An action-packed enemies-to-lovers romantasy filled with a romance that will leave you breathless, betrayals that will rip your heart out, and a princess who will stop at nothing for revenge.
One year ago, Rowenna Harrack, the crown princess of Tashir, left her homeland in a wedding dress of chains—sent away to the enemy nation of Vanzador as a captive bride.
Now, Rowenna is dead. Brought home in a coffin after an alleged fall from a cliff.
Second-born princess, Indira, knows her sister's death was no accident. Desperate for truth and vengeance, Indira agrees to wed the prince so she can infiltrate Vanzador, find Rowenna's murderer, and burn their kingdom to the ground.
Indira's plan is simple, she will make nice until she can find out how to avenge her sister and free her country from the rival nation's stranglehold. But when Indira arrives, nothing is as terrible as Rowenna described. As Indira grows closer to her new husband, Prince Alaric, and uncovers more about Vanzador, the source of its powers, and what happened during Rowenna's final days, she's no longer sure what—and who—to believe. Because everyone, even her sister, has secrets. Deadly ones.
One year ago, Rowenna Harrack, the crown princess of Tashir, left her homeland in a wedding dress of chains—sent away to the enemy nation of Vanzador as a captive bride.
Now, Rowenna is dead. Brought home in a coffin after an alleged fall from a cliff.
Second-born princess, Indira, knows her sister's death was no accident. Desperate for truth and vengeance, Indira agrees to wed the prince so she can infiltrate Vanzador, find Rowenna's murderer, and burn their kingdom to the ground.
Indira's plan is simple, she will make nice until she can find out how to avenge her sister and free her country from the rival nation's stranglehold. But when Indira arrives, nothing is as terrible as Rowenna described. As Indira grows closer to her new husband, Prince Alaric, and uncovers more about Vanzador, the source of its powers, and what happened during Rowenna's final days, she's no longer sure what—and who—to believe. Because everyone, even her sister, has secrets. Deadly ones.
Title: Burn The Kingdom Down
Author: Addie Thorley
Publisher: Sourcebooks Fire
Expected Publication Date: April 7, 2026
Review:
Thank you to Sourcebooks Fire and NetGalley for providing me with an copy of this title to read and give my honest review. The opinions expressed here are my own.
The blurb for this book really drew me in: political intrigue, enemies to lovers, forced marriage, and betrayal. All things that make a book exciting for me. I was excited to start this one and see where it went. Unfortunately this one just missed the mark for me.
I had a hard time connecting with the main character, Indira, who narrates the book When that happens it's hard to really connect to the story because this character is the only one showing you what is going on. I would have preferred some chapters from Alaric's POV, at least to break the monotony of the story line up. I also had a hard time with Indira's inner monologue with her dead sister, Rowena. It just kept taking me out of the story and really didn't give me any more insight into what was happening than any other part of the narration.
The romance was meh for me. I like enemies to lovers but I'm not sure I could truly feel the chemistry for these two. There was no real build up of their relationship for the first half of the book. I would have liked to see more before the halfway mark.
I found the world building lacking and without enough depth to truly carry the rivalry between these two "nations" along. There just wasn't enough background to understand the dichotomy of the relationships between the rivals and how the Marauders fit into that story. I wanted to see it in the first few chapters but it was more confusing than anything else. The idea of earth magic is really a great one but it's execution just didn't hit for me. I actually found it more confusing than not. Nothing about it was fully explained and the reader is left to kind of figure it out on their own. Add to this pacing issues with some scenes dragging while others are rushed and I just could not connect with the story. The author introduced a ton of plot points which were underdeveloped and made the story feel disjointed.
This one is definitely firmly planted in YA territory. While I often times love this genre, I just could not connect with the story line or characters in this book. I was bored a majority of the read. The story relied heavily on telling rather than showing me what was going on and I struggled to stay engaged or to even pick it up once I put it down to do other things. I was not drawn back to the book. I'm sure this title will be interesting for others but it just was not for me,
2.5/5 stars rounded to 3
Author:
Addie Thorley spent her childhood playing soccer, riding horses, and scribbling stories. After graduating from the University of Utah with a degree in journalism, she decided “hard news” didn’t contain enough magic and kissing, so she flung herself into the land of fiction and never looked back.
She now lives in Princeton, New Jersey with her husband, daughter, and wolf dog, and when she’s not writing she can be found gallivanting in the woods or galloping around the barn where she works as a horse trainer and exercise rider.
AN AFFAIR OF POISONS is her debut novel.
You can find her online at www.addiethorley.com or on Twitter @addiethorley.
She now lives in Princeton, New Jersey with her husband, daughter, and wolf dog, and when she’s not writing she can be found gallivanting in the woods or galloping around the barn where she works as a horse trainer and exercise rider.
AN AFFAIR OF POISONS is her debut novel.
You can find her online at www.addiethorley.com or on Twitter @addiethorley.
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