12 new SFF books to put on your summer reading list this July

Protect the Prince – Jennifer Estep

This sequel to Kill the Queen continues the story of gladiator queen Everleigh Saffira Winter Blair as she takes up her family’s crown and attempts to protect her kingdom from the encroaching Mortan empire. But Everleigh’s reign in Protect the Prince will not be an easy one – she has to wrangle a court full of nobles who don’t believe she’s ready to be queen, hammer out a much-needed peace treaty with a neighboring kingdom and figure out exactly what Lucas Sullivan, the illegitimate prince of Andvari and her former training partner in the Black Swan gladiator troupe, means to her.

Oh, and also Evie’s life remains in serious danger, since she’s the last of her family line – which means almost everyone wants her dead just so they can have a shot at her throne. There will be no shortage of danger and deception to be had as the “Crown of Shards” saga continues. And if the first novel in this series is anything to go by, it’ll be a wild ride from start to finish.

"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…

Protect the Prince is available on July 2.