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The Kingmaker #1
The Kingmaker
“I am sixteen years old and I will die on the morning of my seventeenth birthday. As tradition dictates, I will be sacrificed and my life’s blood will determine which one of my two brothers will be King. My blood will kill one and crown one. My name is Everleigh and I am the Kingmaker.”
The legend of the Kingmaker goes back millions of years. Their magic chooses the rightful King of the Realm and they all die on their seventeenth birthday.
Except this one.
Everleigh is special.
She is the Kingmaker who will live, the Kingmaker who will rule, the Kingmaker who will be Queen.
But not everyone agrees with an age old prophecy that says that a girl will rule the Realm and soon Everleigh is locked in a deadly battle for the throne.
The legend of the Kingmaker goes back millions of years. Their magic chooses the rightful King of the Realm and they all die on their seventeenth birthday.
Except this one.
Everleigh is special.
She is the Kingmaker who will live, the Kingmaker who will rule, the Kingmaker who will be Queen.
But not everyone agrees with an age old prophecy that says that a girl will rule the Realm and soon Everleigh is locked in a deadly battle for the throne.
286 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 2017
About the author
Gemma Perfect
24 books142 followersGemma Perfect loves to write. She’s been doing it since she was nine. After a few false starts – self publishing children’s books, and being traditionally published with her romance novella, she has finally found her feet writing young adult historical fantasy books. She is currently writing The Cursed Princess, set five years after The Kingmaker Trilogy finishes, following the adventures of Everleigh's sister, Addyson.
Gemma lives in Wales with her husband Craig and their three boys, Sam, Corey and Oliver. She is happiest when writing, day dreaming and eating smelly blue cheese.
Gemma lives in Wales with her husband Craig and their three boys, Sam, Corey and Oliver. She is happiest when writing, day dreaming and eating smelly blue cheese.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 71 reviews
September 7, 2017
I really wanted to like this book. I tried really hard, but it just wasn't meant to be...
I thought the idea for the story itself was really great, and if it had been written by a better author could have been an amazing book. The characters had interesting names and the plot twists are interesting. But as it stands, there were just to many problems for me to enjoy it.
First off, the writing style. For lack of a better term, it sucked. Royally. It made the book so hard to read and sometimes I found myself thinking how stupid it sounded. Some of the sentences didn't make sense, words were missing and you can't use (the author's attempt at) old time language in a sentence with words like 'gonna' and 'wanna'. Seriously, what was the author thinking? The whole book just doesn't read right at all and I really struggled to wade through it.
Secondly, can someone please explain what was going on with the book chapters? We had a handful of different narrators (that's fine) but the story kept jumping between 1st and 3rd persons and the chapters were arranged so ridiculously. Most were headed by the character it focused upon (Lanorie, Halfreda etc.) but Everleigh's chapters were numbered 1, 2, 3 and so on. Except, with all the chapters being mixed in together Everleigh's chapter one was actually the books chapter 3 and so on. It just seemed like a pointless way to arrange things. Why not just head Everleigh's chapters with her name like everyone else's?
I HATED Lanorie. What an idiot. She was whiny and selfish and just ridiculous. She fawns over Millard, Macsen and the guy she is frolicking around with and makes such daft comments. Okay, so she's only 14. But get a grip. You literally just sold someone else's secrets for 'a few kisses' with a guy that she doesn't even name! Then, after causing a load of problems, decides to run away, then take her own life (which the author seriously skimmed over by the way, it was the most blasé reference to suicide ever).
So many parts of the story were flawed. Like when Brett attacks Everleigh, then after Archer saves her they just have a casual chat whilst Brett is screaming on the floor. They didn't even seem phased she she was almost sexually assaulted. And then she doesn't tell anyone?! It doesn't occur to either Everleigh or Archer to tell her father, the king, that one of his favourite guards just tried to sexually assault his beloved daughter? What kind of idiocy is this?!
And don't get me started on the Everleigh/Archer relationship. "I've known you for five minutes but now we're totally in love and you're oh-so-sexy when you train topless" and then all off a sudden after two meetings they're kissing under trees? A girl who states she has so far never been allowed to be alone with a man unchaperoned, is suddenly running around kissing said man and no one bats an eyelid? Please. At this point I've about had it with this story.
But the icing on the flawed-plot-line-cake is that Everleigh works out she has all these amazing powers and abilities (which she didn't even have to work on, by the way, just *poof* and she can perfectly do all the things she sets her magic mind to) and at no point in the book when all the shit is going down at the end and people are literally being slaughtered left, right and centre, does she try to use any of her powers?? She probably could have ended it all right there, but no, she lets things go to hell and leaves in what is probably one of the worst endings to a book I've read in a long time.
Georgia Perfect, in her acknowledgement's at the end of the first book, highlights that she self-published because no one wanted to publish it and that shows. It was such a great concept but the writing ruined it. At this point I don't know if i'm going to read the sequels. I want to see how the story end but i don't know if I can bring myself to trudge through another two books of such terrible writing.
I thought the idea for the story itself was really great, and if it had been written by a better author could have been an amazing book. The characters had interesting names and the plot twists are interesting. But as it stands, there were just to many problems for me to enjoy it.
First off, the writing style. For lack of a better term, it sucked. Royally. It made the book so hard to read and sometimes I found myself thinking how stupid it sounded. Some of the sentences didn't make sense, words were missing and you can't use (the author's attempt at) old time language in a sentence with words like 'gonna' and 'wanna'. Seriously, what was the author thinking? The whole book just doesn't read right at all and I really struggled to wade through it.
