abbooks

[abbooks]

The Bridge Kingdom

Danielle L. Jensen

Genres: Enemies to lovers (swoon), Political Intrigue, Romantacy (kind of).

A desert. Sand. Heat. Dry and desolate. Isolated. An island where it never stops raining. The land is lush and green and wild. Snakes roam just as freely as house cats. What do these two places have in common? A beautiful and fearsome assassin and queen.

Listen listen listen. Danielle Jensen is genuinely one of my favorite authors right now. She writes such powerful FMC and her take on Lara is heart-stopping, jaw-dropping, and I am completely obsessed.

The book follows "Princess" Lara and her many sisters who are all the same age due to a king who over-procreates. All of the sisters have different mothers. The girls are taken from their mothers as children and raised in isolation from the rest of the world with only the support of one another and their masters and guards. MASTERS AND GUARDS. These young women are being raised to be wives and assassins.

Many years ago (about a decade or so) the king (Lara's father/sire) made a deal with the Bridge Kingdom that when his daughter comes of age she will wed the prince of their kingdom (his name is Aren). Through years of training, some sisters die and some go a little nuts but Lara realizes her father's plan. He will kill all but one because he can't imagine having 12 daughters that he brutalized and trained to be assassins having the freedom to take their revenge. I'm not saying he's right... I'm just saying he's not wrong.

AND LISTEN- Lara loves her sisters deeply but she is a poison expert and wants to survive. You do the math. Through her own espionage and talents she proves that she is the best of the assassins and the best of the sisters. She ultimately is chosen to marry Aren in the Bridge Kingdom. She uses her tools of seduction, poison, womanhood and her abilities to kill to bring her closer to Aren with the hopes of overrunning the kingdom and ultimately conquering it for her father.

As with every good love story... nothing ever goes according to plan. Falling for Aren was not her father's plan but the years of isolation and affection actively work against him. Instead of raising and honing a weapon, he did something far greater and more dangerous. He sharpened the blade and gave a beautiful young woman the tools and education to take over the world if she chooses to. Imagine if all of the sisters were still alive.

Except, we find out that they are. Lara had refused to kill her sisters... she only poisoned them a little.... Creative, passionate, and affectionate to a fault Lara plans to reunite her sisters and beat her father and his oppressive kingdom. Unfortunately, she has to destroy her love life and her new home to do it.

This is one of the sleeper books that crept up on me. I devoured it and fell in love with Lara. Some of the story is a little cliche but by far the women are all unique in their own right. I love when women write women because some are kind, some are fearsome, some are righteous but they are all women.

Out of 10 I give this entire series an 8.5.

Out of 5

Enemies to lovers: 5 Political Drama: 3 Emotional Depth: 3 (Lara starts out too dense for me to feel anything real for her) Atmosphere: 5 Would I recommend it? Hell. Yes. Reading experience? High stakes and pure escapism. ADHD friendly? Sure but only if history and politics are one of your interests

Who is this for? The Bridge Kingdom is for the girlies who fixate on historical dramas, love a slow burn, consider themselves to be fierce and a force to be reconned with and sometimes are afraid of asking for a helping hand.

Core themes: Feminine Rage, found family, trauma and healing, power/politics/betrayal, and healing those ties that you broke, learning to trust

Not smutty but some sex and steam.

This book made me feel everything from a deeply rooted love for my own sister to a very powerful lust for my man. Ithicana and the Bridge Kingdom became a home to me. The structure of the communities and the love they felt for their leaders and one another made me feel like this is a place that I could belong... a place that would accept me.

The plot was beautiful but the scenery will stay with me forever. Danielle Jensen is beyond good at what she does and I will be reading and re-reading this book until the bindings break. If you love Throne of Glass and Celeana then Lara and her Bridge Kingdom are for you.

[abbooks]

Coffee for me. Add a rainy day and an open window? We are so back.

A cup of tea + a soft blanket + a new book = PERFECTION✨✨✨

[abbooks]

I love when a character speaks to me because he or she is mine. I love finding pieces of myself in a character without the character being self insert.

[abbooks]

[abbooks]

About me

Long time reader, first time reviewed.

Name: Ashley (she/her/hers) but will also accept (they/them/theirs). I am 27 with love, hope, and aspirations in a time when I feel like the world does not want me to have those things.

I have been an avid reader since I was very young. Definitely a way to escape some personal traumas, trials, and tribulations. Such is the way of growing up in small towns with low tolerances. I am back into reading again due to some similar occurances except this time they are at a global scale.

I am currently finishing up my MS/MPH and have been reading to pass the time. I am exhausted, overworked, and unemployed. Life goes on. I start my new job in about a month and I will be moving in with my long term partner when I begin that job as well. Lots of very exciting life changes happening for me.

I am writing a thesis on HIV risk behaviors and health related quality of life which I plan on publishing on my tumblr when it is complete. I hope its received well because I have worked so insanely hard on it.

I have a dog (Murray) and a cat (Margo). They are both black (black lab and black kitty) and they are both older. My life is full of drama that hopefully will be funny to read about as I update intermittently between reviews on books I have read.

