ARC Review: The King Slayer by Virginia Boecker

Title: The King Slayer
Author: Virginia Boecker
Series: The Witch Hunter #2
Publication: June 14th 2016 by Little, Brown Books for Young Readers
Genre: Young Adult ~ Fantasy
Purchase: Amazon | Barnes & Noble | Book Depository | Google Play | Kobo
Rating: 4/5

 

Former witch hunter Elizabeth Grey is hiding within the magically protected village of Harrow, evading the price put on her head by Lord Blackwell, the usurper king of Anglia. Their last encounter left Blackwell ruined, but his thirst for power grows stronger every day. He's readying for a war against those who would resist his rule--namely Elizabeth and the witches, wizards, pirates, and healers she now calls her friends.

Having lost her stigma, a magical source of protection and healing, Elizabeth's strength is tested both physically and emotionally. War always means sacrifice, and as the lines between good and evil blur once more, Elizabeth must decide just how far she'll go to save those she loves.

In this sequel to The Witch Hunter, Virginia Boecker delivers a powerful story full of action, suspense, camaraderie, and romance.

My god, I absolutely loved The King Slayer. With a sequel you never quite know what you're getting. It can be either really great or turn out disappointing. This book definitely exceeded my expectations. 

One thing showing that this book was just as good as its predecessor was how fast I read it. It took me less than two days. It was so hard to stop reading, so addictive!

In this book everything is different for Elizabeth Grey. She doesn't have her stigma anymore so she's more vulnerable than ever. The people in Harrow are suspicious of her because of her past as a witch hunter. Luckily she still has John. Although, because he has Elizabeth's stigma he is unmistakably changing into someone she doesn't recognize anymore. And more than that, war is coming with Blackwell and sacrifices are needed.

How I love Elizabeth. She is practically the epitome of a heroine. She had a tragic past but can kick some serious ass and is willing to sacrifice herself for her friends if needed. I also have learned to love John. I wasn't a fan of him and Elizabeth in the last book but that all has changed in this one. I really love him now, even though for the better part of the book he was changing a lot. And I especially love his and Elizabeth relationship. Just... *swoon*

The secondary characters were also all so so great. Peter, Fifer, Schuyler and some of the new characters made me smile. I even enjoyed the part where Blackwell, even as he was, came in. Gotta love an evil villain. I just wish we had seen more of George. I love him to bits and pieces but he wasn't much in this book. Of course he was doing something important but still... 

The end sure was an explosive one. The battle at the end definitely left a great impression with me. It was super epic! The story does keep being suspensful until the very end and I was really anxious because I wasn't sure it would end well, to be honest. But in the end, I'm very pleased with how the story turned out and which characters survived. 

As much as I loved the first book, I loved The King Slayer even more. It was suspenseful full of surprising twists, with a bit of swoony romance. It definitely was a great ending to this duology. 

       About the Author:

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Virginia Boecker recently spent four years in London obsessing over English medieval history, which formed the basis of The Witch Hunter. She now lives in Portland, Oregon with her husband and spends her days writing, reading, running, and chasing around her two children and a dog named George. In addition to English kings, nine-day queens, and Protestant princesses, her other obsessions include The Smiths, art museums, champagne, and Chapstick. She is represented by the incomparable Kathleen Ortiz at New Leaf Literary & Media.