Gathering Darkness by Morgan Rhodes

In GATHERING DARKNESS, book three of the New York Times bestselling Falling Kingdoms series, the stakes have never been higher as three teams push forward on a race to find the Kindred, the four elemental crystals possessing ancient all-powerful magic, first:

Prince Magnus has just witnessed torture, death, and miracles during the bloody confrontation that decimated the rebel forces. Now he must choose between family and justice as his father, the cruel King Gaius, sets out to conquer all of Mytica. All Gaius needs now are the Kindred - the four elemental crystals that give godlike powers to their owner. But the King of Blood is not the only one hunting for this ancient, storied magic...

• THE KRAESHIANS join the hunt. Ashur and Amara, the royal siblings from the wealthy kingdom across the Silver Sea, charm and manipulate their way to the Kindred, proving to be more ruthless than perhaps even the King of Blood himself.

• THE REBELS forge ahead. Princess Cleo and vengeful Jonas lead them, slaying with sweetness, skill, and a secret that can control Lucia's overpowering magic - all so they can use the Kindred to win back their fallen kingdoms.

• THE WATCHERS follow Melenia out of the Sanctuary. They ally in the flesh with King Gaius, who vows to use Lucia's powers to unveil the Kindred.

The only certainty in the dark times is that whoever finds the magic first will control the fate of Mytica... but fate can be fickle when magic is involved.


Rating: 2/5 angry stars.

This book was very stupid and frustrating.

 

 Frustratingly stupid you could say, and it’s a shock and a disappointment to me because Falling Kingdoms was one of my favorite books! I loved the action, the intrigue and the twists.

What happened here? I feel like since book two things started to go downhill for me, or maybe it’s not a matter of the book themselves, but the fact that I expected too much from them? This series has a lot of potential and great ideas, but unfortunately the writing is too rushed to pay any attention to all of that; the plots are too predictable to enjoy, the characters too annoying, and the romance is suffocating. Even the romance I did like, like what I had seen between Magnus and Cleo in the last book, was ruined for me.

I was going to do a huge rant, complaining and fangirl about everything, but I’m honestly not in the mood. It’s sad that things have gotten this way.

You know what it is like to read a book and know ten chapters in advanced how things are going to end? Because I certainly don’t, especially when it’s supposed to keep me wanting to know more. The entire book could be summed up by saying that the characters did very stupid things, for reasons that are even dumber, to accomplish things that were unclear. Sounds exciting, doesn’t it?

Jonas:

OH MY GOD, ARE YOU SHITTING ME??! I could not believe the level of stupidity Jonas mustered in Gathering Darkness. Does a total stranger saves you and offers you pretty much everything you always wanted for no reason at all? Oh, he must be trustworthy FOR SURE! I mean seriously dude! You are really telling me you didn’t see Felix’s betrayal coming? And that whole speech about him wanting friends but being disappointed at Jonas… DUDE, this guy was manipulating you the entire time but the moment he apologizes and makes you feel guilty you all but feel bad for him?

And don’t even get me started on the stupid Lysandra romance going on there. There is absolutely no chemistry there, and I couldn’t care less about what happens to them. When the hell did they suddenly start to be in love and shit? THERE WAS NO BUILD UP. They were just kissing all of the sudden and that was it. Also, I hate it when the guy says that a girl looks cute/pretty when she’s mad, way to dismiss her VERY REAL concerns, asshole. You don’t deserve her.

Lysandra:

Same with Lysandra, though not so mad because I actually feel sorry for the complete annihilation her character went through. Lysandra went from being a (kinda racist and judgemental) Katniss to a shivering mess who bit her lip and was suddenly in love with Jonas. I actually laughed out loud when she said that the way Jonas looked at Cleo had made her mad with jealousy, because we never even saw it. Last book Lysandra thought Jonas was an idiot (and boyyyyy was she right?!) but there was no hint of romance, something I was very much grateful for. There were never moments like “She hated him, but wanted to kiss him.” Or stuff like that, now I’m supposed to believe she was in love with him all this time? Yeah, sure.

Cleo:

YOU ARE MY SUNSHINE. MY ONLY SUNSHINE AND REASON TO CONTINUE THIS SERIES. What would this book have been without Cleo? I don’t want to know, honestly. With her Kingdom taken away from her, her only girlfriend a crazed sorcerer who tries to kill her, and her husband the very STUPID Magnus, Cleo has been the only character that I’ve liked; she’s determined, but not cruel, kind but not stupid. She is the only one who has gone through shit, and instead of feel sorry for herself and hate on everybody like Magnus, Lucia, Jonas and Lysandra, Cleo has actually a goal in mind and knows that feeling bad for herself is not going to do shit. She’s been the only one so far sensible enough to make a plan for herself and her Kingdom, and who actually cares about people besides herself.

However, and despite all of these amazing qualities, what plot does the author creates for her? Oh that’s right, a ROMANTIC ONE.

Because why waste time with great story telling when you can just spread that romantic shit all over the book?

Jonas I don’t even care anymore, but Magnus actually had potential. Jaz and I would gush about him and Cleo, and they were pretty much the MAIN reason why we wanted to pick up this book. In that aspect, I was left thoroughly disappointed. Their relationships suffers a lot from the same rush that the rest of the book has; not only do they go from zero to a hundred in a second, but it’s clear that the author cares more about the fate of her male characters rather than the girls and Cleo ended up being a prop for Magnus and his pain. It was his fault she was “defiant” (bitch killed her boyfriend, took her kingdom, and he’s complaining???!) and him being attracted to her? Her fault too! So, of course he had to humiliate her!

 

I want Cleo to be happy alone, or with someone who really loves her and cares for her, is that too much to ask?

 

Magnus:

Ugh, this fucker. Funny thing is, I actually liked the guy until this book but the way he treated Cleo was unacceptable. From the beginning he was an ass, we all know that he killed Theon and took her Kingdom, he has also threatened her, terrified her and told her she deserved to die (why dude? Why??). Now, apparently he has feelings for her, and what does he do? He sleeps with her “friend” and doesn’t even bother hiding it, he goes out of her way to make her feel miserable. It doesn’t even matter whether Cleo has feelings for him or not, she had her kingdom and family taken from her, she was forced to marry him (and he knew he wasn’t his favorite person in the entire world) and all this time, instead of trying to kill him or hurt him the way most people would, Cleo wanted to become his ally, and he repays that kindness by disgracing her in the palace and her entire kingdom. Not only is she married with the guy who took everything away from her, but he also ashamed her by cheating on her. Fuck you Magnus, sincerely fuck you.

Lucia:

Ehh… what can I say? You guys know I’m not super fond of the girl, and she wasn’t much better in this book. She was mostly around to be an asshole to Cleo, and be in love with Alexius, the very creepy ancient being who watched her grow up.

 

Overall, saying I was disappointed in this book would be an understatement. I had high hopes for this series, but they were just that, hopes that never settled into something concrete. What a pity.