Wings of Fury by Emily R. King

Title: Wings of Fury

Author: Emily R. King
Genre: Fantasy
Series: Wings of Fury # 1

Paperback, 302 pages
Publication: March 1, 2021 by 47North
Source: I received a review copy from WunderKind PR in exchange for a honest review.
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Cronus, God of Gods, whose inheritance is the world. Among his possessions: women, imprisoned and fated to serve. The strong-minded Althea Lambros controls her own fate and lives to honor her dying mother’s plea to protect her two sisters at all costs. Althea’s journey toward crushing the tyranny has begun. It is a destiny foretold by the Fates. And she is following their visions.

On the southern isle of Crete, hidden among mortal women who have fled the Titans, is the Boy God, son of Cronus and believed dead. He shares Althea’s destiny to vanquish the Almighty—fate willing. Because Cronus has caught wind of the plot. He’s amassing his own forces against Althea’s righteous rebellion and all those who will no longer surrender or run. There will be war. If she’s to survive to write their history, the indomitable Althea must soar higher than any god.

My Thoughts

Greek mythology is back y’all. I remember Greek mythos was all the rage in YA and Middle Grade back around 2010. And I honestly haven’t encounter many Greek mythology inspired novels since then, that is until now with King’s Wings of Fury. Wings of Fury is a coming of age and self-discovery story of Althea Lambros. As with most heroine in a story, Althea is destined for greatness and on her journey to greatness she is prophesied to bring down the tyrannical Titan Cronus with the help of The Boy God.

Many Greek inspired novels are centered on the Gods and Goddess. I love that Wings of Fury took a different route and focused on the Titan…and womanhood. This past year it was all about girl power and femininity taking center stage and Wings of Fury is no exception. Althea is a very independent and headstrong character. While she is the middle child of three sisters, she is a true lioness when it came to protecting her family and those she cared about.

I love that we were right besides Althea as she set out to discover herself, not only her true identity but what she’s capable of. Even a tribe of so-called warrior women was not match for Althea, she didn’t back down to any man, woman or god. I liked her fieriness. However, the supporting cast wasn’t as interesting as our lead. While Theo and Zeus played an important role and I enjoyed their banter, they easily faded into the background. And Althea’s sisters were sadly the least memorable of the cast. I never connected with them and hope the sequel will heavily focused just on the trio: Althea, Theo and Zeus.

Overall Wings of Fury was a solid start to a brand new series. I enjoyed it and am looking forward to seeing more titans and gods and what King has in store for Althea. If you like female, feminist driven novels with a dose of Greek mythology then Wings of Fury is for you. It’s a fairy short novel that offered a few hours of escapism. Which was exactly what I needed.

 

 

Knight's Ransom by Jeff Wheeler

Title: Knight's Ransom

Author: Jeff Wheeler
Genre: Fantasy
Series: The First Argentines Book 1

Paperback, 432 pages
Publication: January 26, 2021 by 47North
Source: I received a review copy from WunderKind PR in exchange for a honest review.
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Uneasy lies the head that wears a crown. A brutal war of succession has plunged the court of Kingfountain into a power struggle between a charitable king who took the crown unlawfully and his ambitious rival, Devon Argentine. The balance of power between the two men hinges on the fate of a young boy ensnared in this courtly intrigue. A boy befittingly nicknamed Ransom.

When the Argentine family finally rules, Ransom must make his own way in the world. Opportunities open and shut before him as he journeys along the path to knighthood, blind to a shadowy conspiracy of jealousy and revenge. Securing his place will not be easy, nor will winning the affection of Lady Claire de Murrow, a fiery young heiress from an unpredictably mad kingdom.

Ransom interrupts an abduction plot targeting the Queen of Ceredigion and earns a position in service to her son, the firstborn of the new Argentine dynasty. But conflict and treachery threaten the family, and Ransom must also come to understand and hone his burgeoning powers—abilities that involve more than his mastery with a blade and that make him as much a target as his lord.

One small misstep could lead to disaster. But for Aurelia, facing disaster is easy; it’s relationships that are hard.

My Thoughts

Wheeler returns to the world of Kingfountain with Knight’s Ransom, a prequel series. Knight’s Ransom follows the adventures of Marshall Barton, nicknamed Ransom; from a boy once held hostage to a distinguished knight of the realm. After the death of King Gervase, Ransom is left destitute with no money, no real family or home that he knows of and no lord to serve. He then vows and does everything in his power to prove himself a worthy knight befitted to serve a respectable lord. 

I’ve read The Queen’s Poisoner a few years back and remembered loving it. But as with life, I never gotten around to finishing the series. So it was nice to revisit the world with Knight’s Ransom. Although its not a requirement to read The Queen’s Poisoner to enjoy this new series. It comes as no surprised that I enjoyed Knight’s Ransom. Wheeler is a masterful storyteller, the book was action-packed from beginning to end. I was intrigued by Ransom’s fountain-blessed abilities and the political maneuvering within the Argentine family as well as their rival, King Lewis. 

All the characters were so well developed. I absolutely loved Ransom. He’s so wholesome. He never let his surrounding or the actions of other sway or dictate his person. I really admired him. He’s also fiercely loyal and an amazing swordsman. The action sequences was vivid and perfectly detailed as if I were watching from the the sidelines on the battlefield or in the stands in Pree. I rarely connect with secondary/tertiary characters but Wheeler’s characters’ had me invested in literally everyone. I was shocked and devastated early on when Lord Rakeshaw and Sir William met an early demise in an ambush. While The First Argentines novel seemed heavily male dominated, there were a handful of powerful and capable women sprinkled here and there. One of the main heroine is Ransom’s childhood friend Lady Claire de Murrow. Although Claire isn’t at the forefront as much as some of the other characters, readers are privy to Claire’s most intimate thoughts with her journal entries following each chapter. I thought it was a great addition to tie in the overall story. She pretty funny too.

I think Knight’s Ransom is a great start to a promising series. This First Argentines book exceed all my expectations and had me captivated from the first page. Wheeler had twist coming one after another. I loved the unpredictability of it all! Just when I thought it was safe…BOOM! Wheeler throws another shocking turn of event that sends the reader a.k.a me reeling. I’m talking about that ending! I can’t wait to see what Wheeler has in store for the subsequent books! How fitting that the novel began with a death of a king and ended with a death of a king, and that both events catapulted Ransom on his new journey. If you love a good ol’ old fashion fantasy adventure with amazing world building and character development, then pick up Knight’s Ransom A.S.A.P.