Book Review: The Forsaken Throne
The Kingfountain series 

By Jeff Wheeler

Spoiler Alert!




Summary

A devastating disaster has left the Forbidden Court in ashes, its fountains destroyed, and its magic at risk. It was destined as the site of Trynne Kiskaddon’s coronation as empress. Now, all Trynne can imagine is the roar of flames, the cries of Gahalatine’s people, and the smell of cinders in a city gone dark. Tragic as the threat to Kingfountain is, it’s nowhere near as foul as the treachery posed by Morwenna. Saboteur, conspirator, and full-blood sister of the king, she is prepared to set forth a wave of destruction that will eliminate everything that stands between her and possession of the throne.

But Trynne has her weapons, too—her magic, her resilience, her skills at intrigue, and especially, Fallon. The man who once swore his allegiance to Morwenna now stands by Trynne’s side as they venture into the unknown to protect those they love, reunite with a family scattered by diabolical forces, and safeguard a kingdom…as well as the destiny the Fountain has for each of them. (Courtesy of goodreads.com)

Adult Point of View

I received an ARC for The Forsaken Throne and this is my honest review. Thank you to Jeff Wheeler and NetGalley for providing me with this book.

I will tell you the good and bad news right at the beginning, so you can relax and read the rest of the review. Bad news first, is that The Forsaken Throne is the last in the Kingfountain series, but the good news is that Wheeler is giving us another prequel! Look for The Poisoner's Enemy which focuses on Ankarette Tryneowy before she saved Owen's life scheduled to come out January 9th 2018.

If you have followed the reviews for the Kingfountain series, you all ready know I am a fan. I was quite worried that after I have loved the entire series that I would feel let down by The Forsaken Throne, because there were so many threads that needed to be tidied up. I hoped the characters would stay true to themselves or show growth. I was very happy with the conclusion.

From the opening dialog, the reader has his fears confirmed that Morwenna has been deceitful from the beginning. Combined with the opening scene, between Trynne and her new husband, I could tell it was going to be a rough ride. I love it when a book is fraught with tension. I was shocked that Gahaltine wouldn't have had more faith in his wife, whom he had respected and outwitted the Wizr council to marry. The controlling Wizrs did a very good spin job to have Gahaltine turned so thoroughly against Trynne. It was an essential plot move because a book about countries rebuilding after a war would have been tedious. Once that plot device was established, I was turned for another loop with a twist plot. Wheeler is a master of building tension! By the end of the book I felt more compassion for Gahaltine than I would have expected; he showed growth in this final book that meshed well with his character's voice.

In the previous novel, The Silent Shield, readers were left on tenterhooks wanting to know what was happening with Owen. The facts, as we knew them, were that he had been imprisoned, his memory taken, his power suppressed and he had escaped and was fighting in an army. The questions were; what army and who did he serve, how could his memory be restored and how could he return safely to his homeland? Even without his memory intact, Owen was true to his basic nature. He analyzed the facts he had for the best solution, served with honor and sought the truth. He remained open to discovery, which was a key for him to be saved. I did not expect Owen's location as a prisoner, however, the author did lay a solid foundation and it was logical (I had originally thought he was in Gahaltine's court - which I suspect the author had hoped). I love it when an author surprises me with a plot twist!

Trynne is one of my favorite characters along with Owen, and the Maid of Donremy through the series. Trynne has faced challenge after challenge, and even when she wants to give up, she doesn't. She is blessed with the gift of having loyal friends, sort of - if they are not ensorcelled by evil wizrs. Trynne learns how to draw on her inner strength as her life falls apart. Her mother has been called by a vision to sail to the Deep Fathoms, her father is imprisoned, her husband has been estranged from her through deceit, her lands, with all her subject whom she loves, will be destroyed if she leaves for a long period of time. To top off everything else, her own king doubts her loyalty. Trynne has relied on Fallon many times, doubted him and is drawn back to him. She permanently gave up Fallon to save her nation by marrying King Gahaltine, where once again Wheeler dashed the hopes of all readers of a happy romance. In The Forsaken Throne, Fallon and Trynne are thrown together again, and because they are both people with morals we know, as the reader, that they will not break their commitments. Will there ever be a happy ending for Trynne? So, here is the spoiler - there is a happy ending, mixed with sadness for Trynne.