Secondly, can someone please explain what was going on with the book chapters? We had a handful of different narrators (that's fine) but the story kept jumping between 1st and 3rd persons and the chapters were arranged so ridiculously. Most were headed by the character it focused upon (Lanorie, Halfreda etc.) but Everleigh's chapters were numbered 1, 2, 3 and so on. Except, with all the chapters being mixed in together Everleigh's chapter one was actually the books chapter 3 and so on. It just seemed like a pointless way to arrange things. Why not just head Everleigh's chapters with her name like everyone else's?
I HATED Lanorie. What an idiot. She was whiny and selfish and just ridiculous. She fawns over Millard, Macsen and the guy she is frolicking around with and makes such daft comments. Okay, so she's only 14. But get a grip. You literally just sold someone else's secrets for 'a few kisses' with a guy that she doesn't even name! Then, after causing a load of problems, decides to run away, then take her own life (which the author seriously skimmed over by the way, it was the most blasé reference to suicide ever).
So many parts of the story were flawed. Like when Brett attacks Everleigh, then after Archer saves her they just have a casual chat whilst Brett is screaming on the floor. They didn't even seem phased she she was almost sexually assaulted. And then she doesn't tell anyone?! It doesn't occur to either Everleigh or Archer to tell her father, the king, that one of his favourite guards just tried to sexually assault his beloved daughter? What kind of idiocy is this?!
And don't get me started on the Everleigh/Archer relationship. "I've known you for five minutes but now we're totally in love and you're oh-so-sexy when you train topless" and then all off a sudden after two meetings they're kissing under trees? A girl who states she has so far never been allowed to be alone with a man unchaperoned, is suddenly running around kissing said man and no one bats an eyelid? Please. At this point I've about had it with this story.
But the icing on the flawed-plot-line-cake is that Everleigh works out she has all these amazing powers and abilities (which she didn't even have to work on, by the way, just *poof* and she can perfectly do all the things she sets her magic mind to) and at no point in the book when all the shit is going down at the end and people are literally being slaughtered left, right and centre, does she try to use any of her powers?? She probably could have ended it all right there, but no, she lets things go to hell and leaves in what is probably one of the worst endings to a book I've read in a long time.
Georgia Perfect, in her acknowledgement's at the end of the first book, highlights that she self-published because no one wanted to publish it and that shows. It was such a great concept but the writing ruined it. At this point I don't know if i'm going to read the sequels. I want to see how the story end but i don't know if I can bring myself to trudge through another two books of such terrible writing.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
August 2, 2018
The premise is fairly solid, but the writing is just...abysmal
July 27, 2017
Oh, this book. What am I doing with my life NOTE, this review's gonna have a lot of unmarked spoiler at the end, so be warned!
From the first page I knew something was very wrong. Seriously, did no one edit this? Like, I don't know where to start. Long story short, EVERYTHING SHOULD'VE BEEN TRASHED.
I was honestly going to give this 3 stars because of how bad it is... Like, the author's idea of old royal British speak was to take out all the apostrophes. THEY SOUND LIKE GODDAMNED ROBOTS. There's this one scene where Everleigh learns someone very dear to her died, and she's still: "I am so despaired! I must vainquish my brother and avenge 'tis death!"
You know, I think Star Wars would've worked must better if Luke had said something like that instead of "NOOOOOOOOOO!!!"
But everything fell apart at the ending... -_- And now I am unhappy because I wasted 1h 30 of my life reading this shit.
So there's like 4 characters that we follow in 1st person, Everleigh the Kingmaker, her maid, the white witch of the castle and another in the city. But then we get 3rd person for Everleigh AGAIN?? Like, couldn't you be consistent?? Also Everleigh gets TWO chapters in 1st, all under a page long. Like, why did you even put it there if you weren't going to use it??
And the characters are all so unreal. The maid's voice is the first one we hear, and I could not stand it. She's so dumb and naïve and useless. Like, she really cares about Everleigh and wants to be her maid forever, but when Everleigh tells her that she won't be the Kingmaker but the effing Queen, a declaration that could get her killed, the maid bolts and tells some guy for KISSES. YOU FUCKING BACKSTABBER. I HOPE YOU DIE IN THE SECOND BOOK YOU COWARDLY MULE.
Everleigh is no better; she's just too peaceful about her incoming death? I mean, I understand how knowing at like, ten that you were going to die and kill one of your brothers can fuck up someone, and she had a lot of time to deal with it, but I still feel as if there should've been much more. She should've been more intense about how great life is and just how pretty today is and how nice everyone is to her! Or, on the other hand, she could pretend as if everything is fine but lies to herself about how life is dark and mean, like if one of her brother is nice to her she rationalizes that it's because he wants the blood to favor him, etc.
The old witch was the only one I didn't mind much, even though she had the dumbest ideas ever. Couldn't she have told Everleigh, threatned her even, not to tell ANYONE? I mean, of course she was going to tell the maid, and of course the maid's a coward and so will tell someone else. DUH.
The other witch I just... what? Like, in the beginning she's asked by one of the princes to make a poison and she pratically pisses herself in fear. I mean dude, CHILL. Maybe it's because I have a villain's heart, but I'm a 100% sure that he wouldn't kill you when he needs you, dumbass. And at the end she just does a 180 degree turn and I was just trowing things at my Kindle like: WHAT ARE YOU DOING YOU UTTER MORON??
One thing I need to admit, however, is how the voices were separate. I really didn't need to see the names of the chapter when in first; that's pretty good. Have a cookie, author.
So I had lots of fun reading the 4/5 of the book. Everyone is so dumb and robotic and just insane... Like Everleigh's going to be Queen because she TOLD A RIVER TO RISE AND IT OBEYED HER LIKE *THAT* and I'm just ಠ_ಠ Why doesn't she fucking show the whole castle right now?? Fuck the ceremony, take over the place! YOU'RE A GOD.
