Legacy of Kings by Eleanor Herman

Whew! It's been quite some time since I've posted a book review. So let's get started on a historical fantasy: Legacy of Kings by Eleanor Herman.

What's The Story?

Legacy of Kings tells several interconnected stories, all of them relating to the kingdom of Macedonia. Alexander, son of Phillip II and heir to the throne, is regent due to his father's absence. Having only a small army, he must learn how to navigate the kingdom from several threats of invasion. Katerina needs to learn her actual past, as well as avenge her mother's death. This leads her and her friend Jacob from their village all the way to King Phillip's castle. But just as Kat and Jacob's feelings for each other evolve, more details begin to unfold. Queen Olympias has many dark secrets and is using very dark magic. The fate of the empire then rests in these three characters to stop Olympias from pursuing her own agendas.

Likes

Okay, this book is going to be a little bit difficult to review. Then again, I never said that the job of a bookworm was an easy one! This book was more of a positive one, with only a few problems in my opinion. It was taking awhile in the beginning to gain my interest, but once I dug deeper I realized that this was really intriguing me to move forward. While I don't place this book as highly as others, I'll definitely be getting into the sequel whenever I possibly can. So let's get started!

First off, I really enjoyed the fact that it was mostly based off ancient history, combined with some fantasy elements. Ever since I was a kid, I enjoyed learning about history and the origin of things, specifically Ancient Greece. So when I found that out about this book, I knew I was in for something interesting. I also love the fact that Alex in the story is actually a teenage reimagining of Alexander The Great. That was pretty cool!

There is a lot of different characters we meet along the way. Katerina is the first one that we are introduced to, so I like to think of her as a main protagonist. She is a kind girl and has a calm attitude, even in the gravest of moments. As I said before, there's also Alex (who I really enjoyed reading about). Despite having a deformity that made everyone dislike him on the throne, he still proves to be a noble fighter and prince. 

There's a couple of additional characters that are pretty important to the story too. We have Hephaestion, who is Alexander's best friend. Then there's Cynane, who is Alex's half-sister with a very scheming demeanor. And Zofia, the fiancé to the prince who is actually in love with another man. There's also the queen, who seems innocent but is power-hungry and only worried about pursuing her own agendas. There's so many more that you'll meet throughout the journey as well!

The book was, at first, starting off very slow and I wasn't sure if it was going to keep me. But once I got deeper into the story and it started to unfold, my interest began to unravel and I found myself submerged into the book. In short, I had no problem finishing the book and couldn't wait to pick it up whenever I could. 

Dislikes

Now I just said about the big amount of important characters there are in this book. While they all hold some significance, there was just too many perspectives to it! 

In the beginning, the story was moving slowly and I wasn't sure what to think. But about twenty-percent of the way through the book, stuff started to make sense and I eventually got into the story.

Is It Worth Reading?

Despite some of the issues that I talked about, I would still recommend giving this book a try. It's a neat story combining both history and magic. You'll have to make your way through the first few slow parts, but it's a fun ride as soon as you do.

Rating

★★★☆☆