Gathering Darkness (Falling Kingdoms #3)

Alright, we are in the middle of the series with this book. If you have read my previous posts, you will know that I liked Magnus and Jonas since the beginning, while Cleo left me a little confused, and Lucia I couldnt really understand at all.

Starting with the characters, I think it will be safe to say that now Magnus occupies the first place. I love his doubts, his past, what happened to him and how everything is making him into a man. I think the only stain in his character is his sister Lucia and how much he loves her.

Cleo is also getting better. She is more mature, even though the way she goes from one man to the next Well she IS a teenager, but I still hope whatever happens she wont change her mind once again. The thing I dont particularly like about her is that she spends days and days in this palace, but she doesnt do anything to find the Kindred. Dont you want to save your kingdom?

Unfortunately, Jonas lost a lot of points in this book. He seems so confused, and I wish he could just pick one girl. He also seems pretty useless now, even after all of his speeches about freedom and revenge.

Lucia She is still so weak and terrible. She believes every single thing people tell her, no matter who it is. You might think she is innocent, but she doesnt come off that way. She seems just really spoiled, maybe even more than Cleo, considering nothing bad has ever happened to her in her entire life.

Just like Lucia, I cannot stand Alexius. I feel like they are very good for each other, at the end of the day. He behaves like he is better than anybody else, he lets Cleo in on their secrets, and then basically blames her for everything. The fact that he is not very nice towards Magnus also made him worse.

I felt like this particular book didnt have much action. Its mostly just about the relationships between all the characters, and about building what will happen in the next books.

I actually really like Amara and I feel like she might be very important later on, so I cannot wait to read more about her and her family.

In general, I like this series. I like the drama, I like how the characters lives keep entertwining. There are only a couple of things that just made this book and the others as well not as good as other Ive read.

The first one is the typos. I dont know if the paper edition is better, but on kindle it sometimes got really hard to read. There are periods missing as well, which makes it a little confusing at times.

The second point is that, in my opinion, these books are too short. Dont get me wrong, I like action, but in here we dont really have that. The problem is that everything happens so fast, without really preparing the reader for it, that I found myself not really caring about what happens to the characters most of the time.

Despite these few flaws, I am enjoying reading the Falling Kingdoms series, and I can only hope the next books will be as good as the first ones.

You don’t cry when someone pushes you down. You get up. You get up and you fight back. And pretty soon nobody’s going to shove you anymore because they’ll see it’s not worth it.

Gathering Darkness is yet another amazing book by Morgan Rhodes. You never know where this series is going to take you but you just know its going to be a good one. Starting off from where the last book left off, we are thrust back into the world and problems within Mystica. From page one I was hooked and couldnt wait to dive back into the lives of some of my favorite characters.

My all-time favorite character in this series is Magnus and I loved being able to visit his POV again and learn more about him. He may be a huge jerk sometimes, but he has a vulnerable side that we get to see more of. We also got to see more of Cleo and how much stronger she has become. I love how cunning and sly she is. She is much stronger than anyone gives her credit for and I love seeing how unexpected it is for everyone. I also loved the new characters that Rhodes introduced into the book. I couldnt wait to see their intentions and how they would help to move the plot of the story along.

This book was filled with so many plot twists after plot twists and so much deception. I loved it because I didnt know what was going to happen next which just kept me so engaged! Plus, the last couple of chapters were just insane. So much happened and I cant wait to see where all of this will lead to in Frozen Tides.

A new day, a new plot twist. It seemed that quote ran its course throughout the series. Magnus, Lucia, Jonas, and Cleo had their share of darkness but whenever there was a slimmer of light they moved forward. Gathering Darkness focused on the journey to the Kindred and relationship growth between our main characters. We learned more about the past history, present events, and future of the Kindred. This series can go in several directions and Im scared to see what path Rhodes chooses to follow. Nonetheless, this series has pulled my heart strings and Im eager to see where our main characters will face next.

Speaking of main characters SQUEEEEAL I am shipping for Team Magneo! Please Ms. Rhodes, do not sink this ship! Magnuss character development has been heart-wrenching and my favorite POV to read.

In the shadow my father has cast over my entire life, you are the only light I can see anymore. And, whatever the cost, I refuse to let that light be extinguished

It pains me to know that after Frozen Tides, I have to play the waiting game for the rest of the series. (Is it 2017 yet?)

6 STARS ACTUALLY!!!

OH MY G.O.S.H (lego movie voice in there 😉 ). This series just keeps getting better. Really…EACH one is better than the last. I just don’t know what to tell you.

There really is nothing I can say about the book that won’t give part of the plot away. There are so many fabulous characters, and so many things going on, but DANG…this book was FAB FREAKING TABULOUS!

I have said before in my reviews no on is safe in these books. It makes me quite scared. I am already DYING for the next book. Why oh why can’t they just all come out now. I cannot wait. It may just kill me ;).

The writing in this book is amazing. The story is even more amazing. I love the characters. I keep praying that the ones I truly love stay for the long run. Although some of them have already moved on. UGH……..

How do I review this? I don’t know. I am being series when I say I cannot say anything without giving anything away. So I am just telling you now that this series is AMAZING…You will not regret if if you start it (which you should do…like now…add it to your Christmas list). Okay maybe you will, but if you do I am sad for you because it’s FREAKING AWESOME!

Rhodes, well done…WELL. DONE!

The events of this book are a complete game changer. Quite often fantasy series with an expansive world and an ever changing political landscape require a steady progression of events; we see this in Game of Thrones, for example, where more character driven moments slow down the progression of the plot to allow for key players to move into position for the next pivotal moment. Falling Kingdoms is a series with many pivotal moments and very few slow components to create that build; it feels like the players move at lightning speed, frequently changing which character fills the most powerful position. It’s so clever, never boring and Gathering Darkness is possible the most significant yet.

The race to discover the location of the four elemental crystals is very much on between the King of Blood, the Kraeshains (a slippery new sibling duo), Jonas’ rebels (accompanied somewhat by Princess Cleo) and the Watchers. As each family attempts to gain leverage, in the background Princess Lucia grows ever stronger and acts as a catalyst for key events which could enable the crystal’s location to be revealed.

I really appreciate how much magic is woven within Gathering Darkness. It has been steadily drip-fed throughout the series, but Lucia’s abilities have become a really interesting component to the story now and the addition of The Watchers as an ethereal presence added a completely new dimension to the magic already present in the series.

The friendships, both genuine and deliberately contrived, are the strongest component of this series, allowing genuine attachments to characters to form. I still maintain that this series has some of the most interesting and believable characters with superbly crafted development; I enjoy reading from each of the perspectives and feel genuinely invested in the outcome for each of them too. I’m not sure I’m necessarily taken by the romantic elements throughout, since none of the small romances are especially central features and develop and evaporate quite quickly, but the friendships are exceptional.

This series is so easy to absorb and I find myself lost in it for hours at a time. It’s the perfect fantasy escapism and I’ll be genuinely sad to see it end.

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