Princess Knight was everything that we loved about Blacksmith Queen with a look into the crazy lives of Warrior Nuns. And Professional Virgins. And Zombie horses. And Truce Priests (who might be even harder to get along with than all of the assassins, berserkers, and blood magicians).
Full of blood, sex, swearing, and a deep abiding love for family, Princess Knight opens up the world Aiken has created, while continuing to tease just enough that the reader is more than ready for book three.
4.5 gory yet fun stars out of 5

Another wonderful read. I have quickly been drawn into the world of Gemma and her family. The Amichi are a wonderful new people to get to know! I would suggest this book to everyone that likes humor with there fantasy and romance. I can't wait until the next installment comes out!

I got so excited when I found out my request for an ARC was approved. I loved the first book so much, craziness and fun all around, this book was just as good! I have to say The Princess Knight made me tear up a couple of times so it also shows how much I care for these characters.

In this sequel, Gemma, our war monk, is the main character but we also have chapters from Quinn and the author also includes perspectives from different characters along the way which was pretty nice and added another layer of humor sometimes.

Two years after the end of book one, we get to meet a lot of new characters in this book and therefore, we have new personalities to love (or hate like Sprenger). I do have to say this series really doesn't focus on the romance which is in the background and that changes a little from other books so that's nice but I can't say I didn't wish for a little more hints sometimes ;).

Other than that, the ending of this book is amazingly not the end of the series and I'm pretty sure there's going to be another book perhaps with Ainsley as a main character, you know that sister Gemma and Keeley keeps forgetting ^^. I'd love to see her and Ragna grow closer as their first meeting was pretty cool.

Overall, if you loved the first book, don't hesitate and pick this one up because you'll love it too!

(Thank you so much for letting me read and review an ARC via Netgalley)

The Princess Knight is the second book in G.A. Aiken's fantasy series, The Scarred Earth Saga. Although the timeline is two years after the first book ended, there is an overarching plot that makes it necessary for you to read the first book, The Blacksmith Queen. G.A. Aiken is also known as Shelly Laurenston and if you are familiar with her books then those under G.A. Aiken will feature the same crazy as shit female bad asses as heroines. Also they also have uniquely crazy family dynamics as well. In fact this is the core essence of her writing. The Princess Knight centers around Gemma Smythe aka the second sister aka the Warrior Monk. It's quite difficult to give out too much details without spoiling the whole book. Suffice to say, if you love your heroine's to be independent, strong willed, not willing to get physically hurt and is willing to hurt anyone who threatens those they love with great world building with fantasy elements and a complex plot that is definitely intriguing plus secondary characters that also holds a readers attention then do not hesitate to start this series. It's a guaranteed winner!

I really liked this book— I don’t think G. A. Aiken could write anything I wouldn’t enjoy. However, I didn’t like it as much as the first. Honestly, the romance part seemed somewhat forced and came out of nowhere, and I don’t think this story or these characters necessarily needed to be a romantic couple. But the best part is the very end, which was an amazing plot twist. I hope it means a crossover from series. As always, great writing, and would recommend.

I received an ARC of this book and it was a great fantasy book. As the war continues the princess has to make some difficult changes in regaining her throne. With new obstacles in this fantasy series.

Glorious, to quote Quinn the Amichai. Book 2 of The Scarred Earth series is action-packed and emotionally-charged. Gemma has put aside her war monk robes to battle alongside her sister Keeley, the Blacksmith Queen. Another of the Old King's sons rises and is destroying monasteries and stealing religious artifacts for their power. While Keeley faces him, Gemma sneaks into Beatrix's castle to see what nefarious plans that sister has in motion. Gemma tries returning to her Order to get them on Keelye's side, only to learn they've made a pact with Beatrix.
Now more than ever, the stakes are high, but Gemma has Quinn at her side to protect her, whether she wants him to or not. He drives her crazy with his sarcastic wit and unsolicited advice, but his embrace leaves them both breathless. Greatly enjoyed this book. All the original characters return and new ones get introduced. And, best of all the prep for Book 3 will have two of our favorite things -- Annwyl and dragons. Woo hoo!

