The Books of Caledan Trilogy

Books of Caledan #1-3

by Meg Cowley

LIMITED TIME 99c LAUNCH PRICE FOR ALL THREE BOOKS! One queen's assassination sparks a war between dragons, elves, humans and elementals. Discover the fast-paced epic fantasy series by USA Today Bestselling Author Meg Cowley that has readers raving.

★★★★★ "The characters are believable, the action fast paced and the story engaging. You'll have a hard time putting down this book."

★★★★★ "An amazing series full of Elves, Dragons, Magic, Gods, and Man."

★★★★★ "The best I have read in a very long time."

The Tainted Crown: The First Book of Caledan

Framed for the murder of the Queen, her son, Prince Soren, must run for his life. Soren must discover whether the price of kingship is worth paying, and whether he is worthy of the throne, yet far more is at stake than a crown, for ancient and dark magics stir.

Can Soren unite Eldarkind, dragons, and men to secure peace for Caledan? Step into Caledan, a land of swords, sorcery, and betrayal.

The Brooding Crown: The Second Book of Caledan

Soren has defeated his usurping uncle but betrayals lurk in the shadows; Caledan is not yet safe. Can Soren ally all of Caledan to his cause – and keep them?

War returns to Caledan, but a greater threat looms. The pact is broken. The Eldarkind fade. The dragons war amongst themselves. A power too terrible to name grows in the North, and He seeks revenge. Only Eve stands in His way – but can she stop magic as old as time?

Peace balances upon a knife edge. Can Soren and Eve save Caledan?

The Shattered Crown: The Third Book of Caledan

Caledan is caught in the midst of a warring dragon clan. Soren is powerless to save his people or stop the attacks, but worse is coming. The elementals are rising. If Caledan is not destroyed by dragon fire, it will be obliterated by elementals’ ancient magic.

Soren faces his greatest tests so far, and it may cost everything he has; his home, his kingdom, and his life. Can the alliance be rebuilt, and the elementals vanquished forever… or will Caledan fall?

Discover an epic, coming-of-age fantasy in The Books of Caledan. If you enjoy the sweeping world of The Lord of the Rings, the thrilling adventure of The Inheritance Cycle, or the gripping characters of The Books of Pellinor, then you’ll love the Books of Caledan trilogy.

This edition includes the full trilogy and bonus features including; brand new map art, an interview with the author, and a translation and pronunciation guide for the beautiful language of the Eldarkind.

Read the trilogy today – free in Kindle Unlimited.

Genres: Fantasy, Epic Fantasy, Ebooks, High Fantasy, Science Fiction Fantasy, Amazon

722 pages, Paperback

First published May 17, 2017

About the author

✒️ Romantic Fantasy with courageous heroines, protective heroes, and endearing found families to sweep you away... ✨️

Meg Cowley is a USA Today bestselling fantasy author from England. Meg writes slow burn steamy epic fantasy romances with courageous and vulnerable heroines, protective and brooding heroes, and lovable and welcoming found family in stories that will steal your heart long after the last page.

Meg's favourite past times are reading, hiking, and cooking. She can usually be found curled up with a cup of tea and a riveting fantasy romance book, cooking up a fantasy-book worthy feast, or out walking the wild, windswept moors of Yorkshire dreaming up her next story.

Visit www.megcowley.com to find out more, discover Meg’s books, find exclusive reader bonus content, and join her Romantasy Fellowship newsletter.

Reviews

[Alison Ingleby · Rating 5 out of 5]

Dragons, battles, betrayals, intrigue, magic: these books have it all. The Caledan Trilogy follows Soren's quest to take back the throne that is rightfully his. But it is not just Soren's story. It's the story of his allies - and his enemies. Similar to Game of Thrones, the stories are told from the perspective of multiple characters whose fates are inextricably woven together.

The worldbuilding is particularly strong in these stories and the author's descriptions of Caledan are evocative and lyrical. It's easy to picture the city of Pandora, the valley of the Eldarkind and the dragons' islands - a world that's easy to escape into. But this doesn't come at the expensive of the action. The stories are fast-paced and keep you turning the pages from beginning to end.

