Book Review: The Movement of Rings by Nadine Keels

The Movement of Rings (Movement of Crowns Book 2)

by Nadine Keels

Publisher: Nadine Keel

Published: July 25, 2013

ASIN: B00F0SMZU0

Amazon Synopsis:

Sequel to The Movement of Crowns. 
A time to remember what lies deeper than one’s fears… 
The Mundayne empire has seen years of prosperity under the rule of King Aud, a man of war known the world over for his ruthlessness. Naona, a high-spirited imperial servant who holds Aud’s favor, occupies herself with pulling pranks on her peers around the king’s estate, but the time for laughter spoils when the citizens of Munda begin to oppose increasing taxation. After meeting the princess of Diachona, Naona finds herself having to choose between maintaining loyalty to her king and becoming a personal ally of another nation. With the rise of unrest in Munda, can Naona’s heart survive intact: intact enough, even, for an unforeseen chance at love with a foreign man?

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My Thoughts:

The second book in the Movement of Crowns Series, looks at the overtaking of Munda from the point of view of the Mundayne people. It centred on Naona, one of King Aud's concubines.

One of the things that I enjoyed about the book was the difference in perspective that the book gave us. While we got much of the same story in timeline as Movement of Crowns, we had a view of it from the Mundayne peoples side of things.

This novel was interesting because there was only a small number of people in the country who were believers of the Almighty. They kept very quiet about their beliefs and did not obviously abstain from participating in the strange practices of the Mundayne religious activities such as tapping their cups with their pinkies before they drank from their cups or touching the doorframes before walking through doorways. The people of Diachona were monotheistic believers of the Almighty.

I found myself relating to this situation as I come from a family of nonbelievers and it is not always easy being in the minority and either having no voice or being afraid to speak up. It makes me think of the days ahead (in fact, those days are upon us now for some) where we must stand up and declare our faith even if we should be beheaded for it.

This novel is of course a romance and we find an intriguing relationship develop between one of the Diachonians and one of the Mundaynes. This mixing of nationalities is unheard of as the religious beliefs and cultural differences of the two peoples are worlds apart. I think this was simply prejudice and presumption on the part of the Diachonians from whatever gossip they had heard before they actually came to Munda. I think people from different cultures generally have more in common than they realize at first glance.

The twists and turns in the plot of this story leave the reader guessing right up to the end as to how this relationship will be resolved. Not every romance ends with happily ever after. You'll have to read the book to see how this one turns out.

I enjoyed the pacing of Movement of Rings. It was a leisurely read that romance/fantasy readers are sure to enjoy. I gave it 4 stars out of 5.

Thank you to the author for providing a copy of this book in exchange for a fair and honest review. A positive opinion is not required. All thoughts are my own.

NOTE: The Movement of Crowns (Movement of Crowns Book 1) is free on  Amazon http://viewbook.at/B00F0SI07M

About the Author:

Nadine. A French name, meaning, "hope." 

Spreading hope to her readers and listening audiences, author, editor, and speaker Nadine C. Keels of Seattle, Washington is well-known for The Song of Nadine, the powerful lyrical poetry seen in four of her several books and found on her spoken word album, Hope. Lyricized. Drawing from her lifelong passion for highly enjoyable and transformational fiction, Nadine has written a number of novels and novellas, including Love Unfeigned and The Movement of Crowns Series.

In response to inquiries from other aspiring authors, Nadine put together a simple reference entitled Write Your Genius, Genius! A Rather Quick Guide to Book Writing. Being the founder of Prismatic Prospects, a communication company based in Seattle, Nadine has served as editor and co-editor for a number of titles, and it is her aim to be a proven wellspring of inspiration for creativity and innovation in the marketplace.

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