A review by ellakostka
The Captive Kingdom by Jennifer A. Nielsen
5.0
alright this one might take a while so strap yourselves in, grab a snack and a warm drink, plug in your headphones (i suggest carrie & lowell by sufjan stevens because thats what i was primarily listening to as i read this book) and let’s get started *cracks knuckles*
first i want to say i have been anxiously awaiting this book for, probably, half of my life. i first read the false prince in elementary school and reread it every year, multiple times. i am now a senior in high school for your reference. this series practically raised me and im not even joking when i say that
jaron’s courage and selfless love inspired me as a young girl and has most definitely shaped me into the person i am today. it sounds funny to say but a piece of him will always live in me
overall
was it the strongest in the series? no, but i was hardly expecting it to be. the closest it can be related to is runaway king, the two felt pretty similar. however, one of my favorite parts of the series, the plot twists, were no disappointment. i figured out the first one pretty quickly but after that they just kept coming and i couldn’t keep up with them so kudos to the author she delivered exactly where we wanted her to
my favorite part - jaron
as i said before, i have a soft spot for jaron. he is by far one of the greatest, most well written and deep characters i have ever read about. and i LOVE his growth in this book. i think he gets away with a little too much in the first three, but he finally gets called out on his bs a little bit, which is good to see. there are two characters that he butts heads with quite a bit in this book, and it’s interesting to see their dynamic and jaron put into his place by them. he finally, FINALLY, is able to take a step back and really THINK about how his actions affect his loved ones and it was beautiful to read. this book allows us into his head and inner thoughts more than the others, and it’s fascinating watching everything unfold to him. sometimes it takes longer than it should have and you just want to give him a stern thwack on the back of his head, but he gets there eventually. and of course, his sense of humor was better than ever. he had me practically rolling on the ground with his little quips and jabs. no one can make me laugh quite like he does.
other characters
we got to see mott, roden, and fink shine the most in this book. some of mott’s past is revealed, and so is some of connor’s *wink wink*
same as jaron, we got to see in roden’s head a little bit and see how he’s feeling. obviously, he’s tired of being in jaron’s shadow and he’s done pretending that he isn’t bothered by it
and fink. adorable as ever. god, fink, you’re just the cutest
imogen, tobias, and amarinda were kind of pushed aside a bit which was sad to see. i hope they shine through in the next book.
what bothered me the most was that some characters did not return. they were nowhere to be found, not even mentioned. weird
first i want to say i have been anxiously awaiting this book for, probably, half of my life. i first read the false prince in elementary school and reread it every year, multiple times. i am now a senior in high school for your reference. this series practically raised me and im not even joking when i say that
jaron’s courage and selfless love inspired me as a young girl and has most definitely shaped me into the person i am today. it sounds funny to say but a piece of him will always live in me
overall
was it the strongest in the series? no, but i was hardly expecting it to be. the closest it can be related to is runaway king, the two felt pretty similar. however, one of my favorite parts of the series, the plot twists, were no disappointment. i figured out the first one pretty quickly but after that they just kept coming and i couldn’t keep up with them so kudos to the author she delivered exactly where we wanted her to
my favorite part - jaron
as i said before, i have a soft spot for jaron. he is by far one of the greatest, most well written and deep characters i have ever read about. and i LOVE his growth in this book. i think he gets away with a little too much in the first three, but he finally gets called out on his bs a little bit, which is good to see. there are two characters that he butts heads with quite a bit in this book, and it’s interesting to see their dynamic and jaron put into his place by them. he finally, FINALLY, is able to take a step back and really THINK about how his actions affect his loved ones and it was beautiful to read. this book allows us into his head and inner thoughts more than the others, and it’s fascinating watching everything unfold to him. sometimes it takes longer than it should have and you just want to give him a stern thwack on the back of his head, but he gets there eventually. and of course, his sense of humor was better than ever. he had me practically rolling on the ground with his little quips and jabs. no one can make me laugh quite like he does.
other characters
we got to see mott, roden, and fink shine the most in this book. some of mott’s past is revealed, and so is some of connor’s *wink wink*
same as jaron, we got to see in roden’s head a little bit and see how he’s feeling. obviously, he’s tired of being in jaron’s shadow and he’s done pretending that he isn’t bothered by it
and fink. adorable as ever. god, fink, you’re just the cutest
imogen, tobias, and amarinda were kind of pushed aside a bit which was sad to see. i hope they shine through in the next book.
what bothered me the most was that some characters did not return. they were nowhere to be found, not even mentioned. weird