Book Review: A Draw of Kings (Spoilers)

I was asked awhile back by Bethany House and my good friend and fellow author Patrick W. Carr to review his book, "A Draw of Kings", the final book in the Staff and Sword Series.

As I was planning on reading this book and reviewing it anyway, I was especially honoured by the copy that they sent me in the mail. :) 

Nothing makes a day better than choosing between a new book and unfinished assignments that need to be done... :\ Okay, so I'll admit maybe that wasn't the greatest thing ever, having lots of school to do and a new book isn't fair at all! :(

However, it is not schoolwork that made me so slow reading this last book- it was that I did not want this beautiful story to come to an end, and I tried so hard to prolong it...but I alas, could not. But now I am getting ahead of myself!

I was SO excited about this book, I can't even begin to tell you how long I've been waiting for this book to come out...alright, so it wasn't really that long, waiting for this was certainly a shorter wait time than a new series of Sherlock. But then again, Patrick W. Carr knows that quite a few of his fans know where he lives...so he isn't quite as safe from their wrath as Steven Moffat is. 

Oh, how can I begin, it was amazing, and exciting and thrilling and too short! 

I am only prejudiced about it being too short because I did not want The Staff and Sword Series to end. Sometimes, when coming to the end, it is like saying goodbye to an old friend, and knowing that next time you see them, the same ending will come about and make you sad once more. 

I'm not saying the book wasn't marvelous, it was! Patrick W. Carr has outdone himself with this amazing book, it is beautiful, romantic, tragically sad, surprising and thrilling. 

There won't be a moment when you aren't caught up in the brilliance of the story, sometimes I would forget myself and be far too engrossed to notice how much time had passed, or that my mum had called me for dinner four different times.

I will admit there are times in this book where I wanted to smack a few characters (not Errol this time, I could have slapped him in "The Hero's Lot" for being a bit of an idiot, but that is just me...).

No, I'm talking about that awful Duke Weir, yes that slimy little git comes back to haunt book three! 

I want to take Errol's staff and beat the guy black and blue! (Him and his daughter!) 

I'm going to stop being enraged, before this review turns into a rant.

I confess, the plot changes so quickly and so cleverly, sometimes I can't believe that Patrick W. Carr can keep everything that is going on straight! Luckily, reading the book is a lot simpler, however being a writer myself, I have wondered how he kept everything straight.

 If I had to describe this book in one word it would be: AWESOME!!!!!

Through the book, I found myself in constant despair when Errol is imprisoned by that awful man Weir and made to cast lots...

Or when Adora is being beaten by Weir's daughter, I also confess it was horrible to watch the hope slip further and further away from the heroes as their journeys continued. 

I was terribly sad that Errol, Adora, Liam, Marten, Luis and Rohka all seemed to go on their own separate journeys in this book- I rather missed them all being together. However, it was interesting to see how they all got along without one another.
I was so caught up with the last message from the king I think I must have been more eager for the answer than everyone else! Not to mention the malus which- (is basically when a demon is allowed into a human body) scared me so bad, I couldn't sleep- especially when Adora, Rohka and Waterson were being persued by one!
Yikes!

The action in this book was exciting and mind boggling, the plot of the book was deep and rich- continuing from the first two books. Of course it is amazing to see how Patrick W. Carr's writing has matured, not that his first books were crude or immature...but I feel like his writing ability has certainly gained new aspects and heights since he wrote his first books.

The end of A Draw of Kings, was sad, however, I believe the worst sadness was that the series was over. I will say that this has been one of the best fantasy series that I have read in a long time- one that has kept me eagerly anticipating the next novel!

I highly recommend this book to anyone and everyone who enjoys a good great fantasy series.
While the final book does contain a few things which some parents may not want their younger children to read, (mainly just hints of lovemaking and how a certain character is not a "gentle lover". Some parents may not want to explain this).

Beside that, this book is for anyone! While it is a Christian Fiction, I do believe like The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings, it can be read and enjoyed by Christians and non-Christians alike.

I would suggest getting a good piece of chocolate a nice cup of tea and drawing up a comfy chair for reading A Draw of Kings- chances are...you won't be moving for awhile. ;)

♥ Happy Reading! ♥