I am NOT kidding with that. She makes a storm out of nothing, she tells all the animals in a forest to run away, she CHANGES THE DIRECTION OF AN ARROW. Dude, why isn't this book 20 pages long?? And she doesn't even need training. She can just do it because it's her blood. YOU HAVE NO EXCUSES.
And there's also this guy she meets after the old witch showed her powers, he's like her grand-grand-grand nephew or something and he's there to protect her. So they meet and hang around, he saves her, she saves him and BAM THEY'RE KISSING UNDER A TREE.
And after the king dies, the love interest and Will (another character whom I think was part of a love triangle? Kinda?) are super afraid that he's going to come for Everleigh, so they decide to stay in her room and EVERLEIGH'S FUCKING OBLIVIOUS, like: "Oh my brothers would never do that! They love me!" BITCH HE KILLED YOUR FATHER.
So someone's coming in, the LI hides with Everleigh in a secret passageway while Will takes her place in the bed and HE GETS STABBED LIKE TWENTY TIMES. So they know which brother's the culprit and the LI takes Everleigh and Will (Yes, he's still alive) to the old witch and they hide there until the coronation.
Some more bullshit happens, the maid tries to kill herself but the old witch tells her to suck it up and finally the day's there! So the evil brother being the oldest, he wants to use their old laws of birth order since the Kingmaker's supposedly dead. So the old witch says that she'll be dead after that day and goes to the coronation, Everleigh and the LI get ready to interrupt the thing while the other witch tells the LI that he'll die today if he fights, he follows her advice and JUST LEAVES WITHOUT TELLING ANYONE.
So the evil brother's going to get crowned and Everleigh's just getting there when the other brother fucking DECAPITATES the guy and takes the crown. Everleigh is 〜shocked〜 because she's a goddamn hippie and DOES FUCKING NOTHING EVEN THOUGH SHE CAN FUCKING SUMMON ANYTHING.
Her boyfriend comes back when it's revealed that the other witch is a traitor and killed the old witch. The prince and LI fight and Everleigh's like "With me here, he can't lose." but HE FUCKING DIES ANYWAY BECAUSE THE BITCH WAS TOO DUMB TO LIVE and she's like: "I will have my revenge!" and her bro's like: "K." AND HE LET'S HER LEAVE. HE DOESN'T DO SHIT TO STOP THIS CLEARLY DANGEROUS PERSON FROM THREATENING HIS ALREADY SHAKY REIGN.
So many things wrong with this! First, why the FUCK the the other witch switch sides?? She was terrorized of the guy and was very close to the old witch. Plus, EVERLEIGH WOULD'VE WON. If that bitch hadn't switched sides, not told the LI to leave and not told about the old witch's plan, Everleigh would've fried his ass and everything would've been fine!
Second, EVERLEIGH DID FUCKING NOTHING. The ONE time she used her GODLIKE powers was to slightly pish her brother's sword as he fighting the LI. FUCKING THROW IT ACROSS THE COUNTRY. MAKE THE EARTH SWALLOW HIM. CREATE A TORNADO AND BLOW HIM TO CHAPTER ONE. CALL THE BIRDS AND HORSES AND MAKE THEM ATTACK HIM.
He didn't die because it was prophetized. HE DIED BECAUSE YOU DID FUCKING NOTHING, YOU DUMBASS ALL-POWERFUL BYSTANDER.
Third, WHY IS HE LETTING THEM LEAVE?? WHY?? Even if he didn't see her powers, Everleigh is clearly a threat. A lot of people saw how 'unconventional' his crowing was and they might support the royal kid who didn't kill his brother after making him do the dirty work. There might be a lot of people in the country who'd love the idea of a rebellion and having a magical queen as leader might just tell them it's worth it.
I honestly thought she'd get the throne and the second book would be dealing with the people who see having a Queen as untraditional, and maybe having to marry a prince and that could've made for some drama with the LI.
AWFUL. LEARN HOW TO WRITE VEFORE YOU MAKE ME READ SHIT LIKE THIS. And get and editor.
From the first page I knew something was very wrong. Seriously, did no one edit this? Like, I don't know where to start. Long story short, EVERYTHING SHOULD'VE BEEN TRASHED.
I was honestly going to give this 3 stars because of how bad it is... Like, the author's idea of old royal British speak was to take out all the apostrophes. THEY SOUND LIKE GODDAMNED ROBOTS. There's this one scene where Everleigh learns someone very dear to her died, and she's still: "I am so despaired! I must vainquish my brother and avenge 'tis death!"
You know, I think Star Wars would've worked must better if Luke had said something like that instead of "NOOOOOOOOOO!!!"
But everything fell apart at the ending... -_- And now I am unhappy because I wasted 1h 30 of my life reading this shit.
So there's like 4 characters that we follow in 1st person, Everleigh the Kingmaker, her maid, the white witch of the castle and another in the city. But then we get 3rd person for Everleigh AGAIN?? Like, couldn't you be consistent?? Also Everleigh gets TWO chapters in 1st, all under a page long. Like, why did you even put it there if you weren't going to use it??
And the characters are all so unreal. The maid's voice is the first one we hear, and I could not stand it. She's so dumb and naïve and useless. Like, she really cares about Everleigh and wants to be her maid forever, but when Everleigh tells her that she won't be the Kingmaker but the effing Queen, a declaration that could get her killed, the maid bolts and tells some guy for KISSES. YOU FUCKING BACKSTABBER. I HOPE YOU DIE IN THE SECOND BOOK YOU COWARDLY MULE.
Everleigh is no better; she's just too peaceful about her incoming death? I mean, I understand how knowing at like, ten that you were going to die and kill one of your brothers can fuck up someone, and she had a lot of time to deal with it, but I still feel as if there should've been much more. She should've been more intense about how great life is and just how pretty today is and how nice everyone is to her! Or, on the other hand, she could pretend as if everything is fine but lies to herself about how life is dark and mean, like if one of her brother is nice to her she rationalizes that it's because he wants the blood to favor him, etc.
