***2 Stars***

The cover is pretty and the description sounded really good, but this book just dragged for me. I’m not opposed to world building taking up space in the story, in fact I expect it when it comes to fantasy stories, but this one was just a bit too much for me and by the time Lia and Con collide, my interest in them was just not there.

I wish I liked this book more than I did, but the pacing killed any interest I could have had in the characters and their journey.

The beginning of The Orchid Throne was slow, as there was a lot of information dumping about a variety of things (i.e. clothes, land, people, etc.), but as the story progresses the more invested the reader becomes. We then begin to meet Euthalia, Conri, and Anure. Each character had a unique backstory and one could easily see the struggles they faced, Euthalia and Conri, at the hands of others and how they persevered. Though one doesn't see as much action in this book as they may have liked, it is still a good book to pick up and read.


eARC was kindly provided by the publisher in exchange for an honest review. Thank you!

This book is not a complete story. Unlike Jeffe Kennedy’s 12 Kingdoms books which feature a different romance up to an HEA in each installment, this is part one of a trilogy which ends right as the romance is getting started. I think if I would have known that, I might have waited until at least the second book was ready before reading this, because now I am frustrated and want to see what happens next.

Another word of warning: this is a very slow build. I struggled a little bit at the beginning because, frankly, the first half of the book was spent jumping back-and-forth to the very separate lives of the two protagonists. They don’t even meet until about midway through. That’s tough for the romance lover in me. And as with any first book in a new series, there are a lot of bones to get in place early on. World building in particular. So if you want to be yanked in from the very beginning, you might be a little disappointed.

That isn’t to say I disliked the book. I did not, not at all. I enjoyed it, but just when I was really getting into it, it ended!

Our heroine is Euthalia, queen of Calanthe. Her father betrothed her to an evil emperor who essentially razed all of the other kingdoms around them. Only the promise of her hand, stayed Calanthe’s destruction. And ever since then, Euthalia has weaved a complicated web to both assure The emperor that she will marry him, while doing everything in her power to put it off. her country is basically a pleasure island, though she works virulently to maintain her virginity and appearance of purity. There are many complicated rituals all tied to the magic and traditions of the land but at the end of the day the only thing that matters to her is protecting her land and her people.

The hero is Conri, a former prince who was put into the bonds of slavery when his father’s kingdom was toppled. He now leads a band of rebels who go from town to town liberating them from the emperor's rule. He is advised by a wizard who sends him toward Calenthe promising it will help him ultimately be victorious in his revenge plot.

There are things about Euthalia we obviously don’t know, and her secrets (as well as some of the magical secrets of her island) are slowly peeled back. It made it hard to connect with her at the beginning. Con, on the other hand was much clearer in his motivations. He and his friends have been through so much and I was anxious for him to get a little bit of peace. I think watching these two connect and fall in love is going to be really good stuff.

It’s just not happening in this book.

I do have high hopes, that book 2 is going to give me the payoff that we were building towards here. I just need to be patient.

I hate being patient.

But I am looking forward to The Fiery Crown.

Thank you to the author Jeffe Kennedy, the publisher and NetGalley for providing me an ARC in exchange for my candid review.

I loved this book! Kennedy has created an inticate, detailed world and the epic story of good versus evil will captivate. I loved the characters and the imagery. I loved the story. I can't wait for the next two books in the series.

In this world, all empires are tied to their earth by magic. Except an evil guy discovered rocks that explode and then proceeded to overrun all other empires. He executed or banished all royalty and pillaged all of the kingdoms. Except one. The king made a deal with the evil dictator thus saving the kingdom. Except that his daughter has to marry the despot. This story is the princess's story of trying to remain compliant , but to not have to marry. It is the story of an uprising, led by the Slave King, and how they attempt to overthrow the evil empire.

I already preordered the next book. I can hardly wait!

Good fantasy story line with great characters and well developed fantasy world. Can't wait for the next story.

4.5 stars

The Orchid Throne is the first book in a new fantasy series by Jeffe Kennedy. I’ve read several fantasy stories by Kennedy in the past. I’ve always enjoyed her work, so it was an easy decision to try this new series. I originally grabbed the NetGalley eBook and read it on vacation. Then I saw that it was going to be available on audio, so I had to grab the audiobook version and did a revisit via the audio.

