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Nightingale: Book One of the Broken Kingdoms

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“Coward.” She slung the insult his way.

He didn’t miss a beat. “Survivor.

Vrea Greenvass had been bred for war. It wasn’t a talent, it wasn’t something that she thrived on or in which she earned a place for herself. No, it was the sheer cause of her birth, and the sole purpose of her life. She’d been told from day one that her reason for her existence had been to take down the Moordians, who wished for everything that did not belong to them. Until her capture, three years ago. A failed assassination attempt on the Golden Heir of Carylim, Rian. Now, three years after she tried to kill him, that same Prince offers her a chance to escape back home. If she takes it, what lies in store for him once they reach Niroula?

318 pages, Kindle Edition

Published March 15, 2025

10 people are currently reading
126 people want to read

About the author

E.D. Lee

17 books64 followers
E. D. Lee is a gothic vampire from Ohio who became a self-published author. She started her career in writing with her fantasy romance duology, the Shadowfyre Duology. She has multiple series that are perfect for dark fantasy romance readers who enjoy spice. The Frosted Fae Series holds a special place in her heart and she continuously spreads her wings with standalone novels, new series and branching out into different categories for fantastic stories!

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5 stars
42 (63%)
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16 (24%)
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5 (7%)
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2 (3%)
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1 (1%)
Displaying 1 - 30 of 47 reviews
Profile Image for Lyha Thompson.
81 reviews11 followers
March 20, 2025
Wow

I loved this! Even though you have an idea of what is to happen, our author still manages to surprise us. Can't wait for the next in series!
Profile Image for Brittany McMahon.
100 reviews36 followers
February 9, 2025
Awesome world building, strong FMC, warring kingdoms and siblings constantly trying to kill each other! So much suspense going on the WHOLE time. And who doesn’t love a good enemies to lovers?! 🖤 Looking forward to book two coming out!

Thank you for choosing me as one of your ARC readers!
Profile Image for Shawna.
16 reviews
March 14, 2025
Absolutely and masterfully crafted enemies to lovers! This book will keep you on the edge of your seat through out the entirety of the book!! Very strong characters with amazing development and a beautifully crafted visual of the world she created!! I can’t wait to start book two.

Thank you for allowing me to be an ARC reader for you it is truly amazing!!!
Profile Image for Haikubookreviewer .
182 reviews2 followers
January 8, 2025
Vrea is a princess of a cruel kingdom where siblings murder each other to ascend to the throne.Her mother, Casta, encourages this, and spurns weakness. Vrea was born to kill, born to fight in the never ending war with the kingdom of Carylim. When she gets captured during a failed attempt at assassinating the Golden prince Rian, she gets locked away and only taken out as a plaything for three years. Will she ever get home? And will she come to love her captors and allow them to change her?

This book!!! The writing is very strong. The characters are so fun, Vrea is a badass, and the princes Rian and Castil are both very interesting. The spicy scenes are spicy and exciting. The journey was harrowing and made me worried for the characters! The pacing was perfect, it kept me wanting more. And the ending…. Ooooof I can’t wait for book two! You should absolutely read this book if you like dark fantasy, enemies to lovers, and strong female main characters!
Profile Image for Katelyn Delone.
130 reviews10 followers
March 3, 2025
Once again, ED Lee has done it again. Knocked out another fantastic book that I feel in love with. I loved the main characters, from the broody/emo brother castil to the banter/sarcasm loving man of rian. I loved it all. Needless to say I need the second book already to see what happens after that ending! Like cmon why he have to be dumb like that barging in like that!! The adventure was on point, the spiders gave me the chills I did not like them but at least they dead now. And oh my murder so much murder but no one has killed the brother I would prefer to see dead yet hmm maybe in book 2. Please go read this book and all her books! She’s such an amazing writer and I can’t wait for book two!! 🥰 ps, did I mention their is gratifying spice 🌶️😏
Profile Image for Jenna Trouten.
142 reviews16 followers
April 13, 2025
This was such a fun and unique read. It had a little bit of everything. Drama, action, romance and *well written* spice. It’s refreshing to have a plot and storyline that’s unlike anything I’ve read before. It’s set in more of a fantasy type world but also has realistic aspects which I really enjoyed. The world building was done well and not so confusing that it turned me off like some other books have. It’s not enjoyable to read a story that you feel like you can’t follow and the author did a great job with that aspect. There are, however, quite a lot of different characters. Many in which I feel there’s more to their stories that we’ll hopefully get to explore in the next books!
Profile Image for Mercedes.
70 reviews1 follower
March 1, 2025
Thank you E.D for the opportunity to read this book before release.

Vrea is the strongest FMC I've actually read in a book. She doesn't back down at all in the whole story. She stays true to herself and continues to be a badass. This story is a slow burn and enemy's to lovers. There isn't too much spice but when it happens it's good.

