The Kingdom of Liars by Nick Martell is the first book in his new fantasy series, The Legacy of the Mercenary Kings. I had some mixed feelings about this book, but since this is Martell’s debut novel, and considering this is an epic fantasy, it was a well written story.

Michael Kingman is our hero in this series, though in the first half of the book, he wasn’t a good hero, being somewhat unlikeable. Michael, whose father murdered the King’s son 10 years earlier, has lived with his family branded as traitors. Michael works with friends to con royals to make ends meet. Michael is determined to prove that his father was innocent and framed; he pushes his way into situations that endanger himself and his friends. The story did begin with Michael on trial for supposedly killing the King, and it then switches to the past, detailing how Michael ended up being accused of murder.

In order to get closer to the royal family, he helps a Fabricator, who is looking for evidence and in doing so becomes more visible, especially to the Corrupt Prince, who wants nothing better than to have Michael killed. In any first book of a fantasy, I recognize the author trying to give us a lot of information of the worldbuilding. My mixed feelings were more that the first half was a bit slow, the hero wasn’t overly likable, the secondary characters were ok, and the storyline was somewhat confusing with each chapter. I wasn’t sure I would continue. However, I am glad I did, as the last half of the book picked up, with a bit more clarity, and excitement and the hero becoming more focused.

We learn more later in the book about Fabricators and their magic, as well as Mercenaries. I also did like Michael’s sister, Gwen, who was a heroine in her own right; and Naomi was another interesting character. This is a difficult review to write, as so much is going on from the start to finish that is hard to put in writing without being spoilers.

The Kingdom of Liars was an interesting fantasy, that became exciting and intriguing in the last half of the book. The finale was a surprise, and did have me pushing to find out the end. Being fantasy, Nick Martell wrote a good story, especially being his debut novel, which I expect to see some improvements in the next book.

The Kingdom of Liars
This is a changeup from the usual baseball writing you see on this site, but if you’ve read my about section at all you’ll know that fantasy baseball is not the only genre of fantasy of which I have interest.

I received this book from Gallery / Saga Press and Netgalley.com in exchange for fair and honest review.
The Kingdom of Liars is a debut novel by Nick Martell which he wrote in his last two years of college. The setting is a place called Hollow on an alternate world from our own that takes place around the time of the industrial revolution and the move towards gun powder but combined with magical elements.
Here’s the blurb from the publisher:
“In this brilliant debut fantasy, a story of secrets, rebellion, and murder are shattering the Hollows, where magic costs memory to use, and only the son of the kingdom’s despised traitor holds the truth.
Michael is branded a traitor as a child because of the murder of the king’s nine-year-old son, by his father David Kingman. Ten years later on Michael lives a hardscrabble life, with his sister Gwen, performing crimes with his friends against minor royals in a weak attempt at striking back at the world that rejects him and his family.
In a world where memory is the coin that pays for magic, Michael knows something is there in the hot white emptiness of his mind. So when the opportunity arrives to get folded back into court, via the most politically dangerous member of the kingdom’s royal council, Michael takes it, desperate to find a way back to his past. He discovers a royal family that is spiraling into a self-serving dictatorship as gun-wielding rebels clash against magically trained militia.
What the truth holds is a set of shocking revelations that will completely change the Hollows, if Michael and his friends and family can survive long enough to see it.”
The book places the reader right into the deep end, beginning at the end of the story and then making its way back to that point throughout the course of the novel. It is told in the first-person with who is not an entirely reliable narrator. There are no all at once data dumps about the magic system or history of the world, but details are revealed at the appropriate times and you will have to be patient and stick with it as your reward. There is no spoon-feeding going on here.
The main character, Michael Kingman, is likeable, crafty, and reasonably intelligent, but really is not particularly special, but simply driven and stubborn. Since the book is in the first-person you don’t get a lot of character development from characters not named Michael, but on the other hand none of them seem two-dimensional or lacking in depth.
While the book contains one or two moments that seem a bit on the “too convenient” side, they are outweighed by far by the moments I didn’t see coming and how the mysteries are neatly tied together to a satisfying conclusion that leaves me eagerly awaiting the next book.
Did I say next book? Yes this is the first of a brand-new trilogy entitled “The Legacy of the Mercenary Kings”
On a scale out of five, I’m giving it a 4 and am eager to see if he can top it with the following novels.

I stopped reading at the 14% mark. I felt like I had been thrown into the middle of a story, and I hadn’t really warmed up to Michael or any of the other characters by the time I quit. I liked the premise, but I didn’t have the patience to see it play out.

