Review: Daindreth's Empress by Elisabeth Wheatley

Title: Daindreth's Empress
Author: Elisabeth Wheatley
Series: Daindreth’s Assassin #5
Genre: Fantasy Romance/
Publisher: Self-pub
Publication Date: September 09, 2024
Edition: eBook
Source: Library
Purchase: Amazon US | Author's site | 

Synopsis:

 An empire can have only one ruler.
   Amira Brindonu Fanduillion has been crowned alongside her husband, the rightful heir to the Erymayan Empire. They have survived assassination attempts and schemes within the palace to retake the throne and begin their reign. It appears to be their moment of victory, until reports of a rampaging demon horde reach them from the countryside.
   Vesha, Daindreth's mother and the former empress, has made a deal with a fallen goddess for the empire's protection. But no one wins a deal with demons and as the cythraul spiral out of Vesha's control, she grows more desperate by the day. She hopes that by freeing the fallen goddess, order will be restored—but at what cost?
   Alongside Thadred and their Istovari allies, Amira and Daindreth set out to stop Vesha and her demon horde, desperate to reach her in time. The stakes have never been higher, and they might lose far more than just the throne.
   As the very gods vie for control of the continent, Amira and Daindreth's work to bring peace might be over before it has even begun.
Daindreth's Empress is the thrilling conclusion to the Fantasy Romance Daindreth's Assassin series.  

**********

 

This book took be a bit longer to get through than I thought it would. I had some minor pacing issues with this book. This book is fairly short, and a lot is happening to the point where I didn't feel like the plot had enough time to breathe. 

 

I've been watching the author's videos about how she approaches characters so I know why she wrote Vesha the way she did in this book, but in a way she felt like a completely different character than she did at the start of the series. In a more inconsistent way than in a 'character growth' way. I didn't hate how she was portrayed in this book, I just would've preferred  had those nuances been there at the start of the series. I also didn't hate how her arc was resolved, I think it was possibly the best outcome. I did grow rather frustrated with her by the half-way point of the book. I feel like she should've realized a lot sooner that she was being duped. They're demons, and she was willing to trust them.

 

Amira and Daindreth, my care of them as a couple had dwindled a little by this book. I knew they were 'safe', since that is what makes a romance, but I they started to be boring. A lot of repetitiveness with their characterization. While their love for each other is the driving force for how they make decisions, I personally feel that there as a little too much emphasis on them over what was going on around them, and considering what is going on around them the focus, for me, felt misguided.

Sair and Thadred were a far more interesting pairing. Rhis, Sair's son, was also adorable. And I think he added to their dynamic. Neither was in this book as much as I would've liked. 

 

This book is just under 300 pages, but I feel that it could've used another 50-100 pages. The ending was very abrupt. A lot was left unresolved, and while there is a spin-off sequel, it follows Thadred and Sair. Which is cool and could be interesting, I feel there's more with Daindreth and Amria that's left more or less unresolved.