He wouldn’t understand. He didn’t live in a pretend world. In truth, he did. Most beings, pure humans, walked around thinking they were the only type of people that existed.” –AlenaAs a creature forbidden by both vampire and witch cultures, Alena is forced hide her identity. Her mother moves them from city to city searching for answers. When Alena finds Hunter everything changes. She believes … believes their bond may be the. But her mother finds Theron, an equally handsome and mysterious suitor. Will the truth of his intentions be uncovered before it is too late? Or will her Mother’s kingdom be reduced to embers?
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This is an author that I never hesitate to pick up. One of the things I enjoy most about this author is her ability to pull me into her stories from the beginning. Her attention to details give her stories a realistic feel and make them really pop. This book is no different. I enjoyed this book and it is one of my favorites by her yet. This is a well written story about Alena and an ancient spell that needs to be reversed. She likes to ignore rules and pretend to be something she is not. What will happen when she realizes that she holds the key to reversing this spell? This is a great young adult story that took me on a magical adventures with characters that brought the story to life. This is a fast paced story that is engaging and kept me turning pages to the end. I really enjoyed the creative characters and what they brought to the story. The growth of the plot and characters made you want to read more. I highly recommend this book and this author.
4 Stars
Kingdom of Embers is the first enthralling book in the Kingdom Journals by Tricia Copeland. It is a wonderful YA paranormal fantasy- full of magic, vampires, witches, mystery, suspense, danger, drama, suspense, adventure, romance, and destiny. This book is so wonderfully descriptive and vividly detailed, bringing every scene to life before my eyes. The imagery is superb. The story is enchanting!
As I have discovered previously, Ms. Copeland is a talented author who never fails to deliver a complex and captivating story. I am enjoying this series and can’t wait to see where we go from here!
Thank you, Tricia Copeland!
Voracious Readers Only provided me with a free copy to read, and I just now finished it. OH MY GOD! The story has a very interesting take on witchcraft and vampires. With this series, it is clear you will NOT know what is coming next! I am covered in goose bumps! I can’t wait to read the next book! Tricia Copeland… This was MARVELOUS! MUST READ!
Tricia Copeland is a new author to me. Kingdom of Embers is the first book in the Kingdom Journals, a YA Urban Fantasy Series. The story has witches, and vampires. The main character, Alena, is half witch, and half vampire. She is a strong, and beautiful character. The cast of supporting characters is impressive, and intriguing. The world building is complex, and original. Amy Deuchler does a great job with the narration. She has a beautiful voice, and the characters are easy to distinguish. The story continues in book 2, Kingdom of Darkness.
Kingdom of Embers is a young adult paranormal romantic fantasy novel. I loved this book! As soon as I finished reading it, I went to Amazon and purchased book 2 in the series, Kingdom of Darkness.
It’s a well-written, entertaining novel that allows you to get to know the characters, the teen romance was handled age-appropriately, the magic system is interesting and convincing for their abilities, and I thought the world building was creative. I enjoyed learning the back story throughout the book, rather than reading several chapters of info dumping. I thought the cast of characters was perfect for this story, each member played their role perfectly and made you love the good guys and fear the bad guys.
The pages turned quickly for me as the surprises, twists, and turns appeared, and new characters were introduced. I felt that the plot drove the characters through the story, creating interest for the reader from start to finish. You won’t want to put this book down! Highly recommend!!
Author Tricia Copeland is originally from Georgia but now lives in Denver, Colorado and pens Young Adult novels with a paranormal tilt. Her books to date include Drop of Sunshine, Lovelock Ones, and two series – the Being Me series of five books and The Kingdom Journals of four books of which, KINGDOM OF EMBERS is Book 1.
Setting a stage for a story that deals with vampire concepts with homespun everyday roots contributes to the involvement of the reader of Young Adult novels. Tricia heeds this and allows the foundation of her characters to be credible – before opening the door for the paranormal. “Morning.” The curtains swooshed open, and light poured into my room. I mashed the feather pillow into my face, wishing the woman moving around my room would disappear. “Can’t I be homeschooled? Or at least try online high school. One year. I’ve only got one year left.” I extended my arm and pointed my index finger up. “You know what your mother would say.” I heard Elizabeth cross to the dresser. “Does she remember what it’s like to be a teenager? Can I get a replacement for her? Or at least a refund?” Comfortable atmosphere delivered with a wry humor – a fine opening for this interesting novel.
The synopsis of the plot distills the story well – ‘Seventeen-year-old Alena Scott is tired of pretending to be something she’s not. As an outlawed vampire-witch hybrid, she’s forced to abide by the oppressive secrecy imposed by her Vampire Chancellor mother. But she’ll have to ignore the rules when she comes face-to-face with a handsome, full-grown version of her childhood imaginary friend. Shocked that he recognizes her as his own pretend play pal, the two embark on a quest to solve the mystery of their fantasized companionship. And as they unravel their entwined destinies, Alena realizes she holds the key to a curse which could free them all—or condemn witchkind to eternal suffering. Can Alena and her impossibly familiar partner reverse an ancient spell before they’re sent to a mortal grave?’
