Kyle Prue

Three families with magical powers, an evil emperor, a kingdom surrounded by walls, monsters outside, betrayal, secrets, greed, and mistrust all make this into a complexly woven plot and a rich, fantasy world.

Neil belongs to one of the three powerful families in the kingdom, one which was granted magical powers many years before. It's his job to be a socialite or, what he'd rather be, an assassin. Unfortunately, his father has no trust in his abilities as the later. Caught in a never ending feud with the other two families, Neil follows his father's orders to try to turn tables on the dispute. While he fails, his actions indirectly speed up another, unknown danger. Soon, the world as Neil and the families knows it falls apart, and Neil's dreams of being an assassin dim in the new danger he now faces.

While the blurb starts with the idea of a new assassin trying to make his way, this really doesn't do the tale even the slightest justice. This isn't about an assassin. It's about an empire, greed and warring families needing to find a way to deal with each other for other purposes. It's not even written from a single point of view. This tale weaves masterfully between families, characters and scenes, allowing different perspectives to tell the tale as it unfolds. Because it is so woven, it'd be impossible to do it any other way. And as a reader, I learned to like/hate every single character.

The world building is very well done as the kingdom and lives of these characters develops and changes. But it's a character driven tale, through and through. The survivors of the three families are young adults with determination, hatred, and powers they haven't completely grown into...but don't underestimate them, either.

The tale is very well done and doesn't leave a boring moment, while still building the needed background, world building and character depth. It's an adventure to get lost in, and every chapter brings something new.

I just finished book one and can't wait to hit book two.… (meer)

Note: It’s best to experience Book 1 before diving into this book.

I really enjoyed Book 1 and Book 2 doesn’t disappoint. In fact, I may have enjoyed this book a bit more. The teens from Book 1 are in the wind for the most part. Some are in hiding, some are still dealing with evil characters, and some question whether they should join the rebellion. This tale reminded me a little of The Hunger Games (teens rebellion against the ruling government), Game of Thrones (scions of the ruling houses duking it out), and X-Men (these kids got skills but desperately needed a trainer). All around, an excellent mix.

Each of the kids that survived Book 1 undergo a bit of a journey in this book. In Book 1 they were all basically a result of their powerful houses, the values impressed upon them (or smacked into them) as kids. In this story, they are away from those influences and have to work stuff out on their own. Bianca and Anastasia were two of my favorites. While there is a tie between them, they each grew up very differently and have different battles. Initially, I really wanted to hate Anastasia but by the end of the story, I found her to be a very sympathetic character and a minor hero.

Rhys! Oh, my poor lad! Rhys will need therapy after this book. He’s our scholar with all his book learning, so of course it was easy to engage with his character. In some ways, he’s the glue that binds our little band of up and coming heroes. Everyone likes or respects him and doesn’t want to see him harmed.

There’s an addition of these sea-faring folk (Tridente, if I recall correctly) in the later half of the story and I really enjoyed the time spent with them. I can see potential for them in future tales. The brother & sister brought some much needed levity to the story as well as their own unique powers.

The villains are quite villainous, and for the most part, are archetypes. Sometimes, since the true villains were so very obvious, I just wanted to kill them and move on with the more interesting parts of the story. Yet they do play their part in the plot. The Hyena was the most unpredictable because you never knew if he would leave someone alive or not, and his reasons for doing so. The Doctor was a broken, driven, mad scientist that I looked forward to seeing put down.

While there were a few times where someone or something conveniently swooped in to save the plot, I still really enjoyed this novel. Even with my minor quibbles, I give this tale 5/5 stars for sheer entertainment value.

The Narration: Jon Eric Preston did a great job with this story. All his character voices are distinct and his female characters sound like ladies. He also did a great job with the range of emotions the characters go through in this novel. His voice for the Hyena was absolutely creepy (as it should be) and I also liked how he did the mechanical lisp for The Doctor. Preston also took the time for the little touches, like making an echo-y voice sound that way, or when 2 people speak at the same time, it really sounds like that. An excellent performance and recording all around. 5/5 stars.

I received this audiobook as part of my participation in a blog tour with Audiobookworm Promotions. The tour is being sponsored by Kyle Prue. The gifting of this audiobook did not affect my opinion of it.… (meer)