The Queen's Line

Inheritance of Hunger #1

by Kathryn Moon

The Kingdom of Kimmery is broken…

Bryony, Princess of Kimmery, has a secret. She lacks the Hunger, the magical and passionate craving that is responsible for Kimmery's prosperity. Without that power, she will lose the crown and the chance to rule the kingdom she sincerely loves.

The Queen's Line must select Chosen to satiate their Hunger with and Bryony's Choosing ceremony has arrived. On her first night with her newly assembled men—a prince, an ambassador, a stablehand, a sculptor, and a rogue—her own secret, and the secrets of Kimmery, spill out between them.

North of Kimmery's capitol, the people are starving. When her truth is revealed to her iron-hearted grandmother, Bryony invents a plan to buy time. She and her Chosen will go to the desolate Winter palace where she can pretend to explore her Hunger while investigating the kingdom's failings.

Bryony is determined to take Kimmery and its people back into a golden age, and keep her crown. As passions rise with her chosen so do the obstacles and adversaries they face. Kimmery's prosperity isn't the only thing Bryony misunderstood, and the Hunger is more than what it appears.

Genres: Reverse Harem, Fantasy, Romance, Magic, Fantasy Romance, Why Choose, Paranormal

315 pages, Kindle Edition

First published September 1, 2020

About the author

Kathryn Moon is a country mouse who started dictating stories to her mother at an early age. The fascination with building new worlds and discovering the lives of the characters who grew in her head never faltered, and she graduated college with a fiction writing degree. She loves writing women were are strong in their vulnerability, romances that are as affectionate as they are challenging, and worlds that a reader sinks into and never wants to leave. When her hands aren't busy typing they're probably knitting sweaters or crimping pie crust in Ohio. She definitely believes in magic.

You can reach her on Facebook and at ohkathrynmoon@gmail.com

Reviews

[Namera [The Literary Invertebrate] · Rating 2 out of 5]

I'm still only 35% into this book, but it got released yesterday and I do have an ARC, so I figure I might as well lay out how I feel right now.

I'm one of those people who usually knows what I'm going to rate a book about 15% into reading it, because by then I've got a feel for the writing and characters. Very rarely has something amazing happened later down the line which makes me bump the rating up; more often, something irritating will happen, and I'll be forced to bump it down.

I would give this book a provisional 2 stars.

I wouldn't give it lower than that, because the prose is technically very easy to read and the plot flows well. Nor, however, do I currently feel like I can give it higher than that. For one, the very fact that I haven't picked it up for 10 days shows how incapable this book is of hooking attention. But the main reason is these are the most boring characters I've EVER encountered in a Kathryn Moon book.

The heroine is just so nice. Not even in a way where she's polite and courteous but has hidden depths of emotion, which is a formula we get with a lot of heroes that works successfully (one example being the Marquis of Shevraeth from Sherwood Smith's Crown Duel series). She's nice in a way that suggests she has no underlying character trait except nice. I can think of literally nothing else that defines Bryony's personality. The entire plot is set up to support this.

Plot background: Bryony is supposed to be crown princess of Kimmery, a matriarchal society ruled by queens with harems. These queens have the Hunger, which is basically a deep lust that's supposed to keep the kingdom powerful and safe. Bryony has always felt like the odd one out because she doesn't have the Hunger. And then the men she chooses for her harem reveal to her that her family is basically corrupt, so that emphasises how she really is the odd one out.

Bryony is very idealistic and naive in a way I found irritating. I've read enough fantasy books to know that when ordinary characters get dropped suddenly into royal families, they have to learn quickly to toughen up, learn how to strategise, become ruthless etc. (Think of Holly Black's The Cruel Prince.) These are smart characters, so that's how they survive. Bryony has been a princess since birth, yet she doesn't really have any of these qualities. She has no flaws. Lola and Baby felt far more 'real' and flawed, so they were easier to connect to and much more likeable, because they weren't the sort of Barbie-like angels who went around wanting only to give everyone tax breaks.

The romance also wasn't handled as well as Moon usually does it. Most of the (perhaps too many) heroes feel very bland and for a lot of them, their defining character trait is ALSO 'nice.' Even the guy who's some sort of thief king bored me to tears. I was particularly disappointed by how one couple was integrated into the harem. Essentially, these are two men who are already in a committed gay relationship when Bryony adds them to her harem on a platonic basis; absolutely NOTHING they say or do after that point indicates that they have any sexual interest in her. But then we skip to their POV chapter, and we discover that they're having sex while talking about her, and not even really having a discussion with each other first about how they might feel abruptly adding a third female - maybe even other men - into their dynamic, which I don't believe was structured as an open relationship. It felt very sudden, like there was no build-up to their attraction to her at all, and by this point the author had spent so much time focusing on their relationship with each other (separate to their relationship with Bryony) that I couldn't even see them as romantic heroes. I realise this is a slow burn series with other books left, but the fact that I'm not even itching to learn more about the heroes doesn't bode well.

