Tear Down the Throne

A Novel

De: Jennifer Estep

Narrado por: 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.

©2022 Jennifer Estep (P)2022 HarperCollins Publishers

The flow and story setup.

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

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!

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!

A truly magnificent sequel

In the second book of The Gargoyle Queen series, Tear Down the Throne, Jennifer Estep has created a truly magnificent sequel. The first book, Capture the Crown, left readers wanting more, and the author delivered. Packed with danger, treachery, and lust, Tear Down the Throne has everything. And it’s not for young readers. In fact, it’s the kind of hot romance that borders on erotic.

Gemma Ripley is the crown princess of Andvari, and her magic is strong but unpredictable. When she saved the life of Prince Leonidas Morricone, she had no idea it would bind their lives together with common goals and a dangerous attraction. In Capture the Crown, Gemma is kidnapped and tortured, but escapes with the help of her gargoyle. She returns home broken in body and in spirit, and missing Leo’s presence. His magic is the same as Gemma’s, and they share a long history of saving each other’s lives. If he wasn’t a Morricone, Gemma might not fight her feelings for the prince.

Leo’s mother orchestrated a royal massacre sixteen years ago, killing Gemma’s uncle in a devastating spectacle young Gemma had been forced to witness. His brother, the Crown Prince, was the one to torture Gemma and leave her hands and back scarred. Leo himself has betrayed Gemma too many times for her to ever trust him. Despite all that, their fates seem intertwined, and their chemistry is undeniable. Worse yet, Leo’s mother seems determined to tie the two star-crossed royals together in some plot Gemma cannot uncover. For that reason alone, Gemma fights her desire and swears she will never marry a Morricone.

Tear Down the Throne is action-packed, filled with twists and turns, and absolutely swoon-worthy. I enjoyed it even more than the first book of the series, and purchased the audiobook the day the book debuted and listened to it right away.

Narrated by the talented Lauren Fortgang, I highly recommend this audiobook.

Characters

She is so detailed and each book flows together making a story that keeps me connected. I can’t wait to listen to the next book in the series.

i listened the previous series and previous book

but dear good this is juat keep goug and goung around that god damn massacure. and heroin is so child a like. i just can't. couldn't read it to the end.

Just a romance

The second book of this trilogy was very boring to me. Several times I came very close to just stop reading, but since it was the second book of a trilogy, I pushed my way through. There were too many mushy romantic scenes. Gemma was enslaved to her hormones, and Leonidas allowed himself to be manipulated by his mother too often.

Cheezier then a block of Velveeta!

The 1st book of this series had some promise, however the sequel fell short. 80% of the book was Gemma rejecting Leo and saying how horrible he was and at the same time gushing over him.
Besides the 2 steamy sex scenes and the occasional “F” bomb, it’s VERY juvenile in nature.

It was also incredibly predictable.