Dark, romantic, and utterly addictive, The Ever Queen is a fierce sequel full of vengeance, devotion, and fantasy heat. The bond between the ruthless king and his stolen queen burns through every page, with high emotions and brutal stakes. LJ Andrews delivers angst, action, and passion in equal measure. A few dramatic moments edge on over-the-top, but fans of intense romantasy will be hooked.

This was a solid sequel to the first book, The Ever King. Since it left us on a cliffhanger, I dove into this book eagerly, and I rarely came up for air before I was done. I will definitely be recommending this series.

Let us talk about "The Ever Queen" by LJ Andrews.

“I belong to you, every wretched piece of me. I’ve no need for spells or bonds to prove it. I choose you, Livia Ferus. For much longer than my last breath.”

I truly love this story between Erik Bloodsinger and Livia Ferus. The pure joy it brought to me to be back in this story of a ferocious love, of blind faith, and so many twists that leave this girl wanting more. What truly pulls me is the characters, the way they speak, the words that are chosen. I can hear the lilt in their speech, the whimsical nature of when Gayvn speaks, or when Celine opens her mouth. It makes you feel like you're right there listening in aboard the ship, or walking through the castle halls.

The love language between Erik and Livia...the yearning, achy, passion they feel being torn apart as they fight to get back to one another. They are so violent, raw, and pure delicious - like a dark secret treat you do not want to share with others.

“Our choices, our actions, they chip away at us, shaping us, whittling out our potential. It is what we do with that potential that makes us who we are. Sometimes our choices are brutal, even wicked,” Stieg went on. “But each one will carve a piece of us.”

To bring forth the realms, to lay out the next chapter, "The Ever Queen" rises us up to continue moving throughout the world. From land to sea, each action bringing tears, valor, and triumph. All hail the Ever!

Thank you to NetGalley and Berkley Publishing Group for my open and honest feedback.

✨ Touch her and die
✨ Fated Mates
✨ Found family
✨ World building
✨ Political intrigue
✨ Magic wielding

Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️.5
Spice: 🔥🔥 .5
Series: Book 2 of 2

“𝙄 𝙬𝙤𝙪𝙡𝙙 𝙛𝙤𝙡𝙡𝙤𝙬 𝙮𝙤𝙪𝙧 𝙙𝙖𝙧𝙠𝙣𝙚𝙨𝙨, 𝙚𝙫𝙚𝙧𝙮 𝙪𝙜𝙡𝙮 𝙩𝙧𝙪𝙩𝙝, 𝙖𝙘𝙧𝙤𝙨𝙨 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙨𝙠𝙞𝙚𝙨 𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙨𝙚𝙖𝙨.”

The Ever Queen by LJ Andrews
5⭐️ | 3🌶️

-fae, Vikings, pirates
-morally grey MCs
-heartbonds
-found family
-touch her/him and die
-dual POV

oh. my. god. I love these books! Erik and Livia have easily made the list for one of my favorite fantasy couples. Their devotion to each other will make you swoon. And the emotions are so high..

“𝙎𝙝𝙚 𝙣𝙚𝙚𝙙𝙨 𝙢𝙚 𝙩𝙤 𝙛𝙞𝙣𝙙 𝙝𝙚𝙧; 𝙨𝙝𝙚 . . . 𝙨𝙝𝙚 𝙣𝙚𝙚𝙙𝙨 𝙢𝙚 𝙩𝙤 𝙧𝙚𝙢𝙞𝙣𝙙 𝙝𝙚𝙧 𝙩𝙤 𝙗𝙧𝙚𝙖𝙩𝙝𝙚.”

Following the events of The Ever King, this was a revenge-packed, epic adventure and the growth and development that occurred was top notch.

I love the found family to this so much. Seeing everyone step in and show their support for Erik after all that happened in his past, had me in tears.

