About the ASCENDANCE TRILOGY: In a discontent
kingdom, civil war is brewing. To unify the divided people, Conner, a nobleman
of the court, devises a cunning plan to find an impersonator of the king's
long-lost son and install him as a puppet prince. Four orphans are recruited to
compete for the role, including a defiant boy named Sage. Sage knows that
Conner's motives are more than questionable, yet his life balances on a sword's
point -- he must be chosen to play the prince or he will certainly be killed.
But Sage's rivals have their own agendas as well. As Sage moves from a
rundown orphanage to Conner's sumptuous palace, layer upon layer of treachery
and deceit unfold, until finally, a truth is revealed that, in the end, may
very well prove more dangerous than all of the lies taken
together. (Amazon)
Review by Amy Finnegan – Writer, Reader, Bookshop Talk Host
Just over a year ago, two of our readers submitted reviews for THE
FALSE PRINCE by Jennifer A. Nielsen, and I was very intrigued. They pretty
much said the same thing—the book rocked their world. I’ll give you some short
quotes:
(From Debz)
Sage was pretty awesome. He was so clever,
and rather attractive as well. I could read scene after scene of Sage’s inner
monologue, and be satisfied.
(From Pica)
There is no way I can
possibly praise the book enough. It begins excitingly, and only gets better
from there. Nielsen gives just enough information to keep the reader on the
edge of their seat, and it is so much fun to unravel the many mysteries
entwined and surrounding each other.
How could I help
but want to read THE
FALSE PRINCE, right? Well, my friends, I didn’t just read it, I devoured
it. And I was so instantly in love that it was nearly painful to wait even just
a couple more months from that point for the second book in the Ascendance
Trilogy, THE
RUNAWAY KING. And this book, this book
also blew me away, but even more so. There was more, more, more of what I loved
in the first book. An even stronger plot, a heightened romance (I’m a sucker
for that, you know), more action done to perfection (seriously, read it and
you’ll agree), and more of a hero so enjoyable, I truly wish he was an actual
friend because he definitely feels like one (but I’ll admit that I’d probably
stalk him and make him say clever things to me all day. And I might embarrass myself
due to a little crush as well).
So, knowing that
this was a three-book series, I was dyyyying
to get my hands on THE
SHADOW THRONE. Let’s just say that once the advanced reading copies were
available, and I wasn’t able to get one in a more straight forward way, I
resorted to taking advantage of an editor friend—a horrible thing to do, but I
was desperate—who then contacted
Jennifer A. Nielsen’s editor . . . and alas, my manipulative, lying, cheating,
stealing, and wicked ways finally paid off (I wasn’t really that diabolical, but this version of the
story more accurately explains how eager I was to read it).
And it was
AWESOME!! It whipped me around in ways I couldn’t have imagined . . .
emotionally, physically, intellectually. And the series ended in an
exceptionally satisfying way (except that I still want more! So in that way, I
guess I’m not satisfied at all).
I read a heck of
a lot, but the honest truth is, I can name on just one hand how many series
I’ve felt have gotten better with each book. Most often, I love the first book,
then the second usually feels like filler, and the third doesn’t live up to the
expectations the first sets up. And it’s sometimes worse than even that if
there’s more than three books in a series.
But truly the Ascendance Trilogy gets better
with every single book, and THE SHADOW THRONE nails it!
So to share the
love, and celebrate the launch day of THE SHADOW THRONE, Bookshop Talk is
giving away a set of the entire Ascendance Trilogy! All hardcovers. For real!
What do you need to do to win? Check out the Rafflecopter giveaway below, and be sure to check back here on March 4th when we announce the winner! Good luck!!
What do you need to do to win? Check out the Rafflecopter giveaway below, and be sure to check back here on March 4th when we announce the winner! Good luck!!
9 comments:
The Ascendance Trilogy is truly amazing! One of the few series that attracts middle school aged boys and compels them to read and chat about books! The books are so amazing that all ages and stages in life love it too! Hope we win a boxed set!
Can't wait to read The Shadow Throne!
I never even knew there were two more books after false prince...gonna need to hunt them down now.
oops, i'm the anonymous comment above...
This is one series I can't get enough of. Sage is one of my favorite characters ever, and I can't wait to see what he's up to this time around!
Sounds like a great series! Definitely adding them to my to-read list!
If I had such sneaky ways to get my hands on the last of these books I would fully utilize them. I applaud you and hope for a similar outcome in this giveaway!
It would be an honor to win these books. After reading the blog post, I was reminded of the "The Ranger's Apprentice" series of books by John Flanagan. They show you don't need magic, or dragons, and such things to read a great fantasy series. I'll keep my fingers crossed, but I won't hold my breath lol. Good luck everyone
I love this website! Thanks for the great reviews :)
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