The Empty Throne

by Megan Derr

The Kingdom of Cremisio is in turmoil—the royal family dead by assassination, a secret heir no one can find, and three enemy kingdoms fighting bitterly to each take control of Cremisio for themselves. If the missing heir cannot be identified and located, Cremisio will fall once and for all, and thousands of people will die with it.Only one person knows the identity of the missing Lord Cohea Szelis, the Duke of Lindquist, also known as the Fox of Cremisio. Notoriously honorable, impossible to break, leaving those who have captured him frustrated and helpless. Until one of his captors notices the ring he wears, a ring that marks him Bound, an old, illegal spell that binds two people together, body and soul. If one dies, so does the other. If they can locate the person Cohea loves enough to Bind himself to, they might finally get the Fox to break…The task of finding that Bonded falls to Jethue Bittersea, notorious exiled traitor to the throne, and an assassin who has never failed. It will also give him a chance to do some hunting of his own for this mysterious heir who is the key to everything…

Genres: Fantasy, M M Romance, Romance, Historical, LGBT, Royalty

395 pages, Paperback

First published March 12, 2024

About the author

Megan is a long time resident of queer romance and keeps herself busy reading and writing it. She is often accused of fluff and nonsense. When she’s not involved in writing, she likes to cook, harass her wife and cats, or watch movies. She loves to hear from readers and can be found all over the internet.

meganderr.com
patreon.com/meganderr
meganderr.blogspot.com
facebook.com/meganaprilderr
meganaderr@gmail.com
@meganaderr

Reviews

[Achim · Rating 2 out of 5]

Looking at the beautiful drawings of the different MCs at the end of the book I believe the story might have worked as a comic but as a novel … not so much. Pity, because there is a lot there to make it a nice fantasy. It's just that all those shiny pieces don't create a believable story.

As expected from Derr she has a detailed picture of the world in which her story takes place. It's a continent somewhere across a polar circle in the middle of a cold polar night, divided into several countries, mostly kingdoms where Cremisio is the smallest one, always fighting for its independence and dominated by 4 great houses and the royal family. Now that the royal family is assassinated in a terrible way the current lords of the four houses are trying to hold the kingdom together, fending off a potential invasion and finding a secret heir to their throne. Looks like an epic take, does it? Unfortunately it's only pretending to be epic. Seems Derr doesn't know where to go with her compelling ideas and the intriguing situations she is creating so effortlessly. Years ago she would have made a series about all of that, would have shown the fate, belief and magic of each house in a separate book but now she is pressing all of it into one book, drops their history and its relevance here and there without following up, doesn't care neither about a magic system nor about political probabilities or character plausibilities, didn't give her characters enough time to become real characters and even the war seemed only to be added because this kind of fantasy has to have a war, doesn't matter that it's making no sense or finally adding something like suspense.

[Shelba · Rating 1 out of 5]

DNF @ 14%.

When the second POV wasn’t either of the names in the blurb, I got suspicious. When the third POV showed up, I got concerned. When it was revealed there was four POVs, I was just plain annoyed. That’s three more POVs than I enjoy.

I had been under the impression this book would be the start of another series…. But upon its release, there wasn’t anything to indicate that it was: not the newsletter, GR, the author’s FB, the cover, the front matter. And reviews make this seem like a standalone. There’s too much going on, and too many POVs going on, for a standalone.

And that is pretty evident by the info dumps. Derr has generally always done a good job of subtle world building. Not so here. There was a betrayal two years ago mentioned. The royal family was murdered a month ago. Bittersea’s POV gives a rundown of the four Houses and their magic attributes (though 2/4 of the MCs appear to be magicless, one’s not mentioned at all, and one just hinted at).

I’m always interested in a world’s magic system, but it seems Derr has chosen to focus less on that and more on describing every meal.

