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Return of the Ancestors #1
The Queen with No Name
She was born to be a queen, yet she’s nothing more than a political pawn. With no name and no place to call her own, she’s doing her best to hold on to the only thing that belongs to her and her alone—her soul. A difficult task, given that she was kept alive for the sole purpose of being given to the formidable King Rowan of Northrend to fulfill the treaty signed by the three kingdoms of Greatland long before she was born. She must bear his heirs in the hopes of keeping the delicate peace that continually lies on the precipice of collapse. What she doesn’t know is that she’s not just the key to peace—she’s the key to war.
King Rowan’s entire life has been spent protecting his beloved kingdom and people. All he wishes for is an unassuming wife to bear his heirs and leave him unaffected. But the princess with no name haunts him with her beauty and unyielding spirit. Torn between breaking her and loving her, he puts his kingdom at risk each passing day he goes without a legitimate heir.
But there are more than hearts and souls on the line; danger lurks around every corner. Threats from within and without Northrend make it difficult to know who they can trust. The paramount question is, can they trust each other? Will the king finally name his queen, or will she tear his world apart? Her names comes with a price. Who will pay it?
Author JJ Makenzie presents an achingly beautiful coming of age story with a romance that will curl your toes and leave you longing for more.
King Rowan’s entire life has been spent protecting his beloved kingdom and people. All he wishes for is an unassuming wife to bear his heirs and leave him unaffected. But the princess with no name haunts him with her beauty and unyielding spirit. Torn between breaking her and loving her, he puts his kingdom at risk each passing day he goes without a legitimate heir.
But there are more than hearts and souls on the line; danger lurks around every corner. Threats from within and without Northrend make it difficult to know who they can trust. The paramount question is, can they trust each other? Will the king finally name his queen, or will she tear his world apart? Her names comes with a price. Who will pay it?
Author JJ Makenzie presents an achingly beautiful coming of age story with a romance that will curl your toes and leave you longing for more.
389 pages, Kindle Edition
First published April 20, 2022
215 people are currently reading
1273 people want to read
About the author
J.J. Makenzie
3 books69 followersPseudonym for Jennifer Peel
JJ Makenzie has always wanted a secret identity, so she finally gave herself one. In real life, JJ is a USA Today bestselling author of rom-coms and contemporary romance. She also pretends to be a rock star in her car. She’s obsessed with 70s and 80s music, but also has a soft spot for a good country ballad. Her days are spent writing among the beautiful Rocky Mountains. At night she dreams of all the characters she has yet to introduce to the world. She may also be a crime fighter with this new secret identity, but that’s another story.
For updates on new releases and all things related to The Queen With No Name, follow her on Facebook and Instagram.
JJ Makenzie has always wanted a secret identity, so she finally gave herself one. In real life, JJ is a USA Today bestselling author of rom-coms and contemporary romance. She also pretends to be a rock star in her car. She’s obsessed with 70s and 80s music, but also has a soft spot for a good country ballad. Her days are spent writing among the beautiful Rocky Mountains. At night she dreams of all the characters she has yet to introduce to the world. She may also be a crime fighter with this new secret identity, but that’s another story.
For updates on new releases and all things related to The Queen With No Name, follow her on Facebook and Instagram.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 198 reviews
August 31, 2023
*I also listened to the audiobook of this one and loved it! The narrator was fabulous! I loved her accent and the accents she brought to all of the characters'. And the final chapter is from Rowan's POV and the male narrator is amazing!!! I can't wait to listen to the next book where the whole book alternates between Princess and Rowan's POVs!!! Woohoo!!!*
Oh my heavens!!! I absolutely loved reading this book!!! All the emotions and feels for this one. This author has written a very powerful, inspiring and captivating book. There were several times that I found myself crying and feeling the emotions of the main character. For this review our heroine needs a name. For now we'll call her Princess. Her story is one that I will be reading again and again.
I just can't begin to describe how much it truly touched my heart. Princess is on a journey and I loved being able to follow her and to watch her grow and gain more strength than she already had at the opening of the book. Her life has been one full of heartache, longing, pain, sorrow and much more. Yet she has hope. She will do everything she can to keep that hope and to protect her heart and soul. And my respect for her just continued to grow watching her as she was forced to leave all that she knew behind and to forge her path forward in a foreign land amidst foreign people and with a husband she doesn't know.
Rowan, just, hmmm, so many thoughts. But I don't want to spoil anything. Let's just say that I have a lot of thoughts. A LOT OF THOUGHTS!!! And I don't want to tell you my thoughts and have you going into this story with thoughts and ideas of who he is. Because you need to read and experience and come to your own thoughts about him.
But I will say that I loved these two. I loved watching them have to power through all the hard. And there is hard and gritty and rough and ugly and dark. But watch for that HOPE. You're going to need it. And don't be ashamed to cry. And laugh. And swoon and sigh! And the ending...gah!!!! Just read it and you'll understand! I NEED MORE PLEASE JJ MAKENZIE!!! <3
Content: The following is from the author... ***Please note that this book is a PG-13 read. It is raw and gritty at times. There is sexual content between a husband and wife. Nothing overly explicit, but more than my contemporary romances. Rape is also mentioned, but never depicted or described. Child abuse is spoken about as a past event. There is death and some violence.***
If you are a squeaky clean reader then this book is NOT for you. As the author says it is raw and gritty and has some sexual content between a married couple. But the book is not explicit. Go read KJ's Book Nook's review for this book and her content section. I really liked what she said for content. There is talk about abuse, periods and cycles, using the bathroom (that might sound weird but for the story it works), pregnancy, sex (but not derogatorily in a way showing how important it can be and is between a married couple without being overly explicit). If you have more questions feel free to message more or the author also says you can message her for more info.
I received a copy from the author but have also purchased my own. All thoughts and opinions in the review are my own.
Happy Reading!!!
Oh my heavens!!! I absolutely loved reading this book!!! All the emotions and feels for this one. This author has written a very powerful, inspiring and captivating book. There were several times that I found myself crying and feeling the emotions of the main character. For this review our heroine needs a name. For now we'll call her Princess. Her story is one that I will be reading again and again.
