The Forsaken Crown

The Desolate Empire #0.5

by Christina Ochs

Sonya is a disgraced mercenary with shattered ambitions. Kendryk is a young ruler in danger of being overthrown. An unlikely pair, they must learn to trust each other to survive the turmoil ahead. But with a corrupt regent, a disloyal aristocracy, and an army in their way, the future looks grim.

The Forsaken Crown, a prequel to The Desolate Empire Series, delivers thrilling battles, devious political intrigue and compelling characters. The Forsaken Crown combines the action and excitement of the Three Musketeers with the sweeping imagery of fantasy. Readers are calling this powerful series "an all-ages Game of Thrones."

Genres: Fantasy, Amazon, Historical Fiction, Ebooks, Young Adult, Medieval

273 pages, Kindle Edition

Published December 13, 2016

About the author

Get a free ebook of the prequel when you join my reader's group!
Click the link below to get started:
http://christinaochs.com/prequel

Reviews

[Seon Ji (Dawn) · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is the prequel to The Desolate Empire Series.

This is a fantasy read, not a romance although there is a bit between Sonya and Andrei.

Here we get to see how young 14 year old Kendryk comes into his power with the help of warrior Sonya, Count Farris, Maxima Julia and others.

I loved it.

Kendryick has not yet met Gwenneth who is already his wife in the next book Rise of the Storm.

I was hoping to see a bit of Kendryk and Gwennth but was glad that there was no other woman mentioned before her.

Sonya was all that I love in a heroine, strong, brave, smart and loyal.

Great pace, nice fight scenes, good battle strategy and 3 dimensional characters. All great stuff. Excellent writing!

I did however, have a hard time understanding why a princess regent and prince couldn't over throw the Duke. Once the Princess (Kendryk's mother) was no longer drugged, why couldn't they together take over command of the kingdom? Remove the Duke from his regent position. He wasn't family. I understand why Kendryck couldn't, but when the mother came around, it just didn't make sense to me. I felt the reason given (her not an active regent for a few years) to be weak.

Other then that everything else was fantastic.

I look forward the next in the series. This author is a definite auto-buy.

Safety- No issues. Some mild violence only.

[Kate M. Colby · Rating 5 out of 5]

A great prequel!

This prequel was every bit as good as the rest of The Desolate Empire series. A perfect mix of action, court intrigue, and interpersonal drama. It made me want to re-read all the books!

[Kyra Halland · Rating 5 out of 5]

Fast-paced and exciting.

[Susan · Rating 3 out of 5]

HOW IT BEGAN. Forsaken Crown is a prequel to the Desolate Empire series. You can read this as a standalone. While it helps if you have read the other books, you can easily read this book first if you haven't. The book does not end in a traditional cliffhanger, but it is clear that the story does not end here. There is violence.

In this book, and series, you find a well paced story filled with multidimensional characters and the intrigue and politics that go on within and between kingdoms. Once I started reading I had a hard time putting the book down and look forward to reading more in this series.

[Lisa P · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is told from two very different characters' points of view- Sonya, a soldier and Kendryk, a prince waiting to come into his title. Very different worlds that ultimately tie together. I haven't read any of the other books yet but this prequel has me curious as to what will happen to these characters.

[Frank Bertino · Rating 5 out of 5]

Intriguing Characters and Plot

Captain Sonnya Vidmar is a very strong competent loyal character. I like how compelling she is. Her romance with Andrei was a nice touch. It is interesting to see the development of Prince Kendryk as he becomes a true leader. I look forward to the next book.

[Jess Thomason · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was a wonderful book! Started out quick and brought the heroine out in the first 3 pages! Quick tempo great character building and could not put down the book! Fantastically written with very little difficulty keep who was who and why they were doing what they were doing!

[Amy Braun · Rating 5 out of 5]

Being a huge fan of THE DESOLATE EMPIRE series, I was very happy to know that there would be a prequel following the recent release of WINTER OF THE WOLF. I was very excited to receive a review copy, and absolutely loved it! It was great to be see some beloved characters as younger versions of themselves, and many of the new characters were instantly likeable and fun. Unlike the main books, there were only two perspectives: Series regular Kendryk and new character Sonya. Not that you'll hear me complaining about that, since they're both amazing! Kendryk's heart is as big and honest as ever, and I loved how he was hesitant about making difficult choices and gaining his strength. As for Sonya, well, she's as badass as they come. A fierce soldier through and through, I instantly wanted to know her whole story. The book was packed with deception and espionage, the running themes of the books, though there were a few heaps of action and even some romance added in. I was very pleased with this newest instalment and can only hope for more!

[Elda · Rating 4 out of 5]

A humble young prince battling for his kingdom

I downloaded this book from an Instafreebie offer because the blurb sounded interesting and I love this genre. This is a long involved story about a humble young prince who wishes only to learn how best to rule his kingdom but is met with treachery and greed for power by those closest to him. Luckily he finds help from those most loyal to him. There is lots of adventure, a little romance, battles fought bravely, and surprising twists and turns. The book is well written however some obvious grammatical errors make this only three and a half to four stars.