If you're after your next epic fantasy binge, this should be it.

[Aaron · Rating 3 out of 5]

Overall not too bad of a read. It definitely lacked character building. They were pretty flat. The story line seemed a little rushed and lacked a lot of detail that I really enjoy in many other fantasy series. I’m glad I finished the series, it was pretty fun to read, just not one of my top favorites

[Dustin]

On sale now, for just $.99. You cannot beat this deal, as this complete trilogy is approximately eight hundred and thirty pages!

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B079VHT37B?...

[Chuck McConnell · Rating 5 out of 5]

Completely unique plot from any other fantasy book I have read.

[Beth · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a 3.5 stars for me. I really enjoyed the first and the last book in the trilogy but found the middle one a bit tedious. I enjoyed the mix of magic and dragons but found the elementals a bit too unreal. I also found Eve and Luke’s relationship really hard to believe and she was so self centred it was a bit annoying. Soren’s growth on the other hand was nice to watch. A good solid series!

[Liisa Nicole · Rating 2 out of 5]

Had this book trilogy not billed itself as “epic fantasy” I may have been less disappointed. I had expectations of what a book in this genre would contain, but it read more like young adult fantasy, with poorly developed characters, frequent editing mistakes (ie- duplicate duplicate words, incorrect conjunctions, etc), and a magical system lacking in depth or detail. Things just seemed to happen. Don’t get me wrong, I love young adult fantasy and a little deus ex machina never hurt anyone, but I’d prefer to actually care about the characters and what happens to them. You’d thing after 800 odd pages it would be hard to say goodbye to your protagonists and their worlds, not so in this book. Unfortunate, because I love to support women writers in a genre filled to the brim with old white men. Over all, it was ok, I wouldn’t recommend it, but it’s also not a DNF.

[Steph Warren · Rating 4 out of 5]

*I received free copies of each of the books in this box set individually. The decision to review and my opinions are my own.*

The Tainted Crown

The Tainted Crown dives straight into a conflict: betrayal and usurption, blood and violence. The narrative splits into two threads, with two main protaganists and the divergent threads mirror each other neatly: Prince Soren, on the run, seeking allies with the legends of his homeland in a fiery, desolate waste; Lady Eve, escaping her bounds, seeking allies with the legends of her estranged family in an light, airy idyll.

Of course there are battles, and magic, and dragons galore. The antagonist, Zaki, is so evil he brings to mind the classic vizier trope (always best portrayed for me by Jafar in Disney's Aladdin!). The ostensible main quest is for Soren to win back his crown, and for love to trump politics for Eve, but the reader (especially any reader who has also devoured The First Crown novelette - sold separately) is very aware that there is much more at stake than the character's happiness, freedom, or even the peace of the kingdom. There is a bigger, overarching evil looming that will put usurper Zaki's machinations into stark perspective.

There are some lovely unique touches: my particular favourite was the dragon throne. I love the idea of a rulership needing to be legitimised by a higher authority, but it also opened up interesting questions for me about what morality that authority is based on, whether it is infallible etc. I also loved the foray into the retreat of the Eldarkind (the Celedanian equivalent of an elven race), the exploration of their magical powers and their societal structure. The only slight gripe is that they are almost TOO perfect (and therefore a little bit smug/sanctimonious?). In comparison the dragons have more 'humanity' in them, with their sibling bickers and youthful rebellions.

Another nice touch is the 'army' that Soren raises to retake his throne. I don't want to drop a spoiler here, so I will just say that I really liked the confirmation that it isn't just mystical signs and legends that make a true leader, but their relationship with the kingdom and the people therein.

This is obviously the first novel in a series, so it doesn't end neatly wrapped up with a bow on, but there is a conclusion to the shorter plot arcs explored, whilst leaving the threads trailing for the next novel to catch hold of. Overall a great start to what I hope will be a long new series for my shelves!

The Brooding Crown

The Brooding Crown is the second in the Caledan series and the strongest so far. I feel you would definitely need to have read the first book, The Tainted Crown first, and strongly recommend reading the short prequel, The First Crown too, as that sets the legendary history behind the whole plot.

