I have been a huge fan of Brigid Kemmerer’s books for a few years, loving both the Cursebreaker and the Defy the Night trilogy. This book, however, did not pique my interest quite as much.
She still did a fantastic job building complex characters in a complicated world. The characters were likable but still had flaws that had you rooting for them while still giving them room to grow.
I personally am not a fan of the poly romance direction this book was headed. I fully acknowledge that so many people will enjoy and love it, but it’s not for me.
Overall, this is still a fantastic book that romantasy readers and fans of Brigid Kemmerer will love!

This author always writes her characters so that you care about them and the outcome of their lives. The warrior and the princess’s brother negotiate a deal so that the kingdoms will be together by marriage to give each kingdom something they need. A hit is taken out on the two and the assassin has to choose his side.
Goodreads

I loved the defy the night trilogy with all my heart. one of my favorite completed fantasy romance series of all time. I was not aware this one was a love triangle/why choose/poly situation, and although I gave it a good chance because of my love for this author, it has never been and never will be my thing.

omgosh. I will never be the same after reading this book. Just WOW.
Three main characters, magic, family dynamics, and romance. Holy cannoli the romance... the whole time I was reading, I didn't want Jory to have to choose between Asher and Ky. And she didn't! They are now my favorite (only?) literary throuple!

I am going to be honest, I really didn't read too much about the book before I got the ARC. I just saw how beautiful it was. I thought the Title was about one person.... A Princess who was a Warrior/Assassin. 😅 I was surprised, and it was a great one. I read this in 1 Day! I loved the 3 POVS, the WHY CHOOSE relationship, and the overall story. The ending has me ready for BOOK 2! I love King Maddox 🔥. I was annoyed by Jory, but I can't wait to see how her character grows. Can't wait to see where this series goes.

*Thank you to NetGalley for the ARC*

This was so good. SO. GOOD. Emotional and dark and angsty. Definitely read trigger warnings first because some of the topics discussed (even though they weren't talked about in detail) were heartbreaking and nauseatingly brutal. There was mystery and adventure and romance - with so much forbidden pining and longing. The venn diagram of sexual tension between the three main characters had me gasping. I don't think I've ever read a book with a poly relationship that I've enjoyed but this was done so well, and I genuinely feel like they complement each other and have very authentic chemistry together. My only complaint is that Jory comes across as annoying and spoiled at times but because she is a princess who knows nothing but the comforts of her castle, it makes sense. The ending wasn't shocking, but I'll still just be here impatiently awaiting book 2. Thanks Netgalley for the e-ARC!

Just finished Warrior Princess Assassin by Brigid Kemmerer. I have read her defy the night and the Cursebreaker series. I was very excited for this adult fantasy.

I think the story has a lot of potential. I was interested in the magic system and signing of sigils to control the magic. I was especially excited when Jory showed signs of magic herself. Unfortunately, I felt like it feel flat became confusing when touching Ky helped her magic and how Victorias magic may or may not have caused the wildfires in Ky’s kingdom. Maybe this was done on purpose to be explained better in book two but I found it distracting to the story.

I think a MMF story is difficult to write where the love is equally shared between all the characters. I felt like Ky and Asher had a stronger connection than the men with Jory. Asher allowing Ky to touch him, comfort him and almost dominate him did not align with his character or trauma. There was little build up to this development. I felt no connection between Jory and Asher other than a strong friendship.

Overall I wish this book gave us better romance and a better communicated magic system.

Thank you to NetGalley and Harper Collins for this ARC.

i was so excited when i saw BK was releasing a new fantasy book. you just jump right into the story and the three different povs. i like the idea of the different povs because you're able to get to know the characters more. it could be a me problem but i am not loving this one.. i was obsessed with the defy the night series but i am feeling very disconnected from these characters and the plot. i usually love her writing and how fast paced it is but this one feels different to me and unfortunately the characters didn't feel distinct enough.. sometimes i couldn't decipher which pov i was in. i am dnfing at 40%. thank you always to the publisher for the arc!

I don’t think this one is for me and I ultimately had to DNF around 50% - BUT I think Romantasy readers will really like this one, so I am giving it 4 stars.

I haven’t really been a fan of poly or Romantasy books - usually just not something I personally enjoy. However, this book sounded so interesting, just from the blurb I wanted to know more about the characters, so I wanted to give it a try.

It started out strong and I did enjoy the writing. The three main characters were distinct and I liked that it changed POVs throughout so you could really get to know each personally. I loved the introductions and was invested with the first scene between Asher and Jory. I actually started to get excited to see how the relationships would come about and the different dynamics.

Sadly though, I started to lose interest. To start, the plot started to feel like not much was actually happening. It then turned into a repetitive “I can’t trust you”, “you lied”, etc.

The sheltered heroine is never my favorite, but at first it wasn’t too extreme to ruin anything for me (though I kept being disappointed when I thought her character would go a different way at the beginning). I understand the silent strength, not needing it to be physical, but I didn’t feel like that was her either - when Ky called her formidable all I could think was “really?”.

What lost me was her explaining how the indenture system was good, even though her best friend is right there, obviously traumatized, telling her it isn’t. They tried to say it was because Asher wasn’t honest with her about his experience, but I felt common sense would make her put at least something together, a feeling that something wasn’t right.

With how bad everything was for Asher, I think I needed Jory to be a stronger character who did more for him - though I would guess that’s going to be the “role” that Ky eventually fulfills (I did skim some of the end and since this is a trilogy I do feel like they are going to see her get “stronger” as the series goes).

I think everything Asher had gone through was really dark, even everything that happened to him in the first 50%, so when there would be moments that felt a little like power imbalance with Ky it honestly made me uncomfortable. It was also hard to read how Ky's soldiers treated and commented about Asher, though understandable it made me unable to like most of them.

By 50% in the story most of the focus was on setting up Asher and Ky. It almost felt like Jory was a plot device and not actually needed.

I wonder if the author thought the childhood sweethearts angle would be enough to carry Asher and Jory, and she wanted people to become invested in Asher and Ky, but it really wasn’t balanced.

I found myself questioning if Ky had any feelings toward Jory anymore - and if Asher had any feelings toward her other than “adoring” her. I even found myself thinking I would have enjoyed it better if the romance was just Ky and Asher, and Jory had a different role to play.

4.5 stars

As always, Brigid Kemmerer's writing is addictive. I read this nearly in one sitting.
You definitely connect with the characters (even if you have nothing at all in common with them.)

At first, I thought this was going to remind me of The Kiss of Deception. But then the story took a turn. I am intrigued to see traditional publishers embracing "Why Choose" (because frankly, I couldn’t.)

Recommended.