Protect the Prince (Crown of Shards, #2)

by Jennifer Estep

[Melanie]

4.5 stars

My review and an extended sample of the audiobook are posted at Hotlistens.com.

In this second installment of Jennifer Estep’s new Crown of Shard series, Evie still has a lot of her plate. She may be queen, but that doesn’t mean things are easy for her. She has to win over the people of her court who have always disliked her. She must also make an alliance with the neighboring kingdom of Andvari. As if that wasn’t enough, she needs to fight off assassins.

This is another fast paced, action packed story by Estep. I continue to enjoy my time with the characters that she’s created. I loved seeing Evie call out the people in the court that all of a sudden wanted to kiss her rear, now that she is queen. She brings up all the horrible things that she dealt with while growing up. It was nice to see Evie put them in their place.

There is also a growing tension between Evie and Sullivan, the bastard prince of Andvari. This is a forbidden relationship because a bastard prince and a queen can’t possibly be together, but there is growing desire between them. It will be interesting to see how that all works out in the end.

You really want to start this series with book one, as each book builds on the previous story. If you haven’t started this series yet, I highly recommend it. The stories aren’t short, but they really draw you into the story so that you were wishing they were even longer.

Narration
Lauren Fortgang continues the narration of this series. Estep and Forgang have been together for a while. Fortgang’s narration really works well with Estep’s stories. I love these two together. I love how Lauren really brings out the characters voices and personality when she reads a story. If you have listened to her read a story, you’re missing out. Truly.

**I'd like to thank the publisher for providing me with a copy of this audiobook in exchange for an honest review.