The Bridge Kingdom

Diana The Book Nerd

Well plotted, great characters, amazing intrigue

"The Bridge Kingdom Kindle Edition by Danielle L. Jensen Bravo! Brava! Bravisimo! Danielle L. Jensen has created a world and a story that I want to wrap myself up in and never leave. Lara is the greatest weapon her kingdom and her father have ever created. She's supposed to destroy The Bridge Kingdom and secure it, and the Bridge, for her father. Of course, nothing goes quite the way it should. Brilliantly written and plotted perfectly, the first book of the Bridge Kingdom series twists and turns with all the tropes – enemies to lovers, forced proximity, and will they/won't they. It is also filled with side characters that would make Sarah J Maas weep with envy. The political intrique kepr me turning pages well into the evening and I even got the Audible version to listen in order to sleep. It was just... WOW! The characters, Lara and Aren are truly special. They are more than just the King and the weapon. I actually gave a damn about them, which says a lot in the genre of Romantasy. I also gave a damn about the Bridge Kingdom itself. Ithicana was a character on its own, with its wildlife, wild weather, and amazing citizens. When they are at war, I was genuinely worried about them. When they were at sea, I wanted to sail with them. When they loved, I felt so close to them. The villians are a tad one dimensional, but honestly, with Heroes and Heroines like these, who cares. The villains aren't on screen long enough to care. The spice level is 4 out of 5, just because it takes forever to get to it, nearly 3/4s of the book. But the spice does feel like lovemaking, not random sex you up moments. 5 stars out of 5 ["

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November 15, 2025 Verified Purchase

Ava Collopy

Stunningly good

"In this stunning work, author Danielle Jensen creates a new world but one that is stunningly realistic in its politics, intrigue, and unfairness to certain groups of people. The fictional world this author takes you into is so visceral you almost feel that you’ve traveled to the Bridge Kingdom and the Red Desert and back. Her characters are relatable. Her details authentic, and they add elements of realism to the work, for example one of the main character’s unusual pet cat. You feel like you’ve walked with the characters in the places the author describes. You’ve listened to the somewhat crass grandmother and drank one of her tinctures to cure your growing cough from travelling from Maridrina to Ithicana. It feels real. The characters’ motivations are realistic and relatable. The women’s experiences never being ideal is very real for any woman alive. But the way the lead character Lara finds her own strength and pushes her own limits is very motivating. This was a captivating read from start to finish and made me want to read every next book in the series, which I have. I recommend this book to everyone but especially those with an appreciation for strong and relatable characters, politics, travel, geography, and an understanding of historic international conflicts and the seeming helplessness of anyone in nations of endless war who want to fight for change. ["

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November 11, 2025 Verified Purchase

Customer

4⭐️ enemies to lovers to enemies 🌶️

"I loved this book! I loved the writing and character and world building. I did think some of the characters were a little under developed but I noticed we follow Ahnna and her mans in later books so that will be interesting to read. The concept of the bridge was really intriguing due to the creation of the bridge itself. BUT I did have questions that were kinda needling at me. So everyone uses the bridge to transport goods etc etc… but if its so bad, why not just trade directly with the country? Why would a set of powerful countries decide to give all their trust to the bridge holders? That didnt make much sense to me especially seeing how ithicana gave high fees etc. like why just not sail to these countries? (I know some will argue about treaties etc and i get it but idk jusy something that I couldn’t shake off) Anyway, i still enjoyed the story and loved Lara. I thought she was so badass! I kinda enjoyed Aren’s POV and wasnt too annoyed with it, i think the author did him good. I do wish we had Lara’s entire POV OR we followed a lot more characters like her sisters and her father etc. so that is something I feel was a missed opportunity. All in all, I will continue the series and see where it goes 5/5 recommend 🌶️ spice level: 1 scene but i loved it and was well worth the wait for these enemies to lovers to enemies again ["

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May 20, 2025 Verified Purchase

