Gladiator meets Game of Thrones: a royal woman becomes a skilled warrior to destroy her murderous cousin, avenge her family, and save her kingdom in this first entry in a dazzling fantasy epic from the New York Times and USA Today bestselling author of the Elemental Assassin series—an enthralling tale that combines magic, murder, intrigue, adventure, and a hint of romance.
In a realm where one’s magical power determines one’s worth, Lady Everleigh’s lack of obvious ability relegates her to the shadows of the royal court of Bellona, a kingdom steeped in gladiator tradition. Seventeenth in line for the throne, Evie is nothing more than a ceremonial fixture, overlooked and mostly forgotten.
But dark forces are at work inside the palace. When her cousin Vasilia, the crown princess, assassinates her mother the queen and takes the throne by force, Evie is also attacked, along with the rest of the royal family. Luckily for Evie, her secret immunity to magic helps her escape the massacre.
Forced into hiding to survive, she falls in with a gladiator troupe. Though they use their talents to entertain and amuse the masses, the gladiators are actually highly trained warriors skilled in the art of war, especially Lucas Sullivan, a powerful magier with secrets of his own. Uncertain of her future—or if she even has one—Evie begins training with the troupe until she can decide her next move.
But as the bloodthirsty Vasilia exerts her power, pushing Bellona to the brink of war, Evie’s fate becomes clear: she must become a fearsome gladiator herself . . . and kill the queen.
About the Book
Kill The Queenby Jennifer EstepSeries
Crown of Shards Book One
Genre
Adult
Romantic Fantasy
Publisher
Harper Voyager
Publication Date
October 2, 2018
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My Musings :
As soon as I saw that Estep has a new book, I literally cheered and danced. It's been ages since I read the Mythos Academy and I have been waiting impatiently for new series by her. I loved her writing so I was expecting a lot from this one. Nothing like going with too much expectation and anticipation.
The beginning of the story where Evie talks about the day of the massacre was a bit bland but heated up fast when it culminated in the event itself. From there, the story sped on and kept me totally immersed in the incidents occurring one after the other. Have I read any books with the same premise? Yes! So does it take away from this book? Absolutely no! The reason is that the cast of characters are so rich and add to the enjoyment so much.
At the start,I didn't know what to make of Evie. She seemed paranoid and committed to be a wallflower but as the new Evie emerged my perception of her changed, a little bit in a bad way. Her determination and spirit fit my idea of a strong heroine but she seemed to end more colder than I wished her to be. Other than her, the other colourful people like Xenia, Serilde, Cho and of course, Sullivan all contribute to the strengthening of Evie and the plot. There would be no story without them.
There were few places where I felt some things came a bit easy to Evie. I wish more of her struggles were highlighted and since she is a special snowflake, I hope to get to know more her uniqueness in the following books.
Estep's writing has always been mesmerising because of the easy flow of dialogue and scenes and the way I can get lost in a book with complete abandon. There is no difference in that aspect. I never look at the time or the remainder of the book pages when I am reading her books.
The ending was rather predictable and anti climatic. It didn't take away from the fun I had reading it though. So it didn't impact the overall effect on my rating. I look forward to the sequel but alas I need to wait till next year. Sigh!
I received a copy for reviewing purposes and the review is not influenced by it.
My rating : 4.5/5
Tour Wide Giveaway
To celebrate the release of KILL THE QUEEN by Jennifer Estep, we’re giving away a paperback copy of the book to one lucky winner!
GIVEAWAY TERMS & CONDITIONS: Open to internationally. One winner will receive a paperback copy of Kill the Queen by Jennifer Estep. This giveaway is administered by Pure Textuality PR on behalf of HarperCollins Publishing. Giveaway ends 10/15/2018 @ 11:59pm EST. Limit one entry per reader. Duplicates will be deleted. CLICK HERE TO ENTER!
About Jennifer Estep
JENNIFER ESTEP is a New York Times, USA Today, and international bestselling author, prowling the streets of her imagination in search of her next fantasy idea. She is the author of the following series:
- THE ELEMENTAL ASSASSIN SERIES
- THE CROWN OF SHARDS SERIES
- THE MYTHOS ACADEMY SPINOFF SERIES
- THE MYTHOS ACADEMY SERIES
- THE BIGTIME SERIES
- THE BLACK BLADE SERIES
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