Book Review - The Bed Wife Chronicles

Happy Tuesday! Today, I have a review for you all from my 12 Days RR event back in December. Before I get to the review, I'll recap all the winners thus far and remove the ones I did reviews for last year. Ready? Let's get going! As a surprise, the author also wanted to do a giveaway for my readers/followers. It'll be at the bottom of the post.

This review will go into the 2016 Time 4 Books Review Team pool as well.

Suzanna Lynn - The Bed Wife Chronicles - Collector's Edition - REVIEW BELOW

Sahara Foley - The Secret of Excalibur 2.99

Morgan Reeves - Free to Fly (Never Ever After Book 1) 2.99

Mary J. Williams - If I Loved You (Harper Falls Book 1) 0.99

Andi O'Connor - Awakening (The Dragonath Chronicles Book 2) 5.99

Heidi Angell - Elements of a Broken Mind (The Clear Angel Chronicles Book 1) 4.99
Sylvia Stein - Chasing Clarity 2.99

Marissa Campbell - Avelynn: A Novel 9.99

Danielle Mathieson Pederson - Lasera: Book One of the Mer Archives $4.99

Martina Mcatee - Children Shouldn’t Play with Dead Things 2.99

A.B. Funkhauser - Heuer Lost And Found 3.99

Christina Benjamin - The Geneva Project - Truth FREE

Bound by Duty - Stormy Smith - Amazon Kindle $2.99
Siren - Jennifer Melzer - Amazon Kindle $2.99
Queen of Someday - Sherry Ficklin - Amazon Kindle $5.99
Unseen - Stephanie Erickson - Amazon Kindle $2.99
Kindling Flames-Gathering Tinder - Julie Wetzel - Amazon Kindle FREE
To Get Me to You - Kait Nolan - Amazon Kindle $2.99
 Sticks and Stones - Shawn McGuire - Amazon Kindle $0.99
The Last Guardian Rises - Rebecca Trogner - Amazon Kindle $0.99 

Now, about the book I'm gonna review:

Title: The Bed Wife Chronicles - Collector's Edition
Author: Suzanna Lynn
Genre: Adult Fantasy Romance
Length (print): 396 pages
Buy Link: Amazon Kindle $4.99 (as of the date of this review)

Blurb:
PLEASE NOTE: This story contains mature themes and sexual situations. It is intended for adult readers.

The Bed Wife Chronicles: Love brought them together. Would tradition tear them apart?

Once inseparable childhood friends, Luana and Baylin are now grown and living in two separate worlds. Luana, the daughter of the town drunk, cares for her family’s goat farm to make ends meet. Baylin, Prince and future King of Grasmere, is off combating the evils that lurk in the Kingdom.

However, Fate intercedes with a time-honored tradition that has been custom for the past five hundred years. Luana’s life is now forced into the hands of her long-lost childhood friend.

In the midst of it all, Baylin is forced to choose between his love for Luana and his fealty to his father and the Kingdom – knowing that his decision could potentially set the Keld Kingdoms against each other during a savage war.

All the couple wishes for is to be safe and happy together. However, constant struggles make it seem as though contentment is impossible. Trials and tribulations strain the delicate core of their relationship.

Will Luana and Baylin be able to overcome the demands of the Kingdom and find happiness? Or will resentment, hurt and duty consume them?

Now, on to my review. Please keep in mind this is a whole trilogy, so the review will be constructed a bit differently.

I grabbed this book during my 12 Days of Review Requests event on my blog at the end of last year. Authors pitch their books, I grab samples, and I choose a handful of them to review over the next twelve months. Well, The Bed Wife Chronicles got me from the sample, and I ran right over to Amazon and bought it. I usually don't buy a whole trilogy at once, but since the omnibus is what was pitched, that's what I ended up snagging. Since I'm reviewing three books at once, I'm going to do this a bit differently. Stay with me. Let's get into the meat of the review, shall we?

