A feast for the imagination…
Jeffe Kennedy’s The Fiery Crown, the next installment of The Forgotten Empires Triology, offers the second course in her aesthetically rich tale of romance and intrigue. The story picks up a week after the ending of The Orchid Throne [this review may contain spoilers for book 1 The Orchid Throne – read first before continuing]. While the marriage of Queen Euthalia and Conri was initially an arranged alliance for strategic purposes, they have quickly found that their sexual chemistry is slowly prying open the iron doors of their hearts. This budding connection is disconcerting for Lia and Con, who have kept their true thoughts and emotions hidden deep within carefully crafted facades, and concerning in that any personal attactments might derail their long plotted plans. The marriage also accelerates the trajectory of their inevitable collision with the ruthless Emperor, who has vowed to stop at nothing to claim Euthalia, the last true ruler of the land, as his own and utterly destroy the slave king and his rebellion.

Jeffe lays out a sensual and intriguing feast for the imagination in both the plot-line and presentation of each book in the series. Feasts are an age old tradition that one author describes as the consumption of an elaborate meal that many times includes entertainment. They are usually brought out in courses with each more impressive than the last. The Fiery Crown gives the reader a heart racing story with its building conflict as well as the blossoming sexual relationship between Lia and Con. Each book, chapter, and page builds the world and characters into a delightful experience. Jeffe’s artistic skill in painting word pictures captivates your imagination with epic visions on a grand scale. She wields words like the wind; one minute it might be a gentle breeze caressing your check and the next a raging storm that scatters branches across the yard. I found myself going back and rereading her wordsmithing out of pure admiration for the craftsmanship she displays. The Fiery Crown is so thoroughly captivating and entertaining, you will have a hard time putting it down once you start.

Normally, I prefer books over movies as a way to experience a story. I love being privy to the intimate thoughts of characters and I have a vivid enough imagination that I love to come up with my own mental renderings of the people and places. However, I would love to see The Forgotten Empires series presented on the big screen in the style of The Lord of the Rings cinematography. Queen Euthalia’s elaborate and refined image and her carefully orchestrated tropical island court juxtaposed with Con’s untamed and raw masculinity in a tale of passion and vengeance would make for a truly captivating movie.

The Fiery Crown, book two of The Forgotten Empires series, deserves plus a few more!! If only book 3, The Promised Queen, was scheduled for release before the summer of 2021.

A steamy romance full of political intrigue. While the second book in a series, I didn't feel like lost without having read book 1. Plenty of twists and turns keep you guessing and the characters have some serious chemistry.

Thank you to Netgalley and the Publisher for the opportunity to read and review this title. All opinions are my own.

Reviews by the Wicked Reads Review Team

Shelby – ☆☆☆
The Fiery Crown is the second book in the Forgotten Empires series, the first book, The Orchid Throne, needs to be read in order.

As the Queen of Flowers is getting to know her new husband, Conri, she's also realizing her position in the political fallout when shunning the Emperor. She doesn't agree with her husband’s ideas, and really fights against him at every turn but they do come to an understanding.

Calanthe needs to be kept away from any violence, but as the Emperor is determined to claim what is his, it doesn't seem feasible to keep Calanthe safe.

This book definitely extended the storyline and kept me interested once I got past the first 2/3 of the book. The first 2/3 was arguing, conversing, and traveling. The characters come together, but it most definitely wasn't exciting. Once I got to 70% though, all bets are off! It was like a totally different book! Action, angst, anxiety – all of these come together to make this story really come alive.

I do need to say that Conri, as a character, started to annoy me. He never seemed to grow as a person and instead just stays stubborn and bull-headed. I understand where he comes from, but he just doesn't evolve. Sondra and Lia both are able to learn from their circumstances and I appreciate that a lot.

Knowing what happens in this book, I will say that the third book is going to be amazing... there's nowhere to go but up with this story!

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.

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.

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