“𝙒𝙝𝙖𝙩𝙚𝙫𝙚𝙧 𝙩𝙝𝙖𝙩 𝙗𝙖𝙨𝙩𝙖𝙧𝙙 𝙩𝙝𝙞𝙣𝙠𝙨 𝙝𝙚 𝙩𝙤𝙤𝙠 𝙛𝙧𝙤𝙢 𝙪𝙨, 𝙝𝙚 𝙛𝙖𝙞𝙡𝙚𝙙. 𝙄 𝙗𝙚𝙡𝙤𝙣𝙜 𝙩𝙤 𝙮𝙤𝙪, 𝙚𝙫𝙚𝙧𝙮 𝙬𝙧𝙚𝙩𝙘𝙝𝙚𝙙 𝙥𝙞𝙚𝙘𝙚 𝙤𝙛 𝙢𝙚. 𝙄’𝙫𝙚 𝙣𝙤 𝙣𝙚𝙚𝙙 𝙛𝙤𝙧 𝙨𝙥𝙚𝙡𝙡𝙨 𝙤𝙧 𝙗𝙤𝙣𝙙𝙨 𝙩𝙤 𝙥𝙧𝙤𝙫𝙚 𝙞𝙩. 𝙄 𝙘𝙝𝙤𝙤𝙨𝙚 𝙮𝙤𝙪, 𝙇𝙞𝙫𝙞𝙖 𝙁𝙚𝙧𝙪𝙨. 𝙁𝙤𝙧 𝙢𝙪𝙘𝙝 𝙡𝙤𝙣𝙜𝙚𝙧 𝙩𝙝𝙖𝙣 𝙢𝙮 𝙡𝙖𝙨𝙩 𝙗𝙧𝙚𝙖𝙩𝙝.”

I love watching Livia step into her own and bridge the gap between two worlds, ending years of hatred. And Erik, he’s the perfect, most beautiful monster.

Thank you LJ Andrews, NetGalley and Berkley Pub for the advanced trad copy!

This was such a great duo and LJ’s writing is truly amazing. If you haven’t started this series yet, I highly suggest you do so

My favorite part of this book was the character development of the side characters. LJ has created some absolutely incredible characters that are so easy to fall in love with. Each and every one of them is so special and unique. Sewell, Celine, and Jonas are in the running for my favorite side characters and each hold a special place in my heart

The romance between Liv and Erik really blossomed in this book. If you’re looking for an MMC that would truly burn the world down for his woman, Erik Bloodsinger is your man. The love those two characters have for each other is so beautiful and the spicy scenes in this book were just as good as book one

I did find the pacing of this book to be a lot slower than book one. At times I felt it was a bit more difficult to stay engaged, compared to book one where I was hook, line, and sinker from beginning to end. Howeverrr, the battle scene in this book was EPIC! It took a bit more work to get there but the final battle scene in this book was well worth the effort

I truly love this duo so much and it has made its place into not only one of my favorite reads of the year but one of my favorite series. I’m so so so excited to read The Mist Thief and get a whole book of Jonas and continue with the stories of the Ever Seas

This conclusion to Erik and Livia’s story was everything I hoped for in a duology: fast-paced action, rich worldbuilding, incredible character growth, and an emotionally satisfying ending.

Picking up right where The Ever King left us (yes, that cliffhanger), we dive back into a world full of heartache, rage, and swoon-worthy moments. Erik completely stole the show for me—his fierce love and unstoppable drive to find Livia was chef's kiss. His unexpected bonds with other characters added so much depth and warmth.

Livia’s evolution was equally powerful. She never wavered, even in captivity, and truly stepped into her role as Queen. I especially loved the edge she embraced—strong, smart, and so commanding.

The side characters were just as unforgettable, especially the surprising (and emotional!) connections forged along the way. The banter in this book is top tier! 
Tropes you will love:

Dual POV 
Deliciously intense MMC
Empowered, clever FMC
Found family vibes
Tear Jerking + hilarious moments
Just the right amount of spice

4.5

I was soooooo looking forward to this sequel and the anticipation was worth it. The book was incredible and I devoured the story.

The pacing was flawless and I really enjoyed the fact that we did not get instant gratification with an immediate reunion. Sometimes we need to ache a little bit ok?

I absolutely adored watching the earth and sea fae working together to form their little pocket of found family, and witnessing Livia's dad Valen and Erik communicate and form a father son "bond" was really frickin wholesome.

