#Review: REALM OF KINGS by Thea Atkinson

 

 5 of 5 stars

Whoa--hold on to your hats with this 4th installment in the Iron King's Assassin series. Master storyteller Ms. Atkinson has quite a few surprises in this book that will keep you on the edge of your seat. Be prepared for the most daunting roller coaster ride you've ever been on, with one twist and turn after another.

Our girl Ava has been through the wringer lately and things are going to get a lot worse for our reluctant assassin. The Shadow Court's mob boss, Terran, is still determined to have Ava assassinate King Ferranus even though it means a death sentence for her. Terran is ruthless and doesn't care one whit for her well-being, but the dark enforcer certainly does. Blade has vowed to keep Ava safe and she wonders what that entails exactly. In the last book, Ava's feelings toward Blade were changing from murderous to something else, but what exactly? Is she falling in love with the hellhound, or more importantly, does she even have the capacity to love after the drug-addicted and vicious life she'd led up to this point.

One thing is clear. The most important thing to Ava is keeping her sister, Kit, safe from harm's way especially now that Flint has brought Kit into the Fae world. Kit has fallen hard for the gorgeous Fae and refuses to listen to Ava when she tries to explain how dangerous Flint is. To keep Ava in line, Terran plans on sending Kit with the Shadow Court entourage when they go to the king's celebration. Now Ava is in a quandary. How can she keep her sister safe without compromising the mission? Can she even keep herself safe? And what about the other brother, Stone? Ava was once attracted to Blade's gorgeous Fae brother, but has that attraction waned? Can she count on him as a friend?

There is so much more to unpack about this story, and I could go on and on about how much I love this series, but suffice it to say that this series does not disappoint. There is a momentous surprise near the end of the book that I never saw coming and I sat in shock as I read it. It was absolutely brilliant!!

This story is dark, with heart-pounding excitement, and will definitely get your adrenaline pumping. I voluntarily read the advanced reader copy, and all opinions are my own.