The Runaway King

One of my favorite books last year was The False Prince by Jennifer Neilsen. This is the sequel to that fabulous book. It is the story of Sage, the lost prince, who returns to his kingdom when his family is murdered. He is struggling to rule a country in disarray and with the threat of war looming. As King Jaron, Sage must figure out how to rule a country and a people who don't believe in him. When he learns that the Pirates are going to attack his country, he hatches a scheme to infiltrate the Pirates and become their king. His plan is met with disbelief by those who are his friends- Mott, Tobias, Imogen and Princess Amarinda. Along the way he meets some new characters that become allies after many adventures. Jaron must use all his wits to defeat the evil Pirate King Devlin, his old frenemy Roden and find a way to help his people without getting himself killed. Jaron is a great character with an amazing wit, which I love. He is sure of who he is, but isn't sure how to use that to rally his people. The love triangle between Imogen, Amarinda and him is sweet and each girl loves him in their own way. Jaron is not a ladies man, he is insecure and unsure about what to do about them and this leads to a few moments of 'what is he thinking!' I'm sure it will be satisfactorily resolved by the end of this series. This one is a cliffhanger, with his country surrounded by enemies and at least one of his love interests in peril. What's a King to do? I can't wait to see what Jaron has up his sleeve to solve this new problem. He reminds me so much of Gen from The Thief. They would be great friends. (If they were real people of course-) Nothing like a great  book at the beach to make spring break a success. This is a great series and I highly recommend it. Happy reading my friends.