Sunday 27 December 2015

Frozen Tides

17342701

Book Title: Frozen Tides
Author: Morgan Rhodes
Series: Falling Kingdoms #4
Date Started: December 24th 2015
Date Completed: December 27th 2015
Genres: Fantasy, Adventure, Romance, Mystery
Quality Rating: Five Stars
Enjoyment Rating: Five Star
Final Rating: Five stars
Review:

I really love this series, and part of why is that it's very good at what it is. The Falling Kingdoms series doesn't try to be overly sophisticated in its politics, or extremely brutal in its violence, it takes characters and it throws them around in a high fantasy adventure - and it's so nice to just read something that's happy pulling off what it is well, instead of trying to something it isn't and tearing the story to shreds.

Rhodes doesn't have the most complex and beautiful writing I've ever read, but it's solid and it's adaptable. She knows the right elements to focus on in certain situations or locations, and she can explain a situation or feeling appropriately to get the atmosphere she needs. However, it is the structuring of her stories that are what stands her further out from the crowd. Things nearly got too complicated with perspectives this time, with at least two characters per side-story (and about three or four of those going on at the same time) having their own chapters, but Rhodes is always focused on the main plot line. People's stories are actually starting to cross over more now, even as the world itself expands, and it really feels like we're approaching the end (even with two more books to go - and a lot can happen in these books).

Like I've said, the Falling Kingdoms series is always so much fun to read. I admit, that the story has start to become a little formulaic: if a girl and boy are in the same side-story they're probably going to fall in love (though there are hints of this changing); pretty much all the royals have evil, prejudice fathers; the 'evil' people aren't actually evil but instead are incredibly vulnerable (fine, but it's starting to feel like the same explanation every single time and I feel like there's a better way this could be pulled off). Having said that, there are always new little twists throughout the every book, and Rhodes is very fluid with the way she can move characters around and separate them from others quickly. It gives little bits of surprise in a world that could potentially become quite predictable.
And then there are always awesome endings. Rhodes knows how to pull of a simultaneous climax over an entire continent (and further this time). While loose ends are tied up and we definitely have some sort of resolution, there are plenty of new questions to be answered, and a gaping hole for the characters to somehow get through next.

There are definitely two people in this series that I will always look forward to reading above anyone else, but while the others are at times annoying they still have valuable places in the story and it wouldn't be the same without them (and that is a very important thing when it comes to writing these stories told from so many different perspectives).
Cleo and Magnus will forever be my favourite characters and however much they beat around the bush about their feelings and manipulate each other and sacrifice things for their countries that put them in big trouble, I will always look forward to their stories. Every time they reach what seems like a climax, there's another problem just behind it, and something even bigger for them to figure out - but every time they do it and every time they meet it with determination. Put aside how fun they are to read about, they, as characters, are really well crafted for the world they live in. I often think that Rhodes favours these two the most since they're definitely the most sensible and developed people in Mytica.
I've grown to like Jonas a lot more than I have in previous books. He is still an idiot in my eyes, and has a talent for choosing the worst times to be stupid, but he's definitely the center of adding danger and more knots to the situation; if he wasn't there things would be a lot more dull.
However, I still dislike Lucia as much as I did at the start of these books. Past the fact she's ridiculously easy to manipulate, even the decisions she herself makes are not good ones. I'm still never bored when I read her chapters, but I have to say she as a character - and a person - can be quite irritating.

I absolutely blaze through these books; they're so much fun to read and I never want to put them down. Sometimes this is because I would much rather get to a certain character's story rather than who I'm currently reading, admittedly, but even so there's no point where I get bored. I'm sure I could have read Frozen Tides in a day if it hadn't been Christmas.

As I always say with this series, Game of Thrones or high fantasy lovers will enjoy these books massively, and if you're daunted by either this is the perfect place to start: there's a lot of familiar territory for YA readers, but Rhodes definitely takes the steps towards a more traditional epic. I think it's the perfect transition between the two, and hugely entertaining for anyone already comfortable with both.

Image Source - https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/17342701-frozen-tides

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