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The Promised Queen by Jeffe Kennedy – a Review

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The Promised Queen by Jeffe Kennedy – a Review

 

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Description:
In The Promised Queen, the fate of the world hangs in the balance as Con, Lia, and their allies sacrifice everything in a final bid to destroy the corrupt empire.

Claim the hand that wears the ring, and the empire falls.

Conrí, former Crown Prince of Oriel, claimed the hand that wears the Abiding Ring, but the prophecy remains unfulfilled. Queen Euthalia of Calanthe returned to her island kingdom, but broken in mind and body. With the blood of war unleashing ancient terrors, Calanthe isn’t the haven it once was.

Lia must use her magical bond with Calanthe to save their people while Con fights to hold off the vengeful Emperor Anure and his wizards. Con and Lia will have to trust in each other—and in love—to fend off ultimate disaster.

 

 

 

Review:

The Promised Queen by Jeffe Kennedy is the 3rd and final book in her Forgotten Empires series.  The story picks up shortly after the last book left off, with Lia having been brought back from death, and broken.  Lia continues with terrible nightmares, especially with her land being torn apart, due to Calanthe’s wild crazed reactions to her death.  Conri refuses to leave her side, and gradually she will work to calm and bring Calanthe into control, as well as recovering from her horrific injuries; such as losing her hand and the orchid finger. The evil emperor, Anure and his wizards who tortured Lia, are still around, but not knowing that Lia still lives, as they continue to batter Calanthe.  When Conri sees Lia continually faltering, he realizes she is starving, and needs his blood, which will bring her fully back, and in time, her injuries will slowly regenerate. Calanthe will then be magically restored, thanks to Lia’s influence.

As Lia recovers, she learns about their marriage that is now broken, due to her death, but both still love each other.  Lia knows Conri is out for revenge, and in her insecurity, she feels he will want to go home to his land; and since she cannot leave Calanthe; they may not have a future.  They made a great couple, over two books, their love for each other was very apparent, and I hoped somehow things would work out.

Conri, loves Lia, but he is determined to avenge what has been done to her, as well as save many prisoners held by Anure, some of those former royals of their own lands. Lia is a wonderful heroine, who is tough, independent, and steps up to strengthen her supernatural ability; she is still tied to the island, but opens herself to embrace her powers, especially to help Conri, when he goes to free the captives. Together with the team, they manage to convince Conri that his plan was sure to fail, with lives lost, a new plan gives them a chance.  Who will survive?

What follows is a fantastic fantasy set in a world of magic with an amazing queen who continues to learn how to use more of her powers. As we raced to the exciting climax, it was amazing to watch Lia become the Promised Queen that she was destined to be.

Jeffe Kennedy has created some wonderful characters, Lia, Conri, Sonia, Kara, Ibolya, Vesno, Ambrose, Merle, Brenda and Agatha to name a few. To tell too much more would be spoilers, and I do not want to ruin this book for you.  You need to read and enjoy every moment. 

THE PROMISED QUEEN is the exciting and satisfying conclusion to this wonderful trilogy, very well written by Jeffe Kennedy. I loved both Lia and Conri, who were fabulous heroes.  If you enjoy exciting fantasy, romance, great couple, wonderful characters, you need to read this series.

Reviewed by Barb

Copy provided by Publisher

 

 

 

 

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The Fiery Crown by Jeffe Kennedy – Review & Guest Post

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The Fiery Crown by Jeffe Kennedy – Review & Guest Post

 

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Description:
Following The Orchid Throne, Conri and Lia’s marriage of convenience has turned into an uneasy alliance. If only the two leaders could agree on something. Driven by revenge, Conri wants to attack Emperor Anure before the tyrant gets to them first. But Lia needs to keep Calanthe safe, and refuses to sacrifice her kingdom. Their ongoing battle for control has built up tension they’re both more than happy to release in bed, the only place where they find common ground. But Conri and Lia are developing deeper feelings for each other that are complicating matters. In the second book in the Forgotten Empires trilogy, Conri and Lia find their loyalties torn, and with Emperor Anure’s threat growing, will they be able to risk everything with each other before it’s too late?

