The Veiled Kingdom by Holly ReneeStar Rating:
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Series: The Veiled Kingdom #1
Also in this series: The Hunted Heir
Published by Independent Publisher on 03/19/2024
Genres: Fiction, Fantasy, Romance, Romantasy
Format: Kindle (364 pages)
Source: Purchased
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Fleeing my father's cruelty, the wicked king who robbed me of a future, I face death in the streets, caught between a rebellion and a tyrant's reign.
Captured by those sworn to kill me, the rebels remain blind to my true identity—the missing daughter of the despised king. Faced with an impossible choice, I stand before them: join the rebels or face their blades.
Yet, Dacre, the son of the ruthless rebellion commander, becomes torn between suspicion and a desire that mirrors my own. He allows no one to touch me, tries to protect me, yet threatens me at every turn.
As secrets are weaved beyond our hidden realm, a fierce battle unfolds within me. As I get closer to the rebels, and their cause, my loyalty to my kingdom clashes with my undeniable devotion to Dacre and the burning connection between us.
In a world where love and hate are two edges of the same blade, I find myself caught in a delicate dance between forbidden desire and my looming destiny.
The Kingdom of Mamoris is ruled by an evil king who covets magic and power. His firstborn and only child, Princess Verena, is the sole heir to Mamoris’ throne. But, despite the king’s many, and often abusive, attempts to draw out Verena’s magic, she remains powerless. When Verena turns ten and is still without magic, the king refuses to acknowledge her as his heir and locks her in one of the castle’s towers because a kingdom cannot be ruled without significant power. After many failed attempts at producing a worthy heir, the queen (Verena’s beloved mother) dies in childbirth, and the king immediately takes another wife. Now, Verena is a prisoner in her own home, and if the king has anything to do with it, she will never rule Mamoris.
Verena’s lack of power is very rare, as every fae has some form of magic. Desperate for as much power as possible, the king forces the people of Mamoris to tithe yearly with whatever power they possess. He believes that hoarding power is the only way to protect his kingdom from the rebellion that has formed to oppose his tyranny. When the rebellion finally raids the palace, Verana uses the diversion to flee from her father’s abuse. She would rather learn to live on the streets than spend one more day enduring her father’s cruelty.
Almost a year after the raid, Verena still has no magic, and the tithe is fast approaching. She knows she must run from the only city she’s ever known because if her father catches her, he will kill her. But running also means the rebellion could capture her. With the help of her new friend, Micah’s magic, she tattoos the rebellion’s mark on her wrist so she can pretend to be one of them if she’s caught. But, before she has a chance to flee, she is captured by the palace guard for stealing a ten-coin purse from a man in the market.
Dacre is the rebel commander’s son. Dacre’s sister, Wren, has been captured by the palace guard and is being held in the castle’s dungeon. Dacre and his best friend, Kai, break into the palace to rescue Wren, and she refuses to leave without her cellmate, who, unbeknownst to everyone, happens to be Verena. Terrified to stay in the palace and equally afraid to be taken by the rebels, Verena chooses the lesser of the two evils. She adopts her mother’s name, Nyra, and travels to the hidden city with the rebels.
Once in the hidden city, Nyra is given two choices: join the rebellion or die. When Nyra reveals to Dacre that she has no magic, he decides she must learn to use a sword to protect herself if she can’t use magic. Dacre is the leader of the rebellion’s warriors and instantly distrusts Nyra. But at the same time, he is inexplicably drawn to her. So, he nicknames her “little traitor” and decides she will train under him to become a warrior. Enter trainee/trainer sessions, sexual tension galore, and Dacre using his healing magic to mend Nyra not once but twice. But, as the book went on, I couldn’t decide if I liked Dacre or hated him. I’m sure that was by design, but the way he treated Nyra/Verena at the end of the book—good lord. He has some serious groveling to do if I’m ever going to be on Team Dacre again. Also, while we are talking about Dacre and the ending—THAT FREAKING CLIFFHANGER! Oh. My. God.
While I really enjoyed the story, I wish there was more world-building and backstory. I get that the king is terrible, but why? What happened to Micah after Verena was captured? How and when was the rebellion formed? Where did the hidden city come from, and how did it end up underground? I have so many questions, and I hope we get more answers as events unfold over the next couple of books.
