Review: A Book of Spirits and Thieves by Morgan Rhodes

Title: A Book of Spirits and Thieves
Author: Morgan Rhodes
Publication Date:  June 23rd, 2015
Publisher: Razorbill
Source: Bought it
Where to find: Goodreads / Amazon / Book Depository

Summary: 
Modern-day sisters discover deadly ancient magic in book 1 of this Falling Kingdoms spin-off series!

Worlds collide in this suspenseful, page-turning Falling Kingdoms spin-off series, which explores a whole new side of Mytica—and an even darker version of its magic.

Crystal Hatcher, Modern-day Toronto: It’s a normal afternoon in her mother’s antique bookshop when Crys witnesses the unthinkable: her little sister Becca collapses into a coma after becoming mesmerized by a mysterious book written in an unrecognizable language.

Maddox Corso, Ancient Mytica: Maddox Corso doesn’t think much of it when he spots an unfamiliar girl in his small village. Until, that is, he realizes that she is a spirit, and he is the only one who can see or hear her. Her name is Becca Hatcher, and she needs Maddox to help get her home.

Farrell Grayson, Modern-day Toronto: Rich and aimless Farrell Grayson is thrilled when the mysterious leader of the ultra-secret Hawkspear Society invites him into the fold. But when he learns exactly what he has to do to prove himself, Farrell starts to question everything he thought he knew about family, loyalty, and himself….

Fate has brought these young people together, but ancient magic threatens to rip them apart.

“Tears aren't just for babies. They're proof that you feel something and aren't afraid to show it. It's those that won't ever allow themselves to cry that are the weak ones.”

I rushed to finish this book before The Darkest Magic came out thinking I would pick The Darkest Magic up right away but I should have know. The book has been out for a week and a half and I have not even started it.

This book was very interesting. We have two coinciding stories being told that are both interconnected in a way that is still mostly unknown. These two stories are told from four different characters point of views. You have Maddox, Farrell, Becca, and Crystal. One story is in modern day Toronto and the other is ancient Mytica. It was fascinating to read this book and see how Morgan Rhodes was connecting the two very different worlds.

This book gave a lot of great backstory on Mytica and how they go to where they are in the Falling Kingdoms Series and I really loved the extra information. As for the Toronto story, I have been to Toronto only once in my life but I knew exactly where a lot of the landmarks Morgan Rhodes uses were. And I loved that she was descriptive enough and used names that I recognized, it just added to my investment in this story.

I definitely have a favorite character after this book but based on what happened I do not want to say who it is. I will just keep that to myself and see what said character does in the next book. 

Review: Gathering Darkness by Morgan Rhodes

“Hatred is like fire. It burns the one who harnesses it. It's also extremely hard to see more helpful truths through its flames.”

Title: Gathering Darkness
Author: Morgan Rhodes
Publication Date: Dec 9th, 2014
Publisher: Razorbill
Source: Bought it
Where to find: Goodreads / Amazon / Book Depository






While I really enjoyed Falling Kingdoms and Rebel Spring, I loved Gathering Darkness. Each installment in the series has gotten better, but Gathering Darkness was in a league of its own. These characters are so complex with so many different allegiances and underlying reasons for each and every one of their actions. There were many times in this book where I was completely caught off guard with what happened. Morgan Rhodes is not afraid to make difficult choices and take the story in a completely different direction than you are expecting.

We also get to meet new characters including Amara and Felix. Right from the beginning, I was weary of both Amara and her brother Ashur. They come from a foreign country and have a ruthless father, who sounds even worse than Gaius. But from the start, I liked Felix. He was helping Jonas so I had no reason to doubt him. We also get to see even more of Alexius and Lucia using her powers.

The characters Morgan Rhodes has constructed are so amazing and intricate. I love that there are so many facets to each character and they are not black and white. There is so much more to their motivations, actions, thoughts, and feelings and Morgan Rhodes is showing us all these different sides.

I also love that we are starting to read from more and more character’s perspectives. It is is adding to the massive world that she has created. A world that I cannot wait to dive into again with A Book of Thieves and Spirits and of course Frozen Tides.

