Review--Rebel Spring by Morgan Rhodes

After a bloody siege, Auranos has been defeated, its young queen orphaned and dethroned. The three kingdoms--Auranos, Limeros, and Paelsai--are now unwillingly united as one country called Mytica. But the allure of ancient, dangerous magic beckons still, and with it the chance to rule not over just Mytica, but the whole world over...

At the heart of the fray are four brave young people grappling for that magic and the power it promises. For Cleo, the magic would enable her to reclaim her royal seat. In Jonas's hands, it frees his nation, and in Lucia's, it fulfills the ancient prophecy of her destiny. And if the magic were Magnus's, he would finally prove his worth in the eyes of his cruel and scheming father, King Gauis, who rules Mytica with a punishing hand.

When Gaius begins to build a road into the Forbidden Mountains to physically link all of Mytica, he sparks a long-smoking fire in the hearts of the people that will forever change the face of this land. For Gauis's' road is paved with blood, and it's construction will have cosmic consequences.

It truly amazes me how blown away by this world of the Falling Kingdoms series! I wasn't sure what to expect with the debut, but it amazed me! And Morgan Rhodes' Rebel Spring enthralled me to no end! Seriously, I wish I could go without sleep to read this kind of book nonstop, but alas, I do need sleep! The curse of the reader!

Needless to say, that I absolutely LOVED this book! Morgan has created such a fantastical land that is easy to get swept away into. Sometimes with high fantasy books, you might fall behind while trying to grasp this world, but not here in Mytica! Never in Mytica! This book answers questions left behind with Falling Kingdoms and brings up new ones as well, a never ending cycle for authors I guess! But I was so captivated by this world that I didn't seem to mind. We even get answers to some of these new questions.

After my last read being a bit of a struggle, I was glad to find myself in familiar territory. We don't just get the four main characters' points of view, we get a few secondary characters as well, but yet, their stories are all connecting to one another. In more ways than one too. So the pages and chapters just began to blend flawlessly together. The connections between these four main characters are easy to see and grasp and I admire Morgan for her talent to do that! Even when the secondary characters have their turn at a chapter or two, it flows with the story easily. There may be secondary plots brewing with these characters, but they still can connect to the main plot overall.

It's still a struggle to say what happened exactly in this book. So much happened with each of the characters. Little bits at a time, before a larger connection overall gets formed. For the most part, we get Cleo dealing with being a "guest" in her old castle that is now ruled by King Gaius. She is betrothed to Magnus, which displeases her, Magnus and of course Aron. Lucia is in a state of deep sleep from using her powers, but even once she awakens, she goes through drastic changes. Her powers seem to be having a negative effect on her. Jonas is still trying to lead his rebels and put an end to King Gaius's rule. Magnus is still trying to please his father in any way that he can, but still keep hold of some part of his true self. 

There's just soooo much depth to this series that it's nearly impossible to explain in simple words. I am one for talking really extra long over topics that inspire something in me. And my passion has always been in reading and the aspects of writing and creating my own worlds like that I read.

We also get new characters in this one, Prince Ashur from a neighboring country/kingdom. He wasn't in there much, but his role in the story is definitely a stepping stone for future problems or perhaps something different. We definitely have seen the last of this mysterious character and I am eager to learn more about him next time around! Another new character is Lysandra, another teenage girl who joins Jonas's rebels once the king's soldiers basically killed everyone in her village and destroying it. She's a feisty little thing and I enjoyed seeing her passion and smarts aid in Jonas's quest. 

It's hard to pick a favorite character, because I have enjoyed them all! Although I think Jonas would be my favorite. He's quite passionate about getting his revenge and I am all for him killing Aron. I anticipate the moment that it happens! And it was quite obvious towards the end of Falling Kingdoms that Jonas was starting to feel something other than hate and loathing towards Cleo. I am really hoping that these two can form that connection and be a couple by the series end.

Which brings me to topic of romance in this book! There are soooo many love connections and complications in this series! You see that Boy A loves Girl A while Girl B loves Boy A and that Girl C also loves Boy A and Boy B loves Girl D and Girl D loves Boy C but Boy C can't be with Girl D even though he loves her. Confused yet? It gets even more complicated, trust me! And yet, it's not too hard to grasp when reading. You just realized that there are more than just love triangles in this one. I'm really not sure what shaped they'd be, but it's definitely more complicated than the simple, yet sometimes despised, love triangle. So kudos to Morgan for complicating that matters of love even more! Truly, I do mean that as a good thing! It provides soooo much more tension between all these characters and it makes me eager to see who ends up with who!

So far, according to Goodreads, there are 4 books in this series and I cannot wait to devour each and every one of them! For readers looking for that magical world where they can be swept away by fantastic characters full of depth and more with an enticing plot filled with action and endearing romance, look no further than the world of Falling Kingdoms!


Overall Rating 5/5 stars