• Cohea has “*Tea, barely warm. Stew, slightly warmer. Bread that was relatively fresh, spread with soft, salty cheese.*

• Bittersea starts with a street vendor cart, having “*a bowl of vinegared rice with strips of buttery white raw fish”*

• Then he is served his meal at the inn: “*Roasted chicken in bittersweet sauce, rice balls made with bonito, seaweed, and some sesame seeds, and steamed vegetables and a dish of pickles, tart and crunchy, to balance everything else.”* (Holy commas, Batman)

• And the following day, he “*bought several rice balls to eat for lunch, then bought two small loaves of bread, one with a savory, spicy black bean filling, the other with a sweet read bean filling, and a waxed paper cup of fish chowder.”*

• Oskia, while rushing home to her dying mother, spends as much time describing her Witch Eyes as she does her full breakfast: “a bowl of rice, smoked fish that had been quickly grilled before serving, a bowl of soup made from fermented soybeans, steamed spinach, and a fluffy, savory-sweet omelet. All of it accompanied by a smooth green tea flavored with jasmine.”

So, I hope you like reading about food more than magic in your fantasy books.

I also hate the images at the start of each POV. They are massive, distracting and not attractive. Cohea’s is hardly even legible. Is it a tornado or a blob of ink?

I think if I knew this book was the first part of the story, and not that this book comprised the whole story, I might have had more patience. But it feels like too much is being squeezed into one book and the focus is on the wrong things (if I had to read one more meal described, I’d biff my ereader clear across the room).

Megan Derr has written some of my favourite MM fantasy books… this is not one of them.

I also have pretty strong suspicions of who the heir is and Cohea’s bonded, but don’t even care enough about it to peek ahead an spoil myself. That alone speaks to how little interest I have in this book.

[Terri · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a five points-of-view, four romances Fantasy Romance, so buckle up. One pairing in particular frames the whole novel, a mystery at first to the reader. The worldbuilding is very good, each character is distinct and interesting, and the escalating dangers made me read faster--always a good sign. There is a lot of killing, so if that bothers you, skip this one. Two backstories include abuse, including one of the leads. But the core of this story is the friendships of the group who've known each other since childhood. I really enjoyed that.

I wasn't sure this one would work for me, but it very much did.

[Renée · Rating 3 out of 5]

Four different POVs, which I’m not a fan of. Otherwise, still intriguing.

[Trefoil · Rating 1 out of 5]

DNF at 12% . There is too many POVs , 4 or 5. I might pick this up again in the future , but so far it's difficult to get invested in characters when it's a stand alone book and difficult to keep up with.

[Deeze · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really love Megan Derrs worlds and characters and this one did not disappoint.

I loved how I went from hate to love over a character. I enjoyed the side characters as much as the main two.

I would of loved more on Lysyken, I think he deserves his own detailed story.

I really love how in a lot of Megan Derr worlds Trans are the norm. They are not outed as trans rather just accepted.

My only real complaint is an entirely personal one and that was the sex. I really am not a fan of D/s and pain. It might work for the main couple but I hated it.

[PaperMoon · Rating 3 out of 5]

Three sets of MCs and a decently paced plot with some engaging romance twists and some exhilarating battle / fight scenes. 3.5 stars overall.

[Sarah☀️ Somerville · Rating 2 out of 5]

I just couldn’t get into it. Never felt invested in the characters or story.

[Dumbledore11214 · Rating 4 out of 5]

I have read many many books by this author by now . The description for this one sounded like one of her themes I enjoy the most - politics , fights and love stories ( often but not always exploring from friends to enemies tropes ) mixed up with suspense and adventure . In many ways this is exactly what this book ended up to be and liked that but I also wanted to give sort of a warning .
It is not exactly a warning - I am sure many readers will enjoy this part of the plot and characterization more than I did - but I still need to share . Jethue Bittersea one of the main characters in the story is an assassin as blurb tells you .

