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.
Book 1
Buy Links
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HarperVoyager
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.
Book 1
Buy Links
Amazon US ~ Amazon UK ~ Amazon Au ~ Amazon Ca
B&N ~ Google Play ~ iTunes ~ Kobo
HarperVoyager
The day of the royal massacre started out like any other.
With me doing something completely, utterly useless.
“Why do I have to make the pie?” I grumbled.
I stared at the flour, sugar, and butter lined up on the table, along with measuring cups and spoons, a paring knife, a rolling pin, and bowls full of honey cranberries and bloodcrisp apples.
Isobel waved her hand over everything. “It’s a sign of respect for a member of the royal family to make the traditional welcome pie for the Andvarian ambassador. Lord Hans requested cranberry-apple for today’s luncheon.”
“You’re the cook master, not me,” I grumbled again. “You should make the pie. Your magic will make it look and taste amazing.”
Masters were those whose magic let them work with specific objects or elements, like metal, glass, and wood, to create astounding things. Isobel’s power helped her craft amazing desserts out of ordinary flour, sugar, and butter, which was why she’d been the head baker at Seven Spire palace for more than twenty years.
She slapped her hands on her hips. “I might be a cook master, but the Andvarians have very finely tuned senses. They would know if I made the pie instead of you. They can sniff out the intentions of every single person who handles their food, even if it’s only the servant who pours their wine. It’s one of the reasons why they can’t be poisoned.”
I snorted. “That’s just an old fairy tale started by the Andvarians themselves to keep people from trying to poison them. They don’t have any better senses than anyone else. Only mutts like me have that sort of magic.” I tapped my nose. “I might have an enhanced sense of smell, but even I can’t always sniff out people’s intentions.”
Isobel frowned. “You know I don’t like that word, especially when it’s applied to you.”
Unlike masters, who were sought after and lauded for their impressive skills, mutts were not, simply because our magic didn’t let us create anything. Most mutts only had a small spark of power, a tiny flicker that enhanced something about themselves, like my supersensitive nose. Something that barely qualified as magic, especially when compared to the airy meringues, spun-sugar cakes, and other delicacies that Isobel whipped up. When it came to magic, mutts were considered far weaker and far, far inferior to masters, magiers, and morphs. Hence the term mutts.
I shrugged. “We both know that I am most definitely a mutt in every sense of the word.”
Isobel winced, but she didn’t disagree.
“Besides, Lord Hans has the constitution of a gargoyle. I’ve seen him eat pepper radishes like they were as sweet as those apples. Why, I could pour him a tall, frosty glass of wormroot poison, and it wouldn’t give him much more than a stomachache. And a small one at that.”
Isobel’s lips twitched, but she summoned up a stern look, trying to keep me in line. Always a losing battle. I was rather incorrigible that way.
“Regardless, you need to make the pie, Lady Everleigh. You were the only one who was, ah, available.”
“Oh, really?” I arched an eyebrow, and Isobel dropped her dark brown gaze from mine.
Available? Well, that was a nice way of saying that it was once again time for me to earn my keep as Lady Everleigh Saffira Winter Blair. A mouthful of fancy names that meant very little in the grand scheme of things, but they, and the lineage that went along with them, were good enough for my cousin Queen Cordelia Alexandra Summer Blair to have me trotted out like a trained monkey whenever a so-called royal presence was required. Like wasting a morning baking a pie for some foreign ambassador who probably wouldn’t eat a single bite of it.
Isobel winced again, causing lines to groove into her bronze skin, then smoothed back her graying black hair, the way she always did whenever she had bad news. “I’m afraid that it’s not just one pie. Lord Hans requested thirteen of them. It’s his favorite dessert. The Andvarian king’s granddaughter loves it too. She’s also part of the ambassador’s contingent. I believe her name is Gemma.”
I glanced at the stacks of pie tins half hidden behind the bowls of apples. Anger pricked my heart that I was always the one singled out for such tasks, but the sharp sting was quickly replaced by cold, numbing acceptance.
Sarah – ☆☆☆☆☆
This is the book I needed this week. Hell, it’s the book I’ve needed for most of this year. Yes, this is fantasy – but a book about female warriors, female rage, and a cold, calculated female resistance to political corruption? The story kinda made my heart hope.
