As with the first two books, I still haven't read or seen ‘The Princess Bride,’ so I have no clue if this series is still inspired by it or if that stopped after the first book. So I'm just judging this as a typical YA book.

And I personally wasn't all too impressed with this. Going into this, knowing it's the last book, I just assumed everything is going to end well, and it does. Exactly how I expected it to. So I never found any real excitement. I also think that's because this entire conclusion focuses on court politicking and feuding kingdoms. I miss the adventure that was in the first two books.

But I'm happy to have finished this series and seen it through to the end. It's definitely not a bad book or finale - I think readers who have really enjoyed following Amarande's journey will be pleased with this. I personally just wish the plot of this installment had a little more variety and wasn't so one-note.

Fantastic wrap up to the trilogy. Character growth felt real and true to each story person. I liked how the “happily ever after” wasn’t what anyone was expecting.

All the twists, it pulls together all the lose ends from the first and second book. Truly never saw the ending coming!

What an amazing conclusion! This series more than just your typical royalty story. It dives into the politics, betrayals, plotting, and romance while getting to experience different kingdoms and character arcs. It's rich with story telling! The final book in the series did not disappoint and wove everything together just how you'd want it to. Definitely recommend this series!

It's so hard to review a series ender because there's all the hopes and dreams for the whole series pinned to it. The ways the characters have evolved and developed before our eyes. Seeing them grow, make mistakes, take losses, and more. I was so excited for The King Will Kill You because I love Henning's books and this series! And Henning does not hold back. This series ender is full of politics, warfare, and quests for power. I am so impressed with what Henning has done in terms of scope and masterful plotting.

With multiple POV, The King Will Kill You feels truly expansive and immersive. We're taken all over the kingdoms and seeing all the characters on crash course trajectories. How it's full of scheming and betrayal and motivation. Things can seem so cut and dry, loyalty secured, until the wrong thing is threatened and then it's game over. Watching these different branches of people and subplots diverge and converge is spectacular.

Overall an excellent end to a fantasy trilogy and picked up a lot from the second book slump. I had much fun reading this, but for a long time, I felt the character was just going through emotions.

Okay was hoping this book was going to make up for the other two but sadly I found it lacking again.

As with the first book I was looking forward to the character growth and role swap but it just keeps falling flat. As to make the female MC strong they have made the male character weak and it's not a true role swap book

I liked the feminist commentary and the ending, but overall the book fell flat for me. The story felt very disjointed. I expected more from the conclusion to a series I enjoyed.

The King Will Kill You is the conclusion to the Kingdoms of Sand and Sky trilogy by Sarah Henning.

Please note: Review may contain spoilers for the first two books in the series, but will not contain spoilers for the King Will Kill You.

Rating: 3.5 stars

In this final book, Queen Amarande and Luca attempt to usher peace over their broken continent. Facing opposition from the other patriarchal kingdoms this feat is far from easy. And what’s more, the evil King Renard is back from the supposed dead wanting nothing more than revenge.

This series has not been one of my favorites as a whole, but I won’t spend time talking about that. I never really felt the connection between Amarande and Luca. Sure, childhood friends to lovers is cute and all, but I never felt the passion. Nothing has changed in this final installment of the series. I still don’t feel the love.

The first 15% or so of the book is just political talk. Yes, this is imperative to the series as they have to find a way to actually rule the Sand and Sky…but it was dull, boring. I wanted to DNF the book right there. But I pushed through, because I knew I just had to get past that.

Although the book has its negatives, it also has things that I enjoyed. Ferdinand was a light in the darkness. I loved reading his scenes within the novel. The same with Renard, easily the most interesting part of the novel. I did find his apparent resurrection a little unbelievable? The answer given makes sense, but I wish the author had given more insight into this in previous novels to make it not seem like an afterthought in the final one.

I enjoyed the moments of battle, of conflict, of fighting. I think these were some of the best and got me reading through the fastest and most interested.

Overall I believe that the King Will Kill You wraps up the series nicely. I don’t really think this series as a whole was for me, as I didn’t even like the main couple, the driving point in this series. But that’s just my opinion. I would recommend this series to people who enjoy strong female characters, political intrigue, and beautiful covers.

I have really enjoyed this series. The characters are interesting, but they are certainly not perfect. All of them make mistakes and have to deal with the fallout of those mistakes The focus of the story shifted a bit, as there were more primary characters added in the last book, and I appreciated the chance to see events through different eyes. I highly recommend this book along with the other books in the series.

The King Will Kill You is an entertaining and exciting conclusion to the Kingdoms of Sand and Sky trilogy. One of the strengths of the novel and the series is the vivid worldbuilding. The author’s writing immerses you into the story and creates such a clear picture of this unique and dynamic world. The battle scenes are also epic and suspenseful and kept me on the edge of my seat for much of the story.

Like the first two books, Amarande and Luca go on physical as well as emotional journeys throughout this story. Both characters are layered and well-developed, and I became invested in their stories. Amarande proves to be a strong and brave leader whose character exposes gender inequities and the fight for autonomy and equality. She fights against the patriarchy in an attempt to invoke change that promotes equality, These messages feel particularly relatable considering what’s going on in the world today. The story also highlights Luca’s growth as he becomes a leader of his people and gains more confidence in his capabilities as a ruler.

My favorite part of the story is the romance between Amarande and Luca. They both go through so much over the course of the series, yet their feelings for each other never waver. They are so devoted to each other, and their feelings for each other shine through in every decision and action they make. Unlike the other books, Amarande and Luca are together for a lot of the book, and they have many sweet and tender moments together.

This is an entertaining series, and The King Will Kill You is an exciting and satisfying conclusion. I did think the politics occasionally overshadowed other parts of the story, but the underhanded maneuvering, the numerous love stories (love this!!), epic world-building, and powerful and relevant messages more than made up for the few tedious scenes. I would definitely recommend it to readers who enjoy young adult fantasy, and I’m thankful to Tor Teen and NetGalley for providing me with a copy of the book. All thoughts are my own.

Actual Rating: 3.5✶

Once again, I have the dilemma of wanting to review the last book in a trilogy in a manner that is neither too spoilery, nor too brief. The fact this is an ARC and the book isn't even out yet makes this even trickier. Which is why these reviews are usually on the brief side.

For those of you who have read the first two books in this series, you know that the last book ended with a great cliffhanger that was both intriguing and a good reference to "The Princess Bride". Since then, I've been (impatiently) waiting for this book, so you can imagine my excitement at being approved for an ARC.


I felt the same way about this one as I did the rest of the trilogy. They're quick, enjoyable books with an easy-to-follow plot and a message that's all too understandable in today's world (namely, old men in power suck.) This book was probably the most politics focused which was definitely my favorite aspect, even if I was really annoyed by the decisions being made at times.


While I did enjoy it, I was slightly disappointed - specifically in the way Queen's cliffhanger was handled and the ending.

The end of book 2 set this book up with so much potential, but instead of feeling like said potential was ever reached, it instead felt like a bit of a cop-out. I don't know exactly what I was hoping for, especially with how short this book is, but I think part of me was expecting that whole situation to be handled in a more epic fashion rather than just, "Yep. That happened."

Truly, I was most disappointed by the end. It wasn't a bad ending, but it was so. freaking. rushed. Especially after a pretty slow-paced book that had mostly been political conversations, building up to a very quick and very cliched ending.


That being said, I really do enjoy and recommend this trilogy. It's not perfect, but I've liked each one of them (book 2 is still my favorite.) They're especially good if you're looking for a pretty simple, political YA fantasy and don't mind a romance that rivals Westley and Buttercup if the aforementioned characters were melodramatic teenagers.


Overall, I'm glad I read this and (mostly) satisfied with this conclusion.

What did I think of this final book in the series? I was underwhelmed. The first book was so good, and I had high hopes for the rest of the series. My one major problem with this book was it was pretty much the same plotline from the first two books recycled. I felt that it didn’t add anything new, or any more depth to the story.

Much like that, I felt the characters themselves were rather static. I quite liked Ferdinand and I used to love Luca and Ama. They weren’t bad characters by any stretch of the imagination, I just didn’t feel that they were the best. Ama was still a fierce warrior and still determined, but it was like all the other books. Nothing *new* was added that made me want to root for her.

Sure, this book had politics, but I felt that the politics were the most interesting of the parts of the book, and even then it was slightly boring. I had really wanted this book to end on a high note, but it just didn’t hit right to me. There was something I felt missing from the book.

All in all, I feel like this trilogy could have been a duology. There was so much repetitive parts.

What I did continue to like in this book was the world building. I think Henning is a talented world builder, and that continued in this book from the previous two. She is also an excellent writer.

For me, I wanted *more.* One of the good aspects of this book is we do finally get to see Ama and Luca interacting more. The previous two books it was like they weren’t together for the majority of the book. In this one, we finally get to see how they love each other and respect each other. I enjoyed those parts as well, since it was a long time coming and very drawn out!

In the end, I liked the book’s ending. I felt it was appropriate for the story, and while I would have liked to see more expanded upon, I am pretty happy with how the book ended. I just wish the villains had been more in this book — or not included.

A solid three star book for me.

Thank you Netgalley and Publisher for this Arc!!

This is such an exciting series full of every variation of drama and I am so pleased with this last book!

This is a great series to get into, particularly if your a big fan of detailed world building along with intense political maneuvering and schemes. This last book was a brilliant ending that I feel did not leave loose ends. Not only that, but I felt like I had the answers to any lingering questions from the first two books.

It's hard to really write a full review for the last book in a trilogy, or even a sequel for that matter. I never want to give away Spoilers. However, I feel good saying that if you like wthis style of book then I can definitely recommend this series!

Out August 2, 2022!

Amarande is the type of strong and feminist character we need in the world right now. She isn’t afraid to say what she wants and she will go after what she desires with all of her heart. That’s an inspiring character and I loved reading her story. That being said this book didn’t have the same emotional weight for me as the previous books in the series did. I think it could be because my favorite character wasn’t apart of this story but either way I wanted more from the other characters budding relationships and their interactions with each other.

This is a good story filled with true love, chosen ones, the power of friendship, and friends falling in love with each other. Who doesn’t enjoy reading about all that good stuff? I know I did. I just hope this book series eventually gets the credit it deserves because this truly is an underrated YA trilogy that I would love to see become more popular.

I am so relieved to be done with series I wish I had dnfed back in book one but after that I was in it for the long haul. I just kept hoping the books would get better, and they did a tiny bit but I still found the main characters pretty boring. I liked the one villain in book two but he was killed off at the end of it and the other more boring brother was just brought back to life for literally no reason. I think people who liked books 1 & 2 will like this third, it was nice to see our lovebirds finally actually together for majority of a book. This series as a whole just wasn't for me. A lot of world building and politics but didn't have a connection with the characters.

Fantastic ending to this trioogy and my favorite of all. It definitely lacked the romance I really wanted to see but that's ok because the action made up for it. Definitely more than the previous two imo. I liked that not the entire book was political, but I feel like there was still way too much of it but that's a personal opinion. I did get some major princess bride vibes and I loved that.

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ 5/5

𝙂𝙚𝙣𝙧𝙚: YA Fantasy Trilogy (complete)
𝙁𝙤𝙧𝙢𝙖𝙩: eARC

𝙁𝙖𝙫𝙚 𝙌𝙪𝙤𝙩𝙚:
“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 weaknesses, my mere existence. I am so exhausted by it.”

“I have loved you for more years than I can remember. I will love you for the rest of the ones I have left. To the stars. I will kiss you every day as long as you will allow it.”

𝙒𝙝𝙖𝙩 𝙄 𝙇𝙤𝙫𝙚𝙙:
Favorite book in the trilogy!
Political maneuvering
Expanded side character stories/relationships
Strong feminist themes
Found family
Perfect ending to the trilogy ❤️

𝙁𝙪𝙡𝙡 𝙍𝙚𝙫𝙞𝙚𝙬:
This was such a great ending to the Kingdoms of Sand and Sky trilogy! There were perfect Luca + Ama moments, political maneuvering, humorous side characters, sweet romances, and a strong defiance of the patriarchal governing system 👏🏻

The first 25% or so focused on setting the political playing field. It was a little slow at first, but once it got going, it was INTENSE. I love that there were so many power players in the political game, leading to multiple plot strands that kept me guessing. So many of the little connections between characters and kingdoms came back later in the book to be super important (as a reader, this is one of my favorite things!)

Luca and Ama have so many sweet moments together; their love for each other is still the driving force behind much of what they do, but we also get to see them mature and develop as rulers of their lands. I especially love how much we get to see Luca learn to stand on his own and learn to be a leader in his own right. Ama continues to fight the patriarchy and there were several moments where I wanted to fist pump and cheer her on…YOU GO GIRL!!

One of the best surprises of this book was the expansion of romantic relationships between some of the side characters. I won’t spoil anything, but I am SO ON BOARD with some of these ships and love that it didn’t focus only on Ama and Luca’s relationship.

This was such a satisfying conclusion to the trilogy and I feel like all the characters got exactly what they deserved… one way or another 😉 Highly recommend this trilogy!

I was so excited when I received an ARC copy of The King WIll Kill You. This final book in the trilogy is a bittersweet ending to the Kingdoms of Sky and Sands' story. I loved this story from beginning to end. THe Princess Bride vibes are everything in this book. Ama and Luca fight not only what happened at the end of The Queen WIll Betray You, but also fight against prejudices and opinions that Ama never thought that Luca and her would face.

I read this book in one sitting and the three books flow together magically pulling you into the Kingdoms of Sky and Sand. The battles and plot lines are great, although I do feel that some pieces could of have been more descriptive and complicated. Overall this trilogy is a good starting point for those young adults wanting to dip their toes into the fantasy genre and I definitely suggest this series to anyone who is a fan of "True Love" and stories with political intrigue.

Thank you so much to NetGalley and Tor-Forge for the e-ARC of The King Will Kill You.

A bit more action than the first two books. Had a rushed ending. The romance was still the weakest part of the novel.