Audiobook Review: Map of Fates (The Conspiracy of Us #2) by Maggie Hall

Book info:
Title:  Map of Fates 
Author:  Maggie Hall
Series:  The Conspiracy of Us #2 
Genre:  YA adventure and romance
Published:  March 8th, 2016
Source:  Digital audiobook downloaded from public library

I listened to the first book in this series, The Conspiracy of Us, back in November, and was immediately impressed by this story.   The first book had so many secrets and plot points that we did find the answers to, but those also led to more secrets and mysteries that were what made up this second book in the story.  And the ending of the first book, let me just reiterate that it was a WHOA ending.  One that I really loved, and that was actually part of my favorite storyline in this second book, even if events in the 2nd book changed what kind of outcome I wanted for that little twist.  Now, if you haven't read the first book yet, then you need to click on the link at the beginning of this paragraph, because there will be some spoilers for that book here, especially when I talk about the big twist I just mentioned.

We are back with Avery and Jack.  Since they discovered the clues to Alexander the Great's tomb, left by Napoleon, they are on a deadline of two weeks to try to find the location to give to the dangerous group, the Order.  The reason Avery must do this, instead of just helping find it for her family, the Circle, is because the Order has kidnapped her mother and threatened to kill her if Avery doesn't give them what they want.  While she and Jack are together constantly, Stellan is often dropping in to help, with whatever resources he can provide.  Since Avery is the girl with the purple eyes that every family in the Circle wants to marry to their oldest son and heir, imagine the surprise at the end of the last one when Avery and Jack and Stellan discovered that Stellan was actually "the One" that Avery was supposed to have a union with in order to find the weapon in Alexander's tomb.

When Avery and Jack run into a dead end in the country where they start, Avery gives in to let her family help, at least enough that they can get passports and travel to destinations that she and Jack can continue to hunt.  But the problem is that her father wants her to go meet with all the possible heirs for her to marry and pick one.  Avery agrees to do this, since many of the locations will be places she wants to go in her search.  Until she and Jack know what they are looking for, they don't want to let anyone know about Stellan just yet.  They figure that is one card up their sleeve that they can hold back. Especially since Avery doesn't want to marry any of these heirs.  She is in love with Jack, although there is something about Stellan that is intriguing, even with his infuriating ways.

Things don't go that smoothly just because they have the help of the family though.  In fact, more tragedy occurs as the sons that she's met with end up getting murdered by the Order, and one is even killed when she is sitting right next to him.

It turns out that it isn't really the Order that they have to worry about in the end, and finding Alexander's tomb may turn out to be the salvation to the weapon that is not what was expected, and one that is way worse than anyone could have imagined.

I have to say that I'm totally Team Stellan now.  And the deaths in this book were really major ones that totally blew me away.  Now, I have to wait another year for the next book, and I can't wait to see where the author will take this story next, as my brain is just stumped on what in the world they can do to stop this.  And I loved that as I was listening to this audiobook, I was also reading Empire of Dust by Eleanor Herman, which is about Alexander the Great, so it was fun to hear theories in today's world alongside the fantasy historical world of the book I was reading.

Blog tour: Review and Giveaway - Empire of Dust (Blood of Gods and Royals #2) by Eleanor Herman

--> About the Book: -->

Title: EMPIRE OF DUST (Blood of Gods and Royals #2)

Author: Eleanor Herman

Pub. Date: June 26, 2016

Publisher: Harlequin Teen

Pages: 432

Format: Hardcover, eBook, audiobook

Find it: Amazon | Barnes and Noble | iBooks | Goodreads
-->

In Macedon, war rises like smoke, forbidden romance blooms and ancient magic tempered with rage threatens to turn an empire to dust 

After winning his first battle, Prince Alexander fights to become the ruler his kingdom demands—but the line between leader and tyrant blurs with each new threat. 

Meanwhile, Hephaestion, cast aside by Alexander for killing the wrong man, must conceal the devastating secret of a divine prophecy from Katerina even as the two of them are thrust together on a dangerous mission to Egypt. 

