Review: The Turncoat King by Michelle Diener

Posted January 25, 2021 by Stephanie in Reviews / 9 Comments

Title: The Turncoat King
Author: Michelle Diener
Series: The Rising Wave #1
Publication: January 12th 2021
Genre: Fantasy
Find it on: Amazon | Barnes & Noble | Book Depository
Rating: 3/5

 

A thirst for revenge . . . Ava is committed to vengeance against the man responsible for the death of her parents. The same man, the Queen’s Herald, who kept her prisoner for two years, until she escaped with Luc, a warlord bent on vengeance just as fierce as her own. He’s forged a powerful army of people from all through the region, called the Rising Wave, to march on the Kassian royal family and smash its corrupt power under the weight of their anger. But for Luc, just as for Ava, his true motive is a lot more personal.

A hidden magic . . . Luc suspects Ava has magical powers, suspects he’s benefited greatly from them, but he’s no stranger to the burdens of power, and he’s prepared to let her tell him in her own time—after all, she’s his heart’s choice and he will give her all the time she needs. Except time is running out for both of them. As they near the Kassian stronghold, forces from within their own camp and without will use every trick they have to stop both Luc and Ava and tear them apart.

A secret laid bare . . . Luc knows Ava has a secret she’s keeping from him—but what he doesn’t realize is she has many. And when those secrets are exposed, everyone will have to grapple with the consequences. Ava is prepared to sacrifice her happiness and even her life to save the Rising Wave and Luc—but she would prefer to use her heart and her head to outwit her enemies instead.

I’m a little torn about my feelings about The Turncoat King by Michelle Diener. I liked it but not so much that I could give it a higher rating than three stars. A three star rating definitely isn’t bad but of course when you read a new book by a favorite author you always wish it will be higher than that.

I’m going to start with the things that I liked about this book. First of all Ava as a heroine. I always enjoy reading about the heroines that the author creates and with Ava it was just the same. She was super badass and I totally loved her unique magical ability.

Second, Ava’s relationship with Luc. I just loved it. Their romance definitely didn’t came without its challenges but I’ve been rooting for them since the start. This wasn’t a super heavy romantic book but I just couldn’t get enough about reading their personal moments together.

Now for the things that I liked less about the book. I feel like I was more invested in Ava and Luc as characters and their relationship than anything else that was going on in the book. Not that those things weren’t interesting to read about as well but it all just didn’t capture my attention as much.

Overall, The Turncoat King by Michelle Diener had both its postives and negatives. I do want to read the second book because I love the author and I want to see what else is going to happen with the characters and this world.

*The Rising Wave series starts with the novella entitled THE RISING WAVE. Readers can find it in Warlords, Witches & Wolves: A Fantasy Realms Anthology until March, thereafter it will be available as a standalone novella.*

 

About the author:
Michelle Diener is the bestselling, award-winning author of historical fiction, fantasy and science fiction. Having worked in publishing and IT, she’s now very happy crafting new worlds and interesting characters and wondering which part of the world she can travel to next.
Michelle was born in London, grew up in South Africa and currently lives in Australia with her husband and children.

When she’s not writing, or driving her kids from activity to activity, you can find her online at Twitter, posting pictures on Pinterest and interacting with readers on Facebook.
Website | Facebook | Twitter | Pinterest | Instagram

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