Crush the King (Crown of Shards Series #3)

by Jennifer Estep, Lauren Fortgang (Read by)

Overview

A fierce gladiator queen must face off against her enemies in an epic battle in this next thrilling installment of New York Times and USA Today bestselling author Jennifer Estep’s Crown of Shards series—an action-packed adventure full of magic, murderous machinations, courtly intrigue, and pulse-pounding romance.

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.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781094116877
Publisher:	HarperCollins Publishers
Publication date:	03/17/2020
Series:	Crown of Shards Series , #3
Product dimensions:	5.40(w) x 6.80(h) x 0.60(d)

About the Author

Jennifer Estep is a New York Times, USA Today, and internationally bestselling author who prowls the streets of her imagination in search of her next fantasy idea.

Lauren Fortgang is a New York City–based actor whose voice-over work includes video games, commercials, and live announcing. She has narrated roughly 160 unabridged audiobooks and has received recognition from AudioFile magazine, the Audio Publishers Association, the American Library Association, the Young Adult Library Services Association, USA Today, and Publishers Weekly.

Editorial Reviews

"CRUSH THE KING is a truly epic climax to a fantastic trilogy. With glittering pageantry, lethal magic, and political conniving among warring kingdoms, the story kept me rapt with anticipation—and the truly glorious ending satisfied in style. The Crown of Shards is an action-packed, magical ride, and I loved seeing Everleigh grow from hunted girl to confident queen. Long live the Winter Queen!”  — Jeffe Kennedy, RITA® Award Winning Author of The Orchid Throne

"Estep knows how to create strong and relatable fantasy female leads. Evie’s rise into her power in deeds and magic is a fabulous, inspiring read. Solid writing, bold characters, and action-filled sequences create an exciting finish for this trilogy."  — Library Journal

"Jennifer Estep’s Crown of Shards series is a fantasy lover’s thrill ride. Stunning magic, epic battles, masterful political plays, strong friendships, shocking twists, a touch of romance, and enemies to absolutely hate while others surprise you make this story unputdownable and one for the keeper shelf. Estep gives us a heroine to root for, whose bravery and cunning set her apart and whose compassion and loyalty will keep readers turning the pages to see what this remarkable leader will do next. Everleigh Blair isn’t only a Winter Queen; she’s an avalanche." — Amanda Bouchet, USA Today bestselling author of The Kingmaker Chronicles

"Betrayal put Everleigh Blair on the throne and treachery threatens to take her off. But Queen Everleigh survives the dangerous and vindictive courtly world and emerges a true Winter Queen - this is a gripping tale of one woman's survival and triumph."  — Julia London, New York Times and USA Today bestselling author of The Princess Plan

"Estep has crafted another winner... this addicting series remains a fun thrill a minute and is highly recommended." — Booklist

From the Publisher

"Estep has crafted another winner... this addicting series remains a fun thrill a minute and is highly recommended."

Booklist

"Betrayal put Everleigh Blair on the throne and treachery threatens to take her off. But Queen Everleigh survives the dangerous and vindictive courtly world and emerges a true Winter Queen - this is a gripping tale of one woman's survival and triumph." 

Julia London

"CRUSH THE KING is a truly epic climax to a fantastic trilogy. With glittering pageantry, lethal magic, and political conniving among warring kingdoms, the story kept me rapt with anticipation—and the truly glorious ending satisfied in style. The Crown of Shards is an action-packed, magical ride, and I loved seeing Everleigh grow from hunted girl to confident queen. Long live the Winter Queen!” 

Jeffe Kennedy

"Jennifer Estep’s Crown of Shards series is a fantasy lover’s thrill ride. Stunning magic, epic battles, masterful political plays, strong friendships, shocking twists, a touch of romance, and enemies to absolutely hate while others surprise you make this story unputdownable and one for the keeper shelf. Estep gives us a heroine to root for, whose bravery and cunning set her apart and whose compassion and loyalty will keep readers turning the pages to see what this remarkable leader will do next. Everleigh Blair isn’t only a Winter Queen; she’s an avalanche."

Amanda Bouchet

"Estep has crafted another winner... this addicting series remains a fun thrill a minute and is highly recommended."

Booklist

2020-01-13
Estep concludes her Crown of Shards trilogy (Protect the Prince, 2019, etc.) with a young warrior queen's long-delayed vengeance.

When the murder of Bellona's royal family set Evie on the path to claim the throne herself, she swore to kill the man responsible: evil King Maximus, of neighboring Morta. Now, after forming some alliances, she's ready for the task, as well as ready to keep fending off yet more attempts on her life. As in the previous books, the task of fighting magical assassins is made easier by Evie's unbeatable secret power of simply being immune to magic. Evie and her friends, the members of her former gladiator troupe, travel to the Regalia, a tournament of skill, with plans to use the festivities to confront and defeat Maximus—a villain so over-the-top in his sadism and arrogance that he's hard to take seriously. It's hard to take any of the threats Evie faces seriously either: Whether it's hordes of assassins, a magical tidal wave, or the supposed unmatched arcane power of Maximus himself, Evie's trump card—her magical immunity—continues to save the day. It's sadly predictable, as is the plot itself; the finale is telegraphed early on, and a supposed twist at the end is nonsensical. The supporting cast suffers, too: Lucas Sullivan, Evie's lover who drove much of Book 2, does nothing here but gaze at Evie with alternating lust or worry; Paloma, Evie's bodyguard, gets a potentially interesting subplot...that is resolved completely off-page. The endless descriptions of parties, dresses, attractive people—and the constant narrative claims that our heroine is supposedly good at intrigue—just add to the sense that we've been here before.

A disappointing conclusion to a series that certainly wants to be epic and edgy but only manages to settle into its own ruts.

Kirkus Reviews