The old witch was the only one I didn't mind much, even though she had the dumbest ideas ever. Couldn't she have told Everleigh, threatned her even, not to tell ANYONE? I mean, of course she was going to tell the maid, and of course the maid's a coward and so will tell someone else. DUH.
The other witch I just... what? Like, in the beginning she's asked by one of the princes to make a poison and she pratically pisses herself in fear. I mean dude, CHILL. Maybe it's because I have a villain's heart, but I'm a 100% sure that he wouldn't kill you when he needs you, dumbass. And at the end she just does a 180 degree turn and I was just trowing things at my Kindle like: WHAT ARE YOU DOING YOU UTTER MORON??
One thing I need to admit, however, is how the voices were separate. I really didn't need to see the names of the chapter when in first; that's pretty good. Have a cookie, author.
So I had lots of fun reading the 4/5 of the book. Everyone is so dumb and robotic and just insane... Like Everleigh's going to be Queen because she TOLD A RIVER TO RISE AND IT OBEYED HER LIKE *THAT* and I'm just ಠ_ಠ Why doesn't she fucking show the whole castle right now?? Fuck the ceremony, take over the place! YOU'RE A GOD.
I am NOT kidding with that. She makes a storm out of nothing, she tells all the animals in a forest to run away, she CHANGES THE DIRECTION OF AN ARROW. Dude, why isn't this book 20 pages long?? And she doesn't even need training. She can just do it because it's her blood. YOU HAVE NO EXCUSES.
And there's also this guy she meets after the old witch showed her powers, he's like her grand-grand-grand nephew or something and he's there to protect her. So they meet and hang around, he saves her, she saves him and BAM THEY'RE KISSING UNDER A TREE.
And after the king dies, the love interest and Will (another character whom I think was part of a love triangle? Kinda?) are super afraid that he's going to come for Everleigh, so they decide to stay in her room and EVERLEIGH'S FUCKING OBLIVIOUS, like: "Oh my brothers would never do that! They love me!" BITCH HE KILLED YOUR FATHER.
So someone's coming in, the LI hides with Everleigh in a secret passageway while Will takes her place in the bed and HE GETS STABBED LIKE TWENTY TIMES. So they know which brother's the culprit and the LI takes Everleigh and Will (Yes, he's still alive) to the old witch and they hide there until the coronation.
Some more bullshit happens, the maid tries to kill herself but the old witch tells her to suck it up and finally the day's there! So the evil brother being the oldest, he wants to use their old laws of birth order since the Kingmaker's supposedly dead. So the old witch says that she'll be dead after that day and goes to the coronation, Everleigh and the LI get ready to interrupt the thing while the other witch tells the LI that he'll die today if he fights, he follows her advice and JUST LEAVES WITHOUT TELLING ANYONE.
So the evil brother's going to get crowned and Everleigh's just getting there when the other brother fucking DECAPITATES the guy and takes the crown. Everleigh is 〜shocked〜 because she's a goddamn hippie and DOES FUCKING NOTHING EVEN THOUGH SHE CAN FUCKING SUMMON ANYTHING.
Her boyfriend comes back when it's revealed that the other witch is a traitor and killed the old witch. The prince and LI fight and Everleigh's like "With me here, he can't lose." but HE FUCKING DIES ANYWAY BECAUSE THE BITCH WAS TOO DUMB TO LIVE and she's like: "I will have my revenge!" and her bro's like: "K." AND HE LET'S HER LEAVE. HE DOESN'T DO SHIT TO STOP THIS CLEARLY DANGEROUS PERSON FROM THREATENING HIS ALREADY SHAKY REIGN.
So many things wrong with this! First, why the FUCK the the other witch switch sides?? She was terrorized of the guy and was very close to the old witch. Plus, EVERLEIGH WOULD'VE WON. If that bitch hadn't switched sides, not told the LI to leave and not told about the old witch's plan, Everleigh would've fried his ass and everything would've been fine!
Second, EVERLEIGH DID FUCKING NOTHING. The ONE time she used her GODLIKE powers was to slightly pish her brother's sword as he fighting the LI. FUCKING THROW IT ACROSS THE COUNTRY. MAKE THE EARTH SWALLOW HIM. CREATE A TORNADO AND BLOW HIM TO CHAPTER ONE. CALL THE BIRDS AND HORSES AND MAKE THEM ATTACK HIM.
He didn't die because it was prophetized. HE DIED BECAUSE YOU DID FUCKING NOTHING, YOU DUMBASS ALL-POWERFUL BYSTANDER.
Third, WHY IS HE LETTING THEM LEAVE?? WHY?? Even if he didn't see her powers, Everleigh is clearly a threat. A lot of people saw how 'unconventional' his crowing was and they might support the royal kid who didn't kill his brother after making him do the dirty work. There might be a lot of people in the country who'd love the idea of a rebellion and having a magical queen as leader might just tell them it's worth it.
I honestly thought she'd get the throne and the second book would be dealing with the people who see having a Queen as untraditional, and maybe having to marry a prince and that could've made for some drama with the LI.
AWFUL. LEARN HOW TO WRITE VEFORE YOU MAKE ME READ SHIT LIKE THIS. And get and editor.
May 7, 2018
I didn't enjoy this book as much as I thought I would, for some reason it just didn't hold my attention.
The main character is Everleigh, a girl who from the start of the book is destined to die and her blood will choose the next king. But honestly there was nothing about this character that had me hooked and I can honestly say I didn't care about the outcome.
I think my dislike of this book has something to do with how poorly written it is.
There are some secondary characters in this book as there are some chapters written from their POV but I can't say they have held my attention either.
