Charlie knows how to be a princess. Now she must learn to be a queen.
She sacrificed her heart in exchange for the fragile peace of her kingdom, but in the wake of their beloved king’s assassination, peace is hard to come by. Threats and conspiracies emerge with every turn, and all the while her wedding looms closer.
Between funerals and hangings, coronations and balls, Charlie must find the strength to prove to her people — and to herself — that she can be the queen they need, even though it required breaking her heart in two.
Her allies are few and unexpected, and enemies await in the most familiar of places. Will Charlie live long enough to see her wedding day? Or will the perils of her choices finally catch up to her?
Robin D. Mahle started out as a pen name I shared with my husband for The World Apart Series, but since then, I've absconded with it to delve into the wonderful world of fairy tale retellings and fantasy romances with my partner in crime, Elle Madison.
When I'm not writing, you can find me spending time with my seven hundred cats and drinking wine by the barrel.
Such a rollercoaster ride. Things would go way downhill and I cried, then they'd rise way up and I'd be crying happy tears. So many ups and downs and that ending! A cliffhanger, but one (and I don't say this lightly) with just a dash of SJM heroine flair. Oh how Charlie has grown.
I think that is my favorite part of these books. The characters grow and change and do rationally irrational things and have real depth to their personalities. Including some new developments of side characters that I am dying to hear more from.
I am enjoying this series immensely, and cannot wait for the next book.
I seriously cannot get enough of this series. How am I going to cope once I’ve finished Autumns Reign?! Argh. I am so invested in this I feel like I actually am a part of the family. Onto book 4!
So after this book I have decided to stop reading this series. It comes to a good ending for me. I will say that I liked the other series after this one better. It had more action more adventure deeper characters and a better love story. As authors get more experience their books get better. There were some holes throughout this series and the second one was just a better story. Lots of similarities though. I would rate this one PG-13. The violence is ramped up and the sexual content. There is a sex scene after marriage It is not too detailed. Pretty much just the beginning and then faded out.
Oh boy oh boy oh boy. If ya thought the first two books were good, wow. The third book takes it to a whole new level.
First off, things are still kinda tense between Charlie and Oliver, but they start to work out a friendship. Isla and Finn are just as cute as ever (and expecting!) and Logan is still as enchanting as ever.
There’s more adventure in this book and more characters that were introduced in the scarlet princess. Also we get to see the discovery of the tunnels that were used in the scarlet princess! We also get to see more of Ava and see what exactly it is she did to her daughter (if you’ve read the scarlet princess then you know what I’m talking about!)
So I’ve been speculating that Logan was the main guy and I was def right. And spoiler, Charlie and Logan secretly get married! I’m so glad we get to see them together and see them get married, much like Rowan and Evander! Logan is literally such a softy (secretly of course) and he’s so protective of Charlie and I love it.
That ending was quite the cliff hanger and I can’t wait to delve into the last book to see how everything gets resolved!
“The King is Dead! Long live the King!” The phrase always balled me. Only moments after a beloved king dies, the people wish a long life to the next one. It gives the feeling that there is not time to mourn the past, only look to the future.
Spoiler alert if not read the first two books.
Who to trust? Charlie is in Luan after the death of Rowan. The people there don’t trust her and they don’t like Oliver after hearing he ran away.
Oh, the emotions of this book have me all over the place. I love this one more. I am loving Charlie. She is becoming more and more of a warrior queen and I can’t wait to read she kicks butt. Also, is it bad I kind of hope Oliver dies? I mean once again he is showing what a coward he is.
Logan is so the man for her and I am glad to see where their story is headed. But if he dies in the next book I will not forgive the authors.
Can I go ahead and just put my whole review in caps?
GAH! THIS BOOK WAS SO GOOD!!!
The authors have immensely impressed and blown me away with the excellent writing and growth of these characters. Like I am HOOKED to this series! (Can I have book four now please?!)