 

 

Review:

The Fiery Crown by Jeffe Kennedy is the 2nd book in her Forgotten Empires series.  The story picks up immediately following the ending of the first book, The Orchid Throne.  Lia and Conri are now married, and though they are both attracted to each other, especially in bed; they both have their own differences how to move forward to fight the evil Emperor Anure.   Conri continues to want vengeance against Anure, who destroyed his home (Oriel) and his family.   Lia, knowing that Anure wants her and her powerful Orchid ring, is determined to keep Calanthe safe, even if it means her life.  The two of them continually argue over what is best, though when it’s bedtime, their sizzling chemistry takes over.

With word passed on to Anure about the marriage, he is now bent on coming to Calanthe to take the Queen, even if she is now ‘spoiled’.  Despite his unbending determination to enact his vengeance against the emperor at any cost, Conri begins to have strong feelings for Lia, though using her as bait, could cost her life.  Lia, is a fantastic heroine, who is tougher than she looks, and her bravery, especially nearer to the end was amazing. Slowly, she reveals a little bit throughout the book about her magic (she is an elemental), especially why there can be no blood on Calanthe.  A surprise twist here. 

What follows is a fantastic fantasy set in a world of magic, a flower island, and queen who puts her island first. The Fiery Crown is a much faster paced story line, with a lot of plotting and plans early on, and then the last half of the book was nonstop action, tense fighting, some of which held my breath. I will say that some torture scenes were painful to read.  Besides Lia and Conri, Kennedy created some wonderful characters, including Ambrose, Sonia, Ibolya, Kara, Raven, Vesno, just to name a few. 

To tell too much more would be spoilers, and I do not want to ruin this book for you.  You need to read and enjoy every moment.  Jeffe Kennedy did a masterful job writing this story, and I for one cannot wait for the final book in this trilogy.  If you enjoy fantasy, romance, great couple, wonderful characters, including an evil villain, you should be reading The Fiery Crown.

Reviewed by Barb

Copy provided by Publisher

 

Writing from Two Different Viewpoints by Jeffe Kennedy

When I began writing the early drafts of THE ORCHID THRONE, I thought of it as Lia’s story. I wrote it in first person point of view (POV) because it was her tale to tell, the perspective of an embattled queen awaiting the arrival of a dread enemy upon her shores. I knew Con first as only “the Slave King” in my mind, this brutal rebel who Lia would have to battle. In fact, I titled my first working draft “The Slave King and the Flower Queen,” which pretty much sums up the story right there.

Then I showed the first fifty or so pages to my agent, Sarah Younger at Nancy Yost Literary Agency, and Sarah loved it—yay!—but she also wanted moar Con. She suggested that I write alternating chapters from his POV, to give us more of his side of the story.

Okay then! So I began writing Con’s chapters, detailing the events that led up to him arriving on the shores of Calanthe. I wrote them in third person POV, to distinguish his voice from Lia’s. I wrote about a hundred pages of the book that way and we sold the Forgotten Empires trilogy to St. Martin’s Press based on those pages.

Before I finished writing the book, I asked my editor, Jennie Conway, if she had any early editorial input before I went any farther. Guess what? She wanted even moar Con. Jennie suggested that I write Con in first person POV too, so we’d grow to know him as well as Lia.

Let me tell you, folks—no matter what anyone claims—changing a POV from third to first person takes a great deal of work. It’s not a matter of changing pronouns. I ended up rewriting all of Con’s chapters, and writing from inside his head did change things drastically. While it wasn’t always easy—and I sometimes had to fix it in edits—I tried to differentiate their voices by keeping Lia eloquent and intellectual, while Con is more working man and staccato.

By the time I came around to writing the sequel, THE FIERY CROWN, I had the rhythm of writing Con and Lia’s perspectives. And, of course, now I can’t imagine the series being told any other way. I love going back and forth between their perception of events—and their struggles to understand each other. THE FIERY CROWN is a story about the personal war they’re engaged in with one another as much as the greater battle they’re facing. Their conversations are like sword fights in my head: with Con swinging his heavy two-handed blade and Lia delicately and precisely wielding her rapier wit.