I don’t often pick up a story featuring assassin no matter how non graphic the descriptions of his killings are , however at times here we have graphic descriptions of blood spilled and some torture involved as well. In fact the book begins with some torture too ( not done by Lord Bittersea but torture nevertheless) . The violence and torture are not done just because it is very much part of the story and Bittersea does have his own moral code but I won’t deny that at times his *enjoyment* of killings was too much for me as a reader no matter how much a lot of people he did in deserved it .


Mind you I didn’t blink an eye at the killings characters including Lord Bittersea engaged in during the war when they have to protect their home and their king. Although Lord Bittersea’s motivations even at that time included some enjoyment I have to say . Going to sound contradictory and say that he is a fascinating character . Some book assassins are actually way too noble and fluffy bunnies deep inside . The book actually seems to acknowledge that he has a serial killer tendencies no matter if he often does kill bad people but he certainly didn’t shy away from killing for hire in more grey circumstances .

And even the person who loves him seems to acknowledge that Bittersea won’t ever love him the way he does and he is okay with it . Bittersea may change a lot for one person whom he fell in love with it but his love of killing doesn’t go away and he seems to decide to exercise it *solely* on horrible people only now . I thought the characterization here was fascinating .

Also Bittersea and his love were very hot together I thought - obviously opinions differ .

There are two more love stories develop along this one . I think I liked them all .

I also very much appreciated how the story here sent a message - this is actually the kind of message I love in the fictional books . I said the war finally breaks in the last third ( I think ?) of the book and one paragraph , one paragraph of the musings one of the characters engaged in suddenly made me think that the author may have wanted to show her disgust over the war in Ukraine . I have not been in author’s head . I have no idea if this was what she had in mind , but because this is something that had been on my mind that paragraph invoked these thoughts in my head . Maybe somebody else will read that passage and think about other terrible war where big aggressive state decided to attack small neighbor who did not attack anyone first . I don’t know but I liked how it was done .

B+

[Jean · Rating 4 out of 5]

It’s really a 3.5 but I’m rounding up because I did like the characters and the setting. Derr writes a lot of fantasy worlds where political intrigue, war, magic and political marriages/romance merge. My favorites are the Tales of the High Court but there are other I love too. This one had similar themes to the High Court and Unbreakable Soldier stories and I liked the world building. The houses were interesting and I love the dark backstory of the Bittersea house. I liked the characters and would like to see a sequel or maybe a prequel.

The thing that kind of bothered me was the feeling that I was reading a second book or that there were parts of this one that got cut. You’re thrown into the story page one and details are doled out through conversation and inner thoughts but there’s a lot about the characters past and relationships that made me think I was missing an earlier book. The main 5 characters are all friends from childhood with tangled histories. At least I think so. It was like the book was missing details or the reader was supposed to just know the characters history. I also felt the end was a rushed and I wanted a bit more. (Also, I don’t know if Derr was hungry when writing this but there were so many descriptions of food. Usually in her books it’s clothes but here it was food. It didn’t bother me but it happened so much I noticed it and I started skimming the meals)

So why 4 stars? I liked the characters a lot and the setting/plot mostly worked for me. If it was a little more fleshed out I think it could’ve almost been a 5 star. It reads like a polished second draft but I still liked it a lot. I need a follow up or short side story because I feel like there’s more to say about this world and these characters.

[Ann Name · Rating 2 out of 5]

I did not enjoy it as much as some other works by the author.
First of all, as others have already noted, there seem to be too many POVs. I don't mind reading books with different POVs, but in this one, it really did not work out. It felt like reading 3 books at once, and not in a good way. I have a feeling (not sure if correct) that the author got too attached to the characters and could not relegate any to a background character, which unfortunately resulted in a kind of chaotic and wishy-washy read - instead of focusing on one couple and developing them, we jump from one to the other, never really developing any fully.

