Kill the Queen (Crown of Shards, #1)

by Jennifer Estep

[Quirky Cat]

Kill the Queen is the first novel in Jennifer Estep’s latest series, Crown of Shards. It’s a fantasy series full of politics, plotting, revenge, and so much more. Fans new and old are well within reason for wanting to check it out.

Lady Everleigh, aka Evie, is seventeenth in line for the throne. Between that and her passive form of magic, she’s gotten used to being shunted to the side. In many ways, Evie is little more than the family errand runner. But she’s still royalty, and that comes with a certain amount of responsibility.

Magic is power. But power also corrupts, a fact that will become clear thanks to a series of events that are about to unfold. One greedy princess – the heir to the throne – has a plot in mind, one which will shake her kingdom and ruin her family.

“My position, magic, and wealth might be insignificant – more like nonexistent – compared to others’, but I was still a Blair, still a member of the royal family, and I have been the target of more than one scheme.”

Kill the Queen was a fun and quick read. Though it may be more accurate to say that this is a book you’re not going to want to put down. I certainly didn’t, and instead insisted on reading through it as quickly as possible.

The world that Jennifer Estep has created here is a fascinating one. It’s a world of magic and politics, and sometimes when those elements combine there will be disastrous results. Given the events in this novel, that’s a fair statement. I can also understand the comparison to Game of Thrones now. Though I’d argue that this series can stand alone without needing to make that (or any other) comparison.

I’ll confess a little bit of bias here. I adored Evie’s power. Not the dramatically revealed one, but her ‘basic’ one. I’m referring to her enhanced sense of smell. I grew up with an absurdly strong sense of smell, something I was even teased by. So I was always thrilled to see characters with it – even if theirs was granted by magic, and took it to an extreme I could never dream of. But I have always wished that it would be portrayed more – ideally by showing all of the ways where enhanced sense could be useful (and even lifesaving).

I absolutely adored all of the politics, backstabbing, and plotting that occurred in this novel. I have so many questions, and honestly can’t wait to see more of the kingdoms that were constantly referenced in these pages. I should probably consider myself lucky that I can move right on to the next novel in the series (Protect the Prince), as I’m not feeling terribly patient.

Evie’s whole story is compelling, sometimes dipping down into something shockingly intense and emotional. It made for a brilliant read, and I’m truly looking forward to the rest of the series because of it. I just hope she stays on as the main character, because she has quickly become my favorite.

I can’t believe it took me this long to sit down and read Kill the Queen, though I am glad to have done so now. I think I’m going to have to put aside some time in the next week to read Protect the Prince, because I’m officially hooked. I’m also pretty lucky in my timing, because the third novel is due out soon as well.

Check out more reviews over at Quirky Cat's Fat Stacks