North Queen

North Queen

Author Nicola Tyche

Pages: 551

Published: July 4, 2023

⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

Rating: 5 out of 5.

Princess Norah is found wandering the wilds with no recollection of how she got there or who she is. Found by Alexander, her childhood friend, and lover, she is taken back to her kingdom after having been missing for three years. Norah is crowned quickly due to an impending war with the Shadowlands and the only way to defeat the Shadow King is to marry the King of Aleon for this alliance would help her kingdom through this war. But shortly after being crowned and agreeing to the marriage proposal, she is taken by the Shadow King and is forced to make her own decisions regarding what she believes.

What I loved: Norah is strong-willed and incredibly opinionated. She made decisions for herself which was exactly what she needed to be. I wasn’t annoyed by her and I didn’t find myself frustrated by her decisions. All seemed pretty rational given her situation. The world-building for me really worked. I enjoyed the way the author described the settings and cultures, which were so vastly different that watching Norah and Mikael learn more about the other conveyed the message of how tough it would be in an arranged marriage… or in their case, a much-needed alliance to avoid a war where you find yourself marrying an enemy. I was engaged from start to finish and just couldn’t put it down. 

What I didn’t love: The fact I now have to wait for books two and three… but all jokes aside, there really isn’t anything I would say I have criticism on until I read the whole story. Ultimately, if I had my way, I would have liked to see a bit more involving her memory in the last 50% of the book with maybe hints here and there about what happened to her before, but I am sure questions will be answer in the next installments. 

Overall, this was a great read. I so thoroughly enjoyed this that the minute it’s out, I will be purchasing it for my shelf and perhaps do a reread before the next one comes out. Do yourself a favor and read North Queen. You will not be disappointed.