The Bridge Kingdom: From the No.1 Sunday Times bestseller of A Fate Inked in Blood (The Bridge Kingdom, 1) Paperback – 6 Oct. 2022

The Bridge Kingdom had me hooked from the very first chapter. The world-building was vivid, the characters were compelling, the romance was a swoony slow-burn, the plot was full of tense political manoeuvring and deception, and there was plenty of action to go around! These are nations that have long been at war with each other and many have formed a tenuous peace with each other for trade purposes, especially with Ithicana as they control the bridge. I enjoyed reading about the different nations and how they differed in climate and cultures but it mostly focused on Maridrina and Ithicana, where our two main characters are from. Although there's a peace agreement between the two, their peoples loathe each other for all they've suffered as a result of the cruel actions of the opposing monarchs (of course, there's more to the story than meets the eye)! When the book kicks off, the stakes are already high and there's plenty of scheming and subterfuge as the story progresses. Most of the story is set in Ithicana and it wasn't at all difficult to picture the lush jungle terrain, the frothing waters of an angry sea, and plenty of deadly snakes and shark-infested waters. *gulp* I'm 100% certain I wouldn't survive Ithicana! 😂I was intrigued by Lara from the moment we meet her and her first actions, as jaw-droppingly shocking as they were, really set the tone for her character and I loved it! She has spent her life being trained to become one of Maridrina's most fearsome assassins and has also been brainwashed to believe the worst of Ithicana and its king. She's fierce, cunning, and often ruthless in the pursuit of her goal, but she's also extremely loyal, caring and thoughtful. She loves her sisters enough to sacrifice everything for them, and it's very clear early on that she would do anything to give her people a better life. She had such great character growth! Although her motives are initially driven by hatred and she begins intending to deceive, she doesn't harden herself to what she experiences in Ithicana. It takes time for her to fully accept she's been made a fool of her whole life and she makes some heartbreakingly frustrating and ultimately devastating decisions that made me want to give her a good hard shake, but it wasn't untrue to her character. It was so easy to root for her. She's the ultimate QUEEN! 👑Similarly, I knew I was going to love Aren from the beginning. Outside of Ithicana, he has a reputation of being cold, cruel and practically a demon but we quickly learn that it's the biggest lie. He's a bean. The sweetest man with the biggest heart! As corny as it sounds, he's a man of his people. He fights alongside them every day and I loved seeing his genuine interactions with his soldiers and with the Ithicanians who clearly adored him (I mean, I totes get it cos I did too, lol)! He's determined to give his people a better life (not unlike Lara), one where they aren't confined to the bridge out of fear that the other nations will destroy their homes. He's such a great character and deserves everything good! 🥺 The Ithicanians also quickly won my heart, especially Jor, Lia, and Taryn! They were such good people and I loved all the cheeky banter exchanged within the group.When it came to the romance, it was a delightful slow-burn that even had me feeling butterflies whenever Lara and Aren interacted with each other (which was often, lol). I loved watching them go from enemies to tentative friends to partners and eventually to lovers and it was so satisfying to watch them shatter their preconceived notions of each other and slowly fall in love. That said, the sparks were there from the start when they playfully antagonised each other and their chemistry only grew to become more explosive! There were so many swoony and heart-happy moments between them that had me grinning in delight, which is also why that cliffhanger ending was an even more bitter pill to swallow! Oof, talk about ramping up the angst! 🙈Overall, this was an extremely binge-able read that I had a really hard time putting down. Read this if you enjoy vivid fantasy worlds, slow-burn enemies-to-lovers romance, a plot full of deception and heart-pounding action, and a romantasy couple that will have your heart swooning with happiness and weeping with angst. Highly recommended!