I recognise this is a low rating, and if I had finished the book it might be higher. But frankly, the fact that I wasn't even interested enough to finish the book is a sign on its own. I'm marking this 'on hold' instead of DNF, because I'm not ruling out a return at some point, but I have no burning desire to find out what happens.

[Blog] - [Bookstagram]

[Just Josie · Rating 4 out of 5]

I am HUNGRY for the next book. 😈
I adore a RH with actual chemistry & a mutual connection & this gave me all that plus a good amount of sizzling heat.

It has magic, shifters, age gap, princes, a horrid sister, an awful grandmother & a true love for a kingdom.
And it has so much more that I don’t even know what to mention.
Desire, M/M, politics, pain, honesty, loyalty, rejection, betrayal, I just… all happy here. I could go on.

Delicious is what it was.
More please.

Read: 07/03/2022
1st rating: 4 stars
Genre/tropes: RH/Fantasy/romance
Cover: 3 stars
POV’s: Multiple 1st person
Will I recommend: Yes

[Anga Kyla · Rating 4 out of 5]

this was definitely a surprise. when I read the synopsis I was reluctant to read it cause I dont like too much plot with my romance/smut and i had a feeling this would have too much plot and politics for my taste. I was pretty intrigued and wanting some polyamory in my life so I went ahead...and I'm really glad I did.

this is definitely more slow burn than most reverse harem/poly books and though i do love my fast burn this was so refreshing and sweet. the development of the relationships is actually organic and not awkward and ugh everyone just has such great chemistry in my opinion, and at the end of book we're still left with some relationships on the horizon that have not developed yet. I'm super excited.
and plot is intriguing as well.

Bry's grandma can kick rocks.

[Rayne · Rating 3 out of 5]

Everything was just a bit boring in this book. The plot had the basic “princess trying to better her people” points and the FMC and her guys were pretty bland. I wasn’t expecting a high fantasy, heavy plot driven read so that didn’t bother me. But without it, the characters really needed to stand out and they didn’t. All of the guys kind of blended together and had very similar characteristics to one another. I still don’t even know what they are all supposed to look like.

There’s still a lot I enjoyed in the book. There’s magic, shifters, lots of spice and I am partial to the “princess who proves she should be in charge” plot so I enjoyed watching her grow into her own. This was a fairly easy and quick read and even though it isn’t this author’s strongest book in my opinion, I’m still enjoying it and am continuing with the series.

[Mads · Rating 4 out of 5]

At first, I wasn’t sure how I felt about the premise. Sex magic for the prosperity of the kingdom? I wasn’t sure how I felt about that. I’m on board now though lmao. A bit of a slower burn RH. I’m sure the harem will grow in book 2. And I need to read book 2 asap.

[Rambling Reader · Rating 5 out of 5]

It's happened again. I'm officially Moonstruck.

Moonstruck: (n) the condition of being rendered both useless due to severe elation short-circuiting your brain's wiring

Symptoms include but are not limited to:
1. Hands adopting a claw-like position from holding too tightly to your e-reader
2. Falling behind in daily responsibilities because the reasoning of "just one more chapter"
is ALWAYS acceptable
3. Unnatural sorrow and disappointment because the people in your book don't exist

Treatment Plan: I mean, do you really want one?

Ms. Moon has done it again, creating a new world and cast of characters that will have many a reader Moonstruck right along with me. The Queen's Line, to me, is a great example of how to craft a character with s*x-based magic, THE RIGHT WAY. After experiences with a few other series, including one I used to love, I became wary of that character/plot aspect. When you're reading a genre that often heavily relies on romance/s*x, it's a slippery slope (for the love of god, no pun intended) for a character's s*x-based magic to just overtake plot completely.

That is NOT the case in The Queen's Line. Yes, there is s*x, and yes, as per Moon's usual, the scenes are well-written, have some great sass and sometimes even humor smoothly built into them, and are sure to satisfy every reader (especially a certain one because I know you can't be shy about MM if you're reading Moon's books), but I won't spoil that for you guys.

