Book Review: Rebel Spring: A Falling Kingdoms Novel: By Morgan Rhodes

Title: Rebel Spring
Author: Morgan Rhodes
Series: Falling Kingdoms book 2
Publisher: Razorbill
Date of Publication: Dec. 3, 2013
Source: bought, hardcover, 416 pages
Rating: YA Fantasy


From Goodreads:

Love, power, and magic collide with war in the second book of the Falling Kingdoms series
Auranos has fallen and the three kingdoms—Auranos, Limeros, and Paelsia—are now united as one country called Mytica. But still, magic beckons, and with it the chance to rule not just Mytica, but the world...
When the evil King Gaius announces that a road is to be built into the Forbidden Mountains, formally linking all of Mytica together, he sets off a chain of events that will forever change the face of this land, forcing Cleo the dethroned princess, Magnus the reluctant heir, Lucia the haunted sorceress, and Jonas the desperate rebel to take steps they never could have imagined.

 My Thoughts:
Love doesn't even encompass the emotion and feelings that spring forth when this series, Falling Kingdoms, crosses my mind.
Just gazing at the cover of the second novel, Rebel Spring, I get this tingling sensation all over my body.  It's just so hard not to get caught up in this book because there is so much going on in it.  But the story isn't crowded at all; on the contrary, every move made in this story is a tactical one.  It is another step in the seeming direction of the overall thrilling plot arc.
No matter how tiny each detail is, it is another scene that contributes to the entire story line.  That is FANTASTIC writing! There is no filler, no excess.  Everything in this story has a purpose and a reason for it.
This is superb writing that supersedes just one genre.  Of course there is young adult fantasy, but then there is romance, and a lot of thriller vibe going on.
Actually the romance seems to take a backseat to all the power struggles that seem to be taking place.  I think I would compare it to these reality shows, The Real Housewives franchise.  The royalty in Rebel Spring could put all of those people to shame.  These power struggles are deceitful, intense and downright evil.
And let's just say, I definitely would not want to be a servant in the Danora household.  Servants do not seem to last long here.

Rebel Spring really dives deeper into the lore of the Watchers and Kindred as we learn more about Luica's power and the golden hawks peering down.  I love how Morgan Rhodes writes these complex and difficult characters, who may be good inside but have to show a completely different personality to literally survive in this world where danger comes from the ones closest to them.
I'm in awe of how she writes characters that would usually be classified as weak but she gives them ethereal strength to them.
Princess Cleo is one of these characters.  Her enemies always underestimate her, seeing her as a weak and spoiled princess.  That is their undoing.  I love that she gets to prove these people wrong constantly.
Jonas is another character that makes me smile whenever he "walks" into a chapter.  But I am also a slight fan of Prince Magnus-so you can see that I am torn between sides.  And I think that is exactly what Rhodes wants us to be.  She wants to make it hard for us to pick one character and be completely on their side because each one has good and bad traits, just like in real life.
Another series I could compare to Falling Kingdoms is The Walking Dead.  Okay, wait, here me out first.  I know there isn't any undead in Mythica; but let's say loss prevention isn't important in either series.  You cannot get attached to any one character because chances are they aren't going to last long....in either series.  It seems Rhodes likes to torture us with killing off characters I didn't like losing.  No one is safe.  (And that  is how they are similar)
So yeah, there were a few deaths that left me saying, out loud, "What the hell just happened?"
But even with that, I wouldn't change a thing about Rebel Spring because every single situation, good or bad, plays into the bigger picture. And the conclusion of this story is going to be epic.  I can feel it in my bones.
This is one of those stories that I wish there was a rating for a million hearts, a million stars, just a million of anything.  But it has already captured my own beating heart and holds it in its magic forever; 5 hearts will just have to suffice.
But a slight plea, if you may:  Please don't destroy my heart too terribly as the story progresses further.

Get your Copy at: 

Amazon | Barnes & Noble | The Book Depository |

Connect with Morgan Rhodes at:

Goodreads | Website | Twitter |

Quickie Book Review: A Shade of Vampire by Bella Forrest

Title:  A Shade of Vampire
Author: Bella Forrest
Publisher: Self
Date of Publication: Dec. 14, 2012
Source: bought, Kindle, 149 pages
Rating: Young Adult


Goodreads Summary:

On the evening of Sofia Claremont's seventeenth birthday, she is sucked into a nightmare from which she cannot wake.
A quiet evening walk along a beach brings her face to face with a dangerous pale creature that craves much more than her blood.
She is kidnapped to an island where the sun is eternally forbidden to shine.An island uncharted by any map and ruled by the most powerful vampire coven on the planet. She wakes here as a slave, a captive in chains.
Sofia's life takes a thrilling and terrifying turn when she is the one selected out of hundreds of girls to join the harem of Derek Novak, the dark royal Prince.
Despite his addiction to power and obsessive thirst for her blood, Sofia soon realizes that the safest place on the island is within his quarters, and she must do all within her power to win him over if she is to survive even one more night.
Will she succeed? ...or is she destined to the same fate that all other girls have met at the hands of the Novaks?

My Thoughts: 

First, I am completely and totally in love with this cover!  I think that is what made me come back to this story over and over again.  It is gorgeous in a creepy , shade of night sort of way, right?  
But then I started reading this story and yep, I fell in love all over again. A  Shade of Vampire   just sucks you right in, and you are immersed in the world of the royal vampires.  We don't even get to see what kind of life Sophia has before she is kidnapped and taken to the island where all her dreams and nightmares seem to exist.  
After reading the entire and very short story, I see why we don't really go into much detail of Sophia's life before becoming a "slave" to the Novaks.  And I say slave loosely, because she isn't treated like that from Derek's stand point; but being kept against your will is still considered slave behavior.  

Anyhoo, anyone else laugh when Sophia got the nice guards to talking?  I was not expecting them to be like, "dude" at all.  I was expecting a more refined demeanor so I think I was pleasantly surprised that the guards were cool.  I know that had nothing to really do with the story at all but I don't know I liked it and it solidified that I really would like Bella Forrest's writing style.  Small details like that, really make me happy because it shows me how the author can make everything flow easily through the story.  
Yea, I'm weird.  I've accepted it.

The characters are awesome in Shade of Vampire.  I like Sophia a lot and I like that she really thinks through certain areas before doing some things.  She is like a leader in her own right just as the sexy prince, Derek, is too.   
I love Derek!  Although, I think he should have been more kick ass to certain people in the early pages of the book, but it still made for good entertainment.  

For such a small book, a teaser if you will, there is a lot of world building that really gives us a great view of The Vale.  I love the tree house idea, especially since I never had tree house growing up.  I now want one as an adult, just like the villas in A Shade of Vampire.  Thank you, Bella Forrest for realizing my adult wish now!  

And then there is the one thing I didn't like about the story and his name is Ben.  (Now, I know what you're thinking: that's who you didn't like? What about Lucas?)  And yeah that's it.  Lucas is the antagonist, of course he has to be a dick and I don't like him but he is still crucial to the story.  But Ben? Uggh! He just gets in the way of my idea for the story everyone.  I feel like he keeps Sophia from being herself and he thinks Sophia can't think for herself.  I just don't like him at all.  Sorry.  

Overall, though, A Shade of Vampire was a great story that made me shoot through it until I was shocked to know I read it in about an hour, and then reeling from the fact that I don't have the second one.  Because the ending to this little morsel will have you saying, WHAAAAT???  

Get a Copy at:
Amazon |Barnes & Noble |The Book Depository |