Reign of Madness: King's Dark Tidings, Book 2

This isbmy second time reading this series. I absolutely love these books and the characters. I pick up a book and I literally read it in a day. I have to make sure I have no pressing matters for that particular day before I even open a book, because I know it will be too hard to put down. Can't wait for the movie. Fingers 🤞

I was carried along as the truth of Rezkin's title becomes revealed. Eventually whispers of the true king spreads. Upon winning the tournament, everyone is gathered up. Rezkin plans for such a time goes into effect. On the way to escape Paris dies. News of Caydean's madness becomes a reality for everyone in the group as they learn of what befalls their families. Escape is the only option. The Dark Knight reveals himself to all.

This book did not have as much action as the first. There were more historical references presented, and a clearer understanding of the nobility and hierarchy. Rezkin continues to demonstrate his mastery of skills, and more revelations are revealed with a thrilling conclusion. Looking forward to Book 3

I thought book 1 was awesome and did think book 2 could match the same level of excitement throughout; however, I was completely wrong. Book 2 is riveting. I couldn’t find enough time throughout my day to just read and enjoy this book. Can’t wait to start book 3.

Book 2 may be my favorite in this series. Amazing story development love where it is heading. The character growth is very well done and I cannot wait to see what each will do next.

I almost didn't pick up this book to read after the disappointment with the first book. I decided to give it a shot and started reading it. I am impressed by this second and will continue reading the next. I will not be cruel by telling others the reasons for my disappointment with the first book. I simply gave it 4 stars instead of 5.

Okay, deep breath. Reign of Madness was a superb sequel to Free the Darkness and I’m still riding the emotional high off the ending, so this review might be a little more of a fan-fest than usual. Kel Kade’s storytelling ability has exceeded all of my expectations, which I must admit were not that high before beginning the series. I’m always skeptical when I see books with many positive reviews that haven’t been mentioned by fellow Fantasy lovers. I figure someone else has to have read it if it were good, right? WRONG. This book- the series, really- is so much fun to read and I’ve not heard anyone else rave about it!As soon as I finished the first book, I downloaded Reign of Madness and went back about my business whilst ignoring people to the best of my ability. After all the action in FtD, RoM may seem slow by comparison. There’s considerably more dialogue between the characters, which is great because it allows the reader to get to know and love the new additions to the cast as well as serving the purpose of fleshing out the world, culture, and political climate. There were some parts where I briefly wished everyone would stop their yapping and pillage a town or kill some bandits. This book was almost a strategic info dump because it expounds so much on the “Outworld” as Rezkin so refers to the world outside of the fortress he was raised in. It fills in many of the gaps that were sort of noticeable in the first installment, and needed to be remedied for the plot to have merit and I think Kel Kade did an admirable job.The story was packed with emotion, which more or less made up for the serious lack of battles in the first half. The group of characters, now expanded to include Frisha’s cousins and several other nobles, is travelling to the King’s Tournament in Skutten, where great swordsmen and women from all lands gather to compete. Rezkin is trying to find answers, but clearly the most accomplished sword master in all the realms cannot forgo such an opportunity to further his own agendas. There’s a good deal of intrigue going on here and Rezkin is doing that thing where he doesn’t let his friends in on his secrets. Not all of them anyways, and perhaps not the most important of all- Frisha. That poor girl is left alone wondering what he could be doing, and while he doesn’t lie to her outright he lets her make assumptions and that is dangerous. This kind of thing leads to betrayal!!!! See Pierce Brown’s Red Rising trilogy for examples.All in all this was a great sequel but I feel I can’t quite give it full marks. The events had huge significance, but it felt like the whole thing was a preamble to the third book- one giant set up. I was also disappointed to find that “the Raven” was barely present at all during this book, especially after all his hard work dominating the criminal underworld. That too will likely play a very large role in the third book and I do look forward to seeing how all that plays out. Once again Nick Podehl did a great job on narration. So great in fact that I wished Rezkin would have pushed Shiela Jebai off the ship because she was a horror and her voice was equally obnoxious!

The most fun i have had in years of reading, a real romp of adventure, Not heavy reading, more like A John Carter of Mars type adventure but with solid world building.