The adult fantasy romance debut from the USA Today bestselling author of STOLEN SONGBIRD and DARK SHORES.
What if you fell in love with the one person you’d sworn to destroy?
Lara has only one thought for her husband on their wedding day: I will bring your kingdom to its knees. A princess trained from childhood to be a lethal spy, Lara knows that the Bridge Kingdom represents both legendary … Lara knows that the Bridge Kingdom represents both legendary evil – and legendary promise. The only route through a storm-ravaged world, the Bridge Kingdom controls all trade and travel between lands, allowing its ruler to enrich himself and deprive his enemies, including Lara’s homeland. So when she is sent as a bride under the guise of fulfilling a treaty of peace, Lara is prepared to do whatever it takes to fracture the defenses of the impenetrable Bridge Kingdom.
But as she infiltrates her new home – a lush paradise surrounded by tempest seas – and comes to know her new husband, Aren, Lara begins to question where the true evil resides. Around her, she sees a kingdom fighting for survival, and in Aren, a man fiercely protective of his people. As her mission drives her to deeper understanding of the fight to possess the bridge, Lara finds the simmering attraction between her and Aren impossible to ignore. Her goal nearly within reach, Lara will have to decide her own fate: Will she be the destroyer of a king or the savior of her people?
“An epic, action-packed tale of love, revenge, and betrayal.” — Jennifer Estep, New York Times bestselling author.
I loved this book. An assassin sent as bride to a rival king? Um, so yes.
I loved Lara’s journey from a devious princess who’s been manipulated into thinking Aren is the enemy, to someone who must use her wits to help them both survive. It’s a slowburn romance, but oh, the tension was killing me. Just do yourself a favour and read it.
This book has me feeling all kinds of emotions.
It was AMAZING!
I loved every aspect of the story. The characters were great, their development was emotional and understanding. The jungle was life threatening, and the snakes coming in the room every time you leave it open… let’s just say I am opening my windows one at a time and watching for any snakes lol
I liked Lara a lot and I think she is a badass queen, but I do hate her just a tiny little bit because of the things that happened at the end.
Aren was reckless, but also charming, benevolent and a true Warrior King.
If I were one of the 12 sisters, I’d totally screw them over and get me Aren for a husband lol
This story compared to a lot of others that I read, loved and cherish, I can say that I remember quite a lot of this book because it had the deep kind of danger. And dangerous situations for the characters you like make you remember them well enough- even for a person with the brain of a fish.
Honestly, I would love to read some more from this author. I am hooked.
I enjoyed every moment of this book; from the brutal opening chapters right up to the conclusion where I literally screamed at my kindle!
This story has all the ingredients I love for a great read, slow burn, a little steam, betrayal, angst and enough adrenaline towards the end that my heart is still pounding 20 minutes after I’ve finished.
This is the first non magical book that I have read in forever and it was brilliant!
I can’t wait to read the sequel.
For my full review: https://www.bookishwayfarer.com/blog/review-the-bridge-kingdom-by-danielle-l-jensen
How are more people not talking about this book? It is one of the best fantasy romances I have read in quite some time.
A slow-burn romance –
Enemies-to-lovers trope – also
Fantastic characters & world building –
In short, The Bridge Kingdom has everything you could want & then some.
Rating: 4.5/5.0
• •
: The Bridge Kingdom
: The Bridge Kingdom #1
: Danielle L. Jensen
: 5/5
I absolutely fell head over heels for this series/book. The book starts off with a bang and from those first few moments I was hooked. It just had all the ingredients for what I love in a book. The book is Dual POV which I loved as well (we get to hear the heroine and the hero) and I loved the enemies to lovers vibe, the tension was nothing short of amazing. The pacing was exceptional and I liked how the story felt like it was easy to read and grasp. The character development was so good as well, it was beautiful to see Lara grow. Lara is such a strong character and I loved that about her. Aren was just as amazing as well and he’s definitely book boyfriend material. This book also has all the emotions and political games. This world is amazing and I can’t wait to read the next book. The only thing that disappointed me was… that I didn’t pick up this amazing book earlier!!
A lot of my reviews are also available with photo at my Bookstagram: @justmyfantasyworld
My Rating: 1/2
Type: Duet Series – Book1
Genre: Historical Fantasy, Young Adult Fantasy
Primary Characters: Lara, Aren
Narration: Dual POV
This book kept on popping up all over goodreads, Insta and Fb. I finally gave in to temptation and picked this up. Blurb and book cover were added toppings for temptation. Book 1 is wonderful and definitely more than I expected.
After first 2 chapters I was on verge of giving up, I couldn’t fathom ruthlessness of Lara. Luckily, I didn’t give up and in the end, loved this fierce Lara. Lara Veliant, the Princess of Maridrina and the daughter of King Silas was raised as an assassin. Lara has spent her last 15 years locked away in the desert where she’s been trained for one purpose; She was trained with the knowledge that she’d be married off to the evil king of Itchicana. She was supposed to be a spy and know the secrets of how Itchicana is holding the bridge.