I just can't begin to describe how much it truly touched my heart. Princess is on a journey and I loved being able to follow her and to watch her grow and gain more strength than she already had at the opening of the book. Her life has been one full of heartache, longing, pain, sorrow and much more. Yet she has hope. She will do everything she can to keep that hope and to protect her heart and soul. And my respect for her just continued to grow watching her as she was forced to leave all that she knew behind and to forge her path forward in a foreign land amidst foreign people and with a husband she doesn't know.
Rowan, just, hmmm, so many thoughts. But I don't want to spoil anything. Let's just say that I have a lot of thoughts. A LOT OF THOUGHTS!!! And I don't want to tell you my thoughts and have you going into this story with thoughts and ideas of who he is. Because you need to read and experience and come to your own thoughts about him.
But I will say that I loved these two. I loved watching them have to power through all the hard. And there is hard and gritty and rough and ugly and dark. But watch for that HOPE. You're going to need it. And don't be ashamed to cry. And laugh. And swoon and sigh! And the ending...gah!!!! Just read it and you'll understand! I NEED MORE PLEASE JJ MAKENZIE!!! <3
Content: The following is from the author... ***Please note that this book is a PG-13 read. It is raw and gritty at times. There is sexual content between a husband and wife. Nothing overly explicit, but more than my contemporary romances. Rape is also mentioned, but never depicted or described. Child abuse is spoken about as a past event. There is death and some violence.***
If you are a squeaky clean reader then this book is NOT for you. As the author says it is raw and gritty and has some sexual content between a married couple. But the book is not explicit. Go read KJ's Book Nook's review for this book and her content section. I really liked what she said for content. There is talk about abuse, periods and cycles, using the bathroom (that might sound weird but for the story it works), pregnancy, sex (but not derogatorily in a way showing how important it can be and is between a married couple without being overly explicit). If you have more questions feel free to message more or the author also says you can message her for more info.
I received a copy from the author but have also purchased my own. All thoughts and opinions in the review are my own.
Happy Reading!!!
July 6, 2022
The most problematic themes *spoilers*
I finished this book out of sick fascination and horror. I truly have never read a book with more awful thematics traits than this one.
Imagine the endless suffering of an MC with childlike naïveté mixed with Christlike parables and that’s this book. The MC must suffer endlessly in order to help men for reasons never explained to her. She is constantly told to give more and more of herself to the people around her who treat her like crap. Even her mother begs her to live and be understanding of others and tells her that while she may be raped, at least she will have children to love. Like WHAT?
And the MC constantly accuses her husband of only wanting her womb and honestly it’s true! He treats her as a slave for weeks because she refuses to bed him. It takes her almost DYING for him to suddenly realize he’s an ass and that he should change. The like TWO DAYS after she almost dies she thinks about just giving in to becoming pregnant just to avoid war.
Like look, I can maybe give this book some leniency around the idea that this might actually be what women had to face back in the day - but MC, in answer to your yearning, 300-something page quest for love I can tell you, you’ve never experienced it. No mother who loved you would know her daughter was trained in combat yet encourage her to just submit to probably being raped and bear a brutes child; No man who loved you would grant you minimal choices like a Hansel and Gretel crumb trail after threatening to break you and submitting you to slavery; and certainly if the people around you loved you they wouldn’t say that man was honorable and encourage you to get pregnant LITERALLY EVERY CHAPTER.
This book will haunt me for the rest of my life. Not a romance, more like a horror story about a brainwashed girl forced into terrible situations.
I finished this book out of sick fascination and horror. I truly have never read a book with more awful thematics traits than this one.
Imagine the endless suffering of an MC with childlike naïveté mixed with Christlike parables and that’s this book. The MC must suffer endlessly in order to help men for reasons never explained to her. She is constantly told to give more and more of herself to the people around her who treat her like crap. Even her mother begs her to live and be understanding of others and tells her that while she may be raped, at least she will have children to love. Like WHAT?
And the MC constantly accuses her husband of only wanting her womb and honestly it’s true! He treats her as a slave for weeks because she refuses to bed him. It takes her almost DYING for him to suddenly realize he’s an ass and that he should change. The like TWO DAYS after she almost dies she thinks about just giving in to becoming pregnant just to avoid war.
Like look, I can maybe give this book some leniency around the idea that this might actually be what women had to face back in the day - but MC, in answer to your yearning, 300-something page quest for love I can tell you, you’ve never experienced it. No mother who loved you would know her daughter was trained in combat yet encourage her to just submit to probably being raped and bear a brutes child; No man who loved you would grant you minimal choices like a Hansel and Gretel crumb trail after threatening to break you and submitting you to slavery; and certainly if the people around you loved you they wouldn’t say that man was honorable and encourage you to get pregnant LITERALLY EVERY CHAPTER.
This book will haunt me for the rest of my life. Not a romance, more like a horror story about a brainwashed girl forced into terrible situations.
July 18, 2023
5+ Stars!
Some of you know that I am overly protective of the authors I love. I will defend them and protect them in any way I can. I know there's a lot of people who have been dying to get their hands on this book, but I'm going to be really blunt. I really don't want the clean romance community to read this book. I don't want reviewers to read this book expecting something and then ripping the book and author apart because this is NOT what they were expecting.
So real talk y'all. If you have a problem with urine, periods, swearing, talk of sex without using the word sex, implications of sexual acts, abuse, and/or violent death, this book is not for you. I repeat... THIS BOOK IS NOT FOR YOU! I wouldn't consider this book clean, but I wouldn't consider it dirty either. It's hard to explain. It's real, it's raw, it's gritty, but it's a beautiful coming of age story.
Y'all. I don't even know where to begin with my review. This book is nothing like anything I've ever read before. From beginning to end, I was captivated and intrigued.
Being used as political pawns, Rowan and Princess are thrown into an arranged marriage with danger lurking all around them. Trying to wade through the rocky waters of marriage is hard enough without adding in all the lies, deceit, and lack of trust. And the moment feelings get involved? Game. Over.
The feels. All. The. Feels! What a rollercoaster of a ride! My heart was shattered into a million pieces! And I don't think it's fully healed yet. I've never hated and loved someone so much in my life. I may or may not have been seething a time or two, but oh how I loved this book! This is a book I'll be thinking about for a long time to come.