While The Tainted Crown introduced us to the main players and their initial challenges, The Brooding Crown develops them much further, rounding them out into deeper and more complex people, and thereby making their reactions to their new situations less predictable. In this novel, Soren has apparently suceeded in his mission from book 1, but rests uneasy and has to fight for what he already thought he had won, whilst finding out that there is more behind ruling than simply winning and wearing the crown. Eve has to face the consequences of being a female in a patriarchal society as she is matched up with a suitable husband and has to decide whether to follow her heart to the man she truly loves, or follow her heart to the strength and freedom that comes from realising her own true potential: much more interesting than the old head vs. heart battle!

We also see a deepening in the character of Zaki in this installment. Previously he was somewhat of an evil cypher (I compared him to Jafar from Disney’s Aladdin!), but with more of his point of view coming through we get to understand him much better, and whilst he remains thoroughly unpleasant, the greater understanding unavoidably creates more empathy towards him. This in turn made me question the character’s labelling of Bahr as purely evil: is anyone truly ‘pure evil’ once we can see through their eyes and understand their feelings and motivations?

I was interested that rather than mirroring each other this time round, Soren and Eve’s stories seemed to be on opposite paths; with the odds turning against Eve’s fight as they improved for Soren. However both suffered great losses in their journeys, and it is becoming clearer that the fate of Caledan will rest on their individual endeavours without as much support as they hope for or even need…which makes it all the more nerve-wracking; especially as we see the ‘older and wiser’ societies of their allies, the dragons and the Eldarkind, respectively splintering and fading.

Overall this is a great second installment in the Caledan series and really moves things along in terms of plot and character, whilst also stepping it up a notch: tougher decisions, bigger dangers, more complex morality. I look forward to the climax of this series with great excitement.

The Shattered Crown

I paused approximately halfway through this book and put it down. Not because I wasn’t enjoying it…I was. I had to stop because I was so caught up with the injustice on the page that I needed a rant! Luckily no one was home to see me striding up and down, finger jabbing the air as I expostulated about intolerance and prejudice, and not helping those in need because they are different and unknown and therefore to be feared and hated. It all just hit a bit too close to home with the current political climate.

Then I started thinking. Ranting was no good. I wasn’t achieving anything. I was being too much Barclay and not enough Eve or Soren! So I actually got off my metaphorical backside, put my time and energy where my mouth was and started contacting volunteering opportunities in my local area, and quickly signed myself up for a few before I lapsed back into my customary apathy.

So I can honestly say that The Shattered Crown made a real-life impact for the better!

That noted, it is also an excellent fantasy read and the perfect finale for the Caledan series: two apparently indestructible foes; allies so far at odds with each other that they struggle to find any common ground; and a solution that will only work if they can unite despite it all. Let’s just say I picked it right back up after I got off the phone!

I particularly liked the addition of the bond between Myrkdraga and Lorellei and how that began and developed, as a perfect example of how deep-seated prejudice can be overcome by proximity, understanding, and shared adversity.

It was also interesting to see how Eve and Soren grew from the first to the last books, as their outlook and decision-making skills displayed greater maturity and wisdom. We saw them develop from naive teens to strong and stable rulers, and that brought with it a sense of almost parental pride in their journey; we saw them grow up.

Finally, the overall pacing was well set, so the tension built up to the climax of the action, then the resolution was complete and left the reader feeling satisfied and ‘finished’. There is an especially touching closure for one of my favourite characters of the whole series (no spoilers here!), which got me quite emotional, but in a happy way because it felt right. For the majority of the characters though, it was clear that their world would continue on without our observation. I much preferred this balance to leaving too many loose threads trailing, or severing them all and wrapping things with a bow on top…a few minor issues outstanding, but with the confidence that the characters are now equipped with the skills and experience to face whatever else comes.

(Reviews by Steph Warren of Bookshine and Readbows blog)

[Leighton Clark · Rating 3 out of 5]

Great storyline. A fun read

The plot and development of the Caledan Trilogy is really its strongest element. It's an easy and fun read that keeps moving. I like how characters have choices, how they deliberate in making them, and how they pay the consequences for them. Also that limits do exist for most of the characters. Good development of the antagonists, but can always be more. I'm glad I spent the time to read it. It's memorable.

Three things bothered me, not annoyingly so, but enough for me to want to share them.

One character developed fully: Eve. While developing some of the other characters would doubtlessly have made for much longer books, for me the result would be so much richer. Specifically: Soren and Luke and some of the Elderkind. The antagonists are also pretty well developed, I must mention.

My second beef may be a publisher error, and is definitely something most readers will never notice, but my german background made my nerves quake when I saw it: Elderkind cannot be separated with a hyphen after the k. Kind (child of) is the last syllable in the word, not ind!

Third is also a grammatical annoyance. I wouldn't mention it, if it weren't also repeated in the invitation to join the on-line Dragon Lair group. When speaking of oneself NOT as the subject, together with one or more others, the pronoun cannot be I. If you take my friends and ME to a plce you like, we will be grateful. The use of I instead of me has become very common, and may be tollerated in modern speach, but when the implied era is "long ago" and the speakers are well educated, that mistake is egregious.

Still a fun read. Enjoy!

[Thomas Iles · Rating 1 out of 5]

Naughty, spirited princess? Or spoiled tramp?

Sad, spoilers will be in this so move on if you cannot accept minor spoilers.
First the Prince just flies up to his capitals walls and tells the people to stand and fight? After a month has passed?

The real traitor declared him to be the murderer. He has not been seen since the events transpired. All the potential allies he might of had were taken out the first night so ahhh where does his supposed support come from?

Then tramps-ola eve comes into her power, instantly knowing an entire language. The amusing part here is it can come at any time in their lives so imagine a 2 year old wonder genius able to speak the entire mystical language of power and magic.
She what can instantly converse with more eloquence than Shakespeare who was said to know 30 to 50,000 words. Yet our 2 year old would instantly shame him knowing over 100's of 1000s of words! At 2? Hey even at 5! Come on exercise that talent writers are suppose to have and at least make this plausible
Then in some weirdo rescue 4 kids sneak into a protected castle and kidnap
a kidnapped princess and only encounter a couple guard?? The weakest link Th
e traitor has and he does not even bother to have that in France guarded???
Yet had arranged an entire coup and removed all threats! Yeppers!!!

The author did not think this though. Only one minor skirmish in 200 pages and then da prince a la spoiled brat just walks up to the gates and says sniffle, snivel, snort, snort give me my throne n the world bows to his stinky carcass? Yeah right.

Who wrote this a child?

[Gayreth Walden · Rating 5 out of 5]

A sweeping epic saga!

Three books in one set. Book 1. The Tainted Crown. 2. The Brooding Crown. 3. The Shattered Crown. A magnificent sweeping story! Dragons, men and elvenkind must put aside their differences and waring against each other and work together to defeat an ancient evil that is stirring in the land because if they don't, their land and every living thing in it will be destroyed. An alliance between the three races has faded through the last thousand years. A young Prince dealing with court intrigue and betrayal must find a way to rebuild that alliance in order to defeat an ancient elemental determined to destroy the land and all living things. This is an extremely well written and imaginative story. I especially enjoyed the character development and growth through the three books. I loved the conflict between the dragon clans and the conflict between the groups of humans. A story of intrigue and betrayal, power struggles, battles, love and loss. In all I found myself really caring for the characters. This is a trilogy you will devour page by page. I give this trilogy the highest of recommendations. You will not be disappointed!

[Linda · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is one of those greatly popular series that just didn't grab me the way I hoped it would. The story itself and the characters were fine: the son of a queen, a wicked uncle, a brave young woman who is cousin to the king, and a crisis in the pact between humans, dragons, and a magical people. But there were barriers to my immersion in the story that kept distracting me. I am not a fan of formal writing passing for normal conversation. Much of the dialogue was so stilted and far from the way a character would actually speak, it too often felt as if they were reading a speech someone wrote for them instead of actually talking to one another. But worst were the grammar, spelling, punctuation and word usage mistakes, which peppered the book throughout and did the author's story a disservice. Sometimes I wondered if these books even had an editor. I did like the characters, especially the dragons, which the author made relatable without sacrificing their power and potential savagery. Love, tragedy, greed, hatred, heroism, magic - all there, just not quite right for me.