The world is set in a fantasy world where magic exists, but the newly risen emperor claims that it doesn’t and kills any wizards he can find. He’s also taken over every kingdom around and enslaved or killed the former royal family. That is every kingdom but Calanthe. The king of Calanthe betrothed his young daughter to the emperor. But how long can she keep him as fiance before he insists on taking her as his bride in truth.

Euthalia, or Lia, plays herself as a debutant queen, now that her father has passed on. She goes through all the rituals that are expected of her. She stays completely away from the lush, extravagant parties that her island kingdom is known for, to ensure her reputation as the virgin queen. She’s also extremely sly with many spies feeding her information, not only in her kingdom, but throughout the empire. She’s much smarter than she lets on.

Conrí, or Con, is a former crown prince of a now non-existent kingdom. He was forced to work in vurgstun mines, bringing out the explosive rock which helped the empire rise to power. The work in the mines have made him strong, but also did a number on his lungs as he breathed in the dust. He and the other miners stage an uprising, and where he becomes the new Slave King, of no kingdom, set on revenge for his family.

This is a great start to a fantasy series. I’m extremely excited to see what happens in book two. I really love the characters in this series. Not only Con and Lia, but many of the side characters including Sondra, Con’s childhood friend, and Ambrose, the wizard who found him. I also have to mention, Merle, Ambrose’s raven (or I should say that Ambrose is Merle’s wizard). I have always been a fan of pets in stories, even more so when they are more than just pets

Narration
3.5 stars

This is my first time listening to Elizabeth Brook. I have to admit that I really like her voice. I didn’t even mind her different character voices. The issue I had with her, was that I had a hard time telling which POV she was referencing. There was no difference in tone between Lia’s POV and Con’s. Part of me thinks that this would’ve been better with dual narration and had a man read Con’s POV. That being said, I would totally listen to the next book in this series.

A fantasy romance from the point of view of the heroine and hero switching every chapter.
I was engaged with the characters and interested by the world building. Note that this is book 1--the ending is open with more to come and I will read it.
There are sly references to lesbian sex for the virginal heroine on an island that has a hedonistic nightlife. Bdsm, menage, and drug use are aren't outright mentioned but plain to the reader. Open door to the wedding consummation.

I read a free ARC from Netgalley.

I hesitated to leave feedback because I was unable to finish this book, but in looking at other reviewers, I'm not the only one who struggled, so I'm leaving a few comments. Because I missed the publication date, I purchased the audiobook. I read the first two or three chapters in digital format and absorbed none of what was going on. I listened to those same chapters in the audiobook, and had the same problem. The POV switches are unclear. There's nothing in the way either character thinks and speaks that differentiates them. I had really expected to love this book, but the writing style did not work for me, at all. Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for a free copy in exchange for me honest review.

I won't lie. I felt this story dragged on for a bit. The main characters didnt even meet until close to the end of the book. I liked Con. He was a fighter and protective of his people. I could never really get a feel for Euthalia though. I kind of felt like she talked in riddles. I remember looking to see if this was a series because I wasn't sure I would read the next one. But literally in the last chapter, I became very intrigued by the princess and all the goings on of Calanthe. The way that ended I definitely need to read the next one. I understand so much about Euthalia's actions and reasoning for things. I did like the relathioship between Con and Euthalia once they met. I think they are a good fit for each other and look forward to reading more about their relationship. One character may turn out to be a traitor and I kind of had a weird feeling about her reading this book. Overall this one starts slow but I did enjoy it. 3.5 stars

Not sure where this book went wrong for me but I DNF'd around the 10% mark. I have no idea what was up with the pacing but it was incredibly slow and boring and the flat characters and awkward writing style meant I didn't feel encouraged to push on with the story, sorry. Thank you St Martins Press for the review copy!

DNF – So much possibility but I just couldn’t take the pacing of the story.

There was so much possibility in this story. Even now I think, a tyrant who managed a coup and destroyed all the royal houses, a virgin Queen on an island whose father promised her to the tyrant to spare their lands and one who has managed to keep herself apart (so far) and an uprising of slaves brought about by the surviving son of one of those royal houses who wouldn’t submit and was sent to work in the mines…these two band together to destroy the tyrant. Ooooo…gimme, gimme.

I could tell you that I liked Lia and her quiet and careful plotting to save her people and her lands from the tyrant, finding loopholes to keep him out her bed all the while pretending to be the devoted fiance. And I could tell you about Conri who is brave and strong, the slave who used his strength from years in the mine and the tyrant’s own special weapon, which he and his men and women have been mining for him, to bring about a revolt, slowly taking the lands back from the tyrant. What I can’t tell you is that I was enjoying the telling of this tale.

I should be all over this but the pacing is so, so slow it is unbearable. I simply have no desire to keep going. Every time I put it down, I thought about the idea of the story and started again hoping that the pace would pick up, and it just wasn’t happening.

I had read some reviews of the story which indicated that the pacing was an issue but also declaring that if you can get passed that, the story was really, really good. Unfortunately, I just have too many books backing up already to keep forcing myself to continue, and I was forcing myself to continue which is never a good sign for reviewing a book.

I am mostly disappointed that this is my second Jeffe Kennedy story that I have walked away from, the first was a short story in an anthology and I had thought it was simply because it was part of a series I hadn’t read and wasn’t familiar enough with the characters that I couldn’t get into it. In reading The Orchid Throne, I had hoped to get a chance to see why everyone is so excited about this author, but again, it was all promise and a bad delivery.

I tried sooo hard to get into this one, I really did. It just wasn't for me. The prose was much too flowery for my taste, to the point that it distracted me. The point of view switches weren't clear for me in the beginning, which was confusing, not enough to differentiate them(or maybe there was and it was just lost in all the unnecessary descriptions). I truly believe less it more when it comes to writing, and as that's a matter of personal taste, I can see where others would really enjoy this title. The writing is pretty! And dramatic. But alas, not my cup of tea.

This book starts out slowly and quietly. With the first twenty percent or so dedicated to the setting and our characters. It took me a while to warm up to our heroine, Lia. As the Queen of Calanthe she is often portrayed as cold or stoic, albeit with good reason. Nevertheless, I gravitated more toward Conri. I absolutely adore underdog stories and Conri reminded me of Kaladin from The Way of Kings or Wil from The Mirror King. His fight to reclaim the kingdom stolen for him had me cheering him on.

Kennedy does a fantastic job with dialogue and character building. The friends-to-enemies romance is more believable than most insta-love, fantasy romances. I honestly can't read one more book where they saw each other across the room and BAM. Marriage. Babies. I'm looking at you, J.R. Ward. Although I will say that romance is the main plot driver and not revenge (which is what I assumed based on Conri's history). So if that is not your cup of tea, you may want to skip this one.

If you are a fan of Kennedy's Twelve Kingdoms series, I think you will enjoy this. Just be mindful that the beginning is a bit slow.

An evil emperor has taken power and by doing that he took control of the world, one slaughter at a time. He might actually be my favorite character, cos he was so evil. And then this thing he says he will do at the end, dang, that is a well written baddie. I loved to hate him. And the thing is, we never even meet him! All we get are letters.

Ok so I spent the first paragraph talking about the man who will get killed in whatever book finishes this. Ha, funny.

Anyway, Lia, queen of Calanthe is trying her best to keep the evil emperor away from their shores. they rolled over and played nice and was spared the massacre. I did like that she played a part all day. There was so much more to her. But the thing that came out at the end was the part that interested me the most, intriguing.

Con, oh I do not know, I think he was an ass. I get that you have been a slave, but still, I kind of want to kick you in the nuts for the things you thought. Maybe he will grow on me.

I enjoyed it, even if I had some Con issues, and the fact that I remember the baddie that we did not evn meet the most. I hope he has a gruesome death

The end, well all is well for now. But tomorrow everyone might die

A little bit of a slow start but since this is the first book in a new series, I wasn't surprised by it. Once the story took off, though, it kept me thoroughly entertained. I truly enjoyed this book and look forward to the next in the series.

I received a copy of this book from the publisher via NetGalley. My thoughts and opinions are my own and without bias.

Received this for a blog tour stop and forgot about the blog tour – finally got around to reading this though and it was okay, I guess. Full review to come but initial thoughts point to an average novel that is setting up foundations for future books (hopefully)

3/5*

*tentative.

The Orchid Throne is the beginning of a new fantasy romance series from Jeffe Kennedy. I have really enjoyed the past books written by Kennedy, but I was pretty disappointed in this book. It took me quite awhile to read, because it never gave me that edge-of-my-seat, can't-put-it-down feeling.

Euthalia is the Queen of Calanthe, the last independent kingdom of the mad Imperial Majesty Anure's conquest of all the land. A betrothal between Euthalia and Anure is the fragile barrier against a violent invasion. Because of her delicate position (among other restrictions for the protection of Calanthe), she must manover politically with extreme cleverness and finess. So when an emissary from the Emperor warns of a rogue heading her direction on the way to the capital, she must devise a clever plan to stop him without spilling blood on her land.

Conri's former country of Oriel is among those conquered by Anure. He and the rest of his royal family were taken to Vurgsten mines and forced into harsh slavery. Anure had used this Vurgsten to conquer the realm and practically exterminate the magical community with it. Conri has now escaped the mines, stollen a huge amount of the Vurgsten, and is coming for Anure. They want revenge for the wrongs done to them. He came across a wizard, Ambrose, who promised him a way to achieve his vengeance. Part of that plan is acquiring the Abiding Ring. The rebels discover that Euthalia is in possession of the Abiding Ring and prophecy says that Conri must obtain it peacefully through marriage. So they make their way to Calanthe.

I found the book to be extremely boring and hugely anticlimatic. Majority of the first half is just backstory being explained. We meet Conri at the very end of a huge battle, and following it is just logistics and planning. Then when the Rebels come to Calanthe it was very blah. I found the timing of the scenes to be inadvised as well. For example, we come into Conri's battle scene at the end. I think it would have made a better story to start with Conri's escape from the mines, and to follow him into some of his battles. I don't know how Euthalia's parts could have improved however, except maybe to have explained a little more of her and Calanthe's abilities?

For those of you who enjoy the intimate scenes in romances, you will have to wait until the last 20% I think. I skimmed over it as I don't personally like those parts. From what I did get, I wasn't intrigued. I think a huge part of that is that I never felt the two characters fell in love. I never felt my heart drop, or go up in my throat, or well do anything.

I am very sad that I am as disappointed as I am with this book. I was looking so forward to it. I may try it's sequel to see if there is improvement, but with how unmotivated I was to complete this one, I kinda doubt it.

I have received this ARC from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

The Orchid Throne was a little slow to start off with but eventually I finally got invested into it. The beginning, even though it was slow, was pretty interesting. I wanted to know more about this empire and everything that was within it.

First, the beginning was a lot of information dumping. Whether it was the land, clothes, or anything else - it was a lot to take in and process. Then we get to meet Euthalia, also known as Lia, and I felt bad for her. I totally get that historically - the lives of women were/are different than it is today. Yet, she is a strong, clever, and compassionate person. She definitely works hard for her people and land - even with all her limitedness.

Then there's Conri, who I absolutely loved. His life hasn't been great from start to finish either. He was thrown into slavery at 10 years old. Yet, that formed him into the man he is today. He's also strong, hard, and caring. With a little dash of anger because he deserves to be mad about shit.

Besides them, there's the evil emperor (of course) and his name is Anure. Boy did he make things mighty difficult in this book - especially for Lia and Conri. He's kind of like that bad ass villain with magical powers - it was highly interesting/entertaining for me.

Throughout the book, we don't get much. Just like most books that I've read this year, the action really happens at the end of the book (such a disappointment too!). The battles and everyone meeting each other happens rather quickly. I kind of wish the ending didn't have everything thrown into it because it lacked the cliffhanger I was hoping for. Doesn't mean I wont dive into the next book but I will have less expectations from it.

The Orchid Throne is the first book in the Forgotten Empires series by Jeffe Kennedy. I was interested in this book the second I read the summary and that cover is so pretty!

Euthalia is the Queen of the island kingdom, Calanthe. As a child, Euthalia’s father betrothed her to Anure, the man who has destroyed all of the kingdoms on the mainland and she knows she has very few options open to her to save her people but she is willing to do anything she has to in order to protect her people and Calanthe even if that means she has to do the unthinkable. Euthalia is keeping a pretty big secret from everyone around her so she and her ladies do everything they have to in order to keep it hidden. I liked Euthalia. She’s smart and she’s not afraid to face the dangers that come along with leading a kingdom.

The other main character is Conri and his kingdom is one that was destroyed by Anure. Having been made a slave in the mines to mine the very item that killed his family, Conri and those around him eventually decide they’ve had enough. As they overtake the guards and eventually grow their numbers, they become a stronger group and move to take on Anure’s troops/guards to weaken his hold. As the King of Slaves, Conri has built a reputation, some of it true and some of it not. Conri was an interesting character. Having been put in the mines as a child, there are things he never had the exposure to but his background has made him tough, but he isn’t afraid to admit his feelings for those who have been by his side throughout.

The world building was done well by Kennedy. It was one of the things that kept me interested in the story. At the center of this story is something called the Abiding Ring which sits on Euthalia’s finger. It appears to be a magical orchid and it clearly has a major role to play in both Euthalia’s and Conri’s stories and I’ll be interested to learn more about it.

The secondary characters help to move the story along as well. I loved the relationship that Conri had with Sondra and the back and forth they both had with Ambrose was great. Euthalia has her ladies in waiting but is closer to Tertulyn more than the others. With that said, it is clear near the end of the book that she is up to something and I was hoping we would get a glimpse into what it is. Of course, in court, Euthalia is surrounded but many others but with her secrets, there are very few she can trust. I do wish we would have gotten some exposure to Anure in person. He is only brought into the story via his emissary or letters.

When Anure tasks Euthalia with stopping the Slave King. As the final barrier before Anure’s holding, he has directed her to do whatever is necessary to stop him. There was definitely a threat in the message and Euthalia will do what she needs to. As she eventually comes face to face with Conri, Euthalia has some doubts and when Conri and his group put her in a position where she doesn’t have much choice in how to move forward, she and Conri end up married.

Overall, I enjoyed this book. The beginning was fairly slow as Kennedy set up the backstory for these characters. I understand the need for it, but I felt like there was a lot of content that bogged it down. When Con and Lia finally met, the story got much more interesting. I will be checking out the next book in the series to see how things move forward for Con, Lia, and the other characters.

Welcome to the world of Forgotten Empires from award winning author Jeffe Kennedy that begins with The Orchid Throne.

A PRISONER OF FATE
As Queen of the island kingdom of Calanthe, Euthalia will do anything to keep her people free—and her secrets safe—from the mad tyrant who rules the mainland. Guided by a magic ring of her father’s, Lia plays the political game with the cronies the emperor sends to her island. In her heart, she knows that it’s up to her to save herself from her fate as the emperor’s bride. But in her dreams, she sees a man, one with the power to build a better world—a man whose spirit is as strong, and whose passion is as fierce as her own…

A PRINCE AMONG MEN
Conrí, former Crown Prince of Oriel, has built an army to overthrow the emperor. But he needs the fabled Abiding Ring to succeed. The ring that Euthalia holds so dear to her heart. When the two banished rulers meet face to face, neither can deny the flames of rebellion that flicker in their eyes—nor the fires of desire that draw them together. But in this broken world of shattered kingdoms, can they ever really trust each other? Can their fiery alliance defeat the shadows of evil that threaten to engulf their hearts and souls?

A fantasy romance? Yes, please! I couldn't believe my luck when I was asked to review this novel. The blurb sounded amazing and the reviews sounded promising.

When I started reading it, I found myself enjoying the characters and the world sounded interesting. It was a bit slow paced but I didn't mind that, I still thought it was well done.

I thought Euthalia (Lia) sounded like an intriguing woman and I wanted to hear more of her story. Conrí (Con) sounded like there was a lot of baggage to unpack and I was truly excited to read it.

My only real issue with the book is how so much changed once Con and Lia met. The story sped up, which wasn't a bad thing. It was how the characters changed that kind of irked me.
Con went from a man that could barely think about sex, much less actually have it, to a man who lost complete control with Lia. It was a complete 180 and bothered me.

Overall though, I am interested in reading the sequel and will be back for it.


Thanks so much to the publisher and NetGalley for the ARC in exchange for an honest review