Format: Mass Market, 400 pages
Release Date: May 26, 2020
Publisher: St. Martin's Press
Source: Publisher
Genre: Fantasy / Romance
A queen and her rebel prince turn from enemies to lovers while evil forces plot to destroy them in this lush romantic fantasy.
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?
The Fiery Crown is the second installment in author Jeffe Kennedy's Forgotten Empires series. The
book is written from both Con and Lia’s points of view (alternating
chapters), and that gives readers a full picture of what was
going on. The story also picks up after the events of The Orchid Throne with Queen Euthalia (Lia) of the Kingdom of Calanthe and Con, the fallen prince of Oriel and King of Slaves, navigating their marriage of convenience as well as getting ready for
the Emperor Anure's response now that Lia broke her betrothal to him to
marry Con.
This book dives deeper into the backgrounds of both Con and Lia. Lia is having presentiment dreams and forewarning of death and destruction that will ravage her country and wake Calanthe up from her slumber. The worst part is understanding that she was betrayed by her best friend who knew everything about her and that best friend may have revealed all of Lia's deep secrets to the Emperor which could really hinder Lia and Con's efforts to keep Calanthe safe and Lia out of his hands.
Con is a warrior itching for a fight. He, along with Sondra, Captain Kara, and Wizard Ambrose, have put together a rebellion against the Emperor who claims to hate magic, but keeps (4) wizards around. Con escaped Anure’s mines chasing a prophecy that told
him, "Take the Tower of the Sun; Claim the hand that wears the ring, and
the empire falls." One of the things that is driven in this story is Con's connection to Oriel and the fact that he is, in fact, the de Facto leader of a conquered country whether he likes it or not.
It's especially revealing how much pain and suffering
Con, Kara, and Sondra went through after Emperor made Oriel his first
stop in taking over the entire world. From being sent to a mine where he
watched his father suffer and die, to leading a rebellion, to sacking
entire supply lines, to also taking the Tower of the Sun before coming
face to face with Lia who is way more than she seems. With the stunning revelation of a spy within Lia's own lady's in waiting, it's just a matter of time before someone else betrays Lia and Con.
In fact, Lia is really a powerful woman who I would be wary of pissing off but Con loves to play with fire, especially when it comes to the bedroom. She's much more than a woman who wears jewels in her clothes, or wigs to cover her bald head, or an Orchid Ring. Her connection to Calanthe actually makes her powerful and not someone who will idly stand by and allow anyone, especially Con, to push her into make bad choices. The author does a good job of showing the conflict between Con and Lia have with
Anure, but also between themselves. They battle each other
as Con wants his revenge while Lia is determined to protect Calanthe and her people from being caught in the middle of an unwinnable war.
The final part of this book reveals some surprising things. When Lia is taken by Anure, she pays the price. When Con is snookered by Anure, he almost resigns himself to the fact that Lia is lost to him and loses himself in revenge at all costs. Then, the twists happen one after the other leaving a mouth dropping ending. At this point, anyone who has read the first two installments, must now wait for the third installment to figure out what's on the authors twisted little mind.
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