[Donna · Rating 4 out of 5]

4.5 stars
This trilogy was somewhat unique in that it let you understand each character's motivation, even the "bad" guys. Zaki apparently really believed that he was the rightful heir, although his method to ascend the throne by killing his sister the Queen is very questionable. Soren and Eve are probably the primary characters but all of the others who play a significant role are well fleshed out. The only character that I felt was neglected was Tulia. Why was she mentioned after her banishment? She manages to escape the devastation of her new home but there is no indication of where she goes with her son. No mention is made of her daughter. I was dissatisfied with how that event was portrayed.

This story was not all sweetness and light. Even those who could wield magic suffered defeat at times. Some of the leading characters die while others are scarred both physically and mentally. All in all I found this an enjoyable read.

[Elda · Rating 5 out of 5]

An exhilarating, action packed adventure full of magic, elves, dwarves, warriors, an evil king, court intrigue, machinations, power grabs and many more wondrous characters. Very well written but I would expect nothing less from Meg Cowley. Also, the plot twists seem to come at you while not anticipating them at all. The world building is fantastic! Many scenes she describes are very vivid and full of wonder and magic. People, places and things brought to life in your imagination. The last book in this series brought chills to my bones. You can literally feel the dark evil that pervades in this book. Meg Cowley has done a terrific job capturing the evil in these characters. Likewise, Ms Cowley has captured well the suffering of the those characters who are working against this evil in their own way. This box set is well worth the price. It allows the reader to consume each book without having to wait for each book separately. I highly recommended it.

[Nathan J · Rating 3 out of 5]

It's an okay sort of story, in a solid, pulp-fantasy kind of way, but golly gosh does Meg Cowley need an editor, or at least a good proofreader. No less than twice did she describe "lightening" coming from the sky, rather than lightning, and there are some horrible bits of mangled grammar such as "Cies’ damage of the columns holding the roof had done their job." (damage isn't plural, it's a mass noun which does its job) and "Brithilca rumbled. “I have endured over a millennia now,[…]" (Surely in over a thousand years, he would have learned that the singular of "millennia" is "millennium")

That sort of basic lack of command of the English language means that the prose itself never rises above pedestrian, and so it's never a great read.

[Avery Rose · Rating 1 out of 5]

I don't have too much to say about this. This could be a perfectly 'meh' kind of fantasy story (I'm afraid I can't consider it "perfectly good" because, well, it wasn't) if it weren't for the overwhelmingly distracting grammatical errors. They were absolutely everywhere, and I cannot fathom that an editor was very involved in this. Combine that with forgettable characters, plot inconsistencies, big bads that never really feel like they deserve the amount of concern they're given, and character motivations that are spelled out in the narration but never shown in the characters' actions, and I'm afraid I'm just not on board with this book. I'd probably give it a 1.5 if I were allowed half stars in the Goodreads system.

[Debbie Tremel · Rating 3 out of 5]

The story is 5 star but two things make these books less enjoyable to read. First, they definitely need a thorough re-edit. There are so many errors it is very distracting. The second, is the authors writing. Cowley fails to be consistent with character point of view to the point you sometimes have to recheck to really see who you're following. Stopping to figure that out doesn't do much for the flow of the story. She sometimes has "thoughts" of different characters from one paragraph to the next or inserts points of view of other characters randomly. It's a shame, the story is good. The writing and editing just need a bit more work.

[Francis Chamberland · Rating 5 out of 5]

The Books of Caledan Trilogy: (An Epic Fantasy Collection) Review

Dear Met, I really enjoyed reading your three books in the series. Your imagination and creativity is wonderful and exciting. The characters were entertaining and interesting to read about. This story spread through three books was exceptionally and morally wonderful, meaning the series could be read by anyone interested in reading a great story. I highly recommend reading this series to anyone interested in reading a great story. Thanks for the entertainment.