Another of my peeves, and this one may be just me personally, was the character of Bittersea/Keris - he was like an annoying teenage girl that fixates on one music band or hobby or whatever, and makes it her whole personality, except his "hobby" was murder. Like, every mention of this character, any interaction or dialogue was like "oh that murdery Bittersea, he likes murder so much, he kills so many people with zero remorse, he's such a killer blah blah". There was some attempt to develop his backstory, but due to the aforementioned wishy-washiness, it was not really explored fully. So this really annoys me, because I KNOW the author can do better than this and make him a proper character (Beraht from Kria books comes to mind - similar type of character, yet so different), so yeah, that really annoyed me.

All in all I feel the book was firmly in the realm of "meh", I know the Author continues working on some books even after they're published, so I hope it may still be developed into something better, as it has potential.

[Pete W · Rating 4 out of 5]

For me, this is the most complex story I read from Ms. Derr. Although, most of the complexity came from lack of communications and necessity? secrecy.

This book is written with multiple third person POVs. Each chapter depicted one of the four main characters. And there is no other choice than to open the first chapter with Cohea's... predicament.

Most of the book was about how the four main characters deal with the major incident that happened in their kingdom.

There were many twists and reveals. Some feel earned. Some felt like I was conned, because it was simply lack of communication... Some I could accept as political obfuscation, others felt contrived. I realized that Ms. Derr seems to skip showing how to use bloodstone to fix Lysa's curse problem. And I thought that Lysa might get Bittersea title, since he was most intrigue by the house and history. He understood Bittersea in the way most didn't. And he even propose new name to Bittersea that he accepted. But then the title went to another person. It did made sense but... not quite as satisfying for me.

Despite some flaws, I still find the story as whole enjoyable. This quite a hefty book. It took me about 8 hours across two days to finish the book. If you like Megan Derr before, this one should be a good read for you as well.

[dan · Rating 4 out of 5]

I enjoyed this, though I don’t think it’s the author’s best work. The political intrigue is shallower and more one-note than the High Court series by the same author, and it feels a bit dashed off. (Example: the map is terrible, which seems picky, except that it could have not existed in the first place.). Similarly it ends with some silly fantasy art of the main characters that feels fan-art-ish. Meh.

The book is written with four focus characters, each of whom is a noble from the four “houses” that make up the kingdom with the eponymous empty throne. There isn’t much actual mystery in any of the uncertainties of the book: we very quickly find out or can predict who’ll wind up with whom and who is the surprise monarch. More complex plot elements mostly feel like they’re a bit parachuted in, which I didn’t love either. It’s also not entirely clear why the good guys win the (overly foreshadowed) climactic set-piece battle.

So it’s fine! But her recent Hammer and Powder book pleased me more, and I wish this were book #2 of that series instead. Maybe soon.

[~TheBlasian~ · Rating 3 out of 5]

I sooooo wish i liked this more.

I loved the concept, the characters, and the attempt at mysterious intrigue (…it was pretty obvious from the jump though), but this one missed me.

The POVs……..
….wayyyyy to many POVs.

I would have loved this so much if it was just from Cochea and his love’s POV, but no. We got the whole gang’s POV.

While it contributed to adding more substance to the plot, it was so disconcerting and deflated my interest. I pretty much skimmed through to Cochea and his partner’s parts.

Don’t get me wrong, the other characters were plenty interesting, but i didn’t need their vantage points. They could have gotten side stories or something in classic Derr style instead of mixing into this novel.

But back to Cochea and his beau. I loved them! I appreciate that their true personalities were displayed and no excuses were made to “explain” why they are the way they are. They just are. Period. Everyone is not going to fit into the mold of what general society expects, and that’s perfectly understandable.

[Lisa · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book has a larger group of main characters that are equally important. Cremisio is without a King, as the entire royal family was murdered. There are various separate stories that are interconnected and winding together to help reveal the heir to the throne.

