"Nightborn" by Lou Anders

 

Title: Nightborn 

Author: Lou Anders 

Series: Thrones & Bones, #2 

Publisher: Random House Children's Books 

Imprint: Crown Books for Young Readers 

Publication date: July 14th, 2015 


My rating: 4.5 of 5

  

  (Book read on July 10th to 13th, 2015, from the ARC received from the publisher, in exchange of an honest review.)

  
  

Summary:

 

 

Karn Korlundsson is a gamer. Not a riddle solver. But in order to rescue his best friend, Thianna Frostborn, he will need to travel to the faraway city of Castlebriar (by wyvern), learn how to play a new board game called Charioteers (not a problem), decipher the Riddle of the Horn, and tangle with mysterious elves.
 
Meet Desstra. She’s in training to join the Underhand — the elite agents of the dark elves. When she crosses paths with Karn, she is not all that she appears to be.
 
Everyone is chasing after the horn of Osius, an ancient artifact with the power to change the world. The lengths to which Karn will go in the name of friendship will be sorely tested. Who knew that solving a riddle could be so deadly?
 
The novel includes instructions for playing the board game Charioteers. Visit ThronesandBones.com for additional games, maps, character profiles, and more!

  

 

My Thoughts on the Book:

  

 

Frostborn - the first Thrones & Bones novel - was one of my top favorite reads in 2014. An absolutely amazing fantasy adventure with lovable main characters & imaginative magical world, so of course I was excited to read more...

 

Nightborn - the sequel & the second book in the series - overall doesn't disappoint. It might not be as amazing as Frostborn, but I had lots of fun reading this book, once again following Karn & Thianna on their adventures, and meeting a new favorite character, as well as lots of other interesting characters, and new places & cultures. Definitely entertaining, imaginative, action-packed, and quest-like adventure, with great ending.

 

From the beginning the storyline is quite interesting.  It will take you on a magical fast-paced adventure, with rich history & myths, and lots of magical creatures. Just pure fantasy fun, for children & adults alike!
 
It starts with the dark elves, and we meet Desstra & Tanthal, and learn about their society. I loved Desstra as a character, she's dangerous & cunning, but also nice, and I loved getting to know her & seeing her character development. As for Karn, he's at home, finally doing what he was supposed to do, at least until he's called on a mission. I won't go into details any more, but I loved the puzzle aspect, because I'm a sucker for quests & missions in fantasy books. I loved seeing Orm again, as well as Karn & Thianna. There was hardly any character development when it comes to Karn & Thianna (they were fully developed in the previous book, so I guess, the readers should definitely read Frostborn first), but Desstra's was done well, and I enjoyed every second of it. And the cast of secondary characters (both friends & foes) was interesting, and they all told a story that will suck you in & don't let go until you're done!

I highly recommend this book to every fan of fantasy books, no matter the age. And I think that the author had achieved what he had set out to do - Nightborn is a great fantasy adventure both for boys & girls, and I'm looking forward to the next book in the series! 

 

 

Challenges:

   
- Flights of Fantasy Reading Challenge 2015
- COYER Scavenger Hunt: #46 - Celebrate 2015: read a book that's number 2 in the series