Author: Jennifer Fleming

Publisher: Jennifer Fleming

Published: 2023-01-01

Total Pages: 300

ISBN-13:

Queen Peydra has refused to submit to the curse’s inevitability for nine years, but... Still struggling against the darkness of the ever-nearing curse and growing affections for her mysterious attendant, Peydra has occupied the throne of Drayden for nine years. During that time, she has spent untold hours crafting a proposal to remove the Protection Dictum from the Law Books, but her hope flounders after a meeting during which Ruling Council ignores the main tenants of it, even in conversation. The evening after the discouraging meeting, an assassin brings a crooked blade down upon her bedclothes and Anthony is wounded as he fights with the intruder. He hides it behind machismo, but it backfires. While he recovers, and as things seem to be calming, hooded men abduct the queen and demand she give them the Stone of Drayden, a legendary object that grants the possessor important monarchical rights. When she is found and returned to the palace, she is not the same. Anxieties that she could quiet before the abduction roar in her ears and give her chest pains. Then Speaker Glorienzel is found dead at his estate and a new enigmatic man comes to take his place just as her proposal to remove the curse from law is threatened by The Cleaning of the Law Books, a tradition which she knows has the power to destroy her proposal’s viability, and the nine years she spent crafting it. With that hope-squashing thought, she soon begins to lose confidence, especially as Anthony abandons her for Theôran. Questions about Anthony’s identity and whether he will return shroud her days. His absence leaves her vulnerable to the machinations of the new Speaker of the Council. Will she abandon hope of defeating the curse and listen to Ruling Council’s demand that she ignore her intuition and place the handsome new Speaker on the throne? Abandoned Queen is the second of Fleming’s four book series, Curse of Royalty. Queen Peydra continues her struggle against the darkness of the curse, endures consequences for her bad decisions, and denies the growing affections for and dependence on her attendant. Anthony attempts to keep the queen safe despite her foolish decisions.

Author: Jennifer Fleming

Publisher: Jennifer Fleming

Published: 2023-01-31

Total Pages: 314

ISBN-13:

Time is growing short. Merely two years remain before the curse will claim Queen Peydra’s life and desperation steals some of her common sense. Despite advice to the contrary, Peydra returns to the palace after a disastrous visit to Old Towne and a six-week absence. She finds Speaker Erik cozy on her throne as regent. Determined to clarify whether he is friend or foe, the queen stubbornly puts herself at risk while Anthony and her allies fight to keep her safe. More of Anthony’s past comes to light when Peydra sends him on a quest to find the Stone of Drayden. A childhood friend with questionable loyalties waylays and later joins him. Despite the extra help, Anthony returns to the palace not with the stone, but with Novi, a young woman who calls herself the Protector of the Stone. Novi sets into motion a quiet hopeful plan to save the queen. Speaker Erik, having burned bridges between he and the queen, leaves the palace and sinks deeper into his father’s schemes, but his eyes are starting to open to the truth. As time grows short, Peydra makes erratic decisions that threaten not only her life but that of her men. Will Anthony finally tell her who he really is before it’s too late, and if he does, will Peydra forgive the seeming deceit or will she banish him so she can focus on what she believes she must do? • Foolish Queen is the third book in Fleming’s Curse of Royalty series. Queen Peydra and Anthony have difficulty adjusting to their return to the palace, specifically to the necessary personal distance. Peydra insists that she needs Erik’s support to defeat the curse so she stubbornly puts herself into danger, not only with the speaker but in several situations.

Author: Jennifer Fleming

Publisher: Jennifer Fleming

Published: 2023-01-31

Total Pages: 197

ISBN-13:

Desperation has consequences. Queen Peydra is in the hole, an unpleasant dark space in a Saiurian dungeon, thinking she may escape the Curse of Royalty only to end her days on foreign execution grounds. Reeling after Anthony reveals his true identity, Queen Peydra’s recklessness initiates a string of events she quickly loses control of. And following a candid conversation with Anthony after their surprising liberation, she finds herself decidedly uncomfortable as she further processes who he is and what that could mean for her determination to face the curse. Her feelings for him begin to interfere with her ultimate goal – to defeat the curse no matter the cost. Less than a year remains while she attempts to harden her heart and desperately clings to a belief that the end of Leonatus’ bloodline means the end of the Protection Dictum in Drayden, and ultimately, hope for those who will come after. In her determination to walk through the valley of death, she concocts an elaborate ruse to protect herself – both from the council’s desires and from her own. With the initiation of her ruse, she begins to self destruct and further alienates her allies who are working to save her from the curse. Will she sacrifice herself and trust High Council to honor what’s written in the Books of Law or will she grasp at any opportunity to escape once the time nears? What will Anthony and her allies do? Will she surrender and trust Maker as she drinks from the poisoned cup?