The fifth book in the series was different than the sequels. The sequels were about enemies-to-lovers, while The Kings was about fulfilling the propheThe fifth book in the series was different than the sequels. The sequels were about enemies-to-lovers, while The Kings was about fulfilling the prophecy.
Everything happened quickly in this book. There was a prophecy of the tyrant/leader, the betrayed/betrayer, and the coward/brave. Immediately (by the second and third chapter), Sid's personality changed and he became the tyrant. The author did a good job showing this, but it happened a bit too quickly, then had diffused by the time the other kings returned.
This was my least favorite of the series because there wasn't anymore romance. There are a lot of violent and gory dragon fighting scenes. Overall, this failed to answer the many questions that the author never answered. One question was: why all queens are human, and if they are human, why couldn't Aspen become one in the first two books?
As usual, various scenes didn't have enough description and there were a lot of plot holes. For instance: eagles cannot fly at night, yet one flew (not only at night) but across the entire Pacific Ocean rather quickly in order to warn the fire dragons in Hawaii. The book could have been better....more
As exciting as the first book, but definitely not on my list of favorites. Unpopular opinion, but I thought the ending worked. The biggest star deductAs exciting as the first book, but definitely not on my list of favorites. Unpopular opinion, but I thought the ending worked. The biggest star deduction was that I don't like most of the characters; not many of them are nice and they always bicker and fight....more
The timing wasn't making sense reading from an audiobook perspective (unless I missed something). If it takes two days to fly to a foreign island to aThe timing wasn't making sense reading from an audiobook perspective (unless I missed something). If it takes two days to fly to a foreign island to a location in her homeland, and it takes 3 days by boat, how come an army of 1000 cannons and 50K troops can walk that same distance in two days? It would take them 3-4 weeks.
Many questions arose in this book that didn't make sense, and I wasn't a fan of all officers having personal prejudices against Zara. Ground dwellers didn't like her for being a rider and riders don't like her for being a ground dweller. The amount of oppression for no reason was getting old.
Nevertheless, the story is so interesting that it warrants 5 stars. The politics were fun. I want more of her and Lord T. but he hardly has any scenes in any of the books....more
If you liked the previous books, you'll like this one too. It has all of the same themes, good pacing, a fun story; however, I would give this book 4.If you liked the previous books, you'll like this one too. It has all of the same themes, good pacing, a fun story; however, I would give this book 4.5 instead of five because this story is gory and violent. There were a lot of mentions of soldiers being maimed and injured, and battle scenes. There were plenty of scenes that I didn't enjoy in the War of the Dragons.
Triggers: gore, killing, violence, rape
Romance: It's definitely insta-romance, which I don't like because there aren't enough interactions between the two. When Lord T. kisses her in the third book, I didn't feel realistic since they are separated in most books.
At this point, I can't see why Lord T. likes Zara. While Zara is a great main character, her and Lord T. are too different from one another. He seems too good for her at this point....more
If you liked the previous books, you'll like this one too. It has all of the same themes, good pacing, a fun story; however, I would give this book 4.If you liked the previous books, you'll like this one too. It has all of the same themes, good pacing, a fun story; however, I would give this book 4.5 instead of five because this story is gory and violent. There were a lot of mentions of soldiers being maimed and injured, and battle scenes. There were plenty of scenes that I didn't enjoy in the War of the Dragons.
Triggers: gore, killing, violence, rape
Romance: It's definitely insta-romance, which I don't like because there aren't enough interactions between the two. When Lord T. kisses her in the third book, I didn't feel realistic since they are separated in most books.
At this point, I can't see why Lord T. likes Zara. While Zara is a great main character, her and Lord T. are too different from one another. He seems too good for her at this point....more
The timing wasn't making sense reading from an audiobook perspective (unless I missed something). If it takes two days to fly to a foreign island to aThe timing wasn't making sense reading from an audiobook perspective (unless I missed something). If it takes two days to fly to a foreign island to a location in her homeland, and it takes 3 days by boat, how come an army of 1000 cannons and 50K troops can walk that same distance in two days? It would take them 3-4 weeks.
Many questions arose in this book that didn't make sense, and I wasn't a fan of all officers having personal prejudices against Zara. Ground dwellers didn't like her for being a rider and riders don't like her for being a ground dweller. The amount of oppression for no reason was getting old.
