Name: The Promised Queen
ISBN: 9781250194350

Jeffe Kennedy

In The Promised Queen, the thrilling finale to Jeffe Kennedy's Forgotten Empires trilogy, 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.

The Promised Queen

Plot: 🎞️🎞️🎞️🎞️🎞️

Hero: 🦸🏻🦸🏻🦸🏻🦸🏻🦸🏻

Heroine:🦸🏻‍♀️🦸🏻‍♀️🦸🏻‍♀️🦸🏻‍♀️🦸🏻‍♀️

Relationship Building: 💒💒💒💒💒

Witty/Banter/Reaction of Laughter: 😂😂😂😂

The Promised Queen is the finale in the "Forgotten Kingdom" series. I was so thrilled to finally get to this one and it definitely satisfied me completely for a fantasy romance. This really just hit the spot especially emotionally. It was a bit longer than the first two books it felt like, but I was easily swept away by this story and I really loved the aspects of this married couple, the heroine recovering from her trauma and this couple learning to navigate these waters and having a coming battle to face up and plan for. And the way it all ends was just right for me here.

Queen Euthalia has just been rescued from being held captive from Emperor Anure, and been tortured and gone through some severe trauma. She still holds the abiding ring but the prophecy of it is still unfulfilled. Conri is so relieved the woman he has come to love is alive and is determined to protect her no matter what. But Lia is used to pushing people away to protect them. We have a hero who doesn't understand why he is being pushed away. But both Lia and Conri will have to learn to trust each other to really make what they have worth fighting for...

The Promised Queen was the best book of the series. I really loved the build up of the relationship that we got to see and seeing the finale and all the details really all come together as it should. It really pulled me in so quickly in the beginning and I loved the way in which this author built up the tension between them. I also grew to admire our hero so much. Lia is so independent and in control all the time, and seeing her really learn to let go and let him take care of her was superb in every way. I found it intriguing. The plot kept me on my toes, I was so fascinated by the plot of seeing Lia recover, the moments in the dark court, and then taking on the Emperor. There was some drama here and there that might not work for everyone, but I found it so entertaining. The third act was intense and not the way that you expect. The story also was finished out so right.

Not much to be honest with the story itself.

The narration was solid, but it could have been better. I think the narration felt a bit slow in the middle.

The Promised Queen was a satisfying finale that is guaranteed to sweep you off your feet. Its a stoyr that emotionally resonates, keep you on your toes with the twists of the plot and delivers the swoons in the end!

Character Types: Royalty, Abused Heroine, Alpha Male

Themes: Danger/Suspense, PTSD Trauma, Married Couple Pairing

If you like these authors, I recommend This Book

Lover of Romance 

Book Evaluation:
Plot: 🎞️🎞️🎞️🎞️🎞️
World Building:🌎🌎🌎🌎🌎
Cover:📔📔📔📔📔
Hero: 🦸🏻🦸🏻🦸🏻🦸🏻🦸🏻
Heroine:🦸🏻‍♀️🦸🏻‍♀️🦸🏻‍♀️🦸🏻‍♀️🦸🏻‍♀️
Intimacy Level: 🔥🔥🔥
Relationship Building: 💒💒💒💒💒
Heart & Feels:💞💞💞💞💞
Witty/Banter/Reaction of Laughter: 😂😂😂😂
Page Turner Level:📖📖📖📖📖
Narration:🎧🎧🎧🎧🎧
Ending:🧧🧧🧧🧧🧧
Overall View: ✨✨✨✨✨


First Impressions
The Promised Queen is the finale in the "Forgotten Kingdom" series. I was so thrilled to finally get to this one and it definitely satisfied me completely for a fantasy romance. This really just hit the spot especially emotionally. It was a bit longer than the first two books it felt like, but I was easily swept away by this story and I really loved the aspects of this married couple, the heroine recovering from her trauma and this couple learning to navigate these waters and having a coming battle to face up and plan for. And the way it all ends was just right for me here.

First Line
"Lia? Wake up."

The Main Protagonists
The Hero: Conri, Crown Prince of Oriel
The Heroine: Queen Euthalia

Summary
Queen Euthalia has just been rescued from being held captive from Emperor Anure, and been tortured and gone through some severe trauma. She still holds the abiding ring but the prophecy of it is still unfulfilled. Conri is so relieved the woman he has come to love is alive and is determined to protect her no matter what. But Lia is used to pushing people away to protect them. We have a hero who doesn't understand why he is being pushed away. But both Lia and Conri will have to learn to trust each other to really make what they have worth fighting for...

