Legacy of Kings by Eleanor Herman-- A Historical Book For Non-Historical Readers!

Title: Legacy of Kings (Blood of Gods and Royals #1)
Author: Eleanor Herman
Pages: 384 pages
Published: August 18th, 2015
Genre: YA Historical Fiction, Fantasy
Source: Barnes & Noble Hardcopy
Rating: 

Imagine a time when the gods turn a blind eye to the agony of men, when the last of the hellions roam the plains and evil stirs beyond the edges of the map. A time when cities burn, and in their ashes, empires rise.

Alexander, Macedonia's sixteen-year-old heir, is on the brink of discovering his fated role in conquering the known world but finds himself drawn to the newcomer Katerina, who must navigate the dark secrets of court life while hiding her own mission: kill the Queen. But Kat's first love, Jacob, will go to unthinkable lengths to win her, even if it means competing for her heart with Hephaestion, a murderer shelter by the prince. And far across the sea, Zofia, a Persian princess and Alexander's unmet fiancee, wants to alter her destiny by seeking the famed and deadly Spirit Eaters. 

Get it now!
The only historical fiction books I'll ever be excited about reading will depend on if they include either Alexander the Great and/or King Arthur and the knights of the round table. Those are the only exception of YA historical fiction literature that I'll read. These two staples in history are the most interesting (according to Global and Social Studies class). And when I heard this was coming out... I stormed out my window (yes window) and bought my copy. Here am I, raving about this book!

Plot

For those who don't like the historical fiction genre, fear not because this book tends to lean more towards the fantasy and mythology genre. Rather than being a historical book with a download of facts and the author shooting times and dates at the reader, Eleanor Herman takes great time and detail to craft a story around events that already took place. It's so much like storytelling that you don't even need to know background information beforehand. It's a misconception for this book that you have to know about what Alexander did in order to read it. I think that's absurd. The story is well established as are the character's backgrounds and how they got to be where they are. 

The historical elements were done very nicely, and I have to give it the author for explaining things in detail and not leaving the reader hanging. The story itself starts off at the beginning, not in the midst of a battle or with murder and that was great because now the reader gets to enjoy and learn things from the start. I think it's extremely hard to find historical fiction books to be non-info dump and usually there are always one or two chapters in the beginning where the author takes time to set up the background historical facts. I loved the nonchalant start of this book where there was no need for that information and instead, a slow start to the tale. 

Characters

I judged very harshly on the characters, since they were the highlight of bringing this whole historical romance piece together. Also the author had to work with what she already knew about Alexander the Great, so creating a younger version of him in this book definitely played with how he acted. She did fantastic! I couldn't have asked for a better cast of characters, with the girls being heroic as hell and the boys understanding their role to lead and conquer.

Her characters are so well geared towards that historical setting that even the way they speak change. Their curses are less hostile and they're actually really hilarious.

Romance

The thing I love about historical fiction books is that the romance is structured around that certain era and it may be different than how we read modern contemporary novels today. This book's romance definitely had a medieval vibe and there was a lot of affairs, arranged marriages between princesses and princes, and forbidden romances.

The romance is so juicy and you can't wait to pick up this book again and jump right back into the time period. There was a lot of forbidden romance and as much as I don't like love triangles and such, there are some good outcomes and true betrayals within the love. It had all the aspects of a normal historical fiction book without the boring info dumps.

In short, I'm so glad I stumbled upon this historical read. The ending leaves off on a major cliffhanger that you will demand for the next book, and I just hope I get an advanced copy of the next book before I rip someone's eyeballs out from the anticipation. 


Will you be picking up this fantastical, mythological, historical fiction book?



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7 comments

  1. Nice post, things explained in details. Thank You.

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  2. I'm not usually one for historical fiction, but this one sounds fantastic and so does the romance. Lovely review as always, Alex! <3

    Olivia @ Fictionally Obsessed

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    1. You're just like me-- not a big HF fan :P
      Thanks hunnn :D <3

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  3. This actually sounds like a good read, and I do not care for historical fiction. But the way you worded everything makes me so interested. Great review!

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    1. Muahahahha *evil laugh* That was my intention to lure u guys in! Hope u read it lol!

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  4. I'm glad this book doesn't slew facts and dates at us and instead focuses on the storytelling. I'm glad the characters' dialogue and speech was authentic to the time period too. Ooh this romance sounds wonderful! Can't wait to try this book out. Wonderful review <3

    Rachel @ A Perfection Called Books

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