I haven't liked Oli since certain events, but I was caught off guard by the interactions he has with Charlie in that they both strive to be deeply honest with one another. Even with all the awkwardness there may be because of certain dilemmas, I admired Charlie so much for wanting to put honesty as a central part of her marriage. It gave me a deeper respect for Charlie and a more tolerant level for Oli.
Yes, more tolerant, because hello Logan!!!
I absolutely LOVED him in the previous book, but Summer's Rebellion just made me explode with happiness and giddiness. Everything involving that one thing just made me internally explode with happy tears (okay, some of those were external too). So so so much more I could say about Logan, but this is such a must read in this series. Things are just getting better and better with drama, romance, and I-have-no-idea-how-this-is-going-to-unfold-but-it-better-be-a-happy-ending feels.
100% must read in this series and even more a must read series as a whole! I can't get enough of these characters!
*(I received an ARC from the authors. All thoughts expressed are my own and was not required to write a positive review.)*
Danger is lurking behind every whispered word and the actions of all are either suspicious or careful. We've witnessed enemies become friends and family turn to betrayal. Allies have climbed from the woods and magical creatures indeed exist. My, oh my!
So this twisty tale is getting even more complicated. I began to really sympathize with Oli during the last book and throughout this one. I wasn't sure I'd ever side with him. And Logan... sigh! He's stoic and strong and loves fiercely which is very admirable and makes him the total book boyfriend package. Seeing him let his walls crumble and getting to experience his marshmallow center was just spectacular and warmed my heart. I love that our Princess is willing to rock the system, I wish she had more power backing her.
I'm ready to lose myself once again into the last book. *Gasp* I can't believe the series conclusion is at hand.
And *face palm* can I burn my review of book one?! Nothing was what it seemed in the beginning!
And I think I know something for certain but I guess time will tell...
Okay by now I'm really attached to the main characters 🤩 especially Charlie and Logan have won me over completely (even though I didn't like her in Winter's Captive). The intrigues are increasing, you just feel a lot is about to happen at any time now... And then... Cliffhanger, just like you've come to expect from these two authors 😁 So glad I could start Autnum's Reign immediately.
This book is great and what was needed in the series! Perfect bits of sweet, planning, less predictability, and ends in a way that you know SHIT IS ABOUT TO GO DOWN.
Robin and Elle are amazing! I can't get enough of this story!!
I really don't want to spoil anything for the first two books, but my heart was broken, mended, torn a little, patched up, and then the end came.
No spoilers...but that ending was EPIC! This is NOT the end of the series, but holy cow that was amazing a surprising and just...wow!
These two know how to write a cliffhanger that works! And, thankfully, all four books are published, so I don't have to wait! Now, if you'll excuse me, I'm off to finish this amazing adventure!
This was such an amazing book! Can’t wait to read the next book!
Charlie is looking for Logan at king Rowan’s furnel.
Charlie loves Logan and Oliver loves Jocelyn. Charlie and Oliver fell asleep together after the kings furnel. The captain sent for Clara to wake them.
They found the murders who killed the king.
Her wedding dress is hideous!
Isla is going to have a baby! Lady Ava still wants Ilsa to marry the duke.
Oliver’s coronation is happening. He is crowned king!
Logan is leaving and Finn is going to be captain of guard. Oliver has a plan to keep peace and let Logan and Charlie be together.
“I believe we cannae know all there is to know in this world. But I know you. And if ye say you saw it, I believe you.” -Summers rebellion
She is with Logan now. Logan could be king because his parents were married! They are at Logan’s old village. Logan and Charlie are getting married in the thieves forest. They are married!
“Yes, I was wrong to tell ye I would propose at yer willow, when this tree is obviously the better choice.” -Summers rebellion
“Yes, this is the spot. This is where I would have told you that I have loved you from the first moment I met you. That from that very first day, every piece o’ my soul belonged to ye.” He cleared his throat. “This is where I would’ve promised my future to you, the good years and the bad. Where I woulda sworn to you that I have never loved anyone the way I love you, and I never will again.”-Summers rebellion
“Yes. I would have said yes,” I breathed out quietly, closing the small gap between us.”- Summers rebellion
“I promise to love you every single day of forever, and whatever comes after that.”-Summers rebellion
Aramach attacked
Is Clara fae??
