She was born a princess. They made her an assassin.
Myrina of Stormskeep should be dead. The seven self-crowned, murderous kings of the Storm Queen’s Realm thought she was killed in their massacre. But Myrina lives, and while she draws breath, she plots their end:
One will seem an accident.Two a coincidence.By three, they will know.
But vengeance rarely goes according to plan. The worst of the … know.
But vengeance rarely goes according to plan. The worst of the kings holds her sister–rightful queen and heir to the kingdom–captive. If Lettie isn’t freed before she comes into her magic, the kings will hold her power as well.
Myrina can let nothing stop her. With the help of her loyal bloodsworn Cassius, the shadow princess will have her revenge.
Vowed to enact retribution and rescue her sister with no more than her wits and a sword–and the last of her queensguard–this sweet and slightly stabby YA fantasy is perfect for fans of Shielded and The Princess Will Save You.
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Seven Ways to Kill a King has a simple, point A to point B plot with only a handful of characters. I typically go for something a little more complex, but it only took me a few days to get through. Nevertheless, I enjoyed the journey.
Now, I am going to be completely honest; the blurb and the cover are what sold this book to me. We have a woman on the front who looks completely badass (and she totally is) as well as a nice little pitch in the blurb which says ‘For fans of The Witcher and Game of Thrones”. If you have been following me for any amount of time at all you’ll know The Witcher is one of my favourite things and apart from the season that shall not be named, GoT is something I have enjoyed – so much that it’s an inspiration for my next series. So this book should be a no brainer… right?
This story had SO much potential and I think if the pacing hadn’t been so slow in the beginning it would have drawn me in more. There was also a lack of on the page action. There was a section I had to re-read a couple of times to figure out what had actually happened because the action’s they’re talking about happened off-screen as it were.
There are so many things to love about the book, a hidden princess seeking revenge on the people who killed her mother. Putting an end to the evil kings tyranny. Then of course we have Cass, a bloodsworn, handsome man to help her with her tasks. But I wanted more. I was glad it wasn’t an insta-love and we saw them go from sworn duty, to friendship, and then to deep romantic feelings, but it didn’t go anywhere and that left me feeling a little disappointed. It would have been nice if something had happened. Maybe a small peck that they both then shy away from, but my heart got nothing.
It’s not a bad read, it just didn’t meet my internal expectations from when I read the blurb. We still get a protagonist trying to succeed in her quest for revenge, and there are twists and turns where their plans don’t go so well, which kept me on my toes.
It was enjoyable enough that I will pick up the next book if there is one. I enjoyed the authors writing very much and I loved how detailed the immediate world and blood magic were.
Honestly, I didn’t expect anything from this book and just wanted to enjoy it as it is but surprisingly it turned out to be so good. It was quite an enjoyable book to read, and one that I believe would help me get out of my reading slump because my reading slump has gotten worse since June.
This is a story about a long-lost princess trying to restore her mother’s kingdom by taking revenge on the lords-turn-kings for their betrayal. With the help of her guard and those who are loyal to her and her mother, she might’ve just succeeded in her mission to bring the kings down.
First of all, the storyline was excellent and solid. It tells the history of the seven realms and how the late queen ruled it compared to how the kings ruled it. It also included a few flashback scenes on how the kings got rid of the late queen, and how the long-lost princess escaped. It was a lot to take in but gladly it wasn’t too confusing. I enjoyed learning about the history of the Storm Queen’s Realm, the late queen, the vicious kings, and also about the long-lost princess. It was written excellently.
Secondly, I loved the whole idea of a long-lost princess coming back for revenge because that kind of concept is just so epic since it will involve a lot of planning on the princess part, and this will show how well and smart the princess is on planning her revenge. Another is because there will be a lot of dangerous missions which is interesting to see, and this will help showcase the princess fighting skills and how well she can handle the obstacles she will face in her missions. The way the author handled this concept and the princess character was mind-blowing and solid.
Thirdly, the plot. Can we please appreciate that this story doesn’t have any plot-holes, and that the consistency of the plot was strong from the beginning until the end? That was actually magnificent. Usually, it was hard to keep the plot consistent throughout the story especially when it comes to a fantasy story like this but the author of this book managed to handle it just fine without a problem. Major respect to the author for this.
Myrina also known as Miri is the long-lost princess of Stormskeep which is one of the cities in the Storm Queen’s Realm. Her journey in this book was harder than I thought. She wasn’t a damsel in distress kind of princess which is why I really liked her character. She was capable enough to handle things on her own, it was proven time and time again when she was planning her revenge and how well she execute her plans. It worked although she got caught 3 times but still she was successful. Never doubt a princess who’ve been train her whole life to fight in order to survive in the harsh world. She was smart, determined, strong, and is more of a leader than her older sister, Lettie.
