I received this book for free from in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.
The Princess Knight
by
G.A. Aiken
fantasy in a Kindle edition that was published by Kensington Books on November 24, 2020 and has 352 pages.
Explore it on Goodreads or Amazon
Other books by this author which I have reviewed include Dragon Actually, What a Dragon Should Know, Last Dragon Standing, About a Dragon, The Dragon Who Loved Me, How to Drive a Dragon Crazy, Supernatural, Light My Fire, Feel the Burn, The Blacksmith Queen
Second in The Scarred Earth Saga fantasy series and revolving around Queen Keeley, the Blacksmith Queen, and her world. The couple focus is on Brother Gemma and Quinn, although it’s a romance you really have to look for.
My Take
The Smythe family would fit right in with the Dragon Kin. Although I do wonder about Uncle Archie and his desire to teach the kids how to slit each others’ throats. Ugh.
With that, Aiken is using third person global subjective point-of-view, as there are many a’many characters whose thoughts, actions, and feelings we encounter in this tale of greed versus compassion.
That Brother Sprenger . . . not much of a monk. And he takes it out on Gemma that day that Katla, Kir, and Shona are promoted.
Beatrix. Oh boy. Just goes to show that nature has overwhelmed nurture in the Smythe family. The whole family may be somewhat nuts, but Beatrix is in a nasty class of her own.
Lol, “they’d have to stop thinking like fair-minded individuals and start thinking like men”. Hmmm, d’ya think this is a woman-oriented story?
It’s also animal-oriented. There’s Keeley with her appreciation for all animals, understanding their “negative” behavior. And, of course, ahem, the centaurs, lol.
After two years, Agathon has gotten to know Queen Beatrix very well. And he’s terrified. It must be true because King Marius is terrified of her as well. He certainly isn’t as smart as she is.
Geez, all the politics in whether Beatrix, oh, and Marius, should offer protection to religious orders. Beatrix uses some disgusting “politics”.
Interesting, Brother Gemma reveals her real purpose in coming to the war monks. A purpose that got redirected after Brother Sprenger’s attack. Wait’ll Sprenger finds out what Gemma did to/with Kriegszorn! Oops. I guess he won’t, and I suspect you’ll find Kriegszorn as gross — and yet as funny — as I do.
Another threat, lol, yes it is gross, and yet it’s quite funny coming from Quinn, when he’s in his centaur form. An unfunny threat is from Beatrix and her master plan for using orphaned children. I do love how that plan turns on her. Although, Beatrix does think ahead and there was that prophetic question she asks at the end.
The interaction between these memorable characters is similar to that in the Dragon Kin series, but less funny and more violent. There’s a huge escalation of the nasty, especially in the bad guys. *shudder* And still a fascinating read.
I’m looking forward to reading The Heretic Royal, 3 — I want to read the encounter between this series’ characters with those of the Dragon Kin series . . . and what Beatrix plans next.
The Story
With orders to spread Queen Keeley’s offers of protection to endangered religious groups, Brother Gemma returns, after two years, to the Order of Righteous Valor where she’s threatened with execution.
It’s an amazing journey with the Amichai and the heretics, as they do battle across the land.
The Characters
Brother Gemma Smythe is a Warrior Monk with the Order of Righteous Valor, and she’s painfully honest. Dagger is the horse who “succeeded” Kriegszorn. Samuel is her frightened squire.
Keeley Smythe, Gemma’s eldest sister, is the The Blacksmith Queen, 1, the Queen of the Hill Lands. Her demon wolves are loved. A primarily blacksmithing family, there are ten other Smythe siblings — their parents, Emma, a blacksmith, and Angus Farmerson, a pig farmer, are prolific. Ainsley, the “loudest hog caller in all the valleys, is amazing with a bow, and yet her siblings keep forgetting she’s there. Isadora appears to be the primary caregiver for the younger children, who include Cadell, Farlan, Endelyon . . . and Beatrix. Cousin Keran is a retired mercenary who loves the bottle. Uncle Archie is absolutely nuts and also brilliant at engineering. He’s in cahoots with the stonemason dwarves. Poor old Tommy, their da loved that pig.
Carl is a servant. Old Matheson got mauled by a she-bear. Mary decided to take the job as head cook to Keeley.
The Amichai are . . .
. . . a race of shapeshifting centaurs, and it’s the Scarred Earth Clan who are allied to Keeley Smythe. Quinn, the nutter, and Caid (the gruff one who’s sleeping with Keeley) are brothers; Laila is their logical sister and their mother’s direct heir. Scandal is Quinn’s war horse — the only horse that’ll tolerate him.
The Order of Righteous Valor worships . . .
. . . Morthwyl, a war god, who is their main deity. Gemma’s battle-cohorts (friends) are Katla, Kir (Katla’s twin brother, who’s a bit of a sobber), and Shona. Brother Thomassin, an elder, is allied with the Grand Master Joshua (he’d been Gemma’s mentor), Bartholemew, and Brín, and they support Gemma. General Lady Ragna is not a lady and is hated by all. Master General Pierce. Brother Mariello works in the library.
Brother Sprenger has his own allies within the order, and he hates Gemma. Master Sergeant Alesandro despises Gemma. Brother Richard sneers. Gary is a seer and a sorcerer. Brother Julia is a bit of a lapdog. Brothers Millie, Peters, and James are definitely Sprenger supporters. The Challenge is the old way to fight to be Grand Master. Sin Killer had been a massive war horse.
The heretic team includes . . .
. . . the war priests: Father Aubin who was attacking temple virgins and Father Léandre. Balla is the head of the temple virgins; Priska is her assistant. As a truce vicar, Vicar Ferdinand’s job is to stop the unnecessary killing — he plans to help Cyrus see his wrongs. Adela is a witch. Tadesse of the High Plains and Faraj of the Low Mountains are divine assassins. (Faraji is a monk whose god actually likes them, and they’re willing to give up sex for him.) The Abbess Butcher, a.k.a. Abbess Hurik, is notorious, thought to be a myth for young novitiates. Ludolf of the Eastern Shores, a blood warlock, has news for Gemma and her heretics. He also appreciates Keeley’s pro-animal stance. Gregorio is another truce vicar. Brother Damian.
The dwarves are . . .
. . . ruled by Mundric; his wife is Queen Vulfegundis, the master blacksmith of her guild. She does amazing things with Keeley’s hammer.
Queen Beatrix is the Smythes’ psychopathic sister who is married to King Marius, the Wielder of Hate and the son of the Old King, and intends to rule all the land. Agathon has been the Follower of Her Word for two years now — and he’s thrilled to get away. Ivan is a mystic. Duke Reinhold is raising an army.
Cyrus the Honored, a.k.a. the Religion Killer, is Marius’ brother who worships only one god, Soiffart.
In the Southland . . .
. . . Donan — his oldest son wants to be a librarian — lives near the mountains. Tommy is another son. His wife is a marvel of organization. Lady Sheela lives nearby. Bessie is their horse?? The ruler is Queen Annwyl and her family and army of laughing dragons.
The Cover and Title
The cover is a blend of purples, a night sky? or royal purple? Who knows. It’s smoky appearance and the sparkles at the bottom are beautiful, especially with that shining sword with its gold guard and pommel, sticking into the bottom of the cover. Just below the pommel is the white info blurb with the author’s name below that. The title, also in white, is centered along the blade below the hilt. At the very bottom is a testimonial in electric yellow.
The title is all about Brother Gemma Smythe, The Princess Knight *snicker*.
