Lady of the Drowned Empire is just…wow

Lady of the Drowned Empire by Frankie Mallis is the third book in the main story following Lyriana. I was so happy to be able to jump straight into the third book after finishing the second (big thanks to the author, Frankie, for the ARC).

This series has such a tendency to make me feel things, and this book is no different than the rest. There was one part of Lyr and Rhyan’s journey that had me aching for the two of them and what they were forced to endure. I had chills and felt so heartbroken at the emotions they were forced to go through, though it was also such a beautiful testament to their relationship seeing how they worked through their problems. There were actually a number of these moments throughout Lady of the Drowned Empire, where you could see just how strong their bond was and how well they balanced each other.

One surprising aspect of Lady of the Drowned Empire is that there was a second POV character. If I had guessed one anyone being the POV character I definitely would have gone with Rhyan (here’s still hoping), but it actually ended up being Morgana who was featured as an alternate character POV. When I first saw her name at the head of the chapter I wasn’t sure how I felt about it, however she definitely grew on me as the book went on. She also ended up being a helpful point of view to follow because hers and Lyr’s stories

There were so many reveals of huge importance to the storyline and what is going on and I can’t even handle some of them. I had a bad feeling about certain things, and hoped I was wrong, while other things took me completely by surprise. Regardless everything still managed to really hit and left me a bit beside myself contemplating all they mean for the characters and what’s going on in the main storyline. It was so much to take in, in a very good way and this entire book left me needing to digest its contents and ruminate over my thoughts for a bit to gather them together in some kind of coherent manner. Even so, I feel like my words can’t do justice to this book, and I can’t fully express how earth shattering Lady of the Drowned Empire managed to be. I swear this series just keeps getting better and throwing so many curveballs just when you think it isn’t possible for there to be any more.

If I’m honest, I don’t even know how to pass my time until the next book, because the ending left things so up in the air in so many ways that I can’t fathom having to wait to see where these beloved characters go next with their story.

The whole book is rife with emotion, budding bonds and relationships, agony, betrayal, strength, the overcoming of great horrors, and once again the characters shine through it all. Whether you love them or hate them, the characters always generate such strong emotions in the reader and I can’t get enough of them and how much they wind up meaning to me as a reader.

I was genuinely devastated about certain revelations because of how strongly I felt about characters. The book is so well written that I was able to feel every emotion the characters experienced.

If you haven’t yet, hop into this series immediately because it’s incredible fantasy. If you’re waiting for the third book, you won’t be disappointed because it maintains the high bar the rest of the series has set and is a wild, incredible ride the whole way through.

You can buy copies of the Drowned Empire series directly from the author here