This book.
This book you guys!
I've read a number of high fantasy series before, enough to recognise a pattern, which is why I thought I knew where this book would go when I first started it.
I've never been happier to be so wrong; every other chapter was a complete surprise to me, with a plot full of twists and turns that kept me on the edge from the very beginning.
But the best part was, by far, the set of characters and especially how each pretty much got a chapter with their own POV. Each character is unique with a different dynamic throughout the book, which is also reflected in their growth.
Falling Kingdoms was a fantastic first book in a series and I really look forward to seeing where this goes!