I really liked The Orchid Throne. I had been greatly looking forward to this book for quite some time. I am not sure if it caught the second book curse, but it was a great flop. I ended up DNF at the halfway mark, so my review will be for the portion I read. It was extremely slow. I found myself skimming many pages. It is a constant dialogue between Conri and Lia, reiterating their quick arranged marriage and the looming battle between Lia and Anure. Consistent lack of trust between the two, one stepping on the others' toes, Conri not wanting to be any part of being a king, Lia wanting to exude her dominance and also mystery of her kingdom, not wanting to share one tid bit of the magic that is so essential to protect within the kingdom. This battle between the two never stops and sounds like a broken record. The minor characters have even less significance to the first half of the story, simply thrown in it felt to try to avoid boredom with the two main characters. The romance that was given possibility in The Orchid Throne is only shared in little thoughts within Lia or Conri's head. And even so, it seems more sexual than any hope of growth to a real relationship. I grew to hate Lia and her tight locked secrets. And Conri for his lack of empathy and hard-headedness.

The first book was admittedly slower in the beginning but captivating toward the end whereas the Fiery Crown manages to carry the momentum from the beginning all the way to the end. Plenty of character and plot development, suspense, and blazing romance! A gripping read! I can't wait to see what happens next!

When I got this book, I didn’t realize it was the second in the series so I had to read the first one first. However, I’m glad I did. I love romantic fantasies and Conri and Lia’s relationship and story. There is a lot of intense action in this book and it keeps you on you toes. I can’t wait to see what happens next!

Wow! It took me longer than I thought to read this but it is a fantastic continuation of The Forgotten Empires series! An insanely fast rollercoaster that takes you to the very top and then drops you to the bottom. I loved every minute of it. And there’s more to come! There might just be hope for the future of Calanthe and the other forgotten empires.
5 stars!!

I'm holding off on reading this one for the foreseeable future because I didn't realize it was a sequel. While I feel like I could have continued with this one as it explained things briefly, I still wanted to see the first plot line play out before I read this one. I should have looked this up on goodreads or somewhere else before requesting this one

The Fiery Crown picked up where The Orchid Throne left off. The storyline flows seamlessly and I am right back in Calanthe where Lia and Con are navigating their marriage. They have an honesty between them that is unusual for two people in a "marriage of convenience." It is a strong indicator early on that there are stronger feelings present than either of them want to admit. They each insist their loyalties lay elsewhere...Lia's to Calanthe and Conri's to revenge.

The ebb and flow of this book pulled me in and kept my attention riveted. It was a well-done "book two." Sometimes in a series, subsequent books feel as if they are a "placeholder" of sorts in between book one and books three or more. The Fiery Crown was a strong book all on its own and continued the evolving storyline. Even though some elements of the plot were resolved in this book, there is a great deal left remaining. I also must say there's a bit of a cliffy at the end which makes me antsy to read the next book. As a sidenote, book three in The Forgotten Empires series is due out in 2021 and I truly can't wait.

Thank you to Netgalley and St. Martin's Press for this ARC in exchange for my honest review.

Revenge isn’t always sweet. In fact, it usually leads you down some dark roads and blows up in your face. The Fiery Crown by Jeffe Kennedy picks up just a week after Con and Lia’s hasty wedding. Exploring their new relationship, the threat of the Emperor, and to what lengths either will go to protect Calanthe, Kennedy delivers a fast-paced, thrilling fantasy with a romance to last the ages.

Queen Euthalia, Lia for short, is at a crossroads. She always knew that her kingdom depends on her living, but at the same time, she’s always planned for the inevitable…her death at the emperor’s hands. Lia has never shied away from this. In fact, while being the Virgin Queen, she’s played up the role as she secretly planned a way to kill her betrothed. Then Con shows up and ruins her plans. Yet her prophetic dreams haven’t changed. The wolf will tear her limb from limb before delivering her to the emperor. So she still plans and waits out the inevitable.

Con is a mystery to Lia, and without his POV chapters, would be to the reader as well. But my goodness do I love him! His new marriage to Lia is changing things about him, things he didn’t expect. He is allowing himself to remember his time before the mines, the goodtimes, and despite the fact that their marriage was unconventional, Con wants to emulate his parents. He wants whatever they share to develop into a loving marriage. For him, this is a one-time deal, something he will remain faithful too. The only obstacle is his need for revenge and Lia’s unwillingness to put Calanthe in harm’s way.

I love the character development in this book. The first book focused more on world-building, and while we still get the lush fantasy and expanding of the empire, this one focuses more on Con and Lia. Con struggles with reconciling his past with his present. He’s done everything in his power to forget who he is and what he stands for in his need for revenge. Lia puts herself behind her people. She will do what is necessary to protect them, no matter the cost. And the cost is high.

