Love a good teenage vampire romance novel that gives vibes of coming-of-age themes? Then you’re going to want to grab a copy of Kingdom of Embers the first book in Tricia Copeland’s Kingdom Journals series. Beware, this book is a real page-turner and will have you chasing answers with each twist you find.
Kingdom of Embers has a rather simplistic cover that still manages to draw the eye of readers. The background of this book’s cover has what appear to be stars fading down to a completely black and dark background. A young woman appears with the stars at her back, sitting with her hands on her hips wearing a black and dark burgundy gown.
Kingdom of Embers begins with a quote from Genesis and an introduction to the main character Alena. Author Copeland writes Alena as a typical teenager. She’s been through a lot of moves throughout her life, and now, it’s her senior year in high school. Alena wasn’t thrilled with this latest move, and honestly, it’s understandable. She just had one more year, so why the move? Now, she’s once again the new kid, in a new school, and her not being able to blend in is an issue.
Told from the first person perspective readers will enjoy some of Alena’s thoughts and subtle out loud monologues. Of course, being a hybrid vampire-witch, her voiced words rarely go without notice. But that is something that readers would expect since Kingdom of Embers is a vampire-style story.
Author Copeland, throughout the Kingdom of Embers, details Alean’s day-to-day life. She’s a cheerleader, and she’s a co-captain, but she never assumes the part. Instead, she is portrayed as just another cheerleader under the “leadership” of her fellow co-captain – Hannah. Hannah is one of the popular girls at University High School, and so Alena is written as just trying to keep the peace. Based on a lot of the issues that Alena is already facing, it’s understandable, but it would have been nice to see her be more assertive.
Throughout the Kingdom of Embers, author Copeland paints an interesting dynamic between Alena, her mother, and other guardians. From the beginning, readers get a sense that Alena’s mother is rather strict. This first clue is given when Alena shows Elizabeth, their “housekeeper” and fellow guardian, a particular outfit she intends to wear. Elizabeth immediately asks if the outfit has been approved. It’s mildly eyebrow-raising, but nothing too serious.
As Kingdom of Embers progresses readers get a better understanding of Alena’s life. She goes to school, and there she catches the eye of a fellow classmate…or two. One begins to develop a romantic interest in her, while another assumes the role of a bully. Author Copeland hints at some drama between Alena and a fellow cheerleader over a boy, but that is – interestingly enough – quickly quashed. However, the drama with the boy bully plays out frequently. The reasoning behind it though is never explained.
Alena starts out Kingdom of Embers appearing like the diligent and obedient daughter. However, it doesn’t take author Copeland long to push Alena to strive to do her own thing. To go her own path, and to embark on a quest for freedom and answers. Of course, this spark of rebellion brings trouble, but it also brings an opportunity.
Author Copeland reveals to readers that Alena had “pretend” playmates as a child. Strangely enough, they were real and visible to her, but no one else could see them. However, one day they just disappeared. So Alena questioned whether they were truly real at all. On an outing with her mother, on her mother’s mysterious quest of looking for something she has yet to reveal, Alena crosses paths with “Chase” – one of her “imaginary” friends. Cue the mystery angle and the question “What is going on here?”
Of course, the deeper you go into this book the deeper the mystery becomes. What is Alena’s mother looking for? Why does Alena begin lying to her mother about what she’s doing and where she’s going? What secrets is Alena’s mother harboring, and why doesn’t she want Alena to know anything about her witch father? What happened to Alena’s other “imaginary” playmate?
Throughout the course of Kingdom of Embers, the questions will just circle around. Alena herself is looking for these answers, but coming up with few if any answers. Instead, she finds her emotions roiling inside of her as she feels her frustrations growing towards her mother, especially. Why? Because Alena feels that she is owed answers and resents being “kept in the dark.” It’s rather ironic that she wants answers, but refuses to give any and be honest with her mother.
Kingdom of Embers is an engaging novel. It will absolutely draw you in and keep you page-turning with the drama, the varied cast of characters, and secrets and lies swirling throughout. We just weren’t a huge fan of Alena becoming so deceitful and having a double standard when it comes to her family. The story weighs very heavily towards Alena’s favor in that she is not discovered in any of her deceptions until author Copeland deems it fit to reveal it. For Alena’s mother to be portrayed as “strict” and “controlling” Alena sure does get away with a lot.
Kingdom of Embers is a page-turner, there is no doubt of that. Author Copeland weaves in a lot of interesting dynamics that tease readers to keep page-turning to find out what is going to happen next. It would have been nice if it was a touch more realistic, but overall book one sets the stage for something bigger coming down the line.
Readers looking for a novel to sink their teeth into and explore secrets will definitely want to pick up a copy of Kingdom of Embers. This story contains a good deal of drama, secrets, romance, and danger. It will draw you in, and then race to the finish with the final chapters. One thing is for sure, at the close of book one, you’re curiosity will be piqued as to where Alena’s story goes from here.
Pros:
- Engaging characters
- Nice cast of characters
- Clean romance
- Good amount of details
- Page-turner
Cons:
- Story needed to be more balanced and less heavy-handed in favor of Alena.
- Ending comes off as rushed.
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