Review: Legacy of Kings (Blood of Gods and Royals Book 1) by Eleanor Herman

Published: August 24, 2015 by Harlequin Teen
Genre: Fantasy
Format: ebook
Source: Sent for honest review

Goodreads Summary

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.

"True loyalty - it's almost unheard of."

So upfront, I almost didn't finish this one, but I made it through. About 60% of the way in, things pick up a bit and from 80% on it's much better.

The Good

There is a lot of political intrigue with so many different characters having different agendas and it's fun to see that play out. There's also some magic thrown in. The few bits of magic we saw were different and I rather enjoyed it. The stories with Kat and Alex were interesting and the ending was sufficiently wrapped up while leaving plenty open for future books.

Keep in mind that while Alex is supposed to be a re-imagined version of Alexander the Great, I'm not a history buff and didn't even focus on that aspect at all while reading. Alex isn't really in the story a great deal.

The Bad

First off, there are a ton of POVs. This is told through third person and switches between the stories of about 7 different characters. I liked the first chapter and thought the book had promise, then it went to a completely different place with different people and by the time I started getting interested in their story, it switched to yet another place with another character and so on. There was no connection for me with these characters until the end where we saw more of Kat and Alex. I understand having multiple POVs but this one would have played out better with just Kat and Alex.

The descriptions are very involved. While riding into battle, we hear how the wind feels on the character's face and that they wish to be a bird to watch from above. Instead of intensity in action, we get a lot of words about every little thing that's happening around.

The Romance

It starts with Kat and Jacob sharing an interest and bond, but we don't see a lot of it as they are split up early in the book to go on their separate paths. Zo has a bit of romance as well.

Conclusion

This may be one that some would enjoy. Personally, I need a good connection with the characters to get into the story and Legacy of Kings lacks that for me. Also, while the story itself was interesting, it was made much more boring by the endless descriptions and content that would've been better left out. I won't be continuing the series.

Excerpts

Rats! Kat sees half a dozen brown rats have emerged from the walls, twitching their pink noses and wringing their small pink paws. The guards either don't see them or are so used to rats in the palace they don't care. As they begin to pull Kat from the room, one of the rats leaps onto the cape of the taller guard, crawls up to the shoulders, and bites the man on the back of the neck, just below his helmet. He screams and drops Kat's arm. Dozens of rats swarm, attacking the guards.

Smelling her scent on the air long before she appears, the hellion howls a welcome. The hellion. One of the few left on earth. Torch held high, she takes in the animal's dark form as it stalks back and forth inside the large cage. A black panther with gleaming, silky fur, the hellion's slanted eyes glow yellow in the darkness. Black, batlike wings stretch lazily from its back as the creature hisses at her approach.

A son with a weak mind is a misfortune. But even the strongest, most intelligent daughter is simply worthless.