Twelve Kings in Sharakhai

Entertaining if a little cliché.

Interesting premise, but tedious execution. Every other chapter jumps back in time which breaks any narrative urgency. The heroine is the best fighter ever, a brilliant sleuth, a penniless orphan. She doesn't feel like a real person.

The setting is interesting though, and I almost care about several of the characters.

Absolutely amazing! I can't believe I've never heard of this series or author before. So glad I randomly put it on my to read list and so glad I randomly picked it to actually read. It's fun adventure-fantasy with some magical elements and mystery included. I'd highly recommend to any fan of Robin Hobb, Robert Jackson Bennett, or Brandon Sanderson.

A revenge tale wrapped up in a fascinating desert fantasy package. In Sharikai, Mr Beaulieu has created a fascinating city and culture. The world building here is truly epic. The titular twelve kings form a mysterious and sinister backdrop to it all and are the focus of our heroine's revenge.

The book starts full throttle - within a few pages we have had gladitorial fight and some gratuitous sex. Certainly an exciting way to introduce our character and world! The story does slow down a bit, allowing the back story to fill in nicely and allowing a glimpse into the history of the city.

This was a fun introduction to a series that I am going to have to dive further into!

Twelve immortal kings rule Sharakhai. They are cruel, ruthless, and they control everything.

Ceda hates the kings. She has vowed to kill them one day.

This book is fantastic! I loved every minute. The world is fascinating. I love the characters, especially Ceda and Emre.

If you like fantasy, you will love this. I will definitely continue on with the series.

NOTE: What I've written below are just my opinions. Please do not let me sway you from reading this book. I gave it three stars simply out of my own feelings, so your own experience with this book might be different(I am notoriously picky).

Pros:
-The world building
-Interesting characters
-THE WORLD BUILDING!
-Fascinating mythology
-Interesting plot

Cons:
-Ceda had five (or more?) men in love with her or crushing on her at some point.
-Sex. I thought the sex scenes were unnecessary, but others might like them.
-There were a few parts where the results of the mystery were pretty obvious, and it dragged on a bit waiting for Ceda to catch on as we were dumped with myths or flashbacks.

Warnings:
-Sex
-Violence

I REALLY REALLY wanted to like this book. So much so that even after the first 30%, when I knew I was more than a little bored with the story, I kept going. The opening of the White Wolf was so promising, but I was quickly lost. It took me at least twice as long to read 50 pages in this book as normal, I would just stare at the same sentence over and over. Then I would be confused by this sentence. While there are some beautifully written passages, the story line wasn't engaging enough for me.

Originally posted on bluchickenninja.com.

Twelve Kings was just okay. I think this is the problem with reading lots of fantasy books (or any genre). You find one amazing book and nothing else that you read can compare to it. Because it really wasn't too bad. I liked the main character, I liked the mythology. I liked that it had this whole thing where people have ships which allow them to sail on the desert sand very much like what you would do in water.

But I found myself getting bored, it dragged on in a few places. I couldn't quite figure out what the point of the story was and therefore couldn't tell if scenes were important or unnecessary. I mean it was an okay fantasy. But there are much better fantasies out there.