eARC Review: Lethal Kings by Victoria McCombs
Release date: 12 November 2024
Rating: 5/5
Recommended for: YA audiences aged 15-17, adults
Synopsis: You've been warned many times, you cannot trust the kings . . .
The old queen is dead, a new queen is in play, and the realm has descended into darkness. For the first time in history, a queen has rejected the game. Eliza will start her reign with no alliances while Althea must fight to save her tenuous bond with the king who cannot love. Her relationship threatens to break, but Althea’s attention becomes divided after receiving a few harrowing clues connecting her past and the game at hand.
Before she can find answers, a mysterious fae appears promising the power of the seventh king to whoever [sic] can solve a series of riddles, leaving the fae realm in shambles as they race to come out on top. Althea has one year left. New alliances are forged. Old stories come to life. She must make her move, or the fate of the queens will consume her.
Review
The following review contains absolutely no spoilers for the series. All comments are general in nature and give no clues whatsoever to the ending. Enjoy!
I absolutely FLEW through Mortal Queens in February, devastated by the loathsome yet skillfully executed cliffhanger off of which I dangled until I could finally read this fantastic conclusion. Well, the wait is over (and about to be for everyone), and I’m not sure anyone will be disappointed. McCombs stuck this landing. I spent the whole time reading with squinty eyes, suspicious of absolutely everyone, and I didn’t figure at all how the great mystery would resolve itself. Bravissima.
Young Adult feels rejuvenated with the recent reads I’ve finished in the genre (which coincidentally all seem to be indie). McCombs shows YA Can be engaging, romantic, sophisticated, and age appropriate all at once. Althea, though only 17 (still a child), balances maturity acquired from life hardships with on-level naiveté. She makes mistakes—many times—and fears like any young person does, but she preserves despite the overwhelming circumstances. Too many YA novels completely put me off with the main characters, teetering on the cusp of adulthood, lacking experience and wisdom (but not copious amounts of token trauma) but still, somehow, managing to read as almost thirty somethings, acting like grown folks and doing seriously grown up things. McCombs keeps Thea in her age bracket and surrounds her with adult characters who do these things. I just love this—and it's making a return with increasing frequency in YA literature lately. As it should.
The Fae Dynasty duology serves as the brightest beacon, however, with its twisty, bendy, complex plot. I love best the novels that engage me as an active reader the most, and Lethal Kings serves up a banquet of suspicion with paranoia as a dessert. While Mortal Queens develops the world, explains the dynamics and customs of the Fae and their queens, and then drops readers off a cliff; Lethal Kings shows readers, after all the wonders they’ve already seen, that they haven't seen anything yet.
Readers, parents, educators, and book worms searching for something, anything, to read that’s YA appropriate and absolutely fantastic fantasy cannot go wrong with Victoria McCombs’ Fae Dynasty. The books contain no foul language or inappropriate sexual content, and keep readers at the edge of their seats. Barring any restrictions parents may have on fantasy content, I’d hand these to any 15-17 year olds looking for something to read and tell them to enjoy—with no reservations.
My sincerest thanks to Enclave Publishing and the author—who knows how to run her readers through the ringer (that one hurt, McCombs)—for the eARC, for which I excitedly and willingly give my own, honest opinion.
Comentarios