I am a safe space for all communities and am happy to assist in connecting you to resources that could help you in any situation.

I want to eventually make booktoks but I am nervous about posting myself on socials maybe. https://pin.it/4iljzpsPv this is my personal pinterest board that I update as my aesthetic and I have many boards you can follow.

Interests include: books obviously, my family sometimes, my boyfriend/partner when he acts right (he always acts right and I love him a lot), my pets, interior decorating, writing and journaling, public health, my thesis, helping people, loving things, studying, art even though I can't do art, instagram, my family and love and life. I like hiking and being outside. I am allergic to flies which I didn't know that was a thing. I have an immunodeficiency that I work really hard to manage. I don't use AI for anything on this page. I mostly read roman or green mythology but I prefer fiction. I don't watch a ton of TV because I spend most of my time working. I am into LoFi and easy going music but I will link my spotify sometime. I have my BS in microbiology, I have worked closely with the Moderna Vaccine. I lived in Hawaii for some time.

I love sunflowers, peonies, gardening, fall, rain, soft colors, dramatic speeches, love, the ocean, the mountains, mythology and psychology and the way one can explain the other, the moon, winning, being right, being wrong, learning, spite, anger, humanness, prophecy, Taylor Swift, lyrically beautiful music, caffeine, home, Gilmore Girls, beautiful things, the word ethereal, and the Throne of Glass series.

I am bipolar 2, have generalized anxiety disorder, clinical depression, and probably some other things I am forgetting. I work hard to manage it and I am medicated and managing. I am lucky. I have hypermobile EDS, arthritis, mast cell activation syndrome (MACS), chronic fatigue, and postural orthostatic hypertension (POTS). I was a collegiate athlete turned woman with chronic illness. In the last year I have torn both of my ACLs/MCLs, had full joint reconstruction on both of my ankles, managed to break my tibia, and continue to get out of bed and try not to hurt myself. Some days are better than others.

Favorite thing to say currently: "No revenge becaue I admire the way I grow after going through hard things and you're exactly where I left you"

[abbooks]

Heartless Hunter/Rebel Witch Review

I know that I literally just said I would try not to review series that are unfinished but I am going to start with this Kristen Ciccarelli unfinished duology.

Art taken from Dmueret on Pinterest https://www.pinterest.com/pin/1900024838983209/

Heartless Hunter was so good that it had me waiting on the edge of my seat for the Rebel Witch second installment. Heartless Hunter was a new take on an old story to me and I always enjoy a good heroine. The FMC was strong, independent, and truly did not need a man beyond what society needed from her. Rune is a beautiful, smart, and kind young woman navigating the world after the death of her grandmother with the assistance of very good friends. She is also a witch and a witch-savior in a society that is deeply afraid of blood witches. She uses the power of her femininity to her advantage in more ways than one (iykyk).

Then she meets her heartless witch hunter who is so fueled by hate and anger that he can't see what is right in front of him... until it's too late. In the way that all great love stories go, if they had just taken their heads out of their asses for a minute and looked around. When they finally realize it, they are too late.

Rune sacrifices so much of herself for the good of her people, the people she loves, and ultimately a society that deems her unworthy of safety and kindness in more ways than one. This was so frustrating to me as someone who saw so much of myself in Rune. Her heart was so filled with love and kindness but it was overshadowed with the obligations she felt she had to fulfill.

There are so many wonderful twists and turns in book 1 that are devastating and so real even in a book that has very little in the way of fact. (There are some historical facts and witch-hunt validity here).

With all of the love I felt for book one, when book 2 released I jumped on it. I was visiting my boyfriend over the long winter break and read the entire thing in one sitting while he was sleeping. I finished it around 4 am on the couch and have been meaning to go back and reread it. Unfortunately, upon the first read it fell short for me. I was so disappointed that Rune lost so much of who she was. I know this is typical for a second book and that if there is a third book hopefully Rune becomes who she was or develops into a stronger and more robust character.

The series does give me a very strong feeling of disappointment at this time though.

I am giving is a 3/10 at this point for a total score.

Book 1 "Heartless Hunter" gets a very solid 6/10 from me. It was not my favorite book but it sucked me in, let me get to know the characters, and fall in love the same way Rune did.

Book 2 "Rebel Witch" unfortunately gets a 0/10 for me upon the first read. This is subject to change after I finish my finals for my masters program and ultimately have more time to reread.

I am not saying DON'T read the book. Please please please read the book and argue with me and tell me your perspective. I would love to hear it. Read book 1 and book 2 and let me know how you felt about it. Tell me I am wrong. Make me put it back on my tbr. I will update when I get time to read the second one again.

[abbooks]

Starting a book review blog

Hey! I am wanting to start reviewing books that I read in one place! These are personal reviews and I will try not to review a series until it is complete.

Let me know if you have any suggestions for books to read or review and follow to keep up with the stories :) I plan on rating on literary styles, read-ability, plot twists, and just general vibe. I don't think there will be formal ratings but I just want to keep my library reviews somewhere cohesive and maybe it will help you find your next read.

Feel free to argue with me or discuss your own experiences with the books I read. I want to engage with others who enjoy reading like I do.