Tricia makes her story work, due in part to her accessible writing skills, but also to her colorful imagination and her ability to transform the world into make-believe – if only for the time this fine book is being enjoyed. Recommended for the chosen Young Adult cadre!
It was a fresh twist on the paranormal.
I seriously got into this book! What do you get when you cross a witch and a vampire? A recipe for a very strange senior year of highschool. Alenda Scott isn’t like other girls but has to appear that way in order to fly under the radar. Her mother, the Queen of the vampires, is overprotective and doesn’t allow her daughter too many freedoms and isn’t allowed to date. Enter several boys who would like to hold the position of boyfriend.
Alena is a very strong willed character who knows her own mind. She trains hard at her mother’s request but she is ready to push the boundaries of what she is allowed to do.
She meets Nick, a new boy at her school who is interested in her but she isn’t sure where her feelings lie with him. Hunter is her imaginary friend from childhood who turns out to be a real person. Sparks fly between the two of them.
I look forward to future installments by Tricia Copeland.
After reading To Be a Fae Queen, I was so excited to get my hands on this series! (If you haven’t read that yet, go get it now! It’s amazing!) We start off learning about Alena, her teenage angst, and her difficulties among the human world knowing that she is an illegal hybrid vampire-witch. She moved constantly as a child due to her mother’s ranks within the vampire community and was never able to stay close with friends but was determined to appear as normal as possible to the human population. As a child, she had imaginary friends that she played with and spoke with regularly. Is it possible that they are real people? With magic, who knows? She is a cheerleader at her high school and is seen as the weird girl with a weird diet. Cue one random boy teasing her relentlessly until the drama starts to really unfold. Honestly, I couldn’t put these books down and ended up reading the whole series in a weekend! I don’t want to give too much away – but, Tricia, you have done it again! And I love everything about this series. The world and character building are perfect for this genre, and I am hooked to any and everything you want to put on paper! Don’t stop at book one! Grab the whole series and cuddle up with some coffee for the weekend!
Kingdom of Embers is book one in the Kingdom Journals series by Tricia Copeland. I couldn’t put this one down. This is my first read by this author and I was impressed!
I think for me, it was the combination of fantasy, reality and suspense that kept me turning the pages. I was being drawn into this world that had me thinking/feeling it was real.
Alena is half witch – half vampire, and that is a no go. So of course she has to pretend to be something that she’s not, human. I really enjoyed her character. She’s a good kid but she’s got a lot of questions that are going unanswered, like who’s her dad and where is he? And she wants to get to the bottom of it regardless of what her mom says and the danger it could cause.
When she runs into her childhood imaginary friend, she realizes he wasn’t imaginary after all.
They get together to see if they can solve the mystery of how something like this could be possible.
The book does end in a cliffhanger, so now I have to get the rest of the books in this series.
Alena is one of my new favorite “people”, whoever feels understood in high school? Certainly not me and certainly not Alena. I love love LOVED the way Tricia explains the world and am a big fan of how she world builds. I am an avid reader and DnD player, which makes me a sucker for beautifully described people and places, and this book really kept my mind going even when struggling through a long work week. I cannot wait to read more in the series.
Kingdom of Embers is the first book in Tricia Copeland’s Kingdom Journals series. From the start, the author changes the popular opinion of vampires and witches. Alena Scott is not your typical vampire, she is a forbidden hybrid. Being half vampire and half witch, Alena is forced to hide her real identity. Her mother’s job keeps her moving until she is about to eighteen. Frustrated with the lack of answers from her mom about whom her dad is Alena takes risks to find answers. She makes friends with other vampires, witches, and humans that can put herself in danger, along with his mother’s secret plans for her.
Alena mesmerized me from the start of Kingdom of Embers. Tricia Copeland brings her characters alive with their strengths and flaws. By having the vampires integrate with the general population gives this novel an eerie feeling. As Alena struggled with normal teen emotions and school problems, it impressed me with how the author kept the main characters integrity, morals, and rebellion in check. This book is an excellent start to an unforgettable plot as they reveal more to Alena and her role in combining two powerful groups of people.
With her first installment in the Kingdom Journals series, Tricia Copeland has established herself as a rising star in the world of YA fiction. In Kingdom of Embers, we meet Alena a forbidden hybrid of Vampire and Witch, living in LA, trying to fit in in High School. Navigating her senior year is definitely not easy – her friends are shallow and a bully has targeted her for being different. All of this would be hard enough, but when an old friend suddenly turns up, Alena is thrown into a mystery that could save or condemn her kind.Â
Kingdom of Embers was a great read and a really unique take on the popular genre of vampire YA. Alena is a great protagonist – it is great to see the lead role as a strong and independent teenage girl, who is smart and determined. The twisting plot kept me guessing until the end and I can’t wait to pick up the next book in the series.