One of my favourite books and I seriously cannot wait for book 2!! Everything about this book is perfect.

4.5 stars

I was obsessed with the Paper Magician years ago, and I intended to read the author’s other novels since then. It took me a long time but here I am.
I was not disappointed. The Shattered King was amazing! I adore healer + royal pairings and Nym and Renn were adorable. The forbidden love, the yearning the heartache! This is the kind of romance I love to read!
The idea of the Lumi was very original. I liked that the healing procedure was not some easy, common magic.
Some tiny bits were a bit strange to me. The royals were very penny-pinchers, and I didn’t understand why Nym’s siblings couldn't do certain chores without Nym.
The ending is a cliffhanger, and I’m very excited to read the sequel whenever it is released.

This is a slow, steady book setting up Nym as a character and through her the complex magic system wherein a healer goes into a patient’s …. self for lack of a better word, and manipulates it and restores it to allow for physical healing. Gout, a cold, a broken arm or the plague all show up in this space as blights or fractures or weds. Everyone has a different sense of self, so some people might look like a painting, a brick wall, a garden, a maze, and it’s up to Nym to figure out what’s wrong and how to fix it. But when summoned to heal a prince whose lungs and legs are shattered, whose body has been broken for years, she finds his inner self so shattered she has no idea what to do.

The first half of the book is Nym trying various ways to fix Renn while dealing with a monstrously cruel queen, being unable to bathe, nearly starving and constantly exhausting herself as she works from dawn to dusk. Eventually Nym stands up for herself and Renn begins treating her like a person, which on the one hand is a good thing … but on the other allows him to develop feelings for her. Nym is neither interested in or ready for a romance after several devastating losses in her part, and the story becomes a very, very slow burn.

Politics happen, but none of that affects Nym and Renn, isolated as they are because of his illness, which means the book is focused entirely on their relationship. First as healer and patient, then as friends, and then as potential lovers. It’s very much a character study of Nym as she endures everything thrown at her, and finally learns to stand up for herself, and I personally found Nym to be a very engaging character.

She’s closed off, due to her past, wary of strangers and yet so lonely without her family. She reaches out to help people regardless of their opinions of her because she knows she can help, and refuses to not try. She has resilience, courage, cleverness, and stubbornness without being quippy, snarky, sassy or special. Instead she’s just Nym, who works hard and always tries her best, and I can’t wait to see what happens to her in the next book.

This one ends on a cliffhanger, which means I have to wait for the next one. That’s the only complaint I have about this whole situation: waiting for the sequel. Thank you so much to Net Galley and the publisher for the ARC!

"A hive cannot function with only one bee."

The Shattered King is unlike any book I've ever read. Calling it epic doesn't quite convey the depth of this fantasy story.

The magic system in this book is completely unique and absolutely fascinating. I can't wait to learn more about it in the next book.

I loved the bee imagery woven through the story. At first, it just seemed charming and quaint, a fitting hobby for the main character. I didn't expect it to be such a pivotal subject in the story. Masterful.

Nym might be the best character Charlie Holmberg has written... and I say that as the self-proclaimed president of the Merritt Fernsby Fan Club! Watching her heal from her trauma through her relationship with Renn was spectacular.

Renn, our main male character, is imperfectly perfect. I loved him from the start, and that love just grew as his story unfolded.

The last 10% was nonstop adventure, and I'm not sure if I was even breathing as I read!

I loved this book from page 1. It was the kind of reading experience I hope for from every book I read...that stay up late, wake up early just to sneak in more pages, don't know what to do with myself now that it's over experience.

If you liked Prison Healer, you will gobble this up!

Nym is busy caring for her family and making ends meet when she is called to attend to the prince who needs a healer.
Her life at the castle is so bad, I was constantly in disbelief that things were going THIS BAD.

Some fun twists and turns, I wished it was longer, a few more stories told than just mentioned.

The magic was truely unique and i enjoyed my time with this one!
Would i reread? maybe, this was fun and quick
would i recommend? YES to anyone who liked Prison Healer or Daughter of the Forest.

How did the author get curly hair AND healthcare correct in a romantasy book?? 🥰 I really liked this one! The characters and slow burn romance (yearning!) were *chef's kiss*

I cannot wait until the sequel, that cliffhanger 🤯

Thank you to @netgalley and @cnholmberg for a free ARC in exhange for an honest review.

What a great story! I loved the characters, the healing magic, the mystery of Nym's past that unrolls slowly, and all of the surprises along the way! Charlie has created a fantastic story with magic and love and family and I cannot wait to dive into the next installment!

I received an ARC via netgalley, but all enthusiastic opinions are my own!

This felt to me like a fully middle of the road book. While there were flashes of character development and intriguing dynamics, I truly felt like this book could have been cut down to half or a third. The rage I felt when I realized the plot was just taking off in the last two chapters … it made me so foolish for have waited for something to happen.

I kindly received this book pre release from the publisher for an honest review.

This was a surprising book in all the right ways. Great characters, non linear and unexpected plot. With some fantasy tropes but it's goes hard to subvert your expectations of a fantasy story and it succeeds.

