A Kingdom of Exiles

By: S.B. Nova

Narrated by: Cathy Conneff

Length: 20 hrs and 43 mins

Publisher's Summary

The brightest of stars are always born on the darkest of nights. 

Serena Smith is unusual. Growing up in a backwoods village, her life is lonely and dull. Then, on her 18th birthday, she's gifted a magical heirloom only to be snatched by fae and condemned to a lifetime in chains.  

Dragged to Aldar, a fae kingdom ruled by a tyrant witch, Serena discovers a forbidden love and meets fellow outcasts, each with their own dark secrets.  

As the lives of warriors, rebels, and witches clash, they find a shared destiny. For only together, and with Serena's unique gifts, can they survive long enough to build the flames of a revolution. Only together can they go to war....  

From the author of Draken comes this explosive new fantasy series with lots of heart and a sting in its tail.  

What are you waiting for? Scroll up and buy now to find out why people all over the world have fallen in love with A Kingdom of Exiles! 

Suitable for mature YA and up.

©2017 S.B. Nova (P)2018 S.B. Nova

I wanted to like this.

I don’t normally leave negative reviews...because I believe we all have our own tastes. However I felt compelled by how much this book really didn’t sit will with me.

I’ll try to be as non spoiler as possible.

Serena starts out her tale put in a rough spot that gets rougher throughout the first hour of the book. She shows promise and quiet strength and a backbone during a plot hatched by two evil villagers. I was rooting for her.

As soon as the Fae enter the story Serena loses everything that strengthened her character. It happens slowly, but by the time she gets to the place where she meets the other main characters the book got so much worse.

Here are the parts that irritate most:

-Serenas interaction with every male protagonist are all based on them wanting her on some level and protecting her. Fae culture or not ..it’s distracting and unrealistic.

- Serena let’s others make her decisions and choices. The author tries to counter act this by saying phrases like “he was giving me a choice..” but it’s apparent that there is only one option they are giving her.

-The writing is very “Tell not show” , so rather Serena narrating her observations or using action to relay information... nearly all information in the book is delivered through dialogue.

-Serena has no agency, just instructions. Need to know something? Someone magically knows so all you have to do is go talk to them Serena!

-Serena doesn’t grow, she degrades or at best gets stagnant by the end of the story.

There were other things but I can chalk them up to personal preferences.

This would be a book I would show to my future daughter and say “this is how you act if you want the world to swallow you up and make all your choices”

The one thing I did like? Hawk. He was in the story for five minutes and I’d already read a novel about him.

If your looking for a Feyre or Aelin or Nahri or Yrene in this book...you will not find them.

If you’re looking for fantasy, adventure. romance and resourceful women ... save your credit and go read Sara J Maas or SA Chakraborty

20 of 25 people found this review helpful

Aheart pounding ride through a beautifully rendered fantasy world. Sarah J Maas fans: this book is for you.

A Kingdom of Exiles is a wonderfully written fantasy novel that immersed you into its world from the first page. The main character, Serena Smith, is incredibly relatable but still has enough “special chosen one” vibes to keep you intrigued. This novel has so much heart, displaying heartwarming family bonds, a steamy romance, and the importance of friendship in such a vicious world. I highly recommend this book to fantasy lovers all around (15+). You’re in for quite a ride. There was, however, one problem I had with this audiobook. I loved the story and the narrator, but there were times when I had no idea what the narrator was saying (only a few cases, but major cases). I couldn’t even figure out what was being said by playing the audio slower or multiple times; I had to find the sentence in my physical copy of the book. It sounded like gibberish. However, this was an amazing overall listen.

5 of 6 people found this review helpful

Confused

I am confused as to how this book got such good reviews. I felt like I was listening to a knock off version of something Sarah J Maas would write. I felt zero connection to any of the characters and felt myself daydreaming while listening. Pass..

1 of 1 people found this review helpful

i liked the story but not the narrator

I liked the story but the narrator was harder to understand, made mistakes such as saying a sentence twice and did not do a good job with accents because you couldn't tell which character was supposed to be speaking

Loved it!

Great story and can’t wait for the next book. Going to download Draken next. I also really like the author and how she connects with her readers.

One of the best books I’ve “read” for some time.

I’m just upset I have to wait until 2019 for book 2. Moving to other sb nova series if I have a credit.

great twist

has great twist and not what I expected based on how the book. definitely was a pleasant surprise and loved all of it.

Interesting!

This was an interesting novel. It starts out so dramatically, and continues in a completely different vein. There are some random moments where the author or narrator repeats a phrase over and over again, and honestly I think the emotions of the main character don’t fully match the situation or the characters (falls in love instantly, makes friends instantly, finds out information easily, passes judgement quickly, etc), but that’s after a fair amount of setbacks. Overall, I want to continue the series and find out what happens, but hopefully there’s less explaining and more action.

Amazing book!

If your a Sarah j mass fan, you’ll love this book! I can’t wait for the sequel.

Just buy it! You won't regret it!

I really enjoyed this book. S.B. Nova has built a unique but familiar world and created an excellent cast of characters. I was also, a really big fan of the way Nova developed the main character in a believable way.

This book reminded me a little of S.J. Mass - Court of Thorn and Roses which was a good thing. It sweeps you away and you quickly become emotionally invested in all the characters and the adventure Nova takes you on in really fun to dive into.

I listen to a lot of fantasy, urban fantasy, paranormal (you get the idea..) books and have become very, very hard to please when it comes to how the narrator adds to the story. You can tell that Nova spent some time looking for just the right person to narrate this book. If you're a fan of Saskia Maarleveld you will be a fan of Cathy Conneff.

I am also not someone who goes to author websites or follows blog posts and I DID all of those things after reading this to find out when the next book in the series will be coming out.

If you are like me and have this on your 'wish list' or keep seeing it come up in your "recommended" selection, just buy it already. You won't regret it!

full of adventure twists and Turns

this book keeps you captured the whole way you're always wondering what's going to happen next it was a fantastic listen and I think the narrator is very much suited to this story you really feel like you're living this adventure with the characters once you pick it up you won't put it down can't wait for the next one

Amazing book

What a book. Brilliant narration from start to finish. Well worth a listen, maybe clear the rest of your day though!