What an amazing debut novel for Ms. Makenzie! She did an amazing job of transporting me to Northrend where she proceeded to wreak havoc in my life and mess with my emotions. Talk about heart-wrenchingly beautiful. I am dying to get my hands on the next book! I cannot wait to see what happens next!
And of course I can't forget my casting. Y'all. I. Am. In. Love! What do you think?
Some of you know that I am overly protective of the authors I love. I will defend them and protect them in any way I can. I know there's a lot of people who have been dying to get their hands on this book, but I'm going to be really blunt. I really don't want the clean romance community to read this book. I don't want reviewers to read this book expecting something and then ripping the book and author apart because this is NOT what they were expecting.
So real talk y'all. If you have a problem with urine, periods, swearing, talk of sex without using the word sex, implications of sexual acts, abuse, and/or violent death, this book is not for you. I repeat... THIS BOOK IS NOT FOR YOU! I wouldn't consider this book clean, but I wouldn't consider it dirty either. It's hard to explain. It's real, it's raw, it's gritty, but it's a beautiful coming of age story.
Y'all. I don't even know where to begin with my review. This book is nothing like anything I've ever read before. From beginning to end, I was captivated and intrigued.
Being used as political pawns, Rowan and Princess are thrown into an arranged marriage with danger lurking all around them. Trying to wade through the rocky waters of marriage is hard enough without adding in all the lies, deceit, and lack of trust. And the moment feelings get involved? Game. Over.
The feels. All. The. Feels! What a rollercoaster of a ride! My heart was shattered into a million pieces! And I don't think it's fully healed yet. I've never hated and loved someone so much in my life. I may or may not have been seething a time or two, but oh how I loved this book! This is a book I'll be thinking about for a long time to come.
What an amazing debut novel for Ms. Makenzie! She did an amazing job of transporting me to Northrend where she proceeded to wreak havoc in my life and mess with my emotions. Talk about heart-wrenchingly beautiful. I am dying to get my hands on the next book! I cannot wait to see what happens next!
And of course I can't forget my casting. Y'all. I. Am. In. Love! What do you think?
April 20, 2022
SO many emotions are swirling around right now I have no idea where to even start. I'm so worked up. From start to finish this book had me invested and interested. My emotions were literally all over the place- from frustrated to horrified, hopeful to elated, and then back again. It was quite the roller coaster of feelings. I love when stories connect with my emotions even when it leaves my heart battered and bruised in the process.
I was pleasantly surprised at the political intrigue that developed in this book. I wasn't expecting it and it was such a good addition to storyline. It really helped give some depth and longevity to the arc of the story. I love some political intrigue!! Oh! This book also has family drama oozing from the pages. Royal family drama. It's crazy good.
As for Rowan, I pretty much wanted to gouge his eyes out. Just wait, you will too. I didn't always feel that way but yeah, rough road for Rowan and me. Poor Princess. She's been through SO, SO much. My heart was desperately championing her from the beginning. It still is.
Just so you know, the story isn't over with this book. It will continue in the next book so be aware of that. :)
Love, love, love, love, love. This story was burning with intensity, intrigue and emotion. I felt the flames from the inside, out. Your heart won't escape this book without becoming a little singed.
Content: please read author's note below. There is quite a bit of nakedness. This couple is married, so there is talk of sexual relations and some sexual content, although nothing overly graphic. Death, violence.
From the author: **PLEASE NOTE**
This book is not a sweet romance. It is raw and gritty at times. There is sexual content between a husband and wife. Nothing overtly graphic but more than my contemporary romances. There are also a couple of sensitive topics mentioned. If you want more info about what those are, please feel free to private message me.
-I received a complimentary copy of this book. All opinions expressed are my own.
I was pleasantly surprised at the political intrigue that developed in this book. I wasn't expecting it and it was such a good addition to storyline. It really helped give some depth and longevity to the arc of the story. I love some political intrigue!! Oh! This book also has family drama oozing from the pages. Royal family drama. It's crazy good.
As for Rowan, I pretty much wanted to gouge his eyes out. Just wait, you will too. I didn't always feel that way but yeah, rough road for Rowan and me. Poor Princess. She's been through SO, SO much. My heart was desperately championing her from the beginning. It still is.
Just so you know, the story isn't over with this book. It will continue in the next book so be aware of that. :)
Love, love, love, love, love. This story was burning with intensity, intrigue and emotion. I felt the flames from the inside, out. Your heart won't escape this book without becoming a little singed.
Content: please read author's note below. There is quite a bit of nakedness. This couple is married, so there is talk of sexual relations and some sexual content, although nothing overly graphic. Death, violence.
From the author: **PLEASE NOTE**
This book is not a sweet romance. It is raw and gritty at times. There is sexual content between a husband and wife. Nothing overtly graphic but more than my contemporary romances. There are also a couple of sensitive topics mentioned. If you want more info about what those are, please feel free to private message me.
-I received a complimentary copy of this book. All opinions expressed are my own.
May 20, 2022
Damn, I wish this one has smut.
Anyway, storywise, it was pretty amazing actually. First chapter in, you're already jumped inside the story, a nameless girl married off to a king for political alliances and on her way to his kingdom as his broodmare rather than a wife or a queen.
The world building and background history was fantastic. This series has a lot of potential (despite my grievances) and I will definitely continue on the series. I just wish our hero here will redeem himself again in the next one because I wish for his death a lot in this one.
Anyway, storywise, it was pretty amazing actually. First chapter in, you're already jumped inside the story, a nameless girl married off to a king for political alliances and on her way to his kingdom as his broodmare rather than a wife or a queen.
The world building and background history was fantastic. This series has a lot of potential (despite my grievances) and I will definitely continue on the series. I just wish our hero here will redeem himself again in the next one because I wish for his death a lot in this one.
August 24, 2022
This isn't going to be an easy review to write. I normally refrain from saying anything negative about a book, but as I intend to read book two, I want my thoughts to be transparent (for myself) that way when I come back to the series, I know what to expect.
If you're a reader, here's my general review:
Okay, so the story was amazing! I'm not kidding, it had every element I'm obsessed with and I loved each twist and turn of the plot!
