Jennifer Estep

"Kill The Queen" is an intrigue-filled, action-packed romp, set in a classic fairy-tale setting, with castles and princesses, except that some of these princesses hold lightning in one hand and sword in the other.

In this world, ruthless, magic-wielding royals rule, gladiators fight to the death to entertain the crowds and creatures that morph into beasts, dragons and ogres attend royal courts. This is not a happy ever after kind of place. Here the poisonous politics have deadly consequences show more and the blood and guts spilt by blade weapons are vividly described.

At the centre of the book is a pay-no-attention-to-me minor princess who has spent her orphaned life hiding her power and doing her best to seem harmless but who now finds herself running for her life and seeking revenge for her murdered family. She is a princess we can all cheer for: brave but broken, modest but charismatic, rage-filled and lethal.

Although the book starts a little slowly, in order to establish the fairly large cast of characters, it is most fast-paced, lunging from one nail-bitingly tense crisis to the next. I love the way the plot let me guess the next crisis while keeping the Princess blind, which made me feel insightful, yet was complex enough that I couldn't guess how the crisis would be averted, which made me keen to read more.

This is the best Jennifer Estep book I've read, I have great hopes for this series.

I recommend the audiobook version of "Kill The Queen". show less

I can see that this book is fun in the same way that I can see that watching a match in a sports bar or dancing at a rave or driving a racing car is fun, but like them, it's not my kind of fun.

What makes it fun?

Well, the idea of Section 47, a secret US government organisation set up to carry out covert, extrajudicial killings of paranormals around the world judged by the US to be terrorists, has legs. Telling the story by alternating between the viewpoint of the analyst and the assassin show more added energy and humour and built up the suspense around what each of them is yet to discover about the other. The plot is motivated by personal revenge, concealed behind a mission to protect the world from an evil creator and broker of paranormal weapons. Things are complicated by the initial antagonism between the analyst and assassin who needs her to carry out his revenge and by the presence of a traitor somewhere in Section 47 There's a fair amount of violence. I'm 38% through and haven't reached the first set-piece covert op yet and already I have four people killed in close combat and one flashback death scene following an IED explosion. The people are pretty and the dialogue and interior monologues are full of snark.

Why isn't it my kind of fun?

I remain too stubbornly serious to let myself enjoy this book the way I can see that it's meant to be enjoyed.

The main characters are unrelentingly attractive. This attractiveness is described in detail. I know this should be helping me slide into a Will they? Won't they? or, more likely, a When will they? And will they regret it? sexual tension thing but it just has me rolling my eyes and wondering why there are no paranormals who look just like everyone else? Wouldn't that be an advantage in an Assassin? Do you really want to be giving off a tall, dark and dangerous vibe when you're carrying out a covert op?

As for the sexual attraction thing, I don't buy it. These guys are in their thirties. They kill people for a living. They have major life challenges in front of them. And they let themselves get distracted by how sexy someone's eyes are or how tightly built their bodies are? Haven't they grown out of that stuff yet?

Then there's the politics. The book doesn't have any,.but my nature abhors a political vacuum so, as I listen to the two insiders disclose their experience of working in Section 47, I get distracted from the clothes and the sexy people in them and the powers that they have by wondering what it means that neither of them doubts for a moment the right of Section 47 to kill on command. That that is taken for granted is one of the scariest things in the book. The analyst is supposed to be very good at spotting patterns. She tells me that only 1% of the population are paranormals but she never questions how it came to be that the US government has somehow leashed a whole bunch of paranormals and turned them into lethal attack dogs to use against other paranormals. The assassin and the analyst are both 'Legacy' members of Section 47, meaning that they were guaranteed a job because previous generations of their family served in Section 47. Neither of them questions this nor recognises it as nepotism nor reflects on how nepotism distorts the culture of an organisation over time.

I can see that enjoying the book hangs on liking the two main characters and cheering them on both in defeating the bad guys and in getting together as a couple or, at least, wanting to get together as a couple. I don't like the assassin. He's manipulative. Dishonest with himself and others. He kills without compunction or remorse. He uses honesty and intimacy as currency used to buy compliance. He masks his rage-driven need to kill behind a mawkishly sentimental memory of the death of a friend without admitting to himself that he's mostly motivated by the damage to his self-image that he a sustained when he couldn't prevent his friend from dying. Not an easy guy for me to cheer for.

