Book Reviews: Falling Kingdoms & Rebel Spring

 Hey there. I'm back with some new reviews. I just finished reading "Rebel Spring" by Morgan Rhodes and I really need to review it. I read the first book "Falling Kingdoms" two years ago but I never did a review for it so I decided to combine the reviews together. I didn't want to do two separate reviews because I read the first book a long time ago and I don't remember much about it anymore, but I really want to finally review it, so here you go. So first I'm going to review "Falling Kingdoms" and then you can scroll down to see my review for "Rebel Spring". Let's get on with the reviews!

  "Falling Kingdoms" by Morgan Rhodes(Falling Kingdoms #1)    

  Genre-Young Adult, Fantasy, Romance

Hardcover Edition- 412 Pages

5/5 Lily Pads

Would I Recommend It? Yes!! If you love Fantasy, you'll love this book!

Hey guys, here is my review for "Falling Kingdoms" by Morgan Rhodes. I read this book in 2015 so I don't really remember much about it so this review will be pretty short. I first heard of this book on BookTube years ago, I remember a certain BookTuber talked about it and it really intrigued me. Unfortunately, she doesn't make videos anymore so I can't recommend her channel to you since she deleted her channel. At that time I didn't really read Fantasy books which is funny because Fantasy is one of my favorite genres now. Anyway, she convinced me to read it,  I did and I was surprised by how much I loved this book! Here's a summary if you don't know what this book is about. 

The Plot(Goodreads Summary)

  In the three kingdoms of Mytica, magic has long been forgotten. And while hard-won peace has reigned for centuries, a deadly unrest now simmers below the surface.

As the rulers of each kingdom grapple for power, the lives of their subjects are brutally transformed... and four key players, royals and rebels alike, find their fates forever intertwined. Cleo, Jonas, Lucia, and Magnus are caught in a dizzying world of treacherous betrayals, shocking murders, secret alliances, and even unforeseen love.

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

It's the eve of war.... Choose your side.

Princess: Raised in pampered luxury, Cleo must now embark on a rough and treacherous journey into enemy territory in search of magic long thought extinct.

Rebel: Jonas, enraged at injustice, lashes out against the forces of oppression that have kept his country cruelly impoverished. To his shock, he finds himself the leader of a people's revolution centuries in the making.

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

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

                     

 Favorite Quotes:

“Even in the darkest and most cruel person, there is still a kernel of good. And within the most perfect champion, there is darkness. The question is, will one give in to the dark or the light? It's something we decide with every choice we make, every day that we exist. What might not be evil to you could be evil to someone else. Knowing this makes us powerful even without magic.” 

 “Love is stronger than anger. Love is stronger then hate-stronger than anything. Remember that.”

 “Follow you heart wherever it leads. Appreciate life, Cleo. It's a gift that can be stolen at any time.” 

  “Magic will find those with pure hearts, even when all seems lost.”

 “Allow your heart to have faith no matter what. It's what will give you strength in troubled times.”

                                           

 My Opinion

Like I said before, since I read this book so long ago I can't remember how I really felt about it to give you a long review. I'm going to tell you what I remember. I remember really loving this book. It was a fun read and I just loved everything about it. I loved the world and the characters. Well, I liked all the characters except for Jonas, I really didn't like him. Some events that happened in the book made me sad. There was a death but I'm not going to say who because I don't wanna spoil you, but that death crushed me. Little did I know that so many people die in this series, and your not supposed to get attached to the characters. I didn't know that at the time but now I do. I just remember being blown away by this book. So yeah, I really loved this book. I can't believe it took me this long to finally pick up the second book. So that was my little review for "Falling Kingdoms". Thank you so much for reading. If you want to know how I felt about "Rebel Spring" scroll down and if not, then bye and happy reading!

"Rebel Spring" by Morgan Rhodes(Falling Kingdoms #2)
Genre-Young Adult, Fantasy, Romance, Magic
Hardcover Edition-401 Pages
5/5 Lily Pads
Would I Recommend It? If you liked the first book you need to read this one, it is amazing!

Hey guys, I just finished "Rebel Spring" three days ago and really loved it. 

The Plot(Goodreads Summary)

 The road to power... is paved with blood and magic.

Cleo is now a prisoner in her own palace, forced to be an ambassador for Mytica as the evil King Gaius lies to her people.
Magnus stands to eventually inherit the new kingdom but is still obsessed with his feelings for his adopted sister, Lucia.
Lucia is haunted by the outcome of the breathtaking display of magic that allowed her father to capture the kingdoms.
Jonas watched at the palace gates a troop of rebels behind him, waiting for him to tell them how he plans to overtake King Gaius.

