Review: Falling Kingdoms

Author:Morgan Rhodes
Page number:412
Publisher:Razorbill
Source:Won

Description:
In a land where magic has been forgotten but peace has reigned for centuries, a deadly unrest is simmering. Three kingdoms grapple for power—brutally transforming their subjects’ lives in the process. Amidst betrayals, bargains, and battles, four young people find their fates forever intertwined:

Cleo: A princess raised in luxury must embark on a rough and treacherous journey into enemy territory in search of a magic long thought extinct.

Jonas: Enraged at injustice, a rebel lashes out against the forces of oppression that have kept his country impoverished—and finds himself the leader of a people’s revolution centuries in the making.

Lucia: A girl adopted at birth into a royal family discovers the truth about her past—and the supernatural legacy she is destined to wield.

Magnus: Bred for aggression and trained to conquer, a firstborn son begins to realize that the heart can be more lethal than the sword...

The only outcome that’s certain is that kingdoms will fall. Who will emerge triumphant when all they know has collapsed?

Review:
I was really surprised at how much I ended up liking this book. I've never really been into high fantasy books, so it came to a surprise to me. But, I'm really glad I decided to pick up this book and start reading it.
Basically, there are three separate kingdoms: Auranos, Paelsia, and Limeros. In the book, you get to see viewpoints of people from each kingdom: Cleo is the narrator of the Auranos kingdom and is also the princess, Jonas is a villager of Paelsia and is the narrator for that kingdom, and then Lucia and Magnus are the narrators of the Limeros kindgom and also the prince and princess of the kingdom also. I espicially enjoyed getting to see through the eyes of so many very different people. I'm used to only seeing through one person's eyes, so it was a nice break from the usual stuff and it made me like the book even more.
The Characters of the story
Cleo-Well, to start off, I thought she was a bitch at first. Do NOT worry! I didn't think that way for long. It's just...I thought she was exactly what she was supposed to be: a spoiled rotten princess. But, later I found out that she really is a pretty caring person and even though she was still slightly spoiled while growing up, she never always got what she wanted or planned for.
Jonas-I thought he was a pretty amazing character. In this book, I never actually got to see him much, which saddened me alot, because he was just such an awesome character. I really understood his feelings and reactions during the book, which is probably why I loved him so much! He was just such an honest and devoted friend and brother.
Magnus-My first word thought to describe him: very strange...well then, I guess it is actually two words, since I had to add VERY too. He was very percular throughout the book and had such weird moments during the book. I just couldn't stand how he ACTUALLY found his OWN sister attractive and he LIKED her??? What is UP with that? I'm sorry if that is offensive to anybody, but where I come from, that is just NOT right! Put aside that, I guess he was an ok character, just not my favorite. There were just TOO many things that bugged me about him. He was too...uncaring( except for his own sister) and cold too everyone. That about sums it up for me.
Lucia-Overall, I thought she was a pretty great character. She was at least better than her brother. She was kind and honest. AND she actually showed emotions( again, her brother was not anything like her). I want to say more, but it would end up spoiling some pretty important things..."ARGH! I hate when that happens!"...
The Plot
Ok, I have to admit it. I absolutely hated the beginning of this book! I just thought it was too slow for me and it never caught my attention. I was about ready to give up on it, but I told myself that I if I had already gotten this far, I could do it! So, I continued reading and it FINALLY picked up the right pace(for me at least!) and I found I actually started liking it. So, I'm very proud of myself for finishing it and ACTUALLY liking it! The plot is pretty good and it should have caught my attention RIGHT away, but it didn't,which I'm sad to admit. So, I have to say the pacing kind of sucked, but that is just me! I'm sure people would be glad to argue with me!
The Ending
Umm...the ending for me was like I kind of loved it, but kind of hated it at the same time. Let me explain what I'm trying to say. I loved it because it made me interested to find out what happens next, but I ALSO hated it because it was just so...sudden. Like you just walked off of a cliff without knowing there would be one. But, like I said above, I loved it too!
SO, there is my crazy review with a whole bunch of complaints and complements( at least I hope I said a few...:/). I recommend this book to high fantasy book lovers, but I'm not sure all of you would enjoy it all that much.

3.5/5