I am also fascinated by the Fountain in this series. Generally, a force of nature is not seen as a character, but in this case it is such a defining element, I believe the fountain can be seen as an over-arching character. The fountain-blessed aren't given a gift from the Fountain based upon their own good nature. Each person chooses how they use the gift they were given, and some individuals choose wickedness rather than goodness.  Even so, the Fountain directs the recipients of the gifts, IF they are willing to listen. The Fountain reminds me of the Bible expression that roughly states; the rain falls on both the good and the wicked. So often in books, a force like the Fountain, would be bestowed only upon those who are worthy of the blessing, consequently, the Fountain in this series is more mysterious and opens up many plot possibilities. Wouldn't it be fun to have a chapter where the reader could hear the Fountain's thoughts?

Jeff Wheeler suggests that it would be beneficial, for undisclosed reasons, to have read The Legends of Muirwood and Whispers of Mirrowen prior to ending this series. I had not read the other series and was still satisfied with reading The Forsaken Throne. Even so, I will go back and read the others.

I highly recommend this entire series. It is clean, the violence isn't over the top, and the plot is interesting, being woven through with history and Arthurian legends. It is also appropriate for high school and older, I believe children in middle-school would have a harder time following the plot complexity, though they could certainly give it a try.

5 out of 5 stars



-Michelle

If you have enjoyed Wheeler as an author I would highly recommend reading A Cast of Stones by Patrick W. Carr, The Thief by Megan Whalen Turner and Jonathan Strange & Mr NorrellJBy Susanna Clarke. I am confident that you will love their books.

Try The Lost Book Of The Grail By Charlie Lovett if you love Arthurian legends, though this one is not exactly a fantasy novel, it is well worth reading - I love the different stories lines.

A few older books to try would include The Raven Ring by Patricia C. Wrede, the Windrose Chronicles by Barbara Hambly, The Blue Sword by Robin McKinley and The Riddle-Master of Hed by Patricia Anne McKillip.

I just love Jeff Wheeler's books, and this was a great conclusion to his Kingfountain series. Written for young adults, they are easy to read, clean and family friendly, but filled with adventure, magic, and wonderful, fully developed characters - just a great series. Book 1 began with young Owen. This final book, # 6, follows his teen-aged daughter Trynne, as she seeks not only to find her father and save him, but to save their entire kingdom from disaster. While these books are a take on British and Arthurian legends, they are also quite inventive, with excellent world building. Many thanks to NetGalley and 47North for the arc. Highly recommend for anyone who loves a good story! 4.5 stars!

Since book #3 was my previous favourite I’ve decided I just like the way that Jeff Wheeler wraps up his trilogies. I might even like this more than #3 because Trynne is such a great character.

The key characters we’ve fallen in love with over the last five books are still there, and still growing and changing. I don’t think there’s one character who ever stagnates in this series.

The key themes I came to know and love are still there as well. The ideas of loyalty, betrayal and double-crossing are going strong. As I said yesterday, after a while you start to be able to predict where things are heading but I think that’s just because I was so enveloped in this author’s work for those few days.

I appreciated the romance in this series. It’s a neat addition to the story and a good character motivator but it never seems to distract characters from the bigger picture.

This is such an enjoyable series, I was so happy to find that the finale lived up to the previous titles. Wheeler has built a remarkable world and managed to write characters who were sustained and grew over six books which is no mean feat. These books were a wonderful binge read and left me satisfied. Tieing off the threads of a series can be the thing that kills it, but somehow Wheeler manages to pull it off!

My rating: 5/5 stars

The Forsaken Throne releases on the 14th of November…not long to wait now!

By the way, I received a digital advanced review copy of this book from the publisher via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own.

