The finale to Jeffe Kennedy’s Forgotten Empires series, THE PROMISED QUEEN, is here.  This is definitely a series that needs to be read in order; trying to jump in with this book would leave the reader very confused.  I have to admit I did not remember a lot about the preceding story when I first began reading THE PROMISED QUEEN, but after several chapters, much of the preceding story resolved itself enough in my memory that I wasn’t lost. 

I didn’t completely love Queen Euthalia of Calanthe initially.  Lia originally walled herself off emotionally from those around her in a bid to keep herself and her kingdom safe from the evil emperor who was her former betrothed.  Lia is tied to her island kingdom via a sort of symbiosis with the goddess who is the embodiment of the land, and thus Lia is not fully human (in ways that give me a little bit of the creeps, TBH).  But she’s stepped up to take care of her kingdom, enduring torture and an initially unwanted marriage to keep her people safe, which is very admirable to me.  In THE PROMISED QUEEN, Lia is the most relatable she’s been in the series, and I’ve grown to appreciate even more her core of steely inner strength and determination.  Kennedy always does a great job in creating strong and independent women, which I enjoy.

Conrí, the former Crown Prince of Oriel, is Lia’s husband.  Con was known as the Slave King, because he was enslaved by the evil emperor as a boy and came to age while working as a mining slave, extracting explosives from a subjugated land.  Con is burly, hotheaded, and tends to solve problems with weapons.  He’s a great foil for Lia’s cool calculation.  Con’s heart is wide open here, and I have to say I love it.

Kennedy’s Forgotten Empires series is part of the larger Twelve Kingdoms world, a huge interlocking set of many fantasy series.  Kennedy provides her usual well fleshed out ensemble cast, and there are lots of secondary characters to admire and root for here.  All band together in a final bid to destroy the corrupt empire that has brought such evil to their world.  The relentless action is breathtaking, the emotions run high, and heroes and heroines abound.  Kennedy brings us a gripping conclusion to the expansive Forgotten Empires saga in this stirring high fantasy of THE PROMISED QUEEN.