By: Eleanor Herman
Release Date: June 28, 2016
Pages: 432
Publisher: Harlequin Teen
Format: eARC
All thoughts and comments are my own.
I received this arc thru Net Galley in exchange for an honest review.
SUMMARY:
In Macedon, war rises like smoke, forbidden romance blooms and ancient magic tempered with rage threatens to turn an empire to dust
After winning his first battle, Prince Alexander fights to become the ruler his kingdom demands—but the line between leader and tyrant blurs with each new threat.
Meanwhile, Hephaestion, cast aside by Alexander for killing the wrong man, must conceal the devastating secret of a divine prophecy from Katerina even as the two of them are thrust together on a dangerous mission to Egypt.
The warrior, Jacob, determined to forget his first love, vows to eradicate the ancient Blood Magics and believes that royal prisoner Cynane holds the key to Macedon's undoing.
And in chains, the Persian princess Zofia still longs to find the Spirit Eaters, but first must grapple with the secrets of her handsome—and deadly—captor.
New York Times bestselling author Eleanor Herman entwines the real scandals of history with epic fantasy to reimagine the world's most brilliant ruler, Alexander the Great, in the second book of the Blood of Gods and Royals series.
After winning his first battle, Prince Alexander fights to become the ruler his kingdom demands—but the line between leader and tyrant blurs with each new threat.
Meanwhile, Hephaestion, cast aside by Alexander for killing the wrong man, must conceal the devastating secret of a divine prophecy from Katerina even as the two of them are thrust together on a dangerous mission to Egypt.
The warrior, Jacob, determined to forget his first love, vows to eradicate the ancient Blood Magics and believes that royal prisoner Cynane holds the key to Macedon's undoing.
And in chains, the Persian princess Zofia still longs to find the Spirit Eaters, but first must grapple with the secrets of her handsome—and deadly—captor.
New York Times bestselling author Eleanor Herman entwines the real scandals of history with epic fantasy to reimagine the world's most brilliant ruler, Alexander the Great, in the second book of the Blood of Gods and Royals series.
NON-SPOILERY REVIEW:
Normally, I am very hesitant to start a sequel, even though I absolutely love series (hello Throne of Glass and Talon), just because I worry that the sequel will not live up to the hype or standards set in the first novel. Empire of Dust did not let me down at all. It was well written and still had all the amazing historical research that Eleanor is known for. I feel like the story was just as interesting as the beginning was in Legacy of Kings. The story has just as many cliffhangers and plot twists and a few moments where I was just mind blown by what happened, which you can find out when it is released next week!
The first book had a lot of POVs, but I enjoyed most of them so it didn't bother me as much as it did in the sequel. I think there are way too many POVs. I did feel like some of them weren't that great and had to push forward with them in order to get back to the plot lines that I really enjoyed. I was really glad to see more of Cyn and Zofia just because I really like where their stories are going and how interesting they are as characters. There are also a ton of side plots that I didn't feel helped move the story along. Just keep reading for the amazing story goodness!
So I personally don't know much about this time period, but really love all of the true historical facts interwoven into the story. That being said, someone with more knowledge of the era could figure out some stuff that will happen/should happen, but everything for me is such a surprise and I absolutely love that. Also, the romance in this book is making my fangirl so very happy. Heph and Kat! I will go down with this ship. Seeing all of their tension and the slow building of their relationship after he saved her life at the end of Legacy of Kings has been so frustrating because I am ready for them to be a thing. I did not really see her being with Jacob even in the beginning of the first book when he like half proposed to her and honestly how are you supposed to explain that you stabbed your fiancé in battle? Bad move Jacob.
OVERALL:
This sequel does live up to the hype of the series. I know there will be a third book, but if it's a trilogy or not is unknown to me. The ending was more subtle than the first book, but gives a good direction of where the story is going. Even though there are new questions that were not answered in this book, I am very excited to see what is going to happen next. I will be keeping up with this series, so stayed tuned for more as this series continues! Definitely pick this sequel up when it comes out if you want the blood, murder, romance, and betrayal to continue for these great characters!
RATING:
 |
| Empire of Dust by Eleanor Herman 4/5 Stars |
Also, if you feel so inclined as to preorder it before it comes out on June 28, 2016 Eleanor has a preorder game set up on her website, which you can find HERE. I already did. :) Share your thoughts in the comments below!
No comments:
Post a Comment