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Protect the Prince

by Jennifer Estep
Harper Voyager. (Crown of Shards, Bk. 2). Jul. 2019. 448p. ISBN 9780062797643. pap. $16.99; ebk. ISBN 9780062797650. FANTASY
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Everleigh Blair, 17th in line to the throne and the last member of her family, has become the Winter Queen of Bellona. But her problems have just begun. The nobles still look down on her, and an assassination attempt happens right in her throne room. To protect her people, Evie travels to the province of Andvari in hopes of securing an alliance against the Mortan kingdom, but there she's held in contempt, as many Andvarians, including Crown Prince Frederich, died in the Seven Spire massacre. The only way to secure an alliance now may be to marry the new crown prince, Dominic, despite feelings for the Andvarian king's bastard son, Lucas Sullivan, that may or may not be returned. There is trouble brewing in the Andvarian palace, as assassins make their presence known, and Evie's magic immunity starts acting weirdly. Is she strong enough to be a Winter Queen? There's not much time left to find out.
VERDICT Estep ("Elemental Assassin" series) follows up Kill the Queen with a tale as action- and character-driven as its predecessor, proving that strong female protagonists are still in fine form.
Reviewed by Kristi Chadwick, Massachusetts Lib. Syst., Northampton , May 01, 2019
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