The warrior, Jacob, determined to forget his first love, vows to eradicate the ancient Blood Magics and believes that royal prisoner Cynane holds the key to Macedon's undoing. 

And in chains, the Persian princess Zofia still longs to find the Spirit Eaters, but first must grapple with the secrets of her handsome—and deadly—captor. 

New York Times bestselling author Eleanor Herman entwines the real scandals of history with epic fantasy to reimagine the world's most brilliant ruler, Alexander the Great, in the second book of the Blood of Gods and Royals series.
-->

Grab the FREE novella VOICE OF GODS Now!

Amazon | Barnes and Noble | iBooks

and

The novella QUEEN OF ASHES for $2.99!

Amazon | Barnes and Noble | iBooks

My Review:
Normally my reviews include a bit of a recap, but since you've got that with the "official" synopsis above, I'll try to stick to my specific thoughts.  I do want to link you back to my review of the first book, Legacy of Kings, first, because I'm going to try to connect this review to parts of that one as much as possible.   One kind of interesting thing that was happening while I was reading this, is that the audiobook I was listening to also had to do with a historical fiction take on Alexander the Great as well, and so it was fun to think about the different parts of each book as I was listening to, or reading the other.  

As with the first book, there is a pretty large cast of characters to keep up with. But what the author is great at, is writing each of them so that you can tell exactly whose point of view that chapter is.  And for the most part, each of the characters' first chapter in this book gave you a review of what had happened in the last book, or at least refreshed your memory, but without doing it in a totally awkward and obvious way.  There wasn't too much with Alex and his sister Katerina together in this book.  And Alex's best friend, Heph, is not on Alex's good side at the moment, after killing a major character in the battle in the last book, that Alex had wanted brought in alive.  So Katerina and Heph are on a mission for Alex, to try to find other soldiers or armies to come back to help defend Alex's kingdom, since Alex's father is off on his own pursuit to advance their kingdom.  Alex must show the people that he can be a good leader.  And at first he relies on some people to advise him that aren't quite the best people to listen to.  Jacob, Katerina's betrothed from back home, is sure that she must be dead, after he left her on the battlefield with a fatal wound from the man that was the leader of his group, the Aesarian Lords, also the enemies of Alexander.  

Of course there will be betrayal from family, Alex's mother Olympias, the head Aesarian Lord, Bastion, Alex's sister Cynane.  There will be gods, and monsters, and the search for magical creatures like the Pegasus.  Zofia, the princess who ran away before she could be sent to marry Alexander, because she was in love with one of her father's soldiers, will find out there is more to the man who ended up kidnapping her and using her to try to find the Pegasus.  There will be deaths, some that Alexander will be the cause of, some that Olympias will be the cause of, and others that will just be a part of the normal events in war and countries at odds in this ancient time.  There will even be at least one death that isn't final, that the person gets another chance, to be good or do evil, that is what we will see.

Once again I fell in love with the characters in this series, as well as the beautiful world and all that the author has included in it.  And I'm now left anxiously awaiting the third book!! 

--> About Eleanor: -->

Before the Game of Thrones craze swept the nation, Eleanor Herman was hard at work entertaining readers with her extensive research on courtly intrigue and romance. She is the New York Times bestselling author of Sex with Kings, as well as three other works of nonfiction: Sex with the Queen, Mistress of the Vatican, and King Peggy.

Obsessed by all things royal and historical, she lives in McLean, Virginia with her husband and four extremely dignified cats. Legacy of Kings was her first novel.

Website | Twitter | Facebook | Pinterest

--> Giveaway Details: -->

• 3 winners will receive a finished copy of EMPIRE OF DUST, US Only.

  a Rafflecopter giveaway

-->

Tour Schedule:

Week One:

6/20/2016- The Cover Contessa- Interview

6/21/2016- Zach's YA Reviews- Review

6/22/2016- Fiction Fare- Guest Post

6/23/2016- My So-Called Book Reviews- Review

6/24/2016- Two Chicks on Books- Interview

Week Two:

6/27/2016- Lisa Loves Literature- Review YOU ARE HERE!