Cayla Ashley

Likeable, but predictable

"Rating: 🌟🌟🌟/5 Overall Feelings: I liked this book, but it wasn’t one I’d add to my pile of I would read over and over again. I will definitely read it again, but it isn’t going to be one that I automatically reach for. I also think some of this is because I’m not a fan of third person point of view. Lara: So, Lara is an interesting character. She spends fifteen years of her life locked in a palace in the desert learning to be ruthless, a killer, a spy, and the perfect wife to bring Ithicana to its knees. She ‘poisons’ her sisters to grant her the ability to see her father’s plan through. Her father is atrocious, and I feel that she gave him a little bit too much trust and grace after everything that he did. I feel like after fifteen years of training to be an assassin and a spy, she should have done a little bit better of a job. At times, she seemed a little naive, immature, and out of character for what she is written to be. Aren: I actually liked Aren. He seems like a good guy that cares about his people. His relationship with Jor is fun, and I like the interactions between him and the various soldiers. I like the way his head works, and I wish I got to see more of how he ruled Ithicana. We saw a good bit of Lara without Aren, but in his POVs there wasn’t enough done without Lara. I wanted to see more of him running through the bridge, doing his Kingly duties, and interacting with his soldiers. Low key though, he’s a little too forgiving. Like be angry! Your wife deceived you, was going to overthrow your country, and is a spy, but hey that’s okay. I love you. Side characters: I thought Jor was a good mentor for Aren. I would like to see more of him. He seemed to be a good person with looking out for Aren and the country’s best interests. I’ve seen people complain about the “crass” language of the soldiers, but that is what makes their characters feel more realistic. Having been around those types in the real world, that is very much how they would speak. There’s a reason people refer to swearing as “like a sailor.” Ahnna…..I don’t know how to feel about her. She was fine, but also a little flat. Romance: For being listed as “Romantic Fantasy,” I felt like this book lacked romance. There was definitely fantasy, but when the author said slow burn, she meant that there’s only a scrap of romance. They “love” eachother, but when she is doing her whole reveal about the spy life, why didn’t she reveal her sisters and what she did. She loves this man and has seen how he acts and that he is honest, so why does she believe her father over him when her father effectively abused her for 15 years? I wish that their romance had more sexual tension and more build up to the scene where they did have sex. In addition, when they sneak back into her home country and Aren sees his old fling, I cringed so hard. This scene bothered me because Aren, for being a good guy, seemed like he was getting ready to have his way with her and would have cheated on Lara had it not been for Jor. World Building: I have a good grasp on Ithicana, but the rest of the world fell a little flat to me. Even Lara’s homeland was a little flat. I thought using the bridge was a neat idea to move goods, but I really didn’t understand the need for secrecy? I have book two in my cart to buy, but it won’t be on my next to read any time soon. ["

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April 15, 2021 Verified Purchase

Angie Cox

4.5 ⭐ One of my favorite enemies-to-lovers stories!

""I will be the next Queen of Ithicana. And I will bring the Bridge Kingdom to its knees." Lara, along with eleven of her half-sisters, has been training in isolation at a compound for the past 15 years for one purpose; to marry the king of Ithicana, infiltrate his kingdom and destroy it. When her father, the King of Maridrina, visits to choose one as the spy, Lara knows only one of the twelve will leave alive - and it will be her. After reading the first chapter, I was HOOKED! I read it after finishing all of SJM's books for the first time and it was the perfect cure for my book hangover. While there aren't any magical elements or fae, the enemies-to-lovers storyline, the espionage, and badass characters are definitely comparable. Here's what I liked: • The fast-paced story. As I said before, I was hooked on chapter one and I couldn't put it down! Seriously, I started at 10 pm one evening and finished around 6 am the next morning! Danielle L. Jensen does an excellent job catching the reader's attention and not going into so much detail that your mind starts to wander or you fall asleep. (I do wish there were a tad bit more geographical descriptions of the world and maybe a bit more history but it's not something that takes away from the story). • The slow-burn romance. I WANT AND NEED MORE. 😏 Love that there are no weird euphemisms to describe sex or genitalia. • The characters don't suck. I feel like in every book there's got to be something you dislike about the main character, but NOPE! Not here! I loved Lara and Aren. The book shifts between their perspectives, which also gives us insight into their logic and development. • The Dramatic Irony. Seriously, this KILLED me! I felt it in my heart. I just wanted to reach into this book and tell the characters what they were about to do would be their downfall, but sadly my pleas went unanswered. Gosh, when you finally read this part you'll know what I mean. Gave me so much anxiety, but that's the point right? I loved this book so much that I already ordered the sequel, The Traitor Queen, and plan to start reading it as soon as it arrives. ["

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January 17, 2021 Verified Purchase