This book feels more fantasy than romantic fantasy, as the couples are often apart from each other. There are still plenty of passionate encounters and undying love. Most of the couples are in queer love matches and one couple especially enjoys kinky, power exchange play. The action, fights for survival, treacherous travels, and magical elements make the book enthralling. The story feels epic and continues to pull the reader in, as the various storylines come together. Highly recommended.

[Kristi Stanley · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great Storytelling, absolutely gripping.

This book was absolutely great storytelling. It was a don’t put down from start to finish read. I literally had to run to get to the smallest room in the house when I finished it. In fact I think I would have strangled anyone who had tried to interrupt me while I was reading it. It was gripping. There wasn’t one dull moment in it. The characters and their dynamics were all unique as was the story line. Definitely far more than the blurb indicated. A must read.

[Linda · Rating 3 out of 5]

Not young adult. A lot of characters and it turns out they are all alternate in their loves and likes, explicitly. Also the characters are all on their own quests. At half way through the mystery is revealed. I find myself not caring much about how it gets resolved. there is no main character to root for and no romantic arc to be resolved. The hidden heir is a side character, a cardboard cut out. There is no central enemy. You hear a lot about what characters ate or wore. I flipped through the culminating battle which was hollow since villian was another cardboard prop, HEA

[Miriam]

I don't know really, but it wasn't bad.

A couple of times, the author used the word "conscious" instead of conscience, and once the word "commiserate" when she meant commensurate.

The kink is pretty dark, so content warning I suppose. To clarify - nothing particularly extreme is portrayed, but for me it's the juxtaposition of an "honourable" man getting off on hurting the person he loves that feels grim.

[Kevin · Rating 2 out of 5]

I had to quit reading this for a while, as I was totally lost at the beginning, and the pace was too slow for me. Too much history and intrigue thrown at me too quickly. No romance at all.
When I eventually resumed, there was some romance, but much of it involved pain. Lots of blood and violence, then the book ended.

[Emilye · Rating 5 out of 5]

Goon Today, Heir Tomorrow

A graphic start to a well-paced mystery.

Cremisio is a small kingdom, that everyone seems to covet. And now that the royal family is dead, the hunt is on for the secret heir.

There are little enigmas scattered throughout the story, that keep teasing the reader to press on.

I enjoyed this.

[May]

More fantasy than romance. More queer than MM. But all the elements of my favorites of her stories. Political/war intrigue and plot; interesting characters.
The story plots out many MCs and many romances and it took a while to get into it.

[Rauli · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great story, wonderfully complex characters with conflicting definitions of honor ( or contempt of the concept) and fantastically intricate resolution. Have to admit I missed the first couple breadcrumbs of the romances which was a joy in itself. Will re-read!

[Chanelle · Rating 5 out of 5]

The Empty Throne

Once again a masterpiece by Megan Derr. The characters are well written with an complex story. You can vividly put yourself into the story and the characters. This book will be going on my favourite re-read's list.

[Duke Silver's Duchess · Rating 3 out of 5]

This wasn't my personal favorite just because a lot of the romance happened either off screen or in the past.

World is, as always with Megan Derr, utterly fascinating though. I just wanted more screen time with our couples.

[Mia · Rating 4 out of 5]

Not her best work - felt a bit rushed - but still good, nonetheless

[Melanie · Rating 5 out of 5]

Delicious!

A wonderful story as usual, with characters that are alive and complex. I read it too fast, which I always do with this author, and it is already marked as a re-read!

[Light · Rating 3 out of 5]

Too many pov’s. But over all was good read. I wish we had got more of how Cohea fell in love and why. His was the main pov i was interested in and dint get much back story.

[llv]

rating: dnf
Just couldn't get into the story.

[Milyd]

Great thing this book is free on hoopla 🙄 Like do we really need 4-5 POV? Ugh

[Cynthia · Rating 3 out of 5]

Lots of characters, lots of plot twists, lots of fun as long as you don't think about anything too hard