{"id":3833,"date":"2025-08-15T09:44:00","date_gmt":"2025-08-15T09:44:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/bookloves.com\/?p=3833"},"modified":"2025-08-15T09:44:00","modified_gmt":"2025-08-15T09:44:00","slug":"book-review-the-forged-empire-by-samantha-gillespie","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/bookloves.com\/?p=3833","title":{"rendered":"Book Review: The Forged Empire by Samantha Gillespie"},"content":{"rendered":"
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The Forged Empire<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

by Samantha Gillespie<\/p>\n

Genre:<\/strong> Young Adult \/ Fantasy<\/p>\n

ISBN: <\/strong>9781618990709<\/p>\n

Print Length:<\/strong> 730 pages<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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Reviewed by Gabriella Harrison<\/em><\/p>\n

<\/strong><\/strong><\/strong><\/strong><\/strong><\/strong><\/strong><\/strong><\/strong><\/strong><\/strong><\/strong><\/strong><\/strong><\/strong><\/strong><\/strong><\/strong><\/strong><\/strong><\/strong><\/strong><\/strong><\/strong><\/strong><\/strong><\/strong><\/strong><\/strong><\/strong><\/strong><\/strong><\/strong><\/strong><\/strong><\/strong><\/strong><\/strong><\/strong><\/strong><\/strong><\/strong><\/strong><\/strong><\/strong><\/strong><\/strong><\/strong><\/strong><\/strong><\/strong><\/strong><\/strong><\/strong>A grieving queen learns that ruling a kingdom means facing herself as much as her enemies.<\/strong><\/h2>\n

The Forged Empire<\/em>, the third installment in Samantha Gillespie\u2019s The Kingdom Within trilogy, opens in a place that feels safe, even cozy. Meredith is in the palace bakehouse, and for a few pages, there\u2019s the illusion of calm. But that calm doesn\u2019t hold for long. Grief, still fresh from earlier books, begins to settle in again, and what looks like a quiet start quickly becomes something heavier and harder to carry.<\/p>\n

Meredith is still mourning. That sadness doesn\u2019t flood the story, but it stays close. It\u2019s felt in her hesitation, her inner monologues, and the way she navigates even small decisions. At one point, she admits, \u201cI know strength is expected of me, and I\u2019m trying\u2026but no matter how hard I fight, every choice I make brings more pain.\u201d<\/strong><\/p>\n

That kind of emotional weight shapes the rhythm of the book. It\u2019s steady and patient, giving Meredith the time to figure things out without rushing her past the things she\u2019s lost.<\/p>\n

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She\u2019s not just grieving, though. She\u2019s leading\u2014while learning how to. The empire is fracturing, and Meredith\u2019s role as a ruler isn\u2019t something she can ease into. Political threats mount. Trust wavers. Every decision she makes feels like it could split something open. Her relationship with Ethan, her husband and co-leader, doesn\u2019t offer an escape, either. It\u2019s strong, but it isn\u2019t idealized. He\u2019s efficient. Calm. Sometimes that\u2019s comforting. Other times, it stings. \u201cWatching him handle the situation so efficiently makes my inadequacies feel all the more glaring,\u201d<\/strong> Meredith reflects. \u201cWhere I flounder, he thrives.\u201d<\/strong><\/p>\n

One of the most tender parts of the novel is her strained friendship with Heloise. They\u2019re both grieving, but they don\u2019t show it the same way. Heloise lashes out. Meredith pulls inward. Their early conversation in a courtyard begins sharp and defensive, but their scenes grow into something quieter and sadder. There\u2019s a shared ache there, even when they can\u2019t say it aloud.<\/p>\n

The narrative doesn\u2019t stay rooted in Meredith\u2019s world. When the point of view shifts to Connor (Meredith\u2019s former lover), the tone changes too. His chapters are rougher, more immediate, less about reflection, more about survival. There\u2019s a scene that sums it up well: \u201cEvery step is a gamble, the ground littered with shattered weapons, broken shields, and bodies that no longer rise.\u201d<\/strong> That contrast helps. Just as the palace starts to feel like a pressure cooker of alliances and quiet grief, Connor\u2019s chapters cut in with grit and urgency. While the key secondary characters (Krea and Heloise) shape the story through their friction with Meredith, others like the court advisors or staff are lightly sketched. Additionally, while the reflective tone is thoughtful, it sometimes slows the story\u2019s momentum.<\/p>\n

Beyond its immersive worldbuilding, The Forged Empire<\/em> tells a story that is more interested in how people carry their choices than in just what those choices are. It is endearing how Meredith doesn\u2019t pretend to have everything figured out. We see her stumble, question herself, and grow in ways that feel earned rather than rushed.<\/p>\n

Samantha Gillespie\u2019s The Forged Empire<\/em> is an emotionally rich story that centers around a crumbling empire and those who must shoulder the demands of leadership amid rising tension and threats of war to ensure its survival.<\/p>\n

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Thank you for reading Gabriella Harrison\u2019s book review of The Forged Empire <\/em>by Samantha Gillespie! If you liked what you read, please spend some more time with us at the links below.<\/p>\n

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The post Book Review: The Forged Empire by Samantha Gillespie<\/a> appeared first on Independent Book Review<\/a>.<\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The Forged Empire by Samantha Gillespie Genre: Young Adult \/ Fantasy ISBN: 9781618990709 Print Length: 730 pages Amazon Reviewed by Gabriella Harrison A grieving queen learns that ruling a kingdom means facing herself as much as her enemies. The Forged Empire, the third installment in Samantha Gillespie\u2019s The Kingdom Within trilogy, opens in a place […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":0,"featured_media":3834,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-3833","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-bookreviews"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/bookloves.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3833"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/bookloves.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/bookloves.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bookloves.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=3833"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/bookloves.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3833\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bookloves.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/3834"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/bookloves.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=3833"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bookloves.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=3833"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bookloves.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=3833"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}