It’s unfortunate that I was very excited to read this book but ended up not finishing it because I just didn’t like the main character. I’m a very character focused reader, so that didn’t bode well for me. I have heard that it gets better during the second half of the book, but I’m currently not in the mood to continue. However, I might still decide to pick it up again but I can’t be sure at this time.

Rating: 10/10

Thank you to Will and Gollancz for sending me a review copy. This did not influence my opinions/thoughts. This review is a non-spoiler review and so will contain more about the world building than anything else.

This is what Game of Thrones would look like, if it had a sense of an moral compass and heroism. This is what my intepretation of this fantastic novel is. It comes at a whopping 608 pages or so. This is what fantasy books should be in my opinion. I have seen a boy become a man by the end of this book. If I had to summarise it in one sentence, that describes everything that is for this book.

The details of distinguishing between the high and low nobles, the Ravens and the Fabricators, the Archivists is so painstainkingly done to every single detail, this was a labour of love done by Nick Martell. Michael Kingman is a character that you would expect to be a coward, a person that knows nothing. A man that’s too afflicted from his past. A man that runs from his past. A man that needs to discover the truth of what afflicts him the most.

I would call this under a category of a good mix of grim-dark fantasy combined with heroic fantasy. That’s what I think the novel represents in my opinion. Gwen in my opinion needed more scenes with Michael. I also wanted to see even more scenes of King Issac, to better understand his motivations, and more scenes of the Corrupt Prince, who I felt needed a few more scenes in there. But you can’t fit everything in this whopping debut. Without spoiling too much, I also wanted Michael to go towards his mother a lot more. I feel as if the mother holds more clues than she’s revealing.

Dormet is officially one of my favorite characters along with Dark. I do not know why, but if you read on, you’ll figure why. You will feature loss throughout this novel, and you will cry. The way in which Nick demonstrates loss is honorable, though it does have Game of Thrones tendancies some times. There is so much power and political intrigue I cannot understand how Michael Kingman must navigate through all this when his father was branded as a traitor. Sirash is a great character, and yet Trey…has a past that he must come to grips with.

If I were to compare this to any fantasy novel out there that has a similar genre, it would be Mark Lawrence’s the Broken Empire. The characters are similar, and both are running from a past rather than taking course of their own lives. You know I’ve always loved fantasy novels which focus on the under-dog. And Michael Kingman is just that. There were so many emotional scenes in this novel that it is better you read it. I cannot express this into words. I found this an awesome read. The writing and prose is sharp. I want more novels that show the underdog. That show the under-dog rising through society to take his or her steps. I want more novels like this.

This is a brilliant, dazzling novel that will have you be emotional within hours of reading this book. It’s that fantastic. The writing, the dialogue, everything is on point. It is not easy to create an emotional scene, and Nick has done a fab job of making this. Nick, you’ve made me a fan. I am impressed, and I loved this. Please keep writing more awesome and bad-ass content like this.

This book is action-packed, which made it exciting to read, but at times made the plotlines less than clear. The last half of the book was easy to breeze through, but the first half was a bit jumbled in the effort to set up the crazy number of plots and sub-plots featured in The Kingdom of Liars. Elements of the book are reminiscent of other great series—the magic-induced memory loss is very much like Holly Black’s Curse Workers trilogy; the clash of guns and magic is reminiscent of Brandon Sanderson’s Wax and Wayne novels; the initial set-up of the protagonist staring down the barrel of an execution is similar to Megan Whalen Turner’s Queen’s Thief series; and Dark seems like he could have stepped out of Jim Butcher’s The Aeronaut’s Windlass, Brent Weeks’ Assassin’s Way or Brandon Sanderson’s Warbreaker. To be honest, though, The Kingdom of Liars reads differently to every book I just mentioned, so a direct comparison doesn’t really work.
I wasn’t a huge fan of the way the book begins, because I think there’s plenty of tension driving the novel without starting with a teaser that seems a little like clickbait. Local kingsman murders king at end of book? Keep reading to find out how! The slow reveal of Michael’s memories was also less interesting to me than the events happening in the present time, and I think this book could have been simplified to a more hard-hitting, streamlined novel. That being said, the major mysteries set up in The Kingdom of Liars are satisfactorily resolved, with plenty still left to explore in future books.
Other than the at times too complex plot, the protagonist was another weak point in an amazingly strong debut. Michael isn’t likeable, and his actions are pretty stupid a lot of the time. Given his age, it’s not entirely unrealistic, but the juxtaposition of his competence in some areas with his utter lack of foresight in making decisions can be frustrating to read. I’d love to read a novel following Gwen, Dark, Chloe, Omari, Alex, Naomi and half a dozen other characters introduced in this world. I would read another book following Michael, but I think there are more interesting people available.
The world of Hollow and beyond is an intricate and interesting one, and I look forward to seeing more than the one city in future novels in this series. The magic system is left a little vague, but I appreciate that there is a cost for the power. The political system is also less detailed than I would like, but the book was already quite long, and the first installment of a series can only do so much without becoming bogged down with details and backstory.
I was pretty lukewarm on the cover until I noticed the shattered moon, I appreciate when there are personal touches tying the cover to the book. I do wish the title was moved down to obscure less of the cover art though.
The Kingdom of Liars will appeal to those who don’t mind unlikable characters that you grow fond of, that enjoy a good subverted trope, and who are willing to invest in a series with an interesting world, and maybe wait a while for things to really start making sense. After I finished The Kingdom of Liars I was a little shocked at how much got explained, and how much still absolutely had not been. I love fantasy series myself (nothing worse than a fascinating world and cast that you have to leave too soon), so this book was a solid read, but the most exciting thing about this book is the potential in the world and story line.

