Review: The Broken Queen by Lidiya Foxglove

The Broken Queen (Court of the Last Dragon #1)
by Lidiya Foxglove

My Rating: 5 stars

Genre: Fantasy Romance
Age Category: Adult
Type of romance: m/f

Blurb:
Born from magic, Atorra is an exquisitely lifelike living doll raised in the house of concubines, soon to be sold off as some man’s toy. Instead, a stranger walks in, with black horns and sharp eyes, radiating magic: the King of Dragons.

King Harrai, a man with royal dragon blood, searches for the reincarnation of the dragon queen. He knows Atorra is the one he seeks. But she is not the one he wants. He considers her very existence a cruel abomination, and she can’t give him an heir. Still, there is no doubt she holds the ancient magic that protects his kingdom, and custom is upheld—Atorra and the cold, handsome dragon king are married with all pomp and ceremony.

Although her magic lessons are brutal and the court hostile, Atorra relishes her freedom and growing power. She bonds with her dragon, learns to claim her place at the council like all queens before her—and slowly discovers an unexpected passion with her king.

But something dark stirs in the western mountains once more. It killed Harrai’s parents and their dragons years ago and now threatens everything Atorra has come to hold dear. She alone may be the key to saving her kingdom—but the price will change her forever.

I’ve had this story in my head for decades and it’s finally here! With rich world building and swoon-worthy slow burn romance (but we do get to some spice!), the Court of the Last Dragon is the first book in an epic series perfect for fans of Elise Kova, Grace Draven, and Mercedes Lackey.

My Review

I received a free copy from the author and voluntarily reviewed it.

I just love these latest few books by Lidiya Foxglove that are set in this same world and I was so excited for this one! From what I understand this book takes place earlier than the other books so far. It focuses on the Drai people and the dragons. Atorra is the main character, she’s a fanarlem, basically a soul in a magical doll body. She’s trained to be a concubine, but instead the king of Drai comes for her to take her home and tells her she’s the Dragon Queen. I really enjoyed this book and wanted to keep reading and see what would happen next. This is a long book, but it didn’t feel that way as I really loved every moment of it.

I really loved this book. It was such a great story and I enjoyed learning about the Drai people and the dragons and seeing another facet of this world. The world building is really well done with all these little details that make the world feel real.

I liked reading about Atorra and how she went from thinking she would serve others for her life as a concubine and thinking she had to atone for past sins to finding out she’s the reincarnation of the dragon queen and her soul is valued as she’s the only one who knows these magical songs. I liked seeing her grow in confidence and figure out what she wanted from life.

I also really liked her romance with king Harrai. It has a bit of an arranged marriage vibe with how they are the queen and king and expected to be together. I liked seeing how they grow closer and deeper feelings develop. The further I got in the story the more I liked these two together. I was fully invested in their romance by the end and I liked seeing them together.

I liked how there are plenty of interesting side characters as well. Later in the book there are chapters from some of their point of views as well. I really like Tashana and could relate to her. It was awesome seeing her grow into her own and see her being friends with Atorra. There are plenty of other interesting side characters as well and I liked reading about them and seeing them develop throughout the story. There are even some romances for the side characters as well that play out throughout the book and I liked these as well.

The plot was great and there was plenty going on. From how the court deals with Atorra’s appearance. And Atorra’s a fanarlem which means she’s unable to have the dragon heirs. There are also other things going on like a mysterious storm that killed the king’s parents, the dragons slowly dying and a possible war. I really enjoyed the story and the way the plot developed as I got further. There are some great twists and reveals toward the end. I can’t wait to see how everything gets resolved in the next book!

To summarize: I really enjoyed The Broken Queen. I love this world Lidiya Foxglove has build and how this book shows another part of it, I like the way the world really comes alive with all these little details that make it feel real. I liked reading about Atorra and how she goes from thinking she will be a concubine to being a queen. I liked seeing her grow into herself and change through the story and eventually figure out what she wanted. I liked her romance with King Harrai and how they slowly grew closer and then fell in love, they were great together. There are lots of interesting side characters as well, some even get some chapters of their own perspective and I was especially fond of Tashana. The plot is well written and kept my attention, there are some great developments, reveals and twist toward the end and I can’t wait for the next book to see how everything gets resolved! I can definitely recommend this one to fantasy romance fans!

Links:
– Goodreads
– Bookbub
– Amazon

You can also read my review on Goodreads and Bookbub.