Overall I loved The Fiery Crown. The development of the characters and the new information we receive about the empire left my mind reeling. I love Lia and Con and how their relationship evolves from one of necessity to one of want. The lust was there last book, but in this one love develops and it is oh-so-sweet. If you enjoy high fantasy, adventure, and romance, you are in for a treat!

I loved the first book in this series and I loved this one.
Great characters and world building and the well plotted story that kept me hooked till the last page.
I can't wait to read another books by this author.
Highly recommended.
Many thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for this ARC, all opinions are mine.

Just as sweepingly beautiful as the first novel, this second in the trilogy somehow dodges falling victim to the 'curse of the second book.' If anything, I found the romance in this more appealing than the plot in the first (but that may be a me thing). The novel manages to tell a complete story while still leaving me wanting more. Con and Lia both evolve together and apart and it's a realistic, human, growth story. They're imperfect and they certainly make mistakes but I just want them to make it to the end and live happily ever after.

Why isn't the third book in my hands right now?! I need to know what happens.

The Fiery Crown is the second book in Jeffe Kennedy’s Forgotten Empire series and is to read after The Orchid Throne since these books can’t really be read on their own. Here we follow the ending of The Orchid Throne, Con and Lia are married and now they have to find a way to defeat Anure by really learning to trust and work with each other. This is actually quite difficult because the only time they ever agree on something is the conjugal bed. As I said the series reveals things slowly and evenly paced. You know as a reader there is an urgency for these two to agree on how to defeat the common enemy but they both have deep trust issues and in secrets about Lia and Calanthe itself and you know trouble will abound. Plus there is a third book so you’re kind of sure not eveything is going to be resolved here. So what’s the thrill about this book? Well there is fantastic storytelling where readers become invested with Lia and Con’s future, great plot building, and fantastic side characters that contribute a lot to how the main story evolves. But its also how Lia and Con’s characters are revealed, how they learn to trust one another and build something obviously there is no insta love here which makes the whole series just fantastic to read if you like realistic build up to romance. Really can’t wait for the next one!

When I read this I wasn’t aware it was a part 2, so I need to go back and read part 1. But it was intriguing and fascinating, and filled with passion and revenge (who doesn’t like that?) My attention has been fully grasped that I will jump feet first into this series and patiently await the next one!

A huge thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for providing me with an ARC of this title in exchange for an honest review.

In this follow-up to The Orchid Throne, Conri and Lia have formed a tenuous alliance. The fireworks in their bedroom still haven't translated to a trusting relationship outside of it. There are still secrets between them.

Soon, they will have to make a choice. The Emperor Anure is determined to crush the kingdom of Calanthe. The only thing standing in his way is the earth magic Lia is still trying to master and Con's battle cunning and head for strategy.

The sharp, veiled banter between Con and Lia kept me on the edge of my seat. They are so oblivious to each other's feelings. The cliffhanger at the conclusion of this installment has me waiting with bated breath for the next installment.

I have read Jeffe Kennedy before and I really have enjoyed her works.. The first book I ever read was The Mark of the Tala. I love her ability for world building! It just feels magical all the time!

Fiery Crown is book two in this series. I didn’t get to read book one but I feel like this was a book I could jump into. Kennedy did a good job of making sure you’re caught up and get the context of what’s going on in the moment without feeling that you missed out of a lot. In a nutshell the Slave King and Elemental Queen have to come together in order to even consider defeating their enemy.

What I loved about his book was Conri’s relationship with the queen and how they discover aspects of their relationship and preferences, This book I felt was also vibrant in its depictions of characters. I feel like the characters were unique and colorful. And the sex scenes were steamy! Conri is definitely hubba hubba!!! I rate this a four out of five! If you like fantasy and magic this series for you!

This was a free ARC provided by Netgalley. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

3.0 stars

You can read all of my reviews at https://www.NerdGirlLovesBooks.com.

This is the second book in a fun fantasy series that combines magic, wizards, sword fighting, and evil emperors. Conri and Lia form a fragile alliance to take down Anure, but still have a long way to go in communicating with each other besides falling into bed. They experience a small amount of character development, but almost no other character in the book does.

As with the first book, this book is unevenly paced. The first 3/4 of the book slowly plods along and focuses on dialogue between Conri and Lia, with very little plot movement. Most of the action occurs in the last 1/4 of the book. The action is rushed and huge plot points are dumped out, scattered and then the book ends. It's really frustrating. Another frustrating issue is that minor characters that are barely mentioned in the story suddenly have huge portions of the plan to kill Anure resting on their shoulders. It makes no sense, and is certainly an area where better editing could have helped the book.

Overall, this book furthers the quest to kill the evil emperor and free the world, which is the whole point of a second book. Despite my quibbles with the editing and pacing, I look forward to seeing how the series ends.

I received a free copy of this book from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

Okay, keeping it completely real... I was unaware that this was book 2 of 3! I went into this book thinking we were going to be completely wrapped at the end. NOT the case. A bit of a cliffy there at the end.