From a Reader's Perspective:
The Bed Wife - Part one grabbed me with the flowing writing style and setup of the story from the start. I loved Luana. She was painted as a gentle soul who cares about labels, right from wrong, and the people around her, but she was also tough as nails (and I adore strong women). World building was done exceptionally well, and I found myself in the setting of the Keld kingdoms. There was never a boring moment. It was either Luana getting attacked, or Baylin running to her side every second. I have to admit, there were a few times I wanted to smack some of the characters because of their behavior, but that just tells me I got hold of a great read. Only thing that bugged me in part one was the repetitive nature of some of the dialogue. But it was easy to file away and forget about.

The Heir - Part two starts off about three months after part one comes to a close. I liked the second part because it really gets the action going. Grasmere goes to war with a neighboring kingdom, and Luana starts to get an inkling of what it's like to be with a king. Oh, there were characters that were absolutely despicable in this part, and as tough as Luana is, I was surprised she didn't do more. Flashbacks take a more central roll in this part, and you see more about how Baylin and Luana got to know one another when they were children. Oh yeah, there are twists and turns that will keep you wondering what the heck and dying to find out. By the end of this part, I saw the reveal in the third part coming. World-building continues, but there's not a lot of action outside the palace. I fell in friend love with Meg. I'd want her on my side in a tough time. Several of the situations being "resolved" were a bit too convenient for my taste, but I'm a fan of strife, so it may not bother many folks.

The Queen - Part three picks up right where two left off. There was no time gap there. This is the part where all the questions raised in the previous two are answered. I have to admit, there was one big reveal that I didn't see coming. No way was I given any inkling in the previous two books to tell me that was going on. People I despised got what was coming to them (how else would a romance novel end?), and people I liked were justly rewarded. Oh, and Ferric! Be still my beating heart. I may like him more than I do Prince Baylin. Ferric was one of those characters that pops up and refuses to be ignored. He was the true hero, in my opinion. I mean, by this point, you'd think Baylin had learned to stick to his values and ideas. Nope. But dear Ferric is there to handle things (thank goodness). I enjoyed the conclusion, and the HEA, even though I was secretly hoping otherwise. I did tire of hearing, for the billionth time, how Luana's hair was silvery, but again, description is something I'm not a fan of where others are.

From an Editor's Perspective:
The Bed Wife - Not a lot of grammar issues in this part. I think I only found six glaring errors, and none of them were storyline.
The Heir - This part is where it starts to go a little downhill. Storyline glitch around chapter four. One of the characters is supposed to be gone, but he suddenly reappears and is having a conversation with no inkling of when he returned. And the author seems to have a bit of trouble with shone and shown.
The Queen - Several errors, repetition runs amok, and another storyline oops in chapter seven concerning how one of the characters (who is already supposed to be on their way) is requested to travel. Is it something a typical reader would notice? Probably not, but it deserves a mention.

Rating:
The Bed Wife
1 Star for giving me a main character I could root for and not making her a simpering, whining little snot
1 Star for excellent world building
1 Star for setup of the situation and giving me hints of what's coming
1 Star for excellent pacing
1 Star for editing
The Heir
1 Star for giving me new characters I loved to hate
1 Star for action and deepening the plot well
1 Star for discovery tactics
.5 Star for writing Meg with such tenacity
- .5 Star for missing strife and an obstacle overcome a bit too easily
- 1 Star for editing
The Queen
1 Star for Ferric (really, enough said)
1 Star for a most excellent battle scene
1 Star for that one twist that surprised and excited me
.5 Star for tying up all loose ends
- .5 Star for not giving the Prince that backbone I so wished he'd gain
- 1 Star for editing
Calculation of overall rating: 5+3.5+3.5=12/3=4
Overall, 4 out of 5 stars. Recommended to those who enjoy a good fantasy romance with excellent world building.

Now, you can enter the giveaway!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

What do you think? Want to read?

Well, that's all for today, folks! Until next time, WRITE ON!

Jo