Gemma Smith dedicated her life to battle and the God Morthwyl. When her sister becomes the prophesied queen she gives it all up to help her, because family is everything. Now two years later they are still fighting against their sister Beatrix but now a new enemy has arrived and he is determined to wipe out all religious orders.

I just can’t get enough of G.A. Aiken’s books. Her worlds are always fascinating, the characters are amazing, and the battles are always great! I couldn't put this book down once I started and I am very sad that I am going to have to wait another year for the next book.

Gemma is a War Monk, which means she loves to fight and destroy her enemies. Oh, and she can raise the dead to use against her enemies. Her abilities are fascinating and I wish we could have seen more of them in this book. While Gemma wasn’t as fun as Keeley, I still really enjoyed her and her sense of humor.
Quinn is the crazy one of his family. He frequently does everything to rile people up and get into fights. I quite enjoyed his antics. Much like the first book, the romance is very minor in this book but you can still feel the current of it throughout the book. I think Quinn was the perfect person, well centaur, for Gemma because he is just as crazy as she is. He understands her moods and reactions better than anyone. I really enjoyed these two and hope they appear more in future books.

The progression of the storyline really ramped up in this book. We meet the other king's son, Cyrus the Honored, and find out just how crazy he really is. The true evil of Beatrix has been uncovered. And we have the dragons finally come into play. I am very excited to see Aiken finally merging the Dragon Kin series with this one. I knew it was going to happen when I realized this series was set in the same world so I am excited to see where book three will take us.

Also the side characters in this book were great! I loved all the different religious factions and their abilities. I am especially interested in finding out more about the Blood Warlock and the Abbess Hurik because both were fascinating. Also we meet the next oldest sibling of the Smiths, Ainsley, who is quite deadly with a bow. I can’t wait to read her book.

Overall, this was a great sequel and I can’t wait to see where this world is going to go.

*ARC provided by Netgalley for an honest review.*

I was so so so excited to read this. I love the first book (The Blacksmith Queen) and couldn't wait to read the next one. I figured from the title that the perspective had changed in this book. That being said, I didn't like Gemma's perspective as much. He and Keely's interactions just got so so boring. The story was fun and Beatrix is a wild character, which makes the story more interesting.
Overall, I liked it and would recommend it to a friend. If the story continues I plan on reading the next one.

I love G.A.Aiken. I know that her humor and violent streak is not for everybody but this is right up my alley. I also love the her heroines are not the typical skinny, beautiful waiths that are strong till the get a man type. Her heroines are bad asses and the men who love them accept this about them.

Book 2 in The Scarred Earth Saga series - continuing the adventures of the Smythe Women. Set in the same worldscape as Aiken's Dragon-shifter books, this is a refreshing look of how good people stand against the oppressors of their world.

Gemma Smythe - Sister to the new Blacksmith Queen, Keeley - Warrior Monk, Magic wielder and loyal to those she loves - returns to her Military-based Order to deliver offers of assistance, and to face the consequences of her leaving them two years earier to protect her sister and family.

Alternatively humourous, sarcastic and wonderfully skilled at dispatching her enemies, this is the tale of how Gemma finds herself taking her rightful place as War Leader against the evil sons of the (thankfully) dead Old King. Not to mention a place in the affections of the unpredictable Centaur/human shifter Quinn.

I am a huge fan of GA Aiken. I love everything!!! And this series is good., however different from the others. This story is t about romance. It is more about the over all,plot moving forward than romance. It is kind of sad. I love the humor and feel of these books. But I do miss the connection from the other books. It is worth reading but I miss the romance.

In this second outing of the Scarred Earth Saga we get more of Keeley's family in the form of Gemma her war hardened sister who is a War Monk and not always the most likable character. The story progresses in the war again Keeley and Gemma's sister Beatrix..and a religious zealot. The story line fills out Gemma's character and the ups and downs of her relationship with her sister and her beau the Amichai Quinn. Aiken's usual humour arises mostly out of Quinn's quirky character and it works. The action and secondary characters round out the plot and keeps the story moving and interesting. I admit I wasn't a big fan of Aiken's Dragons..I thought the stories suffered in the name of humour. It seems in this series she has a better handle on it and keeps her plots and storyline to the fore front. (this being said I love her novels under her Shelley Laurenston banner..they are silly and fabulous)
4 star read for me and I can't wait until the next novel..whose story will it be??? The Amichai sister or another of Keeley's sibs?

