A Beggar's Kingdom by Paullina Simons

Series:	End of Forever #2
Pub. Date:	July 23, 2019
Publisher:	William Morrow
Length:	656 pgs
Source:	Publisher

A Beggar's Kingdom is the second installment of Paullina Simons' End of Forever series, an epic romance saga spanning time and distance. Phew, this second book put me through the ringer! If you are looking for a happy-go-lucky romance story, this definitely is not it. But if you want to get emotionally invested in your lead character, this is the story for you. 

Note: This review may contain spoilers for the previous book, The Tiger Catcher.

So in The Tiger Catcher, we met Julian Cruz, who is quite the interesting hero. An intellectual boxer and seemingly a desperate romantic. He's not my typical favored hero, but I am so wrapped up in his story that I can't help but love Julian. We follow Julian as he meets and falls in love with Josephine (a/k/a Mia), who was not a very likable heroine. Then we follow Julian through a terrible grief after losing Mia, before he meets a shaman who assists him with finding her earlier incarnations to try to save her soul before its too late.

Now in A Beggar's Kingdom, we see Julian try again and again to find and save his true love before its too late. Will he be successful with another version of Mia - Mary, Miri, Mirabelle, Mary-Margaret? What's the lucky year -1603, 1666, 1775, 1854, 1911? Or will Julian kill himself in the effort to save to save another... and what will his journeys through time and space cost him? I don't think I've ever read a hero with more perseverance and dedication, and Julian's continued bravery astounded me. Needless to say, my heart broke so many times during this story... it was like a roller coaster of anxiety. I definitely had a hard time keeping a dry eye while I was reading this on my flights this week.

But while Julian's life seems stuck in the past (literally), things continue to happen in the present time with those secondary characters who were tied to Julian. I was surprised by many things, particularly how the lives of Riley, Ashton and Zakiyyah were unfolding. Talk about drama and jaw-dropping events! My feelings for Ashton rose and fell and rose again - but you can't deny his unflagging loyalty to Julian. Devi was not quite as present, but was still interspersed in the story. But we got the addition of Mia's mother, Ava, and I think she will be an interesting presence going forward.

Like I said above, this is not a happy story. But it is captivating. I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book that I received from the publisher.

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