Gathering Darkness by Morgan Rhodes

Falling Kingdoms #3

Book Summary Via Goodreads:

       Love, vengeance, and greed spark a deadly quest for magic in the third book of the Falling Kingdoms series

       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 these dark times is that whoever finds the magic first will control the fate of Mytica. . . . but the four element gods of the Kindred have other plans.

So, I finished this book late last night, and I had to process what I read. This is the third book in the Falling Kingdoms series, so possible spoilers ahead.

The book is hands down the best in the series. Everything went up a notch. This is such a well-rounded fantasy story. And I really love how nobody is all good or all bad, except King Gaius, he's a dick.

Magnus... oh Prince Magnus, I just want to hug you. He was kind of the star of this book. His character development is the one I am most interested in.

Cleo is slowly becoming a really strong character. Before, even in Rebel Spring, she was kind of naive. Wanting to solve problems without killing, or by trying to negotiate. She was trying to be diplomatic when she didn't know how to be.

Jonas wasn't in this book as much as the last, but he still played a key role int he story. I would have liked to know more about what he plans on doing if/when he succeeds in his goal.

Lucia, she is slowly becoming crazier. Her magic is slowly driving her mad with power and continues to trust easily the wrong people. Taking her adoptive Father's word on everything, trusting him even though she should know that he'd kill her with his bare hands if it meant achieving his goals. She is naive one in the books now.

The Kraeshians, from the moment I met Prince Ashur and his sister, Princess Amara, I knew I could trust them about as far as I could throw them. Ashur eventually became the slightly more trustworthy, but still. I knew they were up to no good.

We get to meet more Watchers in this book, which I liked. Learning more about who they are and where they came from was really interesting too.

This book had me on the edge of my seat, and then when I got to the end of page 397 of the hardcover addition, I squealed. I had a feeling that it was going to happen, and I really wanted it to happen as well, and I'm really happy that it did.

With how this book ended, I really wish I had the next book already. It's books like these that make people wait for the whole series to be done before reading it. The wait is torture.