by Jennifer A. Nielsen
Jaron has returned home to his throne as King of Carthya. But not everyone is happy about his return.
After an assassination attempt and a warning, Jaron knows that war is coming to Carthya. And the best way to stop it may be to leave the throne.
Jaron, reassuming the identity of Sage, must walk into the mouth of the beast to try and save his kingdom. And he will do it alone. Will one boy be able to defeat the pirates?
Now that Jaron is back in Dylliad as king, we get to see some more of the people we were briefly introduced to in The False Prince, which is fun. We also get to see old and new characters as well. And there are some pretty great new characters.
I said it before, and I’ll say it again now and in the future: Jaron’s voice and wit are amazing. The character interactions are fabulous.
Like in The False Prince, Nielsen keeps just enough information back from the reader so that they are still guessing about what is going to happen, while not being confused by the narrative.
Be warned: The Runaway King ends on a cliffhanger that will leave you desperately needing The Shadow Throne, so make sure you have it nearby.
Cautions: light romance; brief, non-graphic moderate violence
Hailey Huntington 