NetGalley Review: Warrior Princess Assassin by Brigid Kemmerer
Hey all, Sam here.
I wanted to have this review written up and posted before the end of August, but I ran out of time because work was pretty stressful…and in the weeks since I’ve just been struggling to figure out a balance between work, a desire to read, a need to rest, and wishing to get more blog posts written. There are still so very many book reviews I’d still love to get up on this blog. I may do a series of mini-reviews for a bunch of my non-NetGalley reviews, just so I can share my thoughts and try to get a little more caught up on everything I’ve read in the past couple of years.
Anyway, today I bring you another book review that should have been up weeks ago. I do have several other book reviews at least partially drafted that I hope to finish drafting and schedule for posting very soon. Let’s get started.
My Thoughts
New York Times bestselling author Brigid Kemmerer makes her adult debut with this irresistible and steamy fantasy about three characters whose paths will collide in surprising ways – two royals pushed into a political engagement, and the assassin tasked with hunting them down.
WARRIOR. King Maddox Kyronan’s fire magic has earned him a ruthless reputation on the battlefield, but now his kingdom is slowly burning. Ky’s only chance to save his people is to enter a marriage alliance with the neighboring nation of Astranza, and hope that the royal family’s power to manipulate the weather will help his land flourish once more. He just needs to ensure no one finds out how the blaze began.
PRINCESS. With war looming on the horizon, Princess Jory’s home needs the protection of the fearsome warrior king, but she is hiding a dangerous secret: her family’s magic is fading. Tempting as it is to reject her duties and run away with her childhood friend, Asher, Jory knows that she is the kingdom’s last hope. When she meets her intended, Jory is surprised to discover that beneath Ky’s daunting exterior is a compassionate and sharp-witted man who sets her heart aflame. But what will he do when he realizes she’s deceiving him?
ASSASSIN. Asher’s done what he must to survive, even if that means getting his hands dirty. Once a young nobleman in Astranza’s palace, where he and Jory caused mischief together, now he’s part of the Hunter’s Guild, employing much darker skills. When a lucrative job comes his way, Asher can’t say no—until he discovers the targets. Someone wants Ky and Jory dead. With the Guild watching, Asher must decide what he’s willing to do to protect the woman he loves.
A tale of three complex characters torn between chasing, betraying, and falling in love with each other, Warrior Princess Assassin marks the beginning of a thrilling new fantasy trilogy filled with enchantment, adventure, and passionate romance.
Rating: 5 stars
I have been reading Brigid Kemmerer since 2016, which was still a few years after she started releasing her Elemental series (which I still have in my physical–and digital–library because I enjoyed them so much, and I have read all but a couple of her books. The ones I haven’t read yet are on my TBR so it’s not because I don’t want to read them.
So naturally when I heard she had an adult debut coming out after so many wonderful YA adventures, I had to check it out. Thank you to Avon/HarperVoyager and NetGalley for allowing me to read this story. Even though about 90% of the books I request on NetGalley are books I’d buy and read anyway, it is nice to get to read it a bit early.
This book is definitely more of a character focused one, intertwining the relationships that exists and grows between our main trio, and each character is given fairly equal focus as the POV. I enjoyed watching the dynamics within the trio, but I admit that I was most fascinated by Ky and Asher.
There was a lot of risk of danger but I wouldn’t necessarily say that this was an action-packed story. There was enough intrigue and learning about different cultures and the court politics and such to keep me interested and trying to put all the pieces together to figure out who was behind the assassination order and why.
But the main thing that kept me absolutely engrossed in the story was the characters and the growing attraction and romance between all three of the main characters. We saw the development of Jory and Asher’s relationship, Jory and Ky’s relationship, Ky’s and Asher’s relationship, and the three together. There was such tension and build-up, so when we did get those steamier moments they felt earned.
Plus, with the way this book ended, I am definitely eagerly anticipating the announcement and release of the next book, because I need to know what happens next.
Well, that is all from me for today. Thank you so much for stopping by, and I’ll be back soon with more geeky content.
