I had no idea what I was getting into with Knightfall. Honestly, I just saw a bunch of facebook posts commanding me to read this book, so I said, "Why not?" Four stars and four delayed hours of sleep later, I've come to the conclusion that I made an awesome decision.
Knightfall is one of those books that jumps right into action. Bloss, our leading lady, is in disguise at the beginning of the story, and the sh*t quickly hits the fan. I really liked that Denton threw Bloss (and us) right into the fray. We get this immediate burst of adrenaline, and those opening chapters really nail their ending lines. Each time I neared the end of a chapter, I promised that would be my cue to go the f*ck to sleep. NOPE. I would read the chapter's final lines, and I would laugh, or sigh, or get a little anxious, and just could not resist seeing what happened next.
The book's pacing works well with the plot really continuing to develop throughout the book. We've really got a few different story-lines going on at once: Bloss trying to watch over/protect her sister, the tug of war between Bloss and her men as they struggle to forgive her, and other moments of intrigue that come from being at the epicenter of a setting where political maneuvering is as necessary as breathing.
Denton does a good job at managing the intricacies of these individual story-lines and blending them together enough that the novel really feels cohesive instead of being separated into three separate dramas that each take on a life of their own. I wish there was a little more world-building- more about how the different countries are structured, a little more organized information about how the magical system works. We DO get snippets to help us figure those details out, so don't worry, readers won't just be dropped in the dark, but I was definitely hungry for more. I found it really interesting how there's a "price" to each of their magics, and I thought those costs were nicely worked into each character's personalities and behaviors.
Bloss is a fun character- she's very wily, independent, and, especially for her station in life, a bit vulgar (my kind of lady). I love the genuine affection that's written between her and her sister; the chemistry there feels real, and it's very sweet. That makes it all the more believable that she'd risk her life, and others', to come back to save Avia.
The men are an intriguing bunch, the group built from all the areas that a budding queen would need to have a strong court- the military man & tactician; the intellectual with a head for numbers, figures, and data; the spymaster; and the charismatic diplomat. It was a nice twist to have each of the men with their own innate characteristics but also different positions within the workings of the kingdom. It gave a nice balance to the way they worked through the challenges that were thrown at them, and I think that's going to be extremely useful in future books.
I enjoyed the men, but I would have liked a little more development to their back stories. I felt like we got enough to get a foundation for each of them, so they do stand out as individuals instead of meshing together. However, they make me curious, and I especially want to know more about the bonds they've developed with each other in the years that Bloss was gone and they were left to rely on one another.
Overall, Knightfall was such a fun delight. There's a lot of flirtation and teasing, and we do get to have some steamy fun by the end of the novel, so it's pretty well-rounded. There are moments of adventure, of tension, of romance, and humor; we definitely get a little bit of everything we need to make this a strong series opener and a new fandom for me to dig into!