6/28/2016- A Dream Within A Dream- Guest Post

6/29/2016- Mundie Moms- Review

6/30/2016- Once Upon A Twilight- Review

7/1/2016- Curling Up With A Good Book- Interview

--> About Book 1:
-->

Title: LEGACY OF KINGS

Author: Eleanor Herman

Pub. Date: September 1, 2015

Publisher: Harlequin Teen

Pages: 432

Formats: Hardcover, eBook, audiobook

Find it: Amazon | Barnes and Noble |iBooks | Goodreads

 
-->

Imagine a time when the gods turn a blind eye to the agony of men, when the last of the hellions roam the plains and evil stirs beyond the edges of the map. A time when cities burn, and in their ashes, empires rise.

Alexander, Macedonia’s sixteen-year-old heir, is on the brink of discovering his fated role in conquering the known world but finds himself drawn to newcomer Katerina, who must navigate the dark secrets of court life while hiding her own mission: kill the Queen. But Kat’s first love, Jacob, will go to unthinkable lengths to win her, even if it means competing for her heart with Hephaestion, a murderer sheltered by the prince. And far across the sea, Zofia, a Persian princess and Alexander’s unmet fiancée, wants to alter her destiny by seeking the famed and deadly Spirit Eaters.

Weaving fantasy with the salacious and fascinating details of real history, New York Times bestselling author Eleanor Herman reimagines the greatest emperor the world has ever known: Alexander the Great, in the first book of the Blood of Gods and Royals series.

Audiobook Review: The Conspiracy of Us by Maggie Hall

This was my next book that I chose to listen to as an audio book from the library.  And wow, was it good!  So good that there were times I didn't want to get out of my car to go do whatever I was supposed to be doing, because I wasn't ready to stop listening!  Now I know what all the hype about this book was about, and I can't wait for the next one to come out!

The main character is Avery.  She has had to move a lot throughout her whole life because of her mom's job. Whenever her mom gets a mandate, they move on to the next location.  In the current place they're living, Avery has tried to make friends and join in, and has even found a cute guy that is newer than she is, Jack, who might be interested in her as well. But when she sees a paper drop from his stuff, and she picks it up to find a picture of herself, she wonders what is going on. She then hears him on a phone call, but he has an English accent.  Her mom gets a mandate, which means they have to move right away, but Avery wants to go to prom with Jack, so she sneaks out to go.  At prom another very attractive guy, but also new to the area, shows up. This guy, Stellan, tells Avery she has to go with him, and he even pulls out a knife to threaten her.  Jack tries to get her away and explain that he might know who her father is, but then he gets a text, and tells her to go ahead with Stellan, and he'll catch up later.  She goes with Stellan, still with the chance to meet her father.  But this takes her on a private plane to Paris.  Stellan is one of those attractive guys, who knows he is, and is smug, even while being flirtatious.  Oh, and he is Russian.

Once in Paris, Avery gets a room in the Louvre, and finds out that this family she's been brought to join is part of "The Circle" which is made up of many politicians, movie stars, sports stars, etc.  But after being out shopping at a designer store, shut down just for her to pick a ball gown for an event coming up with all the families, she is attacked, and learns about a group called The Order. The Order is out to kill "The One,"  a male from one of the 12 families in the Circle.  She learns that the mandate means something to them, it is a prophecy that tells them The One, must have a union with the girl with the purple eyes.  Well, the family that Stellan works for is expecting twin babies, one a girl, that should have purple eyes.  But, Avery has purple eyes.  And she knows that if anyone else knows, they will think the prophecy is about her, and she will be married off.  So she escapes, first to Istanbul, where she is able to get to Jack again, and they now are on the run, trying to solve the clues left by an old neighbor of Avery's, who turns out to be Jack's mentor, and hoping to solve the clues, and get him back from the Order, who is going to kill him.

