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Blood Queen #3
Bonded Queen
The pulse pounding conclusion that leaves a trail of blood in its wake.
With Okren’s armies storming Garo’s borders, Layla is forced into one final mission to save the people she loves. A cryptic message hidden in an ancient book points her toward a dormant god—one powerful enough to turn the tide of war. But every god demands a price, and the bargain offered threatens to break Layla’s body… and her heart.
When she treks into enemy territory, the last thing she expects is that achieving her goal means facing her worst working side by side with the man who took everything from her. Their uneasy alliance twists into something far more dangerous, and when betrayal tears her heart open, Layla must decide how far she’s truly willing to go for her kingdom’s peace.
With the clock ticking, Layla must face the demons she’s been outrunning—and decide if she can take her revenge into her own blood‑soaked hands.
With Okren’s armies storming Garo’s borders, Layla is forced into one final mission to save the people she loves. A cryptic message hidden in an ancient book points her toward a dormant god—one powerful enough to turn the tide of war. But every god demands a price, and the bargain offered threatens to break Layla’s body… and her heart.
When she treks into enemy territory, the last thing she expects is that achieving her goal means facing her worst working side by side with the man who took everything from her. Their uneasy alliance twists into something far more dangerous, and when betrayal tears her heart open, Layla must decide how far she’s truly willing to go for her kingdom’s peace.
With the clock ticking, Layla must face the demons she’s been outrunning—and decide if she can take her revenge into her own blood‑soaked hands.
- GenresFantasy
350 pages, Kindle Edition
Expected publication October 13, 2026
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Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews
Review of advance copy received from Author
Rating- 4.5 stars
(E-ARC)
Review to come but wow what a brilliant way to end the trilogy but I wouldn't mind to stay in this world 👀
Many thanks to Book Funnel and the author for this e-arc 🙂
(E-ARC)
Review to come but wow what a brilliant way to end the trilogy but I wouldn't mind to stay in this world 👀
Many thanks to Book Funnel and the author for this e-arc 🙂
Review of advance copy received from Author
4 stars out of 5.
2 peppers out of 5 spice.
**I received an ARC copy of this book in exchange for an honest review**
Genre: Fantasy Romance
Single-POV majority
First Person
Tropes:
-5+ year age gap, Older FMC, Younger MMC
-Political Intrigue
First Thoughts:
While enjoyable, this one didn't hit like book two did. I still enjoyed it, and I'm glad to see the series to the end. I enjoyed the end, and for some reason, whenever the characters are in a certain high stakes country, that's when I find myself the most intrigued.
Spice:
Frequent, but short, low description scenes. The characters are like rabbits, but then Layla went and called a different couple rabbits without acknowledging she is also a rabbit. You're a rabbit, Layla.
Writing Style:
I think this was the most jarring for me. Mind you, I read book one two years ago, and book two one year ago, so I don't remember their writing styles. In this book, I kept thinking this was reading almost like a diary or Layla's thoughts than it was in the present moment. She kept reminding us of the past - which was helpful to reference book one and two, but she also kept referencing book three - which slower readers might appreciate the reminders. She also kept telling us what might be the reason a character was doing something or saying something or why they were acting the way they were, and it didn't leave a lot of room for reader inference because we were just constantly being told the answer. And this is where the star was knocked off, not the story itself. For some reason it just kept bothering me the entire time, but for other readers it might not bother you, and hopefully you wouldn't even notice it.
Characters:
This is another area I had thoughts about - our characters in book three are major Mary Sues, and morally perfect. I went to my other reviews and saw I had written "Morally Gray MC", which contradicts the thoughts I was having while reading. Yes, she's the Blood Queen and kills people. I realized she only kills bad people or for good deeds, and the world is very black and white. But that could also be growth, it's been a while since I read the other books to recall if any of these characters killed innocent people or made morally gray decisions. I did remove those tropes from this books trope list because I just don't recall seeing any morally gray decisions.