Our nameless queen (she literally doesn't have a name) has been isolated, abused and beaten, just for existing.
*squeee*
Rowan is a complete jerk, and while there's no consent issues in the bedroom, he emotionally brutalizes a girl who comes to him utterly broken.
*gaaahhhh*
This was book crack to me!
The way she was ostracized and hated was flawless, I am a fiend for this sort of angst! And that ENDING! Ohmygosh!!! That ending was superb.
🤤🤤🤤🤤🤤
Also, the love scenes were fade to black. Which was awesome. 😊👍
____________________________________
If you're the author or a fan, you may just want to stop there. I'm super sorry if the following sounds critical, I beta a lot and am used to being opinionated about my reads. 😬
So, why the apology if I loved the story so much? Because despite all these wonderful elements, the writing was atrocious. 🙈 The first 111 pages were so dull and repetitive I marked them for skipping when I inevitably read this again.
Our nameless queen made no sense. She was shattered and afraid, yet was constantly throwing attitude around. Her inner fortitude was given an attempted justification through the very sloppily woven (and extremely monotonous) tale of her mother and Soloman - but the way it was written completely missed the mark (for me).
If I have to hear one more person verbally gush about nameless girl's beauty I'm going to punch a thesaurus...
There's missing and misused words throughout the manuscript, misapplied phrases, and overly simplistic prose.
Editing, this book needed a different editor. It has SO MUCH potential! There's so many things about it that I adore! But as good as it is, it's equally bad. So, when I come back for more I need to remember the story is worth it! Keep going! The author has a direction and you will probably love it!
If you're a reader, here's my general review:
Okay, so the story was amazing! I'm not kidding, it had every element I'm obsessed with and I loved each twist and turn of the plot!
Our nameless queen (she literally doesn't have a name) has been isolated, abused and beaten, just for existing.
*squeee*
Rowan is a complete jerk, and while there's no consent issues in the bedroom, he emotionally brutalizes a girl who comes to him utterly broken.
*gaaahhhh*
This was book crack to me!
The way she was ostracized and hated was flawless, I am a fiend for this sort of angst! And that ENDING! Ohmygosh!!! That ending was superb.
🤤🤤🤤🤤🤤
Also, the love scenes were fade to black. Which was awesome. 😊👍
____________________________________
If you're the author or a fan, you may just want to stop there. I'm super sorry if the following sounds critical, I beta a lot and am used to being opinionated about my reads. 😬
So, why the apology if I loved the story so much? Because despite all these wonderful elements, the writing was atrocious. 🙈 The first 111 pages were so dull and repetitive I marked them for skipping when I inevitably read this again.
Our nameless queen made no sense. She was shattered and afraid, yet was constantly throwing attitude around. Her inner fortitude was given an attempted justification through the very sloppily woven (and extremely monotonous) tale of her mother and Soloman - but the way it was written completely missed the mark (for me).
If I have to hear one more person verbally gush about nameless girl's beauty I'm going to punch a thesaurus...
There's missing and misused words throughout the manuscript, misapplied phrases, and overly simplistic prose.
Editing, this book needed a different editor. It has SO MUCH potential! There's so many things about it that I adore! But as good as it is, it's equally bad. So, when I come back for more I need to remember the story is worth it! Keep going! The author has a direction and you will probably love it!
April 24, 2022
Intriguing start...
... with a bump or two
This is an interesting world & series set up. The plot raised some questions in a few places, but overall I enjoyed it.
The loss of a star is mainly because I struggled with Rowan, & I have no doubt he's going to be an issue for at least some readers. He was such a (jerk) initially, & while somewhat abusive to the princess in his efforts to stay indifferent, the abuse he allowed by others, intentionally AND thru his careless obliviousness, went too far to the point that I was ready for the princess to find a nice Myrian guy to settle down with instead, lol. It was getting uncomfortably close to a "bully romance" for me.
The turnaround kept me reading, just saying I wish it would have happened sooner. I'm eager to see where the story goes from here, but Rowan's going to have to do a lot to earn my forgiveness 😉
*Romance level: passionate kisses, nothing graphic; the story centers on a political marriage & the consummation of it, so there's a lot of frank talk, but no actual details of the act itself. Spiciness at about a PG-13 level
... with a bump or two
This is an interesting world & series set up. The plot raised some questions in a few places, but overall I enjoyed it.
The loss of a star is mainly because I struggled with Rowan, & I have no doubt he's going to be an issue for at least some readers. He was such a (jerk) initially, & while somewhat abusive to the princess in his efforts to stay indifferent, the abuse he allowed by others, intentionally AND thru his careless obliviousness, went too far to the point that I was ready for the princess to find a nice Myrian guy to settle down with instead, lol. It was getting uncomfortably close to a "bully romance" for me.
The turnaround kept me reading, just saying I wish it would have happened sooner. I'm eager to see where the story goes from here, but Rowan's going to have to do a lot to earn my forgiveness 😉
*Romance level: passionate kisses, nothing graphic; the story centers on a political marriage & the consummation of it, so there's a lot of frank talk, but no actual details of the act itself. Spiciness at about a PG-13 level
July 15, 2022
I am throughly confused on how this book is getting so many good reviews. 1 star is being generous. I finished the book out of hope that it would get better because it has overall good review but no, a waste of time.
The main heroine is so immature and whiny is infuriating. The repetition in this book is insane literally the same sentences are said constantly. And then there is Rowan who I could not stand, and I love a good forced marriage or bully type situation, but Rowan.m it didn’t work that way she wrote it. He comes across very abusive and all the situations he subjects her to once in Northrend . Not okay! Like at all! And the magically flips a switch and changes his entire personality,just no! Also the amount of time she clothes her “womb” 🙄🙄 I
The only saving parts are the folk lore stories “princess” tells and Rowan’s brother Malek who is barley in the book at all.
I could go on about the issues of this book but don’t waste your time or money with this book. Definitely the worst book I’ve read this year.
