Book Review: The Inadequate Heir

The Inadequate Heir is the third book in The Bridge Kingdom series by Danielle L. Jensen. As I explained in yesterday’s post The Bridge Kingdom is an ongoing series and so far three books are out with the fourth coming this fall. The first two books focus on Lara and Aren and the third book shifts to focus on Lara’s brother, Keris, and Zarrah.

This post contains some spoilers for books 1 & 2!

Keris is the heir to the throne in Maridrina, which he has never really wanted since he prefers seeing the world and reading to fighting and being a military leader. But, now that his 8 older brothers have died/been killed over the years, he’s next in line. Zarrah is the chosen heir to be the next Empress of Valcotta as her aunt has raised her like her own daughter since the death of her mother at the hands of the Maridrinian king when Zarrah was younger. She is also the General of the Valcottan army. The two kingdoms are enemies, but when Zarrah and Keris meet one night in a sort of neutral border territory not knowing who the other is, they have an instant chemistry and attraction. They find a connection with their banter and their desire for peace and no more Endless War and needless killing. When they find out the truth about the other’s identity, it is too late. They have fallen for each other and Zarrah has been captured by Maridrina. Now Keris must find a way to save Zarrah.

The events in this book overlap with events from both The Bridge Kingdom and The Traitor Queen. It explains how Keris and Zarrah met and the background for their love story. We met them in The Traitor Queen when Aren was a prisoner in Maridrina and you could tell that there was something more to Keris and Zarrah’s relationship by the way they looked at each other and spoke to one another. And why Keris wanted to make a deal with Aren to help Zarrah.

I really enjoyed this book and liked Keris and Zarrah. The only “con” was that the book was a little long. It’s over 500 pages which is okay with me, especially for a fantasy romance, but at points it felt like it dragged a bit so I do think it could’ve been a bit shorter. Overall, though, I really liked the book and I’m loving the series in general. Keris and Zarrah’s connection and desire for one another was really engaging and I can’t wait to see what happens next with that cliffhanger!

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