A Note:

6/2/13

I once told myself: IF I am accepted into grad school, this blog would no longer be updated. As it turns out, in April, I received news of my acceptance for the Fall 2013 semester, where I will attain a Master's degree of Science in Nutrition.

Running a blog, as many of you may already know, is a demanding side job once the excitement wears off. And once I fell out of the blogging community's loop (have you SEEN how many blogs there are now? Wow!), it was like the kiss of death. Despite my best efforts, I couldn't get into a blogging routine once this happened due to the disconnect I felt from the community.

So I took a break. I struggled with the loss and with missing my blog. And then I realized I didn't have to run Book Faery to still be a book reviewer; I could read my books and post reviews online. I'm still a book review blogger, just not in the traditional sense.

I'll still be online. You can chat with me on Twitter, where I'll be posting links to my reviews and talking books. I'll also be posting links to nutrition articles. And if you'd like to connect with me where I guarantee I will post reviews, just add me as a friend on Goodreads.

So that's all, folks! It's been a fun and amazing journey, and I thank you all for listening to my thoughts about books. I hope we all can keep in touch elsewhere :)

Tori

Friday, October 1, 2010

Tori's Review: The Usurper by Rowena Cory Daniells


Now a slave, Piro finds herself in the Merofynian Palace where, if her real identity is discovered, she will be executed. Meanwhile, Fyn is desperate to help his brother, Bryen, who is now the uncrowned King. Bryen never sought power but now he finds himself at the centre of a dangerous resistance movement as the people of Rolencia flee vicious invaders. How can Byren defeat the invaders, when half his warriors are women and children, and the other half are untrained boys and old men?













Obtained: Author
Genre: Fantasy
Series:
King Rolen's Kin
1. The King's Bastard (book review)
2. The Uncrowned King (book review)
3. The Usurper
My Rating:  

My Opinion:
THE USURPER, book three in the King Rolen's Kin series, and, much like its predecessors, is chock full of drama, action, and adventure.  The only difference is that, due to my attachment to Byren, Fyn, and Piro, I was much more invested with what happened to them this time around.  I was so attached that I tried to prolong ending the book for two days, which is why this review is being posted on October 1st.

THE USURPER picks up where we left off in THE UNCROWNED KING; the kids are still coping with the loss of their kingdom, the loss of their brother, and the loss of their parents.  Everyone blames themselves.  Each sibling is convinced another is dead.  Lots of good old angst.  Then people start getting reunited, and characters start acting a bit brash and start getting arrogant, and we, as readers, are shipped off to different lands.  (Yes, the stark difference between the first two books and the final book is that, while we do spend some time in Rolencia, it is not the only country we read about).

The romantic in me squealed in happiness.  There's lots of sexual tension in this book, and each character seems to have someone they're attracted to (whether or not they admit to this attraction, however, is another story).  I think Byren's attraction is purely lust, whereas, I feel bad for Fyn.  The "intended" pairing I found most exciting was Piro's.  I'm still not entirely sure why, I think it's because I was more mentally prepared for it, thanks to book two.

I loved what happened to Palatyne.  It was so fitting and it made me grin/cackle.  I wasn't expecting that to happen, which made the scene even better.  He had it coming.  I find with most authors that the final battles are usually anticlimactic; there's so much buildup that I can't help but anticipate a mind-blowing fight scene.  Upon reading those final battles, I usually feel let down.  Not the case in THE USURPER.  I think I was too surprised to feel disappointed.

It was also nice learning more about Isolt, who we only briefly hear about in the past books.  I thought she was a brat initially, but I think Piro's perspective definitely influenced that opinion.

I am so incredibly sad to see this trilogy come to an end.  At this point, I'm not entirely sure if Rowena will write any other books as a followup, but I'm hoping she will.  She leaves the ending open-ended.  So open, that if there isn't a fourth book, I will be enraged beyond belief.  There's enough covered to satisfy the reader for this book, yet, if you're hooked on this series like me, you'll be upset that there wasn't more.  Highly recommend checking this series out if you're looking for a fantasy fix.


3 comments:

  1. Looks like an interesting read - I haven't read fantasy in a while just urban fantasy so maybe I should try this series out. Though the cover is kinda creepy ;)

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  2. Yeah the cover art is creepy for all three books, but it's also really well done. This series was a lot of fun to read :)

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  3. The cover of that book is amazing. The book sounds rather creepy & psychotic...just up my alley!! haha!!

    -Shanise

    P.S. I tagged you, click here!!

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