Review: "Gathering Darkness" (Falling Kingdoms #3) by Morgan Rhodes


Gathering Darkness by Morgan Rhodes
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Summary from GoodReads

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.








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REVIEW

I was eager to contnue with this amazing high fantasy series and I was glad that finally I caught up! Although I really enjoyed the book, I still believe that the series are tending to become a YA "Game of thrones". Yes, I've mentioned that before on the reviews and i believe it.



The hunt for the Kindred continues with all the sides allying with one another. Magnus and Cleo, Jonas, Lyssandra, Lucia and Alexius all must play a role in the greater scheme. The new enemies are the siblings from across the Silver sea. Ashur and Amara, play a role as they want the stones for themselves and despite the tragic ending of the third book I still believe that all the characters will have to deal with an enemy stronger than King Gaius and he will surely make an appearance (I hope) in the fourth book 9which by the way comes out on my birthday!!).

The romance is intense, steamy and sweet. Then turns tragic and heartbreaking. I can't spoil it but for once I like the way the dynamics change in the course of the series. It reminds me the "Throne of Glass" series (if you've read my review on the 4th book you'll know why!)

The number of the villains grows and surely my focus on the next book will be Lucia. The Princess/Sorceress has lost too much and I wish a happy ending for her too.

Overall, it was a great read, but please, PLEASE let's stop the theme of character killing!





About the author:


Morgan Rhodes lives in Ontario, Canada. As a child, she always wanted to be a princess -- the kind that knows how to wield a sharp sword to help save both kingdoms and princes from fire-breathing dragons and dark wizards. Instead, she became a writer, which is just as good and much less dangerous. Along with writing, Morgan enjoys photography, travel, reality TV, and is an extremely picky, yet voracious reader of all kinds of books. Under another pen name, she’s a national bestselling author of many paranormal novels. Falling Kingdoms is her first high fantasy.


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