Ian is dead he saved Charlie’s life.
The fae exist. Fia is fae.
The children are safe and were being well cared for.
Earc is behind everything!
Jocelyn and Oliver had a baby! The wedding is still happening.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
I binged this whole series over the course of about a week and a half, I think. I listened to the omnibus audiobook pretty much straight through at work.
As such, I don't honestly know where each book ended/began, so I'm going to do one review and post it for all the books. Lol.
Obviously, I really enjoyed it (or I wouldn't have devoured the whole four book series so quickly). The characters had depth (that built up over time). The world was interesting but also familiar. There was plenty of action. The forbidden/enemies-to-lovers romance was fantastic. There were a few things that were obvious/predictable for the genre, but I didn't mind. And the thieves in the forest (and the festivals and ceremonies held there) were awesome.
And the dialogue. I actually laughed a few times, so much so that I had to stop listening and go tell my husband about it.
My only gripes were...
* There was some telling rather than showing, occasionally slowing things down.
* Book three had A LOT of political stuff and dinners full of double speak. It was a decent chunk of the book, and that just isn't my thing. It definitely made that particular book slow (enough so that I actually took note of which book it was).
* At the end of the series' audiobook, the author included a bunch of chapters from Logan's POV instead of just including them at the relevant points throughout the series. It was like skipping through the story all over again, but since there were only a handful of chapters per book, it was very disjointed. It was a shame because I love multi-POV books, and having them throughout the books where they belonged would've been so much better. And for some reason, a different narrator voiced those (even though book four had chapters from Logan's POV voiced with the original narrator). That alone was jarring enough, but the secondary narrator wasn't as good with the accents.
Regardless of these few faults, I still highly recommend the books. I greatly enjoyed them.
The authors just get better as this series goes on. The characters are less irritating, the plot is more even, there is a sense of different threads being drawn together. It is still very young adult and puritanical, but I feel like if you've gotten this far you can roll with it. The audiobook is just as irritating as it was for the last two books. Clearly it has not stopped me listening so it can't be that bad, but I suspect I'd find Logan a lot more romantic if I wasn't cringing each time he spoke.
I was going to say the we've yet to see a twist in these books that weren't thoroughly signposted BUT, and this is a big but, BUT we are three books in and now we get ???? Was incredibly subtle groundwork laid for this in the earlier books that I just missed? Because I feel like I can remember a total of one passing comment before this development is just there existing in the world. And at this point it is just floating there while the plot moves on around it. I'm annoyed that the authors chose to do dump this in here so late in the series as I assume it's going to be important later on.
I'm not noping out of this series yet - audible tells me I've less than six hours to go...
3 1/2-4 stars for complete series. Review for series as a whole
Not exactly what I expected, but I enjoyed it as a whole. Listened to the sequel series about her daughter previously. From what I heard, this series was about a “warrior” princess. From the reviews, and what I saw of the MFC in the previous series, I assumed she would be a badass from the beginning. It was kind of what I was in the mood for, but not what I got. It was really a good story about her coming into herself, and becoming the bad ass everyone was waiting for. Writing was engaging with good characters and lots of action. Narrator was fantastic. I loved the end with a few previous chapter with Logan’s POV
The main—and pretty much only— thing that bothered was the arc of the romance. It was kind of “enemies to lovers” feel with childhood friends with a lot of animosity towards each other. She is engaged (happily) to his brother Ollie. Consequences from Ollie’s actions severely injure charlotte, and breaks her heart. Then all of a sudden she realizes she loved Ollie, but was in love with Logan. It just seemed so abrupt. She even asks Logan when he knew it was supposed to be them. He said something like he always knew. He never tried to fight for her. At that point they were both stupid in my book from a romance angle.
I did like how the author redeemed Ollie—I wasn’t expecting to feel respect for him like I did by the end of the series.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
I would probably read this again in 5 years or so.
