A crown prince. A missing princess. A friendship stronger than any spell.
Kal’s best friend is gone. His cousin Elin, the one person in the world who truly understands him, has vanished with almost no trace.
Despite having few leads, Kal and a crew set out, willing to sail to the ends of the world to bring the princess home. Even if it means fighting pirates and accepting help from the mysterious stranger who saves his life—a fierce and beautiful woman named Zinnia.
Riley’s life is a simple one. Nothing ever happens in her quaint village until a stranger arrives. Logan is unlike the others; he’s lived an exciting, adventurous life. The kind she desperately wants.
So, when her overprotective grandmother is called away, Riley convinces him to cross the kingdom with her to the solstice celebration near the sea.
But the farther Riley travels, the more she realizes something is wrong. There are gaps in her memory she’s scared to examine too closely. Dreams of a man with bright blue eyes searching for her.
~*~*~
The Missing Crown is the fourth book in this action-packed, fairytale retelling series. With pirates, thieves, witches, and rebels, these new characters are carrying out adventures worthy of those who came before them!
The Nihryst Reading Order:
1. The Lost Legends
2. The Lost Prince
3. The Lost Alliance
3.5. The Lost Dreams (A Collection of Nihryst Short Stories)
4. The Missing Crown
5. The Missing Legacy
Also Available:
The Nihryst: Complete Trilogy
The Lost Warrior (short story also included in The Lost Dreams)
The Lost Home (short story also included in The Lost Dreams)
The Lost Honor (short story also included in The Lost Dreams)
Review
The following review is spoiler free with the exception of mentions of romantic pairings and vague references to plot events. It will not spoil anything about the previous books in the series. This book may be read prior to previous books without much confusion but will definitely spoil the previous books, which I highly recommend you read first. This book resolves almost all the story threads but ends with a soft cliffhanger, much like those of the Marvel end credits that hint at the next installment and leave you with a gasp. (This post contains affiliate links.)
Characters
I loved the characters in this. They fight for the people they love and don’t shy away from danger. Not everyone lives in this. There’s a reason the author has “lots of stabby stabby” in her bio. Another thing she has . . . strong female characters and men who respect their agency.
This book starts a new arc in the Nihryst series. It follows the children of the main character in the original arc and still has a Tangled/Robin Hood vibe with sword fighting, evil witches, and pirates. I loved getting to see my old faves as parents. There are strong family and friends relationships in here, and I can’t wait to revisit them all again in The Missing Legacy.
Romance
Controversial opinion here, cuz I know most people got all their swoony feels from Riley and Logan or Kal and Zinnia. And don’t get me wrong, their romances where sweet and ship-worthy (need I remind you of the times Logan and Riley saved each other or when Zinnia saved Kal?) But they weren’t the characters that made me swoon. My stomach flipped every time Captain Bronson and Karey were together. And they were minor characters with very little screen time!!!
I must say though, the introduction of a Queen Lillian at the end has me ready for another swooping romance. What’s Kal gonna do? Keep feisty Zinnia in his heart or give his long time pen pal a chance?
Writing Style
I liked the dual povs of Riley, Kal, and Eline. I was always excited for their next chapter, but because all of the story lines were interesting, I didn’t feel the need to skip ahead. I also want to say my gosh does Cait know how to show character emotion through body movement and gentle touches. Where is my hand fan?
Craft/Genre Expectations
So this is a new arc, but despite the new characters and story lines, it has the same feel of the original quartet. It hits all the right marks: romance, sword fighting, magic, adventure, and fairy tale vibe.
Pacing
This book had a slow to moderate pace, immersing me in the setting and giving me time to get to love the characters before the real action began. If you need a good book to curl up to for hours without wanting to put it, this is a great option.
Emotional Impact
It could’ve went just a wee bit further. I would’ve liked more stomach flips and sexual tension between the main couples. And I didn’t cry in this one 😦 However, the action, subtle humor, and character interactions kept me engaged the whole time and there were definitely heart racing moments I give all my stars to.
Impulse Rating
4.75 Only 2 of the 23 books I read in January got a 5 in this category, so 4.75 is pretty dang high in my book. I tend to reserve my 5s for books like make my stomach flip while simply thinking of the characters or ones that make me literally sob. This author has made me do both before, so I have high hopes for The Missing Legacy.
Actual Rating
So my actual rating is derived from the average of my individual ratings in all of the above categories. Each of them is on a 10pt scale. This one had an average of 9.07 out of 10, making it a 5 star, and I couldn’t agree more.
*Content/Themes/Representation: amnesia, murder, anxiety, panic attacks, LGBT rep, royalty, travel, thieves, pirates
Read it for yourself here!
Heather Dowell 