Lara is bought up with knowledge that Bridge Kingdom enriches itself and deprives its rival, including her homeland. She thinks that citizens of her country are impoverished and starved because of Bridge kingdom’s greed. she is sent as a bride under the guise of fulfilling a treaty of peace.
Lara arrives in this new kingdom, expecting to be treated poorly by her husband King Aren. Aren is loyal and honourable, rather than sadistic and cruel. He is perfect. He’s sweet, kind, funny, brave, strong, a complete package. Lara’s newly bought freedom gives her the opportunity to see the gaming board in different view and perspective. Truth is slowly revealed.
There were no boring parts in this book. The political intrigue and spying made this a compelling read. Action is totally off the charts awesome. Banter is wonderful. Some parts in the end seemed rushed.
Secondary characters were adorable. Jor, Tarya, Ahnna and nana are cute and funny. Plot moved in fast pace. Relationship development is gradual and good. Writing style is perfect; it’s not complicated and it doesn’t try to describe difficult things either. World building is ok. I think, once we see more of Maridrina and Velcotta we might get better view of world. Romance was sweet, slowburn and natural, without being forced.
Overall, I totally enjoyed it! It was almost exactly what I needed at the moment. This is entertaining read with lots of action, intrigue, romance, politics, lies, betrayal and love.
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This book has be HOOKED from start to end!
“I will be the next queen of Ithicana, and I will bring the Bridge Kingdom to its knees”
Our female protagonist, Lara, is the definition of a badass. From the start, she was fearless, captivating, smart, powerful, ruthless. All her actions are based on love for her 12 sisters.
Her father, the king, raised her and her sisters as weapons destined to one day be married off to the evil enemy king. But not without an ulterior motive… to undermine the evil kings kingdom and destroy them all. The only way to save her starving country. Little does she know she was being lied too.
You want a strong female lead! Lara is it! You want enemies to lovers, the ‘I was sent to destroy you’ trope, spies, betrayals, epic romance, heart break. This is it!
Amazing writing, light fantasy. Absolutely incredible and easy to read
OH MY GOOOD! this was painful. So painful. *inserts one billion eye rolls* Whoever said this was an amazing, chaotic, spicy book needs to start reading more. This was the most boring, excruciating read of my life, and I survived A Crown of Gilded Bones. This was better written than COGB, that’s the only reason I gave this 1 star.
The repetitive plot, Jesus Christ, how many monologues can one character have about “fighting for their people?”, “I am a good person” “I am not a good person”,”The queen”, “the king”, “I am not worthy of you”, “I am in awe of you”, “he will not forgive me for my betrayal”, bitch what betrayal? You haven’t MOVED. This entire book was written using the same monologue. You haven’t done a single thing worthy of notice. Enemies to lovers my ass! I have no words for how much I hated the lack of development and complexity of this entire plot.
These characters have the personality of a stale cream puff. Not a single memorable character, not a single worthy development, nothing happened in this entire book. I felt like I was reading the same chapter over and over again. I can’t even formulate a good review because of how much I hated this experience. I hated even more because I forced myself to finish it. I wanted to be able to criticize this in the most informed way. However my anger won’t let me be concise.
I am never trusting some of y’all recommendations again. People were raving about this book online like it was the best thing you’ve ever read. Repetitive, lacked complexity, none of the characters were memorable or had a real personality. No spice at all, exhaustingly long and absurdly boring monologues.
Oh look at me! I am the MC! I am breathtakingly beautiful and a trained assassin! However I won’t do a single thing with my skill set. Wow! My love interest always says how wild and how ruthless I am! Even though the sack of potatoes at the villages farmers market has more personality than I do. Oh, have I mentioned I am a good person deep down? I care about my people, I want to heal everyone and spend all my time helping the youth of my kingdom!! You will hear the love interest kiss my ass for 300 pages! *vomits*
She is not a bad writer when it comes to grammar and sentence structure, this book just lacked creativity and personality. Some people shouldn’t attempt fantasy if they are going to write it like a fanfic. That’s it. Terrible almost non existent world building. I swear it was like swallowing an entire bowl of unseasoned rice. That’s my rant. Sorry. I don’t mean to be to harsh but I do. I’m mad I wasted so much time to finish this thinking it was going to get better.
An arrangement marriage between the enemy Kingdoms of Maridrina and The Bridge Kingdom, sees twenty yo Princess Lara Veliant married to the King of the Bridge Kingdom, in a quick and unassuming wedding at the Ithicanian outpost of Southwatch. Lara begins her new life as Queen but her marriage is doomed from the start because Lara is not what she seems… a wolf in sheep’s clothing! Committing the ultimate betrayal to her husband, the Kingdom and its people, Lara makes it her life’s mission to fix what she’s broken, and save Ithicana from annihilation; even if she has to pay the ultimate price with her life!
This new action packed enemies to lovers series will keep you on the edge of your seat. I particularly love the way it started, it was absolutely enthralling and totally unexpected, with so many twists and turns in the storyline, you will love everything about this book! Our heroine is such an agitator, you can’t help but fall in love with her, and Aren is one upstanding and idealistic individual, who dreams of a better future for himself, his children and his countrymen… and is prepared to pay the ultimate sacrifice, his happiness, to order to make it happen. Bring on book two!
