Review: Morning Star - Pierce Brown

Darrow would have lived in peace, but his enemies brought him war. The Gold overlords demanded his obedience, hanged his wife, and enslaved his people. But Darrow is determined to fight back. Risking everything to transform himself and breach Gold society, Darrow has battled to survive the cutthroat rivalries that breed Society's mightiest warriors, climbed the ranks, and waited patiently to unleash the revolution that will tear the hierarchy apart from within.

Finally, the time has come.

But devotion to honor and hunger for vengeance run deep on both sides. Darrow and his comrades-in-arms face powerful enemies without scruple or mercy. Among them are some Darrow once considered friends. To win, Darrow will need to inspire those shackled in darkness to break their chains, unmake the world their cruel masters have built, and claim a destiny too long denied - and too glorious to surrender.

Red Rising Series:
Red Rising: Sons of Ares (Graphic Novel, originally published as 6 comics)
Red Rising
Golden Son
Morning Star
Iron Gold
Dark Age (September 2018)

Visit Pierce Brown's website for more information

Review:
How the hell do I review this book? I've read it twice now and I STILL can't find the right words to describe how bloodydamn brilliant it is. For the last 2 years Pierce Brown has been in my top 10 books of the year with Red Rising and Golden Son and he's done it again with Morning Star, no small feat when this was my most highly anticipated book of the year and my expectations were through the roof.

This entire trilogy has been an emotional rollercoaster, the highs are like nothing you've ever seen before but oh how the lows will rip you to pieces. Fans of the series will know that Pierce Brown isn't afraid to kill popular characters so the fear is real in Morning Star, the fear is REAL. I don't think I've ever felt so terrified reading a book and there were moments when I was so utterly heartbroken that I had to put the book down, walk away and have a little cry.

Pierce Brown's favourite food people,

he just LOVES to make us cry!

I'm not going to lie, this book will be bad for your blood pressure and I'd definitely recommend having tissues on hand, but never fear because Sevro and Ragnar are on hand to make you howl with laughter too. I honestly don't want to say too much about the plot but you can expect to be shocked and horrified, there will be betrayals and new alliances, romances blossom in the strangest of places, families are created while others are torn apart and the power base of a universe is turned on it's axis.

Love them or hate them these characters are unforgettable. Darrow is changed by the events of Golden Son and I was quite worried about him for a while, Sevro has always been my favourite but even he gets swept up in things and goes much further than he should do but luckily Ragnar is on hand to knock sense into both of them. I have mixed feelings about Mustang, I've never quite forgiven her for the way she acted after Darrow's big revelation and there are certain things about her in this book that made me incredibly angry but at the same time I can see where she was coming from about a lot (but definitely not all) of them. There are too many characters I was invested in for me to mention all of them but Kavax and Sophocles never failed to make me smile and I actually think I want the Telemanus family to adopt me!

Morning Star is without a doubt an epic conclusion to one of my favourite trilogies EVER. I'm so happy that Pierce Brown has confirmed that he isn't done with this world yet, there are so many possibilities that could still be explored and I can't wait for every single amazing, heart wrenching page.

Source: Received from Hodder & Stoughton in exchange for an honest review

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