In 2013 I picked up the first novel in Morgan Rhodes’s Falling Kingdom Series and I fell in love. I loved the story and the setting. But the series wasn’t over and in the many years it took for her to release all 6 books, I had lost interest and rereading the first book over and over had made me bored of it. But at the beginning of the year, I resolved to pick it up and finish the entire series. So here is my series review which will contain spoilers.

Falling Kingdoms

The first book moved a bit too slowly for me. I’m not sure if the book seemed to be dragging on because I’ve read this instalment before so many times or because that was just how the story seemed to go. I’ve practically learnt the first half of the book. But the rest of it that I didn’t remember to a tee seemed to drag on as well. I also couldn’t stand Aron and was hoping he’d be killed off. As for the characters, I only liked Cleo in this book. She was a kind girl and I feel like even though she seemed fickle, she was only 16 so it was an accurate representation of how young girls would behave. I really wanted Jonas and Cleo to end up together, I thought they’d have chemistry and they did from the very beginning. I didn’t enjoy the romance at all, between Cleo and Theon. It felt like insta-love which is a trope I hate. They didn’t have any chemistry and I didn’t like them at all. There was no build-up. As for Magnus, he seemed like a good character to develop but he was so unlikeable in this book. His infatuation with Lucia was so disturbing to me. I wish Morgan had made it so that he knew that Lucia was his adopted sister rather than making the attraction incestuous. He came across as creepy rather than brooding. I also didn’t enjoy that Magnus killed Cleo’s love interest because they had a lot of chemistry in the moment and if Jonas and Cleo don’t work out I would root for a future Magnus and Cleo pairing. It took me a while to finish this one.

Rebel Spring

This was better than the first instalment for sure, it was better paced and I finished it in a few hours. I found the writing style to be a bit degraded, it felt childish, the language didn’t flow as elegantly. The story was definitely picking up and the political intrigue was far better thought out than the first book. I didn’t like Jonas and Cleo any more, Jonas felt a bit slimy and I wanted better for Cleo. I feel like one of the problems with Morgan Rhodes writing style was that there is no build-up to the romance. As Cleo, I would be a bit shocked to be kissed out of the blue. The kisses between Jonas and Cleo were so forced and I didn’t see their romance really build up. I really like the tension between Magnus and Cleo, they have a very snarky, sexy vibe going for them. Lucia garnered no interest or sympathy from me, she became this whiny child. And I didn’t understand her romance with Alexius, Morgan is a big fan of insta-love. I felt like Jonas should have been the one to kill Aron rather than Magnus, especially given how horrible Aron was to Jonas especially.

Gathering Darkness

So I really enjoyed this book, the story is majorly picking up and I finally got interested in the series completely. The story moves much faster and the pacing is done so well, especially compared to the first two books. I didn’t like Jonas anymore, he didn’t have much of a role, all he seemed to be doing was running around. He ran around not achieving anything. He was in all sense of the world a useless character. Lucia gave me Ariel from the Little Mermaid vibes, she was so naive and simple-minded. All in all, I really didn’t like Jonas and Lucia. I loved the vibe between Magnus and Cleo, they are by far my favourite characters. They have a lot of chemistry and hate to love trope is very much my favourite. You can tell there is a dark sort of attraction going on between them and they’re also the most enigmatic characters. Fingers crossed that they end up together. The flaw with this one is that they’re too many new characters being added. The perspectives should have remained to the four mains alone rather than adding new perspective chapters. I had no interest in those and those chapters were considerably weaker.

Frozen Tides

I think this one has been my favourite of the series. It’s the best book so far. Jonas is the most useless character in the series by now, he’s running around being a whore for the entire book and not really accomplishing anything. I’m actually surprised Morgan hasn’t killed him off yet given that he’s almost killed Magnus twice and failed both times because Magnus literally talks to him while at knifepoint. How can one character be so useless! Magnus himself had my own heart, and I ached for him to tell Cleo so they could be together. The political intrigue lessens as the magical aspects in the plot begin to increase. I really didn’t like Amara and the addition of new kingdoms, it felt too convenient, but it was okay because it didn’t take away from the plot. I did feel like the torture was overly gruesome but it made it more realistic and I ended up enjoying Felix’s character. The end was so lovely I was squealing in happiness with the romance between Magnus and Cleo finally coming together!

Crystal Storm

The beginning of this book annoyed me. Why do characters believe in leaving the villains alive, it allows them to come back and create havoc. I would have killed King Gaius when I had the chance. I could almost taste the predictability of Taran causing Magnus problems and he does exactly that. Causing lots of rifts between Magnus and Cleo. I did like the tension though given Magnus killed Theon and it gives room for both Cleo and Magnus to work to a healthier place in their relationship. I loved how adamant Magnus is on protecting Cleo from her curse, he is a character written with so much depth. The fantasy aspect of the started falling short. I don’t understand why Morgan suddenly gave Jonas magic. I thought it would be because he could finally be useful but there’s no proper explanation and it felt like a deus ex machina to me, even though Jonah ends up still being quite useless and now seems to have another new love interest. By the end of the book, I wasn’t even surprised by Lucia’s pregnancy and I was starting to lose interest in the story. But I kept reading because of Magneo. They were worth every page.

Immortal Reign

This series has been fantastic but I’m kind of glad it’s over. The story has begun to drag with too many characters and too many new plot points. Everything felt slow and I found myself skimming through every chapter that didn’t have Magnus and Cleo being together and adorable and protective of each other. There was a new villain being introduced almost every book and that was a bit tedious. I would have preferred that Gaius remained the primary villain. I had hoped Cleo would get to kill Gaius and I was hoping for Jonas to die but even when that didn’t happen Cleo and Magnus ruled and lived happily so it was worth the read, nonetheless. In the end, this is a fantastic series but I wish it had ended faster.