Nevertheless, the story is so interesting that it warrants 5 stars. The politics were fun. I want more of her and Lord T. but he hardly has any scenes in any of the books....more
The perfect dragon riding adventure. The conversations between Zara and her dragon were adorable. The author did a great job in distinguishing betweenThe perfect dragon riding adventure. The conversations between Zara and her dragon were adorable. The author did a great job in distinguishing between personalities. The story contains everything needed in the pot: dragon riding, magic, a good balance in action & adventure, a dash of romance, political intrigue, and the story as a whole was engaging.
The only criticism was that the author seems to have something against blondes. She always points them out very distinctly in the descriptions and the blonde girl at the academy hated Zara immediately and without any reason. There was definitely some negative racial biases around wealthy and beautiful blondes.
Nonetheless, this is still one of my all time favorites....more
This is the perfect genre. It appears to be more Edwardian period, early twentieth century, with a mix of dragons. Although, I was hoping for a littleThis is the perfect genre. It appears to be more Edwardian period, early twentieth century, with a mix of dragons. Although, I was hoping for a little romance, either forbidden love with the draconian or enemies to lovers with Aaron. But Aaron’s kept digging himself deeper and deeper into the hole.
The style was unique, with this all being journal entries, newspaper articles, police reports, however, it might’ve been more entertaining if it had been her narrating.
Some scenes like listing all the sizes of all tablets are the boring parts of the audiobook, which can be skipped over if one reads the book instead.
The ending is most exciting. Some parts of the story are not so exciting. ...more
An entire civilization at war that doesn't value their own people's lives. You would think their population would be steadily decreasing considering tAn entire civilization at war that doesn't value their own people's lives. You would think their population would be steadily decreasing considering that they allow 75% of their cadets to die before they graduate. About 99% of their soldiers are probably dead before reaching age 30 because of their own terrible policies. They spend years training soldiers and then waste their lives on nothing. There are smarter ways to go about this, for instance, perhaps they can forewarn cadets to wear shoes with a good grip on their first test, when heading to the academy, instead of letting potentially strong soldiers mercilessly die on their way there because they slipped. Or training them to wield weapons and gain strong instead of letting them kill each other. Or install saddles so that the riders don't fall off the dragons mid-flight. It's hard to root for them to win against their gryphon foes considering that their people don't seem like the good guys in this scenario.
The anticipation of death around every corner failed to provide the necessary suspense since it was sheer stupidity on part of the academy and their policies. And how can they expect these soldiers to work alongside each other in battle if they're all enemies of each other?
The story had many exciting parts and great tension in the romance, which makes it deserving of five full stars, but I had to deduct a star because of the aforementioned....more
This book is more of a mystery into a virus that causes terrible monsters that are created out of people's dreams. While I loved the fantasy element, This book is more of a mystery into a virus that causes terrible monsters that are created out of people's dreams. While I loved the fantasy element, with dragons, and the prince and main character working together, developing a relationship, the entire virus and monster part wasn't enjoyable to read. That aside, it's an exciting book, with lots of adventure & action, and great elements to it, but I won't be reading the sequels.
Audiobook The narrator kept mixing all the voices up between each character. Sometimes the prince sounded like a little girl talking. Only once did he sound like an older man. The rest was interchangeable with the voices of other characters....more
It's hard to beat book one. Talon was the best in the series for me. The high-stakes, enemies-to-lovers, sense of discovery, characteOverall 4.5 ****
It's hard to beat book one. Talon was the best in the series for me. The high-stakes, enemies-to-lovers, sense of discovery, character development, great interactions between characters . . . it was so good! Inferno was still good, but it didn't have enough of what book one had to make me put it on my all time favorites list. I'm split between five and four stars.
There was a lot of action in this, too much. And, of course, the heroes making dumb decisions, putting themselves in impossible situations, yet coming out alive in the end.
My favorite books in order of favorite to least favorite in the series: 1. Talon 2. Soldier 3. Legion 4. Inferno 5. Rogue ...more
Completely Team Garret! They're soul mates. Perfect enemies to lovers. Why is Riley even part of this triangle?
Pros There's more of a story, and not ovCompletely Team Garret! They're soul mates. Perfect enemies to lovers. Why is Riley even part of this triangle?
Pros There's more of a story, and not overbearing amounts of action like book two and five. I like how Ember and Garret interact and settle things between them. Ember even has a heart-to-heart with Riley.
The return of Mist was a good addition.
Cons Every time Ember sees Dante, or hears his name, she goes into a mindless spell, forgets his traitorous past, starts to act irrational, selfish, and becomes whiny.
It's a pet peeve of mine when characters make dumb decisions. It wasn't just Ember this time, but Riley who led them into the trap....more
The second best book in the entire series, right after book one, Talon.