Without spoilers the plot is of a reluctant healer summoned to help the queens ailing son. secrets abound on all sides and the character development was my favourite thing here.

The stand out is the healing magic system and the way it's described, just wow. It's done with such beautiful visualisation that it's complex but ont he other hand understandable and easy. I've never read a magic system like this in any book and I'm hoping to read more. 100% worth a read add this to your TBR!

“The Shattered King” is my first Charlie N. Holmberg novel, and it won’t be my last. The magic system was new, exciting, and extraordinary for the imagination.

I enjoyed reading this book. I sped through in one day because I couldn’t wait to see what happened next. The plot was great, the main characters were interesting and complex, and I even felt a connection to the side characters, which doesn’t always happen for me. The story was slow to unfold at some points, but I appreciated the extra context for relationship building and character development. The author paints a vivid picture for you with her descriptions, and I felt very immersed in the story. This book also dealt with hard topics and some of the sections felt like a gut punch. It was a fun read, but also a heavy read at times. I was very invested in the story from an emotional standpoint.

Overall, I will give this book 4/4.5 stars. I look forward to reading the next book in the series! Thank you to the author, 47North, and NetGalley for providing this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

This is such a great read! But be smarter than me and do not start this book near evening or you will very much lose sleep because you will be unable to put it down. This story is gripping and perfectly paced. Nym has such a tragic backstory that slowly unfolds and you will immediately sympathize with her and her unfair plight. I love palace intrigues but there really are not very many here. Nym does have to find her place in the castle and be wary of many people there. There is a very slow burn romance with a love interest that is very much a touch her and die hero which I love. It is a world of contradictions and a unique take on magic but overall it’s just well written and interesting. I’ve loved this author since Paper Magician and her writing has only continued to improve and spin a story you will be unable to put down. It does very much end on a cliffhanger I will be very impatiently waiting for.

I loved the worldbuilding and magic system is unique and creative. The main characters are great and people that you would want to root for. Our main female character, Nym, is a smart and strong protagonist. She is thoughtful to those around her and makes good decisions for the most part. Prince Renn displays personal growth and the relationship between he and Nym grows slowly but naturally. I highly recommend this read if you are interested in slow burns, a little political intrigue, and a character based story.

This was my first Charlie N. Holmberg book and I LOVED it! I can't wait to read more of her books (especially the sequel to this one!)

Nym is a great main character. She isn't afraid to speak her mind, and she was the perfect blend of strong but nurturing that I love to see. I also liked Prince Renn, it was nice to witness his growth throughout the book and get to know him alongside Nym. I appreciated the break from the typical "tall, dark, and handsome (but kind of toxic)" MMCs that seem to be all the rage lately. The romance was slow-burn and believable, which is a strong compliment from me as I am very picky when it comes to romance. The magic system was unique but not too complicated or difficult to understand, and I hope that the next book will delve in deeper to some of the other aspects of magic beyond healing. I am just so impatient to find out what happens next!

Thank you to 47North and NetGalley for allowing me to read this ARC, I will certainly be purchasing this book to add to both my personal collection and my library's collection.

The Shattered King introduced me to a unique magic system—lumis—that I hadn’t seen before. The story follows Nym, a healer from the countryside who’s forced to become the prince’s personal healer after he’s been sick his whole life.

I usually enjoy slow-paced fantasy because I love getting lost in the world-building and character development. While I appreciated the focus on the healing process, I wish there’d been a bit more variety or tension during those sessions. The first 20% felt like the same routine—Nym waking up exhausted, healing the prince, and going back to her room. It started to feel repetitive, and I found it harder to stay invested.

I also found myself frowning from start to finish. You know that face you make when something just doesn’t make sense? Yeah, I was making that face a lot. I couldn’t wrap my head around how the main character was treated. She’s the healer for the royal family—literally their only hope to save the prince—and yet she’s not even being paid. No matter how hard she works, she’s overworked, given no rest, no recognition, and sometimes even starved. It felt illogical, and that made it harder to root for the story. On top of that, even the other medical doctors treated her like dirt, calling her a “fake” healer—even though they themselves hadn’t made any progress with the prince. It was really frustrating to watch.

The ending had a twist, but it didn’t leave me dying to know what happens next. Still, I’m glad I gave this book a shot—it was a fresh and unique read in a genre I love. If you enjoy slow-burn romance and fantasy, it might be worth checking out.

Thank you to NetGalley for the ARC of this book! This is the first of a duology and I am seated and ready for the next one. I've read Charlie N. Holmberg's Paper Magician series and really loved it, and this looks to go up a few notches for me. I'd give this 4.5/5.

This was a really fun read, with a really unique magic system. Our protagonist, Nym, is a healer and the eldest of 8 siblings, who gets enlisted to try and heal the sickly prince (which of course no one has ever succeeded in aiding him before). She makes the tiniest bit of difference and finds herself stuck in the castle, with the mandate to heal him and only then can she return to her family. Nym is then thrust into court life and must navigate it all with the little resources she has. The other characters, particularly the prince's guards, felt like more than just wall decoration.

