Review: GATHERING DARKNESS by Morgan Rhodes

Series: Falling Kingdoms #3
Genre: Young Adult, Fantasy
Publisher: Razorbill
Pages: 407
Release date: December 9th 2014

War brought them together. Love will tear them apart.

Alliances form across Mytica and beyond as royals and rebels alike race to hunt down the Kindred—the four elemental crystals that give their owners god-like power. The stakes have never been higher for Magnus and Cleo, who are brought together by a life or death decision that will lock their fates and change the course of the kingdom forever.

THE REBELS forge ahead. Princess Cleo slays with sweetness—and a secret that might control Lucia’s magic—as she and vengeful Jonas lead the hunt for the all-powerful Kindred.

THE KRAESHIANS join the fray. Ashur and Amara, the royal siblings from the vast kingdom across the Silver Sea, prove to be just as ruthless as they are charming as they manipulate their way to victory.

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.

And which side will Prince Magnus choose, now that everyone he’s been betrayed by everyone he’s ever loved?

Gathering Darkness is an action packed and fast paced story told in various POVs, full of intrigue, war, romance, and the most delicious twists and turns! This is the third installment — and definitely a turning point — in the Falling Kingdoms series, and picks up after the events of Rebel Spring.

Once again Rhodes proves she can write multiple POVs, juggle different plot points, and expand the world-building of this universe she created. This novel adds so much more depth to the series with its mythology, finally giving us some pretty interesting explanations about the Kindred. It also develops the characters and their relationships, as well closes some plot points to open new and exciting ones.

As someone who isn’t a huge fan of this series, I have to say Gathering Darkness really does bring everything to a new level for me. It starts out a little slow, but it soon picks up and doesn’t drop the action until the very end. The plot is complex and intriguing, and I am very happy to say that all of the twists are surprising.

The characters continue to develop in this book. No one is static throughout the story, and all of them face different challenges and obstacles. Some POVs are still more to my taste than others, but overall not one chapter feels like a waste and all of the characters contribute to move the plot forward. Again, there is character death, but this time I do feel like they serve the plot very well, even though one of my favorite side-characters died.

I still maintain my thoughts on the romance aspect in this series: lots of instalove. I do have to admit that some relationships that started out instantly in the previous installments get more development here, which I appreciate, but they still aren’t believable to me. I am glad that the focus of the story isn’t on that, and instead the author chooses to give more importance to the action and intrigue elements of the book.

In the end, I’m very happy with Gathering Darkness. It is a novel that raises the stakes and is fun and easy to read. The twists are executed very well, and the action leaves you on the edge of your seat. Fans of the series will love this, and people like me will finally understand what all the fuss is about.