THE HOLD OF DESTINY Book Review

The Hold of Destiny (book 0.5 of The Maven Knight Story trilogy) by Matthew Romeo, audio, 15h 34m

Synopsis from Audible: For some, destiny is a warm embrace, but for others it is a stranglehold. In the vast, sprawling continent of Pan’gea, a clandestine organization is rising to power. It is called the Remnant Order, a group dedicated to preserving order in a chaotic world. At the heart of the Remnant are a husband and wife, Romulus and Diánna. Romulus is one of the Order's most steadfast champions, a paragon of fairness and stability. Diánna is the newly elected leader of the Remnant; a woman who built herself from the ground up. Their lives are seemingly perfect—a successful career, a newborn son, and a luxurious home. However, their work comes at a heavy price.

Diánna has been shown where her fate lies, and she will do all she can to bring about change in the New World. As assassination plots and political schisms threaten to tear the Remnant apart, Romulus and Diánna find themselves increasingly at odds with each other. Their once-unbreakable bond begins to fray under the pressure of their conflicting responsibilities. In a desperate attempt to save their family, the pair must decide how far they are willing to go. Will they choose to protect their son at the cost of their mission? Or will they sacrifice their family to fulfill their destiny? As the lines between love, duty, and betrayal blur, Romulus and Diánna must confront the darkest corners of their souls. In the end, destiny may be a fickle thing.

Fans of political thrillers and epic fantasy will be captivated by this tale of love, duty, and destiny. If you enjoyed the complex political intrigue and personal conflicts in Game of Thrones or the epic action in Red Rising, you'll also love the gripping story of Romulus and Diánna in The Hold of Destiny.

BOOK REVIEW: Y'all know that I am always honest and I will say that I started reading this as an eBook but as I was coming across names, things, and places that I couldn't pronounce (even with the help of the pronunciation guide), the author shared that the audiobook was out and told with two narrators so I grabbed the audiobook! We go back and forth between Diánna and Romulus and the narrators even keep the back and forth within the chapters. If it's a Diánna chapter and Romulus or another male is speaking, the male narrator talks and vice versa in the Romulus chapters. Getting to hear how things were pronounced helped me more than anything because if I was just reading it, I would get frustrated not knowing how to pronounce things. That's all on me!

The author does an amazing job at starting the world building for his trilogy even though this was written after the trilogy was published! For someone like me who is not familiar with this author or this world of Pan’gea, this has brought me in and left me wanting more! My favorite line is a thought from Romulus:

But trying to break the rules of kryo usage is like trying to divert a hurricane by waving at it.

As I kept reading, the power that the knights get from kryo reminded me a bit of the Infinity Stones in The Avengers...just reminded me of that...I am not saying that they are the same.

This is a 5 star for me. I wanted to give it a 4.5 only because I have 3 copies of this book (eBook, audiobook, and then won a giveaway the author did and got a physical copy)! I've said it once and I'll say it again. Instead of a pronunciation guide, I hope authors start including video links to a YouTube video or something with them saying all their names and places and things in their world and especially for those writing fantasy and creating their own worlds so the reader doesn't have to guess how to pronounce a name. I can't wait to read The Maven Knight!

5/5 Stars

2025 Reading Challenge: 40/50 complete