What I Loved
The Promised Queen was the best book of the series. I really loved the build up of the relationship that we got to see and seeing the finale and all the details really all come together as it should. It really pulled me in so quickly in the beginning and I loved the way in which this author built up the tension between them. I also grew to admire our hero so much. Lia is so independent and in control all the time, and seeing her really learn to let go and let him take care of her was superb in every way. I found it intriguing. The plot kept me on my toes, I was so fascinated by the plot of seeing Lia recover, the moments in the dark court, and then taking on the Emperor. There was some drama here and there that might not work for everyone, but I found it so entertaining. The third act was intense and not the way that you expect. The story also was finished out so right.

What I Struggled With
Not much to be honest with the story itself.

Narration
The narration was solid, but it could have been better. I think the narration felt a bit slow in the middle.

Overall View
The Promised Queen was a satisfying finale that is guaranteed to sweep you off your feet. Its a stoyr that emotionally resonates, keep you on your toes with the twists of the plot and delivers the swoons in the end!

Book Details (also in my shelves)
Sub Genre: Epic Fantasy Romance
Character Types: Royalty, Abused Heroine, Alpha Male
Themes: Danger/Suspense, PTSD Trauma, Married Couple Pairing
Tropes: Marriage of Convenience

Book Perspective
3Rd POV

Relationship Conflict vs Plot Conflict
Both

If you like these authors, I recommend This Book
Elizabeth Vaughan
CL Wilson
Grace Draven

Recommendation For Reading Order
Yes

Steam/Spice Explanations

Simmering cup of tea---soft warm touches and light intimacy
Warmin' by the fire- a medium level of sexual tension, a balance of sexual and emotional intimacy, lighter on the details in the sexual moments.
Steamin' up the room -the sexual content is more explicit in the language and tone, heavier amount of sexual scenes.
Blazing fire to the building-The prime focus is the sex scenes, scorching hot, and could burn one. Less focus on the emotional intimacy to the relationship.

Narrators:
Gabrielle Baker

Jolie

If you have been following my blog for any length of time, then you know how much I dislike reading books out of order in any series. I actively go out of my way to avoid doing this. Sometimes, though, books do slip by me. The Promised Queen is such a book.

The Promised Queen is the third book in the Forgotten Empires trilogy. You cannot read it as a standalone. If you pick this book up haven’t read the previous two (or, as in my case, read book one and not book two), you will be confused. So, for those in the back: READ BOOKS ONE AND TWO FIRST. You will thank me.

Because I didn’t read book two, I had a tough time following the storylines. There were several points in the book where I was like “Why,” “What,” and “How?”. I won’t lie; there was a point in the book where I was going to DNF it. But I am stubborn, and since this was an ARC read, I needed to read it.

The flow of the book was pretty good. There was a slight lag in the middle of the book (before Lia refreshed her connection to Calanthe), but once that was over, it righted itself. I will warn, though, that there are no warnings when the author switches over to either Lia or Con. There will be stars, and then it’s up to you to figure it out. Luckily, since Lia uses the honorific We (and its variants), it wasn’t that hard to figure out. But it might bog the flow down for some people.

Lia and Con’s romance was on the backburner for a good majority of the book. It wasn’t until the final chapters (mainly after the scene where Lia flipped her lid about Con’s plan to rescue the royal hostages) that there was focus on it. I enjoyed that.

The storyline regarding Con, Lia, and their plans to exact revenge on Anure and rescue the royals were well written. But, the climax of that storyline was a letdown. I was expecting more than what happened. Mainly because of Con’s whole “I want to smash Anure with my rock hammer” vibe that he had going on. The same thing happened with rescuing the royals storyline. I was expecting something to happen (and it did….kinda), but it just petered out.

The end of the book was interesting. Enough was left open that I wonder if the author is going to do a spin-off series.

I liked The Promised Queen but I couldn’t get into it. There was so much that I didn’t understand or that didn’t make sense to me. I did like the storyline.

I would recommend The Promised Queen to anyone over the age of 21. There are some trigger warnings. While the author didn’t get graphic (at least in this book), they were still talked about. They are torture, rape, and violence.