So many secrets, so many layers to the whole story.  I loved the whole Alexander the Great back story.  And how Napoleon tied into it.  And the ending, wow, left with a big cliffhanger.  I need to know what will happen with Stellan, how his part in the mandate will affect Avery's part.  And can she be with Jack, even though it is against all of the rules of The Circle.  I really had no complaints about the story whatsoever.  Other than there were a few times when something dangerous was going on, and Avery was calling Jack's name, and on the recording it began to remind me of Rose calling Jack in the Titanic movie.  I now cannot wait until the 2nd book comes out.  Which, hey, now I'm wondering if the egalley is available anywhere?  Guess I'll finish this review and go out to check on that!

Review: Legacy of Kings (Blood of Gods and Royals #1) by Eleanor Herman

First, thanks to Harlequin Teen for sending an advanced readers copy of this title out to the bookstores, where I was able to grab it at the Barnes and Noble where I work to read.  I'd been seeing it around on other blogs on Waiting on Wednesday posts, and it sounded really good.  A historical fiction about Alexander the Great as a teenager?  Yeah, right?  Sounds awesome!  And it was!  At first it took a bit to get the flow, as there are many characters we are following. But a little ways in I could remember who was who, and was starting to see how some characters were going to tie in with the others, while still others I'm still waiting to see a bit more about.

Of course the main character is Alexander.  He's 16 years old, and his father is still alive, and kind of keeping him from really taking on any real responsibility.  Alex has an injury to his leg.  One that causes him to limp, but only slightly, and has given him a huge scar.  He wants nothing more than to get that healed.  So he wants to run away with his best friend Hephaestion, to find a miracle fountain of youth and healing.  The only problem is that his dad had kept him from being able to get any money without approval, so he does not have the money he needs to go.

Our other main character is Katerina.  She has lived in a small town with the parents of her best friend Jacob, since the time that her mother was killed by the Queen's men.  She wants to know why they killed her mother.  When Jacob is sent to compete in an annual tournament, she sneaks along and travels with him.  Once there she ends up staying in the palace after a chance meeting that almost leads to her arrest before the prince steps in.  She loves her friend Jacob, and he loves her, but she must know the truth about her mother before she can even think of a future life as he wants.

Then we have Cynane, a daughter of one of the king's former wives.  She has trained as a warrior because that is what her mother wanted her to do.  Her mother died, and she thinks it was due to something she knew, possibly about the queen Olympias, Alex's mother.  She wants to find something she'd found in her mother's belongings, a type of magic, smoke magic, that should protect her from anyone that tries to hurt her.  One thing she needs though is the blood of true betrayal, and so she sets out to find a way to set Alex and his best friend Heph against each other. 

And finally there is Zofia.  Her mother is married to her uncle, King Shershah, the king of Lydia.  Her mother is not a good mother, she had even deserted her at one time to go marry a king of another land.  But once he died, the country did not want her, and so she came back to marry her brother.  Her uncle has made a deal to marry her to Prince Alexander.  But Zo has fallen in love with a soldier named Cosmas.  So now she is planning to run away and find him in his camp. To disguise herself as a peasant, or at least the kind of girl that Cosmas could actually marry, and then she hopes to live happily as his wife and give him a family.  But when she makes her escape, she is caught while out on the road.  Even worse is that her younger sister follows her and she must try to keep her from being caught.

Throughout the book some of the characters I've named also have their own chapters.  Like Jacob, we learn why he has gone to the competition, and what he is trying to do in order to be able to make a life for Kat like he'd hoped.  But things won't go quite as he's hoped, even when he is successful in the competition.  Queen Olympias will also have some chapters, as she will really have a big part in the story.  And Hephaestion as Alexander's best friend also has his own past and his own hopes and fears.

Don't worry, lots of characters, but they soon all weave into the story perfectly, and you'll see how they are all connected.  I just can't wait to see where the story will go next, and I hate that I'm going to be waiting so long!  I loved the story so much!  It's not just a historical fiction, because it has magic in it, which obviously makes it a bit of a fantasy story.  A great read that I got hooked into and could barely put down to do anything else!