In this story, Vrea Greenvass is the princess of Niroula. During a mission she is captured by the enemy kingdom and meets four of the ruthless heirs. Vrea goes through the story staying true to who she is and doesn't back down to the heirs who hate her and want to do anything to embarrass her. The siblings in both kingdoms are encouraged to kill one another. The story kept me guessing when it came to what would happen next but also kept me guessing on who the love interest was going to be! There is a strong argument for both MMCs. Personally, I'm team Castil.
96 reviews
March 21, 2025
This is the type of book that hooks you in! Right from the start I started to wonder what on Earth is going to happen. You're not sure how the story is going to go and you think you're going to hate characters that you end up loving in the end. The spice and build up in this book is so nice and refreshing.

You're left on a cliffhanger which makes wanting to read the next so much worse! I'm honestly concerned about what is going to happen to Rian and I'm really hoping he doesn't go back to the castle with his father. I don't want his part of the story to end!

Can't wait to read the rest of this series!
Profile Image for Dark  🖤.
7 reviews2 followers
March 3, 2025
This was such a fun read! It has spice, it has deception, it has two love interests & siblings that try to kill each other. You feel like you are living in this story. You cannot help but fall in love with some of the characters. The spice was perfect! It was subtle but still spicy. I have so many favorites scenes from this book. This book had me on the edge of my seat needing and wanting more. I could not put it down and was sad when it was over! I am so invested in these characters & story I cannot wait to read more.
Profile Image for Lauren Head.
647 reviews14 followers
March 14, 2025
Omg! Such a good book! I couldn’t put it down and I’m so ready for book 2! This book had me hooked right from the beginning. Vrea is definitely my favorite character because I can see myself a bit in her. I have to say to that my favorite line is the part where Vera calls castil a coward because i absolutely loved the banter between them.
Profile Image for Angiewagg.
279 reviews27 followers
February 27, 2025
This book kept me on my toes and wondering what would happen next.
Enter the world where Niroula & Carylim are at war.
Siblings kill each other to get a step closer to the crown.
Heirs of each throne/land, killing the heirs from the other to gain favor with their Queen & King.
Vrea from Niroula has snuck into the Hawksmoor to kill a prince.
Instead, she gets captured and held as a prisoner. Is it possible that her brother Eamin gave her bad information?
Castil & Rian are heirs of Hawksmoor where the siblings aren't allowed to meet & hang out together.
Is it possible that heirs from different lands learn to get along? Can they possibly work together to try and make peace? Is there love in the air or just sexual tension?
I was hooked from the first page. And could not put Nightingale down until the last page.
I highly recommend this book and give it 10 stars out of 5!!!
Profile Image for Magpiebookreviews.
94 reviews6 followers
March 19, 2025
Such a refreshing take on this type of book. The characters really draw you in.
Profile Image for Kealsi Fanter.
29 reviews7 followers
March 16, 2025
This book was a wild ride. From beginning to end, I couldn't not put this book down.
If you like hot passionate romance, badass main characters, assassins, and unexpected endings, then this book is for you.
The complexity of the characters keeps you intrigued and wanting to know more about them and their story.
I can't wait for the next in the series and to see more of Vrea and Castil's journey together.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
Profile Image for Augusta Chauhan.
8 reviews
March 17, 2025
Amazing!

I can’t wait for the next book! The story is well written and keeps you engaged, wanting more. It’s refreshingly original.
Profile Image for Kayla Nelsen.
6 reviews2 followers
March 15, 2025
An amazingly intriguing read from beginning to end. Vrea is one of the strongest FMC I've come across in a novel in quite some time and I live for it. Refreshing to have a FMC that isn't entirely focused on matters of the heart and is no nonsense about many things throughout the story. Having multiple other character perspectives in addition to Vrea in the storytelling helps the reader understand the motivation on both sides. Looking forward to further continuation of this series.
6 reviews
January 29, 2025
Absolutely brilliant of a book! Pick this book up! Loved every minute of it! If you like 2 warring kingdoms/families, love triangles, morally grey FMC and MMC, very rich world building, and dark fantasies then this a book for you! I should warn you though, if you have triggers about death, murder and other "dark" topics then I would make sure you are good before starting. Can't wait to read the rest of the series!
Profile Image for Morgan Taylor.
150 reviews8 followers
January 8, 2025
Enter the world of Vrea. A songbird stuck in enemy territory. Two warring kingdoms, assassinations, nothing is as it seems. Nightingale captured my attention from page one! I absolutely fell in love with the characters!
Vrea is a total badass character and I love how invested I became in her story. I'm a sucker for flirting and banter, and I was not disappointed!
This world by E.D. Lee was described so well, it was like I was actually there.
An absolutely awesome read! I cannot wait for Book 2!!
Profile Image for Ashley Galletti.
120 reviews2 followers
January 28, 2025
A book with a strong FMC? Sign me up! I love the journey she goes on and a couple of the enemies, too. 😜 If you like battling kingdoms with some internal betrayal and a bit of romance, you will love this book.
Profile Image for Michelle.
9 reviews1 follower
March 14, 2025
This book was a surprisingly enjoyable read for me!

