The Bridge Kingdom (The Bridge Kingdom, #1)

by Danielle L. Jensen

NATIONAL BESTSELLER • “The Bridge Kingdom is heart-pounding romance and intense action wrapped in a spellbinding world. I was hooked from the first page!”—Elise Kova, author of A Deal with the Elf King

The iconic Bridge Kingdom series begins: a sweeping, sizzling fantasy romance filled with political intrigue and passionate love, from the New York Times bestselling author of A Fate Inked in Blood.

A warrior princess trained in isolation, Lara is driven by two certainties. The first is that King Aren of the Bridge Kingdom is her enemy. And the second is that she’ll be the one to bring him to his knees. 

The only route through a storm-ravaged world, the Bridge Kingdom of Ithicana enriches itself and deprives its rivals, including Lara’s homeland. So when she’s sent there as a bride under the guise of peace, Lara is prepared to do whatever it takes to fracture its impenetrable defenses—and the defenses of its king.

Yet as she infiltrates her new home and gains a deeper understanding of the war to possess the bridge, Lara begins to question whether she’s the hero or the villain. As her feelings for her husband transform from frosty hostility to fierce passion, Lara must choose which kingdom she’ll save . . . and which she’ll destroy.

Includes two bonus chapters, “The Wedding” from Ahnna’s point of view and “The Capture” from Jor’s point of view

Don’t miss any of Danielle L. Jensen's Bridge Kingdom series:
THE BRIDGE KINGDOM • THE TRAITOR QUEEN • THE INADEQUATE HEIR • THE ENDLESS WAR • THE TWISTED THRONE (April 8, 2025)

• ISBN10: 0593975189
• ISBN13: 9780593975183
• Publish Date: 15 October 2024 (first published 16 October 2018)
• Publish Status: Active
• Publish Country: US
• Imprint: Del Rey Books
• Format: Paperback (US Trade)
• Pages: 448
• Language: English
• URL: https://penguinrandomhouse.com/books/isbn/9780593975183

Reviews

[scarr]

Okay so trade disputes, water worlds and too many fucking snakes may sound like a hard sell. BUT HEAR ME OUT . . .

I really loved the action scenes and I am such a sucker for enemies-to-friends-to-lovers-&-confidants tales. I could def. use more steamy scenes - that't totally a personal preference - BUT the action and intrigue held my attention!

[alindstadtcorbeax]

Star Rating: —> 4 Stars

BR w/ the incredible Darce!

I def enjoyed this one a lot! RTC

[EBookObsessed]

DNF - Why does one adventure work and another doesn't?

Lara and her sisters were taken from their mothers' and the harem where they were raised and taken into the dessert to be trained as to taken down the Bridge Kingdom. They had been taught that the Bridge Kingdom controls what goods travel from the Northlands to the Southlands, taking all the best for themselves. But Lara knew something that her sisters didn't. Their father was going to kill the rest of them once he chose the bride he would send to King Aren, so Lara poisoned her sisters so she would be chosen. Actually she just drugged them with a strong narcotic in hopes that they could run away after they woke and create lives for themselves away from their controlling father. Lara doesn't actually care who controls the bridge, she just wants her own freedom from her father's plot.

Aren wants continue where his other left off. He wants his people to be able to leave their Kingdom but right now anyone who tries to leave is killed because they can't risk someone sharing the secrets of the Bridge with outside kingdoms. Aren's kingdom is surrounded by storms and when the storm season ends, all the other kingdoms try to send their armies and navys to take the Bridge Kingdom. It is all that his people do, protect the bridge at all cost and he is tired of it. He is hoping a marriage will be the first step in uniting the kingdoms.

I listened to six hours of this twelve hour narration and Lara was still looking over this Bridge and trying to learn its secrets so she could get a hidden message to her father. I could only guess that eventually Lara will learn that her father is a greedy bastard who is keeping her people starving and not anything to do with Aren or the Bridge. I kept waiting for her to look around and start seeing the problems that Aren's people face, the marauders killing the civilians when they couldn't get to the bridge. The fact that the Bridge Kingdom has no time to make products or grow food because most of their "land" consists of the bridge and guarding it.

