Lost Kingdom

Synopsis

Stripped of her memories and her magic, Raven has been left for dead.

As a prisoner in the enemy's mineral mines, her only clue to who she is and where she came from is the mysterious map tattooed on her hand-- a map containing hidden secrets that some people would kill for.

Jeddak is one of those people.

A warrior from the Kovak tribe, he's hunting for the powerful Zavien stone to pay the corrupt king's ransom. If he doesn't return home with it by the new moon, his betrothed will be executed. 

When Jeddak discovers that prisoner named Raven has the only map that leads to the artifact, he allies with her as they navigate treacherous lands and battle against ancient magical forces to unravel the map's secrets. But can Raven trust this stranger who's helping her? If the map gets into the wrong hands, thousands of people will die.

As their feelings for each other grow, their tenuous alliance begins to fray. Until Jeddak is forced to make a decision- betray Raven or forsake his kingdom.

Choose wrong and he'll lose everything.

Loved

• Jeddak! Wow, I have a major crush on this guy. Tough, reckless, sweet, considerate, protective, selfless- and extremely hot ;) Jeddak is one of those people you can always trust to do the most unselfish thing, and sacrifice himself first. His exterior is sarcastic and brash, but really he's just a major softie who worries about everybody else. His perspective in the story is so riveting because of the major conflicts and decisions he faces throughout the story- ahem: get home to save the betrothed he no longer loves, or leave her to die for the actual love of his life. Usually I really hate love triangles, but this one was pretty delicious and resolved perfectly. Another point for Jeddak: he is bonded to a bear who's his best friend. How cool is that?

• Raven and Jeddak's chemistry. I'm obsessed with these two. They start out as kindof-enemies, at least on Raven's side. But they fall for each other hard and I am SO here for it. Their little moments together are the cutest- laughing together, fighting together, saving each other's lives multiple times, and healing each other. I feel so invested in their relationship that I will be unwell until book two is released and I can have more of them.

• The mystery. This story is super fast-paced as Jeddak and Raven run from one danger to the next, which makes it so adventurous and fun. But my favorite part was the mystery we're curious about from the first chapter. Raven wakes up as a slave and doesn't have any of her memories- which automatically makes her interesting. Then she has a map to a legendary stone of power put on her hand- and now we really want answers. These mysteries propelled the story forward and had me flipping pages, hungry for answers.

• The world. This is a fascinating world made of distinct tribes whose magic bonds to different elements- bears, birds, plants, etc. Each tribe has its own traditions, reputations, abilities, histories and culture. This was a very creative form of magic and the world building was immersive and enchanting.

• The writing. Laurel Black nailed this with her debut novel! Her writing is seamless- the kindof writing that makes you forget you're reading a story and not actually there living it. The dual perspective switching back and forth between Jeddak and Raven not only made the story more fast-paced and intriguing, but it made their romance sizzle even more as we get to watch both of them fall for the other. The plot twists are constant, keeping on our toes and guessing- never quite sure who to trust or what danger will pop out next.

• Other things to love about this story: 

• Kah- Jeddak's bear who is a main character in the story. He's a thoughtful, careful complement to Jeddak's recklessness and restlessness. He's also sarcastic on the outside but a softie on the inside.

• A colorful cast of characters who I am so excited to read more about in book two. Both Jeddak and Raven have friends who are mysterious and interesting, and I can't wait to see more of them.

• Two love triangles- like I said above, I am normally completely against love triangles. But these ones are perfectly done, and they resolved well. These are what love triangles are supposed to add to a story- more suspense, heart twisting, and staking out which candidate you hope for ;)

Didn't Love

• My only complaint about this story is that I need book two ASAP!!!!!! If you need me I'll just be rereading this a million times until it comes out.

Content

• Language: 
• Consistent curses from the world: "Blazenhell."
• A few uses of "ass."

• Sexual content: 
• One kiss- only one :( Passionate, but very short- sadly.
• The female main character is given a love potion and kisses the man who gave it to her.
• Female slaves in the mines are constantly at risk for being sexually assaulted. Lewd jokes from the guards about the girls.

• Violence
• The beginning takes place in mines where people are slaves. They are beaten or killed if they step at all out of line. Some of these executions described.
• A secondary character is killed by having her throat slit.
• Guards try to sexually assault female slaves- they have to fight the guards.
• Fighting at different times- dead bodies mentioned but not bloody or gory.
• Constant fear of being killed through threats and manipulation.


• Other themes:
• LGBTQIA Rep: A sapphic couple helps the main characters.

Overall Thoughts

Wow. This story just blew me away, and I didn't know I needed these characters in my life. This was my favorite way to finish reading a book- late at night and then can't sleep because my mind is blown and I just want to process everything and fangirl about the story! I seriously have a book hangover- I miss these characters so much that I considered rereading the book even though I just finished it like 12 hours ago :) This story delivers in everything: relatable and conflicted main characters, a fabulous cast of secondary characters, a sizzling but clean romance, a story chock full of dangers and adventures, a plot that twists and turns, intriguing mysteries to propel the story forward- and an ending with the perfect amount of tension, cliffhanger, resolution, and mind blowing twists. I can't recommend this story enough! My only warning: you will have a severe book hangover and may not be able to function until book two comes out ;)