Well KJ Sutton, for your first 'adult' book, you sure did kick butt! I think your imagination was very creative and it really shined through in your writing. My only complaint is that I think more time needs to be spent watering and caring for the relationship between Fotuna and Collith. I want to see it grow with more chemistry, more hard to get acts of flirting, more...more.

I loved the story line, loved Fortuna's character, and loved loved loved the magic in it. I just wish there could have been more angst in the romance department instead of the 'I'm taking you as my mate'...'Okay, fine. If you insist.' thing.

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!

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

Fantasy romance that I enjoy is something like a unicorn to me: often spoken of but rarely found, but something I'm always happy to see when I do find it. I'll be the first to admit that I'm awfully picky about romances. I like a slow burn, especially when it's complicated by a taste of the forbidden and realistic obstacles. I am not looking for romance that gives me instant gratification. I want the story to make me want it. And this story most certainly succeeds!

First, let's talk about the romance. The story doesn't rush into anything. Kennedy takes her time to truly establish her characters and setting before she even lets her main characters meet, and that time was enough to make me truly anticipate that meeting. Even once they meet, there is no smooth path. They are characters with very set ideas about how to go about their goals, stubborn and intelligent, and it was a joy for me to watch them disagree and snark at each other while simultaneously learning to respect the other's opinions. They are definitely a pairing that I can get behind, and I never felt disappointed with how Kennedy handles their relationship.

Second, how about that fantasy? I'm happy to report that I was quite satisfied with the fantasy aspect of the story as well. The concept of a magical bond between a ruler and their land is not a new one, but I enjoy it, and I felt that it was used to good effect here. Although the magic isn't well fleshed out yet, there are enough hints that make me believe it will be in future books. In the meantime, there's enough political detail to satisfy my desire for an interesting setting.

Another aspect that I very much enjoyed was the attention to character detail. Although the book has two main characters, there are also a number of side characters. Each side character has clearly had thought put into their origin and personality, which makes each of them stand out. Their relations with the main characters are also crafted with care, which made this story even more enjoyable to me.

In short, I really enjoyed this book, and I'm looking forward to the next book in the series!

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.

Wonderful storytelling skills. The characters were marvellous. The suspense was unexpected.

But the sexual content was absolutely awful.

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.

Book – The Orchid Throne
Author – Jeffe Kennedy
Series – Forgotten Empires #1
Cliffhanger? - Yes
Publication Date – September 24, 2019
Genre – Fantasy/Romance
Type – Dual POV
Rating – 4.25 out of 5 Stars

Complimentary copy generously provided by the author via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

My Thoughts - Story

I couldn’t believe how slow and wordy this book started out – there were so many times that I had to put it down to take a break. I even tossed around the idea of a DNF (and I sooo hate those). But in all fairness, I’m very happy that I trudged along, not giving up. Because about 35-40% in the action picked up and the story did a 360 where I was hooked and was completely devoted to the story.

Another problem (but this is a little one) was the switching between characters without labeling whose POV it was. Like I said, it wasn’t that big of a deal since within a few sentences, I could guess who it was but it would make it an easier read.

The world building is spot on and once we got into the whole story of Euthalia and Conri – it seemed as a vivid story unfurled before my eyes.

This would definitely be a solid 5 Star read if a bunch of the beginning is cut out – the less important things that happen which have no important business with the plot. I understand the beginning is usually used for developing the world and the characters…but there just seemed to be too much fluff.

Reason for Reading – NetGalley choice – plus I love this author
Story – 5 out of 5 Stars
Steam – 4 out of 5 Stars
Angst – 4 out of 5 Stars
Writing – 4 out of 5 Stars
Content Flow – 3.5 out of 5 Stars
Would Read More from Author? Definitely
Recommend To – Fantasy Romance lovers

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.

loved Jeffe Kennedys previous books but this one was very hard to get through most of the book was about setting up the "world" so much so that you never get a chance to really get invested in the characters, in fact I really did not like any of the characters at all which also makes hard to read.  I hope the next one is a better read.