Title: A Book of Spirits and ThievesAuthor: Morgan Rhodes
Publisher: Razorbill
Release Date: June 23, 2015
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.
My initial thoughts on this are that it could have been longer. I wasn't a particular fan of the pacing.
I love the Falling Kingdoms series. I was so excited when I saw this announced, and I finally got to read it almost a year after its release date. So I guess I'll just jump right in.
The synopsis does a fairly good job of explaining the plot, so I won't. When I say this could have been longer, I mean it's less than 400 pages. And it's a mix of contemporary and epic fantasy. I guess it just felt like a lot of things happened too quickly. For example, the entire book takes place over the span of a few days.
Along that note, I'm not a huge fan of the insta-love Rhodes tends to put in (See Falling Kingdoms book 1). If the book had been longer and taken a place over a longer period of time, I could get behind some of this. But it seems to come out of nowhere. That said, I still like the ship in question because I simply think they are cute together.
So how about the characters? Well, my favorite is Farrell, the bad boy. He may seem like he's taking the evil path, but I'm interested to see how his character plays out. Will he be the villain? Or will he be like Magnus in the original series--a dark hero.
If you've read the Falling Kingdoms series, you will probably note some of the crossover. There is talk about the stone wheels used by the immortals. There is also talk about a certain object that I believe is in Melenia's possession during the original series. Since this book takes place just sixteen years after the Sorceress Eva was defeated by her evil sisters, there is also talk of her. And of course, we see Valoria.
My hopes for the next book are that there will be more objects from Falling Kingdoms that make it in. I would also like to see Southern Mytica and the Godess Cleiona. I would like to have some better establishment of relationships.
Reasons you should read this book
1) If you love the Falling Kingdoms series, definitely give this a go.
2) If you like your fantasy weird and new. A mix with contemporary.
3) Secret societies are a thing!
4) You like theorizing about things that will happen in the next book. Or even in the next chapter.
Reasons not to read this book
1) If insta-love just really gets your goat and any sign of it at all makes you want to punch something. To be fair, I feel like this will probably be fixed in the next book.
2) If you don't like the world of the Falling Kingdoms series, this one probably isn't for you.
Overall
While I felt the book may have moved a bit too quickly, I still enjoyed it and can't wait for the next one.
No comments:
Post a Comment