Thank you Berkley and Penguin Random House for the opportunity to preview the new edition of The Ever King that will be traditionally re-published on August 5, 2025. The cover is GORGEOUS! I love how they're being redone in bright colors. The new editions have all new BONUS content in them, so you'll definitely want to collect the newly published editions when they come out!

My Review:
The Songbird and The Serpent

They stole his crown so he stole their daughter! Revenge is all Erik, the King of the Ever Kingdom has thought of… until he kidnaps Livvy and she steals his heart!

Wow!! Earth fae and Sea Fae with a pirates of the Caribbean vibe! This dark fantasy series has such a unique world and magic system, I’m obsessed!!

“Hate me, curse me, I cared little, so long as I was the first thought of her day and the last of her night.”

“I am in your hands, I am at your command, for you have made me love you, and you will be my destruction because of it.”

The romance was beautiful and the bond was so unique and deep! Livvy showed Erik he was worthy of love and Erik would BURN DOWN THE WORLD to protect Livvy! I love the family Livvy found among the Ever Sea crew and the bond Livvy shared with her brother and cousins.

What you’ll find:
Dual POV
Song magic
Blood magic
Sea Witch
Elven
A heart bond
Found family
Who did this to you?!

“Scars paint our stories, they give proof to the battles we’ve survived, the trials we’ve overcome.”

The story ends on a cliffhanger so you'll want to have The Ever Queen ready to binge!!

Romance content: 3-4 Open-door scenes!

Oh gosh where do I begin? I LOVE THIS BOOK/SERIES.
Prior to reading this series I never thought I would have a thing for pirates, but boy was I wrong. This awakened something in me and goshhhhh who knew he could be so hot.
Erik is one of my absolute favorite MMC. He is so morally grey and so hot all at the same time.
Everything about this story is a *chef's kiss.* I love the world, the world building, pirates, the action, the romance?!?! Everything is so so so good.
You'll be reading this on the edge of your seat wanting to know what's next. I could not put this book down and I ate it up.

The cliffhanger will eat you alive and get you running to the store for the next book.

This book had everything I love in a fantasy book.

The dynamic between Livia and Erik was done so incredibly well. I absolutely loved that their story started as kids and even after years, the bond between them never got lost. Erik is such a tortured character and I loved both his brutality and his heart. Livia, on the other hand, definitely knows how to hold her own and she's so fearless when it comes to standing up for what she believes in. I loved their bickering and I loved the tension. The character growth is so good, even with the side characters, and the way the author revealed the characters' backgrounds was so natural, so well-paced. There was definitely a lot of foreshadowing in this book and I think it builds up very well to prepare for the second book. I'm also a big fan of the author's writing. The way the characters speak was emotional, heartbreaking, and just so strong. There were a lot of strong and significant quotes. I think I've found one of my new favorite mmcs after reading this book because his love for Livia was absolutely flawless.

*I re-read this book with the new bonus content and I didn't think I could love this book more. It was so bittersweet and I truly love all of these characters so much.

4 stars

Book review:

A Dark, Addictive Fantasy with Morally Gray Perfection

They stole his crown. So he stole their daughter… And from the very first page, I was hooked.

This book is an absolute whirlwind of vengeance, betrayal, and slow-burning tension. Erik, the scarred and vengeful king of the Ever Kingdom, is everything I love in a morally gray character—ruthless, broken, and willing to do whatever it takes to reclaim what was stolen from him. But when his plans for revenge bring him face-to-face with his enemy’s innocent daughter, the game shifts in ways neither of them expect.

The dynamic between Erik and our main female character is amazing! The push-and-pull tension, the battle of wills, the undeniable chemistry!!! it’s all woven together masterfully. The world-building is immersive, dark, and beautifully written, pulling you into the depths of the Ever Kingdom with every page.

And that cliffhanger? I’m obsessed. I need the next book immediately. If you love stories with morally gray antiheroes, high-stakes revenge plots, and slow-burn tension that keeps you on edge, this is the book for you.


Thank you NetGalley for a copy of this book 😘

🏴‍☠️🏴‍☠️🏴‍☠️🏴‍☠️🏴‍☠️

The Ever King by L.J. Andrews is set in the same world as The Broken Kingdom series.

The pacing and world building around Erik and Livias story was perfection. With a blending of Fae Vikings and Pirates there are so many unique characters and crazy adventures there was never a dull moment.

This is Romantasy at its finest and will have you staying up late saying “one more chapter”.

