Ok, my brand is completely geeking out about books without giving spoilers. I’m aware of that. But if I don’t talk about what is happening with Fraun Book 5 I will LOSE MY MIND.
So, we need to talk about the Kingdom of Fraun.
Warning: there may be (mild) spoilers for the series. I’ll try to mark them all so you can skip them if necessary.
First, some background for those of you who may not be caught up.
Breaking Eselda was Eselda’s story. We were introduced to the Kingdom of Fraun and all its (many) imperfections. Our big driving questions were: What kind of ruler would Eselda be? Is she the person who will save Fraun?
Spoiler (skip this cute little section if you haven’t read Breaking Eselda):
A terrible one and she wasn’t. Basically.
Redeeming Jordyn was Jordyn’s story. We loved him in Breaking Eselda and we desperately needed a hero (like, big time). So he took over the telling of the story. Our big question in that one: Would Jordyn be the king who would save Fraun? (please)
Spoiler (if you haven’t read Redeeming Jordyn):
Sort of. He totally saved Fraun but he had to stop being a king to do it. Oh, the struggle.
It was recently announced that Training Tutor is the title of Book 3. Obviously, that means Tutor will be taking over the telling of our Fraun tales.
Spoiler (if you haven’t read Redeeming Jordyn):
Tutor has recently found out he is a king. This means when we meet him in book 3 he’s currently leading a realm. Literally, the book starts with this line: “I am King of a realm I have no right to represent.” This one is going to have a heavy dose of angsty energy.
The big question driving Training Tutor: Can Fraun rebuild and accept the new lineage?
But there’s a big wrench coming in this one.
Hmmm, maybe I should reword that sentence.
There’s a GIANT wrench coming in this one.
Anyway, besides our main characters, there’s been some big antagonist energy in this series. Let’s talk about that.
Breaking Eselda was threaded through with chapters from our evil King, our big bad villain. This is one BAD guy. We doubted who he was, a little. When his identity was revealed at the end of Breaking Eselda, it was with a whole lot of “I knew it” mixed with “Oh no, what now?”.
Redeeming Jordyn saw our big, bad villain get worse. It also saw him have an epic showdown with our good guys.
Spoiler (if you haven’t read Redeeming Jordyn):
It ends badly for him.
Anyway, this villain was a fan favorite from the start. People who traditionally love big bad guys adored him. Readers love to hate him.
Spoiler (if you haven’t read Redeeming Jordyn):
He’s gone but not forgotten.
But the series was always expected to span 5 books.
Don’t worry, this isn’t a casual issue. I knew what I was doing. I had a plan. There’s a (new) villain in Book 3 (and Book 4) who is equal (worse?) to everyone’s beloved bad guy.
But I said at the start of this post that I was talking about Book 5. Here comes that part.
Book 5 was ALWAYS intended to be a prequel.
It takes place BEFORE the events of Breaking Eselda. It’s the story of the big bad guy from Book 1.
Friends, I’m LOVING the way this is playing out. I’m throwing back the curtain and letting all the scenes I already knew were in his background take over. These are the things that made him who he was when we met him. The lies and the anger, the terrible parenting, the pressure to always be strong… it’s all coming out.
Am I giving him an epic redemption arc? Maybe.
But maybe I’m also giving him a final goodbye because he deserves to have his story told, too.
Anyway, I just wanted you to know that he was getting his turn to be heard.
Go buy a Fraun book and keep me in business.
Love you guys.
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