This is the second book in the Ascendance trilogy and the sequel to The False Prince, (read our review) which my daughter and I absolutely loved. Once again, we dove into this book and couldn't put it down!

Jaron, newly crowned king of Carthya, senses betrayal in his kingdom. When an attempt to assassinate him occurs, he knows he cannot ignore the problems within his castle walls and the impending rumors of a coming war. So he flees the throne to take matters into his own hand, to confront the pirates and to stop them and his neighbouring king from taking his land. Jaron gets more than what he bargained for and he learns the hard way what it means to be king.

Both my daughter and I adore the main character, who is quite the character! He is smart and brave but also stubborn. My daughter likes how his stubbornness ends up helping him. I simply love the dialogue. It's witty, brilliant and funny too. The plot zips along in an adventure that takes us through twists and turns, keeping us in suspense. Fink is a new character introduced in this book, and he charmed me and pulled on my heartstrings because he is an orphan.

My daughter also mentioned to me that she liked that it was realistic, in the sense that Jaron went through a lot, including almost getting killed. Like in the first book there is violence, with scenes of swordfighting, hitting and whipping. But we did not find it gruesome, as it is also interspersed with funny and noble moments. It's a medieval setting, and there are also scenes of honorable actions.

Well, my daughter and I are counting this one as a favorite, and we can't wait for the last installment of this fun trilogy. Recommended to lovers of action-adventure tales, especially those young teens who are reluctant readers.

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