[Kaiyla · Rating 1 out of 5]

This was a painful read for me. It kept putting me to sleep. The main characters needed so much more depth. It felt like the author put more energy into coming up with new names for places and cultural details than making the people feel realistic. At one point I had to re-check the author's name because I felt like maybe a man was trying to write a female character because she was so dry... nope, it's a female author. Maybe the book was an afterthought? Maybe it was a "hurry and get through the details, so Book 1 can have some back history"? I don't know, but I am uninspired to continue the series. Ugh.

[Xoe · Rating 5 out of 5]

Prince Kendryk is my favorite character in the Desolate Empire series, so I was thrilled to see that this prequel was about him. The story was engaging and even included some other characters from the Desolate Empire books. I love Sonya and hope she makes another appearance in the books. Christina Ochs continues not to disappoint with the new installments of her series. If you liked the other Desolate Empire books, you'll love The Forsaken Crown.

Disclaimer: I received a free ebook version of this book in exchange for an honest review.

[Dan · Rating 2 out of 5]

Maybe 5th grade reading level; transparent, inane, or childish conversation between characters (including the adults); middling plot at best. Extremely poor transitioning between alternating chapters (the chapters switch between the two main characters, always). Author often makes use of jarring, extraneous details that do not match the tone of the character's situation.

[Lois · Rating 2 out of 5]

I did want to like this but I just couldn't. It read completely flat and unedited - there wasn't much emotion in any of it, I couldn't connect with any of the characters - and it just felt flat and dull, even with the battles and all of what the blurb labelled as "political intrigue, compelling characters" - I didn't see it.
Total: 2.5 Stars

[Darsie · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent! The story had lots of intrigue and action, villains and heroes. The characters were great! With actual personalities, histories and opinions fully created people. Interesting dialogue that was realistic yet moved the story along.
Woukd read more from this author. Highly recommended.
Five Stars.

[Jackie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great book to read before the others in the series. Gives you a bit of insight into what will happen and the characters as well. Sonya and the Prince meet and make the story very interesting There's no doubt that the other books must be read.

[Simon Mcleish · Rating 4 out of 5]

Enjoyed this light(ish) tale of political and military shenanigans in a fantasy setting, with fun if not especially deep characters. Felt distinctly derivative of Elizabeth Moon's Paksenarrion stories in places.

N.B. I've not read the series this is a prequel to.

[Anna Tan · Rating 4 out of 5]

Picked it up during a freebie on bookfunnel, mainly because I recognised the name from twitter. lol.

Liked it. Rather more interested in Sonya than the Prince who's supposed to be the MC in the rest of series though. :p

[Maurice Jones · Rating 5 out of 5]

A perfect mix of action,great well-formed characters,political intrigue and war....This novel "hit the ground running" from the first page,is a page-turner,all the way to it's satisfying ending! (or was it an ending??) A entertaining read!!

[Carlynne Toomey · Rating 5 out of 5]

I really enjoy Christina Ochs writing style. She develops both her characters and her story world in a very believable and engaging way. This is the second book of hers that I have read and I can't recommend her stories enough. If you like fantasy, you'll Christina Ochs!

[Glenda Dykstra · Rating 4 out of 5]

Enjoyed it!

I was surprised at how well it was written and how real the characters seemed. Definitely some one I will look for in the future

[Kayla · Rating 4 out of 5]

not typical in any way.

[Ashley Lavering · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very nice.

I enjoyed the kick butt girl warrior. I also enjoyed the little romance side story. It was entertaining and held my interest.

[Brad Partridge · Rating 5 out of 5]

Fun adventure story.

[Barb VanderWel · Rating 5 out of 5]

I love this & I can't wait for more.
I will be also leaving a review on Goodreads @ Amazon.
And letting everyone know about it.
So i gave it a 5 Stars.

[Margaret McCormack · Rating 5 out of 5]

A really good read with a well paced plot.

[Deborah · Rating 3 out of 5]

A short but entertaining read introducing you to the main characters & places likely to feature in the main series.

[Mr A J Hay · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good story good characters

Goo story. Good developed characters. Moves along at a rapid pace and keeps your interest. Hopefully can be sustained in following books

[Jade Kersey · Rating 4 out of 5]

This took me a bit to get into. With the back n forth between the characters it took a little to get my head around.

[David Houston · Rating 4 out of 5]

It starts off poorly, but it gets better, and I ended up really enjoying the book.

[Ann Marie · Rating 3 out of 5]

I received this prequel as a free book for joining Christina's email list. So far it appears interesting and well written. I will write more when I finish the book.

Okay, finished the book and enjoyed it. I am going to check on the rest of the series. I want to see where the series is going.