Thank you to NetGalley and Macmillan Audio for this advanced copy! You can pick up Anji Kills a King on May 13, 2025.

After following Evan's journey for years, I'm so glad to report that his debut novel was a really wonderful fantasy entry. His voice was clear, his world-building complex and well-rounded, and the characters absolutely leaped off the page.

We're thrown into this book with Anji murdering King Rolandrian, prompting her run from the law and the zealous Sun Wardens hunting her down. Little did she know that the Hawk, a member of the renowned Menagerie, was also on her tail. At first, the Hawk and Anji's relationship is fraught, with Anji being the most unwilling prisoner to ever exist and the Hawk sick of putting up with her antics.

But as the duo continue to evade death and capture from other bounty hunters, they begin to open up to one another and develop a closer bond. We learn more about Anji's rebellious parents and the Hawk's history growing up in a gang, as well as her addiction to a debilitating drug, Rail. Similar to The Witcher or The Mandalorian, what started out as a lone wolf figure putting up with this kid for duty's sake turns into something much more meaningful.

Which makes the ending that much more devastating. No spoilers, but the choices made by Anji and the Hawk hurt the reader just as much as the characters. I'm curious to see where Book2 goes, and excited for Evan's progression as an author!

Thanks to NetGalley for the ARC audiobook. I don’t listen to or read very many fantasy genre books but I couldn’t resist this one and I’m so glad.

This books gets your attention right away and the action is non-stop! It was an engaging story all the way through and I didn’t see the ending coming. Overall a very satisfying tale.

The audiobook narrator did an amazing job. I can easily highly recommend the audiobook very for this book.

Thanks to NetGalley and Macmillan Audio for providing an ALC in exchange for an honest review. This book was so good. The relationships between the characters really kept me hooked. I felt all the emotions. This was a phenomenal debut!

Firstly, let me say I am not usually into the fantasy genre. But this? This was so good. I loved the lore behind the Menagerie and how they operate. I was a bit annoyed by main character Anji, as she was repeatedly causing problems for everyone, even acknowledged the fact she was being stupid, and continued to act stupidly. Still, the characters and plot were enough for me to look past that and devour this book in two days.

The narrator of this audiobook was amazing, she did so many accents and made each character distinctly recognizable. Overall, amazing experience.

I'll start out by saying Moira Quirk is my favorite audiobook narrator. She does an excellent job bringing multiple characters to life with distinct and fun voices in everything she does, and she is great in Anji Kills a King!

For the actual story, I think this one falls into the category of books that aren't for me. Based on the description, I really thought I'd love it. Anji is a servant who kills an evil king, and goes on the run. She has a large bounty on her head, and most of the book follows her journey with one of the many bounty hunters after her. The story is entertaining enough, but I never really connected with any of the characters.

I think this is a solid debut, and I can see the author going far with the world he created. It is interesting, just not for me.

Thank you, NetGalley and Macmillan Audio, for an early audiobook copy in exchange for this honest review.

We follow Anji, a hot mess(I literally love her) as she tries to get away with murdering the king. She is immediately caught by a grumpy hawk 😉. There is a light magic system that keeps Anji from being able to get away as they travel to Anji’s execution(of course things go awry). Tons of witty banter, and action throughout the story. And the ending chiefs kiss.

I was given an ARC audiobook of this title from the publisher through NetGalley.

This was fun. Anji kills a king, then the rest happens.

The bulk of this story is Anji's journey from capture to a promised sentencing that involves much torture and death, in that order. We meet the one who captured her, a notorious bounty hunter known as The Hawk.

Along the way we, along with Anji, discover that there is more to the Hawk than the legends. And there are ramifications to Anji's deed that's stated in the book's title.

It's well paced without being overly quick. Just the right amount to cover a journey and the things that happen along the way. A few surprises and twists, along with some good introspection.

All in all, an enjoyable debut novel.

This was very anticipated for me since I've been a fan of evan the content creator before he was evan the author...and this book went HARD. MY FLABBERS ARE GASTED. I had to take sevral hours to process... please need more ... k thx

Thank you Macmillan, Tor and Net Galley for the ARC copy.

Like many people who follow BookReviewsKill, I’ve been wondering how Evan’s taste in books would translate into his writing.

I’m happy to say that Anji Kills a King is a minimalist story in the best way possible. This book is about Anji, whose on the run after murdering a king only to be captured by an infamous bounty hunter named the Hawk.

At times this felt very similar in setup to The Last of Us—showing a disconnected pair as they road trip through a grimdark world. The dynamic of their relationship changes as they encounter obstacles—which appear in the form of rival bounty hunters, the elements and monsters.

