The Emerald Queen Rises

The Emerald Queen Series, Book 1

De: Maegwen Salley-Massie

Narrado por: David Gurney

Welcome, brave listener, to a tale of curses, kingdoms, ancient magic… and at least two people who desperately need a vacation but are far too heroic for that.

You are about to enter the seven kingdoms—lands that have been cursed for thousands of years, which is honestly a bit dramatic, but here we are. Hope, however, has arrived in the form of Queen Sealyn of Elysium: bearer of uninfected blood, wielder of destiny, and professional overachiever. If anyone can lift this ancient curse, it’s her… probably.

Then there’s Jace—Stoltland’s royal outcast, accidental heartthrob, and a man who really didn’t plan on falling painfully, inconveniently, politically disastrously in love with the queen of his family’s greatest enemy. Truly, his timing could use some work.

Together, Sealyn and Jace must face a darkness resurrected by a rival queen who has embraced the curse like it’s a lifestyle brand. Old powers are stirring, loyalties are cracking, hearts are colliding, and choices must be made that could save—or shatter—the seven kingdoms.

So sit back, get comfortable, and prepare yourself.

Destiny is calling.

Magic is awakening.

And our heroes are… doing their best.

Welcome to Book One. Let the adventure begin with the wonderful accents that await you, my friend.

©2025 Green Ferns Publishing House (P)2026 Green Ferns Publishing House

Different but good

This was not what I was expecting it to be. It starts off with the history and the war and everything and then you’ll move into peace time where you get cute little glitter bomb fights, and just a whole bunch of shenanigans and navigating politics and trying to work out peace between the Allied countries and things like that and of course one of the villains is her hardest too be a queen over everything. Very good characters very good writing a super fun story Narrator David Gurney does a good job at bringing the characters to life especially the little fairies. It was funny to hear them and it just worked out so well I look forward to reading the next book in the series.

Character interaction

I love reading the book and listening to it. It was wonderful story and easy to follow along with. I also liked the character interactions because they felt real and alive. One part that would throw me off is trying to remember which character was which. But I highly recommend it.

Epic story and epic cast of characters

This book is absolutely for you if you enjoy:
-Descriptions of food that will absolutely make your mouth water
-Clever Queens with good hearts who can see someone’s true worth
-Love interests who are a little naive but have hearts of gold
-Epic sporting events that resemble capture the flag, but with higher stakes
-Kingdoms that are cursed, plots against royals, and mysteries of the past that must be solved
-Hilarious banter and heartfelt encouragement
-Large casts of characters including fantastical creatures and amazing world building
-Closed-door romance with plenty of swoony flirting and sweet affection, but also some heart pounding kisses!
-Talented voice acting by a narrator who captures distinctly unique personalities really well (especially for such a large cast!)

It took a bit of time to set up the world and history and introduce all of the characters, and there are A LOT of food descriptions, but please stick with it because you will be rewarded with an incredible reading experience and the beginning of an epic story (this is only the first book in the series, and there is a lot more to come!) This is definitely an adult book as there is highly descriptive violence, death and battles, and some mature content (though still no explicit language or explicit romantic content) though older and mature teens may enjoy the story as well.

Thank you to the author for the complimentary audiobook and legacy ARC. All opinions expressed in this review are my own and given willingly.

Great start to the series!

I really loved Sealyn and Jace! They were so very adorable. The political intrigue was also really fun. I was very engaged in the story the whole time! And the world building was absolutely fascinating! I liked the faith elements, like the curse overtaking the kingdoms being triggered/connected to sin (like envy and pride... actually, I think there were 7 kingdoms... maybe there's one for each of the 7 deadly sins... I suppose I will need to keep reading to find out if I'm right). I actually laughed at the Psalm 119 reference. I thought that was really clever. The ending was satisfying, but there are definitely questions I still have, like who Jace's father is.

Content considerations: The kissing was a bit more descriptive than I usually prefer, not terribly inappropriate or anything, just more descriptive than I prefer. There's some innuendo, brief non descriptive implications of a married couple's wedding night activities, and a scene (again non descriptive) where the main character walked in on a not married couple... I believe the term was "wrapped in an intimate embrace," which resulted in them scrambling to get their clothes back on.

The audio was fantastic. I loved the narrator's different accents for the characters and just found it very engaging and fun to listen to.

LOVED IT

This epically clean fantasy did NOT disappoint! The authors attention to detail and her imagination knows no bounds. I was taken on a thrilling journey full of magic, mystery, and mythical creatures. The characters and the plot were so well written that they could never be forgotten. Especially Lady Corentine, that woman will remain on my hit list for all of eternity. This book also had me craving sweets and coffee. I wish that I could visit the Elysium bakery so that I could try their delicious Puffin Pies, then walk over to Nijeels Choice for a cup of coffee. The pacing of this novel was perfectly balanced and held my attention until the very end. Words cannot capture the true essence of this wonderful story. I absolutely loved reading The Emerald Queen Rises and I just know that the sequel will be magnificent as well.