G669 Book Review of Kings or Pawns by J J Sherwood

Name of Book: Kings or Pawns

Author: J.J Sherwood

ISBN: 9780986287701

Publisher: Silver Helm

Type of book: elves, fantasy, political games, control, domination, wars, manipulation, friendship, roots, powerless, mysteries, division, corruption

Year it was published: 2015

Summary:

The first book in JJ Sherwood's Steps of Power epic fantasy series. The Kings, Book I: Kings or Pawns is a political intrigue that spirals into an action and adventure series as the final events unfold.

8,994 P.E.-The elven city of Elvorium has become corrupted to the core by politics. With his father dead and The Royal Schism at his back, Prince Hairem becomes the king of the elven world on Sevrigel. Young and daring, Hairem is determined to undo the council’s power, but quickly finds his loyal council members brutally murdered by an assassin loosed within the city.

As corruption and death threaten to tear the city apart from within, the warlord Saebellus threatens the city from without, laying siege to Sevrigel’s eastern capital. With the elven world crumbling around him, Hairem finds himself in a dangerous political balance between peace and all out war.

Characters:

The main characters included Hairem and Jikun. Hairem is a young and a naive king who has inherited the kingdom and is struggling with gaining control of the council and trying to do the right thing for various peoples. Jikun is the King's general, not sure if he is older or if they are the same age, but he is fierce, loyal, and devoted to the kingdom, while at the same time never forgetting his roots or where he comes from. There are also sidekicks, namely Navon who is also a bit naive and wants to do whatever he can for the kingdom, even at the cost of his life and sanity. There is also Sellemar, a mysterious elf from the island of Ryekarayn who seems to know everything about everyone. also has a myserious agenda in arriving to the kingdom and he is portrayed as someone who is capable of doing just about anything.

Theme:

Nothing is what it seems

Plot:

The story is in third person narrative, majority from Hairem's and Jikun's points of view, although few other characters also give their view points. What I think would have been a whole lot helpful is perhaps a character list of some of the secondary characters, because while I recall who the main characters are, I have trouble remembering the secondary characters or the roles they fill in, in particular the council members. The beginning did seem a bit at odds with the summary because I expected Hairem, but instead it became Hairem/Jikun. As the reader does go forward, the story does pick up a lot and becomes more exciting, and the ending, well, not what one expects or awaits.

Author Information:
(From Iread book Tours)

Buy the book:  Amazon   Barnes & Noble
​

Meet the author:   

J.J. Sherwood lives in Ohio with her husband and four near-identical cats. KINGS OR PAWNS is J.J.’s widely anticipated debut novel, and is the first book of The Kings quartet. The series is set in the high fantasy world of Aersadore, home to hundreds of characters who all clamor for J.J.’s attention. To learn more about the trials and tribulations of General Jikun and King Hairem, visit StepsofPower.com. J.J. Sherwood will be at the tenth Fandom Fest Comic Con in Louisville, Kentucky this coming August 7th-9th.

​Connect with the author:  Website   Twitter   Facebook

Opinion:

Amazing is all I can say. Definitely am crossing my fingers to get a chance to read and review the sequels of the books, and the story isn't what one expects; the cliffhanger is also excellent to keep the reader's attention and to get them interested enough in getting a sequel. I think in beginning I struggled a little because from the summary, I thought the entire book will be from the King's point of view. While some of it was, there is an unexpected player that enters the story and who becomes more interesting than the king. While the politics dominate the scene (first time I'll say that the politics and voting and so forth was made interesting by the author,) along with wars, the author also adds humanity to the characters allowing the readers to see their hopes, dreams and vulnerabilities.

This is for iRead Book Tours

TOUR SCHEDULE:

Jan 5 -   The All Night Library - review / author interview
Jan 5 -   Drako's Den - review
Jan 6 -   T's Stuff - book spotlight / author interview / giveaway
Jan 7 -   Bound 4 Escape - review / giveaway
Jan 7 -   Book reviews nature photos and everything in between - review
Jan 8 -   Jaquo Lifestyle Magazine - book spotlight / guest post
Jan 11 - Pure Jonel - review / guest post
Jan 12 - Ali - the Dragon Slayer - book spotlight / guest post / giveaway
Jan 12 - Heidi's Wanderings - review / giveaway
Jan 13 - 3 Partners in Shopping Nana, Mommy , + Sissy, Too! - review / giveaway
Jan 14 - Olio by Marilyn - review / author interview
Jan 15 - misty103 @ HubPages - review / guest post
Jan 18 - The Autistic Gamer - review
Jan 18 -  alwaysjoart - review / giveaway
Jan 19 - Svetlana's Reads and Views - review
Jan 20 - Deal Sharing Aunt - review / giveaway
Jan 21 - Library of Clean Reads - review / giveaway
Jan 21 - JBronder Book Reviews - review / author interview
Jan 22 - Zerina Blossom's Books - review / giveaway
Jan 25 - Blooming with Books - review / giveaway
Jan 26 - Bookramblings - review
Jan 27 - Confessions of the Perfect Mom - review
Jan 28 - Cover2Cover - book spotlight / giveaway
Jan 29 - A Mama's Corner of the World - review / giveaway
Jan 29 - Dab of Darkness - audiobook review / author interview / giveaway
TBD      - abookwithbea - book spotlight / author interview
4 out of 5
(0: Stay away unless a masochist 1: Good for insomnia 2: Horrible but readable; 3: Readable and quickly forgettable, 4: Good, enjoyable 5: Buy it, keep it and never let it go.)