G.A. Aiken (also Shelly Laurenston) is my favorite fantasy romance author. She is unparalleled in creating characters who are funny, unique, and simultaneously kick butt. The two characters, Emma (a war monk princess) and Quinn (a centaur warrior) seem an unlikely pair, but G.A. Aiken excels at throwing characters together who fall into love when paired in harrowing situations.

This book is a sequel to The Blacksmith Queen where we first learned about the Smythe sisters and their road to royalty. I enjoyed learning more about the friends I made when reading the first book and the continued battle for the crown. I rated this book four out of five stars because it was the perfect sequel and added on many more unique characters to love in their future adventures.

The Scarred Earth Saga books are more focused on the action plot line than the romance plot line, which is right up my alley.

Another adventure with the Smythe family sisters. This time the story is with the war monk sister who has left her tribe and faith to help save the Blacksmith Queen's territory and as many magical tribes as they can before their 3rd ruthless sister and another destroy and take over all. This is full of family fighting, sisterly love and hate, falling in love, humor, magic and war. G.A. Aiken once again took me on an a journey that kept me entertained and that I could not put down.

I received a free copy from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

So.. this was an epic next installment. I really had fun with this one as the romance was well plotted, there was a ton of action, and the ending. Omg the ending. No, this was not a gooey over the top love story, but it made sense in the context. She’s a war monk, and he’s a centaur who lives to irritate and annoy, but is always there for those who matter to him. They annoy all of their friends but like was said in the book, who else is going to put up with them? Instead of insta love, they kind of slip into it sneakily. But, I am sad about a few major things, and don’t want to spoil this as this book doesn’t come out for a while yet, but I’m sure I won’t be the only one saying this. Also, the backstory for Gemma makes everything make so much more sense now. If you read my review for The Blacksmith Queen, it looks like I’m close to getting my hopes and dreams, but they’ll have to wait for the next book. *fingers crossed*

I don’t know if you know this but The Blacksmith Queen by G.A Aiken was by far one of THE most memorable book of 2019 for me. 

Keeley (The Blacksmith Queen) was one of THE most unique badass heroine I have EVER come across and Gemma (Keeley’s sister) intrigued the hell out of me.



For those who don’t know, Gemma is a war monk (I think that title pretty much sums up what she does) and she has fascinated me. She has always been such an angry character and the ‘curious me’ always wanted to probe about and find out her reasons.


Let’s start with the obvious because I LOVED Keeley and I did find myself drawing comparisons between the two (couldn’t help it 🙈).

While Keeley aka The Blacksmith Queen is always kind (not a pushover), generous (not gullible), welcoming (not stupid )and truly doesn’t judge people. Whereas Gemma was quite the opposite… angry, fowl tempered, hypocritical…did I mention ANGRY? She is like a little ball of anger. 
I am not doing Gemma much justice am I? BUT bear with me…hang on.
Besides the obvious personality difference, one can’t help but admire Gemma because though she may be smaller in size as compared to Keeley (I mean…she does wield a HAMMER!!), Gemma is a powerful, deathly package.
It is because of G.A Aiken’s amazing storyline telling ability that makes this character truly unique and oh-so-interesting.

I never did like Quinn all that much in the first book to be honest BUT I have done a complete 180. Quinn is such a delight. Funny, sarcastic, humorous and deathly…

Quinn and Gemma have one of those chemistry that gets you glued to the story. Quinn knows just what buttons to push to annoy and irritate the hell out of Gemma. I honestly LIVE for those scenes. I loved how their relationship went from strength to strength… Around each other, they could be themselves, lean on each other, show their weakness without judgement. I think they become each other’s strength and weakness.

In all honesty, I cannot tell you how many times I laughed my ass off, wanted to shout my encouragement during certain scenes and cried my eyes out reading The Princess Knight. There were also moments in The Princess Knight where I felt exactly like the characters in the book, where we are just stood there, staring straight ahead for several long minutes. Saying nothing. Unable to move… Why you ask? Because those *clap* scenes *clap* were *clap* EPIC!!!!!!!

The Princess Knight is for all fantasy book lovers out there. The book is all about the power struggle, the battles (AMAZING!!!), the conflict of interests, the sheer unadulterated delights of love and respect, and the marvellous comical moments of old and new characters that you will definitely adore.

I for one, am already looking forward to reading more from this series.

P.S. Can we talking talking about that epilogue?! Can we?!

4.5 stars

I loved this book so much and I am really looking forward to the next one although I have zero idea when it will come out in the meantime I will read the dragon series that goes along with this one. I really loved the characters especially Gemma I liked that there was little romance although she had plenty of chemistry with Quinn from the start. I liked how this story went from POV to POV even going to the bad guys which helps get me insight in Beatrix and many of the other ally characters of this book. The plot was amazing I like that it started with a bang and never really slowed down the whole way through. I really liked how well written this book is there was never a dull moment I am really looking forward to more. So overall I loved this book and I really want that next book whenever it becomes available that is.

Once again this author has brought us a wildly entertaining story in The Princess Knight. I don't think I have laughed more than I did in this book, even in the mist of some really bloody scenes. These characters are brutal, and hilarious!

This is not a standalone book. You do need to read the first one to really know what's going on and what's motivating these characters as they wage war against some evil characters. The main focus is on a different couple, but the overall story continues from the first book. We see the same recurring characters as well as some very interesting new ones.

I feel there is no need for a further description. If you read and loved book one, you are going to love book 2. It has the same feel without feeling repetitive. It completely drew me and made it hard to stop reading when I needed to return to real life, and the way this ended has me so excited for the next book in the series.

I feel like my love of this series grew with book two and will continue to grow. I'm just really excited to see what will happen next!

This book was in a word ‘AMAZING’. Great way to continue the series. Great character and plot development to help understand why these characters we love actually make the choices they do. There is the classic G.A.Aiken quirky humor, intrigue, love and action that we love. This book kept me on the Edge of my seat and I couldn’t put it down because I wanted to see what was next!! The only issue is that I have to wait until next year for the next book :D Can’t wait and thanks GA Aiken for not disappointing!!!

I took a couple of days to think about my thoughts on this book so I could figure out what my feelings were. First of all - I love G.A. Aiken and I LOVE her Dragon Kin series. After reading book 1 in this series (The Blacksmith Queen), it wasn't until the end of that book that I realized that it was set in the Dragon Kin world. So, silly me - I'm not sure how I missed that. I really liked book 1 and was looking forward to book 2.

This book - book 2 - felt very different to me. That's why it took me a bit to figure out what I thought. It was a bit too much. There is a lot going on in the two now three kingdoms (queendoms) and we are introduced to many, many new characters. It is a chore to keep track of who's who. There are War Monks, Assassins, Witches, Virgins, Pacifist Monks...and many more. It just seems like there is so much going on that it is hard to keep track of the main plot.

This book focuses on the sister/War Monk of Queen Keely. She's as different as night and day from her sister, but she is devoted. Then there is Quinn, her trusty side person - who is actually a Centaur. The imagery on this is interesting I'll give you that!

By the last third of the book, I think I had everyone straight in my head and things got smoother for me. I will say this...the epilogue gives us a hint of what is coming in the next book and no matter what I thought of this book - I wouldn't miss the next book for anything in the world. We have DRAGONS coming people!

Fun from start to finish. Picking up two years after the end of The Blacksmith Queen, Aiken further develops the world and characters with her characteristic blend of snark and shenanigans. I thoroughly enjoyed Gemma as the main character and her relationship with Quinn. As a huge fan of Aiken's Dragon Kin series, I did a happy dance at the epilogue because it sets up so much potential for the next instalment. I thoroughly enjoyed The Princess Knight and can't wait for that next book.

