The Demon King

This was very good and a fast read after a few pages. The story was engrossing. The fantasy element hasn't really kicked in much yet.

The characters were all amazing.
List of morons - The Queen, The High Wizard, Micah Bayar.
Loved: Amon, Hunts Alone, Dancer, Averill Demonai.

I liked how the stories entangled to bring the characters together. I also liked how the story didn't shy away from romance either.

Things I liked:
- The way the Clans lived.
- The Clan names.
- Raisa and her father's relationship was so nicely portrayed.
- Raisa always finding a way out!
- Poor Amon

Got some free time on my hands, might as well write a review.

Sometimes it's difficult to put yourself in the shoes of sixteen-year-old heroes. Especially if you don't really have the experience of living in the same world as characters and seldom can really understand them. So, here is the author's purpose: not only to tell a story but make the reader feel for the characters.

There are different kinds of first books in the series. The Demon King is essentially an introduction to the story that takes all book. We meet the characters, get to know their life and aspirations, their fears. After a couple of days, the only thing that I can remember is that the plot felt very smooth. There were literally no moments that made me excited or scared (except for a couple where I was irritated with Raisa, the Princess Heir).

I don't want to read the second book right now. Actually, I don't even know if I will pick it up later.

Now this was a story that had me glued to the pages. Thank-you to my friend Reeshe for giving this and its sequel (The Exiled Queen) to me for Christmas because as soon as I had picked up the first and read it I had moved on to the second.

This book excelled in my two loves - great characters and great word-building. Cinda Williams Chima has a boundless imagination and she knows how to use it to make a fantastical adventure story.

The Demon King is told from two very different POVS that of Hans Alister reformed thief lord and that of Raisa ana'Marianna princess heir to the Queendom. Both Han and Raisa are obviously two characters raised in very different settings but they were both characters that I had grown to like very quickly. Han is a charming former criminal trying his best to make an honest living while taking care of his sister and mother while Raisa is quickly approaching her sixteenth birthday where she will be required to choose a husband. What I liked about Raisa though was that she wasn't moping around at the prospect of having to get married. She sees it as a duty and she considers each option not with her heart but with who would be best suited to help her rule her kingdom and make it prosper, it also doesn't stop her from flirting with the occasional guy and having a bit of fun because she knows that it will have to end when she turns sixteen.

Both characters are brave and smart and by position and circumstance their lives are pulled into great danger and towards each other.

There are wizards, royalty, street gangs, and clansmen all swirling around in the world of The Seven Realms and although there were certain parts of the plot that were entirely predictable the way the story was written made me not care in the slightest.