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The Princess Knight by G.A. Aiken – Dual Review

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The Princess Knight (Scarred Earth Saga 2) by G.A. Aiken – Dual Review

 

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Description:
LONG LIVE THE QUEEN

Gemma Smythe dedicated her life to the glory of battle. With her fellow War Monks, she worshipped the war gods, rained destruction on her enemies, and raised the dead when the fancy took her. Until her sister Keeley became the prophesied Blacksmith Queen, and Gemma broke faith with her order to journey to the Amichai Mountain and fight by Keeley’s side.

The Amichai warriors are an unruly, never-to-be-tamed lot, especially their leader-in-waiting, Quinn. But when the War Monks declare support for Gemma’s ruthless younger sister Beatrix, the immaturity of her key ally is the least of Gemma’s problems. She has to get to the grand masters, dispel their grudge against her, and persuade them to fight for Keeley and justice. If her conviction can’t sway them, perhaps Quinn’s irritating, irreverent, clearly unhinged, ferocity will win the day

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Barb’s Review:
The Princess Knight by G.A. Aiken is the 2nd book in her The Scarred Earth Saga series. I am a big fan of G.A. Aiken (aka Shelly Laurenston), and as I have said before, I will read anything she writes; as she is one author who I look forward with high anticipation to read her books, which are fun, exciting, enjoyable and so much laughter along the way. The Princess Knight is no different, as always it is another one of Aiken/Laurenston’s trademark of wild, crazy and wonderful characters.

In The Princess Knight, Gemma (sister to previous book heroine, Keely) is the main focus, but the storyline continues, with Queen Keely, the wonderful Centaurs (Quinn, Caid, Laila) and Princess Gemma (she is a war monk). I have to say I absolutely loved the demon wolves, who are loyal and adore Keely.  The story picks up two years after Keely became Queen of the Western Lands, and Gemma protecting her sister from the evil Beatrix (Queen of the East). Gemma being a war monk, is always ready for danger and has no qualms of killing Beatrix.  I did get a kick out of their younger sister, Ainsley, who is excellent at shooting an arrow.  I hope she gets a story in one of the future books.

Quinn, our hero, drives Gemma crazy, but though he pushes her buttons, he is always there to protect her.  We know there is a slow built relationship developing, but romance is in the background.  I did love Quinn, as he was funny, annoying and totally adorable and he was perfect for Gemma.

What follows is a non-stop action adventure filled with bloody battles, deaths, intrigue, power struggles and so much humor that has us laughing even in serious situations.  With Gemma bringing her war monks to help Keely, we get to see witches, nuns, monks, warlock, assassins and Gemma’s dead horse who is wild but still alive (though missing various parts lol).  Ragna is another crazy leader of the war monks who help fight the upcoming battles, and her interactions with Gemma and Keely are a riot.

The Princess Knight was a fun filled, exciting amazing ride, with fantastic characters that G.A. Aiken creates so well. The epilogue blew my mind, and I so look forward to the next book in this series wondering where Aiken will take us. If you enjoy Aiken/ Laurenston, you need to be reading this series. 

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Sandy’s Review: THE PRINCESS KNIGHT is the second instalment in G.A. Aiken’s the SCARRED EARTH SAGA fantasy series. This is War monk Gemma Smythe, and centaur/Amichai warrior Quinn’s story line. THE PRINCESS KNIGHT can be read as a stand alone without any difficulty but for back story and cohesion I recommend reading the series in order.

Told from several third person perspectives THE PRINCESS KNIGHT follows War Monk Gemma Smythe two years after her strange and emotionless sister Beatrix became Queen of the East, and her blacksmith sister Keeley ascended to the throne as the Queen of the West. Always Keeley’s protector and guardian, Gemma would go on the hunt for Cyrus, one of the Old King’s sons, who is murdering monks, ransacking and destroying religious communes in an effort to steal artifacts for their magic and power. Along with Amichai Warrior Quinn, amassing a small entourage of warriors, witches, warlocks, assassins, nuns, monks, virgins, and a zombie horse, Gemma will discover that Cyrus is not the only enemy desperate for power but her sister Beatrix is tunneling forward to a land of dragons and magic.

THE PRINCESS KNIGHT follows several intersecting paths as Gemma and Keeley set into motion a series of events that will culminate in the discovery of a number of underground tunnels wherein Gemma and Keeley’s psychopathic sister Beatrix would eventually execute her plans to usurp power from neighboring lands.

As per G.A. Aiken’s style of writing, THE PRINCESS KNIGHT is awash in sarcasm, humor and snark, seamlessly blending paranormal with fantasy in a cross-country adventure that culminates with a wonderful twisty surprise. The humorous moments are giggle worthy; the back and forth snippy yet playful banter is fast and furious; the familial dysfunction so reminiscent of the author’s Dragonkin series, it feels like coming home.

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THE BLACKSMITH QUEEN by G.A. Aiken-Dual Review

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THE BLACKSMITH QUEEN (The Scarred Earth Saga #1) by G.A. Aiken-dual review

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ABOUT THE BOOK: Release Date August 27, 2019

When a prophesy brings war to the Land of the Black Hills, Keeley Smythe must join forces with a clan of mountain warriors who are really centaurs in a thrilling new fantasy romance series from New York Times bestselling author G.A. Aiken.

The Old King Is Dead

With the demise of the Old King, there’s a prophesy that a queen will ascend to the throne of the Black Hills. Bad news for the king’s sons, who are prepared to defend their birthright against all comers. But for blacksmith Keeley Smythe, war is great for business. Until it looks like the chosen queen will be Beatrix, her younger sister. Now it’s all Keeley can do to protect her family from the enraged royals.

