I owe the Audible Plus catalogue an apology.

When I first started The Bridge Kingdom, I honestly expected one of those books you listen to casually in the background and forget about a week later. I hate saying that because I know “free” does not automatically mean bad, but I think a small part of me expected it to be a little dull.

Instead?

I’m hooked.

This book completely surprised me in the best way possible.

The biggest surprise for me was Aren. Going into this book, I genuinely thought he was going to be completely heartless. One of those cold fantasy men that never really grows on you. But the more I listened, the more he became one of those frustrating “I love him… no wait, I hate him… actually no, I love him again” characters.

To be fair though, he absolutely still had moments where I wanted to scream at him.

The emotional whiplash this man gave me needs to be studied.

Lara, however, was incredible from the beginning. She gave strong female character energy without feeling forced or overdone. She was clever, stubborn, capable and willing to prove herself rather than constantly telling everyone how powerful she was.

I loved that about her.

Now let’s discuss the character that tested my patience the most: Aren’s sister.

I’m trying very hard to be nice here, but honestly? She drove me insane.

Then there’s Lara’s father… or at least the man who raised her. Even by the end of the book, I still could not fully decide whether he was the villain, a manipulator, or somehow both while still believing he was doing the right thing.

That uncertainty actually made the story more interesting because it constantly kept me questioning everyone’s motives.

I think that’s one of the reasons this book worked so well for me overall. It wasn’t just fantasy romance. There was political tension, betrayal, manipulation, trust issues and constantly shifting loyalties underneath the romance storyline.

And somehow, despite all the chaos, it never became too complicated to follow.

Overall, The Bridge Kingdom ended up being one of my biggest surprise reads recently. It completely proved me wrong, and honestly, I love when books do that.

Would I continue the series?

Absolutely.