I have a somewhat wide taste in genres, in both movies and books. Case in point: I often enjoy a historical romance as much as a contemporary drama or military thriller, as long as the story hooks me from the start. Over the past couple years, author Ronie Kendig has found her way onto my must-read list with her military suspense/thriller/romance stories, sometimes including a hint of supernatural threads, ALWAYS with a compelling cast. Her new novel, Kings Falling, is the second in the “Book of the Wars” series. Read on for more about the book and my thoughts!
Leif Metcalfe and his team, dubbed Reaper, need to recover the stolen, ancient Book of the Wars if they hope to stop the Armageddon Coalition and their pursuit of global economic control. But their attention has been diverted by a prophecy in the book that foretells of formidable guardians who will decimate the enemies of ArC. While Iskra Todorova uses her connections in the covert underworld to hunt down the Book of the Wars, Leif and Reaper attempt to neutralize these agents but quickly find themselves outmaneuvered and outgunned.
The more Reaper tries to stop the guardians, the more failure becomes a familiar, antagonistic foe. Friendships are fractured, and the team battles to hold it together long enough to defeat ArC. But as this millennia-old conspiracy creeps closer and closer to home, the implications could tear Leif and the team apart.
Kings Falling is a labyrinth of a story that kept me turning pages as fast as I could without coming up for air! Ronie Kendig has crafted a unique and enthralling thriller of a story with high stakes, believable circumstances, and a team you would want to covering your 6.
This is the kind of book that’s best read in sequence with the first book, Storm Rising. The pace of Kings Falling never lets up – with almost whiplash impact, Leif, Iskra, and the team travel the globe to put together fragments of truth about the famed Book of the Wars. Seeing the team reunited and learning more about some of my favorites was just a bonus (I’m talking Mercy, Lawe and Pete, and even Cell). Getting a peek into their perspectives every now and then added more layers and tension (ahem, CELL) to the events happening. I really, REALLY hope book 3 will complete some of these hinted story trails!
I’m intrigued – though not at all surprised – with the way Kendig has crafted this story. Every tiny detail is important to the whole, and the cohesion of the plot and of the characters on the page is riveting. I was, in turn, surprised, delighted, frustrated, humored, mad, and even impressed; sometimes all in the same paragraph 😉! The psychological dimensions and growth of Leif and Iskra were my favorite.
I highly recommend this story to any fans of military suspense, thrillers, or action-packed, team-centric drama. November and Soul Raging (book 3) can’t come soon enough!
Thank you to the publisher, Bethany House, for the review copy. This is my honest review.
Review of book 1 Storm Rising
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