3/5 stars

The Runaway King (The Ascendance Trilogy, #2) by Jennifer A. Nielsen

Fun story, boring everything else

The Ascendance Trilogy wasn’t everything I hoped it would be. I was hoping for an exciting Middle Grade story with well-written characters and a strong plot. What I got was a moderately fun Middle Grade story with boring, flat characters and a predictable, forced plot.

The first book was by far the best. Had it stayed a stand-alone, I think I would have enjoyed it much more. Unfortunately, book one was followed by books two and three where the characters didn’t change and plot got worse.

It’s like a coming of age story, but no one came of age.

I’m sure the target audience of 10 to 12 years olds will be much more forgiving that I am, and the basic story was a lot of fun. I’ll be sharing it with my kids, but for anyone else looking for a kings-and-swords Middle Grade story, I’ll send them to Brandon Mull’s Beyonders before give them The False Prince.

Happy Reading!