Author: Jennifer A. Nielson
Publication Date: March 1, 2013
Rating: 3 Stars
A kingdom teetering on the brink of destruction. A king gone missing. Who will survive? Find out in the highly anticipated sequel to Jennifer A. Nielsen's blockbuster THE FALSE PRINCE!
Just weeks after Jaron has taken the throne, an assassination attempt forces him into a deadly situation. Rumors of a coming war are winding their way between the castle walls, and Jaron feels the pressure quietly mounting within Carthya. Soon, it becomes clear that deserting the kingdom may be his only hope of saving it. But the further Jaron is forced to run from his identity, the more he wonders if it is possible to go too far. Will he ever be able to return home again? Or will he have to sacrifice his own life in order to save his kingdom?
The stunning second installment of The Ascendance Trilogy takes readers on a roller-coaster ride of treason and murder, thrills and peril, as they journey with the Runaway King!-Summary from Goodreads
I have mixed feelings about this
book… no, that’s not quite right. I think it would be better to say I have
mixed feelings about Jaren. As I have said before part of the reason I like
Jaron is his attitude, but at the same time that arrogance is what makes me
annoyed with him and the book. When Jaron is convinced of something he doesn’t
let anyone (friends) or anything (like logic or reason) stand in his way. He is
committed to sacrificing himself for the greater good. When his friends try to
help him and get into danger themselves, he will sacrifice himself AND the
greater good to save them. Maybe this isn’t necessarily a bad thing, but it is
stupid on his part. Nevertheless, since he is the main character the end result
is that he is right and his sacrifice is courageous, but only because it
worked.
This book seems to focus on getting
Jaren more friends/allies, and pushing the friendships that he already has to
the breaking point. Jaren is a lot more likeable when he allies with people
instead of turning them away to work on his own. But Jaren is used to working
alone and he doesn’t know how to rely on the friends he has. I hope he gets
better at that in the next book.
I know I complain about Jaren a
lot, and I had trouble getting into this book, but the truth is that it is a
good story. It is written well and has a great plot that continues to push on
and surprise me. By the end of the book I was looking forward to book three. I
admire and (mostly) like this series, I just don’t think it’s for me. I will
always have little problems with the book and it will not be one of my
favorites, but I can see how someone else can love this series because it is
truly well done.
-Christina
-Christina
Hmm, yeah it's a fine line between a fun attitude in a character and outright annoying arrogance. It's too bad that you have found this series not to be for you, though I'm not entirely surprised because I know a ton of people absolutely loved the first book and then fell out of love with books 2 and 3. I think I would still like to give the first book a try sometime, but maybe just end it there... we'll see. Thanks so much for your honest review!
ReplyDelete