Cass is the one who accompanied her throughout her journey and was the one who back her up in case things didn’t go the way she plan it to. I liked how patient he was with her the whole time and how he supported her in her revenge plan despite how much he disagreed with her and doubted her capability of making the plan successful. I totally understood him and why he was doubting Miri in the first place, but I was also happy to see him amazed by Miri’s successful missions and how proud he was of her later on. She did come a long way after all, and the fact that he was there to witness it all made it even better.
If some reader think he was useless, believe me when I said he wasn’t. He does have a heavy purpose which was to protect Miri considering he is a bloodsworn (someone who is loyal to the queen and only follow the queen’s words). Being a bloodsworn wasn’t easy, especially when it comes to the matter of the heart. His duty as a bloodsworn was a lot, but the main thing the story focus on was the one in which he had to protect Miri at all costs. He did a great job at protecting her actually.
Lastly, the villain. The story pointed at the kings being the villain (if you read the synopsis then you already know the kings are the big bad). Well, color me surprise when I found out the truth. Still, the kings are evil but the source of the evil is someone who helped the kings gain royal power in the first place, and that someone somehow turns out to be someone whom Miri has been trying to rescue ever since she started planning her revenge. The twist was suspenseful and was quite good actually. It always had to be someone everyone least suspected. That my friend is what I called as “big betrayal.” I’m not even sure how anyone can recover from that.
Now the romance. I loved a good slow-burn romance, and this book had it best. Cass and Miri already had a great chemistry, and the more time they’ve spent together, the closer they get. And the closer they get, the more their feelings for each other slowly developed into something a lot more romantic. I knew it was going to happen eventually. I was happy for them despite the difference in their level, and although both of them have their own duties, it still doesn’t stop them from pursuing a romantic relationship. They deserved it so much after all the things they had to go through together. It was written perfectly and their first kiss is the most beautiful scene I’ve ever read in the book.
I had so much fun reading this book and following the journey of Miri and Cass in this wonderfully-written fantasy story. As a standalone fantasy book, it was done excellently and no wonder it wasn’t a series or part of a series. The way the author wrote this amazing story proved that this book is good without having to have any continuation. I highly recommend this to those who love reading fantasy books with strong protagonists, plenty of good actions, and memorable story that will always stay with you.
I listened to this on audiobook, and this is my first book of Melissa Wright’s. I was highly anticipating the story, based on the premise of “a princess turned assassin”… first thought was “Oohhh, maybe she’ll be an Ariya!(GOT)”
The world building was done well, through the characters eyes & not looking at a map, though a few times it felt a little narrow-visioned.
The characters were nicely fleshed-out, and there’s even a slow-burn romance that’s believable.
The plot I think could’ve made a trilogy, or even a longer series. More than halfway through, I was already wondering at it being the 1st book of a series, because only 3 kings were taken out at that point. It made for a slower story in that aspect, though you get planning strategies & reflections after each assasination, which I felt were unusual and Ariya-like. I expected a little more action, but alas, it is a standalone, and wrap up by the end hit fast and furious. The epilogue was a nice touch. It was more light than I expected, and would work for YA readers, though there are a few instances of curse words such as “gods damned.”
Overall, I felt it was a great listen while I worked on a project. I’ll definetly read, or listen to, more from her!
The narrarator Fiona Hardingham, has an English accent, and took me, in my mind, to the UK for the story. I thought she did a good job.
I received this as a free code from the author in return for my honest opinion.
I think this book has a great premise. Not totally unique but one worthy of repeating if done well. Hidden princess coming out of hiding to seek revenge on the people who killed her mother and put her kingdom back to right as evil kings have lead in tyranny. Enter bloodsworn, handsome man to help princess through the process.
This was definitely a plot driven book. It was slow going for me at first but I could feel the build up as the story moved forward. Each assassin attempt brought greater risk and difficulty for Myrina. Things don’t usually go as planned and I liked how she and the other characters were frequently in tight spots, trying to get out. The best bits of the book for me were the sneaking, assassin attempts and the fighting. They author did a great job of creating tension with those. I was definitely interested in how the events would play out and the last third of the book was great as far as a climax of events.
My problem was that I didn’t connect to the characters emotionally. It was like I was on the outside looking in most of the time. I enjoyed the story well enough, I just wanted more of a connection. More emotion. The relationship between Miri and Cass lacked emotion too. No sparks at all. I cared about the story but I wasn’t invested in the characters.
3.5/5 stars for me.
Content: peril, violence, killing, kissing
– I received a complimentary copy of this book. All opinions expressed are my own.
Seven Ways to Kill a King is the first book I have read by Melissa Wright. It will not be the last. I found the writing and plot to be unique and refreshing. I really enjoyed Cass and Miri’s story. I admired the bravery and courage of Miri. The whole book was non stop action and adventure. I liked it.
I give Seven Ways to Kill a King four and a half stars. I think other readers will like it as much as me.
I received Seven Ways to Kill a King from the publisher. This review is one hundred percent my own honest opinion.
This book was ace ! Wright has given us another game of thrones . I would totally recommend this one !