I loved the Kingfountain series from the first book with young Owen. Aside from the later prequel, which I found boring, I've loved all five of the books in this series. I was very impressed with how the author continued the series in book 4. Unfortunately I found this book suffered badly in pacing issues that made it hard to read. It was boring and very different from the rest of the series. Each book has been a progression of the author's improvement as a writer and each book has been interesting and fast paced. This book suffered badly in plotting with the attempt to join it to the Muirwood Trilogy. It was fun to see Martin again but that's about the only positive thing I have to say about the merger of the books. I read the Kingfountain series first and only read the Muirwood books because the author had stated they would be connected. Really the only thing the reading of those books did was give me a better understanding of the leerings and a context to Muirwood Abbey. None of which is necessary to understand what takes place in this book.

Another big problem with this book was the lack of answers. The ending left far too much unanswered. I'm hoping that was a choice of the author so he can address those in another book. I was happy for the characters but this book was wrapped up far too conveniently in a way that didn't fit the story. Since I've loved this serious I will definitely be giving the author another chance with his next book but I hope he goes back to what worked with this series and not try to force a connection books unnecessarily.

I received a copy of this book from Netgalley for an honest review.

A solid ending to a solid series that I have enjoyed immensely. I was sad to see certain characters go and I wish I could have known certain characters better but overall I was very satisfied as per usual with Jeff's stories.

The Forsaken Throne is book 6 in the Kingfountain series by Jeff Wheeler. The books all combine magic and adventure, complex characters, and re-imaginings of British history and myth.

I've enjoyed each and every book in the series and was especially happy in this concluding installment to find one of the issues that bothered me at the end of the previous book has been resolved to my satisfaction.

The Forsaken Throne also makes connections to the Muirwood and Mirrowen series that prove interesting. I read and enjoyed the first two books in the Mirrowen series several years ago.

Jeff Wheeler's world-building and character development in this series had me devouring each new entry like Halloween candy.

Read in September; blog review scheduled for Nov. 1

NetGalley/47North

Fantasy. Nov. 14, 2017. Print length: 332 page

The conclusion to the Kingfountain series follows Trynne as she searches for her father and the way to save the kingdom from evil. This story really takes the reader to a different world, a world similar and yet different from the one we have known before.

The story wraps up everything pretty cleanly, maybe a little too much so. And I wont say anything because of spoilers, but I have an unanswered question about the family that was never addressed.

All in all, I really enjoyed the series and look forward to reading more by this author.

Copy provided by publisher through NetGalley.

Wow. That is all I can say. I didn't see any of this coming, well maybe a bit of the Morwenna drama but not the extent we saw. I must say I think this second half of the series is better then the first and I quite enjoyed the first half. I was happy to see Trynne and Fallon end up together even though the circumstances were sad because I did like noble Gahalatine. I was glad that Jeff Wheeler tied up all the loose ends, it drives me insane when questions are left unanswered. Overall the whole series is a winner and I'm sure something I will read again.

With every new installment in this series I prepare myself to be disappointed, only because I have enjoyed every previous book so far. Thankfully this was not true yet again. Jeff Wheeler has "it" when it comes to creating characters you know and worlds that are encompassing.

Gahaltine has sworn fealty to the King of Kingfountain, however, his wizars and Morwenna do not intend to give up.  Although he has married Tryneeowy, they have not married because the laws of his lands do not allow it if one of the parents of the bride are not able to give their consent.  He has returned to his lands and his met by treachery and deceit.  Rucrius, who he believed was dead informs him that he has been deceived by his wife as he had planned all along and that the Fountain is punishing for his arrogance in swearing fealty to Kingfountain and marrying her.   

Her father, Owen is still missing, her mother has traveled to the Deep Fathoms and now her husband believes that she is in league with his evil wizars.  It seems that things cannot get any worse, but when your enemy is Morwenna you have to plan for it to get much worse before they get better.   

Once again the author has wrapped up the series and done so better than I could have dreamed while at the same time he has incorporated aspects from previous series.   This is a fitting conclusion for the series and if you are like me and not ready to leave this world he is giving us another prequel in 2018 that will tell the origin of Ankarette. 

5/5 STARS:  **This is an honest, unbiased review.  I would like to thank the author and/or/publisher for providing an ARC through Netgalley, all opinions are mine.**