There are a few things that I enjoy more in the early fall, when the weather has just begun to turn cooler, than curling up outside with a great story to get lost in. Luckily, September’s newest romantasy release is here is lead us into the changing of the seasons.
The Shattered King is the first novel in a new series from bestselling author Charlie N. Holmberg. A slow-burning, high-stakes fantasy novel with a compelling romance and a gripping mystery, it’s sure to be a hit with lovers of fantasy and romance alike. A thrilling beginning to a new fantasy world – and luckily we won’t have to wait long for the sequel!
Huge thank you to 47North for providing a copy of The Shattered King for review. Minor spoilers ahead!
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The Shattered King Summary
In the kingdom of Cansere, a war is brewing. Craftlock, the act of various magics, has been deemed illegal except for healing. As the oldest sibling in her family of orphans, Nym Tallowax is devastated to receive a summons from the capital to utilize her healing capabilities on Prince Renn, the youngest heir of the royal family.
With a summons from the queen that cannot be ignored, Nym finds herself tasked with the impossible: heal the prince, who has been sickly and weakened his entire life. No other healer has been able to find the root cause of Renn’s ailments, and Nym does not believe that her outcome will be any different. However, under threat or imprisonment from the vicious and desperate queen, she finds herself with little other choice.
As Nym toils away, working on the cold and unapproachable prince, she discovers that his illness is unlike any that she’s ever come across. When she manages to make the slightest improvement to his health – a feat which no other healer has ever achieved – she is forced to become Renn’s official healer. As the two forge a bond, Nym will begin to question the real reasons for Renn’s illness and the darker, more sinister nature of the kingdom.
What Makes The Shattered King Work
With the romantasy genre at the height of its popularity with no visible indication of slowing down, readers can often find themselves confusing stories and entire series due to their similarities.
Of course, the tropes and stylization of the fantasy genre shine through in The Shattered King, but the mystery at the core of the story, as well as a cast of compelling characters, transform a slow-burning burn romantasy story into the start of an epic tale of healing, desperation, and the bonds we forge in the most unlikely of places.
I wondered if the young prince of Cansere was simply difficult to kill.
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As with many fantasy stories, this first entry into the series has a slower overall pace and tone, allowing the worldbuilding of the kingdom of Cansere, Nym’s character development, and the establishment of the mystery hidden behind the guise of a sickly prince.
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Some may find the pacing of The Shattered King somewhat slow, and I’ll admit that as I reached the halfway point, I began to wonder when I’d be provided with answers to a number of questions. That said, I found myself so intrigued as Nym began to unwind the tangled web of Renn’s illness and its root cause that I got over it pretty quickly. As a lover of tracing clues and uncovering secrets while reading a novel of any genre, the “why” aspect of the story was a complete win for me.
In addition, the idea of the lumis as a portion of people that can physically manifest within a person’s consciousness and be healed manually isn’t something that I’ve come across previously, and I found myself fascinated with the way in which each character’s lumis appears differently, requiring a different type of healing.
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The Characters
It goes without saying, but a romantasy story is nothing without a strong-willed female protagonist. Nym’s multi-layered characterization, her devotion to not only her family but those around her, and her hidden past traumas all congregate to create a memorable main character.
I enjoyed both her character itself, as well as her interactions with those around her. Her conversations with Renn, clashes with the queen, and nurturing energy with the other members of the palace staff felt grounded, and I never found myself feeling that her actions were out of character.
I also appreciated Nym’s ability to remain unshakeable in her wish to return to her siblings and not be swept up in the much more lavish lifestyle of the palace and the capital. She’s not a typical romantasy lead in the levelheadedness that she exudes consistently throughout the novel.
You will survive this, I told myself. You’ve survived worse.
The supporting cast also offers vastly different looks into the ways that privilege can affect people. As an often-ignored seemingly weak link, Renn doesn’t hold as much elitism and prejudice as the other members of his family. He also doesn’t follow the typical tough persona often seen with male main characters in the romantasy genre.
The queen, in contrast, uses her position to instill fear and utilizes cruel punishments to achieve her goals. It would be easy to simply cast her as the villain, but one can see when reading that her main motivation is to see her son healed, and she has reached a state of desperation in which there is no other motivation visible to her anymore.
Renn’s siblings, the other staff members in the palace, and Nym’s siblings are all victims of their own circumstances. The Shattered King provides its readers with a look at classism and the people it creates.
Final Thoughts
With dozens of fantasy novels being published monthly, The Shattered King demonstrates that there are still other avenues of the genre to explore and other types of fantastical magic to be enjoyed.
As an added bonus, we won’t have to wait very long for the next installment in the series. The follow-up novel, titled The Half-Hearted Queen is being released in March of 2026! I, for one, will absolutely be waiting to find out what other trials await Nym and Renn, and whether or not they’ll be able to defeat not only the villains around them, but also overcome their own fears and find happiness.
The Shattered King is available September 2nd wherever books are sold!
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The Review
The Shatted King
With dozens of fantasy novels being published monthly, The Shattered King demonstrates that there are still other avenues of the genre to explore and other types of fantastical magic to be enjoyed.
PROS
- Storyline
- Characters
- Worldbuilding
CONS
- Pacing
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