Warrior Princess Assassin
By Brigid Kemmer

Warrior: Maddox Kyronan, a powerful king who commands fire and leads his armies, must find a way to save his land from the devastating drought. With rumors spreading that he is the cause of the burning of the lands, Maddox is forced into an arranged marriage with Princess Marjoriana to secure the future of his people.

Princess: Marjoriana, bound by duty to marry the feared King Ky, must do so to protect her kingdom of Astranza from encroaching enemies. While her father’s magical ability to control the weather suggests this marriage could be the solution, there’s a secret he has kept: his illness. As Marjoriana grows closer to King Ky, she begins to question the rumors of his ruthless nature, seeing a different side to him.

Assassin: Asher, a skilled assassin, is hired to eliminate both the king and the princess. However, Asher shares a deep bond with Marjoriana, having been her childhood friend, and soon learns that there is a price on her head. Torn between loyalty and duty, Asher must decide whether to protect his friend—or risk everything to protect the king as well.

I give Warrior Princess Assassin 3.5 stars out of 5. The premise of this story is engaging, offering a blend of political intrigue, magic, and romance that’s hard to put down. The pacing is spot-on, keeping the plot moving without feeling rushed. The dynamics between Ky, Marjoriana, and Asher provide a refreshing twist on the typical "romantasy" genre, with complex relationships that evolve in unexpected ways.
However, while the story was enjoyable, I found the ending to be somewhat predictable, which slightly dampened the overall experience. I also wished that Jory, one of the key characters, had a bit more depth. While her motivations were clear, her personal journey felt underdeveloped compared to the other characters.

Overall, the book is a solid read for fans of fantasy romance

I received a complimentary copy of this book. All opinions expressed in this review are entirely my own.

Thank you, NetGalley and Avon, for the opportunity to read Warrior Princess Assassin.

I LOVED this book! I was hooked from the very beginning, and the relationship building between the three main characters, political plots, and overall world were really engaging. I also absolutely ADORED that Kimmerer included a FMM relationship that gave a true poly-vibes and not just reverse harem. I can't wait to read the next book, and I'm so excited to see what comes next from Kemmerer in the adult romantasy space.
Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes Jory and Asher and Ky all grow so much!
Loveable characters? Yes Jory my beloved and Asher my broken darling
Diverse cast of characters? Yes in the sense of sexualities
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

This is a review for an eARC from Harper Collins and NetGalley. This is quite possibly Brigid Kemmerer's best novel to date. I can not wait for the next book! The story was incredibly well developed, and the romance was perfect for the story. I love the characters, especially Jory. I tore through this book in three days, I even read a few pages between classes. Trying to figure out who to trust, and who was betraying who kept me engaged throughout. I can honestly say I wished terrible things upon Dane from the very beginning.

BRIGID F*CKING KEMMERER

This is the 9th book by Brigid Kemmerer I’ve read. I’ve loved her YA fantasy book so when I saw this was her first adult romantasy, I couldn’t wait.

And she did NOT disappoint.

The intrigue. The tension. THE YEARNING. I love the character growth in this book—Ky opening up, Jory coming into her own, Asher learning to trust. Just. Chef’s kiss. I cannot wait for the next book to see how these three take on Dane and the other kingdoms.

Well, BK did it again. I was absolutely hooked from the first chapter. What I love so much about her books is the complexity of her characters and, Warrior Princess Assassin did not disappoint in arena. The characters, the relationships, the backstories were just perfection. I loved it and I cannot wait for the next book.

Thank you to the author and publisher for this ARC!

thank you so much avon & harper voyager & netgalley for this arc!!

this year i read brigid kemmerer’s defy the night series & was absolutely obsessed so when i heard she was writing an adult fantasy series i wanted to jump right in!

unfortunately i was left disappointed… don’t get me wrong there were aspects to this story that i really liked, the mystery, the politics, & the characters were super intriguing

but the romance .. which took up a good majority of this book… was not for me at all :/ i’ll just say if you liked the movie challengers you’ll prolly like this book & i’ll leave it at that! 3💫

This was not what I was expecting! This is spicy, adult, and not a love triangle.

I don’t usually gravitate toward poly books (which this is), but I was pleasantly surprised by Warrior Princess Assassin. I was hooked from the start, and Ky and Asher (the MMCs) are each intriguing characters. In fact, I don’t get what they see in the FMC; Jory’s character feels underdeveloped, and most of the chemistry and impactful scenes are between the MMCs, not with the FMC. It makes me think the book should be MM, but the book has “Princess” in the title, so.

Check trigger warnings before reading if you have triggers. The writing feels very familiar to Brigid Kemmerer’s usual work, but this is dark and in no way YA.

