5 Wine Glass #Review for The Pages of the Mind by Jeffe Kennedy

Title:  The Pages of the Mind
Series:  The Uncharted Realms #1
Author:  Jeffe Kennedy
Format:  paperback, 432 pages
Published:  May 31st, 2016 by Kensington 
Links: Goodreads | Amazon | B&N
Source: personal library
Reviewer:  Lexi
Rating:  5 out of 5 Wine Glasses

An Orphan's Throne
Magic has broken free over the Twelve Kingdoms. The population is beset by shapeshifter and portents, landscapes that migrate, uncanny allies who are not quite human...and enemies eager to take advantage of the chaos. 
Dafne Mailloux is no adventurer--she's a librarian. But the High Queen trusts Dafne's ability with languages, her way of winnowing the useful facts from a dusty scroll, and even more important, the subtlety and guile that three decades under the thumb of a tyrant taught her.
Dane never thought to need those skills again. But she accepts her duty. Until her journey drops her into the arms of a barbarian king. He speaks no tongue she knows but that of power, yet he recognizes his captive as a valuable plan. Dane must submit to a wedding of alliance, becoming a prisoner-queen in a court she does not understand. If she is to save herself and her country, she will have to learn to read the heart of a wild stranger. And there are more secrets written there than even Dafne could suspect...

Lexi's Thoughts:

One will never underestimate a librarian again after reading The Pages of the Mind. Kennedy once again delivers a remarkable fantasy romance in the Twelve Kingdoms world. 

From the beginning in The Mark of the Tala Dafne has been the watcher, the voice of reason, and the reminder but she hasn’t ever been the center of anything much less a man’s romantic interest. In The Pages of the Mind Dafne is sent on a mission by Queen Ursula but ends up stuck on an island and married to a man she can’t understand and surrounded by a culture she can’t communicate with.

And there are dragons.

Nakoa is king of an island that has been separated due to the Tala’s new magical border. He and his people’s magic is weakening and Nakoa needs Dafne but the reason why is the great looming question you will enjoy discovering alongside the characters. What Nakoa does know is he has to win Dafne over and that he wants to be her choice, not an ultimatum. 

Kennedy makes Dafne’s librarian skills central to the plot. After all, knowledge is power. Dafne and Nakoa grow and learn together, uncover a coup to take the crown from Nakoa, and find some history that could help the Tala. 

All of Kennedy’s books in this world are excellent reads. If you haven’t tried them yet and enjoy fantasy and/or romance check them out. 

Suggested reading order:

The Mark of the Tala

The Tears of the Rose

The Talon of the Hawk

The Pages of the Mind

Coming in December...The Edge of the Blade