This book had great premise and every opportunity to be an excellent read but I'm not sure if it was the poor writing or my mindset it just wasn't that great. I may reread this book at a later date if I feel the need but at least for the minute I am fairly disappointed by this book which I had high hopes for.
2 stars, not the best for me
The main character is Everleigh, a girl who from the start of the book is destined to die and her blood will choose the next king. But honestly there was nothing about this character that had me hooked and I can honestly say I didn't care about the outcome.
I think my dislike of this book has something to do with how poorly written it is.
There are some secondary characters in this book as there are some chapters written from their POV but I can't say they have held my attention either.
This book had great premise and every opportunity to be an excellent read but I'm not sure if it was the poor writing or my mindset it just wasn't that great. I may reread this book at a later date if I feel the need but at least for the minute I am fairly disappointed by this book which I had high hopes for.
2 stars, not the best for me
February 25, 2019
The fact that this was chosen as my bookclub’s first book makes me think I need to cut my losses now and avoid all of the other potentially horrible books we might read. I would not be surprised if a 13-year-old had written this. The writing is repetitive and the characters are undeveloped. The author doesn’t understand pacing at all, so much so I didn’t even realize I’d finished the first book and was on to the second (the kindle version includes all three books). I stopped reading as soon as I realized my obligation to read book one was over, and I pity the person who has to read all three.
December 15, 2016
I loved this book. Can't wait to read the other two in the trilogy.
Aimed at the young adult market so easy to read but with a great storyline and likeable characters which will appeal to adults too. The author has written from different characters viewpoints using different 'voices' to draw you into the story. I loved the unpredictable twists through the book and am looking forward to finding out how it all ends.
Aimed at the young adult market so easy to read but with a great storyline and likeable characters which will appeal to adults too. The author has written from different characters viewpoints using different 'voices' to draw you into the story. I loved the unpredictable twists through the book and am looking forward to finding out how it all ends.
April 12, 2018
A very interesting premise, but the book is in desperate need of editing. It’s got everything you need magic, evil brother, a witch, a princess and even a brave knight, but it’s immature and the characters are shallow. The author seems new to writing or early in a writing career, with more time and proper editing this could be a great series.
Want to Read
May 23, 2017Did you know the author is related to the person on the cover? Pretty cool! Also this cover is pretty cool. I find my eyes are attracted to the blend of colors and how they go so well together.
April 15, 2018
Interesting concept, terrible execution.
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April 27, 2017Rating and review to follow
August 1, 2017
This was a poorly written book and hard to want to continue reading. I usually give the author a chance to redeem themselves on their sequel but I couldn't this time.
April 13, 2017
I enjoyed this book, although it doesn't give you a real resolution at the end. Will have to get the other 2 books.
August 30, 2018
Interesting story line but a few problems that make it a frustrating read. Now ive finished the first book, I'm still going to try and give the sequel a try but I was expecting more from The Kingmaker.
The character development is not great, it's just so hard to get invested in these characters because we feel like we hardly know them. The love story between Everleigh and Archer is rushed and so many parts of the story are skimmed over. Example:1) Everleigh's near sexual assault...why on Earth did the character not tell anyone? Just didn't make sense. 2) Why is Brett so nasty? The random attacks he makes again seem non sensical and there's no real consequence for the things he does considering he's one of the King's favourites. The final attack on Archer right as the final scene was unfolding again seemed rushed and just thrown in there. We know at a time of extreme panic and confusion when a new King is about to be crowned, he sneaks off, hits Archer on the head and then leaves again. Why? 3) Why does Everleigh hardly use her powers? Considering it's such a big deal, they're only mentioned in a total of about 3 sentences in the book and can easily be forgotten. 4) I would like a little more information on what happens if the current king doesn't have a daughter followed by atleast 2 sons, what if he only has daughters or only one son or the daughter is born first? I suppose they'd revert to the old laws but it seems unfeasible that in the last 500 years every monarch has had a boy followed by a boy followed by a girl. Finally, there's some minor plot holes. For a while we don't know which brother is plotting to kill the other, when Everleigh, Will and Archer discover it's Mascen after he tries to kill Everleigh, all the other characters start referring to the killer as Mascen too. The white witch Ginny at this point is still in her cottage but she suddenly knows Mascen to be the killer.
I think the book has potential but it needed some work before publishing.
The character development is not great, it's just so hard to get invested in these characters because we feel like we hardly know them. The love story between Everleigh and Archer is rushed and so many parts of the story are skimmed over. Example:1) Everleigh's near sexual assault...why on Earth did the character not tell anyone? Just didn't make sense. 2) Why is Brett so nasty? The random attacks he makes again seem non sensical and there's no real consequence for the things he does considering he's one of the King's favourites. The final attack on Archer right as the final scene was unfolding again seemed rushed and just thrown in there. We know at a time of extreme panic and confusion when a new King is about to be crowned, he sneaks off, hits Archer on the head and then leaves again. Why? 3) Why does Everleigh hardly use her powers? Considering it's such a big deal, they're only mentioned in a total of about 3 sentences in the book and can easily be forgotten. 4) I would like a little more information on what happens if the current king doesn't have a daughter followed by atleast 2 sons, what if he only has daughters or only one son or the daughter is born first? I suppose they'd revert to the old laws but it seems unfeasible that in the last 500 years every monarch has had a boy followed by a boy followed by a girl. Finally, there's some minor plot holes. For a while we don't know which brother is plotting to kill the other, when Everleigh, Will and Archer discover it's Mascen after he tries to kill Everleigh, all the other characters start referring to the killer as Mascen too. The white witch Ginny at this point is still in her cottage but she suddenly knows Mascen to be the killer.
I think the book has potential but it needed some work before publishing.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
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March 26, 2019Personal Response
I liked The Kingmaker because it was very upbeat. I didn't like how so many people died, but it did help emphasize how crazy Millard was. It was also interesting because everyone was going behind backs to do things for themselves.
