Lonen is hereditary king of the Destrye now that his father and several brothers were killed in the Destryen attack on Bára in book 1. Oria was a princess of Bára, now titular queen of the Destrye after her precipitous political marriage to Lonen. As a sorceress, Oria is cut off from the wellspring of her power now that she is no longer in a Báran city. Oria and Lonen had to flee Bára after an unsuccessful bid for rule, and now have to face Lonen's brothers at home, who think that Oria has ensorcelled and enslaved Lonen.

There is more introspection in THE FORESTS OF DRU, as Lonen struggles with his feeling of inadequacy for leadership and Oria grapples with how to survive when her connection to the life-supporting magic is severed. I approve of how the couple takes turns supporting the other- this is becoming a marriage in more than name, and it's just beautiful to see.

I also adore how Lonen is learning how to work around Oria's inability to tolerate direct skin-to-skin contact, due to her magical susceptibility to others' life energies. His creative bedplay is quite arousing! Having Oria unable to consummate her marriage (yet, I presume!) has made this a slow burn romance, which is very titillating.

I'm excited to hear that there will probably be several more books in this series. The characters keep evolving and maturing, and I love not only who they were but also who they are becoming. Both Oria and Lonen have many fine qualities, and I love how they are turning so much effort to helping each other and to helping their two kingdoms. They have their foibles as well, which makes them fully fleshed out and realized characters, all the more engrossing for their imperfections. Brava to Kennedy for another fine addition to this wonderful fantasy series, THE FORESTS OF DRU is all that I would hope for Lonen and Oria's initial time in Lonen's kingdom.

Book Summary

Read an Excerpt