Prisoner of the Crown (Chronicles of Dasnaria, #1)

by Jeffe Kennedy

[Melanie]

Review originally posted at BooksOfMyHeart.net.

4.5 stars

It is no secret, I’m a huge fan of Jeffe Kennedy’s The Twelve Kingdoms series. I’ve been reading it since I met her at RT15 in Dallas. Back then, I got a copy of the second book in the series, The Tears of the Rose. The third book, The Talon of the Hawk, wasn’t even out yet. Now, we have three The Twelve Kingdoms books, three more of The Uncharted Realms books (which follows the same characters in chronological time.

Now, we have The Chronicles of Dasnaria, which starts before any of these books. We actually see Kral (hero in The Edge of the Blade) and Harlan (hero in The Talon of the Hawk) as children back in their home realm of Dasnaria. We also get to meet their brothers and sisters and even mothers and father.

We learned early that Dasnaria isn’t a great place for women. Harlan had little good to say about it in book three. We even get to see some of it in Kral’s book. But that doesn’t prepare you for what you see in this book. Dasnaria, women really have little rights. We start with Jenna and all her brothers and sisters living in the seraglio, a paradise for the women deep within the palace. There are lagoons and the temperatures are always warm and comfortable. In the Imperial Palace seraglio, there are no windows (though some of the other castles do have them). Jenna has never seen the sky or the sun.

When her brothers come of age (I think it was around seven), they leave the seraglio and don’t return, as men aren’t allowed, only young boys and females of all ages. Jenna doesn’t see her brothers again until she is to attend an betrothal party where she is to meet her husband.

Jenna’s life was pretty pampered as a child. She was the first daughter of the first wife, which basically put her above everyone in the seraglio except her mother, the first wife. She could even push over the second and third wife. Once she’s married to her fiance, that all changes. She now has to answer to him. Plus she will have to leave the only home she’s ever known, to live with him in his kingdom that is part of her father’s empire.

I think most fans of The Twelve Kingdoms World (including The Uncharted Realms)will enjoy this new series. However, there are some that may not. The Twelve Kingdoms is fantasy romance. There is a couple that will get their happily ever after in each book. That is not the case here. Knowing Jeffe Kennedy, there will be a happily ever after at some point for Jenna, but that doesn’t happen in this book. While The Twelve Kingdoms isn’t all hearts and flowers, there are some dark moments in the series, it does end happy for each couple. I think if people can deal with the dark side of this series, they will be greatly rewarded in the end. I also want to point out that Ms. Kennedy did a great job of showing us the darkness of this world without getting into the gruesome details. I think that will also help people who maybe wouldn’t enjoy the darker side of this series. I really hope that fans of The Twelve Kingdoms will give this series a try.

You can read this book if you haven’t read anything from The Twelve Kingdoms world. If you haven’t read Jeffe Kennedy, she writes really great fantasy stories. Her characters are great. You will find yourself really rooting for her characters.

**Book was provided to me by the publisher via NetGalley. This review is my opinion and was not requested or provoked in anyway.