Once a King (Clash of Kingdoms #3)

Once a King by Erin Summerill
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

It took me a while to get into this book, but once I did, I enjoyed it.
Lirra is the daughter of a spy and traitor who finds herself helping an embattled new king. Lirra is able to use magic that has been outlawed in the kingdom for many years, and both she and Aodren must overcome prejudices, treachery, and political intrigue to find a way to help the kingdom rebuild and move into a better future.
I did not realize this was the third book in a series when I started it, and the first bit of the book was very hard for me to get through--I almost didn't finish it. I felt like there were too many people, places, cultures, and belief systems going on with not enough background information. This book already had very good reviews, however, so I decided to keep going, after skimming over a lot of the beginning of the story.
Once Lirra and Aodren began working together more, the book got better for me. It was nice to see them cooperate and help each other. The best part of the book was seeing their relationship grow and evolve. Once it really got going it was hard for me to put the book down, and I was glad I had persevered through the beginning of the story. The ending was a bit anti-climactic and felt a little abrupt, but matters were resolved, so that was just a personal preference for me.
If you have read the first two books in this series, I imagine you will love this book. If you have not read the other books, I would probably not read this one until you do so. There are A LOT of people, kingdoms, geography, "religions," and other things to wade through as part of the story. But otherwise, this was a good YA Fantasy with a good bit of Romance thrown in.


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