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Manipulator’s War (Ruarnon Trilogy Book 1) by Elise Carlson – Review by Susan Ratchford

Manipulator's War (Ruarnon Trilogy, #1)Manipulator’s War by Elise Carlson
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Manipulator’s War (Ruarnon Trilogy) Book 1
By Elise Carlson
Review By Susan Ratchford
4 stars

After assassins try to strike the non binary Raurnon down, the heir to Tarlahs perfect King, and their parents are abducted, they must assume the throne and try to be the worthy ruler that they always challenged them self to be. In the face of untrustworthy allies and a war that has stained their entire history they know they need more than brains and battle strategies to end this war. To do this they need a bargaining chip.
After traveling through a portal Linh and her friends happen upon a strange world they do not recognize. No longer in Australia they are in the world of Ruarnon and the people of Tarlah. Trapped in a time of civil unrest and a growing plague of monsters Linh will do anything to find her way back to her own time and place. Even pretend to be someone she isn’t and travel to see the heir Ruarnon herself and risk a plan for home. Will Linh be exactly what Ruarnon needs to end this war and secure everlasting peace or will their plan fail and with it the fate of them and their people?
I loved this book and will definitely be reading the rest of this series!!!! I really enjoyed the inclusion of a nonbinary protagonist it made me focus on other aspects of the story that were so engaging and emotionally gripping! This book took me on an emotional roller coaster with every twist and turn. I felt like I was there with Linh and Ruarnon through every struggle! Elise Carlson did a wonderful job of creating a complex and detailed plot that is constantly surprising you as well as fast paced. This is definitely a great YA series that anyone can enjoy and highly recommend you give it a try!

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Manipulator’s War (Ruarnon Trilogy Book 1) by Elise Carlson – Review by Santana Hicks

Manipulator's War (Ruarnon Trilogy, #1)Manipulator’s War by Elise Carlson
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Ruarnon is the heir of Tarlah, the first non-binary heir as well. They have to work a lot harder because of this. Others believe they will not do well as the next heir as they have only ever been ruled by Kings. The current king, Ruarnon’s father, believes they can be the next ruler as long as they try their best. Another king had a peace treaty with the kingdom of Tarlah but as the king of that kingdom died and his son took over, there were people against keeping the treaty alive. Resulting in going behind the current king’s back to take out the royals of Tarlah. One day, Ruarnon’s parents are abducted in the middle of the night.

Ruarnon has to take the throne of their kingdom with the help of their uncle. They have to make a lot of decisions and trust no one as people don’t like that a non-binary has taken the throne.

Meanwhile 4 teenagers are on a school trip. As they are walking along the beach, they see a trail in the woods that would make walking back so much faster. Once they enter the forest they are literally teleported to another place and time. The teens try to backtrack, only realizing the beach is completely gone. With no way back, they venture further into this new place.

Can Ruarnon find their parents and prove to everyone that they can be ruler with no problem?

Can the teenagers make it back home?

The book itself had all the elements to be something extremely interesting to me but it was kind of hard to keep track of who, what, where and when. Because of this I had trouble completely immersing myself in the words.

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