I have requested the second one on audiobook. Yes, I have downgraded it to audio, which means that you guys will not know what I think unless you follow my stories on Instagram (that’s where I post my feelings for audiobooks). I just want to add,  if the author had plans for a drawn-out epic fantasy, he/she really needed to get their readers hooked on the first book. You don’t have time to set up here. That’s always reserved for the middle of the series. Since this isn’t the worst book I’ve ever read, I gave it 2 stars out of 5. Good luck reading, and if you decide to take this one on, I wish you all the luck.

Goodreads Challenge: 22/77

Love Kait