I love this author duo, admittedly I had certain expectations going into this book and may have judged it too harshly at the beginning. It’s a slower paced traditional fantasy with an isekai theme, great start to a new series with loads of world building and a big magical system foundation. 

Maggie wakes up in a fantasy world straight out of her favorite series. She knows what events will follow, the who’s-who of the kingdom, oh and she can’t die. She takes on the persona of Maggie the Undying and starts to gradually change the circumstances of the kingdom’s residents. 

Big picture, I think it’s an impressive undertaking creating a new story based on a fictional story that no reader really knows. We get to assume a lot of elements of the plot and I really liked the overall character work and magic. Very cool and mysterious, the high fantasy medieval vibe was one of my favorite things. There’s a bit of action, suspense, tension, and a cliffhanger that will have me coming back 100%. 

The characters have a home in the Andrews universe, I felt some similarities between Maggie/Ramond and Kate/Curran from the Kate Daniels series. There are many supporting characters that add a found family vibe to the book, even a gift giving creature named Sushi, I really enjoyed all these elements.

Update: reread with audio

The audiobook is narrated by Kristen Sieh, second time around was even better. I really enjoyed her delivery and how she brought Maggie’s personality to life. The pace and humor was very entertaining. I’m looking forward to the next book! 

Thanks to Tor Books and Macmillan Audio for the advance review copies – out March 31st

Title: This Kingdom Will Not Kill Me
Author: Ilona Andrews
Genre: Fantasy, Romance, Adventure
Rating: 4/5 ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️