The Princess Knight is another amazing GA Aiken novel. How could I not love reading about Gemma the War Monk? Her relationship with Quinn had me laughing and wanting more. Hopefully GA Aiken will continue this story line with many more books.

Whaaat...this book was awesome! In true G.A. Aiken style, this book is filled with madness, mayhem, badass Queens & Princesses, LOLs, and is a wonderful, messy and crazy ride. Loved it!

Keely, the Blacksmith Queen has been ruling her lands for over two years with her sister, War Monk Gemma at her side. After receiving word that religious temples and monasteries are being destroyed and the worshipers murdered, Gemma decided that she needed to rejoin her Order of War Monks to warn them and offer the protection of Queen Keely's kingdom. Leaving Keely in the capable hands of her mate, Caid, the Amichais, her army, and behind the walls of her new fortress, Gemma sets out on her journey. Queen Keely orders/asks Gemma to stop along the way at a list of Orders to offer them the protection of her Queendom and her army. With the Amichai Quinn and his sister, her steward, and her army, Keely sets off. Of course things never usually go as planned but that's the best part of the adventure...and well worth the read.

Gemma and Quinn's relationship is short and sweet, as with most of Aiken's romantical characters. The slow build (not quite burn) leaves for an engaging courtship. When they finally "take their heads out of their ..." there is the "Awwww" moment....then it's back to fighting for survival against the bad guys. This is a must-read if you like messy, humorous and the insanity of strong female characters kickin' ass and not taking names, Gods showing themselves when they feel like it, dragons, dwarfs, demon pups, blood and gore of bad people dying...then this is the author and book for you.

Can't wait for the next installment 'coz it'll be an awesome, bumpy ride with lots and lots of action with ALL our favorite characters...I hope. I am fortunate to have received an ARC from NetGalley (Yay!!) and am voluntarily leaving a review.

I know the first book switched POV often with many characters, but I was just naturally thinking of the series at Keeley's series. Everyone else is still there, but this was Gemma's book. You would think the title and synopsis would have been a major hint. Don't worry if you weren't the biggest Gemma fan in the first book, you spend a lot of time in her head this time around and it her head is insane and aggressive, but a lovable place to be. Switching sisters also means the opportunity for a new romance to happen!

Whereas romance anthology series tend to be romance first with a thin plot holding it together, this is definitely a solid fantasy series with a romance subplot. You should not read this story without first reading The Blacksmith Queen. As a fantasy series goes, this was fantastic. We pick up 2 years after the end of the first book, after both Beatrix and Keeley and been able to set themselves up as Queens to some degree but are continuing to establish themselves and make alliances.

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A strong second offering in what is quickly becoming an addicting series! Ms. Aiken excels in fabulous characters that pull the reader into their world and wrap them around their fingers. Gemma, is not always a particularly likable character but the depth she shows shines through despite her crustiness. Quinn is a nice compliment to her personality and adds the much needed levity amidst all the violence. Add in equally intriguing secondary players (Ragna, anyone?) and deliciously horrific villains and one can't deny this author has a gift.

The fighting sibling aspect between Gemma and her sister Keeley (The Blacksmith Queen) does get tiresome. Daily slapping into knock-down drag-out fights between two grown women acting like two-year olds ceases to be funny and becomes tedious very fast. Still, it is the strong family bonds and loyalty, along with a fantastic story-line touched with bits of humor that makes this book rise above and insures readers will be itching for the next one over and over again!

I’m totally loving this series! Filled with so much excitement, drama, humor and intrigue, once I began I couldn’t stop.

Gemma was so different from Keeley and yet I loved her every bit as much as I did Keeley. I actually appreciated the differences between them and that this was not a replica of book one but was totally original in every way. Yet both of these characters are tough heroines as in they know how to kick tail and never look back.

Quinn intrigued me from the beginning. I learned to love him more as he proved to be the perfect sidekick for Gemma. The romance takes a far back seat and to be honest, this really isn’t romance at all in my opinion. The smexy times are kinda tossed in there but it really didn’t bother me. Everything else is so entertaining and engaging that I probably wouldn’t have missed it.

This book introduces a lot of new characters that I suspect we’ll be seeing plenty more of as it lays out a foundation for the series to be built upon. I’m curious to see exactly what is going to happen in future installments and how many books there will be until a resolution is found. I laughed my way through so many of the conflicts and found myself getting excited when certain characters were thrown into a scene together because I knew it was going to be good...and it was, every time.

And now to hurry up and wait for the next book.

I continue to be amazed by how much I love this series. You'd think I wouldn't because it has everything I usually dislike in books (like crazy OTT characters (complete with hair-pulling adults), multiple PoVs (strangely, I never found it distracting here, but felt it actually added new perspectives), a lot of family drama (again, there is hair-pulling involved)), but there is something about the author's brand of snark and sarcasm that pulled me in from the first page and had me completely hooked and thoroughly entertained!

The second book in the series continues the plot from book 1 and ends in an evil epilogue that promises even more awesome things to come. The story still focuses on the truly awesome Smythe sisters (who manage to be strong and headstrong, stubborn and able to listen, independent without being annoying; to sum up: layered, interesting, and really awesome. Did I mention they're awesome?) and the ongoing war between kingdoms. There is a small romance, but as the characters themselves say, it feels so natural that there is very little question about them being made for each other. The romance never takes over, and quietly strengthens into love, with only one sex scene towards the end. The rest is humor, action (be warned, there is some gore), and just a lot of fun!

And now, I can't believe I most likely will have to wait a whole year for the next book...

G. A. Aiken can always be counted on for an action-packed and fast-paced adventure that doesn’t skimp on humor. The Princess Knight is no exception.

Gemma Smythe, currently a war monk and now a princess as well, helped her sister Keeley establish her kingdom in the western lands, while holding off her other sister Beatrix, who married Marius, the king of the eastern lands. She’s been away from her order for two years, but when religious orders are sacked and left to burn, she returns to figure out what’s going on. In between killing the leader of the order and trying to figure out what to do about the war horse she raised from the dead that’s returned and loves both Gemma and fresh blood, there’s also her battle cohort, some determined centaurs, and oh shit, is that her little sister? There’s also the remaining members of some sacked orders who’ve shown up as well, and while temple virgins and blood warlocks aren’t fun, NOBODY likes the truce vicar who just won’t stop talking.

Aiken manages to move the plot along quickly, with tons of characters from previous books fleshed out as well as new ones. The romance, like in The Blacksmith Queen, is very much a C plot in this, but it’s conducted with affection and friendship, which is what a War Monk facing down her evil sister and accompanied by a zombie warhorse needs.

G.A Aiken has done it, once again........ this is the second book in the series and whilst it can be read as a standalone I recommend reading the previous book to set the characters in place .
The book is in two parts - Gemma's relationship with her War Monk Monastery colleagues and a combination of the fight against Cyrus the Honoured and what Queen Beatrix is up to .

War Monk , Gemma - sister to blacksmith Queen Keely , and Queen Beatrix - has a nightmare/premonition .
Her Monastery in flames , her colleagues dead ! Determined to find the truth she goes back - to find that many Monasteries , Nuneries , Covens etc had been attacked and destroyed - their magical artifacts stolen by Cyrus the Honoured .
Tasked with saving as many factions as she can she returns to her sister Keely with a Blood Warlock, a Truce Vicar, Witches, Nuns and Blessed Virgins to aid their cause .
Can they defeat Cyrus ? Can Beatrix be foiled ?

The book is full of diverse realtionships , politics and family bonds - with great one liner snarky comments -
a great character driven book.
Do watch out for the brilliant surprise at the end !!!

I was given an arc of the book by NetGalley in exchange for an honest review

Firstly folks - Beatrix transcends evil in a way that I think would be hard for real life people to do. There's monsters throughout history that the majority of the public agree are evil in every secular way a person can be evil.

And then there's Beatrix, who puts them all to shame.

Much like Keeley's book this is less a romance and more of a fantasy with emotions turning up occasionally. If I'm being strictly honest, that describes all of Aiken/Laurenston's books whether fantasy or paranormal. They don't follow the traditional romance novel trappings.

Oh Gemma talks about her feelings and Quinn certainly expresses his. The word love is tossed out and there's sex. Discussion of future plans together and how Gemma's life fits with Quinn's.

That's like 5% of the book. The rest involves squabbling religious sects who NEED to get along, sibling fighting, battles, necromancy and some interesting discussions about the nature of faith in a world where the gods will talk their followers as they like.

Maybe.

Or talk to a cheerful heretic queen who os a blacksmith and just happy to know her blacksmithing is probably going to save the world.

This felt a bit like a middle book, in that another piece had to be cleared off the table (Cyrus), except there's the twin oft-mentioned and the ending of this book would lead one to wonder how Beatrix would even survive long enough for Gemma to pound her into a bloody pulp.

I hope Ainsley is up for a book, though we haven't met any other single centaurs (Laila uh being seduced by one of Gemma's battle cohorts) and I can't stress this enough, the end of the book opens up a lot of possibilities.

