The Twisted Throne – Past Midnight Book Reviews & More

My Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️💫

Spice: 🌶️

Title: The Twisted Throne (The Bridge Kingdom, #5)

Author: Danielle L. Jensen

Format: ebook (borrowed – libby)

Pages: 512

Publication Date: 4/8/25

Categories: Fantasy, Romance, Series, Political Intrigue

A commander who bled to defend her people, Ahnna is haunted by two beliefs. The first is that she failed to protect Ithicana from invasion. And the second is that saving her homeland means leaving it behind forever.

The Maridrinians left Ithicana in ruins and its people impoverished. So when the wealthy kingdom of Harendell claims her as a bride for its crown prince, Ahnna is prepared to do whatever it takes to gain influence as the future queen. And to control the gold that comes with the throne.

Yet Ahnna swiftly discovers that beneath the beautiful surface of Harendell’s court is a dark underbelly built upon schemes, duplicity, and the pursuit of power. The only individual who holds himself above the politics is not her future husband, but his infuriating half brother, James. And as she begins to question whether Harendell is the ally it claims to be, Ahnna finds herself drawn into a forbidden attraction to the wrong prince.

As deadly plots tighten around her, Ahnna must decide whether saving her people will be achieved as a bride…or as a blade.

Content Warning: violence, poison, torture, bullying

+ This is Ahnna’s story. She is the sister of Aren, the King of Ithicana and Lara’s husband. So I was really interested to see what happens to her as she is traveling to Harendell to fulfill the marriage treaty that was set up when she was younger.

+ Ahnna is thrown into a dangerous situation and all around her is political intrigue. The Harendell court seems civil, even reminding me of the British monarchy in a sense with their propriety and rules, but underneath their mask they are vultures – there is always someone playing a game and Ahnna is in over her head.

+ I think the second half of the book was much better and moved quicker with action and so many twists and turns. Who is playing who? When it is revealed, it’s a bombshell. The ending is a cliffhanger.

~ I didn’t like Ahnna in this book because I knew her to be so fierce in the other books but in this one she came off so naive and weak. What happened to her character? I get that she feels guilt but she was making so many missteps I was hoping she would go home like everyone was telling her to do. She is so stubborn. I hope there is some growth in the next book.

~ I hated the Harendell court – clearly they didn’t care for Ahnna yet she insisted she could make this marriage work and sent every one of her people away. I questioned her decisions a lot. I just found it boring – the people, how they functioned, prim and proper yet vicious. For me it made the forbidden romance part lackluster. It was too slow of a slow burn because James is so proper and so loyal to his family. Why did James do a great job of staying away from her? 😑. I didn’t like him, which I was bummed about. There was yearning, but like I said, they weren’t together much.

~ The political intrigue is about a trade war and reminded me of our very realistic trade war taking place in the real world. Was it sometimes fascinating (at the end) – sure? But for the whole of the story, I wasn’t fully into it. There was a lull in the middle and it took me a few days to finally finish this book. I think the story could have been shorter.

Final Thoughts:

This is not my favorite in the series but the ending of the book was amazing. There wasn’t much romance, and I kind of don’t love Ahnna and James together. Or I just don’t like James? I’m not sure yet, I definitely do not like Harendell. Maybe I will have to make my verdict after the next book. .