I can’t tell you how much I loved this book!!
It’s AMAZING!!
This book hooked me from chapter one! And I couldn’t put it down.
I loved the characters, the romance, the plot, the world-building, the writing, absolutely everything about it!
The story is so engaging and intriguing that you just have to keep reading. And, honestly, I was heart-clenched the whole second part of the book. And GIRL! what an ending! just PERFECTION!!!
I have to say that maybe some things were a bit predictable, it didn’t matter much because Danielle wrote with such engage that it was amazing nonetheless.
Of course, I’m going to start The Traitor Queen tonight. Cause’ girl, I need more of this world and more of Lara and Aren!
If you love fantasy, enemies to lovers, action, look no further THIS IS YOUR BOOK! Also, if you want to start reading fantasy, this is the perfect book to start with. You won’t regret it!
The Bridge Kingdom had been on my radar for a while, thanks bookstagram! And I needed a “palate” cleanser and thought this was the time to dive into this one. I am so happy I got to it.
Having Lara and Aren’s POV gave the story an extra oomph! There’s a lot going on and being able to see how each of them reacts/processes things helped me get more into the story than if there was only the one POV.
Danielle had me laughing out loud with a lot of the situations Lara gets into. It was funny, how Aren thought what he wanted in a wife and was disappointed that Lara “wasn’t” it and seeing him eat his words when he learned the truth. That ending broke my heart!
Lara and Aren’s story is brilliant, I love the world-building, the characters, all the setting and plotline was done so good. This series is one I will be recommending for any NA Fantasy reader. The audiobook is narrated by Lauren Fortgang and James Patrick Cronin and they both did an amazing job, the editing and mixing were fantastic, definitely worth getting it.
This book sucks you in from the very 1st few sentences all the way to the end. It leaves you wanting to start book 2 ASAP.
***I would say fans of Throne of glass series and From blood and ash would love this book! I know I did!!
What wouldn’t you do for the love of your kingdom? To protect your sisters? Become an assassin sent to the bed of the enemy kingdom, only to find out your world is built on lies.
Spicy
Have you guys read it?
Author: Danielle L. Jensen
Series: The Bridge Kingdom
Book 1
Rating:4/5
I finally read it, I’ve been hearing about this book for a long while now.
The Bridge Kingdom is filled with political intrigue, espionage and war. It’s mind blowing.
Lara is the daughter of the king of Maridrina. She’s was raised believing the kingdom of Ithicana is responsible for all of her peoples hardships. Trained to be a warrior, spymaster and assassin. Her mission is to win the heart of the Ithicanian king and destroy his kingdom from within.
But not everything is as it seems.
Aren is loyal and honorable man, his mission is to keep safe Ithicana most prized possession, it’s people. He’s willing to marry the Maridrinian princess in order to fulfill a 15 year old peace treaty and keep his people safe.
Lara and Aren’s chemistry is off the roof. The action scenes are amazing. The plot, the characters everything was on point.
It’s no secret that one of my favorite tropes is enemies to lovers and this book is one of the best I’ve ever read.
Don’t get me started with all the sea scenes. Cold sweat ran down my back. Sharks are one of my biggest fears and this book OMG, it had me with a white knuckle grip. It was amazing.
The ending had me dying, I didn’t realized I was on the last page and I was shocked. Thankfully I already have the second book.
If you enjoy and amazing plot, off the charts chemistry, action and angst this is the book for you.
I love enemies to lovers, and add in a fantastic original world and I’m hooked.
This was so damn good! I very rarely finish a book in two days nowadays, but I could not put this book down. It’s got romance, intrigue, politics, battles, banter, a badass heroine and a swoon-worthy hero, a really cool fantasy world, excellent world-building, deception and betrayal. Just, gah!
Do yourself a favour and give it a read if you like adult fantasy romance.
I enjoyed a lot this book. It has great characters and a captivating story.
It’s an arranged married between the heirs of to enemy kingdoms. I love Lara and Aren and their dynamics. They’re both attracted to each other physically but don’t trust each other at all. There’s a great evolution of the characters during their journey, from being total strangers to become a united and solid couple.
There’re plenty of adventures for the main characters but also evil villains that sometimes are where we don’t expect. It’s a slow burn romance with a lot of plot regarding the kingdom strategies going on and appealing secondary characters.
Very enjoyable book and well written.
New favorite series alert!
This book consumed me from the opening chapter. The characters swept me away. The world pulled me in. Lara and Aren’s mistrust of one another, mixed with their devastating chemistry, was hot. The tension throughout had me listening intently. Lauren Fortgang’s narration was just perfect. I actually preferred her reading Aren’s parts more than the male narrator during Aren’s POV chapters.
One little extra that I loved in the audiobook was the sound of thunder and rain between chapters. It created a really cool ambiance.
This is one I’m happy I came into late so that I could immediately begin listening to book 2 as soon as I finished 1. (Waiting would have been torture.) Highly recommend and plan on gifting.
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