I enjoy murder mysteries, and the moment I learnt this was a fantasy murder mystery, I leapt at the chance to read it.

I really enjoyed the first half of the book. The characters are all unique and well-developed and each endearing in their own ways--I love Melarie and her empathy and strength, Oak and his quiet dependability and calm head, Kellam as a charming mess of a prince, Ellion trying his best but running into chaos at every turn, Vesryn for her resourcefulness, and Clove with how observant and intelligent she is. It's fun to watch how their relationship dynamics change over the course of events.

I love a romance that unfold with the little moments, and Kellam and Oak's definitely had that subtle yet intimate touch that makes it so easy to root for them; there's just such tenderness between them that I loved reading on page. Vesryn and Ellion's relationship was more complex, but I also enjoyed how this book contains different forms of love rather than prioritising just a single type.

The tension build-up as the murder plot kept pace was brilliant, and the mystery over all the strange events eluded to in the characters' pasts kept me turning the page. However, as the plot unraveled and truth came to light, I found myself losing interest. I think it's the fact that the murder mystery was impossible to guess--most of the truth came from world-building details that we as readers have little inkling of, so each 'reveal' felt more like introducing something new than following the threads to a satisfactory conclusion. I found myself a little lost as well with the new world-building details introduced after the reveal of the murderer, and the constant POV changes with different characters learning something new while not actually articulating what they have learnt / speaking in vague terms made things a little difficult to keep track of.

I feel like if the world and its magic system were introduced in more detail at the beginning of the book, I would've followed the story better and the murder mystery--and its subsequent reveals--would've felt more satisfying to me. I also don't feel like this is exactly a murder mystery; they didn't spend a lot of time trying to solve a murder mystery plot. I think this might be more of a fantasy with mystery elements. It does end with a hint for a potential sequel because there are still some lingering threads left unanswered, and I'm definitely curious to see where the story goes if there's another book in the series.

Overall, it's a very fun read, and the characters and their relationships were definitely the biggest draw for me!

The murder-mystery-thriller-fantasy mashup I didn't know I needed!

In the midst of a celebration, with a snowstorm raging outside, the king summons five people to his chambers: his son, a foreign princess, his most trusted guard, the palace healer, and a beast tamer. The lights briefly cut out, then the king lies murdered on the floor. Anyone of the five could be the killer, and the deaths don't end there.

In "I Killed the King", author duo Andrea Hannah and Rebecca Mix deftly weave the different genres into a thrilling and twisty tale of love, death, magic, and mayhem, set in an intriguing fantasy world.

Thank you to the publishers and authors for an early copy of this!!

This is my first fantasy mystery/thriller book and I absolutely loved it. The pacing was excellent and I appreciate that this is a shorter novel because it just felt so perfect. I was able to curl up with this book, a Halloween blanket and a nice candle and it felt so cosy!

I loved the character development and context/background, it felt like we really got to know the characters and every character was different so it was easy to differentiate between them. It was slightly more complex with the different gods but it wasn’t confusing at any point. I really enjoyed the mystery side of the book because the events weren’t things that we would easily guess and I like being surprised. The fantasy aspect blended so well with the thriller side too which I wasn’t expecting so am quite impressed at how the authors managed this!

This book is a great fantasy whodunnit with aspects of a thriller mixed in and I really enjoyed it!

Rating: 4/5 stars (⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️/⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️)

Wow. Just wow. This book hooked me right away and kept me turning the pages until the very end.
The setup is honestly one of the best murder mystery premises I’ve read in YA fantasy.

Right at the start, King Costis summons six people to meet up with him:

Kellam – the prince, his son
Melarie – a princess from a neighboring kingdom, and Kellam’s bride-to-be
Oak – the King’s most trusted guard
Clove – a beast tamer
Ellion – the palace’s mysterious new healer
and Vesryn – a girl who shouldn’t be there, but sneaked in.

Before the King can reveal why he’s gathered them, the castle goes dark—and he’s murdered. The knife belongs to the princess, the wound is in a weak spot only his guard would know, and the blade is laced with venom from one of the beast tamer’s animals.
Every single one of them has motive and opportunity. With no clear killer and a treaty hanging in the balance, the six make a pact to keep the King’s death secret until it’s signed. But when a winter storm traps everyone inside and guests begin to die one by one, the suspects have no choice but to work together before one of them is next.

This book had such a strong cast. Each character really shone in their own way, with different strengths, flaws, and backstories that made them feel distinct. Some had more time in the spotlight than others, but they all brought something to the table, and by the end I felt attached to all six.

