(Falling Kingdoms #3)
Release Date: December 9, 2014
Publisher: Razorbill; 416 pages
Rating:
In GATHERING DARKNESS, book three of the New York Times bestselling Falling Kingdoms series, the stakes have never been higher as three teams push forward on a race to find the Kindred, the four elemental crystals possessing ancient all-powerful magic, first:
Prince Magnus has just witnessed torture, death, and miracles during the bloody confrontation that decimated the rebel forces. Now he must choose between family and justice as his father, the cruel King Gaius, sets out to conquer all of Mytica. All Gaius needs now are the Kindred - the four elemental crystals that give godlike powers to their owner. But the King of Blood is not the only one hunting for this ancient, storied magic...
• THE KRAESHIANS join the hunt. Ashur and Amara, the royal siblings from the wealthy kingdom across the Silver Sea, charm and manipulate their way to the Kindred, proving to be more ruthless than perhaps even the King of Blood himself.
• THE REBELS forge ahead. Princess Cleo and vengeful Jonas lead them, slaying with sweetness, skill, and a secret that can control Lucia's overpowering magic - all so they can use the Kindred to win back their fallen kingdoms.
• THE WATCHERS follow Melenia out of the Sanctuary. They ally in the flesh with King Gaius, who vows to use Lucia's powers to unveil the Kindred.
The only certainty in the dark times is that whoever finds the magic first will control the fate of Mytica... but fate can be fickle when magic is involved.
Warning there will be slight spoilers for Rebel Spring in this review. Please proceed with caution if you do not want to be spoiled.
I loved the ending of Rebel Spring. And of course Gathering Darkness picks up right where Rebel Spring ended. I really enjoyed the growing friendship between Cleo and Lucia. Even though in a way it's sort of a frenemies situation. Each girl doesn't know how or if she can fully trust the other. The scenes between the two were very true to their age range. Their conversations reminded me a lot of the converstations I had with my girl friends in high school. It's a great remind that while there is death and sorrow in this series, the characters are very much still young.
One of the things that made me extremely ecstatic was the continuation of the love hate relationship between Magnus and Cleo. I remember after I finished Rebel Spring I tweeted the author Morgan Rhodes about how much I loved their scenes together. And she responded just wait until the next book. And my gosh boy did she ever deliver. There were two scenes that I read multiple times because I just loved them so much. The chemistry between these two is just smoking. I can just feel the heat radiating off of them both through the pages of the book. Definitely a thin line between love and hate!
Jonas has never really been a favorite character of mine. I understand his purpose, and yes he needs to be in this series. His brother's death was in a way the catalyst that set things into place. But after the Rebel's defeat in Rebel Spring, which strengthened the vileness of Gaius. He's sort of fallen into a more subdued role. Which I think is great. It helps make way for new characters. And there were a few very interesting ones who debuted.
This series always leaves me with the hugest book hangover. I am impatiently waiting for the next installment. If you are a fan of fantasy, and have not started this series, what are you waiting for? You don't know what you're missing out on!
Thank you so much to Penguin Teen for providing me with an ARC of Gathering Darkness at San Diego Comic Con!
I still need to read Rebel Spring and Gathering Darkness. I loved Falling Kingdoms, but because I'm me, I didn't pick up book 2 immediately, now I have both 2 & 3 on my shelves and I feel like I'm ready to read both together. Which will make waiting for 4 hell.
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