Pros Book one was Ember's background story, Book two, Rogue, was Riley's story, The second best book in the entire series, right after book one, Talon.
Pros Book one was Ember's background story, Book two, Rogue, was Riley's story, and Soldier was Garret's.
This one was far more interesting than book two, with a more interactions between the characters, resolution to the love-triangle, an introduction to a new female character, and less action, yet still intriguing. I liked the information they uncovered, and how everything panned out.
I'm really happy with who Ember chose to be with. Their relationship makes more sense to me. The other . . . well, he's cranky and a bit of a jerk.
Cons The narrator for Ember had a repeating pattern to the way she spoke that was quite annoying. Kagawa made the eastern dragons appear completely innocent and peaceful, while the western dragons were the epitome of evil. In reality, there's a lot of corruption in the ranks of monks in Asia, and in politics. There's no way the eastern dragons wouldn't be hungry for power and control on their continent. There seemed to be some racial prejudice there....more
High-stakes, slow burn romance, and political intrigue, Talon is one of my top ten favorite books of the year.
Pros ***** The story is filled with high-High-stakes, slow burn romance, and political intrigue, Talon is one of my top ten favorite books of the year.
Pros ***** The story is filled with high-stakes and keeps you on the edge of your seat. Ember Hill is a fiery dragon hatchling, who's smart, and questions everything. She just wants to be a normal teenager, hang out with friends, and go surfing, but she has a duty to serve the severe, and heartless Talons—a united dragon cult, who are greedy, menacing, and cutthroat.
It's difficult not to symphonize with Ember, and her character is well developed. She get entangled with a member of another cult, St. George, whose mission is to hunt and kill dragons, and falls in love. But then there's Riley, a rogue dragon, who is here to give her answers, and her wings back. He was quite the relief from the rigid rules she'd been put under.
Romance ***** 5 The romance was slow burn and perfect. There is a love triangle, but I really hope she ends up with Garret in the end. In real life, people can experience an instant connection another person on a romantic level. Ember and Garret experienced that, but when she had the same with Riley too . . . it didn't feel like it fit very well with the book.
Writing/Story ***** 5 This was truly a perfect book through and through. It took two chapters before I was completely hooked, and couldn't put it down. The I immediately started the sequel.
Cons ****4 Only one small con, Ember kept meeting with Riley, and had plenty of time to get answers from him, but each time, something came up and nothing was revealed. Each meeting was a lost opportunity, and it was starting to become annoying after the third time. Still, we didn't learn the overall mission of Talon in this book, although, I can speculate. ...more
It was so bad it was good. The story is exciting, with lots of adventure, and every single trope one could hope for in a novel. But there were plot hoIt was so bad it was good. The story is exciting, with lots of adventure, and every single trope one could hope for in a novel. But there were plot holes and the writing style wasn't my favorite....more
Tropes I really banked on the forced proximity, enemies to lovers, and forbidden romance in book four and five.
Differences from the prequels 1) There arTropes I really banked on the forced proximity, enemies to lovers, and forbidden romance in book four and five.
Differences from the prequels 1) There are only five main bachelors to minimize the amount of characters. More relationship development between the princess and her main lot.
2) Lots of action, like in book 3.
3) Lots of gryphon riding.
4) More tension that you all love between the princess and her contenders.
5) Pirates!
Similarities to prequels 1) This is similar to the prequels in that there's a mysterious culprit who's causing issues behind the scenes.
2) Political intrigue, spies, and a chaotic dispute involving the unresolved opal gems.
3) Twists & turns.
4) You won't be able to guess her chosen husband until the very end....more
This book really took me back in time, and made me forget the modern world existed. It was difficult to get into at first, but that wasn't the writer'This book really took me back in time, and made me forget the modern world existed. It was difficult to get into at first, but that wasn't the writer's fault, rather the narrator. The magic system was interesting and had good boundaries and limitations that evaded any chance at a plot hole.
Writing ***** The writing was fantastic. The author truly made Elinor feel and speak like a lady of her era. Additionally, the story was highly intriguing, and by the time I had made it halfway through, it became difficult to put down.
Characters ***** The characters were all well developed. Elinor also showed growth throughout the story, and truly became a strong, independent woman.
Narrator **** At first, I had a hard time listening, because the narrator had a pattern in her manner of speaking that seemed unnatural to normal conversations, and much of the dialogue and characters had no personality added to them. Some of the initial conversations were dull. After a while, I finally got used to it and was able to fully engage in the story. Nonetheless, I'd say that the narrator truly sounded like a British Lady, so she had the right tone....more
Loading...