And honestly, this is exactly my style of YA. There’s no romance in the center of the plot (which is so rare these days!). Instead, the focus is on the different kinds of relationships—childhood friends, unspoken crushes, enemies forced to work together, strangers who bond through survival. That mix of emotions, regrets, and grudges felt so much more powerful than a love story ever could have in this context. It’s messy, raw, and very human.

The murder mystery alone would have been enough to carry the book, but I loved how it was blended with the fantasy elements—the gods, the magic, the monsters. It added so much flavor without being confusing or overly complicated. The multiple POVs worked really well, giving us insight into each character’s background and their very human reactions to the danger surrounding them. It made the “who did it” guessing game even more fun, because everyone had secrets, and no one felt truly safe.

What impressed me most, though, was how the story kept raising the stakes. You think it’s going to be a straightforward “find the killer and we’re done” type of plot, but oh no—so many twists keep coming, and real consequences follow. I loved that the authors weren’t afraid to take risks. Important characters fall, and their deaths matter, pushing others to grow, reflect, and change.

One character arc especially touched me: someone who started out feeling like a failure, burdened by guilt and not wanting to go on, slowly choosing life instead. Watching that shift—from hopelessness to deciding to live for others—was one of the most emotional parts of the book.

And then there’s the ending. It gave me all the emotions. Sweet and heartbreaking in just the right balance, with one moment that actually made me cry. It wraps up the immediate story in a satisfying way but also leaves just enough threads open that I’m desperate for more.

Overall, I Killed the King is everything I love in YA: a compelling mystery, fascinating characters, real risks, emotional growth, and a plot that never let me go.

Thank you, NetGalley, for the ARC in exchange of an honest review.

The concept of this book is so interesting, I love a locked room murder mystery and having that added fantasy aspect really had me hooked.
I thought the fantasy world was a real asset to this story as much of what is happening and the reasoning behind it is liked to the world the characters are in. It was really well written and threaded throughout.
My only concern here is the multiple POVs. I’m not a fan of this many narrators in one book. It can get confusing and here it did. I find it much easier to read with one or many two but any more and I start to lose track.

After a decade of conflict, two warring kingdoms agree to complete a peace treaty. Just prior to the event, King Costis summons a motley group of people that include his bride to be into a very special meeting.

During that time, the room suddenly goes dark, and when the lights return, the king is found dead. When the method of killing implicates several of those present, the unlikely allies realise that they must work together to come up with a way of handling the situation.

This is an entertaining and creative piece of story telling, and well worth checking out for those who like the genre. It gets 3.5 stars.

Thank you NetGalley and the publisher for an e-ARC in exchange for my honest review.

3.25 stars

The premise of this book is so fantastic - a locked door murder mystery in a fantasy setting with high stakes and multiple suspects. I definitely really enjoyed the whodunnit aspect of the book, and think it was a fun concept. However - the POVs felt like too many. And don't get me wrong, I have read and enjoyed thrillers and fantasies alike with many POVs. Somehow I Killed The King just didn't quite pull it off. It was confusing, bouncing from POV to POV and then each character is thinking about and talking about other off-page characters too.

Around midway through the book, the plot then deviates from it's original murder mystery plot, and we end up going in a totally different direction, where it's more focused on courtly machinations. Which is fine! But not what I thought I was getting.

If you're hoping for an Agatha Christie style whodunnit but in a fantasy world, you'll likely be disappointed. If you just want another fun YA fantasy to dig into, then go ahead!

The only feeling I had going into this book was good faith. I didn't enjoy Hannah's works, but I've loved everything I've read of Mix's. I was curious how the combined effort of these specific two author would turn out, especially with the fact there's six POVs in the book.

Turns out, this inspired Clue fantasy mystery worked out pretty well.

Despite all of the story taking place in the castle, the worldbuilding was so detailed and thought out; it's definitely my favorite element of the book. It helps that there's a link between this book and Mix's middle grade duology (If you know, you know), but the core of the mystery revolves entirely around the world's history and religion in order to solve it. I personally found it very clever, seamlessly weaving together worldbuilding and the mystery without making the necessary exposition paragraphs feel too dumpy. The fantasy elements aren't high, only enough for you to know and understand what's going on, which I thought was the right amount, given how heavy the story leans toward mystery.

The characters are pretty charming, too. The progression between near strangers sussing each other out from murder to them forging a found-family-like connection (As the story was taking place over a single night) was done as well as it could have. Some relationships were rushed, but the dynamics formed were still entertaining and well thought out. There were also Weekend at Bernie's scenarios that provided some lights of comedy in the midst of a serious murder mystery.

All in all, this was a pretty good read. The end left a few lingering concerns for the world and the characters, and since I'm seriously hoping for more substantial ties to Mix's middle grade, I will definitely be reading the next book!