Bryony is our leading lady, and I found myself really drawn in by her. She's smart despite being groomed to be ignorant where it matters, she's compassionate, and this may sound odd, but there's a care-free, almost child-like joy in the way that she experiences the world outside the royal castle of Kimmery. There's baggage there, of course, and she's dealing with the weight of a world on her shoulders, but she doesn't lose a sense off joy and strength, and she's really quite a pleasure to read.

Her men are nothing to scoff at either, and I like that, as per usual, we're getting a bit of an eclectic bunch: an artist, a stablehand, a gray foxish king of thieves, the awkwardly imperious prince and his endearing companion who has to just shake his head way too often. There are some other male POVs as the book goes on, so I'm thinking that we're going to be seeing Bryony's harem grow as we go into the next two parts of her adventure.

I love all of them, as I usually do with Moon's men, but I think Thao, Wendell, and Aric are stealing my mental spotlight right now. Thao is just so trying but in all the wrong ways, and there's something just so adorably fumbling about him. For all of his smooth princely polish, it's certain that with Bryony, he needs some help, and I love that he has to find a way to win her over. In order to make it work, he needs to change, and I think he's just going to continue to get better even after that awkwardly adorable imperiousness is gone. Wendell, like Cosmo & Owen, just feels like such a pure soul, and his sweetness is a great balance to Thao's sour, and the two of them work together well to make the other shine in all the right ways. Aric, now, he just intrigues me. Yes, he's older, so some of you will just say duh, but I feel like he's just "lived" a bit more of life than some of the other men. Like Thao, he's got a bit of a bite, but I think there's going to be something beautifully swoon-worthy when Moon lets us get a bit more under his skin. All the signs are already there in TQL, and I'm soooo looking forward to this one.

What I like best about TQL so far is that there's still a well-written and consistent story. The plot is well-paced, and the victories come with just enough struggle that our characters have to be crafty and work for it, and at the same time, I feel confident and comfortable that Moon can execute Bryony's journey superbly in just three books. Though if she wanted to gift us more than that, this greedy book dragon won't argue. Also, Bryony's sister and grandmother are just the worst, and I really want to see what's coming for them.

The Queen's Line is about a young woman who finds that life is now what she always thought it to be. It's about righting decades or even centuries of wrongs because the world needs changing. It's about someone discovering and owning their s*xuality and learning that there's no shame being different than others. Trust me, you'll be Moonstruck too.

[Jai M {Cat Crazy Dragon } · Rating 4 out of 5]

Loved this!
Way more than I expected.

So, the beginning was a bit…hmm…soft,silly,young?? I wasn’t impressed with the FMC, but persevered based on reviews from friends I respect.
It was worth it.

The story really rakes off around 2/3.
Becomes more involved, greater world building, more complex story arc. Basically my happy place. A story with intrigue, mystery, a touch of politics, moments of tension, and a slow burn romance woven through, but not the whole focus. 🥰

A couple of late additions that didn’t seem to hold relevance to the overall story, that would have worked better earlier on, when defining characters.
Felt a little YA fantasy, adding at a late date with no connection to what was happening in that moment. Like an after though, how cool would that be?
But this was a small distraction, was able to get back into the story after.

I couldn’t wait to start B2 😬🤩

[Amanda · Rating 5 out of 5]

Real rating: 4.5⭐︎

This read got me excited and had me bouncing on the balls of my feet. I took regular breaks to work out happy energy so I could come back to reading and focus.



I've recently discovered that I may not actually dislike RH books, but rather I hadn't been reading the right ones—and Ms. Moon's are consistently my favorites, whether it's droids, bikers, millionaires, or now a ragtag bunch of fantasy characters, including grumpy middle-aged mages and shifters. I have yet to be disappointed in the rich casts of characters and the variety in personalities, how they develop feelings, their complex relationships, and the way they see the world.

Bryony is the eldest princess of the queen's line, and she's in some trouble. When she came of age 5 years ago, she was expected to grow into her Hunger magic and start collecting a harem of men to sate it. She's been stalling ever since, because while she feels desire and responds to her book men, she has yet to meet a flesh and blood one that elicits any physical response from her at all. She's met and seen so many, and...nothing. No amount of peeking at all the goods is doing a darn thing for her.

WHOMP WHOMP

How can she be attracted to anyone if she knows absolutely nothing about them?

She's sure she's broken and going to be an absolute disappointment to her kingdom and let them down. The Hunger is supposed to be the source of her people's prosperity, and if she doesn't have it, how can she help them?

