Crush the King by Jennifer Estep
Series: Crown of Shards #3
Publisher: Harper Voyager
Publication Date: March 17, 2020
Date Read: September 5, 2019
Length: 432 pages
Source: Edelweiss
★★★★★
A fierce gladiator queen must face off against her enemies in an epic battle in this next thrilling installment of New York Times and USA Today bestselling author Jennifer Estep’s Crown of Shards series—an action-packed adventure full of magic, murderous machinations, courtly intrigue, and pulse-pounding romance.
Queen Everleigh Blair of Bellona has survived the mass murder of the royal family, become a fearsome warrior trained by an elite gladiator troupe, and unleashed her ability to destroy magic. After surviving yet another assassination attempt orchestrated by the conniving king of Morta, Evie has had enough. It’s time to turn the tables and take the fight to her enemies.
There is no better opportunity to strike than during the Regalia Games, a time when warriors, nobles, and royals from all the kingdoms come together to compete in various sporting events. With the help of her loyal friends, Evie goes on the attack at the Regalia, but things don’t turn out the way she hopes. Soon, she is facing a terrifying new threat, and she will have to dig deep and learn even more about her growing magic if she has any chance of defeating her foes.Because to secure her throne and ensure her kingdom’s survival, Evie must think like a true Bellonan: she must outsmart and outwit her enemies . . . and crush the king.
I devoured this book! I always have a long list of books that I need to be reading and I try to work through those books in order but every once in a while a book comes along and all of my plans are thrown out. I just had to get started with this book as soon as I had a copy in my hands and once I started, I couldn’t put it down. It is just that good!
Evie and her group are on the defensive once again. It seems like the assassins just are not going to stop trying to get to Evie so she wants to turn things around and go on the offensive. It is time for the Regalia Games and Evie is gathering her times to match up against the other nearby kingdoms. There is a lot at stake and all eyes will be on Evie for the duration of the event.
I think that I grow to love Evie more and more with each book in this series. She is smart and seems to be able to think several steps ahead at all times. She is incredibly brave and will put herself on the line when necessary. She never planned to be queen and hasn’t trained for it like most have the opportunity to do but she is a natural. She wants what is best for her kingdom and really does care about others.
This book was incredibly exciting. From the early assassination attempt until the final scene, I couldn’t look away. I had no idea how things would go and I was pretty worried about the characters several times during the story. There was a lot of action but there was also a lot of political maneuvering which was a lot of fun to watch as well. I loved that the book was able to keep me guessing until the very end.
I would highly recommend this series to others. I would recommend reading the series in order since each book builds on the events from the previous installment. I will say that this book felt very final to me which was a bit of a surprise. I hope that we see more books in the series and the finality that I felt was just the conclusion of a larger story arc. I definitely plan to read more from this very talented author.
I received a digital review copy of this book from Harper Voyager via Edelweiss.
Book #3 – Crush the King – Available March 17, 2020!
About the AuthorJennifer Estep is a New York Times, USA Today, and international bestselling author who prowls the streets of her imagination in search of her next fantasy idea. In addition to Kill the Queen, Jennifer is also the author of the Elemental Assassin, Mythos Academy, Black Blade, and Bigtime series.
I've been eyeing this series ever since the first book came out. It's so outside my wheelhouse but it also sounds so good so I keep considering it. I love all the political maneuvering (reminds me of the Folk of the Air trilogy) so maybe this would be a good fit for me. So glad you enjoyed it!
I read book one and enjoyed it. Glad to know the series is still going strong.
Oh yes, I really had a good time with this story! I agree, it was a great series!
i'll have to keep my eye on edelweiss
sherry @ fundinmental
I do want to try book 1 one day
Glad this was good! It looks like a fun series…
Excellent review! I would say she is a natural leader, partly because she didn't train for it her whole life like others in power and politics, she trained in compassion and caring. Her skills of observing and figuring things out are different and help her to do better by her people. I loved this one, the whole series, too.
Anne – Books of My Heart
I definitely know how you feel when you are trying to read certain books, but then one pops up on your radar that you just have to read NOW. It has happened to me a lot recently.
I have been seeing everyone who starts this series absolutely loving it and it makes me want to read it too! Especially as I love books which include assassins and it sounds like this one is incredibly exciting too. Happy you could head over heels adore it ^.^