North Queen
Crowns, Book One
by Nicola Tyche
The Return of a Lost Heir… The kingdom of Mercia has been at war with the Shadow King and his dark army for ten years. To escape the seer’s vision of her capture, Mercia’s heir to the throne, Princess Norah Andell, is secreted away by her father to keep her safe. But when he dies in battle, so too dies the knowledge of where she’s hidden. She’s lost to the world — until three years later, when she’s found with no memory of who she is or the kingdom that now rests on her shoulders. A Conflicted Duty… Loyal and fearless commander of the Mercian army, Alexander Rhemus, has protected the realm against the threat of the Shadow King, awaiting Norah’s return. Not only does she hold the fate of the kingdom, but also his heart. However, when she’s found, he discovers she has no memory of him, or what was once between them. With war still looming, Norah is expected to wed and secure an alliance — one Mercia desperately needs to stand against the Shadow King. Now, with Mercia’s future at stake, Alexander finds himself torn between his duty and his heart. A Twisted Fate… Norah is thrust into a world she doesn’t know, in a role she’s unprepared for, to save a kingdom she doesn’t remember. Under the hardship of winter and a dark enemy against them, Mercia is on the verge of breaking. As things start to unravel, the Shadow King draws Norah down a path of twisted fate — and it could cost her everything.
I’m not gonna lie, I STRUGGLED with this. And I do know the reason why — not that it was bad by any means. In fact, I do plan to continue with the series.
I was really hyped going into the book, because I’d heard nothing but good about it, and the first chapter had me HOOKED. It was so intriguing, and felt really special. Norah waking up in the middle of a snowy forest with no memories, being followed by a mysterious fox, and then attacked by a bunch of terrifying men? I immediately had approximately seventeen theories about what was going on, and I was SO ready to find out.
Unfortunately, my excitement didn’t last for very long.
When I tell you the first half DRAGGED, I mean I actually went online and spoiled the rest of the series just to assure myself it was worth the effort. I usually don't mind a bit of setup, worldbuilding and political intrigue (I actually prefer it as long as all those things feel connected to the rest of the story and develop alongside the romance), but here I felt like so much of it was unnecessary, especially when I was just waiting for the actual story to get going. There were plenty of things I was curious about — Norah's missing memories, the Wild, the strange fox, the prophecy, the Shadow King — but they kept getting pushed into the background in favor of things I felt didn’t matter.
Like, I get why Alexander is important. I really do. His history with Norah is obviously a big part of the plot, and I felt for him at times, especially knowing that he's spent three years searching for her only to have her return without remembering him. But Norah's half-feelings for him after the amnesia left me completely cold. I already knew Mikael was the MMC before starting the book (he was honestly a big part of what drew me in), so I always knew nothing was going to come of Norah and Alexander. And because Norah couldn't even remember their relationship herself, all the flirting, almost-kisses and angst just felt like a very long detour.
Honestly, I think the story could have gotten much the same emotional impact from Norah seeing how much their past meant to Alexander, without having her develop feelings for him all over again. Letting herself get emotionally involved with him again just felt like a selfish indulgence when there were so many bigger things at stake, like THE FUTURE OF HER KINGDOM.
I would have understood this plotline a lot better if they’d had an established relationship and had to break it off for the sake of her marrying Mikael. That’s a sacrifice. But a past relationship she doesn’t remember? What’s even the point of the amnesia? Especially since she eventually does remember that they had planned to elope, only for Alexander to break things off because he believed it necessary for her to become Queen. Like, what???
Things did pick up quite a bit for me once Mikael was introduced. Of course. Suddenly we had the Shadow King we'd been hearing about for half the book, and I was immediately much more interested in where things were going. I also really enjoyed getting his POV, especially once we started seeing the difference between the ruthless king everyone had warned Norah about and the man who was clearly becoming increasingly conflicted about her.
I especially liked seeing that shift after Norah was attacked while trying to escape. Mikael's anger at her for running, and the fact that he was simultaneously admiring her fighting spirit and blaming himself for what happened to her, showed some different sides of his character. It was probably the first moment where I really started getting invested again.
100% what kept me going was the potential of Norah and Mikael together.
Did they drive me absolutely insane? Yes.
They were both SO bad at actually communicating with each other. Norah kept storming into his office whenever something happened, to demand that he change something — instead of actually talking it through with him — while Mikael kept making major decisions concerning his wife without telling her and then expected her to simply go along with it… I just wanted these two to actually TALK to each other.
What frustrated me most, though, was that Mikael actually did give in to a LOT of what Norah asked for. He kept compromising with her, changing his decisions, or trying to meet her halfway, and she barely seemed to notice. Honestly, even if there were no feelings involved, I wanted her to be mature enough to recognize that he was actually making an effort to work with her. She didn't always have to agree with him, obviously, but I really wanted her to see that he was repeatedly willing to give ground for her.
The political side of the story also became much more interesting to me once Norah came to Kharav. I liked seeing her challenge things she considered wrong, whether that was the treatment of slaves, the Commander overstepping his authority, or the imprisonment of Kieran's father. I also liked that Mikael didn't simply agree with her on everything. He has his own responsibilities and worldview, and it made sense that he wouldn't immediately take the word of a woman he'd only just married (a former enemy, no less) over people he's trusted for years.
That said, I did start getting increasingly frustrated with how blind Mikael could be to all that, seeming to miss the bigger point she was trying to make: that some of his people weren't showing her the respect and consideration she deserved in her role as his wife and queen, and a supposed ally.
By the end of the book, EVERYTHING was a mess.
We still didn’t know what actually caused Norah's amnesia. We still didn’t know exactly what her connection to the Wild was. The prophecy was clearly not as straightforward as everyone initially assumed. Catherine was acting suspiciously. The Council was suspicious. Alexander was suspicious. And I was suspecting that the Commander might actually be an OK guy? Basically, I trusted nothing anymore.
Which brings me to my biggest problem: I KNOW I want to continue the series, but I’m also a little nervous about what the next book is going to put me through.
It took me a WHILE to finally finish this. And I DID like it, but I think knowing a little bit of what's coming — combined with not loving some of the foreshadowing — made it harder for me to push through when I was already struggling with the pacing. Still, somewhere along the way it won me over, and I really want to see how the rest of Norah and Mikael’s story plays out.
So yes, I am continuing.
I just really, REALLY hope I don't have to wait another entire book for these two to figure their shit out.
⭐⭐⭐ 🌶️
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