The Fiery Crown

Forgotten Empires Series, Book 2

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?

©2020 Jeffe Kennedy (P)2020 Tantor

DNF

After loving the first book, I was excited to see that the second installment was already available. It might as well have been written by a different author. Intriguing, complex protagonists quickly devolved into tired stereotypes, one in particular being that a “strong female lead” means stubborn and mood labile...with suddenly zero insight, after hundreds of pages of building her wit, intellect, political savvy and pragmatic—though theatric—approach to running a kingdom. There are only so many pages/hours any one person can stand of self-sabotaging characters in a toxic relationship, without any compelling reasons. Alternating fighting and f*cking cannot carry a plot and I give up.