The Captive Kingdom (Ascendance #4) by Jennifer A. Nielsen

Book Synopsis:

In a peaceful Carthya, Jaron leads as the Ascendant King with Imogen beside him -- but the peace he fought so long for is not destined to last.

On a routine sea voyage, Jaron's ship is brutally attacked, and he is taken hostage. The mysterious captors and their leader, Jane Strick, accuse Jaron of unthinkable acts. They are also in possession of some shocking items -- including the crown and sword that belonged to Jaron's older brother, Darius. The items unearth a past Jaron thought he had put behind him.

Though it seems impossible, Jaron must consider: Could Darius be alive? And what does Strick want from Jaron? Against his will, Jaron will be pulled back into a fight for the throne -- and a battle to save his kingdom.

My Review:

3.75/5 stars. I enjoyed this addition to the Ascendance series, but I could also live without it. It had a lot of great elements and the same familiar characters, but it definitely didn't reach the same level that the original trilogy did so well. There were a lot of twists, as always, but not all of them hit the way I think they were supposed to. Some elements got to be a bit unbelievable or confusing, as well. However, I really enjoyed the ending and was really intrigued by certain storylines!

From the start, I thought there was just a lot more happening, like small things and conversations, that muddied the plot a bit and made it harder to follow. I also wasn't as invested early on like I have been in previous books. It took a while for it to really pique my interest and keep me engaged. Also, this one didn't feel as well-written at the technical level compared to the previous books. You would think the author would improve with time, but it was like this installment was rushed and not as well-edited.

Although it took a while to get going, there were definitely some aspects that maintained my curiosity, like the villain's motivation and the backstory of a character I'm not going to name for the sake of avoiding spoilers. That character's plot was very interesting to me, and I like how it was handled.

This book's biggest issue is that it tried to do too much. There were a lot of twists, but none of them hit as hard as in previous books. It felt like the author was trying to recreate the perfection of the first book and fell short. Some of the twists were good, but others didn't have any emotional punch because there was really no foreshadowing. There weren't enough crumbs of information to make the reveal more satisfying. This also made it more unbelievable that Jaron was able to figure everything out with barely any evidence.

Another fault of this book is that it didn't have the same level of humor. Jaron made a lot of jokes, as usual, but they lacked the charm and sharpness I'm used to. Finally, there were a few minor plot holes and unclear details toward the end.

Despite everything, this book ended really positively. I loved the ending. It was satisfying, hopeful, and made me smile while also setting up for the next in the series. The characters reconciled with each other, and the day was saved. It might seem like I've mostly complained about this book, but it's just because the original trilogy was so great that this is worse in comparison.

Content:

Language: Mentions of cursing, but no actual words

Sexual Content: Cheek kisses and kisses not described

Violence/Gore: Not as bad as some previous books in terms of the level of detail, descriptions of blood, wounds, killing, injuries, etc.

Drugs/Alcohol: None