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dlpeterson's review
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
hopeful
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
More political than the last two books. But also, many more battle scenes and action sequences. The ending was abrupt for my tastes.
samborawski13's review
adventurous
emotional
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
gabushkaaa's review
adventurous
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
2.0
joshhill1021's review
adventurous
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
wendy327's review against another edition
3.0
I received a free copy from Tor Teen in exchange for an honest review.
Without too many spoilers, readers last left Amarande and Luca in control of Ardenia and Torrence, respectively. Queen Ines and Geneva, the Warlord of the Torrent, had upended the continent, the two controlling all five kingdoms before being defeated by Amarande, Luca, and their band of friends. Despite much seeming settled, The Queen Will Betray You concluded with Renard, presumed dead at Amarande’s hand, sitting up and taking a breath.
As a reader, I had a more difficult time getting through The King Will Kill You. After two very exciting previous novels, the third book in the series felt a bit like it was spinning its wheels until the final confrontation. Much of The King Will Kill You focused on politics and the way that each kingdom tried to uphold or undermine the new normal of the continent.
While Amarande and Luca have become steadfast characters to root for, this novel also saw fan favorites sidelined to expedite political talks, specifically Ferdinand, Ula, Urtzi, and Osana. While I can see how there was a need for a third book in the series, I felt that some of these characters were not dealt enough pages to make their stories complete.
Overall, the end battle is worth it, but this is a bit of a slower novel to read. The epilogue was also not unexpected, but it was a nice conclusion. I very much enjoyed this series and I’m sad to see it go. I do recommend it with the caveat to have patience with the final installment of the series.
Without too many spoilers, readers last left Amarande and Luca in control of Ardenia and Torrence, respectively. Queen Ines and Geneva, the Warlord of the Torrent, had upended the continent, the two controlling all five kingdoms before being defeated by Amarande, Luca, and their band of friends. Despite much seeming settled, The Queen Will Betray You concluded with Renard, presumed dead at Amarande’s hand, sitting up and taking a breath.
As a reader, I had a more difficult time getting through The King Will Kill You. After two very exciting previous novels, the third book in the series felt a bit like it was spinning its wheels until the final confrontation. Much of The King Will Kill You focused on politics and the way that each kingdom tried to uphold or undermine the new normal of the continent.
While Amarande and Luca have become steadfast characters to root for, this novel also saw fan favorites sidelined to expedite political talks, specifically Ferdinand, Ula, Urtzi, and Osana. While I can see how there was a need for a third book in the series, I felt that some of these characters were not dealt enough pages to make their stories complete.
Overall, the end battle is worth it, but this is a bit of a slower novel to read. The epilogue was also not unexpected, but it was a nice conclusion. I very much enjoyed this series and I’m sad to see it go. I do recommend it with the caveat to have patience with the final installment of the series.
divinedemireader's review
5.0
The perfect ending to the story! Despite the fact that I hated the ending of the last book I feel like everything came together great.
someonetookit's review
3.0
Let me start by saying, I had super high hopes for this despite its predecessor being a little bit of a roadbump. Alas I can't say I loved it.
King starts off where Queen left off with our happy couple taking their thrones. Or so it seems. King's whole premise is the defense of those crowns and trying to justify that they are deserved by both Luca and Amarande. Basically, it initially feels like its going to be a tale of convincing their peers that they are both mature enough and seen as the rightful heirs by their respective peoples. Then it takes a weird turn that I feel like it never recovered from.
If you have read the previous novels, you know that a certain someone returns from the dead. Like, majority of their blood supply was on the floor and they were starting to decay, dead. While this could have been amazing, it felt a little like the author just didn't want to expand on another person in order to have a villain
Once again the scenery is frequently changing and well fleshed out. Partially because it is the same scenery from the previous novelks, but hey, why change a good thing
The battle scenes were for the most part, fantastic. Was a fave of mine killed off? Yes. But was it done in a way that made me not so mad about it? Also yes. I feel that any time Henning writes battle on a grandiose scale, they are a winner and her streak doesn't come to an abrupt end here.
But speaking of abrupt endings, after much chasing of certain people around the countryside and planning to make everything right, King's ending was less than desirable in my opinion. It felt rushed once the final pieces of the puzzle were in place with the final battle to the HEA taking around 40 pages (as far as I can tell from the egalley). With so much else happening in the lead up, I wanted a bang where instead I got a pop and then a fizzle.
Overall this is not a bad conclusion to a series that has otherwise intrigued me. Its full of action, adventure and treachery, but alas the experienced was soured due to some less than enviable plotting and an ending that felt a little unfinished
King starts off where Queen left off with our happy couple taking their thrones. Or so it seems. King's whole premise is the defense of those crowns and trying to justify that they are deserved by both Luca and Amarande. Basically, it initially feels like its going to be a tale of convincing their peers that they are both mature enough and seen as the rightful heirs by their respective peoples. Then it takes a weird turn that I feel like it never recovered from.
If you have read the previous novels, you know that a certain someone returns from the dead. Like, majority of their blood supply was on the floor and they were starting to decay, dead. While this could have been amazing, it felt a little like the author just didn't want to expand on another person in order to have a villain
Once again the scenery is frequently changing and well fleshed out. Partially because it is the same scenery from the previous novelks, but hey, why change a good thing
The battle scenes were for the most part, fantastic. Was a fave of mine killed off? Yes. But was it done in a way that made me not so mad about it? Also yes. I feel that any time Henning writes battle on a grandiose scale, they are a winner and her streak doesn't come to an abrupt end here.
But speaking of abrupt endings, after much chasing of certain people around the countryside and planning to make everything right, King's ending was less than desirable in my opinion. It felt rushed once the final pieces of the puzzle were in place with the final battle to the HEA taking around 40 pages (as far as I can tell from the egalley). With so much else happening in the lead up, I wanted a bang where instead I got a pop and then a fizzle.
Overall this is not a bad conclusion to a series that has otherwise intrigued me. Its full of action, adventure and treachery, but alas the experienced was soured due to some less than enviable plotting and an ending that felt a little unfinished