GET A SIGNED PRINT COPY FROM MALAPROP’S BOOKSTORE:
Malaprop’s Bookstore/Cafe in Asheville, N.C. is offering signed print copies of Protect the Prince, Crown of Shards #2. Malaprop’s is the ONLY BOOKSTORE offering signed print copies.
Magic, murder, adventure, and romance combine in this second novel in the exciting Crown of Shards saga from New York Times and USA Today bestselling author Jennifer Estep.
Everleigh Blair might be the new gladiator queen of Bellona, but her problems are far from over.
First, Evie has to deal with a court full of arrogant, demanding nobles, all of whom want to get their greedy hands on her crown. As if that wasn’t bad enough, an assassin tries to kill Evie in her own throne room.
Despite the dangers, Evie goes ahead with a scheduled trip to the neighboring kingdom of Andvari in order to secure a desperately needed alliance. But complicating matters is the stubborn Andvarian king, who wants to punish Evie for the deaths of his countrymen during the Seven Spire massacre.
Dark forces are also at work inside the Andvarian palace, and Evie soon realizes that no one is safe. Worse, her immunity to magic starts acting in strange, unexpected ways, which makes Evie wonder whether she is truly strong enough to be a Winter Queen.
Evie’s magic, life, and crown aren’t the only things in danger—so is her heart, thanks to Lucas Sullivan, the Andvarian king’s bastard son and Evie’s … well, Evie isn’t quite sure what Sullivan is to her.
Only one thing is certain—protecting a prince might be even harder than killing a queen…
WARNING — ALL THE SPOILERS AHEAD. SERIOUSLY, IF YOU HAVEN’T SEEN THE MOVIE YET, TURN BACK NOW!!!
YOU HAVE BEEN WARNED.
null WHAT I LOVED:
1) The focus on the original six Avengers: I loved that we go to spend so much time with Steve, Tony, Natasha, Clint, Bruce, and Thor. It was fitting that they were the focus since this was their mission and the finale for some of the characters.
2) The Easter eggs: I love Easter eggs, and there were so many callbacks and nods to previous MCU films. Probably my favorite was the Cap elevator scene, which mirrored the one in Winter Soldier, only with Steve pretending to be Hydra Cap. Ha!
I also loved hearing Sam say “On your left” when all the heroes start arriving for the final battle. And Tony saying “I am Iron Man” at the end. And the funeral wreath with Tony’s first arc reactor and proof that he has a heart.
3) The cameos: This goes hand-in-hand with the Easter eggs. It was wonderful that so many actors came back to do cameos in the various time travel scenes — Robert Redford, Rene Russo, John Slattery, Frank Grillo, Tilda Swinton, etc.
If you count all the cameos, Endgame probably has the greatest overall cast of any movie ever.
4) Seeing previous MCU scenes from different angles: I loved the time travel scenes, and it was great seeing various classic MCU scenes from different angles, like the Battle of New York — and then getting to go even deeper into the scenes and get more information, like what the Avengers did after they defeated Loki in New York.
5) Cap finally (!) wielding Mjolnir: Just like Thor, we all knew Steve was worthy. Several people in my theater cheered when this happened. This was one of my favorite moments in the whole movie. I also loved Steve getting back up to face Thanos and his army seemingly all by himself.
WHAT I LIKED:
1) Loki disappearing with the Tesseract: I like the idea that a version of Loki is out there in a timeline somewhere still making mischief.
2) Old Man Steve: I was so happy that they didn’t kill off Steve, and I loved that he got to have a life with Peggy (in some world/timeline). I hope that Chris Evans will come back and do an Old Man Steve cameo in the Falcon/Winter Soldier series.
3) Nebula and Scott: I feel like Scott and especially Nebula were the quiet MVPs of Endgame. Paul Rudd was great an injecting some humor into the movie, and “time heist” is my new favorite catchphrase. And Nebula was just a badass from start to finish, especially when she kills her younger self (!).
4) Gamora: I thought it was really clever how the writers brought Gamora back from the dead, but didn’t make her have her emotional connection to the other Guardians. You have to believe that Guardians 3 will be “The Search for Gamora”.
5) The game of keep-away with the gauntlet: Having Black Panther take the gauntlet from Clint and then give it to Spider-Man, Captain Marvel, etc. was a great way to showcase the future of the MCU. Nice passing of the torch, so to speak.
WHAT I DIDN’T LIKE:
1) Professor Hulk: I was really meh about Professor Hulk. I would have liked to have seen Banner/Hulk reach an understanding without necessarily merging into one person. And no Hulk rematch with Thanos was very disappointing. I didn’t think Professor Hulk really had much to do in the final battle, which was also disappointing.
2) Killing off Natasha: I can see why the writers did this. Natasha finally got to wipe the red out of her ledger and redeem herself by helping Clint the way that he helped her years ago. But killing off another woman to get the Soul Stone seemed a little unnecessary.
Plus, IMO, Natasha was a much more interesting character than, say, Banner, who I feel like they only kept around to be the “science guy” since they killed off Tony. With Tony and Steve gone, they should have made Natasha the leader of the Avengers. A missed opportunity.
3) Making Sam the new Cap: I would have preferred that Bucky be the new Cap. Bucky dealing with his past as Winter Soldier while trying to be the new Cap would have been more interesting than Sam being Cap, IMO. Although you have to think that Sam being Cap will be the focus of the Falcon/Winter Soldier TV series.
