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Legacy of Kings by Eleanor Herman

11/30/2015

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I think I should start this review off by saying I have a lot of other books I've read before this that I should review but I just finished this one an hour before I'm writing this review and I just really need to express my feelings on this marvelous book. 
Legacy of Kings was a fantastical read that I just flew through. Stock full of mystery, intrigue, suspense, action, betrayal and a hint of romance, Legacy of Kings is the perfect book for me. I was excited to read this as soon as I picked the book out from my shelf. The over is excellent, simple at first glance, but at the second, not so much. 
Something interesting about this book is that it's a mixture of history, fiction and fantasy. It follows the story of Alexander the Great in his teen years. How many fantasy books have you read that were about that? I haven't read any before. From what I've heard, the author of this book is a historian, so she knows what she's talking about, but she was also able to intertwine fiction and fantasy into the story. Making it quite the intriguing one. 
I was hooked on this book from the very first chapter. Legacy of Kings has been said to be a mix of Outlander and Game of Thrones. Having never read Outlander or seen the show, I can't tell you anything about that but Game of Thrones? There were definitely some George R. R. Martin moments in there. If you are interested in Game of Thrones, I definitely recommend it. If you don't like Game of Thrones, I still highly recommend this book. There are exhilarating twists and turns in every chapter. This book will keep you on the edge of your seat in suspense and I, for one, got attached to the characters almost immediately. 
The plot was very captivating. As I said before, I was hooked from the very first chapter. The characters were very well rounded and were people you could easily grow attached to. It was written in third person present tense, which is interesting. I haven't read many books written like that. 
Katerina was definitely my favorite character. She was an orphan girl who lived with her best friend since something happened to her mother. Throughout the book, Katerina is set on one mission, kill the Queen. Why? You'd have to read the book to find out. There's something special about Katerina, not just that she's a peasant girl who caught the eye of Prince Alexander, she also has some sort of special power that makes her able to communicate with animals. I really enjoyed finding more out about this special ability as I read this fascinating story. 
Jacob is Katerina's best friend. And shocker, they have feelings for each other. Maybe it's because I had just seen Mockingjay the day I started this book, but at first I felt like Jacob was a lot like Gale in the beginning. That was definitely not the case in the end. I really liked Jacob's character. He's strong and determined. I'm definitely looking forward to seeing where this story takes him. 
Alexander was also a character I really liked reading about. He's kind, compassionate and like Katerina, has a special power. He can look into people's eyes and read them. Know their back stories and their intentions. It's quite the helpful ability for the future king of Macedonia. 
Heh (nickname, I can't spell his full name off the top go my head)  is Alexander's best friend and closest comrade. He's strong and rather hotheaded. A little overconfident in his abilities and looks. I wasn't sure how I felt about Heph at first, but by the end of the book I definitely liked him. I found myself growing very attached to many of the main characters in this story, as well as the minor ones. 
Cyn (another nickname), is Alexander's half sister. I wasn't overly fond of Cyn, but I do have a healthy respect for her. She's just trying to do what she thinks is best, for her, but still. I just don't like her way of doing it. 
Zofia is the Persian Princess. Her story line doesn't really connect with any of the others. It will, eventually, but for now, her only connection is that she's betrothed to Alexander. Her story was compelling, but I think it was a bit ruined for me because I just wanted to read more about the things going on in Macedonia. I think, like Manon Blackbeak in Heir of Fire, that her storyline would be a better novella. 
I'm rating Legacy of Kings 8.5/10 stars. It was fantastical and I loved it. I definitely can't wait for the next book. I have to wait until July for it though :( 

Here's the synopsis: 
Imagine a time when the gods turn a blind eye to the agony of men, when the last of the hellions roam the plains and evil stirs beyond the edges of the map. A time when cities burn, and in their ashes, empires rise.

Alexander, Macedonia’s sixteen-year-old heir, is on the brink of discovering his fated role in conquering the known world but finds himself drawn to a newcomer…

Katerina must navigate the dark secrets of court life while hiding her own mission: kill the Queen. But she doesn’t account for her first love…

Jacob will go to unthinkable lengths to win Katerina, even if it means having to compete for her heart with Hephaestion, a murderer sheltered by the prince.

And far across the sea, Zofia, a Persian princess and Alexander’s unmet betrothed, wants to alter her destiny by seeking the famed and deadly Spirit Eaters.

Weaving fantasy with the shocking details of real history, New York Times bestselling author of Sex with Kings Eleanor Herman reimagines the greatest emperor the world has ever known, Alexander the Great, in the first book of the Blood of Gods and Royals series.

