Book Review: Ever the Brave (Clash of Kingdoms #2)

Release Date: December 5, 2017
Author: Erin Summerill
Publisher: HMH Books for Young Readers
Length: 464 pages
Source: Purchased Book

Ever the Divided. Ever the Feared. Ever the Brave.

After saving King Aodren with her newfound Channeler powers, Britta only wants to live a peaceful life in her childhood home. Unfortunately, saving the King has created a tether between them she cannot sever, no matter how much she'd like to, and now he's insisting on making her a noble lady. And there are those who want to use Britta’s power for evil designs. If Britta cannot find a way to harness her new magical ability, her life—as well as her country—may be lost.

The stakes are higher than ever in the sequel to Ever the Hunted, as Britta struggles to protect her kingdom and her heart.

    

Review:

Protagonists: Unlike the first book in this series there are three narrators to this tale. Britta, after saving the king and her kingdom just wants to live on her father's land, her land, and live a simple life, but she still needs to hide her gifts and her tether to the king doesn't really make life easier for her. Cohen has been hot on the trail of the Spiriter who enthralled the king, but his trip into Shaerdan only leads to more questions as young Channeler girls have been disappearing from Shaerdan. Back in Malam, King Aodren is free from a nearly year-long thrall of the Spiriter and now hopes to be a king that his people would be proud of and respect, but with unrest still in his kingdom can he be the leader his people deserve? I love all three of these characters, even more so than in the previous book, and honestly, I wasn't expecting to like Aodren that much, but while I wasn't so keen on him toward the beginning he definitely wormed his way into my heart. Britta is such an amazing and strong character in this book and I loved seeing her grow and learn more about her gifts in this book as well as figure out her place in this world and where she belongs.

Romance: Going into this book I wasn't a huge fan of how it seemed that the author was going to introduce a love triangle, especially since, while there is a third book in this series, this was the end of Britta and Cohen's story, so adding in a love triangle at this point felt very unnecessary and wasn't something I was going to take seriously, especially knowing, who the focus of book three is. That all being said, I actually really enjoyed the romance in this book, it can get a bit angsty and Cohen's jealousy and overprotectiveness can be insufferable at times, but one of the things I love about this story is that we have a character like Cohen who has these glaring flaws, but his development in this book is remarkable and while I won't say too much, I'm actually glad that the author added this little wrinkle to the story and really liked how he used the love triangle in a very interesting way.

World Building: So... I'm a bit confused. As I looked back on both this and the first book in the series, something about the main villain's motivation doesn't make sense, in fact there are a few things that don't quite make sense, unfortunately since it all has to do with spoilers I can't exactly talk about it here, but I sort of feel like there was a disconnect somewhere in the villain's logic or I just missed something because I'm still not 100% certain of what they were trying to achieve. The world itself was fine, I mean, again there wasn't anything about this world to really make it pop, much like the first book, but I've sort of come to see that this series is much more about the characters than the world, which I'm not complaining about because the characters of this series are awesome. That being said though, the world does develop more and we come to understand the magic system more.

Predictability: So, near the end of the previous installment there was a little bit of foreshadowing that I picked up on and thought it was maybe going to be a big revelation pretty far into this book, except, it was revealed early on in this tale, and worst of all, I never felt like that twist reached its full potential for the story. Looking back on this book there wasn't much I was able to predict as long as there was even a small bit of foreshadowing. The only times I was genuinely shocked by something in this book is if it came out of nowhere or nearly out of nowhere.

Ending: The final climax of this book is spectacular. Where the final climax of the previous book was more subdued and full of revelations rather than action, this climax is chock full of magical action and combat. The cooldown period after all the excitement and tension does a fantastic job wrapping up this story and while there are still avenues to explore in this world, obviously, I was pleasantly surprised with how okay I was that Britta and Cohen's story ends here.

Rating:

While I feel this installment did a fantastic job when it came to the romance and really enjoyed what the author did there, the motivations of some characters, mixed with some seemingly obvious missed opportunities when it comes to one twist, disappointed me. This is still a fantastic adventure in this world and I'm excited to continue the story through another Point of View.

Book Review: Ever the Hunted (Clash of Kingdoms #1)

Release Date: December 27, 2016
Author: Erin Summerill
Publisher: HMH Books for Young Readers
Length: 392 pages
Source: Purchased Book

Seventeen year-old Britta Flannery is at ease only in the woods with her dagger and bow. She spends her days tracking criminals alongside her father, the legendary bounty hunter for the King of Malam—that is, until her father is murdered. Now outcast and alone and having no rights to her father’s land or inheritance, she seeks refuge where she feels most safe: the Ever Woods. When Britta is caught poaching by the royal guard, instead of facing the noose she is offered a deal: her freedom in exchange for her father’s killer.