After a bloody siege, Auranos has been defeated, its young queen orphaned and dethroned. The three kingdoms—Auranos, Limeros, and Paelsia—are now unwillingly united as one country called Mytica. But the allure of ancient, dangerous magic beckons still, and with it the chance to rule not just Mytica, but the whole world over...

At the heart of the fray are four brave young people grappling for that magic and the power it promises. For Cleo, the magic would enable her to reclaim her royal seat. In Jonas's hands, it frees his nation, and in Lucia's, it fulfills the ancient prophecy of her destiny. And if the magic were Magnus's, he would finally prove his worth in the eyes of his cruel and scheming father, King Gaius, who rules Mytica with a punishing hand.

When Gaius begins to build a road into the Forbidden Mountains to physically link all of Mytica, he sparks a long-smoking fire in the hearts of the people that will forever change the face of this land. For Gaius's road is paved with blood, and its construction will have cosmic consequences.

   

    Favorite Quotes:

"But even the coldest hate can shift into something warmer if given enough time, just as an ugly caterpillar can turn into a beautiful butterfly"

 “Evil is a choice one makes, not a natural state of being.” 

 “I believe we make our own destinies, every last one of us.”

 “You’ve made mistakes, yes. And I have no doubt, just as anyone who lives and breathes, that you will make many more in your life. But it doesn’t change who you are deep down inside.”

“Sometimes the smallest glimmer of inner strength is all that we have to help us press forward through the darkness.” 

My Opinion

I can't believe I waited two years to finally read this book because I loved it so much! It was an amazing sequel. 

I really love Morgan's writing style. A lot of people say her writing isn't very good and it's very simple but that's why I like it. I don't like reading books with beautiful, flowery writing all the time. With Fantasy books, the writing doesn't have to be beautiful. 

Obviously I loved the plot for this book. I can't say anything about it because I don't wanna spoil you. 

I really love the world in this series. I love learning about Mytica and I love all three kingdoms. I love this series because it's not confusing. The worlds are easy to learn and understand. This is the perfect Fantasy series to start off with because it's not overwhelming and confusing. 

Last but not least, let's talk about the characters.

Lots of character's died in this book and I'm not gonna say who died. Some deaths I was sad about and there was one death I was happy with. 

I loved Cleo in the first book, but I love her even more now. I love how strong and determined she is. I feel so bad for her, she lost so much. I just admire how tough and strong she is, but I love that she's such a good person. She's very sweet, nice and very caring towards others. She respected the other kingdoms and wanted to help others. Overall, I just love her character. She's a great Princess and I think she will be an amazing Queen someday :)

Next let's talk about Jonas. In book one I really didn't like him at all. I thought he was such a mean person, and I hated reading about him. I don't know how but the author made me like him in this book. I learned more about his character and for some reason he was more likable in this book. I really liked his friends too, I hope be becomes friends with Cleo. I think they would be great friends. What's funny about this series is, I'm completely on the rebel's side. I agree with them and I wish I could totally join them. I'm usually not on the rebel's side for books, but I'm with them all the way. We need to take down the evil King. I really liked Lysandra's character too. 

I really liked Lucia's character in the first book. She was a good person and she was easy to like. I was reading reviews and a lot of people said they didn't like her in this book. I disagree. I still really like her character and I feel bad for her. She has no idea what she's doing. I also liked Alexius. 

Last, let's talk about Magnus. I liked him in "Falling Kingdoms" but now I really love him. I don't know why I love him because he's not exactly the nicest guy. Maybe because he's a Prince and I have a soft spot for them. I just really love his character now. He sort of has a bad life and he's scarred. I know he's a good person deep down and I wish he would show it more. I feel bad for him because he has to live with his idiot father. He always thinks he's just like his father, but he's not. He's able to love and care unlike his father. He's very cold and mean but I like that about him. He actually reminds me of my book boyfriend "Prince Ash" from the "Iron Fey" series. Their personalities are similar and he just reminded me of my sweetheart, Ash. Is it bad that I ship him with Cleo? I also ship her with Jonas too. 

Overall, this book was so amazing and I can't wait to read "Gathering Darkness". I'm so tempted to read it next but I have to read other books first and I don't want this series to end. I'm officially obsessed with this series, lol. Thank you for reading my reviews. If you haven't read this series yet, what are you doing? You need to read this series now! These books are definitely worth a buy. I'll probably combine the review for "Gathering Darkness" and "Frozen Tides" together so stay tuned for those. Thanks again for reading, have a great day and happy reading! :)