The main heroine is so immature and whiny is infuriating. The repetition in this book is insane literally the same sentences are said constantly. And then there is Rowan who I could not stand, and I love a good forced marriage or bully type situation, but Rowan.m it didn’t work that way she wrote it. He comes across very abusive and all the situations he subjects her to once in Northrend . Not okay! Like at all! And the magically flips a switch and changes his entire personality,just no! Also the amount of time she clothes her “womb” 🙄🙄 I
The only saving parts are the folk lore stories “princess” tells and Rowan’s brother Malek who is barley in the book at all.
I could go on about the issues of this book but don’t waste your time or money with this book. Definitely the worst book I’ve read this year.
January 1, 2023
I literally had to sit with my feelings about this book but I hated reading it. I cannot fathom that this book is advertised as a, “beautiful coming of age story with a romance that will curl your toes”…like are you fucked in the head? This story is none of those things.
Our FMC who literally doesn’t have a name goes through so much abuse and torture in this book. It is in no way a beautiful coming of age story because by the end of the book she is the same sad and tortured girl that she was at the beginning but worse. She is abused by her father and treated like scum because she is a women, her mother gives her awful advice which basically makes her just endure the pain and abuse she goes through and then she has to forcibly marry Rowan, and my god. The fact that this sick, cruel, fuckhead is considered the love interest is a fucking joke.
He is an abusive piece of shit and the worst part is that he is not meant to be seen as that. To give some examples (this will be spoilerly but I don’t care because you shouldn’t read this anyway), he took her into freezing temperatures and didn’t give her warm clothes, he is apparently all about consent but made her sleep next to him while he is naked and forced her to sleep on the floor because she wouldn’t have sex, he lets his mother abuse her (physically and mentally), he literally ignored her to the point he didn’t notice she had festering wounds from the torture inflicted upon her from this mother to the point she nearly died of sepsis, he hated that she is beautiful and blamed her for the attention she received and emotionally abused her for it and drilled into her that she is basically nothing but a womb to him. Not to mention Rowan js so smelly it makes her gag. How is he in any way a good love interest!?!?!? I honest to god thought at the beginning that he was going to be one of the villains and the FMC would get with his brother Mareck who treated her so much better! But no. She actually fell in love with Rowan and I don’t fucking understand. This is not a beautiful romance, it’s a tragedy and I feel terrible for our FMC.
The epilogue pissed me off so fucking much and I refuse to read the second book because the FMC will eventually forgive him and that makes me sick.
I would also like to point out that I read a lot of really dark, bully romance books where the MMC treats the FMC like shit and some of them are my favourite books. It is not as if I just can’t handle this genre or am not into dark and gritty stories when they are actually my favourite. The difference is those authors always redeem the MMC for me and I believe in the love they have for each other. This author does not have the ability to do that and I seriously can’t believe this book has such a high rating.
Our FMC who literally doesn’t have a name goes through so much abuse and torture in this book. It is in no way a beautiful coming of age story because by the end of the book she is the same sad and tortured girl that she was at the beginning but worse. She is abused by her father and treated like scum because she is a women, her mother gives her awful advice which basically makes her just endure the pain and abuse she goes through and then she has to forcibly marry Rowan, and my god. The fact that this sick, cruel, fuckhead is considered the love interest is a fucking joke.
He is an abusive piece of shit and the worst part is that he is not meant to be seen as that. To give some examples (this will be spoilerly but I don’t care because you shouldn’t read this anyway), he took her into freezing temperatures and didn’t give her warm clothes, he is apparently all about consent but made her sleep next to him while he is naked and forced her to sleep on the floor because she wouldn’t have sex, he lets his mother abuse her (physically and mentally), he literally ignored her to the point he didn’t notice she had festering wounds from the torture inflicted upon her from this mother to the point she nearly died of sepsis, he hated that she is beautiful and blamed her for the attention she received and emotionally abused her for it and drilled into her that she is basically nothing but a womb to him. Not to mention Rowan js so smelly it makes her gag. How is he in any way a good love interest!?!?!? I honest to god thought at the beginning that he was going to be one of the villains and the FMC would get with his brother Mareck who treated her so much better! But no. She actually fell in love with Rowan and I don’t fucking understand. This is not a beautiful romance, it’s a tragedy and I feel terrible for our FMC.
The epilogue pissed me off so fucking much and I refuse to read the second book because the FMC will eventually forgive him and that makes me sick.
I would also like to point out that I read a lot of really dark, bully romance books where the MMC treats the FMC like shit and some of them are my favourite books. It is not as if I just can’t handle this genre or am not into dark and gritty stories when they are actually my favourite. The difference is those authors always redeem the MMC for me and I believe in the love they have for each other. This author does not have the ability to do that and I seriously can’t believe this book has such a high rating.
October 5, 2023
The Queen with No Name should be more like the Queen and her Womb. The obsession with her womb and getting her pregnant is concerning. That’s all the main characters and side characters ever talk about. And if the book is not talking about her womb, the MC will go on and on and on about the abuse she is enduring. It’s to the point where I’m tired of reading it because it feels more like “woe l is me look how strong I am to not cower blah blah” blah. I also want to point out that It doesn’t make sense that her old kingdom made sure all women have head coverings and are treated like dirt (they are not allowed to read and write) but when they’re menstruating they get to take time off to rest and have nice clean baths???
Huge spoiler and rant lol
Another minus about this book is the male lead. She is 20 and he is 37 yet he acts like he is 12. He is hot and cold towards her during their travel back to his kingdom and ended up deciding that she is nothing more than to breed and carry his heirs. When she refuses him, he decides to punish her by making her do hard labor. It was only until she was near death that suddenly he tells her he loves her??? And once he was nice to her she sleeps with him in like a day??? Girl. And he also slept with his dads mistress and she is carrying his child but he’s like nah she’s not pregnant??? Her belly was protruding and this 20 year old could tell but he couldn’t?! His whole reasoning of sleeping with the mistress is to protect his dads already terrible reputation?? Uh you could’ve just protected her and NOT sleep with her. It’s super gross.
