Crowns & CourtshipsBook 4: Royals of EyjaniaKing Benjamin is about to have control of his own home for the first time in his life. By evicting his uncle, he can finally become the ruler he was meant to be.Finally live up to the legacy handed down to him, beginning with King Alfred the First, and embodied in his own father, King Alfred the Second.But revenge is a dish best served cold – or at … dish best served cold – or at least lukewarm – and his uncle’s revenge comes just two days later when a press release announces Benjamin’s engagement.
To a modern-day scullery maid.
Katrín Jónsson took over her mother’s debt to the Eyjanian royal family as soon as she turned eighteen. Five years down. Only ten – or more – to go.
Until the king offers her a way out.
Marry him, in name only, for a year, then disappear. Her indenture will be paid off – and, more importantly, her mother and brother will be taken care of for life.
The wedding won’t change anything about her life because no one will know the truth of their arrangement.
A disconcerting incident softens Katrín’s heart toward the usually impassive king. But, even as she begins to fall for the man he could become, she wonders if she’ll ever be more than The Indentured Queen?
Crowns & Courtships Novellas are companions to the main Crowns & Courtships series. It is not necessary to have read the novellas to enjoy the main series, but they add details and depth to some of the secondary and minor characters. The chronological order is below. The first two novellas can be read in any order, but are listed chronologically below.
A Kaerasti for Clari (novella currently available in the Out of the Blue Bouquet Collection)
Dare You (novella)
Heart of a Prince
The Inadvertent Princess
A Royally Beautiful Mess
The Indentured Queen
more
I enjoyed this Carol Moncado book so much that I purchased the Audible book as well. Have both read and listened to the book several times.
Okay, I really wanted to read this book and see what would happen to Benjamin. He looked like he would have such an interesting story and I was right! Oh my goodness, this book made me love someone who had caused so much trouble before.The Indentured Queen was an awesome book to add to the series!
The Indentured Queen is the 4th book in Carol Moncado’s series, Crowns and Courtships. In this book, we finally get to know Benjamin better and read about him falling in love.
Benjamin had my heart from the beginning. Having read about him from the other books, I was really looking forward to reading a book about him. When you first meet him, he is kind of mean and standoffish. But as you get to read about him and see his thoughts, you get to see that he is a softy. Benjamin wanted so badly to be a good king, but he was also so lost. He had lost his father at a young age and it really affected him.
Katrín was such a perfect match for him. I loved reading about them falling in love. It was also so interesting seeing how their different aspects of life affected them. Katrín had lived a much different life from Benjamin, she had to learn how to work hard. But she was still kind, though she didn’t let people push her around.
It was so fun to read about their interactions. Katrín didn’t let Benjamin push her around and it made me laugh when she was sarcastic with him. At first Benjamin didn’t want Katrín to be with him, but then as he got to know her he found himself falling for her. It was so cute when he bought her things and wanted to give her gifts. Reading about their faith made this book all the better.
I also really liked the side characters, like Thor. Thor made this book so interesting and I loved how he cared for Katrín like a daughter. He helped Katrín learn to trust Benjamin and he helped Benjamin see what it meant to be a good king and a good husband.
I would definitely recommend The Indentured Queen. It was such a quick, clean read. I am always looking for good Christian authors and I am so glad that I found Ms. Moncado’s books!
The Indentured Queen by Carol Moncado
A marriage of convenience that is anything but…
My rating is 4.5 stars
King Benjamin had a reputation of being cold and impersonal. If you have read any of the earlier books by Carol Moncado, you have probably wondered what his deal was, like I did. I didn’t much like him at the beginning of this story. He seemed arrogant and uncaring. Yeah. Pompous.
As he began to interact with Katrín and they started their farce of a marriage, I almost despised him and wondered how in the world he could be the hero of the story. He was so focused on his “job” and doing the things he always had as part of it, he didn’t even seem to notice what Katrín was doing and how she was working herself to the bone.
Katrín’s plight tore at my heart. I was truly distressed for her. Here she was married to the king and yet was little more than a slave in his castle and he didn’t seem to know or care. She mentioned more than once on a date with him that she had to be up early to wash dishes and that she only had two half days off per month (you read that right. Only one half day off, two times a month!) and he didn’t even suggest dealing with her indenture to the crown in any way, shape or form.
Slowly, my opinion of Benjamin began to change. He wasn’t really cruel or even arrogant. He was, however, oblivious and didn’t really understand what it was like to not be part of the royal family. To be in need. As he became more aware of life, his more humane side came to light and I began to like him more. Then as I learned more about his life and his fears, I began to like him even more.
Author Carol Moncado likes writing marriage of convenience stories, and she is good at it. She has a way of making you feel the emotions of her characters in a deep way that almost hurts.
Read the full review of The Indentured Queen by Carol Moncado with a Preview at AmongTheReads.net
I couldn’t put this book down! I literally read it in one sitting. Carol Moncado is an amazing author!
I love Carol Moncado’s royal stories. Her fans have waited a while now to read King Benjamin’s story. He was not a very nice fellow in the snippets from previous books, so you’ll just have to wait and see what she does with him. The story was delightful and I devoured it. Loved it.