What a ride! I couldn’t put this one down. Welcome to Tyche’s world of romantasy— fans of a Court of Thorns and Roses will love this one as enemies to lovers unite warring kingdoms. Non-stop action and unthinkable twists make the North Queen an unforgettable read!

This a great first book in a series bound to appeal to readers of Sarah J. Maas and other fantasy romance. While some reviews complained that the beginning was too slow, the author does a good job of setting up the world and explaining the political situation which is important to the rest of the story. This is an enemies to lovers story with complex characters and motivations. I will definitely be recommending this series.

Amnesia, Court Politics and romance in this book were so good. I absolutely loved it, But at the same time I was low-key very bored in the starting because given that this is a fantasy book and it takes a lot of portion of the book to develop the world building I just thought it was done through a lot of filler content.

The romance in this book was unexpected. It's a love square situation which personally for me I do not like. AT ALL. But we also have the villain getting the girl (at least I hope so with that whole love square), put that together with an arranged marriage, forced proximity, kidnapping and a slow burn filled with tension, made it up to me.

The fact that I'm not very excited for the sequel and that it took me a long time to get through this book is enough an indicator that despite the good tropes I just didn't gel with the characters or the plot.

I was lost from page 1. I did like the romance but the world building was confusing and made no sense. Also I personally did not love the writing style.

I COULDN’T PUT THIS DOWN!

Norah is the heir to the North kingdom and the book starts with her waking up in the woods, with no memory of who she is or what she’s doing. Add to that memory loss some forbidden love, enemies to lovers, magical animals and engaging storytelling and you’ve got what I consider to be a 5/5 book! I am so happy Nicola Tyche is putting all three books in the trilogy out this year! Everyone needs to read this!

For 3 years, Princess Norah, future Queen of Mercia was missing, but now she's been found! There's only one problem... her memories are gone and the fate of the kingdom rests on her shoulders. A kingdom she doesn't even remember. With war looming and a dangerous enemy waiting in the Shadows (literally), Norah must navigate this unknown world and adapt to her surroundings in order to survive and save her people from a terrible fate. For fans of ACOTAR, Romantasy, enemies to lovers, amnesia tropes, slow burns (like really long, aching, tense romance), and a tricky love triangle with a marriage of convenience (tastefully done, IMO). This one had me absolutely hooked! I loved Norah, her sassiness, and her confidence as it grows through the book is really nice to see. I hope we see her come into her full potential with the next book as a TRUE Queen. And then there's Mikael, your typical "touch her and die" type, though that can also be said of Alexander as well. Well in between those two men is a wonderfully delicious place to be. This was one of the BEST love triangles I've read, where the "other" guy is actually a great guy, I honestly was pretty tore all the way to the end about who I wanted her to end up with and that's extremely rare for me, and honestly the jury is still out! The plot was a little slow in the beginning, but necessary to establish her relationship with Merica and Alexander. Even the side characters are all lovable (well, MOST of them- I love Kiran and Vitalia!) I am really excited to see where she takes the rest of the series because it has so much potential for world building, character development, and plotting! I am hunting down book 2 IMMEDIATELY!

North Queen Review:
{OUT NOW}
Rating: ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️

Thank you to NetGalley and Columbia River Publishing for this E-Arc!

I wanted to share one of my recent 5 star reads!! LOVED this book! North Queen is a romantic fantasy and the first book of the Crowns Trilogy. The Lost Heir/Royalty trope is probably my favorite trope out there and was so excited when I read the summary for this book!

The world building is incredible and the story is full of romance tension and political intrigue. There are a few unexpected plot twists as well.

The FMC Norah, is a very strong and determined girl who is the “lost heir” to the throne of Mercia. She is hidden by her father and escapes while the kingdom is taken over by the Shadow King. Three years later the book follows her experience going through amnesia, not remembering who she is when she is found. The lost heir is thrown into a role she is unaware and unprepared for but must save her kingdom!

Tropes:
•Royalty / Lost Heir
•Political Intrigue
•Fierce MC
•Morally Grey Characters
•Multiple Love Interests
•Warring Kingdoms
•Amnesia

I want to start by saying the plot of this book just didn’t work with me… as a fantasy reader i think it can be hard for me to stem into new a different tropes in fantasy and the amnesia plot just doesn't work with me. This was mainly because all of the world building stems from people telling the MC the facts rather then learning it as the story progresses. Because of this the start was very overwhelming and hard to get through as I was constantly being given new information in large bursts with very little plot progression.