Between the two of them, they just might save the world. If they don’t kill each other first.

 

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.

Her award-winning fantasy romance trilogy The Twelve Kingdoms hit the shelves starting in May 2014. Book 1, The Mark of the Tala, received a starred Library Journal review and was nominated for the RT Book of the Year while the sequel, The Tears of the Rose received a Top Pick Gold and was nominated for the RT Reviewers’ Choice Best Fantasy Romance of 2014. The third book, The Talon of the Hawk, won the RT Reviewers’ Choice Best Fantasy Romance of 2015. Two more books followed in this world, beginning the spin-off series The Uncharted Realms. Book one in that series, The Pages of the Mind, was nominated for the RT Reviewer’s Choice Best Fantasy Romance of 2016 and won RWA’s 2017 RITA Award. The second book, The Edge of the Blade, released December 27, 2016, and was a PRISM finalist, along with The Pages of the Mind. The final book in the series, The Fate of the Tala, will be out in January 2020. A high fantasy trilogy, The Chronicles of Dasnaria, taking place in The Twelve Kingdoms world began releasing from Rebel Base books in 2018. The novella, The Dragons of Summer, first appearing in the Seasons of Sorcery anthology, finaled for the 2019 RITA Award.

She also introduced a new fantasy romance series, Sorcerous Moons, which includes Lonen’s War, Oria’s Gambit, The Tides of Bàra, The Forests of Dru, Oria’s Enchantment, and Lonen’s Reign. She’s begun releasing a new contemporary erotic romance series, Missed Connections, which started with Last Dance and continues in With a Prince and Since Last Christmas.

In September 2019, St. Martins Press released The Orchid Throne, the first book in a new romantic fantasy series, The Forgotten Empires. The sequel, The Fiery Crown, will follow in May 2020.

Her other works include a number of fiction series: the fantasy romance novels of A Covenant of Thorns; the contemporary BDSM novellas of the Facets of Passion; an erotic contemporary serial novel, Master of the Opera; and the erotic romance trilogy, Falling Under, which includes Going Under, Under His Touch and Under Contract.

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

Jeffe can be found online at her website: JeffeKennedy.com, every Sunday at the popular SFF Seven blog, on Facebook, on Goodreads and pretty much constantly on Twitter @jeffekennedy. She is represented by Sarah Younger of Nancy Yost Literary Agency.

http://jeffekennedy.com
https://www.facebook.com/Author.Jeffe.Kennedy
https://twitter.com/jeffekennedy
https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/1014374.Jeffe_Kennedy

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The Orchid Throne by Jeffe Kennedy – Review, Excerpt & Giveaway

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The Orchid Throne by Jeffe Kennedy – Review, Excerpt & Giveaway

 

 

 

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Description:
A PRISONER OF FATE

As Queen of the island kingdom of Calanthe, Euthalia 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 Euthalia 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?

 

 

Review:

The Orchid Throne by Jeffe Kennedy is the first book in her new Forgotten Empire series.  We meet our heroine, Euthalia (Lia) the Queen of Calanthe, as her maids prepare her daily ritual in meeting with island residents or political cronies.   Lia keeps herself safe from the Emperor and his cronies who watch over her from afar.  When her father dies, Lia assumed the throne of her flower island, and has been successful in keeping the emperor distant, since she is fated to be his virgin bride.  All Lia cares about is keeping Calanthe safe from the evil emperor, and at the same time hide her ability to use magic, which the emperor frowns on.

Conri, our hero, is the former Crown Prince of Oriel, and a former slave imprisoned by the evil emperor, when his land was overthrown.  Conri and his friends, managed to escape, and he becomes known as the Slave King, building his army to fight the Emperor.  Conri is told by his wizard, Ambrose (who was a great character),  that he needs to get help from the Queen of Calanthe, as she has a powerful ring that would help them defeat the emperor; but prophecy says he needs to wed the queen to be able to use the Orchid ring.