Forced to host her first choosing, Bryony makes some hasty quick picks and tries to figure out where to go from there. The night of her deflowering becomes something so much more, and she comes up with a plan to be truly useful to her people—Hunger magic or not.

I'm going to stop myself from writing too in-depth about this one for fear of spoiling it. I'm in too soon to feel comfortable doing a complete run down guilt-free. There's a lot going on in this book with several story threads to follow. I'm very much looking forward to the next installment and seeing where some of those lead; the slight cliffie at the end of the book is a pretty juicy lead-in for book 2. All of the characters are well-written, and I'm super happy with how rounded and vibrant a personality Bryony has, with many aspects and growth in this first part of her tale. She has the potential to grow into an epic queen.

I do, however, want to go into a little tangent that relates to the beginning of this story and isn't a spoiler: as a demi-sexual person, I felt very seen with the handling of Bryony's struggle in the opening. I realize Bryony herself isn't demi, but her feelings of being broken in a world where everyone else seems to get it and work the way they're "supposed to" hit home. I spent my teen years convinced I was either asexual or broken because I just couldn't feel physical desire for anyone apart from vague feelings and little "tingles" when reading stories or watching movies; all of my crushes involved wanting to spend more time with others and talk them to death and know what makes them tick, only to have what platonic curiosity fizzle as I knew more and any thoughts of possibly more were dead in the water. I rarely—never, really—get to see anything close to a representation of myself in romance, but this has been the best so far....down to how out of hand it gets once you find what you need to develop those feelings and bond. Hunger, indeed. ;)

I'm just saying it was super exciting to see a character whose feelings and lust-levels I could relate to for once, as well as seeing them develop because of emotional attachment independent of physical appreciation. Thank you for that, Ms. Moon.

I can not wait to see where Bryony and her expanding Chosen go next as they try to save the Northern part of the kingdom.


Note: I received a gifted ARC of this book with no expectation of a review. Thank you, Kathryn!

[Rian · Rating 2 out of 5]

2.5 stars. But you know… this wasn’t bad!

Overall I didn’t love it, and I’ll get into why in a moment. But I was pleasantly surprised by most of this novel, particularly in the beginning. The world building is interesting, and Bryony was a fun protagonist — anxious and overwhelmed, someone who wants to do and be good and doesn’t know how, but also wants to be left alone in a sunny spot to read her sex books, which, Mood. I was also intrigued by the twist about The Hunger early on, and excited to see how this knowledge that the magic was fake and causing suffering would impact not only Bryony, but her Chosen, their feelings about her, and their relationships with each other, as well as forcing Bryony to achieve her crown by wits and talent alone. All good things!

Unfortunately, the novel does not care about complication and complexity. It only wants to be Nice.

The Chosen are all Nice; even the mean one is rendered Nice by Bryony inexplicably wanting and liking him (and later by Sad Backstory). The others are variations of Nice — Nice Artist, Nice Horse Guy, Nice Diplomat — like flavors of skittles. Bryony’s initial flaws and fears are washed away in favor of being a Nice monarch, with Nice, normal sexual proclivities, who loves her Nice, normal men. The plot is smoothed over into Nice, Good Bryony vs the cartoonishly evil Council.

And worst of all, The Hunger! The Hunger that started off promising something really interesting and complicated, something ideological, something where people have to confront long-held notions and beliefs, and their ability or inability to surmount them informs their growth or lack thereof down the line — that is completely dropped. Midway through it’s revealed The Hunger is real, Bryony just has it more and better, and the only controversy is that her family hasn’t been using it right.

But Rian, you might say, this is an erotica novel. The whole point is hot men fucking our hot protagonist! No one is here for ideological conflict and growth! Let me counter: why not both? Why not have The Hunger be fake, have Bryony trying to figure out how to take her rightful throne without The Hunger, and also be fucking the shit out of her Chosen? These are not mutually exclusive. In fact, it was frustrating that the initial conflict of the The Chosen and The Hunger — that many of these men are escaping poverty brought on by the crown’s slavish devotion to The Hunger, and they are aware of this — was basically dropped three chapters in. Everyone just became Nice.

Okay, sure, you say. But how was the sex? It’s a sex book, after all. Well, it was — fine. I always approach written sex with trepidation, as it almost always feels like walking in on somebody watching porn; but this was okay! Especially the first few, where Briony was learning about herself and what she liked and how her arousal worked. I liked how much emphasis was placed on consent and clear communication, and the sex itself was well-written (admittedly for me, this means it was not actively repellant, but I have a high bar for that; it’s just!! so awkward!!! to read sex!!!!).

Unfortunately, the author also has a tendency to refer to the vagina with really dreadful euphemisms — “my entrance,” “my sex,” “my mound,” “my core” — which would have been annoying on its own, but especially so when she has no issues writing “cock” or “ass” or “fuck.” Even “clit”! I realize this is pervasive in romance/erotica, but it still bugs me, especially when it seems less about variation in word choice than just some weirdly prudish insistence on not using the word. Just say vagina. Just say it! It’s okay!

(Another weird word choice I just have to mention: sipping kisses. Sipping? Girl, what? I cannot describe to you the mental image this gives me.)

So, by the end, I was frustrated. The characters never grew or changed except to become flatter, nicer versions of themselves, rough edges hewn away, flaws diminished into little specks in the distance. I ended up DNFing at around 85%, as yet another love interest was revealed.

But then why not a lower rating? Well, I didn’t dislike it, really! It took a long time to become uninteresting, as I realized the cool stuff I’d been looking forward to wasn’t going to happen. I know a big chunk of that is because I’m not the target audience, and someone more used to romance/erotica as a genre would consider my complaints to be features, not bugs. There are also two other books in this series, so maybe some of that cool shit happens down the line! I probably won’t be reading them, because many of my issues are not small fixes, but writing traits, and unlikely to turn on their heads by book two. It’s — in a word — kind of amateurish, and it bugs me too much to continue.

My hunt for a romance author I really like continues, I guess!

[Rachael*Caribbean*girl*bibliophile · Rating 3 out of 5]

Spoilers ahead





Bryony is a princess from a long line of Queens who's hunger have powered their nation for generations. Unfortunately Bryony hasn't displayed any signs of the Hunger, as her chosen ceremony is unable to be postponed again Bryony selects some men who reminds her of her favorite heroes. Yet even after a night with these new men, Bryony remains a virgin. Her mother's intervention enables her to leave the South to spend time with her chosen in the hopes that the Hunger will finally make an appearance


******
The first maybe 40% of this book were a trial, it all seemed so foolish as Bryony sobs about not having her Hunger, as the book progresses we understand what it's all about and while it's still foolish😂 it becomes vastly more entertaining
Bryony's original naivety was annoying as hell, I wanted to smack her..... Thankfully she's much improved in book 2.
The men too all seem so....soft and bland, even Aric the supposed rogue acts like a 50 year old child rather than the badass magic wielding King of Thieves....Thankfully some of them improve in book 2
All in all this was a bit slow but I guess it's to be expected with world building and such but it unfortunately reinforced my opinion that rarely are 3 or more books needed, in this case even a duet would've sufficed

RH

[Lucy Qhuay · Rating 4 out of 5]

My very first reverse harem and I enjoyed it so much I'm going to jump right into the second one in the trilogy.

All in all, I liked Moon's writing and the characters she created. Sometimes Bryony was a bit childish, but all in all I really liked her. I especially enjoyed how disinhibited she was with her body and it was very interesting to see that in order for her sex power (HA! Yes, you read that right!) to work she had to feel some sort of affection for the person.

However, her Chosen stole the show for me. I loved the fact the men here were so different from each other. I was scared they would all blend together in my head, but that didn't happen. Far from it. There were moments I had to think a bit on their names, but in my mind I always knew which was which. I particularly loved Owen and Aric and I'm so looking forward to see more action with Cresswell and Daniel. Owen is just a huge cinnamon roll. Aric's a frustrating jerk. Cresswell seems to want Bryony more than anything else in his life. Daniel just seems to be lost. He needs someone to want him. Off we go!

[Kat |Demented Paramour · Rating 3 out of 5]

I must admit, I was kinda annoyed at the first 20-30% of the book. The story just sounds so nonsense and trying so hard to make a problem that wasn't there, like when Bryony cried in Aric's arms about how she is broken because she doesn't have the hunger blablabla, seriously isn't there much more important thing to focus on? But I pushed on mostly because I'm curious, how the author will spin this book. And while yes, I actually did enjoy the rest of the book and found that this isn't that bad, there are still some things that annoyed me.

For a start, for someone who claimed that she loves and wants to care for her people, Bryony is very ignorant. How could she not know how her own kingdom works? And if the queen’s line spend the majority of their time with their harem, I'm assuming then it's the council who does all the politics and management of the kingdom, then what is the royalty's job, exactly? Is the queen's line's job is just to have sex as much as possible? Wow what a life.

As Aric had stated:

“I wonder who is really running this kingdom when the future ruler knows so little about what's going on.”

