First of all: this book does not contain a resolution to any of the plotlines brought up anywhere in its nineteen chapters; it ends abruptly at a cliffhanger.

The Church shown follows a common structure of Christianity-export-in-fantasy . . . save for some jarring details. And complete with a strong prejudice against magic, which is shown to be mostly picking up images and warnings from wood or wind. There is mention made of magic used to control bears and/or demons - there seems to be some confusion on this point - and other violent uses for it, but it is never explained how, given the already-shown definition of magic and what it does.

Our main character, Johanna, is our link to the world and she introduces it fairly well, though there are large swathes of important things that are never explained or touched upon. There is a fairly strong thread of the rebellious princess trope in Johanna - who does not wish to marry, despite being twenty-four, but even when she brings up specific examples - friends or women she knows who got married and now are not allowed out of the house at all, are not allowed even to do the shopping, have too many children to do anything else/maintain her own health - she says that she wants to have fun, not brings up those things as legitimate concerns of abuse or even constriction; she does not even bring up that she would like to do something other than marry, i.e. run her father's trading business, which she supposedly helps with now. (Though for all we see she doesn't seem to understand a lot of the business, much less actually help run it.).

Prince Roald is clearly neurodivergent of some stripe, and he cannot manage some basic tasks without assistance or instruction. He also regularly frightens the women around him. He makes sexual comments and tries to touch, without apparent understanding - even when it is presented to him simply - that it is rude at best and assault at worst.

There is also a supporting character, Loesie, who is a friend of Johanna's and also has magic, and who never speaks, because when she first appears she is speaking in tongues and has been possibly-possessed - Johanna wants to help her but is also frightened of her in this condition.

Johanna does not wish to attend the ball, nor to wear one of the fancy dresses required for such a royal event - with a very strong sense of unlike all the other women. The ball does turn out to be a bit excruciating to get through, even before Johanna's promised dance with the prince (and including pages of introduction and description of characters we never heard mentioned before or after) but all the way through including Johanna's inexplicable actions dancing in an empty room with a man she's never met, then walking further into isolation with him, arguing/fighting with him, and kissing him . . . up until they see a fire, started by demons, in the city, and he bolts. Johanna searches through the palace for her father and finds many people dead - including the king and queen - with many horrors, before she eventually escapes the palace and then the city.

In their escape aboard a barge, there are four - Johanna, her maid, Loesie, and the prince. They find more burned out horrors and death, balance their desperate need and the situation sometimes - understandably - poorly, and eventually Johanna, who was a candidate chosen by the now-dead king for the role, decides she must marry Roald. This leads to an incredibly awkward makeshift wedding and a horrifically excruciating consummation which Johanna may have walked into of her own choice but is regardless incredibly dubious consent even before the actual pain.

The book ends the day after, when they discover that the place Johanna has been leading them hoping - faintly - for help has also been burned out, and then they are captured by some of the people who have been burning and destroying the entire country(ies), who proceed to sexually assault one of the women, attack and bind all of them, and then head off to who knows where. Sudden end of book. With a note that it continues in the next in the series. ( )

This book was somewhat of a surprise, but a good one. There were aspects to it that I can see some might not enjoy, but for me, the story was pretty good. It took a while for action to happen, but once it did, it was quite a journey to be taken on! The blend of royalty, magic, adventure, and the strength of one young woman, all made for a recipe that is worth investing time in to read. Give it a go! ( )

An interesting mix of characters, and I have no idea what's going to happen. I love the sea cows. I also like Johanna's ability to get things done. ( )

Innocence Lost by Patty Jansen is a fantasy novel but I would say for adults not for teens due to the sexual content. Johanna has a touch of magic where she can see the past by just touching things with wood in them. She lives where magic is evil and condemned. She also lives where marriages are arranged and her father is trying to arrange for her to marry her off. Her father made a deal of some kind to have the King invite him and Johanna to the ball for all the pretty girls to see the Prince who had been ill and been in treatment. Come to find out, the Prince is a half-wit and none of the girl want anything to do with him, including Johanna. The ball is invaded by evil barbarians with evil magic and slaughters almost everyone and Johanna escapes. So does the Prince. Soon she finds herself protecting the half-wit Prince. There is so much more that happens in-between that matters so much that will come together down the road I am sure. There is more I am not telling for spoiler reasons. The plot is excellent, the characters are well developed. I was surprised and bummed a bit at the decisions Johanna makes but she is young but there must be a reason down the road. I must wait and see. It won't stop me from reading the next book! Very intriguing. ( )

Innocence Lost by Patty Jansen is the first book in the For Queen and Country fantasy series, which is not related to any of her other series. It's set in a fantastical Dutch-inspired land and is actually pretty short for a fantasy novel.

Johanna has a special gift. If she touches wood, she sees the wood's "memories". The problem is, her gift is strictly forbidden by the Church of the Triune.

The wood shows her that a fierce army is headed for the city of Saardam. Unaware of the danger, the kingdom is instead happily anticipating their annual ball and gossiping about the arrival of the mysterious crown prince whom no one has seen in years.

Johanna has to tell someone, but who and why would anyone believe her?

This was an enjoyable read. It's brevity and style made it an easy read, which was exactly what I felt like at the time. It did end on a bit of a cliffhanger, however, so fair warning for those that don't like 'em. The second book, Willow Witch, is already out, if that helps, however I suggest not reading the blurb since it does rather spoil the end of Innocence Lost.

Johanna is the daughter of a rich merchant. She doesn't like dresses and isn't keen on marrying but, as her father points out, if she doesn't marry someone, she can't inherit the business. Even better, if she marries the prince, she will be allowed to inherit in her own right, and not only through her husband. But, when she finally meets the prince, she discovers why he's been in seclusion for most of his life.


The prince has some sort of intellectual disability. The entire extent of his issues aren't clear, but the term bandied about the most by characters in the book was "halfwit". There are problems, of course, with his inheriting the throne and, for that matter, finding someone to marry (the fact that his father pissed off a lot of nobles doesn't help on that front either). I thought the matter was dealt with well enough and almost every cringe moment had a counterpoint.


The other characters are Johanna's market friend, who also has magic and who spends the whole book bewitched (or something) into not being able to talk. We only really learn about her from Johanna's perspective. Well, I should say, the whole book is in close third person from Johanna's point of view. But the other central characters, Johanna's maid and her father, show more of themselves on the page by interacting more directly (and we still get Johanna's commentary on them).

The prose is easy to read and not overly flowery. There were some very memorable lines/scenes throughout. I want to share one of my two favourites (the second is a spoiler, so I won't). It can pretty much be summarised with this quote:

“Kylian said softly, “You know you’re not like any woman I’ve ever met?”

Johanna turned her head sharply to him. “Then you haven’t met any real women, only dishrags.”

I quite enjoyed Innocence Lost and I definitely want to read the sequel at some point. *eyes scary TBR pile* I recommend it for anyone after a light, non-strenuous read. I should also note that it's not YA — the main character is 24 — but it's not that far off. Also, being quite short, it's obviously much less complex, plot-wise, than BFF books.

4 / 5 stars

You can read more of my reviews on my blog. ( )