When Lirra and Aodren discover someone is making fake Sanguine, a potion normally meant to heal, they must race to find the supplier before Malam and the surrounding kingdoms are thrown into chaos. It’s a dangerous time for everyone, but especially those like Lirra who have Channeler abilities. She knows how to disguise herself and she knows how to stay privy to what’s happening during the Summit, which will unite the five kingdoms for one week so they can celebrate and negotiate in equal measure. She works for her father, the Archtraitor of Malam, as a spy and an informant. While Aodren is the face of the new Malam, Lirra does her part to help the king. It might not hold the same depth as someone who has already fallen in love with A Clash of Kingdoms, but it is by no means lacking in heart or emotional intensity. Although there are holes I’d like to fill in my knowledge that can only be gained by reading the first two books, I had no problem keeping up with the worldbuilding or characterization set up in Once a King.Īll of the characters, their relationships, their histories, their traumas, are right there for you to explore. Summerill perfectly balances the need for a recap for those who have not read the first two books with a desire to keep the pace of the novel moving. Sure enough, when I looked up Once a King, I found it was supposedly the third A Clash of Kingdoms series, but that it acted like a standalone set in the world of Ever the Hunted.Īlready entranced by the story, I continued reading.

As I began reading, immediately being sucked into the story, I started to gather that something big had gone down before the start of this book.

Clickologie by Erin Summerill