My only true complaint with this series right now is the insane amount of love interests for each character. I feel like it is always changing who loves who and who I should root for. Right now I ship Cleo and Magnus so hard that I do not think I can handle if they do not end up together. While I also love Nic, I feel like he is the brother to Cleo not a love interest (plus other things that occur in this book that I do not want to mention because Spoilers).

♛ ♛ ♛ ♛½ 

Let me know what your thoughts on this book and series as a whole are in the comments! And if you have not started this series yet, you definitely should!

Review: Rebel Spring by Morgan Rhodes

 





“A gown does not make a bride, just as a few empty threats do not make a rebel.”

Title: Rebel Spring
Author: Morgan Rhodes
Publication Date: Dec 3rd, 2013
Publisher: Razorbill
Source: Bought it
Where to find: Goodreads / Amazon / Book Depository

First let me just say this book totally worked with getting me out of my slump. I flew through it and clearly all I needed was a good fantasy book to get me out of my funk. That being said, I really enjoyed this second book in the Falling Kingdoms series. Again, this review is going to be very basic because it is the 2nd in a series. But I highly recommend you start this series if you have not already. You can read my review of Falling Kingdoms here.

This is one of those series that has a multitude of different characters and plot lines to follow and I absolutely love it. While at times it can be a little confusing to follow all the different story lines, they all weave together into this epic fantasy.

The strong point of this book was definitely the characters. I love each and everyone one of them. Magnus is by far my favorite character. He is so complex with all these different intricacies that make him into this character you cannot help but feel bad for and want to see him succeed. There is definitely a lot of character growth in this book for him. He is grappling with the changes brought about in Falling Kingdoms and where he stands in the fight against King Gaius.

Speaking of Gaius, I absolutely hate him. Which I know is a given in this series, but he is overly maniacal and cruel. He leads through fear, rather than respect. I hated how much he hurt everyone around him, whether it was Cleo, Aron, Jonas, and even his own family of Magnus and Lucia. I cannot wait for when we finally see his downfall, in what I assume will be the final book.

Another character I love is Cleo. She is dealing with a lot in this book, but she still has time to be compassionate and a strong character. I really loved her and Magnus in this book and I really want them to become more than friends. Right now it kind of seems like we are leading to that which is awesome!

There are a bunch of other characters in this book I could talk about, but I don’t want this review to be all me gushing about the characters. In this installment, we definitely learned more about the prophecy and how the rest of the series is going to unfold with the search for the Kindred. I cannot wait to pick up Gathering Darkness and be completely caught up with the series, even if I have to then wait until December for Frozen Tides.

♛ ♛ ♛ ♛

Let me know in the comments if you have read the book and what your thoughts are.

Falling Kingdoms by Morgan Rhodes

Lost magic, three kingdoms, three teens. That is the basic structure of Falling Kingdoms by Morgan Rhodes. But this book is about more than just the lost magic and the three kingdoms. It is about Cleo’s journey to save her sister, Magnus’s journey towards love, and Jonas’s journey towards revenge.

I really enjoyed the alternating perspectives in the books. They went beyond the three characters that book focuses on. But for the most part they stuck to the three kingdoms (Paelsia, Limeros, and Auranos) and the kindred. While at times I would get frustrated because I would want to know more about a certain character but had to read a few chapters before I found out what happened. But that just goes to show how enthralled I was with this book. Once I was about 100 pages in and the story and journey became apparent, I didn’t want to put this down and finished it in one sitting.

The 2nd half of this book is leading up to a major battle between the three kingdoms and all the secrets everyone is keeping are exposed. I loved how we got the perspective of each kingdom on the oncoming bloodshed. Some of the choices made in the book were absolutely devastating. While some characters needed to die for the story to progress, I really disagreed with other deaths.

Throughout the book Ioannes really intrigued me. It was like the creepy stalker watching all the characters and seeing what they are up to. He clearly is an important character in these series, we just don’t know the full extent yet.

Overall, this was a great introduction to the world and these characters. I cannot wait to continue on with the series in Rebel Spring. Morgan Rhodes is a fantastic writer and has a way of pulling you into a story.

4/5 Stars