The King Slayer is a truly satisfying end to a great duology.
Following the events of The Witch Hunter we have a stigma-free Elizabeth who is struggling with her newfound vulnerability while at the same time trying to help John adjust to the stigma and it's magic.

Elizabeth is a good example of a strong heroine. She works incredibly hard to build up her strength and is willing to sacrifice her own happiness in order to protect John and defeat Blackwell before he discovers that she no longer has her stigma. Trouble is, Blackwell is desperate and will stop at nothing to get what he wants.

Full of surprises and plenty of suspense, The King Slayer left me anxiously anticipating what was going to happen next. If you enjoyed the first book, you certainly don't want to miss this action-packed sequel!
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Never read a sequel so long after the first book. You end up forgetting everything.

Honestly that impacted my review/rating. I went through this vaguely remembering who was who, and so, I didn't really feel invested in any of the characters. Except maybe Schyuler, who was really funny and fun. The concept of revenants is pretty cool.

This was definitely more enjoyable than The Witch Hunter and more action packed, but there were so many characters to keep track of from the first book! I didn't remember anyone. Except the main characters.

I'm rather conflicted on my review... were I to reread the first book and then this, perhaps it would go up, or it might not. ( )

4.5 stars. Just as good as the first one. ( )

Review courtesy of Dark Faerie Tales

Quick & Dirty: A satisfying ending to a wonderful series. Filled with action, romance, and magic, it is definitely a must read for all high fantasy fans!

Opening Sentence: I sit on the edge of the bed waiting, the day I’ve feared for months finally here.

The Review:

Elizabeth was once the best Witch Hunter in the kingdom of Anglia, but she was convicted of witchcraft and sentenced to death. She was saved by the very people she used to hunt down and now she resides in the kingdom of Harrow. But war is knocking at the doorstep of the people Elizabeth now considers family and she will do whatever it takes to protect them.

Without her stigma Elizabeth has become vulnerable to pain and injury that she used to be able to easily avoid. Learning to fight without her stigma is exhausting, but it isn’t in her nature to give up! Her enemies have a tendency to underestimated her and Elizabeth will destroy Lord Blackwell or die trying!

Elizabeth is a wonderful heroine full of ambition, intelligence, and wit! I instantly reconnected with her and my love for her just continued to grow throughout the book. She is the type of person that puts her heart and soul into her goals and you can’t help but admire her. She would do anything to help the people she loves and she isn’t afraid of taking on the impossible. She is someone that knows how to take care of herself but at the same time she is humble enough to accept help from others when she needs it. If you can’t tell, I am a huge fan of Elizabeth’s and I think most readers will love her!

I had a little bit of mixed feelings about John. He has to face some really tough challenges in the book and at times it was hard to understand him. But even with his issues, I still loved certain things about him. He shows such amazing compassion to others and I find that so admirable! He also isn’t afraid to fight a seemly impossible battle. His relationship with Elizabeth is perfection. I loved the tension between them and the way they bring out the best in each other. Ultimately, I still loved John and I think he was a very swoon worthy book boy!

My favorite thing about this series was the cast of secondary characters. I’m not going to go into detail about them because there are so many but they were so crucial to the story. Each one of them helped to make this great story a fantastic story. They all played an invaluable part in the story and I loved each one of them!

The King Slayer is a fantastic finish to this wonderful duology. There was epic romance, action packed adventure, and a captivating world! I was a huge fan of The Witch Hunter and I am so happy to say that this was a very satisfying ending to the series. Even though I thoroughly enjoyed this book there were a couple of things that frustrates me a tad bit. I don’t want to give anything away so I’m not going to go into detail, but I did feel that there were a few things that could have been explained just a little bit better. I wouldn’t say it caused me to feel lost or confused but there were a few times that certain things felt out of place. There were also a couple of times where circumstances seemed a little too convenient. I am sad that the series has come to an end, but I can’t wait to see what Boecker comes out with next! She is such an amazing writer and I will gladly read anything she creates in the future! Overall, this was a fantastic story and even though it had a few flaws, I would still highly recommend it to any YA fantasy fans!!!

Notable Scene:

I’m reminded of the way he did that in the morning after we first went to Veda’s, dear I reacted the way I did in the tunnel been either cottage, remembering my final test, filled with so much fear I couldn’t stand, couldn’t walk, couldn’t do anything but curl into a ball. Reminded of how he carried me in his arms back to Nicholas’s, stayed with me all night. How, even then, he cared for me and away no one else had done before.

I’m also reminded of how none of this is easy for him. Nothing about me, or him and me, is simple. I know it would be easier if I had never come into his life at all. If he had stayed with Chime, if he preferred her over me. The guilt eats at me, but I can’t tell him this. Because if I do, it’ll be just one more burden he will take on for me, when he’s already taken on so many.

FTC Advisory: Little Brown provided me with a copy of The King Slayer. No goody bags, sponsorships, “material connections,” or bribes were exchanged for my review. ( )