This made it feel a little disconnected as it felt that the author was just trying to get as much done as possible that didn’t have much connection to each other(yet..) And i think as the series progresses this will not be as much of an issue as the author becomes more comfortable and the story and romance evolves.

I enjoyed the political elements of the novel, and think that was one of the highlights for me along with the overall writing style except from the world building dumps. North Queen wasn’t bad and has the bones to be an amazing series I just don’t think its for me :(

The book has a bit of a slow start and the first 25% feels a little lost, but once the plot starts to kick off it starts to get much better. There are a lot of great character dynamics and interesting world building.
The narrating dialogue and character dialogue sometimes feels a little inconsistent but it doesn't happen if very often, and definitely not enough to pull me out of the book like other titles have done. The book also felt like it was lacking plot movement but, the characters and relationships themselves were interesting enough that I didn't seem to mind much.
I liked that Norah is a character who voices her opinion, and gets angry and challenges the men around her and she seems to hold herself together well despite her situation. It's nice to see that she obviously struggles, but her struggles don't define her character.
I do think it's unfortunate that, after a certain point her memory loss seems to become irrelevant to the story. It would have been interesting to see what kind of setbacks that would have added on top of the struggle of being immersed in a new culture.

Good world building. Information doesn't get dumped, but comes up naturally according to the situation. That's always a plus for me! The hint of magic is nice though I do wish it was explored more, especially considering how the book starts.

Overall a solid read. Would definitely recommend.

Norah, the heir to the throne of Mercia, has been lost to the world for three years. She’s discovered in the woods of the Wild with no memories of where she was or from before her father hid her away. She remembers nothing aside from a familiarity with the Lord Justice who found her. Her councilors and her grandmother, the queen regent, urge her to ensure an alliance with the kingdom of Aleon by marriage, but during the trip she is captured by their enemy, the shadow king. Norah must navigate her feelings while knowing nothing of her past, while everyone else contends with the shifting visions of the future.

I liked this a lot it was really fun. I’m waiting for the other shoe to drop with Alexander and I feel like Catherine is way too shifty. There’s so much tension brewing and I cannot wait to see what more happens. I do wish that Mikael could recognize how messy his captain and commander are though.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for sending me a copy of this book!

This honestly made me incredibly angry but I also enjoyed a lot of it, so yeah.

This was an exciting and mostly compelling romantasy with lots of political drama, romantic pining, fighting, betrayal, angst, and general drama. The original premise (woman wakes up in woods with no memory and then meets a man who says she’s the queen of the north kingdom and has been missing for 3 years) isn’t really realized as the book’s focus changes around 30% in and then goes in several circles. Norah is naive, as to be expected, but does have a strong personality and refuses to back down from what she believes is right. My problem, however, lies with basically every other character, but especially the love interest. He promises so many things to her and then SPOILER ALERT they don’t happen or someone hurts her and he claims to fix the problem and then it happens again—or he doesn’t think it’s a problem—like her being treated like a criminal and honestly like trash by someone he’s assigned to protect her. He’s so incredibly oblivious to so much and does absolutely nothing to actually protect her or trust her (the annulments we’re great but she basically had to threaten him and then he knew the people would be angry but he didn’t do anything to stop them from attacking her). He believes basically anyone over her and undermines her at every opportunity. The only reasons this gets 4 stars are because of Norah and the fact that I could not put this down (partially raging over the male lead’s actions and because I totally thought this was a stand-alone until 90%).

I will almost definitely read the sequels, but we better see some character growth from our love interest or he can just die and Norah can rule solo.

Ooo this is a great start to an exciting new fantasy series. Reminded me a bit of Sarah J Mass. I'll definitely get the next one!

BOOK REVIEW
 
Thank you to @netgalley, @columbiariverpublishing and @nicolatyche for providing this book in exchange for an honest review. This book had me intrigued from the first page. Norah has no recollection of who she is or that she is the heir to her Father’s kingdom. You journey with her as she relearns her duty as future Queen, which includes a betrothal for an alliance and not love. This alliance would save her kingdom from the Shadow King Slowly memories start coming back to her and she realizes she wants to be in control of her life and choices. I enjoyed learning about their world and the backstory of Mercia. The second book in the Crowns series is out NOW and the third comes out in a couple of weeks. I need to catch up on the second and you can find the series on Kindle Unlimited! Definitely recommend adding this series to your TBR!!

