Legacy of Kings Series: Blood of Gods and Royals
on August 25, 2015
Pages: 384
Format: eARC
Buy on Amazon
Goodreads

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 newcomer Katerina, who must navigate the dark secrets of court life while hiding her own mission: kill the Queen. But Kat’s first love, Jacob, will go to unthinkable lengths to win her, even if it means competing for her heart with Hephaestion, a murderer sheltered by the prince. And far across the sea, Zofia, a Persian princess and Alexander’s unmet fiancée, wants to alter her destiny by seeking the famed and deadly Spirit Eaters.

Weaving fantasy with the salacious and fascinating details of real history, New York Times bestselling author 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.

Legacy of Kings, Eleanor Herman’s young adult debut, completely blew me away.  Described as Game of Thrones meets Alexander the Great, it lives up to that blurb and more.

Legacy of Kings is told through many points of view, each one unique and interesting.  At first I thought it might be a little confusing and it was, until I really got to know each of the characters.  Kat and Jacob, best friends since childhood, shared something more than friendship.  Their lives were not easy though and they both knew they wouldn’t be able to be together unless they both did some drastic things.  Alex and Hephaestion were also best friends.  Alex was groomed to be a ruler but he never let it get to his head.  He wanted to lead but he wanted to be right there with his people at all time.  Heph was one of those people.  Alex took Heph in when he was young and made him his personal guard.  Their friendship was severely tested though by Cyn.  Cyn, Alex’s half-sister, had to have been one of my least favorite characters ever.  She was so selfish and just plain evil.  The cast of characters was extremely diverse and so interesting.  The way all of their stories intertwined was so intricate and amazing.

The romance was steamy, as to be expected from any Harlequin Teen book.  There was a lot less than I expected but it was all done really well.  I also thought there might be at least one love triangle popping up but I didn’t see it, at least not in this book.  Also, I appreciated that there were true friendships between male and female characters, without any romance.  It’s not done often enough and Eleanor Herman did it really well.

There is a good amount of action and battle in the book but it doesn’t come for quite some time.  Most of the book is focused more on secrets and lies and uncovering them.  I saw some of the secrets from the start but not many of them.  This is a very twisted story that left me with many questions that I expect answers to in future books.

Overall, Legacy of Kings is a fantastic start to Eleanor Herman’s fantasy series as well as her career as a YA author.  An intricately woven tale of magic, romance, and deception, Legacy of Kings has something for every reader.  Once you start it, you won’t be able to put it down.  Fantasy fans will truly adore this one.

What others are saying about Legacy of Kings:

Fiktshun’s review: “LEGACY OF KINGS is a stunning, imaginative and spellbinding saga that will send readers back to a time of magic and myth, prophecy and fate, bloodshed and brutality, dishonesty and deceit.”

Deadly Darlings’ review: “Legacy of Kings sets great characterization, world building, and plot-development to be enriched with the second book and I cannot wait!”

My Not So Real Life’s review: “The concept and historical setting were fantastically done, although the book truly did drag for a variety of reasons.”