Overall Thoughts
As a series, I enjoyed every step of this journey. Watching the characters, especially Luca and Amarande, grow up and mature. We saw Princess Amarande temper her spontaneity while Luca grew into his Kingdom and inheritance.
In my singular book reviews, I have spoken about the book titles and their connection to the storyline. “The Princess Will Save You,” “The Queen Will Betray You,” and “The King Will Kill You” were the first reasons why I picked up this book. The first book’s title was easy to understand and very clear once I picked up the book, that Amarande was going to be saving someone, that someone ends up being her childhood friend and love, Luca. It was a good spin on the Princess Bride, with a little gender-bending of a classic tale. In the second book, it is obvious that a queen will betray the characters, but Henning introduces two possible queens: the Runaway Queen Geneva and Queen Ines. I did spend a considerable time guessing which queen would commit the betrayal. At the end of the second book, we get a hint that Prince Renard (now a King) is back from his death-like slumber and gearing up for revenge. Leading perfectly into the third book, in which a King will try to kill you!
The antagonists in this series were numerous. As readers, we were faced with political obstacles, challenging royal families and family members, gender and succession issues, and murderous individuals. I was not expecting patriarchy and gender stereotypes to be a constant challenge for Amarande, but I was all for it. It was frustrating to read at times, but oh so sweet when Amarande got back at the council for constantly screwing her over.
Of all the characters, I especially enjoyed the refreshing take on a good sibling relationship. Ferdinand was an awesome younger brother to Amarande, even though he never grew up with her and had no reason to be so nice (especially with his mother speaking and doing horrible things as the Warlord!). Luca was so devoted to Amarande, and vice versa as Amarande was devoted to Luca. They were (from the very beginning!) devoted to each other and had each other’s back no matter the situation.
I am a sucker for romance (it is one reason why I love picking up a book). That being said, we have three amazing relationships in this book. Luca and Amarande (the main one), Ula and Urtzi as a surprising couple but so satisfying, and Osana and Ferdinand (a surprisingly sweet relationship that existed before the first book).
Illustration Discussion – Comparison
The covers of the books follow the character progression of Princess Amarande and Luca. We witness Luca’s transformation from a stable boy to a warrior king depicted on the cover. In “The Princess Will Save You,” Princess Amarande is shown protecting Luca and standing in front. In “Queen Will Betray You,” Ama and Luca embark on separate quests, but we still see their connection as they hold hands. By the conclusion of the trilogy, “The King Will Kill You,” both Ama and Luca are depicted in armor, facing an unseen threat while standing united. The theme of unity is prevalent throughout the Kingdoms of Sand and Sky trilogy.
Two of the books (the first and the third) have weapons depicted on their covers, which makes sense given their content. The second book does have conflict, but it is much more focused on political conflicts and struggles.
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
Page Count:The Princess will Save You has 348 pages;the Queen will Betray You has 358 pages; and the King will Kill You has 353 pages. Totalling the page count of the series at 1,059 pages.
Pages per Chapter: The Princess will Save You had 6.5 pages. The Queen will Betray You had 5.5 pages. The King will Kill You had 6.4 pages.
Point – of – View (POVs) Switches: The Princess will Save You had 34 switches. The Queen will Betray You had 47 switches. King will Kill You had 48 switches.
Fights: The Princess will Save You had 8 fight scenes. The Queen will Betray You had 7 fights.The King will Kill You had 5 fights.
Romantic Moments: The Princess will Save You had 17 moments. The Queen will Betray You had 14 moments. The King will Kill You had 14 moments.
Kisses: The Princess will Save You had 4 kisses. The Queen will Betray You had 7 kisses. The King will Kill You had multiple couples with different stats. Between Luca and Amarande there were 9 kisses. Ferdinand and Osana had 4 kisses, while Ula and Urtzi shared 1 kiss.
Buzzing for Books 