One will survive, one will fall – a review of the book “The Bridge Kingdom”

Lara and her eleven half-sisters grew up in confinement under the watchful eye of many different specialists and masters. Their lives were ruled by their father – the king of Maridrina, the land of hunger. The only way for food to reach the princess’s hometown is to defeat the Bridge Kingdom by trickery. The enemy has control over a very strategically located bridge and thus also over the flow of people and goods. The plot involves the use of an old agreement by which King Aren is to marry Princess Maridrina. And here we come back to Lara, because thanks to her extraordinary entrepreneurship and cleverness, it is she who ultimately becomes the wife of a hated opponent. The girl has a specific goal in mind – to get as much information as possible to allow her father to take over the bridge.

Driving without a hand

I did not expect at all that a book recommended to me by accident on one of the Facebook groups would turn out to be such an excellent read. The plot is a conflict based on a very sensible flood – one of the lands has access to a bridge that allows trade, and the others depend on it. Everyone works as hard as he can, but the king of Maridrina seems to be the most cunning, as he does not have any reservations about sending his own daughter (and actually daughters, because twelve of them are undergoing training). Lara is a fantastically trained, logical-minded and usually forward-planning character, so she’s a perfect spy. The main character was created in an interesting way, and her behavior clearly results from the character and training. Her opponent – her husband – is, in turn, primarily a type of a fighter. A brave, ruthless and brave man will surely win the hearts of readers who like honest and specific characters. Of course, despite all the intrigue between the aforementioned marriage, an emotional bond is created, which means that we also have a romantic thread in this novel. However, it is not the dominant element, but rather a pleasant glue of the whole.

A bridge to the right, a bridge to the left, and below …

The world depicted is limited to the areas dependent on the bridge. Virtually all events (except a short introduction and one trip) take place directly in the Bridge Kingdom and the surrounding waters. However, this is not a bad thing – we do not need to know what the rest of the globe looks like to understand the plot. The descriptions are vivid enough for the reader to imagine where the characters are and what conditions accompany specific situations (and it is very different when it comes to weather conditions and wild, life-threatening animals).

Where’s my fan?

The skillfully built tension definitely deserves a huge plus. It’s very hard to break away from this book, because every now and then something tests our emotions to endure. At the beginning, we experience the entire story of Lara, then her attempts to seduce Arena – so as not to arouse suspicions in the man. Then we fall into a series of bloody fights. Each event flows smoothly into the next, so we do not come across any plot holes here, but – as I wrote – it is difficult to take a break in the middle.

More ads, my Lord

The second volume is ahead of me; I hope it will keep the level of the story presented so far. Great heroes, an interesting plot, a meaningful reason for a conflict and an emotional romance – that’s all and so much I want from this type of literature. Once again, the book from the Book Gallery publishing house arouses my admiration, so I’m even more sorry that I found it by accident, and not thanks to promotional activities around it.