(Cover and blurb taken from Goodreads)
Official burb:
A warrior princess trained in isolation, Lara is driven by two certainties. The first is that King Aren of the Bridge Kingdom is her enemy. And the second is that she’ll be the one to bring him to his knees.
The only route through a storm-ravaged world, the Bridge Kingdom enriches itself and deprives its rivals, including Lara’s homeland. So when she’s sent as a bride under the guise of peace, Lara is prepared to do whatever it takes to fracture its impenetrable defenses. And the defenses of its king.
Yet as she infiltrates her new home and gains a deeper understanding of the war to possess the bridge, Lara begins to question whether she’s the hero or the villain. And as her feelings for Aren transform from frosty hostility to fierce passion, Lara must choose which kingdom she’ll save… and which kingdom she’ll destroy.
My rating: four out of five stars
This book is more NA than YA, so be warned there’s some spicier content. It’s also more romantic fantasy.
It took me a bit to get into this book, mostly because I didn’t really connect with Lara as a main character. But that was also one of the main reasons why I found this book so interesting.
I usually DNF when I can’t really feel the main character. Lara felt kind of other to me. She was a trained assassin, exceled at violence, quick to anger, and was supposed to kill the other main character, a more likeable king (in my opinion). Lara was everything I am not. There was some sympathy on my part for being married off to a stranger with an impossible mission, but that’s where it ended.
This book, I wanted to see what Lara would get up to even though we didn’t vibe.
I was not disappointed.
The romance was slow burn, and kept me turning those pages. The few spicy scenes were worth the wait.
The supporting characters added a colorful layer to the story, giving it sort of a “commoner” perspective as compared to the king/queen/royalty-focused plot.
And the ending. Nothing can prepare you for it. You just have to get there and have your jaw fall to the floor.
I’ll call it romantasy with a twist.
Excuse me while I go buy the next one.
(Disclaimer: I get commissions for purchases made through this link. This did not influence my review.)
