Review of End of Shattered Eminence
Posted: 19 Dec 2021, 10:37
[Following is an official OnlineBookClub.org review of "End of Shattered Eminence" by Madeleine S. Cargile.]
When the newly crowned Queen Brielle of Rulothal is murdered, her mother and son, Chris, flee to the fourth dimension. Four years later, Chris’s childhood friend Penelope is now a general in the Royal Army, and she goes to the fourth dimension to find Chris and take him back to Rulothal. Since Brielle’s murder, the Royal Army has been at war against Xenia, the leader of the Huecs. The Huecs have special abilities, and Xenia’s is the ability to take control of people’s minds, making them into zombies that do her bidding. Rulothal and the Royal Army’s last hope is for Chris to use the Crown, an ancient enchanted weapon, to take down Xenia. But first, Chris, his friend Bentley, Penelope, and a mage named Herald will have to find the Crown’s gems and reassemble it. Will they succeed, or does Xenia have something else hidden up her sleeve? End of Shattered Eminence by Madeleine S. Cargile is a young adult fantasy novel and the first in the Reigns End series.
I really liked the plot. There was plenty of action and excitement, and it had a good plot twist. And from the murder of Brielle at the beginning of the book, the story had a fast pace that didn’t slow down. But there were also some good moments of humor to break up the action.
The characters were my favorite thing about this book, and I liked that the story alternated between the point of view of most of the main characters, including Xenia, so I was able to get to know them all well. This gave them all more depth. It also added some intrigue to the story as I started to get the sense that more was going on with Xenia and the Huecs. All of the characters were complex and incredibly well-written. For example, Penelope is a strong woman, but she also struggles throughout the story with the memories of what she’s done and even has flashbacks, but she doesn’t let that stop her. And many other characters, like Chris, also deal with guilt and fear. Then there’s Bentley who’s an average guy suddenly thrust into a different dimension that’s in the middle of a war, but he chooses to help out of loyalty and friendship with Chris. His reactions are also well-written and normal.
I also liked how the different relationships between the characters were written. There were some personalities clashes, which felt more natural instead of them getting along immediately. But despite these conflicts, the group stayed focused on their goal. Chris and Penelope’s interactions also felt true to life as childhood friends who haven’t seen each other in years, and both of them have been changed by their experiences. And there's some romance between Herald and Bentley. Although they’re quickly attracted to each other, the author doesn’t force their relationship. It’s a slow, natural progression as they get to know each other better.
Between loving the characters and the plot, the only thing I could find to dislike about this book was the many editing mistakes. None of them were too distracting, but there were punctuation and capitalization errors. There were also some sentences that had missing words. An example of this is on page 4 and says, “She repeated those words, a prayer the very deities she’d soon be seeing.”
Unfortunately, since there were so many editing mistakes, I can only rate this book 3 out of 4 stars. But I really enjoyed it despite the errors, and I will be on the lookout for the next book in the series. I recommend it to anyone who likes fantasy and young adult novels. There were no sexual scenes, but there was some profanity.
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End of Shattered Eminence
View: on Bookshelves | on Amazon
When the newly crowned Queen Brielle of Rulothal is murdered, her mother and son, Chris, flee to the fourth dimension. Four years later, Chris’s childhood friend Penelope is now a general in the Royal Army, and she goes to the fourth dimension to find Chris and take him back to Rulothal. Since Brielle’s murder, the Royal Army has been at war against Xenia, the leader of the Huecs. The Huecs have special abilities, and Xenia’s is the ability to take control of people’s minds, making them into zombies that do her bidding. Rulothal and the Royal Army’s last hope is for Chris to use the Crown, an ancient enchanted weapon, to take down Xenia. But first, Chris, his friend Bentley, Penelope, and a mage named Herald will have to find the Crown’s gems and reassemble it. Will they succeed, or does Xenia have something else hidden up her sleeve? End of Shattered Eminence by Madeleine S. Cargile is a young adult fantasy novel and the first in the Reigns End series.
I really liked the plot. There was plenty of action and excitement, and it had a good plot twist. And from the murder of Brielle at the beginning of the book, the story had a fast pace that didn’t slow down. But there were also some good moments of humor to break up the action.
The characters were my favorite thing about this book, and I liked that the story alternated between the point of view of most of the main characters, including Xenia, so I was able to get to know them all well. This gave them all more depth. It also added some intrigue to the story as I started to get the sense that more was going on with Xenia and the Huecs. All of the characters were complex and incredibly well-written. For example, Penelope is a strong woman, but she also struggles throughout the story with the memories of what she’s done and even has flashbacks, but she doesn’t let that stop her. And many other characters, like Chris, also deal with guilt and fear. Then there’s Bentley who’s an average guy suddenly thrust into a different dimension that’s in the middle of a war, but he chooses to help out of loyalty and friendship with Chris. His reactions are also well-written and normal.
I also liked how the different relationships between the characters were written. There were some personalities clashes, which felt more natural instead of them getting along immediately. But despite these conflicts, the group stayed focused on their goal. Chris and Penelope’s interactions also felt true to life as childhood friends who haven’t seen each other in years, and both of them have been changed by their experiences. And there's some romance between Herald and Bentley. Although they’re quickly attracted to each other, the author doesn’t force their relationship. It’s a slow, natural progression as they get to know each other better.
Between loving the characters and the plot, the only thing I could find to dislike about this book was the many editing mistakes. None of them were too distracting, but there were punctuation and capitalization errors. There were also some sentences that had missing words. An example of this is on page 4 and says, “She repeated those words, a prayer the very deities she’d soon be seeing.”
Unfortunately, since there were so many editing mistakes, I can only rate this book 3 out of 4 stars. But I really enjoyed it despite the errors, and I will be on the lookout for the next book in the series. I recommend it to anyone who likes fantasy and young adult novels. There were no sexual scenes, but there was some profanity.
******
End of Shattered Eminence
View: on Bookshelves | on Amazon
I love that Penelope is a strong and interesting character! I would love to give it a try. Thanks for a great review!