Book Review: The Demon King by Cinda Chima

“History,' Mari muttered, as if she'd overheard his thoughts. 'Why do we need to know what happened before we were born?' 

'So hopefully we get smarter and don't make the same mistakes again.” 
- The Demon King, Cinda Chima

Fantasy is one of my favorite genres but sometimes it can be hard to find a good fantasy book. It's easy to find a book about dragons, and magic and all that but it's hard to find one with a decent plot that is well thought out. The Demon King was one of those well thought out fantasy books. It had all the wizards and royalty and magic you could want with a good plot to go with it.

Goodreads Synopsis:

Times are hard in the mountain city of Fellsmarch. Reformed thief Han Alister will do almost anything to eke out a living for his family. The only thing of value he has is something he can't sell—the thick silver cuffs he's worn since birth. They're clearly magicked—as he grows, they grow, and he's never been able to get them off.

One day, Han and his clan friend, Dancer, confront three young wizards setting fire to the sacred mountain of Hanalea. Han takes an amulet from Micah Bayar, son of the High Wizard, to keep him from using it against them. Soon Han learns that the amulet has an evil history—it once belonged to the Demon King, the wizard who nearly destroyed the world a millennium ago. With a magical piece that powerful at stake, Han knows that the Bayars will stop at nothing to get it back.

Meanwhile, Raisa ana'Marianna, princess heir of the Fells, has her own battles to fight. She's just returned to court after three years of freedom in the mountains—riding, hunting, and working the famous clan markets. Raisa wants to be more than an ornament in a glittering cage. She aspires to be like Hanalea—the legendary warrior queen who killed the Demon King and saved the world. But her mother has other plans for her...

The Seven Realms tremble when the lives of Hans and Raisa collide, fanning the flames of the smoldering war between clans and wizards.

Han is a quirky, funny character who is trying to take care of his family and figure out his place in life. Hes finding it difficult to get away from his past and when he takes the amulet his life just gets harder. . Raisa is fighting her mother, the queen, on everything in her life. She wants to help her kingdom but she struggles gains the expectations of the court.  I love how we get to see Han and Raisa before they meet and see their struggles. Usually the guy character walks in and the focus is on their love growing through the struggles but not with this one. Their was no love. How great is that? They both had sweethearts from childhood but they were minor parts of the book. It just made me feel like crying. 

Cutthroat, subtle, and awesome. That's how I would describe the action in this book. Clans, magical amulets, and a high wizard as adviser to the queen.The book was full of evil plots and betrayal and it was epic. Every time a problem was solved anther one would appear. At some points of the book I got frustrated because the author seemed to be throwing a little to much at the characters. Obviously the author can do whatever she wants but to me it just felt like a little over kill. 

This book is full of side characters that make he book ten times better.  Cinda Chima not only created two amazing, complex main characters but also an entire cast full of little people who really bring the book to life. The friends, the villains, the people standing in the way of our two heroes. I loved them all. It was even hard to not like our villains. And those, of course, are the best kind.

Recommending this book to all the fantasy lovers out there! I'll definitely be continuing the series:)

My Rating: 4/5 Stars
Author: Cinda Chima
Genre: Fantasy
Published: 2009