I am not normally a romantasy girlie. I find that the world building, magical, fantastical elements are usually put on the back burner for a mediocre romance in romantasy book. But I think Lee did a good job of balancing the two.

One issue I had with the book was that I think it needed another round of editing. Information would be presented in an order that didn't make sense. Like, we found out the main character Vrea is 29 towards the end of the book. That would have been nice to know earlier. And we will be introduced to a character or topic and then several chapters later will be given a description of what that thing/person looks like, how they act, and what our characters know about them. It can be hard to follow when you first pick up the book.

But I found the characters had realistic motivations (even if they sometimes made dumb mistakes I wouldn't expect from highly skilled and trained assassins). The family dynamics were interesting and made the story believable.

My biggest wish for this book is that it was longer. It feel like we got cut off in the middle of the story.

This book is for people who like romantasy and want a fun quick read. You should avoid this book if you prefer high fantasy sagas.

Thank you to E. D. Lee for sending me this book to review! All thoughts ans opinions are my own.
Profile Image for Donna Williams.
774 reviews26 followers
March 13, 2025
Blurb: “Coward.” She slung the insult his way.

He didn’t miss a beat. “Survivor.”

Vrea Greenvass had been bred for war. It wasn’t a talent, it wasn’t something that she thrived on or in which she earned a place for herself. No, it was the sheer cause of her birth, and the sole purpose of her life. She’d been told from day one that her reason for her existence had been to take down the Moordians, who wished for everything that did not belong to them. Until her capture, three years ago. A failed assassination attempt on the Golden Heir of Carylim, Rian. Now, three years after she tried to kill him, that same Prince offers her a chance to escape back home. If she takes it, what lies in store for him once they reach Niroula?

What you will get
Warring Kingdoms
Royal Siblings
Secrets deals
Two handsome princes
Bad A$$ FMC
Touch her and die
Steamy scenes
Poisons
Human characters
Fantasy creatures
Vicious kings
Violent queens

Ok let me start by saying I am absolutely new to this author. But you have a new fan in me, I was hooked from page one, this book has really strong world building and a truly bad a$$ female character. I really enjoyed everything about this book and I can’t wait to read book two.

Profile Image for Nikki B..
815 reviews18 followers
March 15, 2025
This book was amazing. I was captivated and got sucked in for the ride. Vrea is the princess of Niroula and was sent in to assassinate Rian, one of the princes of Carilym. Vrea is such a strong , fearless character. Her assassination attempt fails and she ends up being held captive. The other MMC is Castil, who is another prince of Carilym. Now... this story did not head in the direction I thought it was going to go at all. I think that's because I wasn't a huge fan of Rian from the beginning. I'm more of a Castil girlie, so I was hoping for more of him in the story. Vrea's banter and tension build up with Rian has been great, though, I'm still rooting for Castil to step in and take charge. The author has done an amazing job of the storytelling. Characters are amazing and very well written and very detailed.And her description of things has me wishing I could see them with my own eyes. I cannot wait to start book 2 to see where this adventure takes us next!
Profile Image for Deanna.
52 reviews1 follower
March 13, 2025
In a land of warring kingdoms, where sibling rivalries amongst the heirs are encouraged to fatal levels, emotional attachments are considered a weakness and only the strong survive. Vrea Greenvass, born into royalty but trained for war, is a powerful FMC showcasing a woman's resilience, strength, determination and intellect as she navigates through the events and situations of the story. With 2 MMCs, Rian and Castil, to choose between, I'm not sure which one I'm rooting for more, as both have different ideas for achieving peace between the kingdoms while struggling with their individual feelings towards Vrea. The sexual tension are strong throughout and when the spice hits, it heats!
As book 1 ends on a suspenseful note, I can't wait for book 2 and find out how the events play out and what the future holds for all the characters involved.
Profile Image for Meg.
145 reviews4 followers
March 6, 2025
𝓝𝓲𝓰𝓱𝓽𝓲𝓷𝓰𝓪𝓵𝓮

A Romeo & Juliet / West Side Story with KNIVES retelling with a sprinkle of TOG.

Our stabby, fiesty FMC should probably go to therapy but would rather solve her problems with a dagger and a perfectly timed retort.