**I was provided an electronic ARC by the publisher through NetGalley in exchange for honest review.**

Nick Martell's The Kingdom of Liars is a solid debut fantasy that is part murder mystery, part comedy of errors and all magic. Readers follow Michael Kingman, youngest son of a prince killer who wears the brand for his father's treason on his neck. Michael finds out that his father may not have been as guilty as it seems, and is dragged into deal after deal on his quest for the truth.

One thing is absolutely certain. Nothing can go right for Michael Kingman. Every time he thinks he has a solution, or has accomplished a goal, something else gets in his way. Each error raises the stakes a little bit higher, and gives Michael more to lose. He may have a serious case of protagonist armor, but the reader is left trying to figure out how Michael will figure his way out of the next mess.

The magic that we see appears to be a variant on elemental magic that uses memory as currency. It's an interesting concept that really isn't explained beyond that level, but definitely adds to complicating a lot of different things.

This novel, while having many traits common in high fantasy, was a quick read and flowed smoothly. I think the biggest strength Martell showcased was in pacing and the general writing style of this book. At no point did I feel either overwhelmed or bored, and I was eager to keep reading throughout.

Easily, the most intriguing character for me is Dark, and I am very eager to read the next book where I hope he will be featured more prominently.

Overall, a respectable debut from Martell, and I look forward to his future works.

I rarely read fantasy, but I really liked the unique magic usage, and how magicians are called Fabricators. This fantasy novel is action-packed, thrilling, lot of characters (which seemed confusing in the beginning). The Kingdom of Liars is the first book in the "Legend of Mercenary King" series. The story took off slow, but it was interesting throughout. The ending was epic. Even though I guessed who would-be heroes and villains, I liked how they were magically revealed in the end. Very apt for "Mercenary King". Based on the world-building and character building in this novel, the story can go in any direction, which makes me more intrigued to look forward to the next book in this legendary series. I loved the writing, story flow, and the characters.
Thank you NetGalley, Nick Martell and Gallery books for reader's copy of this novel. This review is my own and is not influenced in any way!

Thanks to netgalley, I got to read this one. It started off a big slow but the world Martell builds is fascinating and complex. Twists and turns abound, the reader (and Michael) never quite know who to trust or what is real and what is a fabrication. I highly recommend!

The Kingdom of Liars was a FANTASTIC debut. Nick brought to life one of the most unique fantasy premises I had read. It was very refreshing to read something that seemed so incredibly different from a lot of the fantasy I am used to.
The world in this is really great. In this world chunks of the moon fall from the sky and magic costs you memories. My biggest criticism with this story is that I wanted more. I wanted more! I actually found myself wishing that it was longer and I got more of a history of this incredible world.
There were two elements of this story that I felt were near-perfect. Martell's character work, specifically the character of Michael, as well as the political intrigue were the shining stars of this book. Michael is a character that I think people will have very mixed opinions about, but he worked for me. He is a character who is constantly making questionable decisions, but so many times I understood his motivation and if I am being honest I probably would have done the same thing in his shoes. He continues to grow throughout the story and by the end I was so connected with his character that he felt like a real friend. The political intrigue in this story was truly the driving force for this entire story for me. Political intrigue is something that I either love, or hate within a story and The Kingdom of Liars hit the nail on the head.
Overall this story highlights the best parts of modern fantasy and puts an fun and fresh spin on it!

