In The Hellborn King we follow a couple of different storylines through different POV characters. There is a rebellion brewing and we also follow a royal family who is in shambles and tearing itself apart.
What I Liked:
The prologue is a banger. It doesn’t waste any time introducing you to the world and kind of story you’ll be in for. You’ll know pretty quickly that no one is safe and no punches will be pulled.
The book explores PTSD, addiction, depression and other topics without beating you over the head with them. They are in the story and characters, and done subtly. This has more of an impact for me done this way.
There are lots of battles and strategies but not so much that it’s overwhelming. The battles are well written, quick and to the point. I think it’s safe to say there isn’t a ton of magic but it does sprinkle in a little with a pinch of horror.
I didn’t like all of the characters, but I still enjoyed reading and learning about them. Disliking a character and still wanting to read about them is a good sign. There is enough description of what the characters looked like for me to have a visual, that helped me keep track of all of them. The names are also on the short and manageable side, which I appreciated.
It’s very easy to read. It looks thick and intimidating but I flew through this one.
What I Didn’t Like:
There were times that the writing would be too wordy and over explain things. (I’ve started to read the second book in the series and can say this has improved with the sequel). A few typo’s but nothing major.
There are a few characters that reminded me of other characters from different series that I sometimes couldn’t shake. But that’s a personal issue.
Overall Thoughts:
From front to back this story was pretty much non-stop, there aren’t many points that you feel we’re not moving forward in some way. I love that when someone made a mistake or a choice, there were consequences. Some characters died because it made sense and no one was there to save them. It’s an easy read but still packed full of world building, history and characters that served as a great foundation for the rest of the series.