Book Review: Once a King (A Clash of Kingdoms #3)

Once a King
Erin Summerill
3/5

Overview

This is the third book in the A Clash of Kingdoms series and I honestly liked it more than I liked the previous books. King Aodren, a central character in the second book, and Lirra, who played a smaller role, are dealing with a world without the Purge. I don't remember the other two books very well, I didn't review back then so I kind of glossed over them. On that note, I'm fairly sure that you could read this as a standalone since the main characters are only ever mentioned in passing. King Aodren was pretty much the main reason I didn't feel like I liked the second book in this trilogy- I just felt so bad for him. If you were rooting for his happiness, this is definitely the way to go.

The blurb of this book made it feel super serious, but it's less of a war book and more of an aftermath book. The Purge is over and all of the Channelers and normal people are just trying to figure out how to live in a more cohesive war. There are obviously militants, people who are against the new world. It's a pretty intense political issue, all of these people were forced out of the country twenty years ago and now they want their land back and the people living there currently are mad and afraid of the magic women. On that note, it felt a lot more political than magical. Magic wasn't really a big deal at all, so if you're reading this as a standalone, you won't feel super immersed in the magical element of the fantasy. Lirra is a wind Channeler, and while that plays into the plot and her dreams, it's never used for her major combat moments or for really anything that moves the plot directly.

There are a lot of tropes at work here, I rated it highly because it's well-written and I love them all, but it's pretty predictable. I said it was more political than magical, so I wish the ending had gone more into the politics of their relationship. Again though, I feel like it was a great way to talk more about King Aodren and make me less angry about how sad it all was in the second book. It feels like more of a novella than an entire book in the series, but I wasn't super upset about it.

Would I Recommend?

If you were in love with Britta and co. from the original books, don't read this anticipating you'll see them. There are features from a lot of the characters in those books, but Aodren and Lirra are the central characters where the majority of the plot is spent. On that note though, I would recommend it even as a standalone. A cute little read that either gives you closure on the original two books, or brings you into a world of political turmoil and people just trying to keep it all together.