Friday 21 March 2014

Book Review 6: The Seven Realms Series

I have previously reviewed "The Demon King" but now that I've completed all four Seven Realms books, I thought I'd do a overall review of the entire series. Let me start off by saying, the first time I was introduced to Cinda Williams Chima was a few years ago, when I got my hands on "The Wizard Heir" which is book two from her other fantasy series, titled "The Heir Chronicles." When I learned she wrote another series, I knew I had to read it. The Heir Chronicles are set in modern day times, while The Seven Realms is high fantasy.

As soon as I started reading The Demon King, I just fell in love with it and it became one of my favourite book series'. It had everything in it that I wanted in a book; magic, betrayal, romance, and twists and turns that leave you at the edge of your seat. The two main characters are Raisa Ana Marianna and Han Allister. Raisa is heir to the throne to her mom's Queendom. She is stubborn, headstrong, causes trouble, and you can't help but love her for it. Han Allister is a former streetlord who often tries to do the right thing, but trouble seems to find him wherever he goes. We follow their journeys as individuals and their worlds eventually collide.

As the story progresses, so does the character development. Chima does a great job of keeping you interested and getting you emotionally attached. Without giving away any spoilers, I will say this; you may get attached to some characters that don't make it till the end. Having previously read The Heir Chronicles, I knew to expect some gore and deaths. There was one particular character which I expected to die early on, but he/she (surprisingly) survived .

The series ended very well. It left me satisfied, and I felt like it tied up all the loose ends. I was happy with the way things turned out. However, I am sad that there will no longer be any future Seven Realms for me to look forward to! On the contrary, I still have to read Chima's most recent book, The Enchanter's Heir. And if memory serves correctly, There will be one more book in the Heir Chronicles after the Enchanter's Heir. I really do hope Cinda Williams Chima decides to write more books in the future, because I absolutely love her!



Tuesday 11 March 2014

Finished my First "E-Book"

I finished reading The Gray Wolf Throne on my e-reader a couple of nights ago. I had a hard time putting it down. Cinda Williams Chima has that charm on me. I love all her books and love her writing style. I found myself staying up late at night, telling myself, "just one more chapter, then I'll go bed!" Raisa Ana Marianna (who is the protagonist in the story) always puts a smile on my face when she says something witty and makes everyone well aware that she can't be bullied into doing things she doesn't want. She's headstrong and stubborn and that quite often gets her into trouble with her enemies, and even within her Queendom.

The e-reader wasn't half as bad as I expected it to be. I still stand by my opinion that I prefer real books over e-books. However, since the book sucked me in to the story so well, I didn't even remember I was reading an electronic book half the time.

Now that I've completed book three, it's time to read the fourth and final chapter in the series, "The Crimson Crown." I can't wait to see how Chima ends the series, and am anticipating some untimely deaths along the way! (There were quite a few heartbreaking deaths in Chima's other book series, "The Heir Chronicles." *tear*). Keep your eyes open for a book review on this wonderful book series in the next few weeks!

Happy Reading! =)