So this book is not for me but...

...if you want a paranormal thriller about a sexy revenge-driven assassin and a sexy not-ready-to-trust-anyone analyst going up against violent paranormal super-villains while having a traitor in their ranks, you should have a lot of fun with this one.

Meanwhile, I'll go back to being the only guy in the sports bar sitting alone, listening to my audiobook through my noise-cancelling headphones as I sip my Guinness. show less

"What are you thinking about?" he [Finn] asked. "Nothing much. I‘m just wondering how exactly I went from being the Spider to the Robin fucking Hood of the greater Ashland area. Three months ago, I was killing people for money. Lots of money. Buckets of it. Now, tell me a good sob story instead and I‘ll take care of all your problems for free. Instead of stealing from the rich, I‘m stabbing them to death for the poor."

LMAO! The best book so far. The plot progresses nicely with the show more arrival of Detective Bria Coolidge, Gin's long lost sister who replaces Donovan after he left in Web of Lies. With her arrival, Mab is alerted to her survival after her attack on their family all those years ago. Mab will do everything she can to get rid of Bria and so Gin takes drastic action to distract her enough to forget her and focus on the Spider. Goodbye retirement.

I was quite impressed with how good this third book was. I love Bria and Owen. They both surprised Gin in being tougher than she expected after her negative experiences with Donovan as an uncorrupted cop and as a lover. I'm looking forward to the new war on Mab and dealing with her hired assassins in [b:Tangled Threads|8318237|Tangled Threads (Elemental Assassin, #4)|Jennifer Estep|http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1280371090s/8318237.jpg|13167517] but the thing I'm most looking forward to is the moment Gin reveals all to her baby sister and how she'll deal with it. show less

Initial Thoughts: “I have been relatively vocal on social media lately about how I am channeling all of my anger and frustration – about work, about the government, etc. – into my reading. The bloodier the story and the angrier the hero, the more I am enjoying the story. Before this, I was somewhat cautious in the types of novels towards which I was gravitating. However, with a title like Kill the Queen, there is no circumspection. The title says it all, and I loved every page of it. show more There is rage – cold, bright rage fueled by years of torment and petty tortures. There is violence; we are talking about a society founded by a gladiator in which the gladiatorial battles still are the highest form of entertainment. Magic, political backstabbing (in the literal sense), a fantastic training montage, and great characters round out this entertaining story. It fit what I need in novels right now and is, in general, an excellent story. I am excited to see where the series goes next.”

Now: Kill the Queen satisfies on so many levels, and I find myself thinking about that feeling of empowerment and righteousness I had while reading it. Evie’s past, in particular, struck a chord with me, and the fact that she gets to confront her childhood torturer and nemesis is something about which I can only dream. Evie’s growth from self-effacing royal to mighty gladiator is inspiring because she does it all through hard work. She may have a network of the best trainers, but the progress she makes is due to her grit and determination. You can have the best trainers in the world, but they won’t do any good if you are not willing to put forth the time and effort. Evie is more than willing to do so, and I love her for it.

One of the reasons why I find novels such as Kill the Queen comforting these days is the fact that they tend to follow a David and Goliath type plot. I take great comfort in seeing the underdog win at any time, but these days such stories take on greater importance. At a time when it feels like the country’s slide towards fascism and a puppet dictatorship is happening with ever-increasing speed, they remind me of what is possible with the right amount of determination and support. It does not matter that the hero uses magic. It does not matter if the hero is fabulously wealthy or without a penny to his or her name. All that matters is that they act in good conscience and bring down the big bad. When that happens, I feel hopeful that the citizens of the United States can turn the tide and take power away from the old, wealthy, white boys club that makes up the legislative and executive branches of the government.

The violence in such stories is satisfying much in the same way that screaming or throwing something in frustration is satisfying. It provides an ideal outlet through which I can channel my ever-increasing anger at the headlines and soothes an urge – however irrational – I have to see every last Republican strung up by their toes and flogged. If reading allows you to visit new worlds and explore other countries, reading also provides a cheaper alternative to therapy and prevents any jail time. show less