Title Seven Ways to Kill a King
Author Melissa Wright
Description
She was born a princess. They made her an assassin.
One was an accident. Two a coincidence. By three, they would know. It would be harder, but I would avenge my mother’s death. These kings would pay that price.
Seven cities make up the Storm Queen’s Realm, each of their self-crowned, murderous kings are one of Princess Myrina’s marks. The treasonous curs may have banded together to share a stolen throne, but soon they will fall.
They thought her dead, killed in the massacre. They thought their rule secure, but Myrina of Stormskeep has awoken. With the help of her loyal bloodsworn, the shadow princess will have her revenge.
Release Date September 1, 2020
Initial Thoughts
I saw this book all over Instagram at the end of August and saw the Kindle price was pretty low. I decided to check it out since the premise seemed right up my alley.
Some Things I Liked
- Princess turned assassin. I liked Miri’s character and I thought she had a lot of potential. She was strong, fearless, and determined and made for a great lead.
- Romance. I liked the romance plot with Miri and Cass. For a shorter novel, I was surprised at how much development it had.
Some Thing I Wasn’t Crazy About
- The length. A ton happened in very few pages. I got to about 40% finished and realized that Miri and Cass had yet to kill the first king. In a book of approximately 260 pages, there was less than 150 pages left to assassinate 7 kings, take her throne back, and tie up all the loose ends. I didn’t think it was possible to do that well, and I was correct. The second half of the story was very rushed.
- Lots of downtime. Much of the story was spent regrouping or recovering from the various assassinations and I found those parts of the story to drag. It took me almost three weeks to finish this book because of those lulls.
Series Value
I think this would have been much better as a series. Although there were parts that dragged, there were also parts that were rushed. I think the pacing could have been better if Miri attempted to take her throne back over a few books. This would have allowed for more plot and relationship development.
Final Thoughts
I really wanted to love this book. I liked it, but I think it has some sizable flaws. The fact that it took me so long to read it was a mark that it was not as enjoyable as I wanted it to be. I wasn’t reading slowly because I was savoring the story, I was reading slowly because the story didn’t have my attention.
⭐️⭐️⭐️
Recommendations for Further Reading
- Throne of Glass by Sarah J. Maas – if you liked the assassin theme in this story as well as the complex structure of the kingdom, try this series by the queen of fantasy, SJM.
- Air Awakens by Elise Kova – again, if you enjoyed the world building but are looking for a longer series, try this five book series with a five book spin off series.
Books Over Everything 