World Building:
The world building seemed very consistent with what I remember. Morally good country versus morally evil country. We did get a bit more history of the world and introduction to grander elements, that if Denman decided to expand on the world and write more characters in this universe, this series would support laying that groundwork.
Story:
As much as the rest of the review appears like I'm griping over small trivial things, the story itself is where everything shines and what kept me to the end. Layla, Rune, Theroux, Galvin, Zeke, Zadia, Felix, Cleo, etc, etc, etc are all enjoyable characters that I enjoyed seeing their stories play out. The adventure and the raised stakes really kept my attention.
Positives:
-Enjoyable characters
-Higher stakes
-Epic Quests
Negatives:
-For some reason the writing style didn't sit with me, but I can't place why
-The characters aren't morally gray like previously
Recommend:
Yes, it is absolutely worth it to read the conclusion to Layla and Rune's story. The stakes are higher
2 peppers out of 5 spice.
**I received an ARC copy of this book in exchange for an honest review**
Genre: Fantasy Romance
Single-POV majority
First Person
Tropes:
-5+ year age gap, Older FMC, Younger MMC
-Political Intrigue
First Thoughts:
While enjoyable, this one didn't hit like book two did. I still enjoyed it, and I'm glad to see the series to the end. I enjoyed the end, and for some reason, whenever the characters are in a certain high stakes country, that's when I find myself the most intrigued.
Spice:
Frequent, but short, low description scenes. The characters are like rabbits, but then Layla went and called a different couple rabbits without acknowledging she is also a rabbit. You're a rabbit, Layla.
Writing Style:
I think this was the most jarring for me. Mind you, I read book one two years ago, and book two one year ago, so I don't remember their writing styles. In this book, I kept thinking this was reading almost like a diary or Layla's thoughts than it was in the present moment. She kept reminding us of the past - which was helpful to reference book one and two, but she also kept referencing book three - which slower readers might appreciate the reminders. She also kept telling us what might be the reason a character was doing something or saying something or why they were acting the way they were, and it didn't leave a lot of room for reader inference because we were just constantly being told the answer. And this is where the star was knocked off, not the story itself. For some reason it just kept bothering me the entire time, but for other readers it might not bother you, and hopefully you wouldn't even notice it.
Characters:
This is another area I had thoughts about - our characters in book three are major Mary Sues, and morally perfect. I went to my other reviews and saw I had written "Morally Gray MC", which contradicts the thoughts I was having while reading. Yes, she's the Blood Queen and kills people. I realized she only kills bad people or for good deeds, and the world is very black and white. But that could also be growth, it's been a while since I read the other books to recall if any of these characters killed innocent people or made morally gray decisions. I did remove those tropes from this books trope list because I just don't recall seeing any morally gray decisions.
World Building:
The world building seemed very consistent with what I remember. Morally good country versus morally evil country. We did get a bit more history of the world and introduction to grander elements, that if Denman decided to expand on the world and write more characters in this universe, this series would support laying that groundwork.
Story:
As much as the rest of the review appears like I'm griping over small trivial things, the story itself is where everything shines and what kept me to the end. Layla, Rune, Theroux, Galvin, Zeke, Zadia, Felix, Cleo, etc, etc, etc are all enjoyable characters that I enjoyed seeing their stories play out. The adventure and the raised stakes really kept my attention.
Positives:
-Enjoyable characters
-Higher stakes
-Epic Quests
Negatives:
-For some reason the writing style didn't sit with me, but I can't place why
-The characters aren't morally gray like previously
Recommend:
Yes, it is absolutely worth it to read the conclusion to Layla and Rune's story. The stakes are higher
September 19, 2026
Thank you from the bottom of my heart to the author for allowing me to read an ARC of this book !!!
“What happened to my hot-headed Queen who threw around her temper like a mace and never dealt with the aftermath?”
