Review copy was received from Publisher. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.
Queen of Dreams by Kit Rocha Narrator: Caitlin Elizabeth, Victoria Mei, Will Thorne
Series: Bound to Fire and Steel #2
Published by Brilliance Audio on August 6, 2024
Genres: Fantasy Romance
Length: 13 hours, 7 minutes
Format: Audiobook
Source: Publisher
Goodreads
Amazon, Audible
Ash waited three thousand years for a consort who could break the Betrayer’s chains. Instead of one lover, he found Sachi and Zanya—the primordial powers that embody creation and destruction, reborn as humans. Now, his ancient enemy has returned to threaten everything he loves.
In the wake of her dazzling manifestation, Zanya seethes with magic and restless energy. Her command of the Endless Void will be a potent weapon in the coming war. To harness it, she’ll need to embrace the darkness within—but the scars of the past are holding her back.
Sachi’s unprecedented connection to the Dream deepens, leading her beyond the veil of reality…and into the heart of the Betrayer’s stronghold. Torn from her lovers, Sachi must use all her wit and cunning to survive the Betrayer’s treacherous court. Because he doesn’t simply want her. He covets the slumbering power she possesses—and plans to take it for his own.
Queen of Dreams is the second book of the Bound to Fire and Steel series focused on the thruple of Ash, Sanci and Zanya. I’m not always a fan of threesome relationships, but I like the way this one was done, it completely worked for me. There is definitely more that could be done in this world if the authors choose but this book wraps up a lot of the threads and could be just a great duology. Sanci is the glue binding Ash and Zanya together, however they will need to find a way to love each other and come together even in her absence when she is kidnapped by the Destroyer if they are going to get her back.
I really enjoyed Consort of Fire, there was a new fantasy world to learn with interesting magic and magical being in it, along with a strong historic base the authors introduced. Add to that a lot of steamy scenes in-between all the traveling through the land while Sanci and Zanya figuring out how to kill Ash to save Sanci and it was a solid romantasy. But I think that Queen of Dreams flows a little better with was less time spent on the sex and more time spent on the actual story. Don’t worry there are still a few really explicit and spicy scenes that take their time, but it doesn’t overwhelm the story. I would say Bound to Fire upped it’s game and the depth of the characters, plot and worldbuilding.
“So many lifetimes ago, the world promised me that I would never be alone again. I waited three thousand years for that promise to come true. And it was worth it.”
Zanya is learning how to handle her power and the newfound strength that has come with it. She doesn’t trust herself and is afraid she could hurt Sanci if she can’t learn to control it. Ash is trying to develop a relationship with Zanya as a lover, so he is not able to train her like he would another new born god. He will need to trust some of his court with his lover, if Zanya is going to come into her full potential. Sanci wants to help with all the upheaval in the country but has been sidelined for her protection. In a bid to help, she is accidentally captured to be in the betrayers court. She must use all the skill she was taught in order to get close to Ash and kill him, to save her Consort and the woman she loved since childhood. Sanci will need all of her power over the world of dreams to make this happen. One problem, sometimes you have to be on the verge of death to manifest into your full power and Sanci’s journey is not easy and will leave some scars.
Ash and Zanya need to get ready, while it is hard to leave Sanci in the enemies’ clutches, they must trust her to fight the battle she was trained for while they prepare for the fighting that will come when the right opportunity arises. Sorin, known as the betrayer, was awful and twisted. I liked how Sanci was able to maneuver in his court and the allies she was able to make by playing political games. There are more ways to fight than just the sword. The culminating battle at the end was epic in scope and the conclusion to the story very satisfying. I can see how we may get more books set in this world as there are definitely more stories that could easily be told. I for one would be interested in reading any of them.
Narration:
Victoria Mei, Caitlin Elizabeth and Will Thorne reprise their roles for each PoV in the story. Each did a great job of capturing the main voice of the character they were narrating. I think Will was absolutely perfect for the deep timber I assumed the Dragon would have and his voice was my favorite. Victoria and Caitlin also performed really well and were able to capture both the strength and the vulnerabilities of the characters they were playing. There wasn’t a PoV that I didn’t like or that didn’t carry the story well.
Listen to a clip: HERE
About Kit Rocha
Once upon a time, two best friends decided to write paranormal romance. And while that was awesome, they also sometimes wanted to write insanely dirty stuff that wasn’t paranormal at all. This is that stuff.
Kit Rocha is the dystopian-erotic-romance writing alter-ego of writing duo Moira Rogers.
How do you make a Moira Rogers? Take a former forensic science and nursing student obsessed with paranormal romance and add a computer programmer with a passion for gritty urban fantasy. Toss in a dash of whimsy and a lot of caffeine, and enjoy with a side of chocolate by the light of the full moon.
By day, Bree and Donna are mild-mannered ladies who reside in the Deep South. At night, when their husbands and children are asleep, they combine forces to unleash the product of their fevered imaginations upon the page
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A thruple? I hope it works for them 😀
In real life I have not idea how a 3 person relationship really works. But in fantasy, I can sometimes buy into it.
Beautiful cover, and I’ve wanted to read this author, might have to go ahead and do that based on your review. Thanks for sharing!
I really like this author. I’ve read a few of their series and enjoyed everything. This was a nice shift from the UF they usually write to fantasy…plus there is all the steam