As we learn all of this early on, the POV of both Lia and Conri went back and forth, being somewhat confusing,  and definitely dragging a bit.  I understand in many first books of a fantasy series, the author tries to fit as much information to introduce the world building.    I thought about 30% of the beginning was slow at times, until Conri arrived on Calanthe to try and deal with the Queen, only to be put in prison.  Once the two of them meet and the banter between them escalates, we now become totally vested; making us happy as the rest of the book was a pleasure to read. 

What follows is a slow build romance between two unlikely people that are pushed together despite the odds, and once they get past their dislike of each other, it was fun to watch them act the parts and then eventually join together in order to defeat the enemy.  But first they had to convince themselves, as well as consummate their marriage, which was more fun then anticipated. 

To my surprise, this turned out to be an enjoyable read, once we got past the early beginning.  The Orchid Throne centers around Conri and Lia, and the upcoming battle to defeat the powerful emperor, who will surely be coming for them, as he certainly couldn’t be happy that he lost his virgin bride.  To tell too much more would be spoilers, as you really need to learn all about Conri and Lia and see them evolve.  Be warned though…it ends in a cliffhanger, as the battle has yet to begun.   If you like fantasy romance, captivating couple and an evil villain and don’t mind a slow start to introduce you to this world, then I suggest you read The Orchid Throne.   I know I will be reading the next book.

Reviewed by Barb

Copy provided by Publisher

 

 

“Arise, Your Highness. The realm awaits the sun of Your presence.”
The ritual words cut through the thick smoke of the nightmare, bringing me awake with a start. A bad omen that I hadn’t come out of the dreams on my own—and a sign that gave the images the power to linger in my mind, stains refusing to be scrubbed clean.
The wolf fought its chains, howling in hoarse rage, shedding fire and ash.
The sea churned, bloodred and crimson dark, bones tossed in the waves, white as foam.
The tower fell into a pile of golden rubble, then to fine sand, the grains sliding against one another with soul- grinding whispered screams.
I loathe dreaming, where I have even less control than in the waking world. Calanthe Herself sings sweetly to me of the seas, the plants, and the creatures that walk Her soil. But outside our fragile island, the abandoned lands beyond cry like frightened children in the night. I can’t help them. It’s all I can do to protect Calanthe, and most days I de- spair of being able to do even that.
Still, with no one else to hear them, they call to me in chaotic images, the nightmares dashing me from one dark
scenario to the next. No matter how the dreams plague me, I usually wake when the light of the rising sun reddens my eyelids. I keep my eyes closed, pretending to anyone who checks on me that I’m still asleep. Pulling the pieces of my composure together, I listen to the morning song of Calanthe. The birds sitting high in the canopy to catch the first warming rays of the sun show me the sky. The fish swimming in the sea speak of clean water and plentiful food. Even the trees, the flowers, the small insects in the soil all hum to me of their lives.

All reassure me of the balance, that Calanthe, at least, is peaceful and vital.

Only I and the land I’m tied to exist in that time after sleep and before true waking, in what I call the dream- think, an almost enchanted bubble where I belong en- tirely to Calanthe. The emperor does not own me. The crying lands he’s orphaned are silent. My ladies have not yet woken me to wrenching reality and the trials of the day ahead.
Dreams always seem to me a terrible price to pay for the succor of sleep. Neither my naturalists nor my physi- cians seem to be able to explain the purpose of such dreams. And of course, Anure killed all the wizards, so I have none to tell me if magic can answer those nighttime screams. So without answers, and like the exorbitant tithes I’m forced to send to the emperor, I do pay the price, and nightly. The dreamthink is my reward, my time with Calanthe. A gift arising from waking Ejarat of the earth welcoming the return of Her husband, Sawehl of the sun. In the dreamthink, in Calanthe’s sweet communion, I can believe the old gods are with us still, that they haven’t abandoned us. That I have reason to hope.
“Euthalia, wake up. We’re ready,” Tertulyn whispered in my ear. My first lady-in-waiting, doing her duty as al-ways. She couldn’t know she’d woken me from the night- mare instead of the dreamthink. Or that starting my day this way meant it would be certainly cursed.