𝗧𝗘𝗔 𝗧𝗛𝗢𝗨𝗚𝗛𝗧𝗦 🍵
The story weaves an intricate web of love, war, and destiny, keeping readers on the edge of their seats. The dark enemy, the Shadow King, adds tension, making it an engrossing fantasy novel. The author's skillful storytelling and well-developed characters make "The North Queen" an enthralling read that leaves readers eager for more.

Think of Frozen as a dark fantasy and you get yourself to a whirl of wonderful twists and turns.

Norah, our amnesia having Queen, is found wandering in a part of the woods that no one dares to enter. She is quick to speak when she thinks something is wrong and before we know it, she is thrust into ruling a Kingdom she has no recollection of. Throughout the story she remembers bits and pieces of before she was whisked away from the kingdom. Norah is out here running Mercia with no memory of anything, and I think that makes her quite the badass FMC. Norah must marry to save the kingdom though her childhood friend Alexander is in love with her.

When the Shadow King kidnapped Norah, I was internally screaming but I am always a fan of the villain. Norah and her interaction with other side characters makes you wonder what the motive is, and if Norah can trust them. This story is rife with political intrigue and the world building is easy to follow which makes this romantasy and page turner!

*Thank you so much to the author, publisher, and NetGalley for the chance to review an ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.*

Wow, what a read! This book starts off with a girl waking up in the middle of the woods, she is cold and alone, and most notably without any memories of how she got there or who she is. When someone comes along calling her Norah and knowing exactly who she is, she takes a chance to trust him. Norah soon learns she is none other than the Princess of Mercia, and the man who rescued her is Alexander, someone she has known her entire life. As confused as she is, she must push these worries aside and become queen to save her kingdom and people. Becoming queen is responsibility enough, but with enemies surrounding Mercia Norah must also marry to gain an ally.

I was concerned that this book would not be for me when I started reading it, but I am so happy I was wrong! It starts off slow, but when you stick with it, it is completely worth it. There are so many paths Norah takes that I wasn't expecting but that just made me love the book more. The author shows us that each character has two sides, and we like the characters more for it. I am so excited for the next book and have already told other fantasy/romance readers that they need to add this book to their TBR. I cannot wait to see what else is awaiting Norah on her adventures.

This was a wonderfully addicting story that gave me the same booklove feeling that I had back in the day with fantasy romances! I truly want to see where it goes! Book 2 please! LOL

𝙎𝙩𝙖𝙧 𝙍𝙖𝙩𝙞𝙣𝙜: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
𝙎𝙥𝙞𝙘𝙚 𝙍𝙖𝙩𝙞𝙣𝙜: 🌶🌶🌶

This book had everything I wanted -- slow burn to steamy enemies to lovers to..., forced proximity, he falls first, and morally grey characters.

North Queen is told from three POV's, those of Norah, Alexander, and the Shadow King, which I just loved. Being able to see the two MMC's from each other's view was priceless!

I instantly adored Norah, her tenacity and cleverness, but hated how those around her treated her (there may have been a couple of times that I actually wanted to reach in and shake some of the other characters). I'm interested to find out more about her connection the the Wild, and also want to see whether she gets her memories back...and if she does, whether it changes her feelings towards the other characters.

I loved how this book kept me guessing -- just when I thought I had something figured out there was another plot twist, or something new for me to try to figure out.

I'm totally here for the Shadow King 😏, and am ridiculously keen to read the next book!

𝑻𝒉𝒂𝒏𝒌 𝒚𝒐𝒖 𝒕𝒐 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒂𝒖𝒕𝒉𝒐𝒓 & 𝑵𝒆𝒕𝒈𝒂𝒍𝒍𝒆𝒚 𝒇𝒐𝒓 𝒂𝒏 𝒆𝑨𝑹𝑪 𝒐𝒇 𝒕𝒉𝒊𝒔 𝒃𝒐𝒐𝒌. 𝑨𝒍𝒍 𝒕𝒉𝒐𝒖𝒈𝒉𝒕𝒔 𝒂𝒓𝒆 𝒎𝒚 𝒐𝒘𝒏 𝒉𝒐𝒏𝒆𝒔𝒕 𝒐𝒑𝒊𝒏𝒊𝒐𝒏𝒔.

This was really good! I loved the story line and the bad ass main character! I also read the sequel and it’s even better than this! I’m very excited to read the third one whenever it comes out.

This book! I love it!

Such a great, wellwritten enemies to lovers and forced proximity tropes
The build-up of the plot is done greatly, and I was so happy I didn't have to wait too long for the next book.

I'm so grateful for this ARC and I'm definitely reading more of this author