Review contains spoilers

When I first started this book it was giving me similar vibes to The Remnant Chronicles by Mary E. Pearson from the aspect of an arranged marriage with a side of assassin but like 10x hotter and more adult.

I really loved that we got a 3-person POV in this story and honestly of the 3 Asher was so intriguing to me. I would have loved to get more of his backstory so hopefully in the following books we get more of that.

The banter was good and the tension was better. I was loving the relationship between Asher and Ky but it slowly started to lose me when it turned it’s a love triangle situation then later a whole throple. Going into this story I was hoping for a heated competition between the two men for Jorys affection but they all go in on the action, and although not my fav trope I can confirm it was HAWT!

Overall I loved the storyline and the potential it carries with the downside of the throple trope

Was just not for me. The three way romance was a bit much, and the ending seemed really silly and nonsensical.

I’ve loved this author for a long time and was excited to see her take on adult romantasy. The world is lush and full with some magic but also had a real life vibe. We have three different narrators: Ky, the king; Asher, the reluctant assassin; and Jory, the princess with a spirit like fire.

I was immediately drawn to the characters, which doesn’t always happen. These characters are so well developed and I like all of them - this is also rarely the case for me! I truly did not want this book to end, yet I couldn’t put it down.

One thought I had was is this an “adult” book not just because of the more adult themes, but the characters are more mature? There was definitely something different with this book compared to Kemmerer’s other work - for the better. Still love her other work but wow - can’t wait to see where this goes!

*Thank you to Harpervoyager, Brigid Kemmerer and Netgalley for providing me with an E-ARC of "Warrior, Princess, Assassin" in exchange for an honest review.

I loved this! Brigid weaves an engaging adult fantasy debut fans and newcomers to her work won't be dissapointed.

Great writing but not my jam. I initially thought this would be a love triangle. It literally was! The description has a very subtle allusion to the MFM story. But I did not realize that until about 50% of the book. I guess I should have realized with the 3 POVs. Not my genre, but I would read another book by this author since her writing is really good. Also I don't think the tags should be YA for this book, it definitely has more mature themes.I received an ARC through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

When I say I want to read a romantasy, this is what I mean.

If you loved The Remnant Chronicles by Mary E. Pearson but wanted an adult version where Lia, Rafe, and Kaden are all lusting after each other - let me introduce you to Warrior Princess Assassin and Ky, Jory, Asher. 🥵

I will admit I went into this book blind. All I needed to know was that this was Brigid Kemmerer’s adult debut and I was sold! Imagine my surprise when the warrior, the princess, and the assassin were all separate people and the warrior and the assassin weren’t just craving the princess but each other too!

What’s to love…
- the absolute SLOWEST of slow burn
- political intrigue
- not a dull POV in sight, usually with multiple POVs there is always one I don’t love - this was the exception! I loved being in each of their heads!
- Grade A BANTER
- EPIC TENSION
- easy to binge and totally un-put-downable
- characters you want to root for
- the romance 💗💗

What’s not to love…
- occasionally the POVs were a bit repetitive

🌶️ - Ch 32, 33, 34 🥵

Thank you NetGalley and Avon/Harper Voyager for the eARC. All opinions are my own.

Entertaining with a flair for drama, as the warrior, princess, and assassin are pretty emotionally driven, so there’s a lot of character-driven plot twists. Overall a decent read to pass the time.

Although this story is told from 3 different POV’s, I thought their internal dialogue were too similar and too much, especially for a novel of this length. There are some chapters of almost just pure internal dialogue and character dialogue, which made the novel move at a glacial pace. Literally nothing happens for much of the book while they journey to Incendar, and there’s also no suspense because we know all the characters are good from their own POVs. The princess’s story was also the least interesting, as she seems to be more of a vessel for the male characters’ problems and protection, which is kind of a bummer. The sudden swing from painting quaint but regal, fantasy descriptions to the characters swearing was also too jarring for me. Also, I cannot get over some the names of the main characters, like Princess Marjoriana and King Maddox Kyronan.

Special thanks to Avon and Harper Voyager and NetGalley for providing an eARC in exchange for an honest, independent review.

This might be my new favorite series, I am obsessed. I love Brigid Kemmerer, so I knew it was going to be a good read BUT I DIDN'T KNOW THE BANTER WAS GOING TO BE FIRE!!!! I am a sucker for a fantasy/Romantasy with good banter/sarcasm between the characters and this absolutely scratched that itch.

The plot was well written and it pulls you in from the very beginning. It was such a unique story. I could not put this book down, I was literally working and reading this book at the same time, which is how I read it in a day. I was panicking as the percentage read was going because I did not what it to end. Then knowing so much still had to happen, so of course the panic and anticipation of a cliffhanger started at 95%, and again at 98% waiting for it, but then I was happily surprised by how it ended.