SPOILERS BELOW 
That whole part about Jacob being followed was exhilarating, but I suspected it was Kat following him. The whole relationship between Kat and Jacob was something I found fascinating. And a little annoying. I really just wanted Kat to tell Jacob why she couldn't be with him or at least come and visit him. Hm. If she'd done that they wouldn't be how they are now- on opposite sides of a war. I don't see a good outcome for them. Which is too bad because their relationship was as fascinating as it was cute. I don't believe for one second that Jacob was trying to kill Kat- he was probably checking on her to make sure she was alive and I can't believe that Kat believes that he tried to kill her. They're best friends for god's sake. I would never try to stab my best friend to death. I really wish there was a Jacob POV to clear things up and I also really hope that those two will eventually be reunited under good circumstances. I don't want either (it'd probably be Jacob) to die before at least seeing each other again and clearing things up. 
One of the most exciting parts was the Arena. Literally, Jacob has a bit of Katniss Everdeen in him. Nice job being the winner. Though, I expected him to be. He's smart. I was literally cheering for him to win and was very excited when he did. 
When Kat kicked Heph in the balls I was like "YES KAT! YOU SHOW THAT **** WHO'S IN CHARGE HERE!!" Yeah, I'm not biased or anything. 
"He wonders how any man could spend days in Kat's company and not try to kiss her. Unless the man wasn't interested in girls at all." 
"She has been more than a girl to him- she has been a destiny, a driving force, a compass." 
Somebody please tell me where I can find a Jacob because I really want one. 
Literally as soon as Alexander and Kat met I was like please don't let them be siblings. For some reason that was one of my first thoughts. Like Cassandra, you've prepared me well for things like this. I wasn't that surprised when they turned out to be siblings, maybe just a little disappointed. 
Okay, guys. The Queen was a total b****. Like seriously? Wanting to kill your own daughter? That's harsh and that snake sleep slither scene (aha alliteration) was uber creepy.
I literally almost cheered when Kat showed up on the battlefield and saved all those mens' sorry asses. It was a beautiful scene. 
I seriously cannot wait for the next book. 
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MockingJay Part 2 Movie REview

11/29/2015

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Yesterday I went to see this movie in theaters. I'd heard mixed reviews from people. Some thought it was excellent, some thought it was horrifyingly scary (can you guess who?), and others just didn't think very highly of it at all. 
In all honesty, I was rather disappointed to the finale of this epic trilogy. I expected more. My favorite movie out off all four of the Hunger Games Saga would have to be Catching Fire, which was also my favorite book.
This series has been close to my heart for a long time now- ever since my mom read it to me the summer after third grade. The closing book was a bit of a disappointment but I thought maybe the movie could improve. It didn't. 
You'd think the events wouldn't seem rushed since the director cut the final movie in two, but everything in this movie felt rushed. An argument someone could make is that of course it felt rushed, they're in war but here's the thing, a lot of the main characters from the third book barely got any screen time and the relationships (mainly between Katniss and Peeta) were totally just rushed and skipped over. There was a jump from Peeta screaming about Katniss being a horrid Capitol mutt, to him being eh to them suddenly being in love again. (sorry that was a spoiler) 
After seeing the movie, my friend- who didn't read the book- was very confused because she thought that Peeta still hated Katniss. This is an example of how the movie messed up the slow rebuilding of Katniss and Peeta's relationship. 
As I mentioned before, a lot of the main characters didn't get a lot of screen time. Heck, I felt like Peeta and Gale were hardly seen. Much less of Finnick, Prim and Johanna than I was expecting. The only person you truly saw a lot was Katniss, which is expected, but I expected to see a lot more of Finnick, Peeta and Gale. Even Johanna and Prim. Johanna had about five minutes screen time. That was disappointed, because she was a vital part of training with Katniss in the book and Prim... Well, I just wish we got to see more of her. Finnick, that might be the most disappointing part of the movie for me. He seemed to barely be there, just kind of chilling in the background for a lot of the movie. Gale got a bit more time on screen time than Finnick, but there were still a shockingly low number of scenes actually involving Gale (he, like Finnick, was in the background most of the time.) And Peeta, he just kind of popped in and out of the movie at random times.
The whole movie just felt kind of jumpy. Sure, ending any great series is hard but Harry Potter accomplished it quite well so I was expecting more from this movie. Overall I'd rate Mockingjay Part 2 6/10 stars. I hoped for more.
It's the end of The Hunger Games era. I wonder what new fandom is going to hit big next.
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LAme 5 second Book Update

11/16/2015

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As usual, I have the same excuse. Sorry guys, I've been really busy lately and if you read my other blog, you'd know why. As soon as November's over I'm going to have so much more free time. Anyway, I shouldn't even have been reading anything this month because of how much stuff I've had to get done, but I have read two books. I've read A Mad Zombie Party by Gena Showalter (it was great, look forward to my book review) and Magnus Chase book 1. Anyway, I'm participating in NaNoWriMo this year so I should really be writing my book right now so... Sorry about how lame this was and I'll see you in December. Trust me, I will have some reviews up in December, promise. 
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    Anji Cooper

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