Jennifer Estep

USA TODAY Bestseller! Magic, murder, adventure, and romance combine in this second novel in the exciting Crown of Shards saga from New York Times and USA Today bestselling author Jennifer Estep. Everleigh Blair might be the new gladiator queen of Bellona, but her problems are far from over. First, Evie has to deal with a court full of arrogant, demanding nobles, all of whom want to get their greedy hands on her crown. As if that wasn’t bad enough, an assassin tries to kill Evie in her own throne room. Despite the dangers, Evie goes ahead with a scheduled trip to the neighboring kingdom of Andvari in order to secure a desperately needed alliance. But complicating matters is the stubborn Andvarian king, who wants to punish Evie for the deaths of his countrymen during the Seven Spire massacre. Dark forces are also at work inside the Andvarian palace, and Evie soon realizes that no one is safe. Worse, her immunity to magic starts acting in strange, unexpected ways, which makes Evie wonder whether she is truly strong enough to be a Winter Queen. Evie’s magic, life, and crown aren’t the only things in danger—so is her heart, thanks to Lucas Sullivan, the Andvarian king’s bastard son and Evie’s … well, Evie isn’t quite sure what Sullivan is to her. Only one thing is certain—protecting a prince might be even harder than killing a queen…

Protect the Prince

Magic, murder, adventure, and romance combine in this second novel in the exciting Crown of Shards saga from New York Times and USA Today bestselling author Jennifer Estep. Everleigh Blair might be the new gladiator queen of Bellona, but her problems are far from over. First, Evie has to deal with a court full of arrogant, demanding nobles, all of whom want to get their greedy hands on her crown. As if that wasn’t bad enough, an assassin tries to kill Evie in her own throne room. Despite the dangers, Evie goes ahead with a scheduled trip to the neighboring kingdom of Andvari in order to secure a desperately needed alliance. But complicating matters is the stubborn Andvarian king, who wants to punish Evie for the deaths of his countrymen during the Seven Spire massacre. Dark forces are also at work inside the Andvarian palace, and Evie soon realizes that no one is safe. Worse, her immunity to magic starts acting in strange, unexpected ways, which makes Evie wonder whether she is truly strong enough to be a Winter Queen. Evie’s magic, life, and crown aren’t the only things in danger—so is her heart, thanks to Lucas Sullivan, the Andvarian king’s bastard son and Evie’s … well, Evie isn’t quite sure what Sullivan is to her. Only one thing is certain—protecting a prince might be even harder than killing a queen…

Nickie Mohler

I loved this as much as the first one. The only reason it isn't 5 stars is because of the predictability and the amount of romance. That being said, I still love this series.
I love these characters. I love the magic. 
These are just fast-paced, fun reads. I can't wait for the next one.

Zoë 

Jennifer estep has a writing style that grabs you immediately and you want to read on right away. She succeeded in the second part, everything was easy to understand. The 5th star was for the end. My heart has melted 🥺

Southern Today Gone Tomorrow

Written by Jennifer Estep, Protect the Prince is the second novel in the Crown of Shards series, and picks up with Evie as the queen a few months after the fight, as she and her friends are about to depart for Andvari to broker a new treaty. However, she is still struggling with her feelings for Sully, despite the fact that he insists that they can never be, and this is the country ruled by his father and where Sully is a bastard prince.

This novel did a good job of being consistent with Kill the Queen in writing style and keeping the characters interesting. The author brings Palomina forward as a main character from a support, and we get to learn a lot more about Sully.

However, this novel makes the series OFFICIALLY FOR ADULTS ONLY. And, in all honesty, that scene(s?) came off as very awkward and just out of place with the rest of the writing. And that is the negative for this book.
 
The plots and twists were great, though the forgiveness was a bit too easy to come by afterwords. There is also the fact that Evie constantly questioning if she should be/is worthy of being Queen is just annoying. This novel, along with the last and even the next, could have probably been written as one novel if they had cut out a lot of the useless repetition and let Evie be as smart all the time as she is instead of stringing things out for the reader.

Overall, this one was another good installment and interesting. Worth the read, unless you don’t like explicit adult scenes. Then, steer clear.