🏴‍☠️Romantacy
🏴‍☠️Enemies to lovers
🏴‍☠️Forced Proximity
🏴‍☠️Spice

Thank you Berkley Publishing Group and NetGalley for the arc!

𝙀𝙧𝙞𝙠’𝙨 𝙢𝙤𝙪𝙩𝙝 𝙩𝙪𝙧𝙣𝙚𝙙 𝙪𝙥 𝙞𝙣 𝙖 𝙝𝙖𝙡𝙛 𝙜𝙧𝙞𝙣, 𝙗𝙪𝙩 𝙝𝙞𝙨 𝙬𝙤𝙧𝙙𝙨 𝙬𝙚𝙧𝙚 𝙧𝙞𝙛𝙚 𝙞𝙣 𝙨𝙤𝙢𝙚𝙩𝙝𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙨𝙤𝙛𝙩, 𝙨𝙤𝙢𝙚𝙩𝙝𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙫𝙪𝙡𝙣𝙚𝙧𝙖𝙗𝙡𝙚. “𝙃𝙖𝙩𝙚 𝙢𝙚 𝙖𝙡𝙡 𝙮𝙤𝙪 𝙬𝙖𝙣𝙩, 𝙗𝙪𝙩 𝙙𝙤𝙣’𝙩 𝙧𝙚𝙜𝙧𝙚𝙩 𝙢𝙚. 𝙋𝙧𝙤𝙢𝙞𝙨𝙚 𝙢𝙚 𝙩𝙝𝙖𝙩.”

GASP. I am GAGGED. Why have I been sitting on this book for so long?? I was chomping at the bit looking for every little opportunity to pause what I was doing to pick up this spicy baby and get farther into the heads of Livia and Erik and the brilliant world L.J. has crafted. I knew from the bet-go that I would really enjoy this book (it has all my favorite tropes and concepts), but I did not anticipate how much I would LOVELOVELOVE it - the characters, the magic system, the culture woven into the world-building, the relationships. While I am obsessed with the audiobook and narrators, my only regret is not reading a physical copy of this and annotating it as I go and dedicating a whole color of tabs to Erik being completely unhinged because that shit SLAPPED.

I wanted to love this book. I wanted to love it so badly. But it just wasn’t my cup of tea. By the 70% mark I found myself skimming and bored. I see so many 5 star reviews and wonder if it’s just me.
At the start I was so invested and really enjoyed the story but as it progressed my attention dwindled.
I’m not a fan of pirate talk, it just doesn’t do it for me and makes it hard to concentrate on the story itself.
I felt the FMC was kinda dull and not sure what her role really was, other than her marking.
The MC was the type of man I like, I’ll give the story that. I did enjoy him.
The repetition of the nicknames got to me a bit much for me.
I wish we got some insight into her family and what they’re doing to look for her. I forgot the FMC was kidnapped at points.

Overall I just didn’t love this the way I had hoped.

2.5 stars

Thank you NetGalley for the ability to view this as an E ARC

Let me just preface this review by stating that Erik is mine and I’m not a good sharer.

This book made me laugh, cry, gasp, blush, and want to throw my book against the wall!

From the beginning you can tell that these two have had a history and had formed a deep connection. You are going to feel every feeling you possibly can feel as these two figure out their new journey together.

Erik, my love, you are so flawed, but you are perfect to me. The way that you grapple with your humanity and navigate life makes you the perfect morally grey MMC!

Livia, you are so strong willed, but also flawed in so many relatable ways. Your growth brings so much to the table and helps not only you grow, Erik grow, but also all the secondary characters grow.

The twists and turns that come from the secondary characters capture your heart and make you love them just as much as Livia and Erik.

I love the clash of cultures with Pirates vs. Viking-esq(?) worlds. Each world has so much world building it’s easy to picture them in your mind and see why our characters are the way they are.

I am anxiously awaiting the sequel The Ever Queen and hope my favorites stay safe and sound ( looking at you Sewell)! Erik I will gladly comfort you anytime you need!

100% one of my top reads!

4.5 ⭐️

AHHH THIS IS SUCH A STRONG OPENING BOOK FOR THE SERIES.

So I really liked TBK, but this is next level. I always get a little worried about next gen series, but the transition was so smooth with this, and having them introduced in the end of TBK and to start seeing their connection was so good. And I ended up loving the kids more than the parents.

Livia is such a great FMC, she's strong, kickass without the annoying characteristics we sometimes get with romantasy books. She's fiercely loyal and such a sweet, compassionate friend.