I still think we needed more Sewell!!!

I sobbed during a certain scene with my favorite galley cook. You know the one.

I did find the disappearing island, elvan clans, their magic, and all of that lore a little bit confusing and kind of glazed over. I found myself rereading a few paragraphs wishing we got more details here because it just lacked a little depth. I thought the final battle was very well written but with all the talks of "we will hear his screams in every realm" the main "villain" was defeated a little too easily.

All in all I definitely think this book is worth the read and I cannot wait for more books from this author!!

This was an excellent conclusion to Erik and Liv's story and I'm so glad that there will be more books in this world following some of the other characters we have met. I love how interesting the and diverse the magic system is in this world. I will say that the addition of yet another magical race on top of the ones we already had and which were not well defined as to their differences may be a little unnecessary. But also keep in mind that I had not read The Broken Kingdoms series prior to the Everseas where the world was originally introduced and built up. The pacing of the story stepped it up in this book compared to The Ever King which I really enjoyed and the cast of characters continue to be so fun to read and learn about.

This was the perfect wrap up to Erik & Livia's story.
I love this story, this world & these characters soooo much!!! If you haven't read this, do it NOW!
It's so so so good

This is the follow up and conclusion to the Ever King, it picks up right away, with Livia being stolen away and Erik going to the Earth fae for help and reinforcements to get her back. Erik really struggles with the betrayal of a close member of his crew and the loss of his songbird. The first 50% of the book is like yearning and story building. A lot of dual POV back and forth. The last half of the book is more the battle and reunion. This book was much more of an ensemble - I enjoyed the humor and banter between all the secondary characters. Overall I'm happy with how it was all wrapped up nicely, and I look forward to reading Jonas and Skadi's story next. The things that stopped this book from being great for me were that I felt the story really dragged on. It's a good read though!

This was EPIC. A really great ending to the storyline of Livia and Erik.

This sequel has a good amount of time where the MMC and FMC are separated and I thought it was handled pretty well. It didn't seem to drag and both POVs had good support characters and enough action that it was flying by.

Livia and Erik were great together, they worked together really well and were very understanding of the other's issues. Both characters have a dark side, which I think works a little better when you have a morally grey MMC. Those characters with vanilla FMC's just aren't as believable.

And the finale was super entertaining and super action packed. I am really happy with how this ended.

I would ABSOLUTELY recommend this series and I'm super stoked not only to go back and read the prequel series but continue this one.

What a ride!! So happy the Ever Queen picked up right where the Ever King left off! The Ever Queen was filled with mental health rep (beautifully written and Erik is boyfriend goals with his unwavering support of Livia) angst, twists, reunions and badass moments from all sides. The story was fast-paced, twisty, and action packed. Kept me at the edge of my seat. Erik and Livia’s reunion gave me chills!!!

Andrews does such an incredible job world building (you don’t get confused with new terms or feel like you need a glossary).

Erik Bloodsinger & Livia Ferus's love story is one of my favorites!! It’s been incredible watching the world of the Ever build out from Andrews Broken Kingdom series. So excited for the next one!

I loved this duo-logy! I finished these two books in one day! It was deff a ya bordered NA (the only NA was the smut scenes) and those were SPICY!!! 🥵 don’t get me wrong! I still rate these two books 5✨because the plot and story were just BEAUTIFUL! Simple yet complex, innocent yet spicy, and a new to me author that will no longer be new cuz imma devour the next series.

I am obsessed with this series!! Erik and Livia are very fun characters to get to follow on an adventure, and I love the darkness they each have but also love in each other. This was a great conclusion to their story arc and I will 100% be reading other books from this author. Also the tease for the Mist Thief! I am sat.

I loved this story so much, and I was so excited for the follow up because the romance and the adventure had me hook from Ever King. One of the things I wish for book two was that the story was trimmed down a little, I feel like we got a little lost in it, and in some spots it was confusing as the reader.

I did still really love the characters and their romance, because LJ excels at giving us this chemistry and spice all in one beautifully melded mix. They were utter perfection.

Thank you NetGalley for an eARC!