Audio: Crush the King by Jennifer Esteop

By: Jennifer Estep

Narrated by: Lauren Fortgang

Series: A Crown of Shards Novel, Book 3

Length: 13 hrs and 59 mins

Release date: 03-17-20

Publisher: HarperAudio

Loan/fantasy

Since I still have my free trial I decided to continue to see how Evie fares.

We finally meet the Bellonan king, he seemed rather typical evil fantasy king. I felt that Evie had more chemistry with him than her husband, lol. His son though just seemed like a ahole. Oh the king was a sadistic ahole too, don´t get me wrong

Anyway they go away to a festival with all the other kingdoms. And the people holding them are some sort of Island Bank "kingdom". Though we never get why they are evil and what they want (other than being a real kingdom and not some sort of free trade state.)

But Evie succeeds in everything she does, and she has this evil masterplan that I figured out at once.

It is great fun, but really light (but bloody) fantasy. Evie is always in trouble and does stupid things but wins the day.

Good audio narration. There is a spin off series, but we will see. I did look at what it is about, but for some weird reason all the three books follows exactly the happenings in this series.

Queen Everleigh Blair of Bellona has survived the mass murder of the royal family, become a fearsome warrior trained by an elite gladiator troupe, and unleashed her ability to destroy magic. After surviving yet another assassination attempt orchestrated by the conniving king of Morta, Evie has had enough. It’s time to turn the tables and take the fight to her enemies. 

There is no better opportunity to strike than during the Regalia Games, a time when warriors, nobles, and royals from all the kingdoms come together to compete in various sporting events. With the help of her loyal friends, Evie goes on the attack at the Regalia, but things don’t turn out the way she hopes. Soon, she is facing a terrifying new threat, and she will have to dig deep and learn even more about her growing magic if she has any chance of defeating her foes.

Because to secure her throne and ensure her kingdom’s survival, Evie must think like a true Bellonan: she must outsmart and outwit her enemies . . . and crush the king.