A Mark of Kings: The Shattered Reigns, Book 1

Picked this out unsure of what to expect. Read a few pages and then skip as i often do if the story doesn't hold my attention. But here I was captivated by the story, characters, and world. Downloaded book 2 before I was halfway through book 1.

Very well written story. A world crafted with excellence and care, we join the heroes for their trials and triumphs in a lovingly built and planned arc. Looking forward to more.

Great storyline with good plot development. Nice change to have the main character as a young adult with skills and experience. Secondary characters are very important to the story. No doubt that book 2 will continue this interesting tale.

What I find interesting about this story is it starts with some setting building, then jumps straight into the characters life further down the timeline.Our protagonist, Declan, starts the story as a babe and when we next meet him he is a grizzled mercenary of 10+ years in his 20s. It jumps straight into action there and largely doesn’t stop.It is a style I like to associate with one of the dual authors for this story, so it was a welcome change to the normal formula for fantasy novels / coming of age stories.And that is what this story is. Coming to find ones power in the face of horrible destruction and tragedy, meeting new friends, creating your own new family while remembering the old, and doing what it takes to do more than just survive... to be heroic and save.What the book does well is spend time on building up why we should care about these characters with witty conversations between Declan and Ryn, and to see how the relationships grow out from there is a fantastic read.I couldn’t put the book down at several points, and fell asleep while reading it at least once. It makes some fun plays on fantasy tropes, but it remains true to the genre.I will say that the story does have an ebb and flow - there were a few slower world building / heavy dialogue scenes that dragged... but they had a purpose.There wasn’t a ton of fat in the story, and that’s what I liked about it. If something came up... it was relevant. Within the same book even.I’m giving this 5 stars because I like seeing authors in the fantasy genre pull off engaging fiction. I think there’s some interesting magic systems, and the story plot grows well within the first novel.I will buy book 2. Do recommend.

I really enjoyed this. It has complex but inviting characters, an intriguing plot and is very well written. A bit of a riff on Wheel of Time, etc. in that it’s a group of distinct individuals who fall into comradery and attraction on the way to combatting Great Evil, with two ancients, a young man and a young half-elf woman. The world-building is excellent eith a more complicated political situation due to five major natural races and several created ones.My one peeve was how the two male authors referred to the female main character. She was “the half-elf” or “the woman” entirely too often, and they need to cut that out. The woman has a name, just use it! It’s a problem when male authors get weird about their female characters’ nomenclature. especially given that they simply referred to the other (male) characters by their names, or rarely as “the dragon” or “the mage”. Just refer to females as people—it’s okay! Esteria was the only female character the authors were awkward about. They were fine in naming the Big Bad, a female dark elf who was just called by her name or by her title of the Evil Queen—making it stranger and more stilted for them to call Esteria “the half-elf” constantly.Anyway, an excellent high fantasy—I look forward to the next book in the series! I also signed up for their patreon accounts, as I want to support people whose work is this good.

I liked everything about this book. Kept me entertained all throughout from start to end. I definitely recommend this book

I'd never heard of the authors, but I was quite happily surprised by this book. It kept me wanting to keep reading whenever I put it down. I cannot wait to read the second one.

I loved this book, especially the descriptive writing and well developed characters. Excellent world building. I would have rated it as one of my favorite fantasy books except for the fact that it not only ended on a cliff hanger but it stopped abruptly in the middle of a scene with absolutely no resolution. This is a trend that I abhor. If your book is good with solid writing and a compelling story, there is no need to end abruptly just to get people to buy the second or third installment. Tie up your loose ends, offer some type of plot resolution and retain your reading public on the merits of your craft rather than manipulation. It is distasteful. If you are a great writer you won’t need to default to cliffhangers to retain fans. This ending was so abrupt and out of place that I actually considered that there was an error in my Kindle ebook. I will not be buying the second book.

Another great book by the author. The only minor thing that bugged me sometimes was the relationship between Ryn and Declan ... it seemed exactly like the relationship between Ryn and Declan and Bonner and Ester, but since Ryn and Declan knew each other for way longer, they should at least share a bond that Declan or Ryn don't have with Bonner or Ester.But that's a minor thing and didn't subtract from my overall reading experience. Very cool story and great characters.

This is an interesting one, and I would love to know where the story is going, plus more details of the magic

Loved this book! What wonderful combination of interesting story development, great characters, realistic dialogue/banter and sheer page turning interest in just wanting to know more about the world and its characters.I can happily say this book is going to be added to the short list with books like; The name of the wind by Patrick Rofuss, Red rising by Peirce Brown, Prince of thorns by Mark Lawrence, and Magician’s apprentice by Raymond E. Feist.I can not wait for the next book. Do yourself a favor and get lost in this wonderful book!Regards,S

This is a really enjoyable work of fantasy by these two writers they have bounced off each other well and combined to write a story of youth with kings blood whose secret has been hidden from by a dragon and unfolds throughout the book culminating in the love interest half elf and her father bringing out the power within!Have read some of the one star reviews which totally diss this book, unbelievable why just guess they are not true fantasy lovers. There are two heavy going long explanation chapters I agree but without them the 700 year history of what is about to unfold cannot be understood.Fantasy lovers go and download this book you will not be disappointed.Now Bryce and Luke please get the second book going or finished please this ending left me looking everywhere for book two.

Well, what a ride! Thoroughly enjoyed the story and the characters. Love the development of Declan's character and abilities.Only downside is the cliffhanger! How can we wait until next year for the sequel which I wanted to read straight away.