Protect the Prince (A Crown of Shards Novel)

After killing the evil Queen Vasilia in Kill The Queen, the first installment of Jennifer Estep’s Crown of Shards trilogy, Everleigh thinks her problems are over. But in the second book, Protect The Prince, they’ve only just begun. Everleigh encounters conniving noblemen and Mortan assassins at every turn. Will she ever be able to bring peace to Bellona? A trip to neighboring Andvari offers hope. Armed with her immunity to magic and a handful of friends, Everleigh must discover those who want her dead before chaos overwhelms both Andvari and Bellona.

Everleigh’s attitude undergoes a major change from the first book to the second; she seems to go off the rails, attempting to curb her temper and failing, and storming out of rooms whenever possible. It was tiring, and I wished for one of the assassination attempts on Everleigh to succeed, if only to put me out of my misery as a reader.

Readers who enjoy the familiar fantasy trope of a princess with a lost/unstable kingdom and hidden evil will enjoy this series. Works from authors such as Laura Sebastian, Victoria Aveyard, or Sarah J. Maas are similar. It can be found, not among the young adult novels, but rather in the adult sci-fi/fantasy section, likely because of its mild sexual content and gratuitous use of the f-word.

Protect The Prince will be satisfying to those who like the feel of a familiar story.