The Fate of the Tala by Jeffe Kennedy Series: The Uncharted Realms #5, The Twelve Kingdoms #11
Published by Brightlynx Publishing on February 8, 2020
Genres: Fantasy
Pages: 316
Format: eARC
Source: Author
Goodreads
Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Apple
The exciting conclusion of the story begun in The Mark of the Tala
An Uneasy Marriage,
An Unholy Alliance.
The tales tell of three sisters, daughters of the high king. The eldest, a valiant warrior-woman, conquered her inner demons to become the high queen. The youngest, and most beautiful outlived her Prince Charming and found a strength beyond surface loveliness.
And the other one, Andi? The introverted, awkward middle princess is now the Sorceress Queen, Andromeda—and she stands at the precipice of a devastating war.
As the undead powers of Deyrr gather their forces, their High Priestess focuses on Andi, undermining her at every turn. At the magical barrier that protects the Thirteen Kingdoms from annihilation, the massive Dasnarian navy assembles, ready to pounce the moment Andi’s strength fails. And, though her sisters and friends gather around her, Andi finds that her husband, Rayfe, plagued with fears over her pregnancy, has withdrawn, growing ever more distant.
Fighting battles on too many fronts, Andi can’t afford to weaken, as she’s all that stands between all that’s good in the world and purest evil.
For Andi, the time to grow into her true power has come. . .
This is the final book in The Twelve Kingdoms series, which also includes The Uncharted Realms and closely ties to The Chronicles of Dasnaria. I do feel you really should read the entire series in either chronological or publication order in order to understand the series best. But even more so for this book, because it brings everything together in the end.
While all the previous books bring a new couple together, this book follows Andromeda, or Andi. She’s the one who is fated to win this war that has been building throughout the series. She also has to do this while being very pregnant, which has her husband extremely on edge because the Tala have difficulties with pregnancies.
I really liked how we got to spend a little bit of time with all the different couples from previous books and how all of them had a part in winning this war. Every single one of them was necessary, even if it was Andi who did a lot of the heavy lifting.
This has been a really fun series. Parts of it can be pretty dark, but overall, it is a fantasy romance series, so while dark in places, there is a lot of love too. There is also a lot with family, not just blood family, but also the family you create throughout your life. The characters in this story are wonderful. I really wanted to root for them throughout the series. I highly recommend, if you haven’t read this series, to pick up The Mark of the Tala and give it a try.
“It’s an unfortunate fact of life that we often behave the worst to those who love us best, simply because we trust that they’ll understand and forgive.”
She sat back and studied me. “How did it go? Successfully, according to early reports, but you look tired.”
“One day people will stop telling me I look tired,” I replied wryly.
“Better than people saying you look dead,” Dafne commented, not looking up from what she was reading.
About Jeffe Kennedy
Jeffe Kennedy is an award-winning author whose works include novels, non-fiction, poetry, and short fiction. She has been a Ucross Foundation Fellow, received the Wyoming Arts Council Fellowship for Poetry, and was awarded a Frank Nelson Doubleday Memorial Award.
Her award-winning fantasy romance trilogy The Twelve Kingdoms hit the shelves starting in May 2014. Book 1, The Mark of the Tala, received a starred Library Journal review and was nominated for the RT Book of the Year while the sequel, The Tears of the Rose received a Top Pick Gold and was nominated for the RT Reviewers’ Choice Best Fantasy Romance of 2014. The third book, The Talon of the Hawk, won the RT Reviewers’ Choice Best Fantasy Romance of 2015. Two more books followed in this world, beginning the spin-off series The Uncharted Realms. Book one in that series, The Pages of the Mind, has also been nominated for the RT Reviewer’s Choice Best Fantasy Romance of 2016 and won RWA’s 2017 RITA® Award. The second book, The Edge of the Blade, released December 27, 2016, and is a PRISM finalist, along with The Pages of the Mind. The next in the series, The Shift of the Tide, will be out in August, 2017. A high fantasy trilogy taking place in The Twelve Kingdoms world is forthcoming from Rebel Base books in 2018.