Anyway I don’t know why I finished it. Usually I would stop but the “cryptic” messages intrigued me until it turned out to be stupid. Ugh
Huge spoiler and rant lol
Another minus about this book is the male lead. She is 20 and he is 37 yet he acts like he is 12. He is hot and cold towards her during their travel back to his kingdom and ended up deciding that she is nothing more than to breed and carry his heirs. When she refuses him, he decides to punish her by making her do hard labor. It was only until she was near death that suddenly he tells her he loves her??? And once he was nice to her she sleeps with him in like a day??? Girl. And he also slept with his dads mistress and she is carrying his child but he’s like nah she’s not pregnant??? Her belly was protruding and this 20 year old could tell but he couldn’t?! His whole reasoning of sleeping with the mistress is to protect his dads already terrible reputation?? Uh you could’ve just protected her and NOT sleep with her. It’s super gross.
Anyway I don’t know why I finished it. Usually I would stop but the “cryptic” messages intrigued me until it turned out to be stupid. Ugh
February 21, 2023
This book was so unexpected and had me riveted from page one. I read it in less than a day- I just had to find out what would happen to the Queen with (literally) no name. She has lead a hard and brutal life, only to be passed from one tyrant father to an unknown and much-feared husband. She is given so many reasons to hate, to give up, to stop trying, and yet there is such beauty in her courage and fierce determination to protect her soul.
I was so sucked into this story, I just couldn’t put it down. My husband actually woke up to me sobbing in bed- I ached for her so much and what she had to go through. Rowan was not what I was expecting, yet I couldn’t help but like him as well.
It’s definitely different from books I normally read, but I still loved it so much. There were so many side characters that really added to the story, transforming it into a much bigger plot than I ever imagined.
Well done Ms. Makenzie! This book is so raw and real, but I absolutely loved it and couldn’t stop thinking about it long after it ended.
Note: There is very hard content mentioned in this book, be aware it is closer to a PG-13+ read
**I received a free copy in exchange for an honest review.
I was so sucked into this story, I just couldn’t put it down. My husband actually woke up to me sobbing in bed- I ached for her so much and what she had to go through. Rowan was not what I was expecting, yet I couldn’t help but like him as well.
It’s definitely different from books I normally read, but I still loved it so much. There were so many side characters that really added to the story, transforming it into a much bigger plot than I ever imagined.
Well done Ms. Makenzie! This book is so raw and real, but I absolutely loved it and couldn’t stop thinking about it long after it ended.
Note: There is very hard content mentioned in this book, be aware it is closer to a PG-13+ read
**I received a free copy in exchange for an honest review.
May 9, 2022
Ajjj Gross 🤢
I've been reading intrigued by the kingdoms and crazy abusive father figures. I mean that's interesting, but I can keep reading I've just reached chapter 22 and... Rowans is an A$$ and nothing that you can write will make him not an A$$. NOTHING!
Think about it, he took the girl from a city by the sea to the mountains and didn't provide warm clothes, is he a monster? Yes. Forces her to sleep on the floor because she won't have sex with him. Abusive? Yes! Then, he lets his mother "Cinderella" the s**t out of his wife. Is he a horrible person? Yes!
Unless someone tells me she dumps him for his brother, this is it for me. DO NOT RECOMMEND. NOT A LOVE STORY.
And don't tell me this is raw writing, I've read better fan fiction than this. This isn't character development.
And the writing, for the love of "the ancestors", it was getting on my nerves... I quit.
I've been reading intrigued by the kingdoms and crazy abusive father figures. I mean that's interesting, but I can keep reading I've just reached chapter 22 and... Rowans is an A$$ and nothing that you can write will make him not an A$$. NOTHING!
Think about it, he took the girl from a city by the sea to the mountains and didn't provide warm clothes, is he a monster? Yes. Forces her to sleep on the floor because she won't have sex with him. Abusive? Yes! Then, he lets his mother "Cinderella" the s**t out of his wife. Is he a horrible person? Yes!
Unless someone tells me she dumps him for his brother, this is it for me. DO NOT RECOMMEND. NOT A LOVE STORY.
And don't tell me this is raw writing, I've read better fan fiction than this. This isn't character development.
And the writing, for the love of "the ancestors", it was getting on my nerves... I quit.
April 29, 2022
DNF per content and heard there is a major cliffhanger.
Also, I did not like Rowan. I felt he was abusive and I did not like their relationship dynamics at all. I've read similar tropes where an author can have an "enemies to lovers" where the guy isn't abusive, but still gets the point across that they are enemies.
For those wondering: Quite a bit of language, violence, abuse, lots of nudity, innuendo, sex (off page) but a big part of story. Probably rated R for content.
Also, I did not like Rowan. I felt he was abusive and I did not like their relationship dynamics at all. I've read similar tropes where an author can have an "enemies to lovers" where the guy isn't abusive, but still gets the point across that they are enemies.
For those wondering: Quite a bit of language, violence, abuse, lots of nudity, innuendo, sex (off page) but a big part of story. Probably rated R for content.
December 12, 2024
Underrated enemies to lovers.
Spice 1.5/5 (closed door)
Spice 1.5/5 (closed door)
June 23, 2022
I am having trouble putting into words my feelings about this book, so I'm just going to copy what I texted my sister about it.
I'm reading an "enemies to lovers", which started out fabulous, but it changed to a bully romance and I can't STAND IT now.
The writing is good, it's enjoyable, but the guy I'm supposed to like makes me f*cking sick.
This guy's (the king) "redeeming quality" is that he won't rape her.
But also he makes her sleep on the floor and won't give her new clothes or let her take baths and makes her do hard manual labor for 16 hours a day until she almost dies.
Oh also, she's a princess. From a country where Women Don't Have Rights, so she doesn't even have a NAME and she's like "Please can I have a name?" and he's like "You'll get a name when you give me an heir."
ALSO her dad used to beat her so she's in another cycle of abuse.
I grimaced the whole time I was reading their supposed romance. It just disgusted me.
I'm reading an "enemies to lovers", which started out fabulous, but it changed to a bully romance and I can't STAND IT now.
The writing is good, it's enjoyable, but the guy I'm supposed to like makes me f*cking sick.
This guy's (the king) "redeeming quality" is that he won't rape her.
But also he makes her sleep on the floor and won't give her new clothes or let her take baths and makes her do hard manual labor for 16 hours a day until she almost dies.
Oh also, she's a princess. From a country where Women Don't Have Rights, so she doesn't even have a NAME and she's like "Please can I have a name?" and he's like "You'll get a name when you give me an heir."
