King Slayer by Virgina Boecker Blog Tour

The King Slayer by Virginia Boecker
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Published by Little, Brown Books for Young Readers on June 14th 2016
Genres: Action & Adventure, Fantasy, Fantasy & Magic, General, Historical, Love & Romance, Romance, Wizards & Witches, Young Adult, Young Adult Fiction
Pages: 384
Format: ARC

"I think, in time, you'll either be my greatest mistake or my greatest victory."

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 and wizards she now calls her allies.

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.

The King Slayer by Virginia Boecker is the final book in The Witch Hunter duology and if you haven’t read book one, definitely go do that soon. I loved book one so much and it’s fair to say that The King Slayer was one of my must have books to get from ALA. I will do my best not to put any spoilers out there but please know that if you haven’t read book one, I can’t promise the same.

Elizabeth was once one of the King’s best witch hunters but when things go very wrong for her, she ends up partnering up with the people she was once tasked with hunting down. As The King Slayer picks up where book one ended, we know that Elizabeth is now missing the protection and strength that her stigma gave her. What it hasn’t changed is her strength to fight and protect the people she loves and cares about. I love this about her and while it creates a lot of heartache and she continues to put herself in the path of danger, she doesn’t do it without purpose.

The relationship Elizabeth has with those around her is still a sensitive one. While she has stepped up to protect Nicholas, John, and everyone else as needed, she is still someone who did Blackwell’s bidding and most people in Harrow find it hard to trust her completely. The exception would be the group from book one. Fifer and Elizabeth are in a much better place and while things happen in this book that test their friendship and the trust Fifer has for Elizabeth, in the end they are still there for each other and will do what they can to protect each other. And take my word for it, Elizabeth really tests the friendships she has built over the course of her time with them.

I want to take a moment to talk about John and Elizabeth. I love these two together and Boecker had me worried for them throughout the entire book. There are good times for them and there are definitely tough times and as the story nears the end, I wasn’t even sure where Boecker was going to take their story. I’m not going to say anything more on this but the one thing I will say is that I still really love these two and while Boecker challenged them both (together and alone) they both showed growth throughout the story and came out better for it in the end.

Speaking of Blackwell, now that he has taken the throne from the King, things are even more dangerous for Elizabeth. Blackwell doesn’t know she doesn’t have her stigma anymore and he wants her back. Of course, Elizabeth will do everything in her power to make sure he doesn’t find out what has happened and Blackwell has done something she never imagined he would do (UGH – I suck for doing that but…he really did!!).

As war looms and eventually comes, things change for all of these characters and Boecker definitely keeps things moving by loading the story up with a lot of action, great characters, and of course, magic. When things come to a head, no one is safe and as we near the end, Elizabeth is determined to figure out what Blackwell has planned and how she is going to stop him.

That’s about all I can say without giving anything away. If you haven’t started this series yet, I encourage you to do so. I really enjoyed it as it had everything I enjoy in good books and once I started, I found myself unable/unwilling to put the book down until I reached the end. I am for sure interested in what Boecker will write next and will be keeping an eye out. Go get this one my friends…I don’t think you will be disappointed.

Thank you to the publisher for the review copy!

About Virginia Boecker

Virginia Boecker is the author of The Witch Hunter series and An Assassin's Guide to Love and Treason. A graduate of the University of Texas, she had a decade-long career in technology before quitting to become a full-time writer. When she isn't writing, Virginia likes running, reading, traveling, and trying new things (most recently: learning to drive a boat). She has lived all over the world but currently resides in beautiful Lake Oswego, Oregon with her husband, children, a dog called George and a cat named Thomas.

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