A review by yviie_reads
The King Slayer by Virginia Boecker

4.0

I was lucky enough to win a signed ARC copy of Virginia Boecker's The King Slayer in a giveaway she hosted on Instagram and ... oh man, was I excited! I knew I had to read this book as soon as it comes out but with this early copy I was able to dive into Elizabeth's life sooner than expected, hurrah!

Since I haven't reread the first book, I was a little confused at the beginning - I only vaguely remember the things happening in The Witch Hunter and therefore had a hard time getting into it at first. However, the author manages to "retell" a few of the things that had happened so after a while it got easier and was more understandable.

At first, I was a bit let-down by John. I absolutely adored him in the first book and while I didn't expect (or liked, for that matter) the changes he went through I think they made sense. It also kind of explains why Elizabeth was acting the way she did when they all first met. I still wasn't a huge fan of it and John actually started to annoy me a little ... I mean, ugh. It's complicated. I love him but at times I wanted to smack him hard across the cheek and shake some sense into him! It was a rollercoaster with him, to be honest ... but I still like him a lot, really, and everything's good.

Elizabeth was likeable as usual, even though she also seemed ... confused (?) at times. I remember her being a badass and not giving a fuck but obviously the happenings of book 1 changed her and made her a different person - which I understand! She's still tough and kicks ass but, as with John, I wanted to punch her more than once. Her relationship with Schuyler was amazing though and I'm glad the author showed us more of them together - I'm a huuuuge fan of Schuyler and although I was desperate to read more about him and his past (I'm just so interested in this guy!!), I was pleased with what I got anyway. Could it have been more? Sure, but maybe there'll be a novella about him in the future? *hopes*

Virginia's writing was as addictive as in the first book - it's quick and easy to read but never gets bored, she always managed to keep me interested so that's a good thing! I was surprised at some of the plot twists and expected some others but overall it was a good mixture for me and constantly wanted to know more.

I'm not sure if I liked it more than the first book and even though the ending is good I'm ... torn? It's probably no spoiler when I say something significant is happening (duh) and, yes, it makes sense and some might even say it's a good (the only?) plan but ... no. NOO. I AM NOT OKAY WITH THIS. It just disturbed me how fast they were over those things - at least it seemed that way.

Would I still recommend this book? Heck yes! No book is perfect but I did enjoy The King Slayer a lot and therefore I'm glad I read this. Also, I just had to find out how things were going to end, obviously. If you liked the first book, definitely give this a go and if you haven't read it yet - what are you waiting for? It's a great duology with awesome characters and an interesting plot/setting that'll keep you interested this whole time!

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May 29th:
I highly enjoyed this book but am a little bit sad that it's the last one - I'm very much looking forward to novella(s) - SCHUYLER!!! - and hope they'll be as amazing as the books.