I am delighted to share my thoughts on The Vagabond d King by Jodie Bond. My huge thanks to Anne at Random Things Tours for my spot on the Blog Tour and also for arranging my copy of this brilliant book.

I am so excited about this book and I am delighted that it is the first in a planned trilogy! 🙂

Let me show you what it is all about…

Threon, the Vagabond King, is torn from a life in the palace by raiders and forced to scrape a living on the streets of a foreign land. Meeting a witch from distant mountains, a rebel soldier and a woman cursed by a god, he seeks retribution through a quest to reclaim his home and throne. Together they rekindle old allegiances, face an immortal army and learn to trust one another. But when the gods begin to interfere with their plans, is it a curse or a blessing?

When soldiers raid the city and kill the King and Queen, their son Prince Threon finds an unlikely ally who rescues him. Threon then spends the next few years in exile, living as a beggar and a wanderer and being given the title of The Vagabond King. Unlikely allies are going to be important to Threon as he gradually makes his way back to his old home. The road is fraught with danger as it is not only people, but also gods who have a hand in what happens on the earth.

This is a fabulous fantasy read and one that I thoroughly enjoyed. I liked the way this story played out and the author did a cracking job of explaining the various different people and where they are on the power ladder.

Power is a very sought after commodity in this story. From the powerless slaves who are forced to work in the mines, to the power hungry gods who are trying to gain overall control of the world below.

With fantasy stories there are some things I like to see, the first is pronounceable names, I like a story line that is not too complex, I like corruption and power struggles and then I like a good under dog, a few battles, some uncertainty and a bit of magical influence, okay maybe a bit more than a few things! This book had all these things and and more, they are wonderfully wrapped and entwined into a fabulous story-line that was very addictive indeed.

The story-line follows some wonderful characters who are very memorable for various reasons. One of my favourite characters was Savanta who was pulled into the story in a very harsh way, also Azzania with her powers, that were a little different and well thought out by the author. Threon is however the main focus of the story, but these other characters definitely have a role to play as the intensity increases throughout the book to a climatic ending.

There are some wonderful descriptions and some vivid imagery within the story. This is great for me as a reader because it makes it so much easier to see the world the author has created. As well as the scenery, a lot of thought has gone into the structure of the societies and also of the religion, I liked having three gods, though the focus is on two.

The author brought this first in the trilogy to a very climatic ending with just the slightest hint of something to come in the next book. This was a really good book and when I began it I didn’t realise it was part of a planned trilogy until I had finished it.

A fabulous read with characters that are memorable and that I cared about, a pace and flow that felt right and gradually built as the story progressed, basically a cracking read that when I wasn’t reading, had me itching to pick it up again. The Vagabond King is one that I would definitely recommend.

Jodie Bond comes from a family of gin makers in the mountains of north Wales. She works in marketing and performs as a burlesque artist. She had an unconventional childhood, dividing her time between a quiet life on her mother’s farm and her father’s home which was infamous for holding some of the UK’s biggest raves in the 90s.

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See what other Book Bloggers think of this book by checking out their stops on the Blog Tour…

Many thanks for reading my post, a like or share would be great 🙂 xx