I’ve tried reading this book a few times now and each time I can only get a few pages in before it becomes too much for me. I’m not usually into “high fantasy,” but I always try to give it a chance because I’ve found a handful that I’ve enjoyed. The Orchid Throne just wasn’t for me, unfortunately. Too heavy with fantasy.

THE ORCHID THRONE – Jeffe Kennedy
Forgotten Empires - Book 1
St. Martin's Paperbacks
ISBN-10: 1250194318
ISBN-13: 978-1250194312
ASIN: B07NCWNNKN
September 24, 2019
Fantasy Romance

The 16th Year of the Reign of Emperor Anure

Before his death, the king of Calanthe, in order to save his island kingdom from the devastating destruction by the self-proclaimed Emperor Anure, offered his ten-year-old daughter Euthalia in marriage when she became of age. Anure agreed, believing no magic existed on Calanthe. Anure assumed power over the rest of the world by destroying the kingdoms and their ancient land magic. Now sixteen years later Queen Euthalia plays a deadly game. Always watched by her courtiers and the enemies within her court, she is bound by the daily rituals and plays a political dance with the emperor to delay their marriage. His having four other wives helps.
Queen Euthalia wears the Orchid Ring which signals her rule of the kingdom of Calanthe, known as the island of flowers. Something few know is that the Orchid Ring is magical. It passes knowledge of happenings on the land and in the waters of Calanthe to Euthalia. This magic is strong, but Euthalia knows keeping her power means she must prevent any bloodshed on the land. No one can suspect she uses the ancient magic the emperor tried to wipe out. Recent nightmares of a chained wolf plague her dreams leaving her in dread of a new danger.

Upon conquering and destroying the kingdom of Oriel with his new weapon Vurgsten, a flammable rock, the emperor had sent ten-year-old Prince Conri, his sister, and his father the former king, as slaves to the volcanic mines of the island Vurgmun. Within the mines Conri’s father and sister died horrible deaths. While abusing the mine’s slaves, the guards overlooked what a powerful warrior their cruelty created.
Con knows he, as the former prince Conri, no longer exists. He seized the mines with his army of former slaves. He is now Con, the King of Slaves. His hatred for the emperor provides his sole purpose—to kill the false emperor. Like all the slaves in the Vurgmun mine, the fiery and dangerous weaponized mineral Vurgsten has damaged Con’s skin and lungs. Former Lady Sondra and the wizard Ambrose escaped captivity with him, and now help with his army. Ambrose tells Con a prophesy about the abiding ring. Con must marry its holder.

THE ORCHID THRONE is told in alternating first-person narratives between Euthalia and Conri. When Euthalia receives warning the King of Slaves is coming to Calanthe, she prepares a special greeting to capture the emperor’s enemies, save Calanthe, and keep the emperor from claiming her. While both Calanthe's queen and the slave king are cautious, an unrelenting attraction develops between them. Themes about rituals, magic, wizards, and rebellion fill the story making it a captivating read that grows more engrossing with each chapter.

Robin Lee

Amazing read. I've not read this author before but I really enjoyed my introduction to her work. Intriguing story with a little bit of everything - magic, romance, fantasy and so much more. I'm looking forward to reading more from Jeffe Kennedy!

Wow I LOVED this!!! I actually was just so upset when it ended and I have to wait for the second book when this one isn't even PUBLISHED yet!! UGH WHY! Solid world building, strong characterization with multiple POVs from first person, beautiful language and excellent dialogue. I'm going to update this review with more details once I've digested this more, but thank you for removing me from my book slump, Jeffe Kennedy

Thank you Net Galley for this ARC in exchange for an honest review!

I feel like the Prologue should have been a big giveaway about how hard of a time I would have with this book.

There are times I want that easy read and this just wasn’t it for me.
While the storyline was intriguing the writing style just didn’t do it for me.

Oh My! I have no idea where to begin with this book, it ruined me, but in a good way! I just could not put this book down. I am a huge fantasy reader, I usually read a lot of Young Adult, but this being one of the very few Adult fantasy I have read I cannot begin to say how Amazing it was to read it. I want to thank Netgalley for letting me read this advanced copy, I am so thankful that I was allowed to read and I am now able to review this copy honestly.