Erik is such a complex character who makes the perfect villain. I loved his dark edges, and how cunning and ruthless he could be. But I also love how obsessed and possessive he became of Livia, and his burn the world down energy for her.

Together they make the perfect couple, complementing each other and bringing out another side of themselves they didn't know they had. And the tension and angst that was building between them?? *chef's kiss*.

The found family aspect is so amazing also, the side characters and friendship group is one of my favourite things about this author and again she doesn't disappoint.

The plot itself had me hooked, from a pirate fae's captive, to capturing his heart and becoming his queen - there are so many plot twists and turns here - and talk about a cliffhanger ending!!

The Ever King, Erik Bloodsinger, kidnaps Livia Ferus, princess of the Night Fae. Drawn to one another as children when Erik was a prisoner of her father’s, they find themselves drawn together once again even though Erik has kidnapped her and taken her beneath the sea to his kingdom- The Ever. Livia is able to slowly heal the sickness that has been spreading through The Ever, stealing the kings heart along the way, but also creating enemies.

Really loved the world building in these books. It is absolute perfection. Magic system was super diverse and interesting. Pirates, fae, vikings, loooove to hate the cliffhanger! I really enjoy the story that Andrews creates and how she weaves the world of her previous series into this new one.

The spice adds to the story and isn't distracting or unrelated to the overall storyline. I am absolutely obsessed with every single side character. I cannot wait to get more of their stories as Andrews continues writing for us in this world!

This book was such a new experience for me and I have to say I genuinely liked it! Pirates are definitely going on my list to read now.

Overall I really liked this book and the writing style was easy to read and kept me engaged throughout. The world building was pretty good and definitely kept me immersed though sometimes throughout the book I was a little confused on where the characters were supposed to be but other than that it was pretty good! I wouldn’t really call this “dark fantasy” but I can see why it would be labeled that at a few points in the book.

This book is filled with tropes that I love! Morally grey MMC and a lot of tension. I guess you could call it enemies to lovers but it does have insta love since Livia and Erik already met and I guess you could say started having feelings at that time?

The banter was definitely pretty good and had me laughing at some parts! I also loved the dual POV and seeing both characters thoughts on the situations and each other was so cute! I love the anxiety representation from Livia and how she deals with it. As well as how Erik learned how to calm and help her through the anxiety attacks.

Erik definitely has a rough past with quite a lot of trauma and views himself as weak and not enough for his people. Honestly it was really nice seeing the growth he goes through to learn to love and show vulnerability to Livia and learn how to heal properly.

Livia is definitely a relatable FMC in different ways. She struggles with anxiety attacks and wasn’t the usual “warrior princess” that we usually see in these types of books. Though she was strong in other areas especially with how she was willing to stand up for Erik and his people even though she wasn’t part of them.

The side characters are enjoyable and nice though I wish we got a bit more information about them but I will say the betrayal reveal was definitely not who I expected it to be… the cliffhanger had me immediately moving to the second book which thankfully is out!
I would definitely recommend this book.

Thank you Berkley and NetGalley for the arc!

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
🌶️

“𝙄𝙨 𝙩𝙝𝙖𝙩 𝙬𝙝𝙖𝙩 𝙬𝙚 𝙖𝙧𝙚, 𝙥𝙧𝙞𝙣𝙘𝙚𝙨𝙨? 𝘼 𝙨𝙚𝙧𝙥𝙚𝙣𝙩 𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝙖 𝙨𝙤𝙣𝙜𝙗𝙞𝙧𝙙?”

I am shooketh.

Why did I wait so long to read this? I’ve had the indie version forever and waited until I got the trad ARC??? WHY????

God, this was so fucking good. Viking fae!? Need I say more?????

𝙄 𝙬𝙖𝙣𝙩𝙚𝙙 𝙣𝙤𝙩𝙝𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙢𝙤𝙧𝙚 𝙩𝙝𝙖𝙣 𝙩𝙤 𝙩𝙚𝙖𝙧 𝙩𝙝𝙧𝙤𝙪𝙜𝙝 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙬𝙖𝙡𝙡𝙨, 𝙨𝙝𝙖𝙩𝙩𝙚𝙧 𝙝𝙚𝙧 𝙬𝙤𝙧𝙡𝙙, 𝙩𝙝𝙚𝙣 𝙩𝙖𝙠𝙚 𝙬𝙝𝙖𝙩 𝙬𝙖𝙨 𝙡𝙚𝙛𝙩 𝙤𝙛 𝙝𝙚𝙧.