Plot Summary
The book begins with Princess Everleigh trying to accept her fate as kingmaker to be sacrificed to help choose the new king. But that all changes when Hafreda, the wise woman of the castle, tells Everleigh that not only will she live, but she will become queen. It is kept a secret so that her brothers don't attempt to kill her prematurely, but they have their own plans. Macsen tried to get rid of everyone else so he could become king, but Millard was one step ahead. He let Macsen do all of the dirty work, and then killed him. The book continues with Everleigh fighting back against Millard for her rightful throne, and in the end, she succeeds.
Characterization
Everleigh starts off as a very quiet character who has accepted that her fate was to die. When Hafreda tells Everleigh that she wasn't going to die, she became a lot more confident. She started to make more decisions for herself, and didn't really let anyone tell her what to do. She also became much more mature throughout the book because of all of the deaths that she dealt with. Overall, her character is much stronger by the end of the book.
Recommendation
I recommend this book to readers who can handle deaths in books. This book was also a bit of a mystery. It would be a good read for high school students.
I liked The Kingmaker because it was very upbeat. I didn't like how so many people died, but it did help emphasize how crazy Millard was. It was also interesting because everyone was going behind backs to do things for themselves.
Plot Summary
The book begins with Princess Everleigh trying to accept her fate as kingmaker to be sacrificed to help choose the new king. But that all changes when Hafreda, the wise woman of the castle, tells Everleigh that not only will she live, but she will become queen. It is kept a secret so that her brothers don't attempt to kill her prematurely, but they have their own plans. Macsen tried to get rid of everyone else so he could become king, but Millard was one step ahead. He let Macsen do all of the dirty work, and then killed him. The book continues with Everleigh fighting back against Millard for her rightful throne, and in the end, she succeeds.
Characterization
Everleigh starts off as a very quiet character who has accepted that her fate was to die. When Hafreda tells Everleigh that she wasn't going to die, she became a lot more confident. She started to make more decisions for herself, and didn't really let anyone tell her what to do. She also became much more mature throughout the book because of all of the deaths that she dealt with. Overall, her character is much stronger by the end of the book.
Recommendation
I recommend this book to readers who can handle deaths in books. This book was also a bit of a mystery. It would be a good read for high school students.
April 21, 2019
The premise of this book sounded perfect ... and then I started reading. OMG I have never been so disappointed since I read Twilight many years ago.
Cons:
Consistent spelling mistakes
Poor grammar
Poor formatting
Major plot holes - the main character discovers she has these incredible powers but she doesn't use them.
No backstory - why was there the act of killing the sister to choose the new king? We simply don't know because the author fails to mention that
No editing - for crying out loud, every publisher knows you need to edit a book before it's published. Just because you're an indie author, it doesn't mean you should skip this part.
No showing, only telling - there was absolutely no showing in this book, only telling. There was nothing to draw you into this book because there was no emotion, no depth, no colour. It was as bland as mayonnaise on bread.
All in all, this was one of the worst books I have read this year. The premise as I said was terrific, and there was so much the author could have done with it, but quite frankly, another author is needed because at this time, the current writer doesn't have the skills to pass herself off as one. She does not live up to her name.
Cons:
Consistent spelling mistakes
Poor grammar
Poor formatting
Major plot holes - the main character discovers she has these incredible powers but she doesn't use them.
No backstory - why was there the act of killing the sister to choose the new king? We simply don't know because the author fails to mention that
No editing - for crying out loud, every publisher knows you need to edit a book before it's published. Just because you're an indie author, it doesn't mean you should skip this part.
No showing, only telling - there was absolutely no showing in this book, only telling. There was nothing to draw you into this book because there was no emotion, no depth, no colour. It was as bland as mayonnaise on bread.
All in all, this was one of the worst books I have read this year. The premise as I said was terrific, and there was so much the author could have done with it, but quite frankly, another author is needed because at this time, the current writer doesn't have the skills to pass herself off as one. She does not live up to her name.
August 19, 2017
Had to bail at 30% . Appallingly written. I love fantasy so thought I'd give it a punt, but if your expecting a 'queen of the Tearling' or 'Bird and the Sword' steer clear!
The mixture of 'medieval' themes and language better suited to a 'valley girl ' make it very difficult to read. I shuddered at the first 'okay'.. but the continued mix of 'dick van dike' old English and pre-gcse syntax just tipped me over the edge. Too may 'it was right scary... right proper.. right 'insert adverb here' * shudder* the end for me cane when the royal witch had 'a visit off ' the town witch. Nope. Not going to continue after that.
The premise of the story was potentially good, hence the download, but the execution was shocking. The three separate narratives that began the book where.. well.. exactly the same flat monotone with hideous language and sentence construction. And sloppy 'American ' English.
I accept that I'm not the target audience... at least I hope I'm not.. but if you are, save your time and go directly to Any Harmon or Erica Johanson for some decent female driven fantasy, not this drivel. One saving grace was that it was on KU so no actual ££ was directly wasted.
The mixture of 'medieval' themes and language better suited to a 'valley girl ' make it very difficult to read. I shuddered at the first 'okay'.. but the continued mix of 'dick van dike' old English and pre-gcse syntax just tipped me over the edge. Too may 'it was right scary... right proper.. right 'insert adverb here' * shudder* the end for me cane when the royal witch had 'a visit off ' the town witch. Nope. Not going to continue after that.
The premise of the story was potentially good, hence the download, but the execution was shocking. The three separate narratives that began the book where.. well.. exactly the same flat monotone with hideous language and sentence construction. And sloppy 'American ' English.
