A review by allingoodtime
A Kingdom of Dreams by Judith McNaught

adventurous emotional funny hopeful reflective fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

I picked this book up because it was one of season two’s read-along books from the Fated Mates Podcast. This is my first time reading this author, but I went in prepared since this book was published in the 80s. Keep that in mind if you decide to read this story. Not only was it published when the world was a whole different place, but it takes place in late medieval times so the views on women are quite harsh. While I greatly enjoyed this story, know your triggers before going in. There are mentions of rape, sexual coercion, physical abuse, a lot of violence, tons of misogyny, and everything else that goes along with the Middle Ages.

That all being said, this story pulled me in and kept me engaged. I laughed and cried and got frustrated with the miscommunications between Jenny and Royce. Every time they would start letting their guards down, something would spark mistrust and they’d start fighting once again. Jenny was bright and quick on her feet. She also wasn’t afraid to speak her mind, even to the fiercest warrior around. Something Royce was not used to nor expecting. Yet Jenny was loyal to a fault with her family. She was naïve to how her father’s mind worked and put far more trust in him and her family than she should have. The more Royce got to know Jenny, the more he was able to read between the lines about her family’s true motives. He had a hard time trusting that this brilliant and fierce woman was so blind to her family’s intentions.

The chemistry between Royce and Jenny was fantastic. Even when they were fighting, there was a lot of respect between them. That only added to the sexual attraction they had for each other. I loved how well they understood each other while not even realizing they did.

I’m going to wrap this up with a quote from the book because I find it so timely while this book is over 30 years old. Jenny and her younger sister are outside as it’s getting dark just after Jenny is told she must marry an old, disgusting man to help her family. She tells Brenna it would be okay if she would prefer to go back inside, to which Brenna replies…

“I’ll stay with you. If you remain alone, you’ll forget about time and likely be pounced upon by a – a bear in the darkness.”

At the moment, the prospect of being killed by a bear seemed rather inviting to Jenny, whose entire life stretched before her, shrouded in gloom and foreboding.

Even in medieval times, we were choosing the bear! 
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