However, The Fiery Crown read so smooth, I flew through it. A seamless transition from the first book, The Orchid Throne, I was absorbed in the fantastical world of Calanthe. Intrigue, romance, and wit...this book had it for me. I loved the characters, whom stayed true to their canon and grew throughout the tale.

No spoilers...which makes it difficult to write a proper review, however, in the interest of fairness I will say this wasn't a complete filler book, like some middle books of trilogy can sometimes be. There were some storyline bits that were definitely tied up in this book, while still keeping the reader on the hook for more to come.

I voluntarily received a copy of this book from NetGalley and St. Martin's Press in exchange for my honest review and I look forward to the next in this series. 4 stars!

Thanks to NetGalley and the Marketing Team for providing an ARC.

Unfortunately, this was a DNF for me. Although this book was obviously within the fantasy genre, the pace was far too slow for me. I am quite sure my point of view may not be the popular one.

I did enjoy the dual perspectives, as well as,
the colorful characters introduced. That being said, I may attempt to read The Fiery Crown again in the future.

I love the world created by Jeffe Kennedy. Although the story is completely different, the mood reminds me of the first time I watched The Island of Doctor Moreau. There is something definitely going on with this island and I can't quite tell how sinister it will be. I like the guessing game as it keeps me on my toes.

In the first book, The Orchid Throne, Lia and Conri marry to create an alliance against the despot, Anure, but it turns out to be more than a marriage of convenience. Anure is coming and it is up to Lia and Conri to outsmart him. This is a fantastic representation of the enemies to lovers trope. What makes it really work is that the characters are multi-layered. Lia and Conri are not superheroes and have real vulnerabilities that make them likeable to each other and to us as readers. It would be easy to dismiss Lia as frivolous, walking through life like the citizen's of District One from the The Hunger Games. You might even say the same about the island, beautiful but without much meat. You could say that if you only look at the surface. There is great depth and like an iceberg, the substance is under the water line. As the story unfolds, the narrative gets darker and darker with a sense of desperation. There is a HEA for now, but it is EARNED.

Book two advances several storylines and introduces us to new characters that brings additional intrigue. There is a major ship battle, kidnapping, use of elemental magic, sacrifice, and a heroic rescue. So far, it is a wild ride and I'm anxiously waiting for more!

A good sequel to The Orchid Throne. Conri and Lia are married and struggling to trust one another. In the bedroom all is well, outside of it not so much. The focus of the book is them coming to terms with their relationship and building trust. It's a struggle you all. The book does lag here and there, but, overall is enjoyable.

Revenge can distract you from what is really important…

The length of time it took me to read this story is not a reflection of how much I enjoyed it. I’m sorry to say but sitting down and reading has become a bit of a chore. Living in a house with two active boys that have had all their sports put on hold, is not easy. Suddenly, they want to chat, they want to play cards, they want my attention. Don’t get me wrong, I’m thoroughly enjoying having my 16 and 13-year-old boys’ attention, but it is seriously messing with my reading time.

I thoroughly enjoyed reading The Fiery Crown and revisiting Calanthe and seeing Conri, Lia, Ambrose, Sondra, and Kara. I will admit to having times when I wanted to reach in and shake a few of the characters. I don’t know about you, but sometimes when I’m reading, I start to doubt things can ever recover or be right again. Then, I get to the end and shake my head at myself. Of course, a trusted author will not let me down. Of course, they had everything under control. Of course, it was always just a part of the author's dastardly plans to mess with my emotions.

In this instalment, we get to know Conri and Lia more and see their feelings for each other develop and grow. There are times when they doubt their feelings for each other. Conri is still determined to end Anure at ANY cost. Lia is still determined to protect Calanthe at ANY cost. What these two numbskulls didn’t plan is that their feelings for each other would mess with that dedication.

The relationships throughout the story are interesting. Lia is realising that it is hard to trust anyone. The one person she thought she could always trust, abandons her. Conri realises that he cannot put his friendships ahead of his wife. Both come to realise too late that they really must be each other’s confidant, friend, and lover.

If I could find one fault, it would be that the action took too long to get to. I needed a bit of excitement earlier on to get me heated up for the climactic ending. Talk about climactic ending…at times it was a little gruesome, but it had my heart pumping. I’m now determined to see Anure and his four henchmen DEAD! I’m not normally a violent person but they need to… D I E!!

I will definitely be back for more in the Forgotten Empires series. Jeffe Kennedy has captured and held my attention with this war with Anure. I want Lia and Conri to win and I want them to find happiness with their families close by.

Stacey is Sassy, received an advanced copy of this story. The copy provided is not the final copy and may be subject to edits and changes.

This is a fantasy read and I would suggest read I g the first book as this book picks up where the first on left off.
The author did a good job with the storyline and the characters. Lia is the queen of Calanthe and is determined to keep her people and kingdom safe. She is married to former Prince of Oriel Conrí and he is determined in revenge against their enemy Emperor Anure who destroyed his immediate family.

This was a good read and I enjoyed it very much