Daughter of the Drowned Empire

By: Frankie Diane Mallis

Narrated by: Stefanie Kay

Cleopatra meets Fourth Wing in this romantic fantasy series with forbidden romance, political intrigue, and slow burn spice.

Best of #Booktok
#1 in Historical Fantasy
#1 Greek and Roman Myth and Legend
Barnes and Noble Blog Top Five Indie Fave

Lady Lyriana Batavia is third in line to the Seat of Power in Bamaria: a position of wealth and privilege, but not safety. Bamaria falls under the rule of the Lumerian Empire, survivors of a celestial war whose island sank in the Drowning. Now all Lumerians submit to the Emperor and his strict laws about magic. He decides what magic can be practiced and what powers remain forbidden. He decides who will die for possession of forbidden magic.

Lyr's own cousin was executed for wielding the wrong kind. And for years, Lyr has sworn to protect her older sisters, helping them conceal their own illicit magic.

But when Lyr must participate in the ceremony that reveals her power, she uncovers something else entirely. Something that means banishment from the Empire.

Faced with death in exile, and leaving her sisters behind, Lyr has no choice but to accept a deadly contract. She has seven months to train as a warrior and pass the Emperor's brutal test of strength, without magic.

But when she's forced to train with Lord Rhyan Hart, the man she's secretly loved since she was a girl - a feared warrior in exile himself, forbidden to her in every way - she's in danger of losing far more than her family, life, and country.

Rebel forces, and an invading army, are destabilizing Bamaria, just as her family's secrets threaten to reveal themselves.

Surviving the training, and saving her sisters may mean sacrificing her own heart.

©2022 Frankie Diane Mallis (P)2024 Frankie Diane Mallis

Critic reviews

"DAUGHTER OF THE DROWNED EMPIRE by Frankie Mallis is a breathtaking and sumptuous fantasy romance that had me kicking my feet, gasping for air, and blushing from the first page to the last. One of my favourite reads of the year!" —Elizabeth Helen, author of Bonded by Thorns

Pretty Good

Felt like a fairly good start to something. I'm interested to see where this goes, and enjoyed the story over all. This really feels like a prologue book with all the set up, a bit like how ACOTAR feels like a prologue to ACOMAF. Still the magic and world are cool, and I love the different feel the setting gave me.

ABSOLUTELY AMAZING

This book was so good to listen to and I’m happy I did not only did it teach me how to say all these fancy names and cities that Frankie has come up with but I couldn’t stop listening

Great All-around Story

Really enjoyed this 1st book of the Drowned Empire saga.

There's intrigue, a complex social system, amazing character development, magic, drama, action. There is so much, and yet it keeps you wishing for more. Just downloaded the 2nd book. Excited to continue the story.

Just ok

The story seemed to drag at times. I got tired of what felt like the MC’s whining all the time. The narrator is great!
I’ll probably listen to the next in the series because I felt like the story was finally picking up and getting good at the end of the book.

This is your new obsession

It's been a few weeks since finishing this and it's occupying so much of my brain. I can't stop thinking about it and my desire to find out what happens next is overwhelming. I hope this comes out on audio quickly after the release date.

This was a really interesting read. It's like a weird retelling of the myth of Atlantis with some Divergent/Hunger Games vibes. Throw in some magic, political intrigue and forbidden romance and you've got this book. My biggest issue was the world building and characters. There seemed to be a lot characters with duplicate names or similarly sounding names. At least on audio I found myself confused more often especially at the beginning with the names and world building. The world is complex and there are multiple kingdoms and politics that make things somewhat more confusing. This book is also heavy on the world building. The plot can seem slow at times and it takes a while to get going, however I didn't mind that too much because it provided a lot of backstory and insight into character development.

The romance is sweet. There's a bit of a love triangle going on, *sigh* I guess... However, I'm not sure the OG love interest is a true love interest. He's more useful to the MC so she keeps him happy and puts up with his "attention." He's a pretty selfish boyfriend and gives off Tamlin vibes. The actual love interest is a nice mix of childhood friends to lovers then enemies to lovers then trainee/trainer trope. However, is he swoonworthy ❤️‍🔥 And all the damn tiktoks of this book rekindle my love for Rhyan over and over. Speaking of tropes...

🛏️ One bed
🩺 Taking care when injured
💢 "Who did this to you?"
And more...


This book isn't really spicy, however I see spice in the future books for sure. There's some suggestive cuddling but it's not what I would call spice.

Also, you may want to check trigger warnings. This book is violent and discusses topics such as domestic abuse which might be harder for some readers to digest. But it's really limited and more suggested than described.

Be aware this book ends on a baby cliffhanger and right as things start getting exciting. I'll be waiting patiently for the next book to come out on audio 🙏

Overall,

Story⭐⭐⭐⭐
Spice 🚫
Audio Performance ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

unfulfilled potential

I found myself getting annoyed at the MC A LOT. There's too much repetative inner dialouge, and she needs to grow up. I was hoping for her to evolve through the book, but no. Maybe in the next? Don't think I'll continue the series. I liked Rhyan, and am curious on his story. I did NOT like all the similar names, and how many times can one repeat the full title of the MC in a book?!Here's a potential in the world and in the plot, but I must say this was not a very good start to the series for me.

DNF

So much of this was a no for me. To start, her relationship with Christian Tristan is a bit disturbing but mostly unnecessary. A lot of unexplained lore is thrown at you that you have ro just go along with. Then the final straw for me was all the drama! Everything is thrown at the main character which would be fine if she was strong and defiant and given opportunities to overcome them and prove herself but no. She gets beaten down again and again and falls apart every time.

Where was the story going.

This book has so much potential but the book never moved it could have been shorted to a fifteen chapter book and it would have been good most of the chalets felt the same till the end where it finally felt almost interesting. The narrator did a great job moving the boring book along.

Best new fantasy series!!

This is a must-read for fantasy fans. If you love Sarah J. Maas, download immediately! I love that this story takes its time, letting Lyr experience the growth and heartbreak that makes a coming-of-age story so satisfying without rushing her journey. This series is lush and exciting, emotionally intelligent, and so detailed it feels tangible. Bravo Frankie!!

Wonderful, compelling book!

Loved it so far, and from the setup I am looking forward to the next book too