Manipulator’s War (Ruarnon Trilogy Book #1) by Elise Carlson – Review by Angela Hayes

Manipulator’s War by Elise Carlson
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

3 Stars

Manipulator’s War is the first book in the Raurnon Trilogy by Elise Carlson. It is a YA action/adventure fantasy with tests, trials, and challenges- as well as myth, murder, mayhem, assassins, threats, drama, and high stakes.
We meet Raurnon, the non-binary heir to the throne of Tarlah who has to step up and assume the throne when their parents are kidnapped. With war looming, and no one to turn to things take a complicated and dangerous turn. What happens makes for an intriguing adventure story.
Although I found the premise of this story interesting, I just couldn’t find my groove with this story as I found it hard to connect with the character/s, which then made it difficult to immerse myself in the adventure or invest in the outcome of their story. I also found the story quite slow in parts, and because of that I found my attention wandering a lot- and then it continued to lag and drag along the way, on and off, making for a bit of a choppy and somewhat frustrating read for me. I have put this down to this being the author’s debut novel and they were still finding their own writing groove. I think the rest of the series holds a lot of promise and I am curious to see where we go from here.
Happy Reading…

Thank you, Elise Carlson!

Reviewed by @angelahayes

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