REVIEW: Gathering Darkness

Gathering Darkness by Morgan Rhodes

Page Count: 416 pages

Release Date: December 9, 2014

My Rating: 3.5/5 stars

Goodreads Synopsis:

Prince Magnus has just witnessed torture, death, and miracles during the bloody confrontation that decimated the rebel forces. Now he must choose between family and justice as his father, the cruel King Gaius, sets out to conquer all of Mytica. All Gaius needs now are the Kindred - the four elemental crystals that give godlike powers to their owner. But the King of Blood is not the only one hunting for this ancient, storied magic... • THE KRAESHIANS join the hunt. Ashur and Amara, the royal siblings from the wealthy kingdom across the Silver Sea, charm and manipulate their way to the Kindred, proving to be more ruthless than perhaps even the King of Blood himself. • THE REBELS forge ahead. Princess Cleo and vengeful Jonas lead them, slaying with sweetness, skill, and a secret that can control Lucia's overpowering magic - all so they can use the Kindred to win back their fallen kingdoms. • THE WATCHERS follow Melenia out of the Sanctuary. They ally in the flesh with King Gaius, who vows to use Lucia's powers to unveil the Kindred. The only certainty in the dark times is that whoever finds the magic first will control the fate of Mytica... but fate can be fickle when magic is involved.

My Review:

While each book in the Falling Kingdoms series seems to get marginally better and better, there's still something about them that just doesn't connect with me. That said, Gathering Darkness had lots of action (although most of it occurred in the last twenty-five pages or so) and most of the characters had some development. The only two characters I actually like are Cleo and Magnus, and they're the two who have seen the most character evolution. But Lucia and Jonas? Both annoy me greatly; I can't connect with either of them at all. Lucia is obnoxious and whiny and incredibly immature, and just very unlikeable.

And let's talk about Jonas. Oh, my. Jonas in particular is SUCH a frustrating character. He must be the most bumbling rebel leader of all time. How is still alive?! It has to be just luck, because every single choice he makes is certifiably bad. He sometimes even thinks about what he's doing, like, "Oh, we probably shouldn't keep coming to the same tavern over and over since we're fugitives" AND THEN HE DOES IT ANYWAYS. *sigh.*

Overall the plot is fairly interesting, and MOST of the characters are getting more complex. Even though the writing isn't blowing me away, it does keep me intrigued enough to continue with the series!