I accept that I'm not the target audience... at least I hope I'm not.. but if you are, save your time and go directly to Any Harmon or Erica Johanson for some decent female driven fantasy, not this drivel. One saving grace was that it was on KU so no actual ££ was directly wasted.
January 31, 2019
I thought the concept was very intriguing, the story really drew me in at the beginning, but it went downhill at the end. The ending tried to wrap up all the problems way too quickly, and I thought it could have been done better. It had some good characters, but because there were so many of them and a lot of them were underdeveloped. The narrative voice and style seemed inconsistent, and I didn't like how it would switch between third-person omniscient and first-person (just a personal preference). I really liked the book when I started it, the suspense and buildup were good, but the ending didn't do it justice in my opinion.
February 23, 2021
YA
easy to read but it was a long story that should have been much shorter.
not well written
the characters had potential but never really developed and it was very predictable.
Everleigh had magic but why oh why did she not learn how to or actually use it to help her cause
easy to read but it was a long story that should have been much shorter.
not well written
the characters had potential but never really developed and it was very predictable.
Everleigh had magic but why oh why did she not learn how to or actually use it to help her cause
July 26, 2024
(Spoilers) I thought this was an amazing book however I thought it was predictable at times. It was obvious Macsen was going to be the one trying to kill for the crown because the author made Millard out to be the awful one and that would have been too obvious if it was him. However I did not expect Lanories lover to be a spy! Or Macsen to kill the king. Neither did I expect Millard to know about Macsens plans and go crazy at the end and just straight up kill Macsen and Halfreda. Obviously I knew Halfreda would be killed but I really thought it was going to be Macsen who did it. I also really didn’t want Archer to die, that was so sad. I knew he had to because Ginata saw it but I was not happy about that ending. I was also hoping Everleigh would be crowned at the end of the first book and then we’d get to see her reign and deal with her brothers that way. I honestly thought this book was amazing and would have given it 5 stars if it wasn’t for the predictable parts and the unsatisfying ending.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
December 29, 2025
Interesting premise; terrible execution. Reads like it’s stayed at least 100 metres from a professional editor for as long as it existed.
The storyline was so convoluted and told from so many different perspectives that it became hard to keep track of what was happening, and yet simultaneously so repetitive that it was insulting. The characters are bland, unrealistic, infuriatingly stupid, and seem to change motives on a whim. I had books 1-3 in a bundle, and the pacing of the novel was so bad that I didn’t even realise that I’d moved on to the second book after the ‘climax’ of the first. At which point I decided my life was worth more than this and moved on to something else.
I bought the book because of the number of excellent reviews I had seen. After having read the book I suspected that all these reviews had been either bought outright or given by people the author personally knows, because no one in their right mind could possibly read this and enjoy it as a good, engaging, and meaningful piece of writing.
The storyline was so convoluted and told from so many different perspectives that it became hard to keep track of what was happening, and yet simultaneously so repetitive that it was insulting. The characters are bland, unrealistic, infuriatingly stupid, and seem to change motives on a whim. I had books 1-3 in a bundle, and the pacing of the novel was so bad that I didn’t even realise that I’d moved on to the second book after the ‘climax’ of the first. At which point I decided my life was worth more than this and moved on to something else.
I bought the book because of the number of excellent reviews I had seen. After having read the book I suspected that all these reviews had been either bought outright or given by people the author personally knows, because no one in their right mind could possibly read this and enjoy it as a good, engaging, and meaningful piece of writing.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
January 1, 2018
Where to start....The character's could be likeable. The biggest problem with them is they haven't been developed enough. The maid jumps from 'loving the princess and wanting to always serve her to... but you should die... you can't be queen. She's backstabbing, ditsy and seems to lack any form of brain cells. Everleigh is far to trusting, she accepted that she had to die to bloody easily and with out a fight. She doesn't seem to grieve over the deaths of her father and brother at all, if it was my dad and brother I would be freaking devastated.
An editor is sorely need for this book, plot development, spelling errors, grammatical errors and the chapter layout is so confusing. One minute you've got the handmade, the next everleigh, then the witch and then 3rd party??? It makes no bloody sense. If it had all been written in 3rd party then sure... it probably would have been a much better book.
There so much to say but it's 3.30am and I need some sleep.
An editor is sorely need for this book, plot development, spelling errors, grammatical errors and the chapter layout is so confusing. One minute you've got the handmade, the next everleigh, then the witch and then 3rd party??? It makes no bloody sense. If it had all been written in 3rd party then sure... it probably would have been a much better book.
There so much to say but it's 3.30am and I need some sleep.
January 30, 2019
3.5 Read this because my best friend told me to and gave the entire series a 5 star rating. Now, I very much enjoyed this and once it got started I didn’t want to put it down. So where does the mediocre rating come from you ask? 1) the predictability of it all. I want to be surprised. Maybe some will be. But for me the “writing was on the wall”. Minus, one surprise that did get me to call my friend. ;) 2) there is one character in here that is suppose to be old and wise, but the way the characters voice was written, it didn’t read that way. For some reason that irked me more than anything. That’s my opinion. Me being picky. But a characters voice means a lot to me when reading a book. You can’t be older than dirt and sound like a insecure girl about some decisions....idk just me I guess. Anyway, I liked it enough to keep reading. So onto the next book in the series. Interested to see if by chance the authors writing skills improved. :)
June 10, 2021
This book was ok. It had good aspects but the delivery didn't feel concise and put together. It felt very all over the place. There was so much going on, with so many point of views, that things got lost. I did love the twists and betrayals that happened. I'm so pissed off at Lanorie and I hate her. I don't think she deserves Everleighs forgiveness or trust. She needs to leave Everleigh to her life and get her untrustworthy gossiping ass away from her before she costs Everleigh everything. She betrayed her friend for a man and that just pisses me off. It was crazy. Because of the craziness of what is going on, I'm totally continuing this series. I need to know if Lanorie gets what's coming to her and what Everleigh is going to do. I feel so bad for her. Pretty much everyone except Halfreda, Archer, and Will betrayed her. I really hope things work out for her. She deserves it and needs to save her sister from her crazy king brother
May 4, 2022
The pacing of this book was a bit odd, and it took me a few chapters to get used to the perspective changes, but overall, I enjoyed this book. I would give it three stars on a technical level because the characters seem rather one-dimensional, the action is very forced, and the world-building is rather dull. However, the concept is fascinating, and despite its pacing issues, there were times when I couldn't stop reading, and I was genuinely shocked by a few moments in the book. The fourth star is purely for my enjoyment value. This book is by no means a masterpiece, but it's so insane in the events that leave up to the conclusion (which is rather lackluster, even with another book to follow) that I had a fun time trying to recount this story to my friends. Was it a good book? Not particularly. But I had a good time reading this installment of the series.