Lady Everleigh Blair starts the story as a minor royal wallflower and a victim of palace politics. But when Lady Everleigh is tested, she proves herself a survivor and reinvents herself as Evie, a trainee gladiator. I love her transformation and I love how her struggles reveal her true character.
This is the first book in a new series and there is enough material here for a wonderful, massive epic fantasy series. I love the characters, I love the alternate reality that hovers somewhere between high fantasy and urban fantasy, and I love the wonderfully observed details that make this story come alive. The action in this first book is fast, brutal, and wickedly gory. The political machinations and allegiances are deliciously complicated.
For me, this feels like a feminist’s answer to Game of Thrones or Lord of the Rings. From the matriarchal royal chain of succession to the female gladiators to the celebration of female strength and rage, this is a book I wish every teenage girl could read. Women hold every position of power in this story. Evie is praised at one point for her ability to be cunning and bloodthirsty. She is praised for the cold, calculated rage that makes her stronger. When she is forced to kill, she does so with considered pragmatism and very little emotional angst. Evie is not just a survivor, she’s a champion.
I kinda love that this isn’t a romance. Evie prioritises her own safety, the wellbeing of her troupe, and the wellbeing of her nation. While Evie is attracted to another character at one point, she doesn’t have much time in her life for sex, and a relationship would derail her plans. It isn’t just Evie. All the women in this book – both the goodies and the baddies – focus on getting shit done. They use their brains, their physical strength, and their magic – not their sexuality.
I could talk about this book for hours. I loved every moment of it. I lost sleep over it. And I fell hard for Evie. I wish I’d had literary role models like Evie as a teenager but I’m glad we’ve got her now.
Erica – ☆☆☆☆☆
5 Best-Book-of-2018 Stars
Kill the Queen is the debut in a brand-new fantasy series by Jennifer Estep, which is a departure from her Urban Fantasy titles.
I couldn't wait to get my hands on this book, and it lived up to its anticipation and beyond.
Starting off with an event that reminded me of The Red Wedding – brutal, raw, hard-hitting, violent, and gut-punch emotional – I was hooked from word-one. What I truly want to applaud Jennifer Estep for managing is how fast-paced, action-packed, adventuring of a novel, without it being drawn-out and ending on a cliffhanger.
All the threads woven through the entire novel were tied up by the ending, where other authors may have made readers wait through a trilogy to get to that point in the timeline. While this is not a standalone, it gave a satisfying conclusion, with a teaser chapter of the next novel to whet readers' appetites for more in 2019.
Evie showed massive growth throughout the novel, rising above the nurturing at the hands of her cousins within the court, to become a strong heroine who is willing to risk herself for her people. Varying degrees of magic-users, Evie has always kept her abilities under wraps, after her murdered mother told her to never tell due to self-preservation. Easily led, eager for attention, friends, and approval, Evie was 17th in line to the throne, not knowing there was more to her history.
On the run, protecting herself while fulfilling the queen's last wishes, Evie joins a gladiator troupe, but refuses to let anyone in. After all she's gone through, trust is earned.
Self-preservation, survival, sacrifice, and loyalty are the theme of Kill the Queen.
Refusing to spoil the journey... Evie grows throughout the novel, makes friends and allies she can trust, finds forbidden romance that can't be explored, and takes on a wealth of responsibility. Most of the threads are tied by the end of the novel, with a more than satisfying ending, but with future book seeded with things readers will be feverishly anticipating.
Highly recommend to fans of the author and fans of the genre. I cannot recommend this book enough, being as it was my favorite of the year, and I cannot wait to get my paws on the next installment.
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
Connect with Jennifer
Facebook ~ Twitter ~ Website ~ Goodreads
To celebrate the release of Kill the Queen by Jennifer Estep, the publisher is giving away a paperback copy of the book to one lucky winner!
Click HERE to Enter!
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Reviewers on the Wicked Reads Review Team were provided a free copy of Kill the Queen (Crown of Shards #1) by Jennifer Estep to read and review for this tour.
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