[Neil · Rating 4 out of 5]

Treason, Rebellion & Magical Mayhem

The main characters are nicely crafted as the story proceeds giving them a well rounded personality.
The plot of some of the events seemed a little to simplistic on first reading, but then not everything has to be complicated to to work.
The Dragons and the Elderkind were well fleshed out, though how and when the Elderkind and Eve used their magic didn’t seem logical at times.
Overall this was an engaging and entertaining read straight from the start. Well written and worth reading if you enjoy fantasy novels.

[David Francis]

I enjoyed the these books. There was no waiting for any build up. The story took off on page one and didn’t hesitate through the whole first book. It was full of action. Book two started a little calmer it built right back up and the action lasted through the end of the third book.
Soren finds his whole life is being ripped away and has to flee to try and enlist the aid of allies that have not been seen in generations. The allies themselves are believed to be no more than legend.
A unique twist!

[Sara · Rating 5 out of 5]

Adventure awaits

I love first person point of view and having multiple fppov is even better. Each book had its own problem to overcome and growth of each person. Soren a young prince learning all the tales from his childhood were true and having to become strong enough to take the throne from his conniving uncle who killed his mother the queen.
Eve his cousin who learns her mothers family has magic.
And epic adventure of magic dragons friendship love and growth.

[Connie Fogg-Bouchard · Rating 5 out of 5]

kindred spirits

Soren has lost his mother and his kingdom in one day. his usurping uncle has taken it all but Soren's youth courage and some unusual friends bring him home. all is not well as Soren and his companions fight old prejudices, emotions, and older evils.

I thoroughly enjoyed the series. the characters pushed me forward with their distinct personalities and names. the location descriptions were grand; i could get there by dragon-back! a worthy series

[Petr Barton · Rating 4 out of 5]

I couldn't really decide between 3 or 4 stars but in the end I decided for 4. The problem I had with book is that I could never really care about the characters which is why it took me ages to finish this book. On the other hand I like how the book was written. I don't think that there were any almighty characters and to my surprise a lot of the characters died when they were supposed to. Also the third book is better than the first two.

[Pam Resner · Rating 3 out of 5]

I'm not certain but i feel these books were written for a much younger audience. I had a difficult time with everything being explained rather than inferred. Hence my rating. I only made it through the first book and although i like the idea of the story several parts were too unbelievable to swallow, such as the princess being sent to rescue someone when she had no practical skills that would help her do so. Loved reading about the author and her journey though.

[Renee · Rating 5 out of 5]

An awesome trilogy that should be read by all that enjoy epic fantasy.
My favorite quote from the final book: “They had wrought a peace that would last many millennia more, but there was no joy in that moment, as there ought to have been. Not even relief, for the cost had been great. Almost too great to bear.”
Enjoy a great tale.

[alicia · Rating 5 out of 5]

Chaldean fantasy.

Thoroughly enjoyed this trilogy. Easy reading gripping storylines good characters. An easily imagined world through good description. A proper curl up into the armchair with your blanket and hot chocolate and disappear to another world. Meg Cowley gets it just right.

[Phyllis · Rating 5 out of 5]

Murder, treason and flight haunt Soren as he seeks to rescue his younger sister and regain the throne
usurped by their mother's killer.
Enemies dog his travels and allies are found in unexpected places.
The series is off to a flying start.
From there, the action is non-stop until the final conclusion to the story.
An excellent read which I thoroughly enjoyed.

Phyllis S.

[Jacqueline Walker · Rating 5 out of 5]

A brilliant story full of my favourite things - dragons!

This was my first time reading this author but I soon got lost in this brilliant fantasy world made real in my mind by an author who built believable characters. Now I'm looking forward to reading some more of her work.

[Denice Darland · Rating 5 out of 5]

Good clean tale of fae, magic & dragons

I appreciate a well spun tale with plenty of drama & action told in a manner that does not need tawdry references to the baser elements of our human condition.

[Breann Adams-Arant · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great series!

This was a great series!!! You get so attached to the characters, and can’t wait to find out where they go next, who their love interests are, and where the dragons fit in!!

[Marty Land · Rating 4 out of 5]

Struggles of a new king, dragons, and the Eldarkin to find a way to coexist

It is full of nontraditional struggles in a fantasy world of humans, elves, and dragons. Lots of struggles, wars, and ethical dilemmas. Good read!