Let me go into a bit of details without giving too much away, we have kingdoms, who were taken by a ruthless man named Anure the Emperor. Conri is taken along with his father the King of Oriel into mines, to serve Anure. Conrii, escapes the fates of the mines with a group of people, forms an army and start to take back kingdoms that were once in reign of their own. He wants revenge at all costs, and he does not care who is in his path as long as he sees Anure dead.

Calanthe is ruled by Queen Euthalia who holds a power that she has hidden, she uses disguise in order to keep her true nature and powers hidden from the Emperor. Her sole purpose is to save her kingdom and her people.

What I enjoyed the most reading about this story was the background story about both Conri and Euthalia. There is so much depth to both characters in my opinion. Conri has such a broken childhood and part of adulthood, that you learn to love his strengths, his weakness', who he is as a person overall. The same for Euthalia, she cares so much about her land and the people she is aiding, she will do anything in her power to protect them.

If you love fantasy I promise you this book will not disappoint you. The ending was glorious, and I cannot wait to read the next book. I hope everyone enjoys it as much as I did.

I received an ARC of this book from NetGalley.
*Spoilers Ahead*
This book could have been so much more. The characters were well-developed and the descriptions of the island were really great. I could absolutely envision Calanthe in my head, and the story itself had a really good premise; however, it fell short for me. Even though they have this major threat of a tyrant/emperor they are trying to overthrow, and he's the antagonist, the reader never actually sees him dealt with and we get no closure there. There are other questions left unanswered as well, like why did Tertulyn begin acting weird all of a sudden? It's like the author meant for this to turn into something, then decided against it and forgot to remove it or just forgot about it completely. I would say that all of this was because the focus was supposed to be on the romance between Conri and Euthalia, but if that's the case then I feel cheated there as well. All of that happens in like the very end of the book, with no real build-up. I would say that hopefully there's going to be a sequel, but even if there is I don't think I would make a point to read it. I'm giving it three out of five stars mainly because of the well done character development and vivid descriptions of Calanthe and because of the potential it had to be a really good book.

I really enjoyed this story . I am a fan of Jeffe Kennedy as a author and her other novels . If you have not read her work , you must settle in , because her stories unfold.
This is the first in a series of forgotten realms. It is told in the beginning as you would hear from a fairytale. In the beginning a simple man destroyed magic , rose above his station and became a emperor. Magic is no more . Or at least forbidden.
Queen Lia has been betrothed to the emperor since she was a young girl . She has had many years to play the political game of cat and mouse. Lia just wants for her people to be free and her fate untied from the emperor.
Conrí is the former crown prince , now a slave ... a slave king. All he wants is to build a big enough slave army to overthrow the emperor.
Can these two leaders set aside life to find love .. and perhaps a new beginning.

Okay... I have to say that I have such mixed thoughts! I couid not push past twenty one percent. I really tried! I would read and read, then set it aside, pick up and finish other books then go back to this. In a world filled with books, you should never struggle through one. I found the main characters to be lacking. They were unremarkable, I could neither relate nor cheer them on. They were unlikable. The world building was this huge presence that when presented along side with the lackluster character development, was frankly overwhelming. The synopsis was so very promising and intriguing! The cover is gorgeous! I think for me as a reader, I crave to be drawn into the world I'm reading! Most especially if it's a fantasy world, I want to exist amongst the pages and take the journeys as the characters do. This was unfortunately very forgettable for me! I want to take a moment to thank the publisher for allowing me to read this! It was an honor. Also, I must insist that this author really has a very unique idea! It wasn't written badly, it just needs a fine tuning! It needs more character depth, less surrounding descriptions and more of something special to keep the reader riveted to the pages.

The Orchid Throne is the first book in the Forgotten empires series by Jeffe Kennedy. This much-awaited title continues Jeffe’s tradition of creating an exciting new mythos full of strong female princesses/queens and barbarian warriors.

This book introduces her highness Queen Euthalia of the island kingdom of Calanthe. She has worked her entire life to keep her people free and her mystical abilities secret from the mad tyrant who rules most of the known world. Guided by her magic, Euthalia plays the political game with the emissaries of the emperor. She knows that she has to save herself from her fate. But in her dreams, she sees a man, a man in wolf’s clothing with the power to build a better world—a man whose spirit and passion is as fierce match her own

Conrí is former Crown Prince of Oriel and is known as the slave king. After escaping from the mines where he was held prisoner he has built an army to overthrow the emperor. City by city has fallen under his assault, but to truly succeed and defeat the mighty emperor he needs the fabled Abiding Ring. The ring that Queen Euthalia holds so dear to her heart.

