Jennifer A. Nielsen

Ascendant King Jaron believes that his kingdom, Carthya, is at peace, so he and his bethrothed, Imogen, are sailing home from a trade mission when their ship is attacked by Prozarians, and Jaron and several of his friends are taken prisoner; the Prozarian captain seems to believe he had something to do with his parents' deaths and they also know a great deal about Jaron's long-missing older brother, Darius, the rightful heir to Carthya--who may be alive after all.

The Captive Kingdom (the Ascendance Series, Book 4)

Liz Hunsaker

Sydney Burns

Acclaimed author Jennifer A. Nielsen marks a return to the world of her beloved New York Times bestseller The False Prince in this fourth book of the Ascendance Series! In a peaceful Carthya, Jaron leads as the Ascendant King with Imogen beside him -- but the peace he fought so long for is not destined to last. On a routine sea voyage, Jaron's ship is brutally attacked, and he is taken hostage. The mysterious captors and their leader, Jane Strick, accuse Jaron of unthinkable acts. They are also in possession of some shocking items -- including the crown and sword that belonged to Jaron's older brother, Darius. The items unearth a past Jaron thought he had put behind him. Though it seems impossible, Jaron must consider: Could Darius be alive? And what does Strick want from Jaron? Against his will, Jaron will be pulled back into a fight for the throne -- and a battle to save his kingdom. Return to Carthya to uncover new secrets, high-stakes action, and Jennifer A. Nielsen's signature breathtaking twists.

The Captive Kingdom (the Ascendance Series, Book 4), 4

Ashley Wendt

I love the plot twists that just keep coming!! Another solid installment in this series!

Jenna T.

Aargh... I really wanted to enjoy this one more, but...
All right. The plot was interesting, the characters both new and old were fun, and the new setting was awesome (plus, yay!! Finally some actual pirate shenanigans!!!), but I personally think continuing this series was a mistake. At least, continuing it in this way was a mistake.
Jaron's story was wrapped up pretty neatly with the end of The Shadow Throne, and there was even an epilogue to give a little glimpse into the future. I think the author tried to get this next instalment to fit neatly into that epilogue without disturbing it, but she failed, imho. If she was going to continue this series, she ought to have done so AFTER the epilogue, AFTER Jaron and Imogen's wedding, rather than trying to squeeze more story into that year for no discernible reason.
I also really, REALLY hated what she did with (view spoiler)[Darius (hide spoiler)]. I hated that she (view spoiler)[not only brought him back from the dead (AGAIN for NO DISCERNIBLE REASON!! other than to manufacture More Angst and Drama™), but also made him an adopted son. It just really rubbed me the wrong way. I know this series is all about the Plot Twists and stuff, but now no character's death is ever going to truly feel real. In book 19, are Jaron's parents going to come back? Is it gonna be revealed that he has a secret twin who's actually five minutes older than him? Is Mrs. Turbeldy gonna return and reveal that she's actually his birth mother and the rightful queen of Carthya?????? GIMME A BREAK. And the other thing is that the apparent SOLE reason Darius agreed not to pursue the throne was because of the revelation that he's adopted? He didn't see all the work Jaron has done as king and acknowledge that instead? He literally didn't give up until he found out about his birth, and then boom, that's it. (hide spoiler)]
I also really hated how a lot of character development seemed to go backwards. I hate long series where the characters magically unlearn all of the lessons they learned in earlier instalments, just to manufacture more drama. It feels less like a story, at that point, and more like a shitty sitcom where nothing EVER changes and it's always just the same characters making the same mistakes and getting into the same situations. Jaron refusing to trust people and still struggling with learning how to do so? Imogen questioning his love for her? Roden questioning Jaron's authority? HAVEN'T WE BEEN HERE BEFORE?!
Grr! There were just a lot of really weird, dumb choices made with this book, and that's not even touching the inexplicably weird plot point that was the Devil's Scope. As fun as it was to read, I think the series would have been better off without it entirely. We'll see how things go with the next instalment—I hesitate to say "last" in case the author decides to prove me wrong on that point and come up with more contrived nonsense to shoehorn in later.

Cecilia Spencer 

OCTOBER 19???? YOURE TELLING ME I HAVE TO WAIT TIL OCTOBER FOR THE NEXT BOOK????


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you know when you start a ya fantasy series when you're the target age range for it and then you read the later books years later and then it doesn't quite live up to your mental image of the previous books you read when you were younger? yeah that's this.

while the captive kingdom may not be as good as i remember the false prince being, it was still pretty enjoyable to read. the characters held secrets from each other for 200 pages just for some narrative twists and turns but i guess i can live with that. i also just came to the realization that jaron is a lot like eugenides.

Sarah Vorobets

Sooo good!! I'm never disappointed when it comes to the Ascendance Series!! It's been my favorite series since 2019 and will be until forever!!!!

Sophia Pearl

I love this series so much, and while it was nice to be back in Jaron's head, I almost feel like the series was perfect with only three books. I enjoyed the book—don't get me wrong—but it felt different. Perhaps it's because I read The Shadow Throne when I was 16 and now I'm 21. Perhaps I wasn't in the right state of mind to go back into these books. Still, as much as I love this series, I think it was perfectly fine as a trilogy. It felt weird having a new villain, and some of the subplots felt a bit forced. I still liked the book—I'm glad I bought it and I will read the next one, too—but I think that it's kind of like reading the Percy Jackson Series and then reading the House of Olympus books. They feel like two entirely different parts of the same world, both good, but not as connected as the first five books felt—to me at least! Still, I recommend this book, especially for those who haven't read the series yet!

The Captive Kingdom (the Ascendance Series, Book 4)

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