This Princess has to marry one of her best friends who's Prince to a neighboring nation in order to cement peace between their nations with their union. Only the Prince goes missing and our Princess decides not to stick around waiting and doing nothing. Off she goes to find her Love, tailing his Older brother.
I enjoyed that the Heroine wasn't a bad ass fighter. I'm really getting sick of that same old storyline where the lead Heroine has to be a good fighter to be considered a strong female character. My worth as a woman is not contingent upon being able to fight or not. But yet I feel that writers and their readers now carry this perspective around like it's the law.
I thought it was hilarious that Heroine and her friend try to hide within the army by dressing up in men's clothing and armor, not knowing the army only wear armor when they go to war.
I actually disliked that she becomes a fighter towards the end of the series. But I still loved the series.
I did have to pretend the characters were older. I find the things they do far to mature for their age. You're going to be Captain of the Guard? Okay with me, but you're at least 25 if you are.
In the wake of the stunning death of the Luanian King, Charlie (Princess Charlotte of H'ria) must pick up the pieces of her life and heart and do her best to set aside her own wishes, to become the Queen the two Kingdoms need. How can she succeed, as she is barely able to trust her fiancé, has enemies and suspicious nobles waiting for her to fail, and a mysterious traitor who appears anxious to prevent the alliance of the two Kingdoms? Follow along with Charlie as she navigates attempts on her life, confusing actions by those she thought she could trust, fear for her family back in H'ria, and as she begins to wonder if she will even survive to become Queen.. This series has been captivating so far, and this book is no different. If you've stumbled on this book first, please go back and read Winter's Captive and Spring's Rising first, to get the threads of this wonderful epic fantasy! Also, I'd recommend downloading the entire series in the boxed set, also on Kindle Unlimited, so that you don't have to wait to find out what happens in each succeeding story.
☀️ Review: Summer’s Rebellion (The Lochlann Treaty #3) ☀️
Summer’s Rebellion, the third book in The Lochlann Treaty series, gave me a similar experience to book two. The plot moved at a slow and predictable pace, leaving me wishing for a bit more action or twists. However, what kept me engaged was the character development, which was much more satisfying this time around. Watching the characters continue to grow and navigate their relationships brought more depth to the story, even if the overall plot wasn’t as compelling.
Despite the slow pacing, I’m still committed to finishing the series. The cliffhanger at the end of book three was strong enough to make me want to pick up book four, even if the journey to get there felt a little underwhelming. Sometimes, it’s the promise of what’s to come that keeps you going—and in this case, I’m hoping the next installment delivers more in terms of plot.
A solid 3-star read for me. Not mind-blowing, but still enjoyable for fans invested in the characters and their journey.
Ohhh my ohhh my ohhh MY, 😱🔥if you thought the first two books were good, buckle up, because book three takes it to a whole new level of epic.
Things between Charlie and Ollie? Still very tense,😬 but they do start to get their friendship back little by little. Meanwhile, Isla and Finn are now expecting! Baby bump alert! 👶💕
And Logan? Ugh. Still as swoony and enchanting as ever.😍✨ That man could brood in a corner and I’d still be like “yes, please.” This book brings more adventure, more drama, and yes, we finally get the scoop on those mysterious tunnels.🕵️♀️🗺️ Now let’s talk, Logan, I had a feeling he was Charlie's guy, and I was right. There may or may not have been another secret wedding.💍🤫
Logan is a total softy (but like, low-key), and his protectiveness over Charlie? Heart-melting 🥹🛡️. I love their dynamic so much it hurts. And that ending? CLIFFHANGER CITY 🧗♀️😩. I’m already itching to dive into the final book to see how this royal rollercoaster wraps up. Good thing it is already queued up!
