The Bridge Kingdom series
This is the best hidden gem I’ve come across.
A friend of mine recommended this series to me a couple of months ago saying it was one of her favorites. I put it on my Goodreads TBR shelf but since I’d never heard of it, I didn’t read it immediately. I was fresh off being disappointed in A Fire in the Flesh and The Bridge Kingdom is on Kindle Unlimited so I decided to give it a try. I was hooked from the first chapter.
Lara has been trained her whole life in isolation with 11 of her half-sisters to be assassins knowing that one of them will be chosen to marry the king of Ithicana as a spy and the rest will be killed. Lara was raised to think Ithicana is evil, and the king is the enemy. But when Lara gets to know her husband, Aren, and the people of Ithicana she starts to question who the real enemy is. It’s such an interesting story of the effects of abuse and how being in an echo chamber of only one point of view can be really damaging. Lara has never known healthy love before and it’s so rewarding to watch her learn with Aren. Also, Lara is probably the most badass FMC I’ve ever read. My friend said that when she runs on the treadmill, she just imagines she’s Lara and I love that sentiment!
The Traitor Queen (book 2)
Best couple chemistry ever and my favorite FMC? This one might be my favorite in the series so far. It’s an action-packed story of redemption for Lara. This book is also a fun heist where she enlists the help of her sisters! I do think Aren is unfair to her at times given where she comes from, but I was happy with where they ended up. Their novella, The Calm Before the Storm (book 3.5) was also lovely.
The Inadequate Heir (book 3) which switched perspectives to Lara’s brother, Keris, and Valcottan warrior Zarrah was surprisingly just as good. I was hesitant about the POV switch because I love Lara and Aren so much but this was such a good story. It’s more of a forbidden love story between two people of rivaling regions but with lots of stakes and great side characters. Getting to know the power of the harem and Coralyn especially was fun.
The Endless War (book 4) was by far the weakest book for me. I read the first three books within a week I was so hooked. This last one took me over a week. It had some silly plot armor, and the romance was cheesier than the others. The whole ‘ we must save Zarrah again!’ was a bit of a slog especially after we already got a heist from book 2. She and Keris’s back and forth also got frustrating and their dialogue got a bit eye rolley.
The Twisted Throne (book 5)
This was like House of the Dragon season 1. Where it’s got exciting conflict here and there and a whole lot of political maneuvering that doesn’t really get anywhere interesting until the end. The beginning and end of this were super action packed and fun. The middle dragged with not a lot happening and I didn’t get the chemistry between Ahnna and James. But that’s also difficult to compare to the unmatched chemistry of Lara and Aren, who are my absolute fave. It seemed more like they had a crush on each other and I didn’t get the feeling that it was love. Ahnna as a character also isn't that exciting to me. She's so honorable and follows all the rules (except when she chooses to wear pants). I miss the spunk of Lara and Keris's smartass and Veliant sibling humor. I'd rate this a 3.75 so I rounded up to 4. However, I'm still excited to see how the finale wraps everything up! And loved the Lara and Aren crumbs!