𝙎𝙪𝙘𝙝 𝙖 𝙗𝙚𝙖𝙪𝙩𝙞𝙛𝙪𝙡 𝙡𝙞𝙩𝙩𝙡𝙚 𝙗𝙞𝙧𝙙. 𝙒𝙝𝙖𝙩 𝙖 𝙥𝙞𝙩𝙮 𝙞𝙩 𝙬𝙖𝙨 𝙩𝙝𝙖𝙩 𝙝𝙚𝙧 𝙨𝙚𝙧𝙥𝙚𝙣𝙩 𝙝𝙖𝙙 𝙘𝙤𝙢𝙚 𝙩𝙤 𝙧𝙪𝙞𝙣 𝙝𝙚𝙧.

𝙀𝙧𝙞𝙠 𝘽𝙡𝙤𝙤𝙙𝙨𝙞𝙣𝙜𝙚𝙧 𝙬𝙖𝙨 𝙢𝙖𝙙𝙚 𝙤𝙛 𝙥𝙤𝙞𝙨𝙤𝙣.

This had everything I’ve ever wanted from a romantasy and I can’t wait to read the next one!!!!

Erik is cold and brutal, but warm and charming for his Songbird, as he should be. He is the Ever King and no one could ever take the title from him.

𝙎𝙝𝙚 𝙡𝙤𝙤𝙠𝙚𝙙 . . . 𝙡𝙞𝙠𝙚 𝙨𝙝𝙚 𝙗𝙚𝙡𝙤𝙣𝙜𝙚𝙙 𝙝𝙚𝙧𝙚, 𝙗𝙚𝙨𝙞𝙙𝙚 𝙢𝙚, 𝙖𝙣 𝙤𝙥𝙚𝙣 𝙨𝙚𝙖 𝙗𝙚𝙛𝙤𝙧𝙚 𝙪𝙨.

𝙄 𝙬𝙖𝙨𝙣’𝙩 𝙚𝙣𝙩𝙞𝙧𝙚𝙡𝙮 𝙘𝙤𝙣𝙫𝙞𝙣𝙘𝙚𝙙 𝙀𝙧𝙞𝙠 𝘽𝙡𝙤𝙤𝙙𝙨𝙞𝙣𝙜𝙚𝙧 𝙬𝙖𝙣𝙩𝙚𝙙 𝙢𝙚 𝙙𝙚𝙖𝙙 𝙖𝙨 𝙢𝙪𝙘𝙝 𝙖𝙨 𝙝𝙚 𝙞𝙣𝙨𝙞𝙨𝙩𝙚𝙙.

“𝙃𝙖𝙩𝙚 𝙢𝙚 𝙖𝙡𝙡 𝙮𝙤𝙪 𝙬𝙖𝙣𝙩, 𝙗𝙪𝙩 𝙙𝙤𝙣’𝙩 𝙧𝙚𝙜𝙧𝙚𝙩 𝙢𝙚. 𝙋𝙧𝙤𝙢𝙞𝙨𝙚 𝙢𝙚 𝙩𝙝𝙖𝙩.”

Livia, the princess of the Night Folk fae is anything but soft. She may have started that way when Erik first came for her, but her time with him only made her stronger, darker, shaped her into the queen she was meant to be.

The side characters had my heart and that (not so) little plot twist at the end had me screaming and goosebumps all over my fucking arms!!!!

Catch me diving into The Ever Queen IMMEDIATELY.

Thank you so much to Berkeley for the ARC!!! 😭🫶🏻

Absolutely loved this book! I read books 1-3 of the Broken Kingdom series and this is a perfect continuation of the world LJ Andrew’s has built. I can’t wait to read more from her. I love a strong MMC and FMC, and this does not disappoint. Spicier than the broken kingdom books, but that is a positive for me. 5 stars.

Absolutely incredible. Amazing as always!!

LJ Andrews knows how to perfectly execute and enemies to lovers/slow burn book. Bloodsinger is by far one of my favorite book characters ever created,
The world is done so well you feel as if you’re apart of it, I truly recommend this to anyone who loves fae, Vikings and pirates!!

LJ Andrews couod write a nonfiction book and i would absolutely eat it up. Erik has been my biggest love for the last year and I'm so happy for all of her AMAZING accomplishments with this series!

