He was not scared, not of battle, anyway. “He had had a taste of war now, though, and the thought of more of it filled him with dread. Not only did that lend a certain credibility to the narrative, but it also just made the characters more relatable as we are able to see the fallout that comes of great loss in war time. War is never glamorized in this series either, it is shown as the ugly, hard, but necessary beast that it is. The combination of the uniqueness of each battle’s description, the tension of the overall plot, and caring about each character deeply makes for some of, if not the best battle sequences I’ve ever read. Not only that, but the language used to describe actions in battle is not repetitive.

You will find your pulse pounding as the stakes are high from the beginning and continue to increase as the story develops. John Gwynne does not pull punches, does not spare main characters with the dreaded plot armor. If you are a fan of epic battle sequences, put down whatever you are reading right now and read this series! I’m not sure that I’ve seen anyone do epic battles better than John Gwynne does. “It will be a dark day, a bloody day, a proud day, for this is the day of our wrath.” This gave John Gwynne an excellent opportunity to explore their character growth in depth and over the entirety of the series each character has believable and earned growth. At least half of the main characters that are followed are in their teens to start the series as well. These characters are family to each other and because of that the bond is felt and incredibly moving. The understanding that John Gwynne clearly has about these types of relationships is clear and described in such a way that evokes completely raw emotion from me every time I read of a character being hurt or dying.

Whether it was parent to child, friend to friend, king to warrior, or even romantic relationships, John Gwynne knocked it out of the park. I’ve often tried to figure out why exactly I felt this way and I believe that one of the biggest reasons is that Gwynne knows how to write believable, deep relationships. As I was reading this series, it continually amazed me how much I cared about not only main characters, but the side characters as well. John Gwynne knows how to connect a reader to the characters in his stories. The only difference between them is that the brave man faces his fear, does not run.” “Both the brave man and the coward feel the same. John Gwynne’s The Faithful and the Fallen series is one of my favorites and I can’t wait to tell you why! For me, these “Why You Should Read” posts encompass the best thing about being a book blogger, gushing about books that I love.

Faithful and the fallen series