The plot moved forward from all the wedding things, though that was still going on. But now there was the investigation of the King's murder. Charlie feels like she's seeing things when she spots someone bleeding purple. Hate how Logan treats Charlie. His reasoning is no excuse for some of the harsh words and actions his jealous self takes on her. Made me like him less, poor Charlie. She's doing her best and he still treats her like a spoiled child. Then there was Oliver. I liked that they were mending their friendship. Then he wanted to help her dreams come true! But .....that ending 😮💨 I have a feeling I'm not going like Oliver very much in book 4 😅 But I'm intrigued by the poisons and fae folk and the fact someone close to the family may have a deal with an enemy Kingdom 🙊 Overall enjoyed the plot, things got more interesting but the men in her life just frustrate me haha I can see why Logan gets mean with Rowan later lol
I’m dying! I need to know how the story turns out! Charlie has resigned herself to her fate as future queen of a united H’ria and Luan. It means she won’t be able to be with Logan, the man she loves, but at least she and the future king Oliver are on friendly terms again. But Queen Siobhan seems to hate her and makes her life as miserable as possible. Charlie discovers signs of a conspiracy and then Oliver offers her a possibility of the future she most desires. I can’t say more because I’m already probably saying too much. Just know that this book is full of ups and downs that will make you want to sing for joy and then cry your eyes out. And the twist at the end will leave you breathless for the final book! I highly recommend this series! It’s well written and I love the characters so much!
I received an ARC from the authors and I’m voluntarily leaving an honest review.
Even better than the first! The characters develop incredibly, and the storyline certainly doesn’t disappoint. Charlie has to deal with so many things now: her attack, trying to heal, Oliver’s betrayal, and her feelings, to name a few. As she struggles to cope, her family and friends surround her, even if that’s not what she wants.
SPOILERS BELOW
Finally. At the last pages of this book Logan and Charlie FINALLY admit their feelings for each other. After having Isla and Finn get their happily ever after, it’s even worse seeing Charlie walk away from the man she realizes she’s in love with to go marry his brother. The sparks between the two of them have been tangible from the first book, but when she truly realizes her feelings, it’s incredible. I’m going to pick up book three now so I can continue this story and see what happens next.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
My only qualm with these books is that the both main female mc think they’re in love with someone else until it’s randomly suggested that maybe they aren’t actually in love with that person and then they’re like “Actually you’re right! I never did actually love that guy and I have been totally in love with that guy over there” which is fine cause those guys are generally better (Although Theo deserved better he was just a bit of a prude) Oliver actually is the worst and he even when he is trying to not be the worst he just becomes even more awful. Logan reminds me of James Fraser and they may be a big reason why I’m enjoying this series as much as I do. But Charlotte is 100% the same as Rowan which has made reading this series out of order a little unfortunate.
I am finally reviewing after reading all 4 books in this series. The whole series, the complete package, are definitely a MUST READ! I can't express enough how much I truly madly deeply love these books! I love the amazing and beautiful story they tell, and the completely captivating journey of mind, heart and soul they take you on. You can't put these books down, and they still are just as enrapturing when re-reading them- so many nuances, delicious character descriptions and details! I can't recommend these books enough, I am proud to own them in all their beautiful glory and display them on my shelf with other beloved classics.
What a rollercoaster ride. I'm quite sure that this is the book where I am just so frustrated about everything and worry so much of Charlie and Logan's circumstances as well as their friends. I would groan in annoyance with the characters' decisions especially the main couples' but gosh, even with my frustrations, I just can't grade this book lower than five stars because it was just so engaging. I root for everyone a lot. I feel for this book so much and I think the last book may even be more better.
This book was insane!!! I don't even want to start the next book because I can't handle it 😭😭😭 Charlie and the kingdoms have lost ao much with these betrayals and plans to overthrow her family. I really hope oli hasn't betrayed her again! But that last page didn't give me much hope! I hope Logan is ok. I really like Fia, and I don't want anything to happen to her or for her to be a traitor too. Ugh! This whole book it was too much! I need a happy ending for Oli and for Logan and for Charlie! Please let them be happy!
I received an audio version of this book for review; all opinions are my own. This is one of the few series I have read where the books just keep getting better. In fact, this is my favorite in the series so far! This novel has a little bit of it all: sorrow, humor, excitement. I enjoyed hearing about how our main character is adapting to being royalty and getting married. The narrator was wonderful as always. I loved the variety of voices and accents the characters had.