I can't wait for the next one, I need more ASAP. Brigid - keep doing what you're doing because it's fantastic!

Warrior Princess Assassin by Brigid Kemmerer

I feel very sad to have to say… this book wasn’t for me. At all. Let me start by saying I LOVE her previous books. The defy the night series is one of my top tier fantasy series of all time. Before I get into my review for this one, be warned there may be some SPOILERS. I warned you. Don’t keep reading if you don’t want to see them…

This book was Brigid’s first jump into the adult world of fantasy (all of her previous series are YA) and I think she took that as permission to make all of these characters WAY too horny. There isn’t even much actual smut in this book, until the very end, but we live inside these characters heads so much and the entire time all 3 of them just cannot stop thinking about banging each other. The two men have constant boners (literally, I read about so many boners) and the simpering, nervous virgin princess (gag) is SOAKING wet (or whatever language she uses, I can’t remember because I tried to block most of it out) the entire book. This would be FINE if there was a good story and magic and some character development to hold it up… but there wasn’t.

I felt absolutely nothing for this story or these characters or the setting. There was nothing unique or fresh about the story, and most of the time with the characters is just spent with their inner dialogue about how turned on they are by their throuple situation. Which also, gag. The virgin princess had zero chemistry with either dude, and I think this story could have been so much stronger as the relationship happening between just the two male characters. There was some power dynamic play going on there that would have really worked had it been explored more. The idea was there, the execution was not. This book didn’t feel like her other writing, which is beautiful. I think sometimes with adult fantasy, authors can lean a little bit too much into the sex part of it and the rest of the book really suffers. I personally prefer YA fantasy for that reason. And I’m not opposed to well done smut, but it needs to be well done, and it needs to be balanced with the rest of the story. This book is very much a sex charged romance first, with a bit of very meh fantasy sprinkled in when there is time. It just really did not work for me.

I am not tagging the author or the publisher in my review because I don’t have anything nice to say. I’ll leave the publisher seeing it to my review on Netgalley, and I hope the author never sees it. 😂

All of that to say, Brigid Kemmerer writes STRONG YA fantasy. I am a huge fan and will absolutely be revisiting her works in the future.

Warrior Princess Assassin by Brigid Kemmerer is everything I hoped for and more. The characters, the plot, the romance—each element was executed perfectly, leaving me hooked from start to finish.

I loved how the story was told through the alternating perspectives of Ky, Jory, and Asher. Each character is uniquely complex and compelling, and seeing the events unfold through their eyes added so much depth to the story. Ky’s fierce determination to save his kingdom, Jory’s inner turmoil as she hides her family’s secret, and Asher’s moral struggle as an assassin—each of their journeys had me fully invested.

The romance is filled with tension, and the chemistry between the characters is off the charts. I found myself rooting for Ky and Jory, even as they struggled with their duties, and Asher’s loyalty to Jory only made the situation more complicated—and more delicious. The passionate love triangle will keep you on the edge of your seat.

Kemmerer’s world-building is rich, and I was captivated by the magic systems, especially the weather manipulation and fire magic. The plot is filled with twists, intrigue, and plenty of heart-stopping moments that make this a must-read for fans of high fantasy and slow-burn romance. If you’re looking for a thrilling fantasy with steamy romance and complex characters, Warrior Princess Assassin is the book for you!

4.5 Stars! I have been waiting for this book since it was listed on Goodreads years ago, and when I was approved for this arc, I dropped everything to read it. Let me tell you, it did not disappoint! The characters, the romance, the plot- I could not put this book down. I loved that we got all three POVs, saw the events unfold through each of their eyes, and got the different perspectives. The only two things I struggled with were that at times it felt a bit repetitive, and that I felt like there could have been more added to the story. But overall, I cannot wait for the release of this book, and Brigid Kemmerer, you have yet to disappoint me. If she writes it, I will read it!

Now I must impatiently wait for Book Two.

Thank you NetGalley and Avon and Harper Voyager for this ARC!

I absolutley loved this book! I was gripped into the story as soon as I started and finished it in one sitting. I loved the authors writing style because it made it very easy to read and follow the plot. The characters were very unique but there journey was amazing and extremely satisfying to read. I will be recommending this book to all of my family and friends.

I have been a huge fan of Brigid Kemmerer’s books for a few years, loving both the Cursebreaker and the Defy the Night trilogy. This book, however, did not pique my interest quite as much.
She still did a fantastic job building complex characters in a complicated world. The characters were likable but still had flaws that had you rooting for them while still giving them room to grow.
I personally am not a fan of the poly romance direction this book was headed. I fully acknowledge that so many people will enjoy and love it, but it’s not for me.
Overall, this is still a fantastic book that romantasy readers and fans of Brigid Kemmerer will love!