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heartbrekker 's review for:
The Ruin of Kings
by Jenn Lyons
Reread: 3.5 or 3.75
“A hero who has never had a bad thing happen to him isn’t a hero- he’s just spoiled.”
I had a lot of mixed thoughts throughout this novel.
I think the part that really hurt it for me personally was the narration. It jumps back and forth between present time (first person) and flashbacks (third person), and I always have a rougher time reading novels involving heavy uses of flashbacks. Kihrin’s POV during the present part of the novel was my favorite hands down. Moreover, both stories were incredibly interesting (I mean it’s high fantasy- it’s obviously intriguing!), but it was overwhelming at times with all the high fantasy information and names.
The names. Ohhh they are so similar, especially in this specific group in the world, and it only makes it harder to keep all the facts straight. I mean it makes sense because of the culture those people have, but I used the glossary as if it was my best friend.
I was honestly confused most of the time in the first 200ish pages, and it really took away my enjoyment.
Now you may be wondering.. what was my favorite part?
THE HUMOR.
OHHHHH I loved Kihrin because he was quite frankly me if I was ever put in a high fantasy world. I just wanted to pat his head and console him nearly the entire time because his life is a MESS. No, his life truly SUCKS, and he has MANY lows in this novel. His journey physically and mentally as a person was just fascinating to delve into. Though for real, his sass, commentary, and jokes legit made this book shine so bright. I'd honestly compare his humor and sarcasm to Mia Corvere from Nevernight. I got so many similar vibes between the two. There's even footnotes! AH!
The politics also were a big 10/10. From family drama to impending war to hysterical gods, I was living my best political intrigue life.
Now I do not know if it was my confusion resurfacing at the end, but I started to pull away from enjoying the politics after 450ish pages. Like I said before, it became a real hassle to follow the plot when a thousand things, names, and issues are thrown at you at one time. I usually am very good with staying on track when it comes to complex plots, but this was a doozy.
At the end of the day, I think I would have really benefitted in taking notes while reading this novel, and I 100% recommend that for any of you thinking about picking this up.
“A hero who has never had a bad thing happen to him isn’t a hero- he’s just spoiled.”
I had a lot of mixed thoughts throughout this novel.
I think the part that really hurt it for me personally was the narration. It jumps back and forth between present time (first person) and flashbacks (third person), and I always have a rougher time reading novels involving heavy uses of flashbacks. Kihrin’s POV during the present part of the novel was my favorite hands down. Moreover, both stories were incredibly interesting (I mean it’s high fantasy- it’s obviously intriguing!), but it was overwhelming at times with all the high fantasy information and names.
The names. Ohhh they are so similar, especially in this specific group in the world, and it only makes it harder to keep all the facts straight. I mean it makes sense because of the culture those people have, but I used the glossary as if it was my best friend.
I was honestly confused most of the time in the first 200ish pages, and it really took away my enjoyment.
Now you may be wondering.. what was my favorite part?
THE HUMOR.
OHHHHH I loved Kihrin because he was quite frankly me if I was ever put in a high fantasy world. I just wanted to pat his head and console him nearly the entire time because his life is a MESS. No, his life truly SUCKS, and he has MANY lows in this novel. His journey physically and mentally as a person was just fascinating to delve into. Though for real, his sass, commentary, and jokes legit made this book shine so bright. I'd honestly compare his humor and sarcasm to Mia Corvere from Nevernight. I got so many similar vibes between the two. There's even footnotes! AH!
The politics also were a big 10/10. From family drama to impending war to hysterical gods, I was living my best political intrigue life.
Now I do not know if it was my confusion resurfacing at the end, but I started to pull away from enjoying the politics after 450ish pages. Like I said before, it became a real hassle to follow the plot when a thousand things, names, and issues are thrown at you at one time. I usually am very good with staying on track when it comes to complex plots, but this was a doozy.
At the end of the day, I think I would have really benefitted in taking notes while reading this novel, and I 100% recommend that for any of you thinking about picking this up.