Faycalibur (Less Valued Knights, #2)
You can get the first book of this series for FREE by subscribing to the author’s newsletter here: http://liamperrin.com/free-sir-thomas/
ARC provided by the author in exchange for an honest review.
Faycalibur by Liam Perrin
My rating: 3.5 of 5 stars
The Less Valued Knights is back to bring a smile upon your face.
Faycalibur is the second book Liam Perrin’s Less Valued Knights series. The story continues straight from where the first book left off and it mainly revolves around Thomas as he undertakes a quest to find the missing wizard, Merlin, in order to bring glory to the Table of Less Valued Knights; which as always are… less valued. Same as the first book, the story was very light-hearted in tone, filled with moments that will make you smile, it almost never took itself seriously. There were a few jokes that really stood out, like the usage of “who” and “whom” which was greatly implemented. However, beneath the jokes, fun, and lighthearted moments, I found the book to be quite full of inspirational message. Faycalibur is a valuable book about that centered its themes on bravery, friendship, trust, and to always stay true to who you are.
“If a bad person can make himself look like a good person. How do you know who’s who? How do you know who to help? You know. If you’re a good person?
Once again, the characterizations were truly well done. This was especially true for the main character, Thomas, an underdog main character that felt incredibly easy to root for; I found it to be completely natural to want him to succeed in everything he did. The side characters were also great; Philip and Gus accompanied Thomas and the interaction between them made them such a charming trio. These three characters were definitely the main focus of the book and I personally think that their friendship utterly fun to read.
“Knowing who to trust isn’t always a straightforward enterprise.”
Unfortunately, although my experience with the novel was definitely enjoyable, I have to admit that I loved the first book more. It’s not that this isn’t a worthy sequel or anything, but personally, no matter how light-hearted or fun the overall content of a book is, I’m a reader who needs at least a bit of tension in my reading escapism. In my opinion, the first book had a well-placed tension but this one didn’t have any.
“Some measure of comprehension is required in order to feel fear. If there is no comprehension, there is no fear.”
That said, even though there was close to zero action, tension, or magic involved, Perrin’s prose was as great as ever. There wasn’t any moment where I found the prose to ever get in the way of the story; everything was simply well-written. The prose flows so well and the narrative was highly compelling; I ended up finishing the book in less than 24 hours.
Overall, I had a great and relaxing time with the book. I will admit that I feel like I will be able to appreciate this book much more if I’m totally in the right mood for a much lighter book. Like I said in my review of the first book, this series, to me, serves as a perfect break from my darker and serious read. I highly recommend Faycalibur to any reader who’s in need of a lighthearted escapism experience. Not only this series is immensely readable for a middle-grade audience, I imagine that young adults or adults will also find something to learn from Sir Thomas the Hesitant and his friends.
You can order the book from: Amazon US