Gathering Darkness by Morgan Rhodes (2014)

*Gathering Darkness is the third book in the Falling Kingdoms series by Morgan Rhodes.

Jonas has nowhere to go. After his failed attacks on the King of Blood and his empire, all of his rebels are either dead or captured. So, he does the one thing he can do, and call on Cleo to help. Trapped her own kingdom and wedded to someone she despises, Cleo jumps at the chance to help. All she needs to do is to befriend Lucia, the girl who took her place as princess. Lucia’s magic is the key to finding the Kindred, which Cleo will need to take her kingdom back. However, the friendship is easier said than done. Everyone in the Kingdom has their eyes on Cleo, especially Magnus, her husband. While he seems like he has nothing but disgust for her, his intrigue for her increases. Still, he has bigger things to worry about. The Kraeshians have unexpectedly arrived in Mystica, and Magnus can’t help but feel that they’re looking for trouble. Together, Magnus, Jonas, Cleo, and Lucia have the fate of Mystica in their hands, but to retrieve it they must untangle themselves from their interwoven paths.  

I really enjoyed the first two books in this series, Falling Kingdoms and Rebel Spring. I liked Gathering Darkness too, but not as much as the first two. While I am usually instantly grabbed into this world, it took me a while to get into it this time. I think part of the reason is there was a lot less action, but instead an emphasis on the politics of Mystica. Don’t get me wrong, a lot of things went down in this book, but at a slower pace than I am used. Still, as usually, Morgan Rhodes had a fantastic writing style that’s addicting and magical. The way she captures a mood or feeling is golden, and even though this book was slow, she knew how to keep the reader captured. However the last 100 pages or so was anything but slow.. There was a huge finale that wrapped up so many loose ends together, but also successfully pulled off a really big plot twist.

Yet, because this book was so slow, there was room for some major character development. Leaving off in the last book, I wasn’t the hugest fan of Magnus, but he came through. He definitely experienced some sort of personal identity crisis, and because of that, he had to evaluate his whole way of thinking. Overall, he became a lot more open minded, which led him to making decisions that benefited more than his personal goals. Lucia, Magnus’s sister, also really came into play. During the last two book, she really was a back burner character, and I didn’t pay much attention to her. She finally took control of her life and became a force to be reckoned with. I was also really impressed that she was smart enough to see past the backward ideology that women have to be “pure” and embraced her sexuality instead of being ashamed of it. Then there was Cleo and Jonas, who I didn’t feel developed at all. One of my complaints about them during the first books is that they were quite naive, and unfortunately that continued to be a pattern. In Gathering Darkness, we were also introduced to Ashur and Amara Kraeshian, who were both a pleasure to read. They were filled with surprises and fully dynamic characters, which reminded me how great Morgan Rhodes is at introducing new characters.

Ultimately, this book presented some ups and downs, but was still fantastic.

4 Stars