ALSO her dad used to beat her so she's in another cycle of abuse.
I grimaced the whole time I was reading their supposed romance. It just disgusted me.
October 8, 2022
DNF
I did not finish this book. The male character is absolutely horrible and I couldn't stand him how he was written. He talks like a one dimensional villain. The author kept going on and on about how the MC is sweaty with bad breath, and he smells so bad that it makes the female main character feel nauseous and want to gag. It's very offputting and in no way romantic or endearing.
I did not finish this book. The male character is absolutely horrible and I couldn't stand him how he was written. He talks like a one dimensional villain. The author kept going on and on about how the MC is sweaty with bad breath, and he smells so bad that it makes the female main character feel nauseous and want to gag. It's very offputting and in no way romantic or endearing.
May 3, 2022
This story sucked me in and didn't let go. Loved the world-building and the high stakes. Great, slow-burn romance, and you'll both love and hate HIM. Looking forward to the continuation of the story!
June 13, 2023
Beautiful, heartbreaking, can’t-put-down read!
There were just a couple of things that didn’t make sense and stopped me from singing its five star praises… The biggest problem for me happened at the very end of the book! The climax at the end made absolutely NO sense! The villain is known for lying, laughs and informs the princess of all the lies they will create to make the King believe them and destroy his love for her, yet the princess believes the story the villian is telling her about him?!?!? How does that make any sense at all? It is a slap in the face to all the work the author has put in creating the relationship we were finally really rooting for and make this kind, intelligent princess look brainless. GAH!
Before that, however, I was eating up every single word. The horrific way the princess (she was not allowed a name) was treated - both from her father and from the king she is forced to marry - is absolutely gut-wrenching, but in an emotional way rather than graphic. This speaks to the authors incredible gift of creating characters that absolutely wrap around a reader’s heart! I do think the redemption of the king was a bit too quick, ANY woman would need a good deal longer to learn to trust and believe. Still, it was done in an understandable way, it was just condensed so we don’t get to see it like we did all the mistreatment.
So it’s a bit of a mixed bag for me overall. The amazing, emotional writing and storyline absolutely carries the day, though, so I would recommend this book to those who enjoy reading enemies to lovers stories and like lots of emotion… while overlooking a couple really annoying points and a cliffhanger ending!
There were just a couple of things that didn’t make sense and stopped me from singing its five star praises… The biggest problem for me happened at the very end of the book! The climax at the end made absolutely NO sense! The villain is known for lying, laughs and informs the princess of all the lies they will create to make the King believe them and destroy his love for her, yet the princess believes the story the villian is telling her about him?!?!? How does that make any sense at all? It is a slap in the face to all the work the author has put in creating the relationship we were finally really rooting for and make this kind, intelligent princess look brainless. GAH!
Before that, however, I was eating up every single word. The horrific way the princess (she was not allowed a name) was treated - both from her father and from the king she is forced to marry - is absolutely gut-wrenching, but in an emotional way rather than graphic. This speaks to the authors incredible gift of creating characters that absolutely wrap around a reader’s heart! I do think the redemption of the king was a bit too quick, ANY woman would need a good deal longer to learn to trust and believe. Still, it was done in an understandable way, it was just condensed so we don’t get to see it like we did all the mistreatment.
So it’s a bit of a mixed bag for me overall. The amazing, emotional writing and storyline absolutely carries the day, though, so I would recommend this book to those who enjoy reading enemies to lovers stories and like lots of emotion… while overlooking a couple really annoying points and a cliffhanger ending!
August 11, 2022
I don't even know what to say. I had no idea this book was written by an author I have read before. This is nothing like her other works. I mean nothing like her other works. She even tells in her blurp that this is very different. The story is gritty, dark, violent and totally unexpected. I have very rarely hated a character and kept reading but for some reason I understood why he did what he did. You have to take yourself out of 2020 and put yourself back into 1500s to understand this book. The main character was incredible. The author drug her through hell and back and it is hard to read. I could not believe that I went from hating a main character to liking him at the end. I cannot imagine where this book is going to go, I mean I can, but holy cow the story is going to go places I don't think I want to go. But I really want to know what happens. I am just so torn with this one. Normally I wouldn't read the second. But this book I could not put down and I'm afraid I'm going to need to know. I will definitely wait and make sure that there's not a second though. Because it is going to be a long wait. Content...... This is a book between a married couple, there is a lot of skin. There is an almost rape scene that is detailed. There is no graphic sex scene. There is violence and death and blood and torture. There is drinking. R
This book ends in a cliffhanger.
This book ends in a cliffhanger.
April 26, 2022
Ugh
A slow trudge through ridiculous melodrama. I have rarely disliked a book more. "JJ" is normally one of my top three favorite authors but I just don't know what this book was. I have wasted my life.
A slow trudge through ridiculous melodrama. I have rarely disliked a book more. "JJ" is normally one of my top three favorite authors but I just don't know what this book was. I have wasted my life.
July 4, 2022
She’s 20 and he is 45?!?!?
I couldn’t make it past the first chapter. Some weird daddy issues going on here, y’all giving 5 stars need help. She is a child in mentality and this is so wrong in so many ways. I want so badly for Kindle to never recommend this content to me.
I couldn’t make it past the first chapter. Some weird daddy issues going on here, y’all giving 5 stars need help. She is a child in mentality and this is so wrong in so many ways. I want so badly for Kindle to never recommend this content to me.
April 23, 2022
Gripping Intense but Cliffhanger
This is masterfully written fantasy. I just wish I had more of a heads-up that there was little resolution. If you read the book knowing you will need to wait until the next book, or further books, to know how things are resolved, then I think you will enjoy it more.
This is masterfully written fantasy. I just wish I had more of a heads-up that there was little resolution. If you read the book knowing you will need to wait until the next book, or further books, to know how things are resolved, then I think you will enjoy it more.
April 24, 2022
What a great concept! This book had me up until the wee hours of the night and I do not regret it!! Our Princess is intelligent, strong and so worthy of finding someone to complement her strengths and adore her. Rowan will absolutely be the man and I will be right here waiting for it. I was captivated and intrigued, proud and heartbroken so I am dying to read book 2!!!