No one believes in omens or curses anymore. Or hope, for that matter. In this, too, I am alone.
Euthalia is a mouthful, but no one calls me that except for Tertulyn so it doesn’t matter. Only Emperor Anure has the rank to address me by my given name, and I avoid con- versation with His Imperial Nastiness to the best of my ability. Tertulyn has called me by my name since we were children, but only when no one can overhear, as etiquette demands.
As if she’d whispered them into my ear along with my name, the concerns of the realm immediately flooded my mind. The emperor’s emissary should have returned in the night and would want an audience with me—something I’d been dreading, as he never brought good news. Rumors had spread of slave uprisings, possibly even rebellion, as unlikely as that would be, that had the emperor both an- gry and insecure in his power. The worst possible combi- nation in a man like him.
If I believed a rebellion could succeed, I would rejoice in the battle to come. But I had no hope of that. No one could defy Anure’s vast power and ability to destroy the least whimper of resistance, as all those kingless and queenless lands testified, crying their hopelessness to me every night.
No, such rumors meant the Imperial Tyrant would only tighten his fist—one that already strangled us nearly to death. The prospect of worse to come made me inexpress- ibly weary, and I hadn’t even gotten out of bed yet.
Nevertheless, I had to face the day. A realm awaited the sun of my presence, after all.

I opened my eyes and pasted a serene smile on my lips.Tertulyn—already wigged, gowned, and decked in fresh flowers—stood a decorous three steps back from my bed, hands folded over her heart. All equally polished and lovely as morning dew, my five junior ladies awaited in a ring around her. They’d all been up since well before dawn to dress themselves before attending me. And yet their eyes sparkled as brightly as the birds that had shown me the sun on the sea, pretty painted lips curved in delighted smiles. Though I was only twenty-six, they made me feel old.
If a witch offered me a magic potion to remove the last ten years and restore my youth—and the innocent belief I’d had then, that my life would be a good one—I’d down it without question. Even if it meant my death the next day. No, that was a lie. I would never shirk my duty to Calanthe, not even for such a fantasy. Not without an heir
to take my place. No matter how old and tired I felt.


 

 


JEFFE KENNEDY is an award-winning, bestselling author who writes fantasy, fantasy romance, and contemporary romance. She serves on the Board of Directors for SFWA as a Director at Large. 

Her most recent works include Prisoner of the Crown and the upcoming Exile of the Seas, from her high fantasy trilogy from Rebel Base books, The Chronicles of Dasnaria, in the same world as her award-winning fantasy series The Twelve Kingdoms and The Uncharted Realms. She is a hybrid author, and also self-publishes a fantasy series, Sorcerous Moons. Her books have won the RT Reviewers’ Choice Best Fantasy Romance of 2015, been named Best Book of June 2014, and won RWA’s prestigious RITA® Award. 

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

Jeffe can be found online at her website: JeffeKennedy.com, every Sunday at the SFF Seven blog, on Facebook, on Goodreads and on Twitter @jeffekennedy.

Author website: JeffeKennedy.com
The SFF Seven blog: https://sffseven.blogspot.com/ on Sundays
Author Twitter: https://twitter.com/jeffekennedy
Author Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/jeffe.kennedy
Author Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/1014374.Jeffe_Kennedy
SMP Romance Twitter: @SMPRomance or @heroesnhearts
SMP Romance Website: https://heroesandheartbreakers.com/

 

Jeffe Kennedy’s publisher is  offering a paper copy of The Orchid Throne to ONE (1) lucky commenter at The Reading Cafe.

1. If you have not previously registered, please register using the log-in at the top of the page (side bar) or by using one of the social log-ins.

NOTE: If you are having difficulty commenting after logging in, please refresh the page at the top of your computer

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3. LIKE JEFFE KENNEDY  on  Facebook

4. LIKE us on FACEBOOK and then click GET NOTIFICATION under ‘liked’ for an additional entry.

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6. Giveaway is open USA only

9. Giveaway runs from September  25-29, 2019

 

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