I loved particularly the development of Nym and Prince Renn's relationship, that both were slow to trust one another but I also love that he comes to a place of utter devotion while she's still in denial of her feelings. I enjoyed Nym being a slightly unreliable narrator, and I can't wait to see what we learn in the next book, particularly given that we only got glimpses of some of the court intrigue. I also really loved that Nym is the one saving Renn all over the place, I feel like we don't get that dynamic nearly enough.

4.5/4.75 stars.

I was not remotely surprised by the fact that this book was a definite page-turner from the first few chapters. I have read a few of Holmberg's novels, notably, the Paper Magician novels, so this was not my introduction to her. However, this was perhaps my favorite book so far. The magic system and the FMC were the highlights for me. I can see how some may feel the plot drags, but I think it was the characters that really pulled it along if it did drag at all. My only "complaint" would've been for it to be longer because I felt attached to Nym and the world itself. Book two now please!

I'm shocked The Shattered King by Charlie N Holmberg isn't all over BookTok yet! Go add it to your TBR now!

Short synopsis:
In the Kingdom of Cansere, healing is the only legal craft. Nym, a healer and beekeeper, supports her family after her brother's conscription. Summoned to the palace to heal the Queen's ailing son, Prince Renn, Nym plans to deliberately fail and swiftly return home. However, after unexpectedly easing one of Prince Renn's symptoms, Nym's fate becomes entangled with his - and she's trapped in the palace, forced to untangle the secrets behind Renn's condition.

Nym, the FMC, is strong and smart, with a quick wit that shines through in her sharp retorts. As we get to know her, we uncover her pain and trauma throughout the book, and see how she finds strength to cope. She's desperate to avoid having her heart broken again. And fails miserably of course.

Prince Renn, the MMC, starts off cold and distant, but he's actually a warm and caring person beneath the surface. His illness since birth has made him a shut-in, and it takes him time to open up to Nym. When he finally does, he's willing to sacrifice everything for her.

The book focuses on the characters and their healing, both mentally and physically. The court intrigue is masterfully woven throughout the story, and the main action builds up in the background almost until the very end. What's refreshing is the age dynamic between Nym (24) and Prince Renn (20), which flips the typical trope of a younger, inexperienced heroine and an older, wiser hero. The book ends on a cliffhanger, with Nym finally uncovering a crucial secret about Renn's mysterious illness just as everything is left hanging. I'm anxiously waiting for the next book, but unfortunately, there's no release date yet 😭

Thank you to NetGalley for the opportunity to read this book in advance of its release date (09/02/2025). I'm excited for readers to dive in and experience the story for themselves!

The Shattered King by Charlie N. Holmberg started off as a super slow burn, and honestly, I really thought I was going to DNF it. But wow—I’m so glad I stuck with it because I ended up falling in love with the story. The pacing is slower, but it’s done in a way that pulls you in bit by bit, revealing just enough to keep those pages turning.

There’s a twist at the end that completely caught me off guard, and now I’m dying to know what happens next—especially with this new power coming into play. It gave me slight From Blood and Ash vibes, almost like a light gender-swapped version, which was really fun to see.

If you're into fantasy romance with a slow build and a satisfying payoff, this one's worth the read.

Well done central characters and sensitive emotional connections were ultimately bogged down for me by a plot that seemed to veer sideways rather than to a point, including what felt like a dramatic shift in tone toward the end. I also found the extent of the prince's recover to be frustrating at times because it felt like he was turning into a platonic ideal of a person rather than retaining all the contradictions that originally made him compelling. There was also something about the way the brother was written that I didn't love. There just wasn't enough nuance there for the empathy he was granted. A fast read that crumbles under close inspection, though I enjoyed the initial dynamic between the protagonists.

4.5 Stars Rounded Up | A captivating tale that begs the question: who’s really healing whom?

Ugh, I devoured this book in a day - and now I have to wait who knows how long for book two?! WHY do I do this to myself?! 😩

In all seriousness, I instantly fell in love with this slow-burn, forced-proximity romantasy. The Shattered King follows Nym, a peasant healer conscripted by the crown to use her rare gift to help the reclusive, ailing Prince Renn. The eldest of eight siblings, Nym plans to fail fast so she can return home and care for her family. But when a single gesture sparks the first glimmer of hope in the royal family in decades, she finds herself bound to the crown - and the castle - for the foreseeable future.

I was enchanted by Nym’s sharp wit and her pride in the face of cruel subjugation. And Renn? I fell for him as he slowly came to life - in more ways than one. Their relationship is built on raw honesty and guarded vulnerability, and watching their friendship blossom was genuinely heartwarming.

The magic system is vivid and intriguing, and while there are plenty of breadcrumbs hinting at deeper mysteries, the plot never felt predictable. The pacing ramps up significantly in the final quarter, leading to a jaw-dropping cliffhanger that will haunt me until book two.

In short: if you enjoy sassy reluctant heroines, an underestimated MMC, and mutual healing, The Shattered King is well worth your time.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the opportunity to read an advance copy. I’m voluntarily sharing my honest review.