The first half of this book was a bit underwhelming for me but then the second half happened and it was incredible! If this whole book was like the second half it would be 5 stars but because of the first half it’s gonna sit at a 4 stars for me. I still highly recommend!

Michael Kingsman's father was found guilty of killing the prince when Michael was just a child and his life was never the same. Michael and his siblings are marked as traitors and attempt to find a way to accept their father's crimes and live their lives. This world is beautifully written and has a unique twist to the magic present - every time . you use a spell you risk losing memory - something small like what you had for breakfast or something bigger like your past, your family, or how to use a basic sense. This story is well written and the characters are alive on the page. The reader is glued to the pages to find out what happened long ago and what will happen to Michael and his family. I highly recommend this book.

I have been very excited for this title and I am glad that I have been approved! I think it makes a very good debut and I am looking forward to book 2!

This is the author’s debut novel and while the story shows great promise there’s need for improvement. Since this was an ARC, I did not want to DNF, but it’s taken me over a month to finally slog my way through to the end.

The protagonist is not very likable and makes so many stupid mistakes that you wonder how he’s managed to survive even given the fact that the king would execute anyone who kills him unless he has ordered his death. The world building needs a lot of work, there are son many things that the reader is left to guess about because it is never explained; a glaring example is the magic system (Fabrication) which I feel is important for the reader to understand. Am I asking too much? I would strongly encourage the author to include a glossary that explained the different Fabrications, religions, characters, etc.,; not only would this refresh the memories of those of us that have read this book and waited month/years for the next in the series but it could help with the confusion that any new readers might experience

I am interested in reading the next book in the series, the cliff hanger has me intrigued. Since this is the author’s first novel, I’m certain that the writing and flow will improve in subsequent books. I was flabbergasted that an editor from the well-known publishers at Simon & Schuster (under their Gallery/Saga Press imprint) let this book be published in this condition; this is worse than many of the self-published I’ve read lately and is inexcusable for a S&S imprint. This could have easily been an excellent book but the author was let down by the experts that he trusted.

2/5 STARS: I received a free digital ARC through Netgalley in exchange for a honest, unbiased review. I sincerely thank Netgalley, author and/or publisher for giving me this opportunity.**

2.5 stars for this ambitious, but ultimately amateurish debut.

THE GOOD:
There were some genuinely entertaining ideas in this book. I did like some aspects of the world building, like that of a shattered moon looming over the city. I can see the effort the author Martell made towards having a diverse cast and setting. He has some good, fun ideas brewing, and I do feel sorry I didn't enjoy this more.

Which leads me to the reasons why I struggled with this book.

THE BAD:

1) Prose was one of the major failings of the book, being often flat, or outright clumsy. There are some distinct signs that the author has yet to polish his writing skills: an overuse of dialogue tags (characters frequently having the need to "declare" something was a quirk I noticed), exclamation marks would be thrown in willy-nilly, ellipses abound, semi-colons would be overused, basic grammatical errors would be skittered about (e.g., "the sun was already setting by the time me and my friends crossed over..."), and repetitive descriptions would frustrate the pacing.
(Please note that I'm reading an ARC, so it's entirely possible that all these things would be scrubbed away from the final version.)

Plus, my personal pet peeve: modern American colloquialisms would frequently destroy my immersion into the world. Probably the worst instance was the line "Get your shit together already." Call me old-fashioned, but this isn't really the vibe I enjoy while reading fantasy. All this contributed to a very juvenile tone to the book, something I find reminiscent of a bad YA book (not to be confused with YA books with good prose!).

A few more rounds of revision and some stricter editing would have let the good ideas in this book shine.

2) Dull characters. Michael and his friends were, frankly, a pack of irrational nitwits, displaying only skin-deep camaraderie before losing their tempers at each other and making half-baked decisions. I'm not opposed to people succumbing to rage, grief, etc., but I think the weak prose exacerbated how annoying these characters were. For example, the cheesy dialogue of Trey, Michael's best friend, really failed to sell to me the emotions of his decision to turn his back on their friendship.

Michael would flipflop between cursing his family name and then wanting to restore honour to it. He would make Big Dumb Decisions so frequently, succumbing to anger, desperation, and rashness that I wonder how he survived all these years as a con artist.

