The Pages of the Mind (The Twelve Kingdoms #4/The Uncharted Realms #1)
by Jeffe Kennedy
What is it about:
An Orphan's Throne
Magic has broken free over the Twelve Kingdoms. The population is beset by shapeshifters and portents, landscapes that migrate, uncanny allies who are not quite human…and enemies eager to take advantage of the chaos.
Dafne Mailloux is no adventurer--she's a librarian. But the High Queen trusts Dafne's ability with languages, her way of winnowing the useful facts from a dusty scroll, and even more important, the subtlety and guile that three decades under the thumb of a tyrant taught her.
Dafne never thought to need those skills again. But she accepts her duty. Until her journey drops her into the arms of a barbarian king. He speaks no tongue she knows but that of power, yet he recognizes his captive as a valuable pawn. Dafne must submit to a wedding of alliance, becoming a prisoner-queen in a court she does not understand. If she is to save herself and her country, she will have to learn to read the heart of a wild stranger. And there are more secrets written there than even Dafne could suspect...
What did I think of it:
Am I biased because there's a lake in this book that's named after me?
Maybe a little, but only in so much that I made soft squee sounds when coming across references about that lake and the kingdom that lake is in. (Hey: when someone names a lake after you, you're allowed to squee!)
But even if there wasn't a lake named after yours truly, this is yet another story to fall in love with.
Dafne has been supporting and helping others for a long time. Her own dreams have faded, and she has almost made peace with the fact that she will always be the bridesmaid and never the bride, so to speak. Then she is send on a diplomatic quest, and she is pushed into more adventure than she could ever have dreamed of.
I have liked Dafne since she was first introduced in The Mark of the Tala. She's practical, kind, loyal, and a book nerd. She might not know how to handle a blade, but she does know how to handle delicate negotiations - words are her weapon - but when she ends upon an island where no one speaks the same language as she, that makes it a bit difficult to communicate.
But Dafne is no damsel in distress. She rises to the challenge and adapts.
I loved this story and the romance at the heart of it. King Nakoa is intriguing, charismatic, and knows what he wants. The romance between Dafne and Nakoa is delicious and hot. It was so good to read how they try to communicate and get to know each other.
The world building is once again wonderful. I love the exotic island Dafne ends up on and the secrets the island slowly reveals.
The romance and main storyline are resolved in this book (very satisfactory I might add), but there's enough revealed about the world that there is plenty of room for many more stories to come. I can only hope Jeffe will keep writing them.
I already pre-ordered the next book which will release in December.
Why should you read it:
It's a wonderful and delicious Fantasy Romance read.
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