An unlikely assassin struggles to escape a legendary bounty hunter in this breakneck fantasy debut that will grab you by the throat—perfect for fans of Joe Abercrombie, R.F. Kuang, and Christopher Buehlman.
She killed for a cause. Will she die for it too?
Anji works as a castle servant, cleaning laundry for a king she hates. So when a rare opportunity presents itself, she seizes the chance to cut his throat. Then she runs for her life. In her wake, the kingdom is thrown into disarray, while a bounty bigger than anyone could imagine lands on her head.
On her heels are the fabled mercenaries of the Menagerie, whose animal-shaped masks are magical relics rumored to give them superhuman powers. It’s the Hawk who finds Anji a surly, aging swordswoman who has her own reasons for keeping Anji alive and out of the hands of her fellow bounty hunters, if only long enough to collect the reward herself.
With the rest of the Menagerie on their trail, so begins an alliance as tenuous as it is temporary—and a race against death that will decide Anji’s fate, and may change the course of a kingdom.
Anji Kills a King has a really strong beginning. I was instantly hooked by the premise: a servant assassinates an evil king for the greater good, then has to flee the consequences. It’s the kind of opening that drops you straight into the action, with just enough intrigue to pull you along.
Right after that, Anji is caught by the Hawk, a figure tied to the mysterious Menagerie, and the lore introduced there was one of the most compelling parts of the story for me. It added depth to the world in a way that made me want to know more.
One of my favorite aspects of the book is that there’s no romantic subplot for Anji. That’s mostly because she’s too busy being dragged across the land toward her execution, but still, it was refreshing to have a female lead whose story didn’t revolve around romance at all.
The overall writing style reads very smoothly, almost like a YA coming-of-age story, with clear prose and a fast-moving plot. That makes it very accessible, even when the themes get heavier. And make no mistake, despite the easy readability, there are some truly gritty and bloody scenes throughout. The violence is not overly gratuitous, but it is brutal when it needs to be, reminding you that this is a world where choices have real, painful consequences.
The side characters stayed a little vague for me. I never quite connected with them, and I would have liked a bit more depth to make their presence feel meaningful. The core dynamic between Anji and the Hawk carried much of the middle section. Their bickering and reluctant alliance were enjoyable, and the way their relationship shifted over time worked well. That said, the dialogue sometimes slipped into a repetitive loop of “But why?”, “Shut up,” which started to wear thin after a while. The pacing in the middle dragged as a result, with lots of travel, lots of arguing, and not quite enough new information to justify the length.
The end was a little predictable, but I enjoyed it nonetheless.
Still, I liked the tone, the worldbuilding, and the two leads enough to make the journey worthwhile.
And Moira Quirk is, as always, a fantastic narrator. She brings just the right voice to Anji’s character, sharp, a little dry, and perfectly matched to the tone of the story.
A sharp, magic-tinged fantasy with a strong opening, a welcome lack of romance, and a prickly protagonist you can’t help but root for. Despite some pacing issues in the middle, fans of character-driven journeys and morally gray decisions will find plenty to enjoy.
Jayna