Review: A Kingdom of Lies by Ben Alderson

Blurb:

Robin Icethorn's journey continues in this thrilling sequel to A Betrayal of Storms, perfect for fans of A Court of Thorns and Roses and From Blood and Ash.

Despite the deception of friends and family, Robin Icethorn has become the king he was destined to be. But enemies still surround him, some hidden behind the smiles of those he trusts. His world is thrown into chaos when the god's become more than just stories. And Robin will do anything to save his father, his last living relative. Even if that means striking up a deal with the father of the person who tried to murder him.

Review:

My cinnamon roll is back! If this doesn’t make sense to you, please see my review for A Betrayal of Storms by Ben Alderson. 

Anyway, yes, we are back with Robin in the Cedarfall Court. Erix and Robin are the young, newly in love couple that can't keep their hands to themselves, and we all know that means things are going to go wrong. And they do because Robin can't have nice things. Consequently, a lot of this book is fueled by Robin making emotionally charged bad decisions and attempting an 'enemy of my enemy' type deal. And then pretty quickly we’re back in Durmain, the realm of humans.

Despite saying in my review of A Betrayal of Storms - you know what, I’m just calling in ABoS now - “I'm looking forward to seeing more of the realm, the court we haven't really met yet,” I didn’t mind spending this book in Durmain. We get a bit more in the fey realm before Robin bounces, Welhaven for example which is this ruin of neutral ground for the courts. “Is that where Robin is making his bad decisions?” This whole book is largely Robin making bad decisions. And the thing is everyone knows Robin is going to make bad decisions but like what can you do? He’s not going to make better decisions. Just bad decisions mixed in around fighting with his friends, fighting with enemies, and getting steamy in questionable places.

This goes into the second thing I found myself surprised by. We don’t spend a ton of time with the familiar characters from ABoS, but Ben has got a clear talent for not losing the story by changing the cast around. There are quite a few times where a series has progressed, the cast of key and supporting characters changes and evolves but I’ve found myself questioning why I went through the previous story with Whoever, their sister and their dog, only to have them be irrelevant in the next. This wasn’t the case here. In fact, I think the characters we’ve picked up from this book are going to cause enormous confrontation, fights and more bad decisions when they come crashing together. Like I said, Ben has a talent for this and I am ready for the third book, please and thank you. Also more Althea if you’re taking requests, Ben.

Another nod to Ben’s skill are his signs, foreshadowing and hints which make you guess at what’s coming next. In a few instances I could see what was coming and I was very smug about it. ‘Didn’t fool me!’ and all that jazz. But then he totally did, because there were other reveals and moments that I didn’t see coming at all and I was expecting to! Because I had been most right up until then. (Except the one about hate sex. I was pretty right about that.) And yes, I did absolutely message Ben with my reactions and theories on a few instances (not that he asked) and was given ‘teehee’ responses back. So he knew he was setting me up to be wrong. I was lulled into a false sense of security repeatedly and I enjoyed the whole experience of being wrong.

Now, what didn’t vibe with me this time was some of the dialogue (and the foot thing but that’s a whole different topic altogether). Generally, everyone did things and said things that fit with the world, and the previous and present book. Occasionally there was a snippet in a scene that just felt very Jane Austenesque and had me making that face of someone trying not to be rude when they’ve eaten something questionable at a dinner. One of those “Ok but who talks like that?” moments. It didn't take away from the book but it did occasionally distract me from the scene.

So all in all, A Kingdom of Lies dives right back in with the story we’ve left off at the end of A Betrayal of Storms. We get another fast paced story, spicy spice and complement of characters that are going to set us up for a powerful third book and I have no doubt it will pack a heck of a punch.

A Kingdom of Lies is available from 26 November 2024.