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Kingdoms of Islandia #1
A King's Return
Islandia had been without a High King for a generation. Eloy, the last High King, embarked upon a journey shrouded in mystery after a cryptic warning found from a long lost prophet promised a return of ancient dark forces. Eloy had placed the rule of Islandia and the five kingdoms in the hands of his closest friend, King Richard. After thirty years most have long since stopped looking for Eloy's return or the darkness foretold. Many under Richard's rule have grown discontent and jealous of his appointment. All hope for peace is lost and chaos reigns after the icy hand of an assassin takes the life of King Richard and plucks him from the throne. What now? Will Prince Titus, Richard's son, have the strength to hold Islandia together, or will it descend into war over the High King's throne! The kingdom is divided by the sword as each must decide where their loyalties lie.
234 pages, Kindle Edition
First published August 18, 2020
4 people are currently reading
42 people want to read
About the author
J.J. Johnson
4 books12 followersI was born and raised in Des Moines, IA. I later graduated from Evangel University in Springfield, MO. My wife (Vanessa), our daughter, and I serve as career missionaries on the continent of Africa. I have always loved the power of story. Growing up watching and reading epics such as Narnia, LOTR, Star Wars, and many more I knew how much a powerful story could impact others.
I started the Kingdoms of Islandia trilogy hoping in a small way I could make an impact on others like these stories impacted me. Above all, I dedicate everything I do to my king, Jesus. Without sounding cliché, it is by his radical love that I am who you see today. I hope all my work, speech, and ministry can bring glory to his name.
I started the Kingdoms of Islandia trilogy hoping in a small way I could make an impact on others like these stories impacted me. Above all, I dedicate everything I do to my king, Jesus. Without sounding cliché, it is by his radical love that I am who you see today. I hope all my work, speech, and ministry can bring glory to his name.
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Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews
January 30, 2021
I have a BookTube channel where I review books, give reading suggestions, and more! Check it out here: https://www.youtube.com/dragonarmybooks
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A King's Return is the tale of a splintered realm divided into five disparate kingdoms, each with their own rulers, goals, and ambitions. The ruling king of Islandia has been missing for 30 years and the tension between kingdoms has never been more evident. Finally, a breaking point has been reached and tension boils over into all out war.
We follow three primary POVs, each a leader of their own kingdom. The three leads, while all different in their own right, weren't all as compelling as the other. Khosi Imari, ruler of the African-inspired kingdom of Khala, was the character and storyline I was most interested in from beginning to end. It was fun to see how the three distinct storylines intersected by story's end. It is not a long book so things happen fairly quickly. There are very few downtimes, but there is plenty of worldbuilding and politicking going on that might feel slow for some readers.
There are a lot of familiar traits here for fantasy readers. Traitors betray. Blood is shed. A lot of people die. Swords and spears are imbued with magical power and a glowing hue. And the story is far from done. J.J. really utilizes this first entry as a setup to all that is to come, leaving us with a cliffhanger and lots of questions. I'm looking forward to reading more books in the Kingdoms of Islandia series as they release.
A King's Return was provided by the author in exchange for an honest review.
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A King's Return is the tale of a splintered realm divided into five disparate kingdoms, each with their own rulers, goals, and ambitions. The ruling king of Islandia has been missing for 30 years and the tension between kingdoms has never been more evident. Finally, a breaking point has been reached and tension boils over into all out war.
We follow three primary POVs, each a leader of their own kingdom. The three leads, while all different in their own right, weren't all as compelling as the other. Khosi Imari, ruler of the African-inspired kingdom of Khala, was the character and storyline I was most interested in from beginning to end. It was fun to see how the three distinct storylines intersected by story's end. It is not a long book so things happen fairly quickly. There are very few downtimes, but there is plenty of worldbuilding and politicking going on that might feel slow for some readers.
There are a lot of familiar traits here for fantasy readers. Traitors betray. Blood is shed. A lot of people die. Swords and spears are imbued with magical power and a glowing hue. And the story is far from done. J.J. really utilizes this first entry as a setup to all that is to come, leaving us with a cliffhanger and lots of questions. I'm looking forward to reading more books in the Kingdoms of Islandia series as they release.
A King's Return was provided by the author in exchange for an honest review.
January 12, 2021
What a good read.
It's like Narnia, but for adults.
One of the best books I've ever had the pleasure of reading.
It's like Narnia, but for adults.
One of the best books I've ever had the pleasure of reading.
December 26, 2020
WOW. OK Where to start. Normally I can get through a book quickly. But this book took me a minute..(or months). This book is amazing though. There are lots of characters you get introduced to. But as the beginning of a series that's a good thing. More view points leads to a deeper story and in the case of this book the growing mystery behind what is happening in land. The second half of the book flew by. Once the intros are finished the story starts moving at an incredible pace. I'm still spinning from my marathon reading as I couldn't stop reading, needing to know what happens next!
