The Duchess of Kokora
By Nikhil Prabala
LGBTQ+ / YA / Humorous Fantasy / Romantasy
Publisher: Grand Press
Pages: 442
Publication Date: August 8, 2024
*** SYNOPSIS ***
The Duchess of Kokora, Phera Ylir Mdana, has entered the marriage games of the neighboring kingdom of Ryene. But she’s not there to woo the dashing Prince Dominic.
Her true objective? To win back one of the other contestants, Lady Rocelle Virae—Phera’s true love and ex-fiancée.
Love proves to be a game like any other when Phera must not only mend matters with her childhood sweetheart, but conceal her true intentions in order to earn votes and stay in the competition.
And as long-brewing political tensions simmer beneath the surface, the playful veneer of the competition begins to crack. In the end, Phera, Dominic, and Rocelle find themselves united in a desperate bid to prevent a duel that threatens the integrity of the kingdom, the stability of the continent, and any hope for a happily ever after.
This novel is the first in a planned series.
CLICK TO PURCHASE:
Amazon | B&N | Bookshop.org | Kobo | BookBub | Apple
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
*** REVIEW ***
A terrific story full of fun and romance.
On the first page the reader is introduced to Phera, The Duchess, in a delightful scene when she’s facing assault charges for calling a knight a horse’s ass and hitting him with a riding crop. She did that when she came across the man beating a servant girl, and how she handles herself in the inquisition is clever. Yet, right away we know Phera is a woman with integrity and kindness, along with being a woman of great strength and magical ability.
Those attributes get her out of that predicament and play an integral role in her mission to win the Marriage Games -and win the approval of Rocelle’s family. That is if Rocelle will accept the ring Phera has brought with her.
It was wonderful to read a story about a world, and societies, that accept same-sex relationships with nary a rise of an eyebrow. It was likewise so satisfying to see how the three main characters worked together to resolve conflicts. Those conflicts included alliances that could have been devastating to both kingdoms. There are messages in the book about inclusiveness and peaceful resolutions of differences that even now make me smile to think about them.
At first, I wasn’t sure I’d enjoy a plotline that revolved around a series of competitions to determine who would marry Prince Dominic, but the lead characters were so unique and engaging that I was soon caught up in the story. The fact that Phera first meets the Prince when they’re both attempting to rescue people from a burning building shows that he, too, has integrity and a strength of character that leads him to want to make changes in the kingdom to benefit all the people.
The book is full of romance and wit and magic, and some of the humor in the story is in the descriptions. “A turnip-shaped man … a sharp cut and several bruises purpled his snarling face.” Couldn’t you just see the turnip?
The author has a deft hand when it comes to writing dialogue, as well as narrative, that comes to life on the page. The lines are clever and flow naturally from one character to another. For instance, this when Phera is defending herself in the opening of the book. The knight she assaulted has just said that because his bloodline goes back several generations he should be “protected from such indignities.” “Evidently not,” Phera stated, crisp as crackling ice, “as your vaunted bloodline did not prevent me from introducing your face to a number of hard surfaces.”
A little later in that same scene she says, “I was not threatening the good gentleman,” Phera replied smoothly. “I was merely pointing out the logical flaw in his remarks. If I wanted to threaten him, I would simply tell him that I intend to gauge the worth of his blood by seeing how well he fares when it is removed from him.” A smile. “See? Now that is a threat.”
Not being a person who’s read much fantasy or played many role-playing games, I was a little concerned that the fantasy elements and the magic would be hard to understand. However, the author laid it all out so well that even a novice like me could easily follow along.
All in all, I really enjoyed the book and was ready to give it a solid five star review until I got to the end which was a little too abrupt for me, and I felt cheated. Having read another fantasy that ended as abruptly, I wondered if setting up what is to come next then ending the story is a popular trope in the genre, so I asked a reader I know who loves fantasy novels. Her response was that it’s not real popular, but it does happen often, and she doesn’t like it either.
That quibble aside, the story of Phera, Rocelle, and Dominic is a lovely one with plenty of action to move the story along, enough romance that is true romance, not just sex scenes, to please the romantic, and so much wit and wisdom. The fantasy world is delightful, and the way the magic enters into it all is unique and enjoyable. Highly recommended for readers of all ages.
*** ABOUT THE AUTHOR ***
From playing the DM in Dungeons and Dragons to writing fantasy novels, Nikhil Prabala loves storytelling, delighting in fantasy fiction from the epic to the cozy and everywhere in between. The Duchess of Kokora is his first published novel.
Born and raised in Austin, Texas, he graduated from Stanford in 2019 and is currently based in the Bay Area. In his free time he enjoys ballroom dancing, singing, playing the guitar, tabletop games, and spending time with friends and family.
WEBSITE ◆ TIKTOK ◆ INSTAGRAM | BOOKBUB ◆AMAZON ◆ GOODREADS
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
GIVEAWAY: THREE WINNERS: 1st place receives a signed hard back copy of THE DUCHESS OFKOKORA and themed bookmark, 2nd and 3rd
place receive a signed paperback copy and themed bookmark.
US Only; ends10/9/24
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
CLICK TO VISIT THE LONE STAR LITERARY LIFE TOUR PAGE
FOR DIRECT LINKS TO EACH BLOG PARTICIPATING IN THIS TOUR.
blog tour services provided by
Wonderful review. This one sounds like quite the rollicking good time.
It is quite a fun book to read. So many funny moments in between the more serious stuff. I may be turning into a fantasy fan after all. 🙂