“You are the most magical goddess I’ve ever laid eyes on”
I loved this series! There’s not a part of me that hasn’t loved this series. Layla and Rune are unhinged, obsessed, crazy for one another. They are resilient. They are determined to get the power and kingdom they deserve. And they are in love. Only they have almost everyone against them! I loved watching them going through hell (quite literally) and standing against gods (no pun intended) for each other! And the spice between them ?? Top notch !!! Every moment was a flirt. But also it was surrounded by a tenderness that almost doesn’t belong to them but became part of their story! I loved watching them strategise and plan and be cunning together and apart to save each other and their people. And when the ending came … I wasn’t prepared to let go !!! I loved this trilogy and I know people will love it too !!
“I would show him how diabolical I could be”
“Who would have known the nefarious Blood Queen would be the missing piece that made me whole”
“Being inside you is never time wasted”
“What happened to my hot-headed Queen who threw around her temper like a mace and never dealt with the aftermath?”
“You are the most magical goddess I’ve ever laid eyes on”
I loved this series! There’s not a part of me that hasn’t loved this series. Layla and Rune are unhinged, obsessed, crazy for one another. They are resilient. They are determined to get the power and kingdom they deserve. And they are in love. Only they have almost everyone against them! I loved watching them going through hell (quite literally) and standing against gods (no pun intended) for each other! And the spice between them ?? Top notch !!! Every moment was a flirt. But also it was surrounded by a tenderness that almost doesn’t belong to them but became part of their story! I loved watching them strategise and plan and be cunning together and apart to save each other and their people. And when the ending came … I wasn’t prepared to let go !!! I loved this trilogy and I know people will love it too !!
“I would show him how diabolical I could be”
“Who would have known the nefarious Blood Queen would be the missing piece that made me whole”
“Being inside you is never time wasted”
Review of advance copy received from Author
First I want to say thank you to Caitlin Denman for sending me an ARC copy of this book for my honest review.
I absolutely loved this book. I’m honestly so sad that this series is over.
After the cliffhanger from book 2 I was really looking forward to this one and I was not disappointed. I feel like everything came together really well and I loved seeing how everything played out.
I really loved Layla and Rune throughout this whole series and their relationship was one of my favorite parts. They have both grown so much from the first book and I really enjoyed watching that growth. Layla especially has come such a long way.
There were twists I didn’t see coming and plenty of moments where I was yelling at my Kindle. 😂 I also really liked how everything from the previous books came together. There were questions I had been waiting to get answers to and I was happy with how they were handled.
I’m not going to say much more because I don’t want to spoil anything, but I really enjoyed this book and I think it was a great ending to the series.
I’m definitely going to miss these characters, especially Keir.
September 25, 2026
Caitlin, this was incredible!! As the final book in a trilogy, I came fully looking for more answers and results and you blew me away with more plot twists and left me yelling at my book more than once. I love these characters because of how cut throat they are. Layla and Rune fight for their love, but they also fight for their kingdom and for what is humanely right.
When Layla discovers a secret note from her father and feels the need to go searching for answers, her and Rune do what it takes to protect Garo from Brandt and take back her kingdom. Their do whatever it takes attitude makes for a fast paced story with more blood shed and insane risks along the way. Rune is still struggling a bit emotionally with his encounter with Andrea which is understandable because she is a whole other kind of evil.
Bonded Queen is full of make me melt, swoony banter, intense fighting, life and death scenarios, and you won’t want to put this one down. Falling in love with these characters over and over again is not an option. You just do.
When Layla discovers a secret note from her father and feels the need to go searching for answers, her and Rune do what it takes to protect Garo from Brandt and take back her kingdom. Their do whatever it takes attitude makes for a fast paced story with more blood shed and insane risks along the way. Rune is still struggling a bit emotionally with his encounter with Andrea which is understandable because she is a whole other kind of evil.
Bonded Queen is full of make me melt, swoony banter, intense fighting, life and death scenarios, and you won’t want to put this one down. Falling in love with these characters over and over again is not an option. You just do.
Review of advance copy received from Author
What a way to wrap up Layla and Rune's story. I was not disappointed. Caitlin did not make it easy for them. Bonded Queen is full of adventure, battles and betrayals. Thank you for having me as an early reader.
Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews