THIS KINGDOM WILL NOT KILL ME by Ilona Andrews | Book Review

Listen up fantasy readers! This Kingdom Will Not Kill Me by Ilona Andrews is a portal fantasy where a die-hard fan wakes up inside the unfinished, cliffhanger-ending series she's read a hundred times, & has to survive a cutthroat medieval world. We break down our ratings, debate whether the slow first half almost cost this book a DNF & dig into the writing style, the political great houses, the found-family arc, and that delicious slow-burn romance.P.S. this episode contains spoilers!🤍 All CTB Links: ⁠⁠https://linktr.ee/checkthisbookout💌 July Book Club: Our Perfect Storm by Carley Fortune📖 Books Mentioned:This Kingdom Will Not Kill Me (Maggie the Undying) - Ilona Andrews Magic Bites (Kate Daniels series) - Ilona AndrewsBastion (The Immortal Great Souls) - Phil TuckerKingdom of the Wicked — Kerri ManiscalcoThrone of Glass - Sarah J. MaasThe Wheel of Time — Robert JordanOutlander — Diana GabaldonA Song of Ice and Fire / Game of Thrones — George R.R. MartinThis Kingdom Will Not Kill Me Synopsis:"When Maggie wakes up cold, filthy, and naked in a gutter, it doesn't take her long to recognize Kair Toren, a city she knows intimately from the pages of the famously unfinished dark fantasy series she's been obsessively reading and re-reading while waiting years for the final novel.Her only tools for navigating this gritty world of rival warlords, magic, and mayhem? Her encyclopedic knowledge of the plot, the setting, and the characters' ambitions and fates. But while she quickly discovers she cannot be killed (though many will try!), the same cannot be said for the living, breathing characters she's coming to love—a motley band that includes a former lady’s maid, a deadly assassin, various outrageous magical creatures, and a dangerously appealing soldier. Soon, instead of trying to get home, she finds herself enmeshed in the schemes—and attentions—of dueling princes, dukes, and villains, all while trying to save them and the kingdom of Rellas from the way she knows their stories will end: in a cataclysmic war."⏱️ Timestamps:00:00 – intro00:01:38 – rating reveal00:05:08 – spoiler-free plot overview (outlander meets game of thrones)00:04:50 – spoiler warning begins00:08:14 – writing style and the info-dump debate00:18:45 – world-building, maps, and geography confusion00:27:12 – how dark this book actually gets00:28:47 – plot and character breakdown00:39:44 – reynald/ramond tension and found family00:41:20 – the serial killer subplot00:47:51 – the butcher and rising stakes00:49:08 – the adoption scene (fav moment)01:02:53 – the final climax01:03:57 – silveren theory01:07:42 – final ratings reconsidered01:08:52 – romantasy or epic fantasy01:12:33 – wrap-up#bookclub #bookreview #bookpodcast #fantasybooks