This Kingdom Will Not Kill Me by Ilona Andrews
#1 Maggie the Undying
Fantasy
Publisher: Ace
Published: 3.31.26
Pages: 480
Rating: 4.5 stars
Format: eARC
Source: NetGalley
Sellers: Amazon
ADD TO: GoodReads
GoodReads Synopsis:
A page-turning, unforgettable fantasy set in a city peopled with ruffians, spies, malcontents and murderers. Experience out-of-this world adventure and dangerous politics as Maggie tries to survive waking up in her favourite fictional world.
A heart-pounding epic from No. 1 New York Times bestselling author duo Ilona Andrews.
When Maggie wakes up cold, filthy and naked in a gutter, it doesn’t take her long to recognize Kair Toren. It’s a city she knows intimately from the pages of a famously unfinished dark fantasy series – one she’s been obsessively reading and re-reading, while waiting years for the final novel.
Her only tools for navigating this gritty world of rival warlords, magic and mayhem? Her encyclopaedic knowledge of the plot, the setting and the characters’ ambitions and fates. But while she quickly discovers she cannot be killed (though many will try!), the same cannot be said for the living, breathing characters she’s coming to love – a motley band that includes a former lady’s maid, a deadly assassin, various outrageous magical creatures and a dangerously appealing soldier. Soon, instead of trying to return home, she finds herself enmeshed in the schemes – and attentions – of duelling princes, dukes and villains. This all while trying to save them and the kingdom of Rellas from the ending she’s seen on the a cataclysmic war.
This Kingdom Will Not Kill Me is the beginning of the most epic adventure yet from genre powerhouse writing duo Ilona Andrews. For fans of Samantha Shannon, Sarah J. Maas, Danielle L. Jensen and isekai portal fantasy.
Sophia Rose's Review:
When a fantasy series fan gets dropped into the middle of her favorite dark, gritty, politically-charged set of books, her dreams have come true (that is, if one counts nightmares…). Ilona Andrews has written some of my favorite books in several different genres and I was fascinated when This Kingdom Will Not Kill Me, a portal fantasy, was added to their repertoire.
This Kingdom Will Not Kill Me opened on a desperate scene of a starving, naked woman slowly figuring out she has somehow been transported into the world of her favorite fantasy series- a series she has read only the first two books over and over as the author mysteriously never released the next volume. When real life was a pain, Maggie lost herself in Kair Toren. Now, her knowledge of where she is and the plot of what will happen is all she has going for her. She knows full well this fantasy world is brutal, gritty, and she will most certainly die. Though, maybe not now… or now… or now?
Maggie finds a way to survive by the skin of her teeth and a slow build group of misfits and allies. However, her knowledge isn’t nearly enough because she isn’t in this world long when she realizes that not everything is exactly as the books portrayed. Things were omitted, details she never knew about, and oh yeah, her own presence might be affecting the storyline.
This Kingdom Will Not Kill Me was an exciting concept for me as I anticipated reading it. The idea of a booklover getting to live and adventure inside their favorite series. We all joke about wanting to do that very thing though, when it comes to the darker, grittier stuff, we all admit that we wouldn’t survive a day. And, that is the situation Maggie is found in. She makes some funny observations in the beginning that she doesn’t get to be the special snowflake princess with all the powers and all the guys wanting her. No, poor Maggie starts at the absolute bottom when she has to strip a bloated, stinking corpse for even a cloak to cover her nakedness.
I had a blast with this one following along as Maggie survived and then learned to thrive after a time. This was a brutal power struggle of a fantasy and Maggie was the odd woman out trying to work it. So many times I wondered how she was going to make it – hint, hint, she did turn out to be a special snowflake in a way and I won’t spoiler it (though, see series title…hmm).
I wanted to love this completely, but I had several moments of distraction for a while. I couldn’t put my finger on why until I realized that I was simply overwhelmed. I need a re-read/listen. Then also, I think if Maggie had simply been of that world and had her adventures; I might have been less distracted. Her other life head stuff about her life outside the world of the book kept catching me up. Now, that said, once I realized what was going on, I started treating it like I do a dual timeline read and adjusting in that way and I did much better. It didn’t hurt that the world was amazing, the visceral descriptions for the sense, and Maggie and the rest of the cast being such great characters. And, whoosh that cliffie ending. Need to know what comes next, Stat!
And, so, a booklover’s portal fantasy dream was a nail-biter of a good time. Those who like those gamer stories and portal fantasies are the target group for this one. Even those of us who don’t do fantasy that often will have a roaring-good time.
Author Bio:
“Ilona Andrews” is the pseudonym for a husband-and-wife writing team. Ilona is a native-born Russian and Gordon is a former communications sergeant in the U.S. Army. Contrary to popular belief, Gordon was never an intelligence officer with a license to kill, and Ilona was never the mysterious Russian spy who seduced him. They met in college, in English Composition 101, where Ilona got a better grade. (Gordon is still sore about that.)
Gordon and Ilona currently reside in Texas with their two children and many dogs and cats.
They have co-authored several bestselling series, including the #1 NYT bestselling urban fantasy of Kate Daniels, rustic fantasy of the Edge, paranormal romance of Hidden Legacy, and Innkeeper Chronicles, which they post as a free weekly serial. For complete list of their books, fun extras, and Innkeeper installments, please visit their website at Ilona-andrews.com.
Website: https://ilona-andrews.com/
Sophia’s Bio:
Sophia is a quiet though curious gal who dabbles in cooking, book reviewing, piano-playing, and gardening. Road trips and campouts, museums and monuments, restaurants and theaters are her jam. Encouraged and supported by an incredible man and loving family. A Northern Californian transplant to the Great Lakes Region of the US. Lover of Jane Austen, Baseball, Cats, Scooby Doo, and Chocolate.
As a lifelong reader, it was inevitable that Sophia would discover book blogs and the joy of blog reviewing. Sophia is a prolific reader and audiobook listener which allows her to experience so many wonderful books, authors, and narrators. Few genres are outside her reading tastes, but her true love is fiction particularly history, mystery, sci-fi, and romance. Though, sorry, no horror or she will run like Shaggy and Scooby.
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/sophia.rose.7587
Twitter: https://twitter.com/sophiarose1816
GoodReads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/13418187.Sophia_Rose
Great review Sophia! I loved this one too.
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