4) No Cap/Bucky resolution: So much of Winter Soldier and Civil War was about the Cap/Bucky relationship, but I feel like they never got to sit down for 5 minutes and hash things out in either Infinity War or Endgame. I would have loved a scene with Cap/Bucky at the very end. Another missed opportunity. This is one of my biggest disappointments in the whole MCU.
5) Thanos: I still think Thanos is a weak villain. He wants to wipe out half the universe because … reasons? He likes balance? And who would want to save only half of everything in existence? His plan/logic/motivations still make no sense to me. Whatever, dude.
WHAT MADE MY HEAD HURT:
1) The time travel: I think time travel is always tricky to do. For the most part, the writers did a good job explaining it … but the more I think about it, the less sense it makes.
Even if Cap put all the stones back, I think you would still have a bunch of alternate timelines, just because the Avengers went back and changed things to get the stones in the first place.
Also, I was disappointed that they didn’t go back and undo the snap around the time that it happened. By bringing everyone back 5 years later, you’ve basically given everyone PTSD (at the very least), both the people who lived through the snap and the people who lost five years of time. There are just so many logistical questions with that — rebuilding, people finding their families, etc. — that I wish the writers hadn’t gone that route.
OVERALL:
Endgame is not perfect. No movie can be perfect to everyone. But Endgame is just about as close as you can get, considering all the characters, Easter eggs, cameos, etc. It’s a fitting send-off for some of our heroes and a truly impressive film-making accomplishment. A big kudos to the Russo brothers and everyone involved.
WHAT THE MCU MEANS TO ME:
I’ve always loved superheroes, but the MCU really reignited my interest in superheroes, comics, etc., especially Winter Soldier and the rest of the Cap trilogy. Those will probably always be my favorite MCU movies, and I feel like I’ve grown up with the original Avengers characters, even though I wasn’t a kid when the movies came out.
I kind of feel like the movies won’t be as good for me going forward just because I love Cap, etc. so much. I hope that’s not the case, but we’ll see. I also hope that Marvel doesn’t do one space/sci-fi movie after another. To me, some of the best MCU movies are the ones here on earth that are a little more grounded in reality (Winter Soldier) or with slightly smaller stakes (Ant-Man).
But I’m looking forward to the future and to hopefully enjoying MCU films for many more years to come.
I will be one of several authors, artists, and vendors participating in the Free Comic Book Day event on Saturday, May 4 at Mountain Empire Comics in Bristol, Tenn.
I will be signing books from 10 a.m. to noon (or maybe longer, depending on the crowd).
I will have copies of Kill the Queen and Spartan Promise to sign. I will also have some of my other books at the event, but not all of my backlist books. If there is a specific book that you want signed, please email me and let me know so that I will have a copy of that book on hand.
Free Comic Book Day is a nationwide event where comic book stores offer free comics, host costume contests, and more. I encourage you to contact your local comics shop and see what they have planned.
I will be at Rob-Con on SATURDAY ONLY, June 29, from 9 a.m. to about 1 p.m. (or maybe longer, depending on the crowd).
Again, I will have copies of Kill the Queen and Spartan Promise to sign. I will also have some of my other books at the event, but not all of my backlist books. If there is a specific book that you want signed, please email me and let me know so that I will have a copy of that book on hand.
So far, these are the only two signings I have planned for the summer. Hope to see you there!
If you missed Spartan PromiseorWinter’s Web when they came out earlier this year, you can download both of those now.
TO BE DETERMINED:
I’m hoping to release either Spartan Destiny, Mythos Academy spinoff #3, OR Elemental Assassin book #18 in late fall 2019, but it just depends on my writing deadlines. Both of those books might get bumped to early 2020. We’ll see what happens.
PRE-ORDER PROTECT THE PRINCE
My next release will be Protect the Prince on July 2. You can pre-order the book at the following sites:
Note: There will be an audiobook of Protect the Prince. Those links are usually the last ones to go online, and I’ll share the links when they are available.
I will be one of the many authors attending KissCon on April 5-7 in Chicago. The event will feature discussion panels, book signings, social events, and more. It should be a really fun weekend. Click on the KissCon link for more information and to see a list of all the attending authors.
3:30-4:15 p.m. — Kick-Ass, Killer Heroines: Featuring Jeaniene Frost, Jennifer Estep, Julie Kagawa, Eva Leigh, Jennifer Ryan, and Brenda Jackson
7-8 p.m. — Ice Cream Social: Featuring All Authors
8:30 p.m. — Pajama Party/Movie Night:Featuring All Authors
SATURDAY, APRIL 6
9-9:45 a.m. — Worldbuilding: Featuring Joanna Shupe, Eva Leigh, Lori Wilde, Jeaniene Frost, and Jennifer Estep
12:15-1 p.m. — Taste of Romance: Featuring Sonali Dev, Alisha Rai, Eloisa James, and Jennifer Estep
2-3 p.m. — Spectacular Signing: VIP Access: Featuring All Authors
3-6 p.m. — Spectacular Signing: Featuring All Authors
8 p.m. — Saturday Night Sparkles (aka Vintage and Vino) with BABE Rose: Featuring All Authors
Book signing note: The only books that I will have for sale and to sign during the weekend will be Kill the Queen and Spider’s Bite. I will NOT have any of my other books for sale at this event.
So if you want me to sign some other Elemental Assassin or Mythos Academy books, then you will have to bring them from home.
PROTECT THE PRINCE EBOOK:
