Ready to be transported to an ancient world of war and magic? Reign of Serpents continues the journey of young Alexander of Macedon, as he works his way towards becoming Alexander the Great. Historical knowledge and fantasy are twisted together to form an enchanting series that will be sure to enrapture its readers.
Reign of Serpents is the third book in the Blood of Gods and Royals series. As mentioned previously this series follows Alexander before he became the Great. It seamlessly mixes fantasy with history, creating a fascinating story. The first two books are two of my favorites, if you have yet to read this series? What are you waiting for?! Go pick Legacy of Kings up now, if you need more convincing, I do have book reviews up for both of the previous books, so feel free to go check them out. (Legacy of Kings & Empire of Dust)
Now, if I'm being completely honest here, this book was a little bit of a disappointment for me. A lot of the elements of the story felt rushed, or just too easy. Like a problem would be introduced, just to be resolved in the next few pages. For me, there wasn't much suspense in the story, because after a few times I realized all the issues would quickly be fixed.
Also, while the unique use of third person present tense worked for the most part in the past books, it made the narrative feel strange at points as well as the reader feel a bit disconnected from the story.
One of my biggest issues, though, was the way the story would cut out some of the most interesting scenes. For example, a character breaks out of being captured and must find a way to safely get away from their captor. This escape is not actually shown in the story, only described later as an after thought after they were already in relative safety. Then, another big time this showed up was when a character was killing someone, only it didn't show that happening. Just descried it later as, again, an afterthought. In fact, it seemed like a lot of the action didn't actually occur when our main characters present, or if it did, it wasn't described as it was happening.
I believe that some of my issues with this book could have been resolved if it had only been a bit longer. The story was too crammed together. It was in a hurry to just get to the BIG moments, that it missed the small ones the hold a good tale together.
I'm going to give Reign of Serpents 6/10 stars, it wasn't horrible, but it wasn't great either. I wasn't left yearning for the next book as the last two have left me. I was just done with the book, and that felt okay with me. I would recommend reading this one, though, if you've already read the first two. There are some very rewarding moments for fans of certain characters, and like I said before, it wasn't horrible. I certainly won't be quitting the series, I've come to far and am too invested in these characters' fates to leave them now.
Synopsis:
New York Times bestselling author Eleanor Herman entwines the real scandals of history with epic fantasy in this action-packed follow-up to EMPIRE OF DUST.
In REIGN OF SERPENTS, the ancient power of Snake Blood threatens the known world. While Prince Alexander struggles with a very deadly inner demon, his betrothed, Zofia, is on her way to him, to unite their kingdoms…even as she begins to realize where her true allegiance lies. The fierce Cynane meets her match-not in her future husband, the deranged king of Illyria, but in her great-great-grandfather, Talus, possessor of Smoke Blood, who will teach her the true meaning of betrayal. And marooned together on an island in the Mediterranean, romantic tension blooms between Katerina and Hephaestion as they learn of lost civilizations and discover a device that could help them do the impossible: kill the last living god.
SPOILERS BELOW FOR REIGN OF SERPENTS
One of the easiest *get out* scenarios that was in this book was the way Riel was killed. Sure, he might not actually be dead, but if he is... Really? That's how a God will go out? WITH A COMB? (Yes, I do realize that Jacob's blood is on the comb, but really? I think a God should go out in a more epic way.)
Another easy scenario is when Kat uses the whale to kill the hydra. She got out before the hydra was actually killed, which also is an example of how the story doesn't actually show the good action moments.
I have to say the only tie I was held in suspense and actually excited for the story was when I thought there would be a Kat Jacob reunion. AND IT DIDN'T HAPPEN. Honestly really looking forward to the next book because I want my Kat Jacob reunion. I still can't tell what endgame is, I thought it was Kat and Heph, but after reading this book... It seemed like Jacob still had a decent shot.
I didn't really care for the oracle of delphi character, I would have flipped out if she and Jacob became a thing-- I thought it was going in that direction, but thankfully no. She left so thanks oracle character.
I'm looking forward to seeing more of Alex in the next book-- I do love his character. And I was perfectly okay with us not seeing too much of Cyn, she aggravates the hell out of me, and Zofia? yeah, I still don't love her. She annoys me.
Anyway, thanks for reading,
Anj
Reign of Serpents is the third book in the Blood of Gods and Royals series. As mentioned previously this series follows Alexander before he became the Great. It seamlessly mixes fantasy with history, creating a fascinating story. The first two books are two of my favorites, if you have yet to read this series? What are you waiting for?! Go pick Legacy of Kings up now, if you need more convincing, I do have book reviews up for both of the previous books, so feel free to go check them out. (Legacy of Kings & Empire of Dust)
Now, if I'm being completely honest here, this book was a little bit of a disappointment for me. A lot of the elements of the story felt rushed, or just too easy. Like a problem would be introduced, just to be resolved in the next few pages. For me, there wasn't much suspense in the story, because after a few times I realized all the issues would quickly be fixed.
Also, while the unique use of third person present tense worked for the most part in the past books, it made the narrative feel strange at points as well as the reader feel a bit disconnected from the story.
One of my biggest issues, though, was the way the story would cut out some of the most interesting scenes. For example, a character breaks out of being captured and must find a way to safely get away from their captor. This escape is not actually shown in the story, only described later as an after thought after they were already in relative safety. Then, another big time this showed up was when a character was killing someone, only it didn't show that happening. Just descried it later as, again, an afterthought. In fact, it seemed like a lot of the action didn't actually occur when our main characters present, or if it did, it wasn't described as it was happening.
I believe that some of my issues with this book could have been resolved if it had only been a bit longer. The story was too crammed together. It was in a hurry to just get to the BIG moments, that it missed the small ones the hold a good tale together.
I'm going to give Reign of Serpents 6/10 stars, it wasn't horrible, but it wasn't great either. I wasn't left yearning for the next book as the last two have left me. I was just done with the book, and that felt okay with me. I would recommend reading this one, though, if you've already read the first two. There are some very rewarding moments for fans of certain characters, and like I said before, it wasn't horrible. I certainly won't be quitting the series, I've come to far and am too invested in these characters' fates to leave them now.
Synopsis:
New York Times bestselling author Eleanor Herman entwines the real scandals of history with epic fantasy in this action-packed follow-up to EMPIRE OF DUST.
In REIGN OF SERPENTS, the ancient power of Snake Blood threatens the known world. While Prince Alexander struggles with a very deadly inner demon, his betrothed, Zofia, is on her way to him, to unite their kingdoms…even as she begins to realize where her true allegiance lies. The fierce Cynane meets her match-not in her future husband, the deranged king of Illyria, but in her great-great-grandfather, Talus, possessor of Smoke Blood, who will teach her the true meaning of betrayal. And marooned together on an island in the Mediterranean, romantic tension blooms between Katerina and Hephaestion as they learn of lost civilizations and discover a device that could help them do the impossible: kill the last living god.
SPOILERS BELOW FOR REIGN OF SERPENTS
One of the easiest *get out* scenarios that was in this book was the way Riel was killed. Sure, he might not actually be dead, but if he is... Really? That's how a God will go out? WITH A COMB? (Yes, I do realize that Jacob's blood is on the comb, but really? I think a God should go out in a more epic way.)
Another easy scenario is when Kat uses the whale to kill the hydra. She got out before the hydra was actually killed, which also is an example of how the story doesn't actually show the good action moments.
I have to say the only tie I was held in suspense and actually excited for the story was when I thought there would be a Kat Jacob reunion. AND IT DIDN'T HAPPEN. Honestly really looking forward to the next book because I want my Kat Jacob reunion. I still can't tell what endgame is, I thought it was Kat and Heph, but after reading this book... It seemed like Jacob still had a decent shot.
I didn't really care for the oracle of delphi character, I would have flipped out if she and Jacob became a thing-- I thought it was going in that direction, but thankfully no. She left so thanks oracle character.
I'm looking forward to seeing more of Alex in the next book-- I do love his character. And I was perfectly okay with us not seeing too much of Cyn, she aggravates the hell out of me, and Zofia? yeah, I still don't love her. She annoys me.
Anyway, thanks for reading,
Anj
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