Queen Euthalia wants nothing to do with him. However, when the danger ratchets up Conri and Euthalia must put aside their differences, build upon their chemistry and desire to fan the flames of rebellion. But the question is whether their union can defeat the shadows of evil that threaten to engulf the world

Thanks to Netgalley for the ARC

What a wonderful mesmerizing read! I absolutely adored this book. My first time reading a book by Jeffe Kennedy. Well done.

This is a fantastic story that keeps you interested and intrigued. Having never read this author I was impressed with the story and I hope there's a continuation coming soon.

4.5 stars easily. The world building and tension between the main characters in this book is hot, hot, hot. Lia and Con are destined for each other. She, trying to save her homeland Calanthe at all costs, has run up against his desire to end the evil empires rule who is destroying their world. She's made some terrible compromises with said emperor to save her realm, but when Con appears on her shores, he just may offer the key to fix the path both of them are on. Magic, steamy sex, and a killer plot all made this such a good read! My only meh was the ending. It was so abrupt. I would have liked a little more closing, but since this is a series, I'll just have to read the next to find out!

This Dual POV is steamy. It is an adult or upper young adult for sure. It gives you two royals on different sides of a battle that may have more in common than you think.
The world building is beautiful and I wish there was more descriptions of what everyone, everything, and all the parts consisting of it. There was a lot of show, not enough tell.
The characters were relatable as much as a fantasy could be. I liked the slow building to them finding themselves to be more alike than they thought

There were several things about <i>The Orchid Throne</i> by Jeffe Kennedy that really struck me, some in good ways and some in bad. This was a book that I was actually incredibly excited about, having fallen in love with the plot the moment I first read its synopsis. A deposed prince following a prophecy that would allow him to exact revenge on the man who destroyed his kingdom and a young Queen doing everything she can to protect her people from the tyrant who destroyed the rest of the world sounded like a fascinating story. It sounded especially exciting when it became clear that the prince would need this young Queen's magical orchid ring in order to complete his quest.

I'll be honest, my excitement for this book waned somewhat as I began the novel. It was <i>incredibly </i>difficult to get into. The first few chapters are filled heavily with exposition and genuinely left me feeling as though each turn of the page was a chore I would have to force myself through. Wonderfully, though, as the plot moves forward, so does one's ability to engage with the story. About 30% in, I found myself rather quickly becoming immersed in a tale that I began to feel attached to. The characters were brilliantly intelligent and it was quite enjoyable to move back and forth between their minds.

And overall the story was enticing to the point that I actually found myself incredibly eager to finish, even staying up late into the night to get further through their tale. Looking back, I enjoyed the fast-paced nature of it all as I read it, but I feel somewhat annoyed by it now. I am back and forth on whether or not this book feels like insta-love to me, partially because there is a sort of distance between the two characters that leads you to believe they don't quite love each other yet, but rather are using each other for their own reasons. At other times they seem quite infatuated. The speed with which they were brought together was too fast and didn't really result in them getting to know one another at all.

It's an interesting place to be in, where several of the things I enjoyed are also things I did not like at all. And ultimately, I find that the fast paced nature of the story helped the novel as a whole by keeping my interest, but added some skeptical reluctance for me to appreciate the book as much as I might have otherwise. Ironically, as my reasons for avoiding most romances in the past has come down to my dislike for sex scenes in the novels I read, I actually did appreciate the way Kennedy portrayed both characters with their inexperience. As both were virgins, I found the realistic nature behind the awkwardness of them both a wonderful inclusion that I don't see often in stories like this. Even more, I appreciate that she taught him how to do things. That said, I still found myself wanting to skip those particular scenes.

In general, I won't say this is the best book I've ever read by any means. Though I liked the fast paced nature of it once the plot got rolling and I was past the first few chapters, I do feel as though some of it took away from the characters' ability to get to know each other. Thankfully, neither character is presented as being hopelessly in love with the other so I can forgive this bit quite a lot. I do think that the one thing this story has going for it the most is the characters themselves, who are all unique and well-written. Lia more than anyone is brilliant.

The novel is also set up for a sequel, which I wouldn't mind reading though I wouldn't be terribly upset to not pick up either. And ultimately, I think that sums up my feelings for this book. I enjoyed it, but I'm not in love with it.

<i>I was provided a free copy of this book via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.</i>

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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.