She doesn’t even know that her people are paid lowly and taxed highly, and that the majority of food comes to south, for fuck sake. So where is this supposedly “care” for her people? So what is she doing when she should be studying about her kingdom and preparing herself to rule one day? Reading romance books and daydreaming, I bet.

And another thing that grated on my nerves, does this girl have daddy issues or something? I really don't understand her fascination and obsession with Aric. I don’t understand how she could stood up against Thao but let Aric demeaned her. Both Thao and Aric are rude, well Aric is even more rude than Thao but why are the treatments different between those two? Aric is really at the bottom of my list. Even Daniel ranks higher than him for me.

But that said, I'm still going to read the next book to see how everything played out.

[Anna (read.all.night) · Rating 2 out of 5]

Bizarre.
The premise had me chuckling like oh we’re just gonna be reading erotica and they threw in a crazy magic plot to explain the need for constant banging. But then nope, not at all.

The characters were pretty bland. You know how sometimes in an RH a new person’s perspective shows up and then you know that person will be added to the group? There���s a couple of those situations but if it weren’t for the perspective there’d be no indication that they would ever end up with the queen. Like plot wise.

The harem is extremely disjointed it’s like
-the guy she really likes + the other guy she likes tacked on as an afterthought
-two more that she just started connecting with in the last 10% -they didn’t act like they wanted her and she didn’t wanna bother them and then all the sudden boom
-one guy who has a crush on her and she’s never given any indication that she wants him, but we get his perspective
-one guy who might like her but is on the outside doing his own thing
-one new new guy who is either evil or likes her or both, and is definitely stupid. And we also get his perspective.

I’m so annoyed that I want to know what happens because I def don’t wanna read the next one. The struggle is real. Hoping I can find some spoiler reviews & rest in peace. Almost DNFd a few times but I’m a glutton for wanting to know wtf is happening

Kathryn Moon wrote one of my favors books ever, Lola & the Millionaires, but then also stuff like this. It’s confusing.

[hea booktubes · Rating 5 out of 5]

Well this was eeeeeeeverything I hoped it would be. Reverse Harem Fantasy Romance. I loved the affection between the lovers. I loved the political intrigue. I loved how smart and discerning Princess Bryony is. I’m loving these characters and they’re all so easy to keep track of, sometimes a problem with reverse harems, but not here. And I want ARIC. You know I do. Why is the one guy that is absolutely my fictional boyfriend type holding out on me. 😆 Oh, well. I am completely and totally hoping we end up getting Aric, Stark, and Daniel added to the harem soon. Gah. I need more. Can’t wait until the next book. ♥️🌿

[Motaung]

20%

To say I am disappointed is an understatement. This premise is just, wow! The royals only job is to have sex, wtf! Then we have this princess-inherit who claims to love her people so, but apparently doesn't know shit about how the non-royals of her country live. I just can't.

[Ashton Reads · Rating 4 out of 5]

Tropes:
~why choose (one heroine and 5-7+ heroes; hard to tell at the end of this first book)
~royalty
~class difference
~forced proximity
~grumpy x sunshine
~slow burn
~LGBTQIA+ characters (there are MM romances between some of the love interests)

I'd say this is more a 3.5 that I rounded up. The premise is so intriguing, but something felt a bit lacking in the writing style (maybe because this is one of Moon's older series and she's improved since then). The plot we do get doesn't overly interest me, and I'm only invested in about half of the potential love interests (with Aric of course being #1). I do appreciate that only some of the relationships have been developed in this first book, which leaves me wanting to continue on to book 2 in order to see the other relationships form, but otherwise this was just an okay read for me.


If this book was Taylor Swift lyrics:

"And I feel like my castle's crumbling down
And I watch all my bridges burn to the ground
And you don't want to know me
I will just let you down"

[kc · Rating 5 out of 5]

Kathryn Moon writes some of the best smut. This was actually an interesting story. I’m glad it’s a series so all of the characters can continue to be fleshed out.

[My_Strange_Reading · Rating 4 out of 5]

Inheritance of Hunger Series.

Bryony’s sole purpose and legacy is to inherit the hunger and build a harem to use her magic for the kingdom, but Bryony has never felt the hunger and after putting off the choosing for 5 years, she finally must select her Chosen. What follows is a tale of affection, devotion, politics and romance.

I liked the twist of a world where women have the full power, and I enjoyed the true chemistry that was built between Bryony and her Chosen throughout the series. I feel like the story got slow and bogged down with politics in the last half of book 2 and most of 3, but I loved the devotion the men showed to her and how supportive they always were.