What an adventure! The Ever King is a the type of romantasy I love, where the romance is really the focus and everything else is just a fun bonus. I really enjoyed the relationship between our main couple. Although, true enemies to lovers they were not, they were both down bad from the get go. And the pirate sea fae were a nice change of pace in the romantasy genre. Can’t wait to read more in this world!

“I’ve always been drawn to him, like the tide of the ocean; even as a girl, he sparked a twisted curiosity, a desire to see him. I should have resisted, just as I should have had the strength to resist the tide now.”

I’m obsessed with The Broken Kingdoms world and just knew I was going to love the second generation spin off series. LJ Andrews excels at building worlds. The way she draws me into her stories is truly thrilling. The number of highlights I have on my Kindle is quite embarrassing. Erik Bloodsinger is savage and I’m here for it. Does that make me a little unhinged? Perhaps. Both Livia and Erik are deeply scarred, embodying the struggles of war-torn children, which brings a wealth of emotional depth to the story.. All the feels.

I thoroughly enjoyed witnessing the adventures of my favorite royal descendants from TBK. LJ Andrews masterfully crafts compelling narratives, with the perfect balance between plot and spice, ensuring readers remain engaged and eager to discover what comes next. I wholeheartedly recommend this series to any romantasy enthusiasts who relish suspenseful twists in their stories and love to be kept guessing what happens next!

I’m adding a morally ambiguous pirate with a dangerous past to my list of book boyfriends.

𝓡𝓮𝓪𝓭 𝓲𝓯 𝔂𝓸𝓾 𝓵𝓸𝓿𝓮:
🏴‍☠️ Dark Romantasy
🏴‍☠️ Enemies to Lovers: Kidnapper Style
🏴‍☠️ Slow Burn
🏴‍☠️ Morally Grey Villainous MMC
🏴‍☠️ Lies & Betrayal
🏴‍☠️ Fated Mates
🏴‍☠️ Second Gen Spin-Off
🏴‍☠️ Pirate & Viking Vibes
🏴‍☠️ Forbidden Love
🏴‍☠️ Forced Proximity
🏴‍☠️ Bickering & Banter
🏴‍☠️ Found Family
🏴‍☠️ Mental Health Rep
🏴‍☠️ Dual POV
🏴‍☠️ Touch Her and I Turn Your Bones Into A Necklace For Her…

“You are the perfect, unexpected blade that will cut out the hearts of your folk. They’ll suffer. You’ll watch. Only when they’re on their knees, pleading, will I give them the death they crave.”

I am living for this romance series. I am a sucker for pirates and I was not disappointed when I got them. The romance is swoon worthy!

Initially read indie edition as part of The Cursed Bookclub in April 2024 - 5 ⭐ then, 5⭐ now in Feb 2025, Ace Publishing edition.

🖤🖤🖤🖤🖤 THIS BOOK 🖤🖤🖤🖤🖤

Erik Bloodsinger starts as ruthless and dark, on a quest for vengeance, taking a chance with some opportune circumstances to attempt to kill his former captor, the Night King. Unfortunately, he wasn't there. The next best option: capture the Night King's daughter, Livia.

The captor x captive trope is one of my all time favorites.

Livia and Erik are a phenomenal pair - I don't know how to describe a better display of tension and enemies to lovers. This is a romance forward fantasy novel and honestly I jive with it. Their love story goes down as one of the ones I revisit for my "favorites" ever. The possessive need and desire for Livia takes over Erik, mainly as their relationship grows to a mutual need. I'm a sucker for the The Serpent & The Songbird pet names.

Though this is a "spin off" series to LJ Andrews' Broken Kingdoms series, you can read The Ever Seas series without any knowledge of the other one.

Erik Bloodsinger - ✨premium✨ book boyfriend
🖤 found family
🖤 fated mates
🖤 pirate fae & viking fae
🖤 enemies to lovers
🖤 banter & tension
🖤 dual pov

Thanks to NetGalley & Ace/Berkley for an eARC of The Ever King for an honest review.

The serpent and the songbird - the story follows a naive princess Livia as she meets a boy from her past, - all grown up and hell bent on revenge - kidnapping her from her home and all she's ever known, deep down go the Ever kingdom which he reigns over. Erik is scarred and brutal, a true damaged villain vibe if you will. But of course, it's more than it seems when a magical plague is slowly killing the Ever kingdom with no signs of stopping. There is great banter and wit between Livia and Erik, I like watching their relationship grow and their understandings of each other develop. Lots of good side characters. Some spice also. There is a lot of potential, but the pace and the plot fell short for me at times. Looking forward to reading the next in the series though - The Ever Queen.