G’day friends! I hope you have been well this week. I am exhausted but that is a story for another time!
Today I bring to you a review of debut novel Kingshold by D.P. Wooliscroft as part of The Write Reads blog tour! So make sure to check out the other stops on the blog tour as we have epic bookbloggers as part of this tour!
So before I start, like I do with all my reviews, here is the synopsis from Goodreads:
Mareth is a bard, a serial under achiever, a professional drunk, and general disappointment to his father. Despite this, Mareth has one thing going for him. He can smell opportunity. The King is dead and an election for the new Lord Protector has been called. If he plays his cards right, if he can sing a story that will put the right person in that chair, his future fame and drinking money is all but assured. But, alas, it turns out Mareth has a conscience after all.
Neenahwi is the daughter to Jyuth, the ancient wizard who founded the Kingdom of Edland and she is not happy. Itโs not just that her father was the one who killed the King, or that he didnโt tell her about his plans. Sheโs not happy because her father is leaving, slinking off into retirement and now she has to clean up his mess.
Alana is a servant at the palace and the unfortunate soul to draw the short straw to attend to Jyuth. Alana knows that intelligence and curiosity arenโt valued in someone of her station, but sometimes she canโt help herself and so finds herself drawn into the Wizardโs schemes, and worst of all, coming up with her own plans.
Chance brings this unlikely band together to battle through civil unrest, assassinations, political machinations, pirates and monsters, all for a common cause that they know, deep down, has no chance of succeeding โ bringing hope to the people of Kingshold.
thoughts on the storyline and characters.
To bring context to the story and to also help me in attempting to collect my thoughts, Kingshold is a place that I would definitely describe as being overwhelmed by corruption, treachery and turmoil. Honestly, it is increibly tumultuous and dramatic. The King and Queen were found murdered and absolutely no one knows who could have possibly done the deed. If you want an absolute awesome summary of the events leading up to and what happens in this book, I highly recommend reading Nick T. Borrelli’s review because it is detailed and specific.
First and foremost, I found the writing to be really well done. The author was able to keep me engaged in the storyline, in the characters, in the action and drama. Everytime I thought that nothing more could actually happen…the plot took a turn and left me gasping! The worldbuilding was done in a very persuasive way, if that makes sense. This alternate world is filled to the brim with magic and all sorts of magical/supernatural creatures which I did enjoy reading about. I do wish that we were given slightly more detail pertaining to the ‘magic system’ – there is a mystery surrounding it to the point where I wasn’t too sure if it was actually magical? I could also have just completely missed any information though as I read this when I was stressed out! The magic involved is more rituals or the use of runes, and mana (life force) so using the life forces within the trees or animals is a better option…? We also have a few characters (Jyuth and Neenawhi) who derive power from gems or stealing power from a demon, respectively.
At first, the constant jumping around of the multiple perspectives were slightly confusing as well as also understanding the pacing of the story. I think this was because most of the POVs were introduced in the beginning of the book and I was too busy trying to figure out who each of the characters were, what they were doing, and how they fit with the story. The pacing overall was good but I did find that the beginning of the story was more ‘information dump’ than I like. I also enjoy slighlty more action though, but the political intrigue was interesting enough for me to continue reading.
Overall, I did enjoy reading this book and I think most readers who enjoy fantasy and political intrigue would like this book. Although I do wish there was more in terms of action and less information-dump in certain areas of the story (but that is a personal preference!) I rate it 3.5 out of 5 stars.
Also, make sure to check out the other stops on the blog tour!\
Until next time, happy reading!
All the love,
allie
xx
About the Author
Born in Derby in England, on the day before mid-summers day, David Peter Woolliscroft was very nearly magical. If only his dear old mum could have held on for another day. But magic called out to him over the years, with a many a book being devoured for its arcane properties. David studied Accounting at Cardiff University where numbers weaved their own kind of magic and he has since been a successful business leader in the intervening twenty years. Adventures have been had. More books devoured and then one day, David had read enough where the ideas he had kept bottled up needed a release valve. And thus, rising out of the self doubt like a
phoenix at a clicky keyboard, a writer was born. The Wildfire Cycle is David’s debut series. He is married to his wife Haneen and has a daughter Liberty, who all live with their mini golden doodle Rosie in Princeton NJ.
David is one of the few crabs to escape the crab pot.
โจ ๐ฝ๐ฑ๐ฎ ๐ต๐ฒ๐ซ๐ป๐ช๐ป๐ ๐ธ๐ฏ ๐ช๐ต๐ฎ๐๐ช๐ท๐ญ๐ป๐ช โจ 