Being sent as a bride to this kingdom should have been a long-game to gain control of the bridge. Lara is there a few days and she's demanding to be shown around and upset that she is being kept watch on. Of course she's being watched, she's an outsider from a neighbor who they were at war with just a decade ago. She should have taken the time to gain trust before demanding to be giving their secrets.

Aren is a bit of a one-dimensional sad sack and understandably, Lara was raised in a secret location only learning facts that her father wanted her to know, but she gobbled up all his truths never taking time to ask Aren about life in the Bridge Kingdom. I knew where the story wanted to go but it wasn't giving me anything interesting to keep me going. Half the story and Lara was still snooping around trying to find a way for her father (who she hated) to take over the Bridge rather than going in and trying to Aren to take care of her people as well.

After six hours and she's still snooping around, I simply got bored with the story. I even tried putting on a faster speed to get through it faster but it was more like trying to force medicine down your throat than enjoying a story so I simply gave up and moved on to something more interesting.

[Ashley]

This was PHENOMENAL! But I did consider docking half a star because the big conflict/turning point near the end was a result of the MC just being incredibly, incredibly stupid. That annoyed me.

But this was a super good book - definitely one of my favourites this year!

[bgsbooks18]

I really liked the story line in this book. The deception in this story was very interesting to me. The romance was very cute but I sad to see how it played out. Reading everything grow and break down. I liked how the trust started to evolve in the story. She finally learned how to trust someone other than herself. Over al this was a very interesting story.

[stacey_is_sassy]

I’m glad I found this new author to me…

The first chapter of The Bridge Kingdom had me grinning. I knew deep down it was a little sick that I was grinning because there were murder and mayhem all around. But, I saw (heard) beyond what I was supposed to see (hear). With my fingers crossed, and my heart pounding, I hoped that this evil creature could be a chameleon.

Happy dances…I found an epic tale!!!

Our heroine is portrayed as an intense, greedy and self-serving woman whose ambition leads her on a path of destruction. Now, most people would look at Lara and be horrified, me, I was rubbing my hands in glee. I’m all for a hero who jumps in to save his woman from the clutches of evil, but I also love a woman who can hold her own. Lara is strong, intelligent, sneaky and manipulative. As time goes on and we get to know Lara better, we see that she’s also a fierce protector of the underdog. I loved that Lara was tough but she also had vulnerabilities. Thank goodness she wasn’t perfect.

Now Aren, I found him harder to connect with. Ok, I’ll give him credit for having all the attributes of a good hero. Good looking, strong, bossy and arrogant, with a lot of sexy to get the heart pumping. He’s not a bad person, it’s just that I’m not sure he’s the right man for the job of King. Sure, I get Aren wants peace to save his people, but I found him a little weak and easily manipulated. It seemed like Lara’s pretty face was what he came to love, not Lara as a person. I think we haven’t seen Aren in the best light YET. There’s a good chance by the time we meet again, he will be a completely different man.

I’m not going to go too much more into the storyline because I think the blurb does a decent job to give you an idea of what the story is about. I really enjoyed how this story made me feel. It was intense in a way that made me slow the speed down and make sure that all the information was absorbed. The narrators are easy to listen to and the emotions came through making it even more exciting. Each chapter starts with the sounds of a storm, and I LOVED the intensity and excitement of the thunder and howling winds. It was a well-edited, directed and produced performance and it definitely made my *Top 10 Audios* list.

I found it hard to press pause or stop and I’m pretty sure I was scowling each time someone interrupted my listening time. To be honest, I even started to draw out the experience. I could see the end coming and I didn’t want it to arrive. Who knows how long it will be until #2 comes out but I will be waiting patiently…NOT!! Seriously, that ending…BLEW MY MIND!

This is an Audible Exclusive and Danielle L. Jensen hints that the ebook will be released in 2019. If you’re an audio fan who enjoys narrators that bring the story to life, I highly recommend The Bridge Kingdom.