She also introduced a new fantasy romance series, Sorcerous Moons, which includes Lonen’s War, Oria’s Gambit, The Tides of Bàra, and The Forests of Dru. She’s begun releasing a new contemporary erotic romance series, Missed Connections, which started with Last Dance and continues in With a Prince.
In 2019, St. Martins Press will release the first book, The Orchid Throne, in a new fantasy romance series, The Forgotten Empires.
Her other works include a number of fiction series: the fantasy romance novels of A Covenant of Thorns; the contemporary BDSM novellas of the Facets of Passion; an erotic contemporary serial novel, Master of the Opera; and the erotic romance trilogy, Falling Under, which includes Going Under, Under His Touch and Under Contract.
She lives in Santa Fe, New Mexico, with two Maine coon cats, plentiful free-range lizards and a very handsome Doctor of Oriental Medicine. She is represented by Sarah Younger of Nancy Yost Literary Agency.
| Rating Breakdown | |
|---|---|
| Plot |
|
| Writing |
|
| Characters |
|
| Dialogue |
|
| Overall: | |
I started listening to audiobooks when a new book in a series was coming out and I wanted to get a refresher, but didn’t have time to read all the books (I think it was Anita Blake). I fell in love. I stayed with strictly re-reading books that I’d already read for a long time. I eventually tried an audiobook for something that I hadn’t read first and was hooked there too. Now, I listen to audio for both re-reads and first time. I have some series that I’ve given up reading and only listen. I try to get any many books/audiobooks from the library to help save on my budget. Books on CD and the newer digital downloads from the library really allow me to listen more. I then purchase my favorites (because who can wait in line for your favorite book??) and less mainstream books from Audible or some other online retailer.
Friend me at Goodreads.
- Known to the Victim by K.L. Armstrong @KelleyArmstrong@doubledayca@AudiobookMel - September 27, 2024
- Gone for Good by Joanna Schaffhausen @slipperywhisper @MinotaurBooks @AudiobookMel - September 13, 2024
- Alone by Lisa Gardner @LisaGardnerBks #BantamBooks @AudiobookMel - August 23, 2024
I really enjoyed the first three books of the series. I thought it was done then, I’ll have to jump back in to finish out the story.
She named a spinoff series, Uncharted Realms because the stories took place outside of the Twelve Kingdoms. It follows some of the characters from The Twelve Kingdoms series and new ones. The Chronicles of Dasnaria take place before Mark of the Tala and can be read anywhere in the series, but I recommend before reading this one.
Wonderful review, Melanie? It’s always great when a series ends in a good way. Glad it was a fun reading experience.
Agreed, it is so hard to end a series, but I think Kennedy did a great job here.
great cover. glad the series ended on a high note
This series has had some really great covers.
I need to read more of her books
I really do love her work. There are more of her backlist that I still need to get to.
Great review! I’m not really familiar with these series, but they sound like they’re worth checking out.
They are very much worth checking out. I really love her fantasy romance stories.
I am so glad you enjoyed this one. I really need to give Jeffe Kennedy a try.
I hope you have a chance to give her a try some day. I really love her work.
You’ve been enjoying these. I love the covers and have these marked to try. Wonderful review Melliane.
I really love Jeffe Kennedy. She writes really fun stories with wonderful characters. I hope you get a chance to try her soon.
I always love it when the end of series delivers. Glad this one did for you. And such a beautiful cover.
Me too. I’ve read several series that had “meh” endings. This is not one of those.
I want to read this series so bad, I hear its amazing. And you know how I love fantasy. Love a story you want to root for!!
Great review.
I really think you would enjoy this series. So many wonderful characters with such different personalities. Each romance is great and the overall story arc across the series is even better.
I liked this one and glad it tied everything up… but there are still battles out there and stories to be shared! I didn’t read the Dasnaria books – did I miss anything in this final book?
The Dasnaria books follow Harlan’s sister as she flees Dasnaria and makes a life for herself. You met her towards the end of this book with the elephants. It is a darker story than this series, especially the first book (Dasnaria is a horrible place for women). The second and third aren’t as dark, more on the same level as these.
[…] The Uncharted Realms and mostly The Chronicles of Dasnaria series. It starts right after the end of The Fate of the Tala and is told in the POV of Jenna/Ivariel of The Chronicles of Dasnaria series. She has some […]