A Book Review of From Darkness Won by Jill Wiliamson

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Darkness Trembles Achan steps into his role as Crown Prince and prepares for war. But war against whom? Could Esek still be alive? Has Lord Nathak taken Esek's place? Or is the mysterious Hadad the true enemy Achan must confront? Vrell has her own agenda of serving Prince Oren as a healer, but when she is stormed and lost to the Veil, Achan does all he can to bring her back. His conversations with her are strange, though, as if she has no memory of who he is. In a land consumed by Darkness, the fate of Er'Rets hangs in the balance as Achan endeavors to take the throne and end the reign of Darkness.

Series: Blood of Kings (Book 3)
Genre: Fantasy
Publisher: Marcher Lord Press (April 1, 2011)
Page Count: 680

What I liked: I read the first two books of this series years ago and thoroughly enjoyed them. They started another angle on my writing journey so this series is close to my heart. :) This is a very good conclusion to the epic fantasy.

It's got the underlying tension of a brewing war that swells into a battle against good and evil and a crazy love triangle thing I'm not even sure what to call ... Uh ... Love hexagon? The banter between Vrell and Achan is really cute and made me smile frequently.

The battles were very awesome. I especially enjoyed the Veil battles which are battles between the disembodied souls of the Bloodvoicers. It's really cool as is the keliy (a powerful, creepy spirit) and the tannyin (giant sea creatures). I'm a big fan of mythical creatures. I have a lot in my fantasy. I also like the antagonist of the Darkness. That was very interesting too.

What I didn't like: I felt like there was a little too much deus ex Machina (God in a box or perfect coincidences) in a few areas. Also sometimes I felt like Vrell and Achan were making too many consecutive mistakes at times. I was thinking "That's a stupid decision" over and over.

Content Cautions: There is some gore in the battle scenes as expected, but nothing too brutal. One scene includes a character getting drunk and almost doing something foolish, but it isn't explicit. There's also some implied talk about Achan's and Gren's wedding nights, but it's very subtle.

Over all it was a good read. I enjoyed it. :) Thanks Jill for another good book! :D

About the Author: 

Jill Williamson is a chocolate loving, daydreaming, creator of kingdoms and the award-winning author of several young adult books including the Blood of Kings trilogy, Replication, the Mission League series, and the Safe Lands trilogy. She lives in Oregon with her husband and two children and a whole lot of deer. Visit her online at her blog, where adventure comes to life.
You can find her on her website, Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest and Goodreads.

Other books by Jill I've reviewed:
A Book Review of Replication by Jill Williamson
The Safe Lands Book 1: Captives
A Book Review of Go Teen Writers: How to Turn Your First Draft Into A Published Novel

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