Legacy of Kings (Blood of Gods and Royals #1)

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 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 sheltered by the prince. And far across the sea, Zofia, a Persian princess and Alexander’s unmet fiancée, wants to alter her destiny by seeking the famed and deadly Spirit Eaters.
Weaving fantasy with the salacious and fascinating details of real history, New York Times bestselling author Eleanor Herman reimagines the greatest emperor the world has ever known: Alexander the Great, in the first book of the Blood of Gods and Royals series.
~ Goodreads

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Fluttering Thoughts:

Worldbuilding: The historical world of Macedonia, the geopolitical context, setting, atmosphere read very authentic and well put together. It was a journey back in time, and I really enjoyed it. And I’m calling this a historical paranormal, and not a fantasy, since a lot of the basis of the world is actual history and feels very realistic even when it’s not. 😀
Characters: We have a few MCs in this novel, fact that wasn’t a thrill for me. I generally don’t respond well to more than one MC or a main couple, and for some it might make for a tougher time reading the novel, since you have to follow more than one or two story arcs. That being said, I enjoyed all the characters, Kat, Alex in particular, Zo, Jacob, Heph, even Cyn and Olympias, but I really enjoyed the rest of the significant ones too. All of them felt sturdily built, authentic, and their personalities, beliefs, choices, goals and fears all felt solid, believable, and in tune with the world of their times. Kudos on character building, in short!
Plot: Each character’s arc was a story of adventure, ambition, love, getting to know themselves, mastering their abilities and flaws – the quest was different for each of them, but the journey there was exciting, super tense, and full of action. I’m looking forward to reading what happens next for each and all of them, really!
Writing: Third person, present tense narrative, multiple POVs. For me, personally, that took away part of the charm of the story, but it’s a subjective thing. The writing felt era-appropriate, meaning it had that historical flair to it, and I enjoyed it. There wasn’t much humor though, which was fitting for the stories and characters, but not my personal taste 🙂
Curb Appeal: Cool cover, hooking description for historical fans – Alexander the Great is a massive historical figure and a super-interesting character to study or speculate upon. So impulsive buy material for my historical cravings!

I do fully recommend it to lovers of historical fiction, also to fans of YA since there’s so much yummy to read about through the characters of the novel. I wouldn’t say I’d particularly recommend it to lovers or paranormal or fantasy since to me it felt like a very realistic read, paranormal elements being the strongest in Kat’s arc. I mean, the paranormal element was cool, but not overpowering here.
All in all, I really enjoyed Legacy of Kings

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The_Butterfly_Livia

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