The Queen’s Line ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
The Princess’s Chosen ⭐️⭐️⭐️
The Kingdom’s Crown ⭐️⭐️

Series overall: ⭐️⭐️⭐️

Content Warning: Reverse Harem, sexual abuse alluded to and attempts made on the page.

[Irene Kiew · Rating 3 out of 5]

I read this series because it's by Kathryn Moon and I LOVED Lola and the Millionaires by her. Lola and the Millionaires was one of my top 5 reads this year and my introduction to Ms Moon's writing.

But this series didn't have the emotion that Lola's books had. I was disappointed because it was such a predictable and simple story, compared to Lola's which had been much more layered. (But Baby and the Midnight Howlers, also by Ms Moon, was also fairly straightforward and didn't have the depth of Lola, either. I don't want to believe that Lola was a fluke, though! I was really hoping that I had found a new favourite author! ::cries::)

I say that this story was predictable and simple because we are presented with a princess who should have something called a 'Hunger', but doesn't. It was obvious that she would most likely find her Hunger later, since it was needed "for the prosperity of the Kingdom", or something would happen to reveal this Hunger thing for the myth that some of the men had thought it was.

Also, this 'Hunger' purportedly causes her to want sex and somehow having sex helps the kingdom (go figure), so of course cue lots and lots of sex scenes, which I skimmed over because they contributed absolutely nothing to the plot. They didn't help to show a deepening of relationship or emotional connection, unlike in Baby and Lola's books. The princess HAD to have sex because it is a -- yes, you guessed it -- Hunger. So it was mostly sex for sex's sake, just to appease an appetite.

How is this different from going into heat, you may ask. In the sweetverse, or omegaverse, omegas go into heat and that also kind of demands that they have sex. Well, the heat isn't all that frequent. Once every few months, or once a year, depending on the author's personal lore and world-building. Secondly, in a lot of omegaverse books I've read, the omega can take some kind of medicine to prevent the heat from being too bad, if she doesn't wish to have sex with simply anyone, but mostly the heat is used as a device to bring the omega together with her alphas or her harem. Therefore, it does further the plot, because it is used as part of relationship development. It's not just about the sex.

Anyway. Bryony just seemed so naïve for a princess who had expected to rule. She didn't know anything about her kingdom and apparently had never thought to ask. Did she not think it odd that she was never trained to make decisions about her citizens' welfare? That her grandmother, the Queen Mother, and mother, the Queen, never talked to her about budgets and taxes and laws?

The whole royal family were a disgraceful failure and didn't seem to care at all about their citizens. The Queen didn't have a backbone and couldn't be bothered to actually rule, the Queen Mother knew this but didn't do a thing to intervene or to try to ensure Bryony would be different, and Bryony's younger sister is held up as an example because she's so possessed by the 'Hunger' that all she can think of is sex, even having her men pleasure her at the dining table in front of everyone. Meanwhile, the nobles on the council were getting fat but the people were starving. It's a wonder the citizens hadn't staged their own version of the French Revolution.

I think the issue with Bryony's harem was also that most of them wanted to be Chosen not because they wanted to be with her, specifically, but because they wanted a cushier life, or in the case of the gay couple, they wanted to be allowed to remain together openly (being in her harem would be a great cover). One guy doesn't even WANT to be Chosen, so Bryony lets him go back to his home and his duties. Despite all this, it felt like there wasn't much conflict. I said the story was predictable, and it was: I could predict that the gay couple would end up falling for her and inviting her into their bubble; and the stubborn acerbic guy would actually like her deep down even though he refused to show it, but would eventually cave. [No spoilers here; it's RH, you do expect her to end up with all the men, right?!]

Yet the relationships all felt somewhat hollow. The only true connection I felt was with Owen, who loved animals and had worked in the army stables. He fell for Bryony immediately and was loving and kind, and she was close to him because of that.

They eventually figure out what the Hunger does, once it makes an appearance, and... I don't know, once again it just seemed so simplistic. Also, I had a hard time believing that no one knew that the Hunger in the queen's line was supposed to work the way it worked. DO THESE PEOPLE NOT KEEP RECORDS?!?! What about historical accounts and queens' journals? Nothing?!?!?! It made no sense to me that such knowledge could have been lost, because it was the sort of thing that ought to have been passed down from one queen to another, just like the information that it is important to feed the 'Hunger' has been passed down. Why would you only pass down HALF the information???? This was not explained in any of the three books, so we are doomed not to know. ::sigh::

[Corda · Rating 5 out of 5]

Another intriguing book by K Moon. Hot, steamy, RH and an awesome world. On to book 2!

