Knight’s Ransom by Jeff Wheeler || War, Strategy, and Plot Twists Galore

Knight's Ransom (The First Argentines #1)

Uneasy lies the head that wears a crown. A brutal war of succession has plunged the court of Kingfountain into a power struggle between a charitable king who took the crown unlawfully and his ambitious rival, Devon Argentine. The balance of power between the two men hinges on the fate of a young boy ensnared in this courtly intrigue. A boy befittingly nicknamed Ransom.

When the Argentine family finally rules, Ransom must make his own way in the world. Opportunities open and shut before him as he journeys along the path to knighthood, blind to a shadowy conspiracy of jealousy and revenge. Securing his place will not be easy, nor will winning the affection of Lady Claire de Murrow, a fiery young heiress from an unpredictably mad kingdom.

Ransom interrupts an abduction plot targeting the Queen of Ceredigion and earns a position in service to her son, the firstborn of the new Argentine dynasty. But conflict and treachery threaten the family, and Ransom must also come to understand and hone his burgeoning powers—abilities that involve more than his mastery with a blade and that make him as much a target as his lord.

Content Tags:

Perfect for readers who want:

• Action-packed battle scenes filled with strategy,
• Political upheaval and war.
• Political strategies, alliances, and sweet, sweet betrayal.
• Shifting loyalties called into question.
• A love interest who’s as stubborn and fierce as her knight.

Many thanks to 47North and JeanBookNerd for an ARC copy in exchange for an honest, unbiased review.

I’d never read a Jeff Wheeler book, even though I’ve heard good things about him. So when I saw that he started a new fantasy series, I jumped on the chance to read it. I mean, a dark world full of war and strife is absolutely right up my alley.

Knight’s Ransom is an epic fantasy coming-of-age story. It’s a book about loyalty, wavering and otherwise, and the lengths people are willing to go to in order to get what they want.

I was absolutely glued to these pages. I was actually really mad when I had to put the book down in order to go to work. How dare they! Surely a library would understand my need to finish a book. Ugh. I was even more excited to see two more books in the series on Goodreads … until I realized they come out later this year. I was ready to immediately dive into the next book, and now I have sad because I need to wait. T_T

Ransom is a fantastic main character, who’s easy to fall for and exciting to follow.

This kid just stole my emotion from the first chapter. His situation is not great, through no fault of his own, and it continues to get worse. The thing about Ransom is that he’s a good person, and it’s always easy to root for good people, especially when bad things happen to them. He’s earnest and trying to do the right thing, loyal to a fault, but over the book, he has to learn how to harness those things as positives.

Ransom finds himself at the center of a whole host of unfortunate things, including war and secrets and betrayals, which obviously makes for some good reading.

I mean, he is a knight, after all, so maybe that’s to be expected. It’s not exactly a steady 9-5 job, is it? There are several things I loved about this. First, it allows Ransom to have so much growth and a really emotional, detailed arc throughout this book, especially since his actions can result in dire circumstances. Two, it also keeps things exciting, because the life of a knight in the time of war is fraught with unexpected things.

The love interest in this, Claire, is no wilting flower. She’s a fabulous strong woman trapped in a world ruled by men … the eejits!

Claire’s character (and indeed country) seems to have Celtic roots, and it’s in stark contrast to Ransom’s home. Claire and Ransom lived together at Kingfountain for several years, and it’s there we meet her. Guys, I was instantly in love. She’s bold and outspoken with a sharp wit likely to cut down any who defy her. She’s at a natural disadvantage, being a woman given the setting, but she refuses to let others cow her into doing something she doesn’t want.

Interestingly, the reader only really gets to know Claire through her diary entries at the beginning of chapters, and yet, she still felt like a well-rounded character to me. I really hope to get to see more of her and know her better in the next books!

There’s so much character growth and a full coming-of-age story that I was fully invested in these characters and their outcomes.

Not necessarily enough to weep for them, per se, but more like a soap opera. I just need to know what’s going to happen next and where these foolish characters will end up. While I can’t say I connected to many of the side characters, I definitely felt Ransom and Claire, and I was interested in the lives of the others, at the very least. What can I say? Like a soap opera. I won’t weep for your death, but goodness knows I will munch popcorn while these characters weave themselves into more and more tangle webs. It’s just so *chef’s kiss*.

All the characters had secrets, and several of them had learning experiences throughout the book.

Some a little too late, which is a nice way to up the tragedy, of course. I loved the complexities of all the relationships and the way their lives intersect, sometimes in ways they don’t even realize.

The ways this plot twists and turns and keeps me guessing had me flying through pages, absolutely engrossed. I couldn’t put it down.

I’m not going to say there aren’t slower moments or that the story speeds along at break-neck speed. What I am saying is that there were so many twists that I couldn’t even guess how things were going to turn out, to the point where I just had to find out!

Books where war is a main plot aren’t normally my thing, because I generally find them kind of dry and boring. Knight’s Ransom, though, had so much more going on, including strategy and character growth, that I never became bored or wanted to set it down. It keeps a fast pace throughout, one that had me grumbling every time I had to set it down.

About Jeff Wheeler

Jeff Wheeler took an early retirement from his career at Intel in 2014 to write full-time. He is a husband, father of five, and a devout member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Jeff lives in the Rocky Mountains. His books have been on the Wall Street Journal Bestseller list 5 times (for The Thief’s Daughter, The King’s Traitor, The Hollow Crown, The Silent Shield, and Prism Cloud) and have sold more than 4 million copies. His novels have also been published or will be published in many languages: Italian, Chinese, Hungarian, Turkish, Polish, Spanish, Russian, and German.

He is also the founder of Deep Magic: the E-zine of Clean Fantasy and Science Fiction (www.deepmagic.co), a quarterly e-zine featuring amazing short stories, novellas, and sample chapters.

You can usually find Jeff at Emerald City Comic Con, New York Comic Con or at writers conferences.

He welcomes hearing from readers: jgwheels /at/ gmail dot com

If you are interested in purchasing signed copies of his books for friends, family, or your own collection, please e-mail: WOJWbooks /at/ gmail dot com

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Giveaway is open to International. | Must be 13+ to Enter
10 Winners will receive a Copy of KNIGHT’S RANSOM by Jeff Wheeler.

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