Troll Queen

Elven Alliance, Book 4

By: Tara Grayce

Narrated by: Liz Brand

Length: 13 hrs and 54 mins

Publisher's summary

Essie has her elf back...but his mind is still stuck in that dungeon. The war is over. A peace treaty has been signed. But Farrendel and Essie still have a battle ahead of them. Will Farrendel be able to build a new life with Essie now that he no longer has a war to fight? Melantha has ruined her life and the lives of all those around her. Now that she finds herself far from home and married to a troll who was once her enemy and captor, can she figure out what love and honor truly mean before it is too late for all of them? Not everyone in Kostaria is happy with peace or with their new elven queen. If Rharreth and Melantha cannot find a way to bring peace to their troubled kingdom, war threatens not only their happily ever after, but Essie and Farrendel's as well.

The epic adventure and slowburn romances of the Elven Alliance series continue in this clean, romantic fantasy perfect for fans of K.M. Shea and Kenley Davidson.

©2021 Tara Grayce (P)2023 Tara Grayce

Delightful

I have to say that a part of me was not expecting to enjoy this book as much as the rest of the series since I still was conflicted about the redemption of Melantha. However, this book charmed me thoroughly.

There was something precious about observing the process of healing for Farrendel, with both the elves and the humans having systems that contributed And even merged in the process.

This was a healthy time of growth in the relationship between Essie and Farrendel, as well as in their families. This was also a time of Farrendel learning to know himself and find joy in his magic and abilities. I think Essie and Farrendel will always be my favorite couple in the series, but I am also hopeful for Edmund and Jalissa (even though they are barely mentioned in this book, except to indicate Jalissa’s underlying unhappiness).

The storyline was also interspersed with the ongoing story of Melantha and her new troll husband, Rharreth, and I was surprised at how well this was written and how it drew me in.

Ultimately, there is another war, but fortunately not a lengthy one and ultimately leading to an HEA! Now I can’t wait to begin the next one, Pretense, So I can cheer Edmund and Jalissa to their HEA — and also hope for delightful updates on my favorite couple, and his new experience at University!

I read and listened to this interpersed as I often do so I can definitely confirm that the audiobook was very well narrated as well!

This one is a little different

As far as narration goes, this one was a little harder to get to a pace I liked. I continue to prefer this narrator turned down to 85% to reduce her otherwise manic take on Essie's chattiness. But Melantha was the polar opposite. In the first part of the book when she's still cold and standoffish, the narrator read her at a glacial pace. so...I found myself speeding up the chapters with Melantha and slowing the ones for Essie. However, later in the book there are more scenes that are not dependent on Essie speaking, and Melantha thaws and speaks faster.

The story mixes POV between Essie, Farendell, Melantha, and the Troll King, whose name I forget how to spell. This works well, so even though we're moving around in time and space, we get a good idea of the big picture. Four books in, we know most of the characters.

So many kisses. So much healing. <3

I love these audiobooks! I love the speed at which they are narrated, and I love the accents and voices that are done for all of the characters. Julian's voice was done a bit lower than it is in my head, but other than that the voices in the audiobook and the voices in my head match!

I'm a person who always listens to audiobooks on 1.25 or 1.5 speed, but I love the narration of this so much, and the speed is perfect, that I don't feel the need to do that. It is perhaps narrated a bit faster than the other ones, and Essie's chatter is a bit more hyper, but that doesn't bother me at all.

I was surprised by how invested I became in Melantha, and I really love her and Rharreth (SO CUTE. Also I remember a bit of Flirty Rharreth??) together. I love seeing her try to adapt and love her new people and culture.

I also love what we got to see of Weylind in this book; he became a lot more real and I really adore him as a character. I'm looking forward to getting to read a novella about him!

There was a lot of pain in this book, but it was interspersed with healing, joy, and bonding. It was a nice reminder that even when things are hard there is joy to be found, especially in your relationships with others.

I love how it was very REAL. Essie was there for Farrendel, and she wanted to support him through his healing, but that doesn't mean it was easy for either of them, because it wasn't. And in the real world it isn't easy, either. There was healing, and it was warming to read, but it was real so it did pull at your heart.

