#booktour God King Rising by Jeffrey L. Kohanek (Review + Giveaway)


 
Hello and welcome back to the blog, and if you are new here hello. 

Today it is my stop for Storytellers on Tours blog tour of God King Rising by Jeffrey L. Kohanek



God King Rising by Jeffrey L. Kohanek
Series: Fate of Wizardoms (#1)
Published: February 23, 2021
Genre: Epic Fantasy
Pages: 296

Book Blurb

A stirring rebellion. Unrelenting assassins. Conspiracies abound.

Two queens.

One rules by fear, her citizens laboring to fund the lavish lifestyle of the wizard class. The other believes in justice and compassion, earning her the love of her subjects…and the enmity of her wizard peers.

Both will die

In one wizardom, a secret rebellion brews. A hero to the people rises, fueled by a mysterious sorcerer’s blood magic. But at what cost?

Conspiracies and assassins lurk in every shadow, threatening the throne of another nation. The scheming wizard behind it will stop at nothing to claim the crown. Yet, even he is a pawn.

What force is behind it all? What is their endgame?


*******************

My review:

⭐⭐⭐⭐


*Like always my reviews may contain spoilers*

When I signed up to review God King Rising I did not realize that it was the first book in a new series set in the same world as a previous series by Jeffrey L. Kohanek . This book seems it takes places after the events of the other series. But that is on me. The author did a great job with filling in the blanks. I am just kicking myself that I didn't realize it because I'm odd like that. With that being said I still gave it a 4 stars, a low 4 but still 4. *My rating and review doesn't reflect that I hadn't read the previous books, let that be known.*

God King Rising is a multi pov fantasy, the gods are dead and the Wizards are ruling without their aid. Clerics seem to be taking this hard with many are turning to suicide as they have no purpose in life. A revolution is on the rise in one of the Wizardoms. A group wants to take down one of the queen as she is horrible and the people deserve better at least that is what Lang believes or is he just a pawn in something bigger. Then there is the other queen who seems to be liked and is to be married, her life is also in danger. Many attempts seem to be made on her because another Wizard wants to take her place. With the backing of the Drow, who want to seem to want to become the next gods and have other plans for humanity.

I am assuming that the cast in this book are mostly the same group from the earlier series Fate of Wizardoms , which I now NEED to read. While not knowing the events of the earlier books didn't take away my enjoyment of  this book and yes the author did fill in some blanks, I would have enjoyed it more if I had read them. Because it is clear that these characters played major roles in the events that lead to this book even being created. 

I enjoyed the idea of Wizards being the rulers, rather then just a regular king/queen. Normally it's the wizard/mage who is the aid and councilor of the throne. If they are good that is. But with the gods being dead and them not getting some of the same abilities, their rule seems to to be pointless as from what I gather they have been able to rule and live much longer with the aid of the gods.

The magic system is gendered, males seem to have the battle magic and more strength. Females don't seem to poses the same albites, not saying they can't hold their own, we do have a queen tossing a fireball. But women tend to be more healing and illusion magic. 

I do have a some issues, which to others might not be a big deal but for me it stood out, from page one. I'm not to keen on how women are described in the book. Describing a women at the 36 to be "advancing years and saying her breasts had succumbed to gravity" while talking about men older not the same light. I do however like that there are more women in this world and they seem to have important roles but the characters can be worked on a little bit, mostly in the description of them. Not all books are perfect. The author however does a wonderful job of placing you in the story. He describes the rooms and world with enough details to fully emerge you. So the worldbuilding is great. 

Favorite characters:

Lang

Jerrell

Captain Harlequin (I would like to know more about the Queen of the Shoals)

Loggadon (who I hope there is more of either in future books or previous, who is also the reason that I bumped the book up to 4 stars a) a dwarf and I love when my fantasy books feature dwarves and b) a reading book loving dwarf)


God King Rising is intriguing with conspiracies', rebellion, some romance, magic, elves and dwarves. A quick read with an ending that will make you want to pick the next book, or if you are like me all the previous ones too.

It is very clear that Jeffrey L. Kohanek knows what he is doing with his books, I sense a well thought out storyline and world. I feel he knows his endgame and there will much much more in store for his characters and us the readers. I will enjoy the ride.



Book links:


Let's meet our author:



Jeffrey L. Kohanek grew up in rural Minnesota where comic books sparked his young imagination, inspiring fantasies of heroes with super-powers saving the day. His tastes later evolved to fantasy epics featuring unlikely heroes overcoming impossible odds to save worlds born from the writer’s imagination.
Now residing in southern California, Jeff uses that imagination to weave tales of engaging characters caught in fantastic plots to inspire young adults and the child within us all.



Be sure to check out the rest of the tour stops




Enter the giveaway 

Prize: A copy of God King Rising by Jeffrey L. Kohanek – Signed physical copy (US Only), Choice of ebook/audiobook (International)
Starts: August 11th, 2021 at 12:00am EST
Ends: August 18th, 2021 at 11:59pm EST



Thank you for stopping by, enjoy the rest of your day and Happy Reading!


Comments

  1. Author Jeffrey L. KohanekAugust 17, 2021 at 12:49 AM

    Thanks for reading and reviewing my book! I'm glad you enjoyed the story, even if it took a dwarf to raise it to four stars:). Yes, I believe if you had read the Fate of Wizardoms series, you would have had stronger feelings toward this book, but such is life. When I finished that series, another tale begged to be told, and there is the rub. SOME readers were bound to start with God King Rising.

    If you read any other books in this world, I'd love to hear what you think. Also, if any readers have questions, feel free to reach out.

    Best wishes,
    Jeff

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. IcanhasbooksAugust 17, 2021 at 10:30 AM

      He is quite the charming Dwarf. :) I most certainly plan reading Fate of Wizardoms series. Then I will revisit this book and compare reviews.

      Delete

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