The Royal Companion: An epic love story

Written by Tanya Bird

Narrated by Elizabeth Klett

She is the gift he did not want. He is the prince she is forbidden to love.

SHORTLISTED FOR THE WOOLLAHRA DIGITAL LITERARY AWARDS 2017

Companions are the kingdom’s most beautiful and educated women—possessions of Syrasan’s royal men.

Aldara is sixteen when she is sold to the obnoxious crown prince as a gift for his brother. Forced to leave the only life she has ever known, Aldara is sent to Archdale Castle, where she is mentored to become Prince Tyron’s perfect Companion. But no amount of lessons can prepare her for the troubled man marked by war. He sees straight through the polished exterior presented to him. He sees her.

All Prince Tyron wants is privacy to grieve. When his brother gifts him a Companion upon his return, he is forced to embrace a tradition he has so far managed to avoid. Except Aldara is not like the others. She walks with her face to the sun and arms swinging. Her laughter makes him forget the lie. But if they ignore the rules that safeguard them, there will be consequences.

This is book one in The Companion series. If you enjoy medieval romance that is out of this world, then this epic tale of love against all odds is for you.

Trigger warning: This book contains sexual violence, death and dark themes.

Please note: This is part one of Tyron and Aldara's story. Their story continues in books two and three—available now.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Tanya Bird
• Release date: Jun 3, 2019
• ISBN: 9781987182620

Tanya Bird

Tanya Bird is an author/mum/Lego expert who lives in Brisbane with her hubby, three lively boys, a quirky greyhound, and a lazy whippet. Amid the chaos, she writes high-emotion Romance. She is a lover of horses, pancakes, satire and dance who dreams of one day attacking her rather long bucket list. You can find her on Facebook @TanyaBirdAuthor, Instagram @tanyabirdauthor, TikTok @tanyabirdauthor or hiding in the pantry with her stash of chocolate. Exclusive free reads available at tanyabird.com

Reviews for The Royal Companion

[hannah collins · Rating: 2 out of 5 stars]

1. Why is this in the fantasy romance genre when there are no fantasy concepts involved… that’s infuriating
2. The rape scene was WAYYYY too descriptive & then there was practically no details of the actual consensual acts other than just saying what they did after the fact in very few words (i don’t need erotica or descriptive sex to enjoy romance novels but going into detail of the rape rllllly rubbed me the wrong way and it made it even worse that there wasn’t as much detail for the enjoyable acts bleh)
3. The “romance” is sad and pitiful at best and i couldn’t get attached to the characters
4. The only reason i’m giving not giving a 0 rating is because the author isn’t bad but this book very much missed the mark for me, kingdom of walls series is much better imo (a dystopian historical romance)

would not recommend to other fantasy fans

0% chance i will be continuing the series

[Jennifer Cornelius · Rating: 2 out of 5 stars]

Wtf. RAPE. Where is the “epic love story”? This is utter bs. The author lulls you into a sense of security - there’s absolutely no depictions of actual sex for the majority of the book, despite the title. Then. THEN. THERE’S RAPE. One chapter later, the protagonist blames herself and dismisses her own rape as the inept prince thinks about kissing her despite what she’s just been through. Then. THEN. They have sex (protagonist and prince) like she didn’t have trauma - which she would have in real life. This is absolutely abhorrent. There’s no redemption. No social commentary or reason for this depiction of rape - which happens to be by the only characters described as “dark” in the book.

[Bill Hair · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

3.5 Stars for me

Parts I really liked and parts that I abhorred.

I am not a big fan of rape scenes in any story, especially when it contains more than one rapist. I know that it is central to the second half of the story but I would rather it be a fade to black than partially detailed.

I liked both MCs but they both had their moments where they were just plain dumb.

The brother needs to die immediately and the father (King) is a clueless moron.

I know that the times reflect that women are property and that many men delt that they could do whatever they wanted which, I am happy to say, is no longer acceptable. It still happens way too often but at least more offenders are being prosecuted for it.

I am interested in the next book in the series and hope that some of the evil people are dealt with.

[monica · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Loved the story, can't wait to start the next chapter.