November 18, 2022
I'm surprised this book has been rated as well as it has. It's an interesting premise, but not executed well. This book was the very definition of why "Show, don't Tell" should be present in an author's mind. All the "political intrigue" was shoved into the last chapter, completely rushed and not fleshed out in the slightest. Don't even get me started on the Crusades symbolism present in the book (the kingdom that have their women to wear headscarves are oppressive, yeah? They're all fighting for one "Great land" that people migrated to?)
Rowan is a straight up abusive husband until about 60%, and emotionally unavailable and a terrible partner for the rest (no groveling here). He's obsessed with growing his "seed" because it's somehow important for Northland, althought he never explains this or why the "treaty" will be broken if they don't bang and have a kid ASAP.
Princess, the main character and our POV, has never had an original thought in her life, constantly referring to what her mother would want or what Salomon would say to her, even so far as to having the "Ancestors" straight up plant thoughts in her head. She's got as much backbone as a piece of wet spaghetti.
I had to hate read to finish this book. I almost DNF'd about six times. Someone mentioned reading fanfiction better than this book, and I think that's what I'm gonna read next just to lower my blood pressure.
Rowan is a straight up abusive husband until about 60%, and emotionally unavailable and a terrible partner for the rest (no groveling here). He's obsessed with growing his "seed" because it's somehow important for Northland, althought he never explains this or why the "treaty" will be broken if they don't bang and have a kid ASAP.
Princess, the main character and our POV, has never had an original thought in her life, constantly referring to what her mother would want or what Salomon would say to her, even so far as to having the "Ancestors" straight up plant thoughts in her head. She's got as much backbone as a piece of wet spaghetti.
I had to hate read to finish this book. I almost DNF'd about six times. Someone mentioned reading fanfiction better than this book, and I think that's what I'm gonna read next just to lower my blood pressure.
April 24, 2022
I loved The Queen With No Name - both the book and the person! Princess was so brave, innocent, naive, and intelligent all at the same time. She has lived her entire life as a pawn, and yet she's brave enough to dream of a better life!
This book also had amazing secondary characters, and stories within the story - I cannot wait to see this story continued in the next book!
Note: I plan to update this review with a meatier review at at later date...
This book is not for you if you are looking for a squeaky clean read, because this heroine has had to deal with a lot in her life, and her story is raw and gritty at times. She is also a young innocent trying to figure things out in an arranged marriage. Here is the content warning from the author:
***Please note that this book is a PG-13 read. It is raw and gritty at times. There is sexual content between a husband and wife. Nothing overly explicit, but more than my contemporary romances. Rape is also mentioned, but never depicted or described. Child abuse is spoken about as a past event. There is death and some violence.***
This book also had amazing secondary characters, and stories within the story - I cannot wait to see this story continued in the next book!
Note: I plan to update this review with a meatier review at at later date...
This book is not for you if you are looking for a squeaky clean read, because this heroine has had to deal with a lot in her life, and her story is raw and gritty at times. She is also a young innocent trying to figure things out in an arranged marriage. Here is the content warning from the author:
***Please note that this book is a PG-13 read. It is raw and gritty at times. There is sexual content between a husband and wife. Nothing overly explicit, but more than my contemporary romances. Rape is also mentioned, but never depicted or described. Child abuse is spoken about as a past event. There is death and some violence.***
May 2, 2022
This book is very triggering and hard to read. My heart kept breaking over and over again for the female lead. The poor thing suffered horror after horror, most of it inflicted by the male lead. That is why I can’t give the book more than 3 stars. The story was good but the romance is horrible. I strongly suspect it to be Stockholm syndrome. The mmc was forgiven way too quickly for his atrocities. He didn’t deserve her at all. I hope she doesn’t go back to him in the end of the series.
May 29, 2023
Rowan is gross. He's vile and controlling. He fits the "Nice Guy" trope. Just because he isn't forcibly raping his wife, we're supposed to like him? Sorry, but no, my bar is not that low and I feel bad for any person who disagrees. I'm not wasting my time with this book. I don't care how "misunderstood" the author wants me to think Rowan is or what kind of redemption arc is planned. I'm out.
October 21, 2024
1.75 stars 🥱
Basically, a young lady is married off to a king to give him an heir. Only 3 people have ever seen her face and she doesn’t have a name (the husband’s job is to name her - we hate that). Basically the same plot happens 3 times and I couldn’t care less. This book was the embodiment of emotional blue balls 🤷🏼♀️ will not be continuing the series.
Basically, a young lady is married off to a king to give him an heir. Only 3 people have ever seen her face and she doesn’t have a name (the husband’s job is to name her - we hate that). Basically the same plot happens 3 times and I couldn’t care less. This book was the embodiment of emotional blue balls 🤷🏼♀️ will not be continuing the series.
August 12, 2023
I listened to the audiobook. Despite this was drawn out with the constant circling of repetitive information, I think this was interesting enough to read the next in the series.
May 2, 2022
3.5
This book gives off strong bully romance vibes, which is not my typical choice of story because it makes me uncomfortable.
While there is no graphic sex, there is a lot of nudity and pointed sexual comments. There is also discussions and memories of emotional and physical abuse. If these things trigger you, you should probably skip this read.
The turn around from Rowan bring a jerk to a likable love interest is quick enough to give the reader whiplash. Despite not liking the male lead, it was such a well written story and I could NOT put it down. The nameless heroine is incredibly lovable and you want to root for her. She's almost obnoxiously good natured and kind hearted, but she's an inspiring character. I can't wait to see how this story resolves!
This book gives off strong bully romance vibes, which is not my typical choice of story because it makes me uncomfortable.
While there is no graphic sex, there is a lot of nudity and pointed sexual comments. There is also discussions and memories of emotional and physical abuse. If these things trigger you, you should probably skip this read.
The turn around from Rowan bring a jerk to a likable love interest is quick enough to give the reader whiplash. Despite not liking the male lead, it was such a well written story and I could NOT put it down. The nameless heroine is incredibly lovable and you want to root for her. She's almost obnoxiously good natured and kind hearted, but she's an inspiring character. I can't wait to see how this story resolves!
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