War Monk Gemma Smythe left her battle order to help her sister, Keeley, the Blacksmith Queen. Her other sister, Beatrix, whom everyone now despises is also a queen married to their enemy rival, King Marius. With another of Mairus’s brothers declaring war on both factions and decimating houses of worship and refuge, both Keeley and Beatrix offer sanctuary to those who are in harm’s way. Gemma left the monks to help Keeley so she is persona non grata to the current head of her order who has decided to align with Beatrix. War Monks spend their time killing and worshiping a god of war and not much else.

She heads back to the War Monk order with Quinn, one of the centaurs Amichai warriors, at her side to convince her fellow warriors to back the good queen, Keeley, and not the soulless, evil Beatrix. They collect a motley of crew of a nun, other types of monks, witches, temple virgins, and assassins along their travels who do not particularly play well together. Gemma has some necromancer talents that led her to unintentionally end up with a zombie horse following them around like a lost puppy to add to the fun. Quinn nature of being irreverent, arrogant, and always looking for a good time so he lightens the dark mood quite a bit.

As usual with Ms. Aiken’s stories set in this fantasy world, there are many bloody and grizzly battles, scheming royals, and oddball humor keeps the gory and grim amidst it all at bay. All of the Smythe family with their numerous children and in Keeley and Gemma’s cases, massive strength, are quite entertaining in sometimes bizarre ways. Gemma does not have Keeley’s soft heart but her honor and dedication to helping their cause is true. Quinn is a lot of fun because he does not take things too seriously despite his status as a prince-in-waiting to his warrior tribe.

This book is the second in the Scarred Earth Saga and is best read in order. The epilogue will excite fans of another of Ms. Aiken’s series when it is revealed who the Smythe clan and allies will be joining forces with to overcome Beatrix especially as more of her perfidy comes to light.

Have I told you lately how happy I am to have found G.A. Aiken's books?

There is just so much to love:
🎔 amazing banter
🎔 unbelievably beautiful world-building
🎔 remarkable characters. Although this author is famous for character dumps, so many people to keep track of, I haven't had a problem with it yet.
🎔 so much humor... I can't begin to count the amount of times I laughed. The fact that I was able to bust a gut while the characters were slicing and dicing and decapitating people says it all.

I easily fell in love with The Blacksmith Queen and knew by the end of it that I needed to get my hands on the next book. The Princess Knight did not disappoint. If anything, it exceeded my expectations. I was still a huge fan of Keeley and Caid and the men and women who made up their families and armies, but this story was primarily about Gemma and Quinn and they kept me entertained well up to the final word.

As a war monk, Gemma has never had a problem with meting out death. And in her opinion, no one deserves to be run through with her blade more than her sister, Beatrix. Actually, she has no shortage of people she'd love to hurt and Quinn, in all his awesomeness, hasn't escaped her notice. However, Quinn's charm and his pursuit to grant her every wish slowly wins her over. He finds his way not only onto her greatest ally list, but into her heart. And why not? He was AMAZING!!

From the battle scenes, the many reveals, and the complexities of the characters, a lot was going on in this book. There was so much heartbreak, plenty of triumphs, and tons of heart. While they were able to finally quash a coup from a villainous foe, Beatrix is still alive and kicking to cause trouble and torment another day. The cliffhanger of this part of the story is insane, more drama is sure to come, and I need the next book pronto!

I absolutely love G A Aiken and this book is no different. There is wonderful character development and the story line was great. I was ready to see where the story of this wonderfully crazy family went and this did not disappoint. The only part that saddened me was the end, I wasn’t ready for it. I wanted to keep reading and there was no more to read. I can’t wait for the next in this series.

OMG! Now I have to wait!!

This book was awesome! I love Gemma and her motley crew. Couldn't put it down and can't wait til she writes the next one!!