Character motivations were a big issue for me while reading. I enjoyed several plot twists—but at the same time, I'd also be thinking, "uh...but why would the character actually do/say that anyway?"

3) Repetition. This whole book was just filled with it. Out of curiosity, I just did a search for the word "family" in the book, and my Kindle reports 321 instances of it. I genuinely got sick of reading Michael repeat how he wants to protect his family, how character X is family, how family does/doesn't do Y to family, etc. My dude, I respect the sentiment, but add some variety to your speech patterns, please, I am begging you.

If I have to read about how Naomi is ambitious one more time, I just might lose my mind. A couple of reiterations is fine—but it felt like every single time Naomi appeared, I could expect to see either "ambitious" or "electric-blue eyes" thrown in with her name. I don't need such frequent reminders!

4) Plot/pacing. The plot had a lot of interesting elements thrown together, with a heckuva lot of unresolved mysteries and secret identities, but I don't feel the mix worked stylistically—it would jump from one quest to another, much like how a video game would be constantly setting brand new objectives to feed your lizard brain with short-term goals.

It made it hard for me to care about some of the revelations. For instance, I found myself not at all interested in the whole mystery of the girl in red's identity—hell, I was mostly just annoyed at the awkward way the book kept referring to her, instead of giving her a placeholder name.

MISCELLANEOUS:
I can't help but wonder if the author was particularly inspired by Final Fantasy 8. Magic that comes at the cost of memories, "moon tears", forgetting childhood friends, characters named Lyon (Leon) and Angelo, etc. The characters even have a penchant for rubbing the back of their heads, which is a gesture I can recall much-too-clearly from the game.

Please note this has no bearing on my rating—I consider it a very normal part of the artistic process to be inspired by other works, so this is just me musing on certain similarities, and is not meant to be a critique. The book's plot is far from a rip-off of the game, in any case.

CONCLUSION:
While not a bad read, it's also not something I'd heartily recommend. A middling plot filled with generic characters and awkward dialogue written in lacklustre, uninspired prose, I found myself neither hating nor liking the Kingdom of Liars. While I'm not entirely eager to jump onboard with the series, I will keep my ears peeled for reviews for future books in the series. If Martell sharpens his prose, I think there's a fine story to be found here.

I received an uncorrected proof copy of The Kingdom of Liars in exchange for an honest review. I would like to thank Nick Martell and Gollancz for the opportunity.

The Kingdom of Liars, the first entry in The Legacy of the Mercenary King series, is the tale of Michael Kingman. He relays his story to us regarding the events that led him to be on trial as a King Killer, which he rather melodramatically refers to as "the greatest story ever told." Ten years prior to this, Michael's father was also tried for regicide and he was executed. He murdered a Prince who was the son of the King that Michael is accused of assassinating. We find out much more about these events throughout the narrative and if/how they are related.

The Kingdom of Liars is told from Michael's first-person point of view perspective. We get to witness the city of Hollow as it is described by the narrator. As a Kingman - who have for generations acted as Right-Hand Men for the monarchs - Michael has the weight of his family's name and legacy on his shoulders. This has been made even more complicated as his family were branded traitors following his father's actions. Michael currently lives a mundane, dull existence. When not looking after his brain-addled mother he cons Low Nobels for whatever profit he can. Towards the beginning of The Kingdom of Liars, Michael crosses paths with two unique and eccentric individuals. An alcoholic yet extremely influential High Noble and a mysterious magic-wielding mercenary. He is offered opportunities to help his family live a stress-free life, and a possibility to investigate the details of his father's crime to see if he was innocent. Family and Legacy are the most important things to a Kingman.

The magic scheme presented here seemed pretty unique and interesting to learn about. Magic users are referred to as Fabricators. These skills tend to be found in the Royal or the Noble classes. There are many different types including combat, reinforcer, lightning, light, dark, shadow etc... The cost of using these powers is that the wielder will forfeit certain memories. Many magic users keep journals for this reason. Mages who overindulge can become Forgotten. These are zombie-like beings who are hollow shells of their former selves. Although he is uninitiated with his magical abilities, Michael himself has moments when he can't remember certain details or recall someone who insists that he knows them.

The time of the monarchy is shaky at best here as there is an open rebellion taking place in Hollow. Political unrest is rife. The Queen-in-Waiting is notably absent from court and the Corrupt Prince lives up to his name and has made it no secret he wishes to succeed his father. There are many factions, ranks and organisations in the city such as advocators, ravens, wardens, skeletons, and also mercenaries who are a law to themselves. The world-building is good throughout and Hollow is well-crafted. I'd like to visit more of the world in the following entries as other cities are only briefly mentioned.