However, it’s not so simple.

The alleged killer is none other than Cohen McKay, her father’s former apprentice. The only friend she’s ever known. The boy she once loved who broke her heart. She must go on a dangerous quest in a world of warring kingdoms, mad kings, and dark magic to find the real killer. But Britta wields more power than she knows. And soon she will learn what has always made her different will make her a daunting and dangerous force.

    

Review:

Protagonist: Britta begins this book in a place of despair, after her father's recent death she's been left with nothing, her father's lands are about to be repossessed and she has nowhere to stay in the winter. After getting caught poaching she's offered a deal, her life in exchange for her father's killer. The only catch is that his alleged killer is none other than Britta's only friend, and the boy who broke her heart. One of the of things I love so much about Britta is that she has the capacity to focus and not let her emotions cloud her judgment too much. Since she's been gifted with the ability to distinguish truth and lie, it makes things easier for her to decide where her allegiances lie and find out the truth. I was surprised at how Britta's powers never really affected her character, her abilities, though very reliable, never made it feel as though she ever had an upper hand, it more enhanced her natural abilities and character.

Romance: I have to say I'm a tad disappointed in this romance. Don't get me wrong I like Cohen as a character and I think he and Britta have a lot of physical chemistry, I just wish we got to see more of how their bond started out. We do get to see some flashbacks toward the beginning of the book that help to establish his character as well as the bond he and Britta had, but I never really got a good sense where the romance came from and because of that I'm just hoping for a bit more emotional development between the two in the next book.

World Building: For a fantasy story, this world felt a bit textbook, two kingdoms on the brink of war, magic seems to be common in one and nearly outlawed in the other, and a girl who's ostracized because she's from a foreign kingdom. I've seen these tropes many times before and while the adventure of a cross-kingdom fantasy murder mystery was fun, I was just hoping for something to make this world vivid. I like the political intrigue of this tale and I really enjoyed the magic system as well, but I just wish there was something to set this world apart more and really dive in because I feel like this was a very surface look at this world and I wish we had dived deeper.

Predictability: When I went into this story I thought I had everything figured out, it's pretty safe to say that I was wrong. I really loved how the synopsis of this tale doesn't give too much away and actually, most of what's written in the synopsis happen very early on in the book. However, there are a great deal of layers to this story that I wasn't aticipating going in and this book surely has a lot of surprises along the way. The large twist of this book, of course, relates to the main plot, the murder mystery and I was impressed with how the author managed to pull that twist off.

Ending: Going into this adventure I was expecting something that would feel more like the first installment in a series, but I was pleasantly surprised to find that this story played very much like a standalone. I mean, the next installment is set up by the end of the tale and the words, To Be Continued are at the end of this adventure, but how everything settles into place after a very tense final climax in which much is revealed, made everything feel very solitary and while there is more to discover in this world, I like how the author didn't go for the easy cliffhanger ending and just let this adventure sort of stand on its own.

Rating:

I really enjoyed this fantasy murder mystery, full of political intrigue, magic, and romance, but I just wish the world was more memorable and I wish I could have felt more of an emotional connection with the main romance.

Ever the Hunted (Clash of Kingdoms #1) by Erin Summerill (WOW #15)

Waiting on Wednesday is a meme hosted by Jill at Breaking The Spine that spotlights upcoming releases that everyone’s excited about!

Seventeen year-old Britta Flannery is at ease only in the woods with her dagger and bow. She spends her days tracking criminals alongside her father, the legendary bounty hunter for the King of Malam—that is, until her father is murdered. Now outcast and alone and having no rights to her father’s land or inheritance, she seeks refuge where she feels most safe: the Ever Woods. When Britta is caught poaching by the royal guard, instead of facing the noose she is offered a deal: her freedom in exchange for her father’s killer.

However, it’s not so simple.

The alleged killer is none other than Cohen McKay, her father’s former apprentice. The only friend she’s ever known. The boy she once loved who broke her heart. She must go on a dangerous quest in a world of warring kingdoms, mad kings, and dark magic to find the real killer. But Britta wields more power than she knows. And soon she will learn what has always made her different will make her a daunting and dangerous force.

Ever the Hunted releases on December 27, 2016 from HMH Books for Young Readers

This fantasy book sounds so cool! I love the concept and am really looking forward to how this all will play out. Plus look at that cover, at first I didn't think all that much of it at a glance but when I really looked at it, it took my breath away! P.S. I'm calling it now, I think the King of Malam killed her father.

So, what are you waiting for this Wednesday?