I really enjoyed this book! It had me hooked from the first chapter, and kept me on my toes the entire time! I loved this one!

A CURSE OF QUEENS

Will I ever get my fill of this world, these characters? I think not! No, what am I saying? I know for sure I won’t ever get enough of this world and these characters.

Gods, how long I’ve been aching to get my hands on this story. Amanda didn’t loosen up much about this story, so that was no fun hahaha (Yes, I pestered her about it on a frequent basis, lol). Felt like absolute torture, waiting for this book to arrive *But of course I still love you to bits and pieces Amanda hihi.

I never made it a secret; I absolutely loved loved loved every single page of the kingmaker chronicles books so far… I was, and am still & will always be, obsessed, really. Cat & Griffin’s story was a-ma-zing. But I’ll tell you; I’ve been so hooked on the bits and pieces of Flynn & Jocasta that were thrown at us in the prior three books that they were probably already my fave ‘hopefully to be-couple’ before I even started this book haha. What do I say? Even before I even knew Amanda was going to write this book I was already so desperate for this book to come to fruition. So yeah, safe to say my expectations were a bit high *no pressure @ Amanda, lol* when jumping into this.

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<quote>If fear rules your life, you’ll miss out on the rest.

As always, Amanda just doesn’t disappoint. This book is everything I was hoping it’d be and more. I love what Amanda did with not only with the romance between Jocasta & Flynn, but the story development itself as well. The story contains everything you’ve come to expect in a kingmaker chronicles book; friendships, family, sexy romance, fantastic banter, awesome Greek mythology elements, all wrapped up in an epic adventurous quest for the ages through a writing style that was yet again so easy to lose myself in and left me craving more instantly after finishing this book.

<quote>Loss never really left you.
New beginnings also meant endings.
Hope was what you found on the other side of suffering.

The romance… You might think beforehand that you know how everything is going to develop between these two, but Amanda added so much more depth to it and took it to a higher level. The chemistry and attraction… this book turned me inside out in the best way possible. The added scenes we never knew that happened before the events in book 1-3, like the prologue for example; Such a good way of adding more background and depth to the romance developing now. Suddenly it’s not ‘just a romance’ anymore, but so much more because Flynn and Jocasta are just ‘so much more’ and always have been *sigh*!

Flynn’s history regarding everything that happened to him and his family and the results of that being him not daring to hope and want for a love and family for himself… Heartbreaking! But Amanda wrote it so incredibly beautiful; that development of him opening up and trying to find a way to get the future they both deserve. His character gets so much more depth and development in this book, and whilst I was already maddeningly in love with him since his introduction in book 1 I am now even more besotted with him which I didn’t think was possible, lol.

<quote>”Why am I still here when so many others aren’t? I haven’t done anything worthy of being spared.”

*come here Flynn, baby, and let me hug you and show you all the love you deserrrrrve.*

Jocasta was also really well developed I think. We knew she was a strong and feisty character, but everything we’ve seen of her up to this book, was just the tip of an iceberg. So many more layers to her and I loved exploring them!

And the minor characters like Carver, Bellanca and Prometheus for example, are ones you can’t get enough of either. Their presence during the adventures happening in this book also made this book what it is; a thrilling ride and give you more reasons to fall in love with this world and characters.

<quote>Family wasn’t only who you were born to, but who you chose, and those you fought for.

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This book was one addictive read from the first sentence to the very last sentence. Story-wise, there’s so much happening and there’s so much room for ‘more’ after this and I am ready for it! For now, I’m going to treasure this yet again amazing reading experience. This was an #Allthefeels read for me and I can’t recommend this book and this series in its whole, enough. If you’ve loved the prior 3 books, you’re going to fall head over heels in love with this one as well. Many of the beloved characters make appearances but there’s a ‘freshness’ present as well, which keeps it so exciting! Happy reading in advance! Go pre-order this beautiful book; it comes out in October!

<quote>”I claim you, Jocasta. You will be the sun I orbit for the rest of my days. I will be your home, wherever we are and wherever we go. I will protect you. I will love you. I will always be yours.”

The Kingmaker Chronicles is one of my favorite fantasy romance series, when I heard there was going to be a fourth book about Jocasta and Flynn, I was over the moon excited.

A Curse of Queens takes place a few months after the ending of the third book, and while it can technically be read as a standalone, I highly recommend reading the first three books. It will give you a deeper and better understanding of the world, and of the characters—as all of the characters from A Curse of Queens play a big part in the first three books.

Now, while I didn't love this book as much as I had hoped, I still very much liked it and I was so happy to be back in Thalyria.

My biggest issue is that I think this story would've been so much better as a duology. I'm glad this ended in a proper happy ending for the main couple, but I believe the plot as a whole needed two books to be fully and properly developed. Some parts were rushed and it left me feeling really disappointed. I was so looking forward to see Jocasta and Flynn's relationship evolve, and while we had that at the beginning of the book, it then felt like the romance was placed in the background. The second half of the book barely had any moments with them together. I think the author just didn't have time to both advance the story and the romance, and so both ended up being rushed.

However, the first half of the book was great. I loved seeing Jocasta standing up for herself, and I loved being in Flynn's head and finally getting to know him better. The angst and longing were so so good, and I liked that Amanda did not rush that part of their relationship. One thing I will never stop staying is that Amanda Bouchet's storytelling is amazing, and the world she created is so brilliant. Some of the quotes in this book had me laughing out loud and crying. By the end, I was sobbing... for reasons.

A Curse of Queens left me wanting more and I am so excited for the next book! I love these characters and this world so much, and I just hope the next book will be longer so we can properly enjoy these characters and this world.

More from the Kingmaker chronicles... Jocasta and Flynn are terrific together after they got through all the obstacles The story is good as you would expect from an Amanda Bouchet book. I love the growth of the characters in this book! :) A wonderful story and great ending...

Thanks to the publisher for the arc.

I adored Jo and Flynn. They had my favourite trope—best friends to lovers.

They were so great. I loved their background history and their chemistry, the love and support for one another, the angst, the push and pull, the sexual tension between them, everything was so well executed by the author. The characters were not perfect, they had their own struggles and obstacles they had to overcome before they came to the realization that they are better together than apart.

I’m so happy with how everything wrapped up at the end. It was such an enjoyable book.