In the Forgotten Empires magic is forbidden, dreams are destiny, and love is the greatest power of all…

A PRISONER OF FATE
As Queen of the island kingdom of Calanthe, Lia will do anything to keep her people free–and her secrets safe–from the mad tyrant who rules the mainland. Guided by a magic ring of her father’s, Lia plays the political game with the cronies the emperor sends to her island. In her heart, she knows that it’s up to her to save herself from her fate as the emperor’s bride. But in her dreams, she sees a man, one with the power to build a better world–a man whose spirit is as strong, and whose passion is as fierce as her own…

A PRINCE AMONG MEN
Conrí, former Crown Prince of Oriel, has built an army to overthrow the emperor. But he needs the fabled Abiding Ring to succeed. The ring that Lia holds so dear to her heart. When the two banished rulers meet face to face, neither can deny the flames of rebellion that flicker in their eyes–nor the fires of desire that draw them together. But in this broken world of shattered kingdoms, can they ever really trust each other? Can their fiery alliance defeat the shadows of evil that threaten to engulf their hearts and souls?

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Fly Girl’s Review

This is what I call an EPIC romance. The Orchid Thrown is the first in Jeffe Kennedy’s Forgotten Empires series. I know this one released last year but I decided to review it since I was given the opportunity to read the Fiery Crown before publication. Unfortunately, that one didn’t make it off my TBR pile until much later than I anticipated. So I’m giving you a preview of the series with the first book and I’ll review the Fiery Crown a little later. If you follow me, you know I tend to do multiple books in a review if I binge listen or read the series, so that is another reason I decided to do this one before I finished the Fiery Crown. It needs it’s own review and I’m sure the dynamics of this love story are going to change in the next one and I didn’t want it to go without saying how wonderful this love story was for me.

If you love dystopian, fantasy romances this is a great one. While Jeffe builds a beautiful world in this book, she also gives us a slow burn to hot off the fire romance. Both characters are moving towards something, they just don’t know what or who it is. They both think it is about conquering their false ruler, but really it is towards each other. Lia and Conri are both amazing rulers in their own right, and are determined to bring down the false emperor but neither realizes how much help they need. There are forces at work to destroy them both and if they don’t find each other, all hope will be lost of stopping the tyranny. So that is the build up. There is so much more in the book but that is it in a nutshell. We get a taste of dazzling courts and an island paradise where the land, flora, and fauna are all connected and how their Queen is truly connected to them all. The beauty of the prose takes my breath away in many scenes and makes the world building so worth it. On top of that there are fiery battles full of death and destruction where you start to see the opposite sides of the coin. Conri is the rough while Lia is the beauty and he is the dark to her light. The lands they rule are a comparison in the same contrast.

When they finally come together it is by fate they quickly figure out they need one another and must join forces. That is when the romance goes from slow burn into the fire…and I mean a hot fire. This is much later in the book so don’t be disappointed when you start reading, it will come. She lets us get to know Lia and Conri intimately before we see them together and that makes their coming together all the sweeter.

Among all of this, there is lots of court intrigue and machinations on all sides to try to control the Emperor and the situation on Calanthe. It is pretty much a bunch of lies, cheating, and spying to exert dominance over Lia. She, however sweet looking, is far from innocent in the ways of the court and the emperor. Her father prepared her well for this fight requiring balance between personal preservation and preserving Calanthe for generations to come. So we get to see how smart both Lia and Conri are, one in court and one in battle. Again opposites attract is the theme in this one and she plays it up to the nth degree.

There are lots of thought provoking statements made by both that continually make you think long after you put it down. If you love to be challenged and introspective after a book, this one is definitely a must read. I’m actually giving this a 5 of 5 rating because although this is book one, there isn’t a big cliff hanger and the romance comes to a head with some satisfaction for me. I feel like if I only read one book in the series it would be alright. Only I’m going to keep reading because I know it will be even better in the next books. So stay tuned for a review of the Fiery Crown soon and happy reading. Be sure to let us know what you think the book. We are always ready to have a running discourse on books like this.

5 of 5 Propellers

 

Up next in the series!!

A desperate alliance. A struggle for survival. And a marriage of convenience with an epic twist of fate come together in Jeffe Kennedy’s The Fiery Crown.

WILL THEIR LOVE STAND THE TEST OF TIME

Queen Euthalia has reigned over her island kingdom of Calanthe with determination, grace, and her magical, undying orchid ring. After she defied an empire to wed Conri, the former Crown Prince of Oriel–a man of disgraced origins with vengeance in his heart–Lia expected the wizard’s prophecy to come true: Claim the hand that wears the ring and the empire falls. But Lia’s dangerous bid to save her realm doesn’t lead to immediate victory. Instead, destiny hurls her and Conri towards a future neither could predict…

OR TEAR THEIR WHOLE WORLD APART?

Con has never healed after the death of his family and destruction of his kingdom–he’s been carefully plotting his revenge against his greatest enemy, Emperor Anure, waiting for the perfect opportunity to strike. When Lia’s spies gather intelligence suggesting that Anure is planning an attack against Calanthe, Con faces an agonizing choice: Can he sacrifice Lia and all she holds dear to destroy the empire? Or does his true loyalty exist in the arms of his beguiling, passionate wife–’til death do they part?

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Pre-order the final book now!!

The Promised Queen (5/25/21)

Connect with Jeffe Kennedy

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Jeffe Kennedy is an award-winning author whose works include novels, non-fiction, poetry, and short fiction. She has won the prestigious RITA® Award from Romance Writers of America (RWA), has been a finalist twice, been a Ucross Foundation Fellow, received the Wyoming Arts Council Fellowship for Poetry, and was awarded a Frank Nelson Doubleday Memorial Award. She serves on the Board of Directors for the Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America (SFWA) as a Director at Large.

She lives in Santa Fe, New Mexico, with two Maine coon cats, plentiful free-range lizards and a very handsome Doctor of Oriental Medicine.