The middle of the book is actually where I could have used a bit more development between Anji and Hawk. A great road trip story makes the obstacles along the way feel natural, but in some cases they felt a little too lined-up and predictable here, but I’ll say it never took me too far out of the story.

Like The Last of Us, this kind of story hinges on the dynamic between its main stars—and here it’s great. Hawk is a surly warrior whose hellbent on collecting her bounty, though shows a reasonable side. I feel Anji herself could have used a bit more character work but I loved her sharp tongue as well as learning about her past. Ultimately I enjoyed watching how their dynamic evolved.

Anji Kills A King is a great debut fantasy because of its minimalist story and ends on a note that has me excited for the future.

This was a dnf for me at 20%. Unfortunately the main character just felt too whiny and couldn't seem to understand that she couldn't get away from her captor due to magic. She tried 3 times to escape despite evidence that she physically couldn't and would be hurt trying.

I do really love the idea of masked mercenaries who track bounties down and have different animal aspects and never show their faces. That's a very fun concept similar to Mandalorians and a novella coming out soon called Brighter than Scale Swifter than Flame so if you loved that aspect check out the other!

The narrator for the portions I did finish was very good! She was able to convey a lot of emotion and really did a good job using different voices and tones for different characters without sounding off or stilted. I definitely recommend this narrator and giving the audiobook a try!

this debut fantasy succeed the most in its narrative style, which has an ease to it and made it easy to get immersed into the story.

the central dynamic between the hawk and anji was so much like the hound and arya, from game of thrones, in a way that felt endearing and familiar but also with new layers.

anji was *almost* a relatable FMC and the brave novice shtick worked for me

however the lack of character development really keeps this book from being great. we are successfully dropped into the middle of the plot as fantasy is wont to do, but we are never given enough of a “why” that ties us emotionally to the characters.

this also then made the gratuitous-ness of the violence seem out of place. i never felt like the stakes got to a place that i was anxious about what could happen, more like suddenly big moments were happening and I was left with a “that didn’t feel necessary” reaction instead of concern or sadness for the characters

the book felt like it was torn being a plot centered book and character driven, with both being very light and mainly following a journey - making the character arcs fall flat.

this was nearly a great debut. but ultimately it was just fine and nothing groundbreaking for the genre.

Thank you to @macmillan.audio for providing me a copy of this audiobook. All opinions are my own.

What a fantastic debut! I was hooked right from the start, and binged it all the way through to the end.

Anji and The Hawk’s journey was everything; very character driven, but also full of danger and peril, and “how are they gonna get out of this one?”.

(Definitely some devastating moments throughout too, so be prepared for that. 😢)

The ending was absolutely fantastic. I won’t say anything else about it, except that I didn’t see it coming, but it felt just perfect for the story.

Uh, so, I did not know this while listening, but apparently this is book one of a series! 🫣😂 But yes, I will definitely be continuing on! (I am actually so happy about this because I want to know so much more about Anji and what’s going to happen after that Epilogue!)

Audiobook notes: Moira Quirk!! What more is there to say. Hands down one of my favorites, and I will always, always immediately jump on an audiobook when I see her listed as narrator. The delivery, the voices, everything. Very much recommend the audiobook!

What this book is giving:
✅ Fantasy
✅ Assassin
✅ Bounty Hunter
✅ Traveling
✅ Being Hunted
✅ Drugs

Rating:
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️½ / 5

Evan Leikam's Anji Kills a King is a fast paced debut that kept me on the edge of my seat the entire read. High stakes dark fantasy worlds always are a huge hit for me, and this one checked all of my boxes. The perfect mix of grimdark and warmth will be found in this book. It was a fresh new voice in the grimdark scene. I loved it.

Okay, so first off—Anji kills a king. It's literally in the title and happens right at the start. No build-up, no hesitation.

This debut novel is a wild ride from page one. Anji’s on the run, dodging a group of bounty hunters called the Menagerie, who are as intense as they sound. The world-building is subtle but effective—Leikam doesn’t info dump on you; he lets it unfold as Anji’s journey does, laying down ground work for what is sure to be an epic trilogy... and did I mention there's magic? It’s gritty, grounded, and adds another intriguing element to the story. There's definitely a lot to build upon, and it leaves you wondering where it is all going.

What really hooked me though was the character development.. Anji, a spunky laundress who doesn't know when to shut up, is this morally grey character that you're just itching to get to know. What drives her? Why did she do it? Who is she going to grow to be? Not to mention the relationship she develops with the enigmatic bounty hunter Hawk. It's layered, complex and keeps you compelled to keep reading.

