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Dawn of Legends (Blood of Gods and Royals #4) by Eleanor Herman
Publication Date: June 26th, 2018
Publisher: Harlequin Teen
Genre: Young Adult Fantasy
Warning: mild spoilers ahead
Synopsis:
Prince Alexander of Macedon has battled both men and monsters, but his final war will determine his fate…and the future of mankind. While Macedon’s enemies close in from all corners of the earth, Alexander must fulfil one last prophecy that dictates only he—and he alone—can ensure humanity’s survival against the age of the deadly Spirit Eaters.
As the threads of fate draw Alexander closer to his destiny, an exiled queen will meet a runaway princess, a young sorceress will set the final path of her heart and generals will choose their final battles. Before the light of victory can shine, enemies must become allies, Death must be tamed and hearts must break.
Who will rise and who will die?
Thoughts:
Finishing this series has been a long time coming. I have been making my through it slowly but surely because I’ve wanted the hardcovers and, for whatever reason, they aren’t stocked in store so I’ve had to consciously look for and order it online. Considering I read the 4th and final book almost 2 years after it’s release, I really have enjoyed this series.
Without giving much in the way of spoilers, because this is a conclusion after all, I will say the build up throughout the series was well done. The premise of the series is following the early years of Alexander the Great with a fantastical twist. Theres magic, political intrigue, monsters, destiny and it beautifully culminates into this final book. From the start, you aren’t hit over the head with all of the underlying plot points of mysticism, Herman is able to give a slow progression of adding these details like little pieces of a much bigger puzzle coming into the picture.
This is a series full of different POVs and while I admittedly sped-read through the ones I wasn’t particularly interested in during the first couple of books, I ended up enjoying the story-lines of each character when all was said and done. I definitely have a favourite type of character in a series like this and, if you’re familiar with this particular series, it will come to no surprise that I was most invested in Alexander, Katerina and Hephaestion so they were my through-line during my reading adventure. This installment also included a few additional POVs that were good to get insight into even though I don’t think much would have been missing from the story if they weren’t included.
There were also a few details that were added into this last book weren’t really my favourite - a detail between Alex and Heph in particular comes to mind - but I still appreciated the choice because they don’t come out of nowhere. There’s always reason for Herman’s choices be it from true history or the natural flow of a characters decisions but, in my dream world, I wish something different.
Overall I really enjoyed the journey that this series brought me on and I think that if you have an interest in ancient history, far reaching fantastical adventures or Alexander the Great in particular, this could be right up your alley.