Title: The King will Kill You
Author: Sarah Henning
Length: 356 pages
Genre: Fantasy; Young Adult; Romance; Retelling
Spice Level (if applicable): 1 / 5*
*Kisses
Series: The Kingdom of Sand and Sky #3
Overall Rating: 9.5 / 10
Overall Thoughts
What a roller coaster! As the third book in a trilogy, The King will Kill You, aims to answer questions, tie up loose ends, and finally give Amarande and Luca a fitting ending. The first half of the book was painful, as it seemed that nothing was going to work out for Amarande or Luca.
Sarah Henning writes her villains well. Surprisingly, other than the easy-to-identify human villains, a large antagonist for Amarande was patriarchy. She is constantly faced with challenges to her identity and her ability to rule. We also get to deal with Geneva finally since she got away at the end of the first book. For new readers, I won’t spoil the identity of this book’s antagonist, but they were properly annoying and threatening.
As a reader, I struggled through the first half of the book as I was frustrated with the constant obstacles for Amarande and Luca. However, once I reached the end, I was very satisfied and appreciated how the obstacles made the ending better.
I had a feeling that the patriarchy and the old kings would continue to make Ama’s life a living hell, and other than waging war, I did not see another way for Ama to keep her throne. I was not expecting Ama, and in combination with Luca, to pull the move they do. I love the ending, and we get a wedding!!
We have three romances in this book: Ama and Luca, Ferdinand and Osana, and Ula and Urtzi. We get to see Luca and Ama continue to strengthen their connection and relationship. I was so happy to see a deeper connection and more page-time for Ferdinand and Osana, and Ula and Urtzi. All the relationships in this book demonstrate kind, gentle but strong men falling for strong, whirlwind women.
” Why am I punished for being reasonable? I am punished for my sex. I am punished for whom I love. I am punished for my power, my weakness, my mere existence. I am so exhausted by it. “
Page 251
Illustration Discussion
The King will Kill You continues the theme with its stylized characters on the cover. The pose is similar to the first two, with Luca and Ama sharing the center stage. However, a new addition comes. While the first two covers don’t convey a sense of action in the characters’ positions, in the third book, we can feel the movement on the cover. We can sense a combative stance from our main characters, as Luca is bracing while unsheathing his sword while Ama is holding her dagger and sword.
Spoilers Bee-ware
You have been swarmed. Reading past this post means that you understand that you might spoil the book for yourself.
Stats + Facts
There are, on average, 6.4 pages per chapter.
There are so many characters in this book, and therefore, there are many perspective changes. A total of 48.
There were numerous kisses between the three couples. There were 9 kisses between Luca and Amarande, Ferdinand and Osana kissed 4 times, and 1 hand kiss between Ula and Urtzi.
I was expecting more fights and battles in the final book, but we only got 5 fight scenes. However, these fights were larger and were higher in page count.
Buzzing for Books 
One response to “The King will Kill You by Sarah Henning – Review”
[…] The Princess will Save You – Review The Queen will Betray You – Review The King will Will You – Review […]
LikeLike