By the end I was feeling ALL THE FEELS, but felt satisfied enough with how things wrapped up that I'm prepared to wait for the next book.​

If you’re into fast-paced fantasy with a strong, flawed protagonist, Anji Kills a King is a must-read. It’s brutal, bold, and absolutely unputdownable.​

Many thanks to NetGalley and Macmillan audio for this ALC -- The narrator did an amazing job understanding the material and bringing the story to life. I hope they continue to narrate the entire series.

I'll start by saying Moira Quirk was AMAZING and absolutely made this experience lovely. Her voices, her pacing, her emotion. She brought this story to life!

Anji Kills a King is kind of like if the side quest in your favorite fantasy became the whole story. We're on a journey, but not sure why or what for. The stakes were incredibly high, and the deaths/loss along the way were violent and sad, but again, I wasn't sure why. In order for the traumatic events to make sense, we need to truly believe in our hero, support their cause, and root for their success. But with Anji, I just didn't know enough to say with confidence, yes, the deaths of these innocents are worth ensuring our hero's success.

I also think this book should be a stand alone. We didn't get enough world building or history to justify a continued storyline. I don't even know what the hero is fighting against. General corruption? Religious extremism? There just wasn't enough plot for me to know who the bad guys are and why they need to be toppled.

But all that being said, I had fun with this book. It was a very fast, fun read. A really impressive debut from Evan. I'm just not craving any more of this universe or this character.

I enjoyed this book enough to want to finish the book, but it wasn't amazing for me. I do think there is an audience for this book and I will be recommending it for the people that I think are a good fit for it.

I really enjoyed the beginning and the end, but the book really slowed down and I lost interest in the middle of the book.

I love the characters. Anji was spunky and fierce. The Hawk seemed ruthless, but you can tell it is in a protective, "this is for your own good" kind of way.

I also enjoyed how the book started after Anji had already killed a king and she was on the run. I thought that was different and creative.

This was a fun adventure and not overly complicated. I have heard/read complaints about Anji being annoying and I think she can be at times but I'm guessing her character arc is going to be a good one. I think the fact that she is this immature, talkative, naive character will lessen a bit as the series goes on, or at least I can hope. My complaint with this book is that I didn't really feel like enough happened. I liked the story as a whole, but as this is a setup for a bigger storyline I felt a bit let down by where it ended. I do appreciate that this book wasn't overly long and drawn out, but at times I did feel like some of the scenes were a bit repetitive. It's so hard to rate a book that is just beginning a series because you can't always see the bigger picture and I feel like Evan has a good storyline going and I almost wish I would have waited until this series was complete before delving into it but I'll say this was a good start. I'm not in love with it yet, but I see the potential and I'll be interested in reading the next book to see where we go from here.

Audio narration by Moira Quirk was spectacular and after listening to some of her other works, I was so excited to see she was narrating this story!

Thank you NetGalley and Macmillan Audio for access to the ALC in exchange for an honest review.

I devoured this book. What a fantastic debut novel for Evan Leikam. The cover of this book is what drew me in, but it went a lot further with clever plotting and character development between our two main characters. Anji is just a stubborn young woman hellbent on revenge but when the Menagerie, a lethal group of bounty hunters is tasked with bringing her in, she will learn and grow in something more. The Hawk stands out the most in this story. She is such a complex character who I wanted to know every detail about. Now for the audiobook aspect of this review. Moira Quirk narrated this masterpiece and she is now my new favorite narrator. Her ability to create such unique characters with her voice is top tier.

I really enjoyed this story. We follow Anji after she commits regicide and is found by a famous bounty hunter. This is a story of morality and the corruption of power, of how the many would terrify the few if they could ever unite and come to terms with a little discomfort for greater good. How there will always be someone waiting in the shadows to swoop in to keep the status quo of hierarchy if the many don’t band together. While this did have points that slowed, I enjoyed Anji’s story as well learning about The Hawk and lessons they both learned along the way. I look forward to reading the rest of the series.

Moira Quirk's narration really elevated this book. She is a favorite narrator of mine, and when I saw her name on this one I just knew I had to listen to it. Her performance is always a boon, and this is no exception. On book alone, I'd rate 3 stars. For the audiobook, Quirk brings it up to an easy 4 stars.

For the book, I liked the way it started out, but it is a bit too fast-paced to really get comfortable with the story or connect to the characters for me. I don't feel like I got enough explanation for their motivations. The world seems really interesting, especially the Menagerie and their masks. I liked the humor built in to what is otherwise fairly dark. The reveal at the end caught me off guard and I suspect a good adventure is coming in book 2, but I'll probably be skipping it.

Thank you Macmillan audio and NetGalley for the ALC!