Tear Down the Throne

By: Jennifer Estep

Narrated by: Lauren Fortgang

Bestselling author Jennifer Estep continues her Gargoyle Queen epic fantasy series where magic reigns, alliances are tested, and a dangerous attraction could tear down a throne. . .

Crown princess. Clever spy. Powerful mind magier. Gemma Ripley of Andvari is all those things—and determined to stop an enemy from using magical tearstone weapons to conquer her kingdom.

Gemma’s quest for answers leads her to a trade Summit between the various kingdoms. Among the other royals in attendance is Queen Maeven Morricone of Morta and her son, Prince Leonidas—Gemma’s charming and dangerous nemesis.

Gemma knows that Maeven always has a long game in motion, and sure enough, the cunning queen invokes an arcane tradition that threatens the fragile truce between Andvari and the other kingdoms. Despite her best intentions, Gemma once again finds herself thrown together with Leo and battling her growing feelings for the enemy prince.

When a series of deadly attacks shatters the Summit’s peaceful negotiations, Gemma realizes that someone wants to tear the royals down from their thrones—and that this enemy just might succeed.

Love this series so much!

Just wish Gemma would stop blaming Leo for ‘betraying’ her when truly he’s done nothing but try to protect her since they were young! Thank God for the ending!

The flow and story setup.

I really enjoyed this and look forward to re-listening to the series starting with Kill the Queen.

Very good

Action and adventure abound in this game of royals and a question of who you can trust. A very good listen. Looking forward to the next book! The narrator did a great job with providing unique voices for each character and appropriate tone inflections for each scene.

I am loving this story

This book picks up a few weeks after the previous book ended. Gemma Ripley, Princess of Andvari, is still struggling with PTSD from her torture by the Morricone’s even if she can’t show it. She is still determined to find answers which leads her to the trade summit between the various kingdoms.

This was a very fast-paced story that was full of surprises, danger, romance, and love. The Summit quickly turns into another plot by Queen Maeven Morricone but this time it isn’t a death plot, it’s a marriage one. I really enjoyed the whole Gauntlet challenge and Leonidas’ determination to win over Gemma. I absolutely love when a hero declares his determination to win over his love. Leonidas and Gemma have the perfect enemies-to-lovers story. It was a wonderful adventure of them both fighting their feelings, dodging assassination attempts, and dealing with coniving family members.

“I am going to earn your trust, Gemma Ripley…And your heart too, if I am lucky enough to manage it.”

Gemma really shows how versatile in this book. She balances her royal duties, spying, the Gauntlet, and her friendship with Lady Reiko. Her friendship with Reiko was one of my favorite parts of this book. They have a great bond and it gets put to the test in this one. I will be very interested in learning more about Lady Reiko in the future, especially her love life.

Gemma is also growing into her abilities now that she isn’t hiding behind her necklace anymore. I really love seeing the scope of her abilities now that she isn’t holding back. It will be interesting to see how her abilities grow and relate to her being known as the gargoyle queen.

Overall, this book was everything I didn’t know I needed in this series. I loved the relationship and the trials that went with it. I can’t wait to read the next book and see how these two work together as a couple to bring down their enemies. Also, I really want to learn more about Leonidas’ sister, Delmira, now because she has a very interesting ability.

Trigger warnings: torture, blood, violence, PTSD

Can’t Wair

I can’t wait for the next book in this series! Gemma is an amazing hero!