December 24, 2023
Het verhaal is echt best wel leuk!! Echt een super idee!!
In andere reviews werd gezegd dat de schrijfster onnodige oud Engelse woorden of zo ging gebruiken; ik merkte dat ergens wel, er waren wel echt heel veel (soms onnodig) moeilijke woorden gebruikt voor simpele dingen. Daardoor ging het lezen wel langzamer.
🪐HEVIGE SPOILER ALERT🪐
Wat ik ook niet zo leuk vond was dat letterlijk IEDEREEN dood ging aan het einde. Broer? Dood. Heks? Dood. THE LOVE INTEREST? DOOD 😭😭😭. Dit vond ik oprecht heel jammer want in het vervolg had ze echt nog veel meer kunnen doen met de love interest: hem opsluiten of zo. Maar hij was gewoon… dood. De rest van het love story gedeelte maakte ook niks meer uit, was eig voor niks. Dus dat vond ik jammer.
Sterren: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Pepertjes: 🌶️
Vibe: 🕯️⏳👑🔪🪦🔮🎭
In andere reviews werd gezegd dat de schrijfster onnodige oud Engelse woorden of zo ging gebruiken; ik merkte dat ergens wel, er waren wel echt heel veel (soms onnodig) moeilijke woorden gebruikt voor simpele dingen. Daardoor ging het lezen wel langzamer.
🪐HEVIGE SPOILER ALERT🪐
Wat ik ook niet zo leuk vond was dat letterlijk IEDEREEN dood ging aan het einde. Broer? Dood. Heks? Dood. THE LOVE INTEREST? DOOD 😭😭😭. Dit vond ik oprecht heel jammer want in het vervolg had ze echt nog veel meer kunnen doen met de love interest: hem opsluiten of zo. Maar hij was gewoon… dood. De rest van het love story gedeelte maakte ook niks meer uit, was eig voor niks. Dus dat vond ik jammer.
Sterren: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Pepertjes: 🌶️
Vibe: 🕯️⏳👑🔪🪦🔮🎭
June 11, 2018
This book took me a whole week to read.
Not because it's long, or because I'm a slow reader, just because it didn't hold my attention long enough to make me want to read into the wee hours to see what happens.
I finished it because I can't start a book and not finish it.
Ill read the rest of the trilogy because I admit to being slightly intrigued, and again, I can't start and not finish.
I'm guessing I'll be bummed at the end that the whole story couldn't be made into just one book to save me some time.
Not because it's long, or because I'm a slow reader, just because it didn't hold my attention long enough to make me want to read into the wee hours to see what happens.
I finished it because I can't start a book and not finish it.
Ill read the rest of the trilogy because I admit to being slightly intrigued, and again, I can't start and not finish.
I'm guessing I'll be bummed at the end that the whole story couldn't be made into just one book to save me some time.
July 11, 2020
This book ended much differently than I'd anticipated. I expected there to be some retaliation to the prophecy (why else would we need we more books in the series?) being fulfilled but the end was very violent for the YA audience that the writing seems to be aimed at. Speaking of that, I hated every passage in Lanorie's view but it is understandable because she is an uneducated teenage handmaiden and is written as a bit of a brainless girl.
That being said, I did enjoy the story and am looking forward to the second book.
That being said, I did enjoy the story and am looking forward to the second book.
July 8, 2018
The story line was interesting but there to much inner monologue. Also there are no heroes in this series. There are several times when the lead characters could do something to kill the king etc, and they just wimp out. They spend to much time worries about saving themselves and not enough with saving the kingdom. A while in real life this maybe be true I don't want that for my book. Also whats the point of the kingmaker having powers if she never uses them, like ever.
November 22, 2019
Absolutely loved this book. I knew to go into it that it was more for a younger reader but I couldn't help but get caught up it.
There was so much action, intrigue and of course sibling rivalry that ended in so bloodshed.
I truly enjoyed the storyline, the characters were great though I would have loved to learn more about the brothers in this story. But overall one of my favorite books this week.
Excited to read more and see where the story leads.
There was so much action, intrigue and of course sibling rivalry that ended in so bloodshed.
I truly enjoyed the storyline, the characters were great though I would have loved to learn more about the brothers in this story. But overall one of my favorite books this week.
Excited to read more and see where the story leads.
October 21, 2017
I really, really wanted to like this book.
The story itself was actually good. I loved the concept, the twists and idea of the story; i just didn't like the way that Gemma wrote. A mix of 1st and 3rd person chapters, formal and almost teen speak all thrown together just did not work.
I feel that if Gemma had been guided by a really good editor than this book could have been amazing.
The story itself was actually good. I loved the concept, the twists and idea of the story; i just didn't like the way that Gemma wrote. A mix of 1st and 3rd person chapters, formal and almost teen speak all thrown together just did not work.
I feel that if Gemma had been guided by a really good editor than this book could have been amazing.
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