The Twelve Kingdoms: The Talon of the Hawk

by Jeffe Kennedy

Overview

A HEAVY CROWN

Three daughters were born to High King Uorsin, in place of the son he wanted. The youngest, lovely and sweet. The middle, pretty and subtle, with an air of magic. And the eldest, the Heir. A girl grudgingly honed to leadership, not beauty, to bear the sword and honor of the king.

Ursula’s loyalty is as ingrained as her straight warrior’s spine. She protects the peace of the Twelve Kingdoms with sweat and blood, her sisters from threats far and near. And she protects her father to prove her worth. But she never imagined her loyalty would become an open question on palace grounds. That her father would receive her with a foreign witch at one side and a hireling captain at the other—that soldiers would look on her as a woman, not as a warrior. She also never expected to decide the destiny of her sisters, of her people, of the Twelve Kingdoms and the Thirteenth. Not with her father still on the throne and war in the air. But the choice is before her. And the Heir must lead…

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780758294470
Publisher:	Kensington
Publication date:	05/26/2015
Series:	Twelve Kingdoms Series , #3
Pages:	352
Product dimensions:	5.48(w) x 8.24(h) x 1.18(d)
Age Range:	18 Years

About the Author

Jeffe Kennedy is an award-winning author with a writing career that spans decades. She lives in Santa Fe, with two Maine coon cats, a border collie, plentiful free-range lizards and a Doctor of Oriental Medicine. Jeffe can be found online at JeffeKennedy.com, or every Sunday at the popular Word Whores blog.

Editorial Reviews

04/13/2015
Kennedy’s third Twelve Kingdoms novel (after The Tears of the Rose) is a competent romance set in a fantasy world, but there’s very little to satisfy fantasy fans. Ursula, eldest of the three daughters of High King Uorsin, has spent her life training as a warrior. When she returns home from a failed military mission, the anger of her tyrannical father is nearly overshadowed by the strange crowding of the capital city and the presence of foreign soldiers. Ursula soon learns that her father is out of control, and with the help of friends—and an alliance with mercenary captain Harlan—she escapes and attempts to join up with her sisters. Romance blossoms between the uptight princess and the handsome mercenary, and Kennedy ratchets up the explicit lovemaking over the course of the journey. Ursula’s characterization is inconsistent, and anachronistic terms like “fan club” are sprinkled throughout the stilted faux-medieval dialogue, but series fans will find this installment satisfactory. Agent: Connor Goldsmith, Fuse Literary. (June)

Publishers Weekly

Praise for The Mark of the Tala

"Magnificent…a richly detailed fantasy world."
—RT Books Reviews, 4 ½ stars, Top Pick

"Well written and swooningly romantic."
—Library Journal, starred

From the Publisher