The Orchid Throne is the first book in the Forgotten Empires series by Jeffe Kennedy. I was interested in this book the second I read the summary and that cover is so pretty!

Euthalia is the Queen of the island kingdom, Calanthe. As a child, Euthalia’s father betrothed her to Anure, the man who has destroyed all of the kingdoms on the mainland and she knows she has very few options open to her to save her people but she is willing to do anything she has to in order to protect her people and Calanthe even if that means she has to do the unthinkable. Euthalia is keeping a pretty big secret from everyone around her so she and her ladies do everything they have to in order to keep it hidden. I liked Euthalia. She’s smart and she’s not afraid to face the dangers that come along with leading a kingdom.

The other main character is Conri and his kingdom is one that was destroyed by Anure. Having been made a slave in the mines to mine the very item that killed his family, Conri and those around him eventually decide they’ve had enough. As they overtake the guards and eventually grow their numbers, they become a stronger group and move to take on Anure’s troops/guards to weaken his hold. As the King of Slaves, Conri has built a reputation, some of it true and some of it not. Conri was an interesting character. Having been put in the mines as a child, there are things he never had the exposure to but his background has made him tough, but he isn’t afraid to admit his feelings for those who have been by his side throughout.

The world building was done well by Kennedy. It was one of the things that kept me interested in the story. At the center of this story is something called the Abiding Ring which sits on Euthalia’s finger. It appears to be a magical orchid and it clearly has a major role to play in both Euthalia’s and Conri’s stories and I’ll be interested to learn more about it.

The secondary characters help to move the story along as well. I loved the relationship that Conri had with Sondra and the back and forth they both had with Ambrose was great. Euthalia has her ladies in waiting but is closer to Tertulyn more than the others. With that said, it is clear near the end of the book that she is up to something and I was hoping we would get a glimpse into what it is. Of course, in court, Euthalia is surrounded but many others but with her secrets, there are very few she can trust. I do wish we would have gotten some exposure to Anure in person. He is only brought into the story via his emissary or letters.

When Anure tasks Euthalia with stopping the Slave King. As the final barrier before Anure’s holding, he has directed her to do whatever is necessary to stop him. There was definitely a threat in the message and Euthalia will do what she needs to. As she eventually comes face to face with Conri, Euthalia has some doubts and when Conri and his group put her in a position where she doesn’t have much choice in how to move forward, she and Conri end up married.

Overall, I enjoyed this book. The beginning was fairly slow as Kennedy set up the backstory for these characters. I understand the need for it, but I felt like there was a lot of content that bogged it down. When Con and Lia finally met, the story got much more interesting. I will be checking out the next book in the series to see how things move forward for Con, Lia, and the other characters.

Thank you to the publisher for the early copy in exchange for an honest review.