The Kingdom of Liars is a pretty impressive debut release. It's an exciting, action-focused fantasy thriller with intriguing mystery elements included too. Some of the characters were really well realised and great to find out more about. A few, however, don't seem adequately fleshed out, but hopefully, this will change going forwards. The finale is stunning and I raced through the last eighty or so pages at a manic could-not-put-the-book-down pace. I didn't predict the outcome, twists, or resolutions at all which is always a plus. It was only during the final few pages that I realised why the series is called The Legacy of the Mercenary King. At the ending, it's fully revealed who the heroes and the villains are and I'm interested in what will happen next. There are some grand possibilities for this as a series and fine foundations have been set. The Kingdom of Liars isn't perfect, a lot of what is here you'd have read before but it is an enjoyable take on the genre and I flew through the 600 pages in a handful of days. Martell is an author whose career I'll be watching.

Buy Kingdom of Liars by Nick Martell

In Hollow, there has always been a Kingman beside the king, until David Kingman is found with a gun that has killed the prince. Michael Kingman and his sister Gwen and brother Lyon are branded as traitors. With their mother languishing in an asylum, they make the best life they can under the worst circumstances.

As Michael seeks for the evidence that will prove that his father was framed, he gets entangled in a web of conspiracies that stretch back for years. Finding the truth becomes Michaels's obsession, and it threatens the lives of his family the closer he gets to those who are responsible for setting the trap that destroyed his family.

This book was just alright for me. There was scant attention paid to the magic and not enough worldbuilding done in the foundation of the story which made it somewhat hard to track as the story progressed. The sheer single mindedness that the protagonist belabored fixing his ruined family legacy got a bit tedious after a while, but the plot itself was enough to keep me invested in finishing the story. There's a diverse and full bodied cast of characters and a lot of intrigue and deceit which kept the story interesting.

This is one of those books that while I enjoyed and actually finished, I ended up either sitting on the fence about.

Did I enjoy it? Did I understand it? Do I care to continue with it?

Firstly: did I enjoy it?

I did, actually. I liked Michael. I enjoy characters who fall in neither the good or bad category. Michael was certainly one of those. People were annoyed with him. I could totally, 100% get that vibe of annoyance. I personally enjoy characters that are little shits and aren't afraid of being known for a little shit. It makes their personal growth - if they do wish to take it - much more interesting.

I enjoyed the characters and how they all had different personalities. I would say I came away with enjoying Dark and the Crown Prince the most. Dark because he has this very mysterious, dark vibe to him. The Crown Prince because I just hated him (truly wicked, cruel and his dialogue was snappy).

Secondly: did I understand it?

I didn't? Yep. I was confused by what the world was a parallel or a mirror representation of? There were guns, there were carriages, there was beheading, and there was magic I just couldn't visualize what I was seeing clearly, and I think it is because there was not a lot of outer-world-building (meaning, landscape, city structure, etc). There was a lot of backstory on the city itself and its hardships but nothing about the geography. There is a moon that keeps falling piece by piece and while that was interesting, I didn't really get the point of it?

I also found the main plot (the mystery/betrayal/lost memories) bit confusing and at times what hurt the book was the lack of a clear guideline of who is who, who is related to who, who serves what, what family is this. I think that would have been nice to have so I could easily reference it at times when I was confused.

The mystery when it was resolved was something I didn't see coming, but I also blame the fact that I couldn't follow along with the above issues that the pay-off was not that enjoyable for me.

- Do I care to continue with it?

Again, I didn't dislike the book. It is a first submission into the literary world. It is possible that now the story is going into another direction with another new mystery or plot element to figure out that the plot will be a bit more streamlined and or easy to follow. I will watch its debut with great interest and make my decisions in time.

Overall, three stars is what I can give it because while it did entertain the visualization was difficult for me and the plot was a little messy. Others may have a trial with it and others may ride with it without any issues. These were mine and so the review reflects my personal, unbiased feelings.

Maybe the timing was wrong for me when reading this ARC or I read it in too many sessions, but it never fully engaged me. At times, it felt like there were too many things happening at the current time while the main character was still stuck on focusing on the past and his father. Lots of interesting secondary characters and, by the end, I could see an interesting series coming together, but I will have to see the second book’s description to see where the author takes it next.