I am excited to read the continuation of this series. Thank you for a great adventure J.J.
I am excited to read the continuation of this series. Thank you for a great adventure J.J.
May 24, 2021
I enjoyed the stories and the plots twists. You really develop a relationship with the characters and are rooting for good to overcome. I listened to it on Audio book and enjoyed the dramatic reading.
Wonderful writer! He is inspired from God to bring this story to life.
Wonderful writer! He is inspired from God to bring this story to life.
June 4, 2021
Listened to audio narrated by Ricky Mathai, Preson Rosales and J.J. Johnson. For the most part this was easy to listen to but one of the narrators frequently mispronounced words and had very little dynamics in the narration. It actually sounded like he was reading out loud, you know the way people sound when they are forced to read out loud in a class room? It pulled me out of the story several times. I was also surprised by the very different accents between the kingdoms, except for the hill people, it didn't feel like the distance between the various kingdoms would yield such different accents, but it's possible I missed some clue to explain this.
High King Elos ruler of the five kingdoms in Islandia left Kingshelm in the hands of Steward King Robert to seek out the Founders homeland to learn how to defeat the upcoming threat of the dark force known as the Felled Ones. He's been gone for thirty years and few believe he will ever return. Unrest leads to the Steward King's assassination on the Day of Remembrance and starts a chain of events that will change all of their lives.
Prince Titus finds himself taking over as the Steward King after his father is assassinated. Unsure who to trust, the attack triggers events leading to war with a neighboring kingdom and a mysterious man instigating it all.
There's a lot of moving parts in this first book in the Kingdoms of Islandia trilogy. Plots within plots, betrayals, magical Dawn Blades, sinister forces, fierce battles, a touch of love and the hopes of a young Prince to lead the kingdom well through all the chaos.
This author is new to me and I enjoyed this first book in this trilogy and the twisty bits toward the end has me looking forward to the next book in the trilogy.
If you like my reviews I hope you will follow my blog. https://wyldheartreads.wordpress.com/
If you prefer to listen to my reviews you can find my reviews on Spotify here: https://anchor.fm/wyldheart-reads
High King Elos ruler of the five kingdoms in Islandia left Kingshelm in the hands of Steward King Robert to seek out the Founders homeland to learn how to defeat the upcoming threat of the dark force known as the Felled Ones. He's been gone for thirty years and few believe he will ever return. Unrest leads to the Steward King's assassination on the Day of Remembrance and starts a chain of events that will change all of their lives.
Prince Titus finds himself taking over as the Steward King after his father is assassinated. Unsure who to trust, the attack triggers events leading to war with a neighboring kingdom and a mysterious man instigating it all.
There's a lot of moving parts in this first book in the Kingdoms of Islandia trilogy. Plots within plots, betrayals, magical Dawn Blades, sinister forces, fierce battles, a touch of love and the hopes of a young Prince to lead the kingdom well through all the chaos.
This author is new to me and I enjoyed this first book in this trilogy and the twisty bits toward the end has me looking forward to the next book in the trilogy.
If you like my reviews I hope you will follow my blog. https://wyldheartreads.wordpress.com/
If you prefer to listen to my reviews you can find my reviews on Spotify here: https://anchor.fm/wyldheart-reads
December 4, 2021
It was like trying to go with the book without expecting to get into it so easily. I was amazed by how it made room for different characters iin their own settings. And what made it so amazing was how their stories came to be tied up as an interwined one. The plot is indeed good. I believe there was more to explore on each charcter's journey and also when it came to the end (well this is likely acvomplished in the second book, hoping so).
Another importante aspect: there is that diversos world where people from different background can feel in. But this also brings the challenge of capturing a real biew of these backgrounds.
It's a worthy reading story y'all
Another importante aspect: there is that diversos world where people from different background can feel in. But this also brings the challenge of capturing a real biew of these backgrounds.
It's a worthy reading story y'all
August 23, 2023
Decent novel. You do get a fair bit of action and battles but this one hand a huge info dump at the beginning that was hard for me to overcome. Not sure I will continue with the series
May 23, 2021
This book never caught me. I am willing to say it may have been because I was listening to it on audible instead of reading it. However, the pacing felt slow. Also, and this is a personal thing maybe, I really don’t like when writers use obviously Jewish/Christian terms to name God or other characters. The name Eloi is used for God and the intent is so obvious, why not just say God? Those kinds of things pull stories like this out of the realm of fantasy for me. Again, I’m willing to admit that may be my personal hangup.
Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews