I was hoping to be swept away to an imaginary world and lose myself in a good story. Unfortunately from the info dump in the prologue to the extremely wordy style of the author, I struggled to get into this book. There are some good parts of the book and perhaps others will embrace Ms. Kennedy's style. It was not for me and I did not finish the book.

I thoroughly enjoyed this book and the world that was built in which it took place. The strong characters that are introduced are not o kg memorable but interesting as well. I was very intrigued with the plot and found myself conflicted because I wanted to read as much as quickly as I could so I could see how the story was to u fold, but wanting to slow down and savor the delicious details as well! I look forward to more in this series!

3.5 out of 5 Stars

***ARC received from St Martins Press and NetGalley in exchange for honest review, opinions are all my own. Thank you!***

Okay, I'm going to be honest, by the time that I sat down to read this book I had completely forgotten what the synopsis of this book was. Even though I had only received it less than a week. When I started it I was almost certainly that maybe I had received a book I hadn't meant to request but that was the point that current me had to put trust that past me knew what she was doing.

Good job past me, ya done good!

There is a lot of backstory that gets presented right at the beginning that I both liked and didn't like. It gets told as someone telling a story so its less info dump and more here are the important parts. You get enough details that as the story goes on it doesn't need to rehash what it already presented. But it also presents you with a potential villain to look forward to that unfortunately doesn't really show up in this book. He is more of a shadow of a villain than an actual villain in this book. The book definitely sets up the series that he will be a bigger presence in the next book I just wish we had a little bit more of him.

I liked the characters but I especially liked Lia, she is a good balance to Conrí. They were both characters that had been shaped by the history they experiences, even if we are not shown this information. Which I wish we had gotten, this book feels more like it is setting up a bigger series than the first in the series. Plus it would have gotten us more information about the characters because as much as I liked the characters I think they have more room to grow into even better characters. Yet there is one thing that I really hopes continues is Lia strong sense of who she is and what she wants, even down to her own pleasure. Refreshing to a romance to have a female lead so comfortable and open in her sexual needs.

In all I enjoyed this book and will be looking forward to seeing where it goes.

I, like others, struggled a bit at the beginning. I enjoy books of this genre so even if not reviewing would probably not have given up. I found the book dived into the story and the characters without pause and it took a while to untangle things. The story became much more interesting after a few chapters. The description of fantasy and romance intrigued me, I am not usually fond of romances but somehow this worked. I found the Island of Calanthe a fascinating premise and it is probably this that made me enjoy the book. I look forward to reading more.

Kennedy’s fantasy romance novels are usually a hit or miss for me. Sometimes I think she has a difficult time balancing the fantasy world building aspects and the actual romance. Still I always find myself drawn to her latest work even if the previous one I read left me a little cold.

I’d say this one is a good balance of romance and fantasy. I really liked Lia and I liked getting to know the world Kennedy created. This is one of her books I will recommend.

Sorry I did not finish this book. I will send a note to the publishers regarding this as I struggled reading the book.

Pluses: loved heroine and excellent worldbuilding

Minuses: more fantasy than romance, sluggish in beginning, slow paced at times, has difficulty connecting to POV as it switched a lot

Will definitely read more but this book didn’t quite work for me

Rated 4.5 Stars

The Orchid Throne is the first in a fantasy trilogy steeped in political intrigue, magic, adventure, action and romance. I thoroughly enjoyed it, the interesting and intriguing world, they characters and plot. I am eagerly anticipating the release of the next book in the series. I highly recommend it.

Obligatory disclosure: I received a free copy of this on Netgalley to read and review. That doesn't impact my review in any way.

Euthalia and Conri share this story with alternating points of view. She is the Queen of the last remaining “free” kingdom, and he is a former prince of a kingdom long gone but now known as the Slave King. He plots his revenge against the upstart emperor Anure, who savagely tore their world apart as he conquered his new empire. She tries to hold her kingdom together while stalling against the emperor who wants to make her his bride. This is a book that drew me in and caught my attention right away with the world and character building.

I’ve come to discover that fantasy romances are slipping into my reading more and more, and I enjoyed this one as much as I hoped I would. The characters and world-building are very detailed, and I could easily imagine them living in their world and the lives they lead. I also very much enjoyed the snark and wit within the dialogues of the characters. It kept me engaged and thoroughly entertained. I found myself being the person laughing on a plane and not regretting it. I very much enjoyed this story and as it ended I was left needing more! I will be reading the next book as soon as it comes out!

The main characters have a depth to them but there is also so much room for growth and character development in this story as it continues into a series. I enjoyed the detailed descriptions; it brought me closer to the characters, though I know that isn’t for everyone. I’m one of those who likes more description in novels and this one very well done in The Orchid Throne. I very much enjoyed this story and as it ended I was left needing more! I will be reading the next book as soon as it comes out!

I will say the first few chapters were hard for me to get into, but then it finally clicked. This is a bit different for me and more of a slow burn on the romance part. It is slowly paced, and with nothing to keep you entertained while waiting for the action. Another issue for this novel is that there is no clear distinction when going from one POV to the other. Leaves you wondering which character your reading from. I think that if the character development had been stronger then less justification would have been needed for their certain actions. The plot line is fairly typical of many fantasy/romance stories and while I'm fine with that, I do expect to see strong characters and powerful world building.

This novel seemed like it would be an epic fantasy, and the synopsis seemed promising. However, this book was not well-written. It seemed as if the author was telling me the story rather than showing. The characters seemed so detached that I could not connect to them. Still, the author is very creative and created a world. I recommend this for fans of Elise Kova.

I was provided with an ARC of this title from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

Lia and Conri are meant to be. Even though they are strangers and enemies, their entwined destinies were written in the stars and the blood-soaked soil of their homeland.

Lia is betrothed to a madman. She keeps him from sealing their vows by rigidly protecting her virtue. Time is not her ally, and she knows Anure will soon claim her.

Then a rebel king lands in her domain. He has a violent history, a fearsome reputation, and a tenacity that intimidates her. She senses that he may be the key to saving her and Calanthe.

But she does not expect his unswerving loyalty, carefully hidden vulnerability or genuine affection. Conri is everything she never expected, and everything she needs.

This book has elegant banter, vivid characters, and an intricate plot. I became lost in the world and connected with the characters.

This book read more as fantasy than romance to me. It was just okay, a very slow-moving beginning and hard to get into. I'm sure the sequels would be better.

Many thanks to NetGalley, the author, and the publisher for ARC. All opinions are my own.

I was really enjoying this story and the world the author was building until I had to stop. I was about a third in when Euthalia mentioned that she engaged in sexual exploration with her handmaidens, who were in a lower position than her. She was their queen and she was in a position of power. It's very similar to a professor and their assistant and it made me very uncomfortable. The sexual exploration with a fellow woman is not the problem, it's the fact that a queen engaged with all of her handmaidens, who are subservient to her. She even commented on it, remarking that she felt that her highest handmaiden could never completely open up to her when they partook in their exploration, probably because she was held back by their positions. And that's the moment I stopped reading. If Euthalia was so aware, she should know that she was doing something wrong and should not have continued. I very much got the impression that her number one handmaiden felt compelled to do things with her and that is exactly the problem I had with it.
It was a shame, I was really enjoying the book up until that point. If it's not too late, the author can potentially change the situation. The handmaiden can be turned into a fellow royal and the two can be on equal footing. If that was done, the issue I had with their sexual relationship is gone and I would happily continue reading.

More and more now I have been coming back to one of my favourite genres and that is fantasy. I am so glad that I got to read this book it is just awesome.

I was interested in this book after reading the summery, but quickly realized I was going to have trouble finishing it. It starts out super slow, and doesn't really seem to start moving until about half way, where everything speeds up double time, and the rest of the story fly's by. Though the story does get more interesting, it's annoying that the first part was so hard to enjoy.

4 STARS!

WHAT I LIKED:
From the very beginning, I though that this book was written beautifully. The author packed so much detail into what they have written and while this made it pacing a little slow at times, I really enjoyed it.
Following this, when the story really started get further into the plot, I found I couldn't put it down!
Euthalia and Conri were intriguing characters, and they compelled me to keep reading way past when I should have gone to sleep. There was so much beauty in this book and I really can't wait to own my own copy, I love fantasy romance and feel like there isn't enough of it.

WHAT I DIDN"T LIKE SO MUCH:
The beginning really would have benefitted from some better pacing, as this did make it a little difficult to get into and I've seen other people have the same problem.

That being said, I really look forward to reading what this author has in store next and I may add to this review later when I've had some more time to process.

WOULD I RECOMMEND? Yes
WOULD I READ AGAIN? Yes

This review is based from my ebook copy provided by Netgalley in exchange for my honest review.

Such a well-written and intriguing storyline. I liked the story from start to finish. Such a wonderful world-building. I felt like I was actually in the book it was so good.

This book fooled me!! I enjoyed the story, was getting into Lia and Con...and then, and then, it ends before, before it even truly begins!! And when I checked for the next book...it's coming out next year!! I'd've forgotten it by then!!

But it was a nice story, interesting world building here, more than half of this book devoted to what leads them to where the story really starts. Calanthe sounds like paradise and the Flower court sounds wicked. Lia is definitely more than she seems, managing to deal and delay Anure's machinations to claim her court to protect Calanthe. Con is immovable in his quest, more than a prince now, or is it less? And together they will succeed in bringing down Anure's reign...or so Ambrose, the last known wizard, says. So many interesting and complicated characters here, so much at stake. And we haven't really started on the tale yet.

So half the battle was won by Con, by getting Lia to his side. The next part of the battle is obviously in the next book, and is much much more difficult. Sigh. This is maybe 25% or a third at most, of the entire tale. If it weren't for that, I'd give this 4 stars. As it is, it's left me hanging.

Thank you NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for a copy of the book. I pray for the chance to read the next one in the series.

Painfully paced (first chapters of the book crawled) but the idea is there. Just seems some stronger editing.