[irl_21 · Rating 4 out of 5]

4 or maybe 4.5

I really liked it. Bryony still felt very naïve about how much she should fear her own family and the council but i’m glad at least one of her chosen (Aric; *swoon*) seemed more realistic and worried. Good start. Excited for how things will develop for Daniel and Cresswell.

I really hope to see more from Aric. Gotta love that tension.

ps. we GOTTA stop with the quirky names for the heroes okay? i miss when every single one was called Alex or Aaron or whatever. I get wanting unique names but COSMO??? COSMO?????? unnaceptable.

[Danielle (Danniegurl) · Rating 4 out of 5]

Different

When I first started reading this I thought the hunger was some made up thing for the kingdom for the females to have a sort of role reversal of how men treat women, but as we got further into the story I quickly realized that it was magic.

So Bryony has sex magic, it does stuff. Her kingdom is suffering but the queen and her mother don’t seem to notice or care. Only satiating their hunger for men and sex. Except Bryony. She goes through the choosing and has her Chosen, they go to the north to see how the kingdom really is. Bryony has been making steady improvements and having lots of sex with 1/2 of her Chosen.

Even with the sex for the plot this story is different to me. The sex isn’t alway graphic, and it seems to have a purpose or something. I really want to know more and I hope book 2 will provide us more insight into her magic, her familial line, and what it all means.

I hope her sister and grandmother don’t mess things up...

[Jessica S · Rating 3 out of 5]

Fascinating inverse of toxic paternity and viewing women as chattel. Glad Bryony was with me in how awkward and superficial that ceremony was and that it smoothed out into something better/more her own as the story went on. Not gonna lie, I was hooked from the beginning when it started off with the MC getting interrupted while reading her favorite scene in her favorite romance book — and then selecting her Chosen based off how she imagined her favorite male lead characters might look in real life. Priceless.

[Vicki · Rating 5 out of 5]

4.5 ⭐️
I love, love the plot of this fantasy reverse harem (RH) and the world-building. I reads fast and entertaining and has a multi-level pacing of the harem build, which I also love. The emotional stuff grew a little too quick for me with the first ones she sleeps with and despite all the steamy bits it doesn't seem all that hot to this deviant reader; it definitely slants sweet which is fine, and fits the tone. I am totally gone over the gruff, older harem member who is holding out - I'm a sucker for that character type! I love the heroine and her many facets, it really makes for a character you can root for and the kind that you wish you were, and not just because of the Hunger and the harem LOL.

[Shawna (what.shawna.reads) · Rating 5 out of 5]

I’m fully convinced that this book hasn’t found the right audience and that’s a shame. In a world with sex magic, the FMC feels broken because she doesn’t feel the desire to start taking random men to bed.

This is very queer coded, the FMC comes off demisexual, although I’m not the right person to comment on that representation. Two of the MMCs are also in a pre-established relationship with each other. This is so rare in a book promoted as reverse harem and I’d love to see it more often.

Narration: I really enjoyed the female narrator. The male narrator was new to me and I did not enjoy him voicing multiple POVs.

[♡ Jay ₊˚୨୧ · Rating 2 out of 5]

DNF @53%

The writing is smooth and easy to follow, which is what kept me going at first. I also enjoyed the initial conflict and the magical elements. But as the story progressed, it felt like the author lost control of the plot and just started throwing in whatever came to mind.

I hate that it started off so intriguing, only to ditch the plot halfway through and let the smut run the show.

[Chelsie Lucas · Rating 4 out of 5]

I always love Kathryn Moon’s books- this one was no exception.
It was a bit of an info dump and a lot of men at once- but I loved it and am looking forward to book two !

[madly · Rating 4 out of 5]

a little bit slower than i anticipated but!!!! i LOVE the plot!!! i wasn’t expecting there to be so much political intrigue but i am so fascinated with this world - onto book two!!!

[Cardi · Rating 4 out of 5]

Came for the intriguing horny magic described in the blurb. Stayed for the horny magic. 😈🪄

[Pam · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book was ridiculous but also exactly what I needed at the moment. Fantasy reverse harems where magic is attached to orgasms are a genre of their own. The power of her orgasms literally repair her fixer upper castle. Amazing. But I have to wonder, why do RH authors tap out the harem at 5 dudes? Why limit yourself? Maybe the harem will expand in future books… I will probably read the next in the series. I have no shame.