Luckily, Keeley doesn’t have to fight alone. Because thundering to her aid comes a clan of kilt-wearing mountain warriors called the Amichai. Not the most socially adept group, but soldiers have never bothered Keeley, and rough, gruff Caid, actually seems to respect her. A good thing because the fierce warrior will be by her side for a much longer ride than any prophesy ever envisioned

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Sandy’s Review

THE BLACKSMITH QUEEN is the first instalment in G.A. Aiken’s THE SCARRED EARTH fantasy saga set in the world of Dragon King series. This is blacksmith Keeley Smythe, and Amichai warrior of the Scarred Earth Clan, Caid’s story line

Told from several third person perspectives including Caid and Keeley THE BLACKSMITH QUEEN follows Keeley Smythe as she is tasked with protecting her sister Beatrix, the prophesized queen but a task that sees Keeley fighting for her life. In an effort to take down the newly crowned king, Keeley must side with a group of mountain warriors that are so much more than they appear to be. Enter Caid, an Amichai warrior, and the man with whom Keeley will fall in love. What ensues is a cross country journey as Keeley and her ‘army’ must fight off marauding armies, dragons, elves, witches and dwarves, in an attempt to stop the destruction of villages, and annihilation of thousands of people.

Keeley Smythe comes from a long line of female blacksmiths-powerful, strong and talented females who know a thing or two about killing and fighting but not all of Keeley’s sisters are wanna-be blacksmiths, in fact one or two have ‘chosen’ to venture down a differing path, setting their sights on something more. With the recent death of the Old King, anarchy has ensued and Keeley must fight to protect the people she loves. Meeting Caid, one of the Amichai warriors finds our heroine siding with a people she had only heard about through mythology and tales. Caid and his family are a magical people but it is their ability to ‘shift’ that makes them powerful and fierce in the eyes of the enemy.

If you are a fan of the author’s Dragonkin series you will recognize many similarities and plot structures including the squabbling and battle-raged siblings, War monk, centaurs, mythological gods and powerful demon dogs, as well as he appearance of a dragon who spews lava to destroy those trying to take him down. There are a couple of references to the aforementioned series including the barbarians, the Dragon Queen, and of course the Mad Queen, herself.

There is a large ensemble cast of colorful and crazy secondary and supporting characters including Keeley’s twelve siblings and numerous cousins, uncles and extended family; the Amichai warriors of varying species, as well as the rather barbaric and power hungry royal family. The requisite evil has many faces.

THE BLACKSMITH QUEEN is a complex and detailed story that introduces a vast array of characters. Aiken’s trademark humor, sarcasm and snark is liberally sprinkled throughout the story but to a lesser degree than her other series. The relationship between Keeley and Caid is slow to develop, and the romance is limited but such is the nature of many fantasy story lines. The back and forth banter between siblings if oft-times crazy and disturbing but in the end, they will always protect the people they love.

 

Barb’s Review 

The Blacksmith Queen by G.A. Aiken is the first book in her new fantasy The Scarred Earth Saga series.  I am a huge fan of G.A. Aiken (Shelly Laurenston) and I will always read anything she writes. As I have said before, no one makes me laugh and enjoy her stories better than Laurenston/Aiken.   G.A. Aiken gives us the best dragons, that we love and laugh all the way.  So I anxiously awaited to read this new series that are not dragons, and happy to say that once again, Aiken has another winner.  I loved The Blacksmith Queen.

We meet our heroine, Keely Smythe immediately as she is fighting bad guys trying to hurt innocent people and or animals.  Keely is a blacksmith and is a very strong woman, who has a trusty huge hammer that she uses to fight with.  While in the midst of a fight, a group of mountain warriors come to help her; to her surprise, these warriors are Centaurs.   We meet three of the Centaurs that will play an important part of this series, Laila (the leader), Caid (the brother and future love interest for Keely, and Quinn (the other wild brother).  During the fight, the centaurs are thrown by a group of wolves who come out to help Keely, as they have red eyes and are demon wolves, and they seem totally loyal to Keely.

With the Old King of the land of the Black Hills having died, his sons are trying to kill each other to become the king. When the Centaurs follow Keely home, they will meet her family, including one of her sisters, Beatrix.  Prophecy reveals that a queen will ascent to the throne of Black Hills, the Centaurs explain they are there not only here to protect them, but to take Beatrix to the witches confirming that she is the new Queen.  Keely, her cousin Keran, and her just returned older sister, Gemma (who is a war monk) will take the trip to the witches with the Centaurs and Beatrix.  There are some shocking twists and betrayals very early on, pitting Beatrix and Keely as opposing Queens (the witches claim there are two queens).

Keely spending most of her life protecting her family, is shocked at Beatrix betrayal, but the centaurs, Gemma, the animals (who love Keely) will convince her to accept her calling and be ready to fight to save them all.  To tell too much more would be spoilers, as most of what I described is early on. 

The Blacksmith Queen is another one of Aiken’s wild crazy exciting and fun adventures.  Caid slowly finds himself attracted to Keely, and a slow build romance will start, but mostly in the background.  I suspect in future books, we will see the romance escalate.

As is tradition in any book by Aiken, we have some wild characters that we come to love. I loved Keely and her family and friends; Gemma was tough, but in time she makes a great addition to Keely’s team, and I adored the Centaurs, including Caid, Laila, Quinn, their mother and father.  Of course, I loved the wolves always by her side.

The Blacksmith Queen was a fun filled amazing ride, with a number of strong (not to mention crazy) characters.  I look forward to the next book of this series to see where Aiken will take us in this wonderful world building.  If you have loved Aiken/Laurenston previous books, do not hesitate to read The Blacksmith Queen.

 

Copy supplied by Netgalley

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