3.8It’s quite good so didn’t want to round it down.What I liked:- The idea and the concept of the world seemed quite interesting and quite creative with the mysterious bridge kingdom- Well paced with elements of action, politics and romance, there weren’t moments when I was getting bored and there also weren’t many moments that I’d say went too fast- The FMC, oh how I loved Lara and her witty tongue, I usually get annoyed with these cocky I am the best and the most beautiful and the smartest characters, but Lara was really likable for me- The elements of mystery that sometimes kept the reader in suspense as to what will happen with this one small detailWhat I didn’t like:- The plot was quite predictable, probably partly because we had two narrators but there were a lot of moments when I knew what will happen, or who’s the bad guy long before the characters did- There were elements that were brought up and then never explored further, which sometimes was a bit annoying- And this one is tough as I usually hate too many descriptions, but here we had almost none, it was really hard to imagine the characters or the world from a sentence or two about themIf you love:- Enemies to lovers- Nice gentle smut (spice for me 2.5/5)- Betrayal- Political Intrigue- Secretly trained assassins

I am absolutely enthralled with these books and the world Danielle has created.Danielle's storytelling is phenomenal, creating such a vivid world, I felt like I was there watching a movie play out. There is so much depth and layers to this book I couldn’t see what was coming. I only managed to guess one thing and that was because it was made obvious to the reader. The characters are well executed, and I have fallen in love with them all, flaws, and all. Lara is gutsy and conniving. Aren is charming and loyal. There banter is heaven! But of course, Nana is the real MVP 😉– we all need a grumpy old bat who takes no shit in our lives. She always steals the show when she’s in the room, but I did love a particular chapter with her and Lara – if you know, you know 💩 ha-ha! I loved the notion of the war tides, the islands, the people, everything! I read the first book over a few days and I brought book two before I finished, I already knew I needed to know what happened next. I’ve now devoured book two as well. 🙀If you love a slow burn romance with plenty of betrayal, angst, adventure, dramatic relationships, twists and turns, political intrigue, then this is the book for you! Go read it now, you won’t regret it.★ Minor Troupe Spoilers ★The Bridge Kingdom is the best enemies-lovers-enemies I have read! Oh yes, I did say back to enemies 👀. All my other reads with this troupe will now have to live up to these, I feel like nothing will compare. That’s saying something because I rarely compare books 😉

Fairly entertaining, interesting premise and easy to read, but not particularly original and some of the style I found really annoying (like overuse of the word "ass"). The world building wasn't solid enough to make you really care about the bigger picture the characters are fighting for and the characters themselves aren't 3D enough to make you sympatheric with a series of bizarre decisions. There is definitely better out there in this genre and this sadly wasn't good enough to make me want to read the next book.

💙B•O•O•K R•E•V•I•E•W💙“The Bridge Kingdom” by Danielle JensenRating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️Spice: 🌶️🌶️Genre: RomantasyReview:HOW have I been sleeping on this series for so long?!?!? I read “A Fate Inked in Blood” by Danielle Jensen earlier this year and was ✨OBSESSED✨ and desperate for more. When I found out Jensen had another series out and completed, I just had to get my hands on it, so I immediately preordered the new paperback copy of “The Bridge Kingdom,” and what a fantastic decision it was.This book had me hooked from the very first chapter. I was enamored by our FMC, Lara. She had such depth and strength, from the very beginning, and I enjoyed experiencing this world through her eyes so so much. The romance was slow-burn and so sweet and so good. Aren, our MMC was extremely honorable and chivalrous, right from the very beginning, and the way that he treated Lara with so much respect and decency, I was swooning, I can’t lie. There were so many elements in this book that just kept it climbing higher and higher on my rating scale. From the side characters on Aren’s honor guard, to the unveiling of layers between our FMC and MMC, to the personal growth in our characters, the fun and lighthearted scenes, and more, I just absolutely adored this book and I am soooo antsy to pick up the next book cause that cliffhanger? Holy cow🐮🪽

The media could not be loaded. Truly an amazing book, lots of tension, political intrigue and a dash of spice!Spice: 🌶️🌶️Genre: New adult, Romance, PoliticalEdition: US standard hardcover——————————————————If you like:✔️ Arranged mariage✔️ Slow burn✔️ Ennemies to lover✔️ Spying✔️ Political intrigue✔️ Pirates of the Caribbean✔️ Swoon worthy MMC✔️ Badass trained assassin FMC

All the story is so captivating, I love it every scene of Aren and Lara. They’re incredibly great together. And I’m a bit sad for the confusion of the end. But, Lara is amazing and came to show how she is. Let’s go to book 2.

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Ho adorato tantissimo questo libro, ne consiglio la lettura. Per quanto riguarda il pacco è arrivato in perfette condizioni, non ho riscontrato nessun tipo di problema