I would say this is one of my top books in this series, but frankly I think every book is my favorite of the series.

Things I loved:
Essie & Farrendel's evolving relationship
Farrendel healing
Essie's growth
Melantha's redemption + growth
RHARRETH AND MELANTHA
All the soft and fun familial scenes with Weylind and Farrendel and Essie's Family

Exciting, thoughtful and endearing

Tara Grayce’s characters feel like real people. I love their depth and their journey as they grow. Grayce also does an excellent job of addressing important mental health issues such post traumatic stress and anxiety and emotional themes such as repairing relationships. She does all this while maintaining an excellent sense of humor and detailed world building. The narrator Liz Brand did an excellent job as well making the characters come alive. Definitely worth the investment!

loved it

Loved it !! this story. the narrator is so fantastic it's like your really there!! good overall

Great addition to a great series

I love this series but I had to read this book more than once to care about Melantha. You end up being okay with her and her new troll hubby, but it took me time to want to hear her story when really I just wanted to focus on Farrendel and Essie.

I love the progression of Farrendels healing and that you finally get to a place where I think they finally consummate the marriage? But I was annoyed at how kind of hidden that was. Like I almost missed it and had to backtrack to realize what the author meant. I know it’s a clean romance series and I’m cool with that but Gosh darn it, you make me wait four books for the fire to build you could have given me a little more than one line that says “we were married and now we should start acting like it.” 😒

Pshh... even Mylantha got a better lead in for her night with her troll husband and I didn’t even like her as much! Just sayin.

Aside from that, I love the end and can’t wait for the next book. I love Edmund and can’t wait to see what happens with him next and if maybe a little Farrendel/Essie elf baby will get introduced! Fingers crossed!

Engaging Romantic Fantasy

I really liked book 4 of the "Elven Alliance" series. This story was focused on Melantha and her adjustments as she settled into her role as the Queen of Kostaria, and her new marriage to the king of the Trolls. Arranged marriages are one of my favorite tropes and this tale was a great example of one. The author updated the reader on what was happening with Essie and Farrendel also. I appreciated that the author highlighted the effects that trauma can have on a person's spirit, which I felt made the story more realistic. Liz Brand's narration was awesome and enhanced the story's entertainment. I was given a free copy of the audiobook, and I have voluntarily posted this review.

The saga continues- I Love this Series!!!

Parents: PG13, very clean but geared towards the middle grade & young adult reader - adults will love it too
Language: none
Violence: moderate gore, fun fight scenes
Sexual content: none

If you’ve read the previous books in this series you know what to expect in terms of story. Please read the previous books before endeavoring to take this one on; while there is a decent amount of backstory explained, you will need more information than what is given in synopsis. Obviously from the title you can tell this will focus primarily from Melantha’s POV which is apparently disappointing for some readers but I found it refreshing. I do appreciate that this author keeps it clean but she could have given a bit more for Ferrendale and Essie's deepening relationship without corrupting her standards. Still I can’t wait for the next installment!

Narrator does a great job with the character differentiation and acting. She's really a lot of fun to listen to and I don't find the need to speed it up like I do on many other books.

—I was given this free review copy audiobook at my request and have voluntarily left this review.

AMAZING!! clean, fun story!

I've read the entire elven alliance series on Kindle and enjoyed them enough to want to listen to them from Audible. The narrator did not disappoint, different voices for the different characters so it was easy to tell who was who. I was originally going to only listen while driving. But then the story was SO GOOD (even knowing what was going to happen as I've read them) that I'd keep listening after getting home and felt motivated to clean up around by house while listening. Thank you Tara Grayce for an amazing story! and thank you Liz Brand for fun voice acting.

A Heartfelt Comfort Read

I love this series for being cozy and heartwarming while also being genuine and heartfelt. Its not the deepest thing you'll ever read, it's not pretentious or literary, but it has depth in its own sweet way. Also, kudos for being able to include a character with severe anxiety and not stereotyping it but also retaining the coziness. This was my second time reading this book (first time listening), and I'm sure it won't be the last.