Dafne Mailloux is the trusted librarian of the High Queen. She loves learning and researching, and her years doing so have made her good with languages. When the High Queen asks her to journey to a foreign land to gather information, Dafne reluctantly accepts. While journeying, she meets a foreign king whose language she can't translate. Dafne is submitted to a wedding of alliance in an unusual and magical court, and she will find her loyalties more divided than ever as secrets are uncovered.

THE PAGES OF THE MIND by Jeffe Kennedy is a magical journey full of romance and politics. Dafne is relatable, a librarian who loves studying but doesn't see herself fit for more authoritative roles, though she is not shy or terribly uncertain of herself. Her journey challenges the way she sees herself and battles the way she thought her future would look. Her story is one of significant self-discovery and growth, as well as new and surprising love.

From the dragons to a king who can make it rain, the fantasy elements are wonderful. The only minor issues are the occasional modern sayings or phrases that stick out abnormally in the setting. The king Dafne accidentally marries, Nakoa, has seen visions of Dafne before, and part of her uncertainty about their union is her trying to grasp where the magic ends and something real begins- if there is a line at all. Though they have a language barrier, they find fascinating ways to communicate, and their slow burn romance is terrifically done. Kennedy expertly balances Dafne's romantic developments with Nakoa and her own personal developments within herself.

Although this is the first book in the Uncharted Realms series, THE PAGES OF THE MIND reads fine as a standalone. The excellent writing and nice cast of characters will likely have readers wanting to read other characters' stories. Intense, Tarzan-like romance with moving character growth from Dafne make Jeffe Kennedy's latest a wonderful fantasy adventure.

Book Summary

An Orphan's Throne

Magic has broken free over the Twelve Kingdoms. The population is beset by shapeshifters and portents, landscapes that migrate, uncanny allies who are not quite human…and enemies eager to take advantage of the chaos.

Dafne Mailloux is no adventurer--she's a librarian. But the High Queen trusts Dafne's ability with languages, her way of winnowing the useful facts from a dusty scroll, and even more important, the subtlety and guile that three decades under the thumb of a tyrant taught her.

Dafne never thought to need those skills again. But she accepts her duty. Until her journey drops her into the arms of a barbarian king. He speaks no tongue she knows but that of power, yet he recognizes his captive as a valuable pawn. Dafne must submit to a wedding of alliance, becoming a prisoner-queen in a court she does not understand. If she is to save herself and her country, she will have to learn to read the heart of a wild stranger. And there are more secrets written there than even Dafne could suspect…

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