Monday, April 23, 2012

The Seven Realms Series


Hello, all!
I have been neck-deep in series over the last month!  Since the Hunger Games movie came out, I re-read the series to refresh my memory.  I also got hooked on The Seven Realms Series by Cinda Chima.  This is a hard-core fantasy with just the right amount of action, romance, and strong characterization to make any teen reader happy.  It begins with The Demon King.  In this novel, a reader is introduced to the principals, Raisa ana'Marianna - the future queen of the Fells and Han Alister - a streetwise ex-thug who is trying to live his life on the right path.  You are also introduced to various other delectable characters - the Bayers (evil wizarding family), Dancer (Han's clan born best friend), and Amon Byrne (the nauseatingly good soldier/friend of Raisa).  Han and Dancer run into Micah Bayer on the fields of Hanalea when the latter is illegally using a wizard medallion to set fire to the mountain.  Han takes away the medallion so that Micah cannot use it against him, and this sets off an unlucky chain of events.  Han discovers that this medallion belonged to the Demon King, the most evil wizard of all, who destroyed the world a thousand years ago.  The Bayers hunt Han in order to retrieve the very powerful medallion, and they stop at nothing, destroying everything Han loves, in order to get it. 
Raisa, in the meantime, is doing everything a shallow royal does at the age of 16 - kissing boys, arguing with her mother, and being a general nuisance.  When her long time friend, Amon, returns from the military academy, she discovers that there is more to life than just dating.  There is a war in the south, the relationship between the Clans and the wizards is reaching a boiling point, and her mother, the queen, has turned a deaf ear to everyone except the powerful head of the Bayer family, Gavan.  As the Queen falls deeper under the spell of Gavan Bayer, Raisa realizes that the only way to protect her country is to escape it and be free of the clutches of her mother and Gavan. 
Book two (The Exiled Queen) follows Han and Raisa (now known as Rebecca to hide her true identity) in school.  Han has become a wizard while Rebecca is hiding in the military school.  They must each find their place among their peers if they are to help their loved ones and country to survive the certain war that is coming.  
Finally, in book three (The Gray Wolf Throne) Raisa returns to The Fells and she has brought her own trusted friends to help guide her during this tumultuous time – Amon, the captain of her guard, the guard, and Han Alister, her wizard friend who has his own secrets.  When Raisa reclaims the throne, she faces several challenges from the wizards, the Clans, and from outside forces bent on controlling her kingdom.  Raisa foils several assassination attempts and must prove to everyone that she can handle the throne. 
This is a fast-paced series that I could not put down!  Raisa begins as a vapid teen but grows into a strong heroine.  Han begins as a guy trying to make an honest life for himself, but at every turn something awful happens, and he is pulled to the dark side (a la Darth Vader).  Amon is ever-noble as Raisa’s captain, but he secretly longs for her.  And Micah; I have no idea what to make of Micah.  Is he good?  Is he bad?  Han certainly does not like him, and Raisa has every reason not to trust him, but it could very well be he is less like a Bayer than everyone believes.  
I cannot wait for the final installment, The Crimson Crown, so that I can get some closure!  I have loved all three books so far, and I am sure the next will not disappoint!!