Serena’s Review: “This Kingdom Will Not Kill Me”

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Book: “This Kingdom Will Not Kill Me” by Ilona Andrews

Publishing Info: Tor, March 2026

Where Did I Get this Book: ARC from the publisher!

Where Can You Get this Book: WorldCat.org | Amazon | IndieBound

Book Description: When Maggie wakes up cold, filthy and naked in a gutter, it doesn’t take her long to recognize Kair Toren. It’s a city she knows intimately from the pages of a famously unfinished dark fantasy series – one she’s been obsessively reading and re-reading, while waiting years for the final novel.

Her only tools for navigating this gritty world of rival warlords, magic and mayhem? Her encyclopaedic knowledge of the plot, the setting and the characters’ ambitions and fates. But while she quickly discovers she cannot be killed (though many will try!), the same cannot be said for the living, breathing characters she’s coming to love – a motley band that includes a former lady’s maid, a deadly assassin, various outrageous magical creatures and a dangerously appealing soldier. Soon, instead of trying to return home, she finds herself enmeshed in the schemes – and attentions – of duelling princes, dukes and villains. This all while trying to save them and the kingdom of Rellas from the ending she’s seen on the a cataclysmic war.

Review: To this day, Andrews’ Kate Daniels series is my favorite urban fantasy series. For one thing, she knew when to end the darn thing (side-eyeing the Mercy Thompson series right now). But it was also a solid run of books with very few missteps along the way. What’s more, not only was Kate herself an excellent heroine, but the romantic interest was excellent, and the love story managed to retain drama and tension without resorting to contrived angst. All of this to say, I was thrilled when I saw that Andrews was starting up a new series, and this time in one of my favorite subgenres of fantasy: portal/epic fantasy!

There’s so much to love about this book that I barely know where to start! But let’s just start with the world-building. This book makes one of the best uses of the “portal fantasy” concept that I’ve seen in a while. Andrews doesn’t get too bogged down in the “how” of it all, simply starting up the story several days after the fact, with our heroine doing quite poorly living on the streets. The realization that she can’t die is a welcome, if terrifying and painful, game-changer. But what’s so fun about this set-up is subtle nods and jabs to epic fantasy and G.R.R. Martin’s Game of Thrones that are scattered throughout this story.

Much of the world-building is explained and built out through our heroine’s encyclopedic knowledge of the original books, the first two in a trilogy that now seems destined to never be finished, as its author seemingly abandoned it (you see what we’re doing there). Maggie’s wealth of information comes from the plethora of POV characters who were given chapters in the original books (sometimes only a single chapter), insights which she uses to gain the upper hand when meeting these people in this world. Again, sound familiar? For those familiar with some of the criticisms of Game of Thrones, so much of this was laugh-out-loud funny while also perfectly working within the scope of this book. It’s not just lip service; Andrews nimbly weaves together these references and inside jokes alongside equally important plot points.

What’s more, even some of the greater scope of this world sounded familiar, with numerous families all vying for power and control, even down to an aloof, brutal, and, crucially, necessary lord from the north who is on touchy ground with the throne. But before you worry that it’s all just copying other fantasy novels, while it’s apparent that the author is making some key references with the “book within a book” that Maggie has read, this story itself is completely new and fresh. She herself begins to realize the limits of the knowledge she gathered from the books, necessitating re-evaluating characters/people she thought she understood.

The pacing is excellent. This is a long book, but I read it in only a few days. It starts off in the middle of the action and really never lets up, in the best of ways. What’s more, I’m impressed with Andrews’ ability to balance a lighter overall tone (something in the manner and styling of the writing, perhaps) while also dealing with some incredibly dark themes and scenes. Maggie’s whole “can’t die” thing is explored in all of the worst ways. Readers should definitely not go into this expecting a cozy fantasy, regardless of what that cover art is selling.

And, of course, the characters were all excellent. Maggie is similar to Kate in all of the best ways: smart, independent, and understanding of her limits and the necessity of building up a crew around herself. This group is made up of a wide cast of fantastic side characters, of which it would be hard for me to pick favorites. And, of course, a rock-solid love interest.

I have to say, while reading this book, I almost had a “romantasy PTSD” moment. From the beginning, Maggie meets a number of good-looking male characters. There was one that felt like he was set up as the main love interest, but as I was reading, I kept getting shivers of worry that the rug was going to be pulled out from under me and one of the “dark, bad boys” who made an appearance a time or two would pull the old “bait and switch” that I hate so much. I can’t get into too many details, as there are some surprising twists and turns, but I’m hopeful that Andrews has set up a primary romance here, and I’m excited to see it play out going forward. Please, PLEASE, do not give me another fake-out, for the love of everything. As it stands, I really enjoy the romance we had here and want to see how things play out going forward.

The only thing that holds this back from being a “10 rating” is the fact that there were a handful of times where we had the narrative writing out terms like “oof” and “yikes,” which I always hate. It wasn’t too often, thankfully, but I do think the book would have been stronger to have avoided it altogether. In some ways, it felt like a carryover from urban fantasy, where this sort of narration is more prevalent. You see it less in epic fantasy, and this one would have been better without it.

That said, this is by no means a deal-breaker, and I highly recommend this one to pretty much any fantasy fan! Readers familiar with epic fantasy and Game of Thrones will perhaps enjoy the meta commentary the most, but this is a romp of a good time that shouldn’t be missed!

Rating 9: A banger of a good time! Andrews brings the fun to epic fantasy, while also delivering solid characters and fantastic world-building.

Reader’s Advisory:

“This Book Will Not Kill Me” can be found on these Goodreads lists: Epic High Fantasy/Romance/Mythology in 2026 and 2026 Most Anticipated Romantasy & Fantasy Romance Releases.