Ally Wagner

Better than the first one, but just as predictable

Jessica Nottingham

Yes friends, YES! If you're the type of reader who is always wary of the second book in a series, and whether it will be a good follow up, rest assured that Protect The Prince has you covered. After falling madly in love with Evie, Sullivan, and the whole cast of the first book, I was terrified that this second book would fall short of what I hoped for. I desperately wanted more intrigue, more magic, and I was ready for a little more spicy romance. As it turns out, I got all of that and more!

As the end of the last book reminds us, someone always wants to kill the queen. So not only does Evie have to navigate her new role as the regent of her country, but she also has to continuously thwart plots to assassinate her. Thank goodness that she's such a badass character! My favorite part of the last story was watching Evie grow from a woman with quiet strength, into someone who could take down a whole army if it would protect those she loved. That's the woman who is presented on these pages, and the one who we see mature even more. Being a queen isn't easy, and Evie learns that the hard way. I loved that Estep didn't let her fall into the role and lose herself but, rather, Evie molds that role to her personality. It was a beautiful thing.

Oh, and the intrigue! Most of this book takes place in Andvari, and that is a thing of beauty. If the last installment left you hungry for more of Sullivan and his background, here's your chance to get you fill. I loved learning about him, his place in his home, and his family members. Where the plot could have gone very simply here, as Evie works for treaty with the king, it ended up being a whole vivid tapestry of events. There is poison, there is unrequited love, and there are trysts that will make your eyes wide and your heart beat faster. Since Estep didn't smash romance between Evie and Sullivan into the first book, which I loved, I was actually really ready for some heat between them. It was delivered, my friends. It was delivered, and it was scorchingly hot.

It was also so impressive how much world building came about in this book, seemingly without effort. There are no large descriptive paragraphs, or information dumps. Still, magically, the world of Andvari opened up in front of me with all of its lush gardens, ornate rooms, and vast hidden spaces. It got to the point where I was so invested in the nobles, and in castle life in general, that I actually forgot for a moment that poor Evie was still figuring out why she was a "Winter Queen". When that reveal came about it was exciting, and unexpected, and just all kinds of perfect. Everything in this book is so well woven, that it's a joy a read.

Look, Kate Daniels has long been my favorite female character but I think that Evie is set to dethrone her if things keep up as they are now. I love her fierceness, her deep love for those around her, and the fact that she's willing to give up everything if it means her people survive. Estep has me hooked. I admit it. Now I'll have to impatiently wait to see what happens next.

Everleigh Blair ist die neue Königin von Bellona, doch ihre Probleme fangen gerade erst an: Täglich muss sie sich mit arroganten Adligen am Hof auseinandersetzen, die ihre Hände insgeheim nach der Krone ausstrecken. Als wäre das nicht schlimm genug, versucht ein Auftragsmörder, Evie in ihrem Thronsaal zu töten. Evie fragt sich, ob sie stark genug ist, um ihrer Rolle als Herrin des Winters gerecht zu werden. Während sie darum kämpft, ihre Magie, ihr Leben und ihre Krone zu sichern, verliert sie auch noch ihr Herz an Lucas Sullivan, den unehelichen Sohn des andvarischen Königs ... Und es stellt sich heraus, dass es nur eine Sache gibt, die noch schwieriger ist, als eine Königin zu töten: Einen Prinzen zu beschützen. Starke Heldinnen: YA-Fantasy in Spitzenqualität Vor allem eines zeichnet die Young-Adult-Serien von Jennifer Estep aus: Die amerikanische Autorin hat ein besonderes Talent für starke Heldinnen. Everleigh Blair, die unerschrockene Protagonistin der "Splitterkrone"-Reihe, zeigt sich auch in diesem Band kühn, aber nicht unüberlegt, stolz und gleichzeitig pflichtbewusst. Ein echtes Vorbild nicht nur für junge LeserInnen! Binge-Reading mit Jennifer Estep, einer der fleißigsten Autorinnen der Welt Bereits der erste Roman der amerikanischen Autorin Jennifer Estep war ein voller Erfolg: "Karma Girl", das den Auftakt zur "Bigtime"-Reihe bildete, entwickelte sich schnell zum Bestseller. Seitdem hat sie mehrere Romanserien konzipiert und darin über 40 Romane veröffentlicht. Wer einmal Fan von Esteps Welten geworden ist, muss so schnell also nicht wieder damit aufhören. Binge-Reading empfohlen!

Protect the Prince

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