And not one but two MMC’s—one a golden retriever with a serious bite, the other a cinnamon roll with a tortured soul, who does all the wrong things but for the right reasons…the tension? 𝗦𝘂𝗳𝗳𝗼𝗰𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗻𝗴.

Not gonna lie—the first half moves slow, the plot feels a bit vague and tough to follow. But trust the process. Because the second half?? BRUTAL. Quick, cutthroat, with a cliffhanger that has a very end of 𝙍𝙚𝙘𝙠𝙡𝙚𝙨𝙨 vibe—if you know, you know.

Good thing book 2 is set to release in April 🙌🏻

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
🌶️🌶️
341 reviews
March 15, 2025
This is Nightingale, the first book in the Broken Kingdoms series.

Vrea is the Princess of Niroula, where siblings kill one another to ascend to the throne. This is encouraged by Vrea's mother, Casta. Vrea's entire life she has been raised and trained to fight and kill in the war of her kingdom. As Vrea is attempting to assissinate Prince Rian of Carylim, she is captured and kept as a prisoner for several years in the rival kingdom. Are things as Vrea has been lead to believe or will she find out that there is more than she has spent her life believing?

Vrea is a very strong character and the banter with the rival princes is top tier. Although the books ends on a cliffhanger, I highly recommend sticking around for the next installment in the series to see how it plays out.
Profile Image for Vanessa Eline.
12 reviews1 follower
March 15, 2025
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

🔥 enthralling, with a touch of spice, some suspense and absolutely unputdownable! 🔥

Nightingale was everything I didn’t know I needed! As an advanced reader, I’ve had the pleasure of diving into some amazing stories, but this one takes the cake!

The plot had me hooked!
- Strong FMC - Vrea ( LOVE LOVE LOVE HER)
- Warring Kingdoms
- Siblings who can kill each other to advance to the crown
- I love enemies-to-lovers with a twist that added layers of tension and made the payoff even sweeter.
- Secrets that really make you question what is going to happen

If you’re a fan of romance with sprinkle of spice and characters you’ll want to root for, do yourself a favor and grab this book TODAY.!! I can’t wait to read book 2.
Profile Image for asia michelle.
34 reviews1 follower
March 15, 2025
WHY MUST YOU TOY WITH MY EMOTIONS?!?! MY EMOTIONS YOU HEAR 😭😭😭 GIVE ME THE SECOND BOOK NOW I DEMAND IT I DIDNT ASK TO BE LEFT WITH A CLIFFHANGER I DIDNT SIGN UP FOR THIS 💔

#teamcastil #thisisntfair #plsgivememore #fuckrian🙄 #hestoolatetotheparty #illkillhimMYSELF


this was my first fantasy book, popped my cherry with this one, and I wasn’t disappointed. it’s a slow burning romantasy with a strong FMC. The author does a great job of introducing all her characters and their elements (whether it be appearance, attributes, etc.) and it’s real refreshing to see that every character is complex in their own way, she also provides a map of the world in the beginning of the book. You can just see that it was well thought out. 🤍
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
Profile Image for Lauren James  (storied.adventures).
541 reviews43 followers
April 15, 2025
This was shockingly addicting. I say that because this book only fell on my radar because I was going through trying to find indie authors that had new releases in March and I found this one. The author reached out and asked if I wanted an e-copy and I was like yes! I flew through this book! It had yearning, assassins, royals, kidnapped princess, a love triangle which usually I hate but this one is good! Team Castil. It's also got some cool fantasy elements like the fighting scenes and giant spiders they have to battle!

I have recently been disappointed in writing styles lately and just wonder if authors are even editing their books before pushing them out... this is not like that. It was very much a breath of fresh air that there were no weird plot holes and no choppy writing!
Profile Image for Horromantasy Book Mom.
60 reviews14 followers
March 14, 2025
This book is dark, twisted, and full of taboo themes - definitely not for everyone. If you have triggers, check them first! That said, I’m not easily shaken, and keeping in mind that these things do exist in real life helped me push through.

But it’s not all darkness! The story weaves in romance, action, and fantasy lore that keeps you hooked and craving more. Our Princess Vrea is anything but your typical fairytale princess. The Princes? Just vile, barbaric, and full of betrayal. And the Queen? Stuck in the middle of it all.

If you love dark fantasy with morally gray characters and a world that pulls you under, this is for you!
19 reviews
March 17, 2025
I’m excited for the next installment of this! As always with book one in a series there is a lot of world building and character building and with this one there are a lot of members of the royal families so there are a lot of familial lines that need to be established. Outside of that, some of the creatures are super fun to try and create in your mind. My favorite portion of this book comes closer to the end when we finally travel outside of the palace. I absolutely enjoyed the 3 main characters and cant wait for more of Rians whit, Castils brooding, and the way Vrea deals with them both!
Displaying 1 - 30 of 47 reviews

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