Oh but about out to Ferdinand, a cheerful, boisterous truce vicar. At first he was kind of just there, but him and his fellow vicars are hilarious and truly they belong with Keeley for so many reasons.

I was really looking forward to this book.
Needed G. A. Aiken's special blend of genuine, over the top and thoughtful characters to remind me that things get better :)
I really like Gemma, she reminded me of Max from 'Badger to the bone' in a lot of ways and I guess it's why I couldn't get where she was coming from with all her worrying but I really appreciated her journey.
My only downside is the way multiple POV's are handled. You get used to it but, especially in the first few chapters, it is a little hard to keep track of who's insight you're getting.
I am in awe of the author's worldbuilding and was delighted to see references to the Dragon Kin series!
The ending was intriguing and opens to a lot of exciting possibilities.
Looking forward to see what comes next!

Another great story by G A Aiken. This continues the Symthe family story where Gemma has 14 brothers and sisters. And several are feuding Queens. Very light on romance but so much humor and kickass women. This book does have a lot of gory battles. Contains witches, centaurs, dwarfs,demon pups, zombie horse, Brother Cries-A-Lot, and close family relationships

I love the world of G.A. Aiken. The saga continues - in two parts! We first get to experience Gemma's life as a Brother of the monk-knights. Then the fight continues for Keely and Gemma against their evil younger sister and the King she married in order to carry out her plan. ILoved the build up of Gemma and Quinn's relationship. As always Aiken combines romance with tons of excitement. Can't wait for the next in the series.

This book was received as an ARC from Kensington Books in exchange for an honest review. Opinions and thoughts expressed in this review are completely my own.

This was one of those books that sounded great but difficult to understand and follow at first and then when the plot thickened and the characterization started to flow along with the storyline, I was hooked and could not stop reading. The dilemma of Gemma breaking free from the war monks to fight alongside her sister Keeley The Blacksmith Queen was a no brainier and the commitment, love and passion she had for her sister was breathtaking. Also, there is the little sister Beatrix where the War Monks have now declared full support for and with her immature mindset, Gemma now adds this to her plate but when it comes to family, nothing will tear the bond apart not even war itself. I thoroughly enjoyed reading this book and I know our community will have a few insightful words to say about it.

We will consider adding this title to our Sci-Fi collection at our library. That is why we give this book 5 stars.

4 stars

When you pick up a G.A.Aiken/Shelly Laurenston book, you know two things for a certainty. One, you will get the most badass, kickass female characters and two, craziness will ensue in every shape, way or form. With multiple POVs, an abundance of quirky side characters and gory battles, this book was a ride and a half.

As this is an ARC I'm not sure what I can say and how I can explain without spoilers so bear with me. Gemma is a War Monk that has dedicated her life to a War God, Morthwyl. One of their powers is raising the dead. She has vigorously trained and fought for her God. But when the events of the previous book, happen and a prophesy of a Blacksmith Queen is made known and coming true, she drops everything to go to her family as the late King's heirs will kill Keeley, Gemma's sister, before letting her come to power.

Two years later when this book picks up, Queen Keeley is establishing her territory and has to deal with the remaining heirs. I fell in love with Keeley, who was the main character in the first book and I loved every appearance she made here. To be honest I think I loved her a bit too much and because of that I didn't quite get Gemma, her sister, the protagonist in this book. I enjoyed her but I didn't love her. Gemma is very different from her sister in many ways. Where Keeley accepts everyone and offers no judgement, Gemma is paranoid and sees danger in every corner. One thing the two do have in common is their deep love of their family and willingness to protect them from any harm. We also get a bit better acquainted with another sister, nineteen year old Ainsley, who I'm hoping the next book will follow.

Once again this wasn't about the romance. The eventual romance between Gemma and Quinn takes backstage amid the battles, the politics, the plans and every new character that appears. And like in the previous book, I didn't feel any earth shattering chemistry. Their relationship was more of the best friends that needle each other, letting down their guards and becoming a devoted couple. I prefer my romance to have a bit more sizzle and push and pull but that's just me. I enjoyed reading about them getting together but I actually loved everything that was happening around them more. Like the heirs individual plans to destroy Keeley and the consequences from it all. The blurb doesn't even cover 2% of what actually goes on and that was a real roller coaster.

The events that happen during this book change the dynamics between Queen Keeley and the remaining heirs. The power struggle is real, the battles are awesome, and the side character additions made this into a pandemonium of a book. But I loved it all and I can't wait to find out where this is going.