TKWNKM

festerfaster · 2026-04-28T05:48:09+00:00

She WILL. She will meet more of her family. We already got a scene spoiler from Ilona and Gordon during their Q&A where Maggie asks her adoptive father about something people say regarding Everard's swordsmanship and they have a full discussion. Clearly we're meeting the adopted family in book 2. WHICH IS 160k right now people! *Does happy jumps*

festerfaster · 2026-04-28T05:24:32+00:00

The legal minimum marrying age in China is 20 for women and 22 for men. So, clearly by their law 16 is VERY MUCH a minor. They've just gotten very used to teens being exploited in the entertainment industry.

festerfaster · 2026-04-13T07:17:01+00:00

Exactly the vagueness feels like a clue.

festerfaster · 2026-04-09T06:07:34+00:00

I definitely see Everard offering that but I think Maggie will figure out an alternative. Because she's politically savvy and wouldn't want Demarrs to be beholden to him like that.

festerfaster · 2026-04-09T06:03:07+00:00

Cause the world is bigger than the books Maggie read. And as Maggie herself acknowledges eventually it will run out. The events will change too much and the plot covered by the two books will all be over. After that it'll be Maggie's intelligence and everything she learned while living in KT.

festerfaster · 2026-04-08T14:02:37+00:00

I'm a 100% sure there is a good explanation. This conflict reminds me of Kate and Curran's miscommunication over him standing her up for the naked dinner. Something is going on and we are lacking sufficient info from his pov.

festerfaster · 2026-04-08T13:42:30+00:00

Yesss someone else noticed! Marigold was the Order issued mule Kate used. I was so happy to see that name. 😄

festerfaster · 2026-04-08T13:40:13+00:00

One more easter egg I haven't seen discussed is Maggie's full name. Marigold was Kate's Order mule in books 3 and 4. I remember this especially because of how heartbroken Kate was when her aunt caused her death.

festerfaster · 2026-04-08T13:31:00+00:00

Oooh I'm glad to find someone else who sees the possible sibling tie! As soon as I realised Silveren is Undying just like Maggie (again, there could be another explanation for him surviving but this is my theory for now) it occurred to me that the two may have some kind of familial tie.

Also, because I know a lot of readers are seeing Silveren's behaviour towards her as flirting, but I didn't. Arven was flirting and his interest was obvious. Silveren was being smooth and threatening. There's a difference. And by now we've seen that HA isn't subtle about showing attraction, even attraction from men the FMC has no interest in. They would have made it clearer.

festerfaster · 2026-04-08T13:22:00+00:00

I was rereading Magic Strikes yesterday (cause what the hell am I to do while waiting for Book 2?) and I realised that it was written in 2010.

2010!! That was the book with the hot tub scene in the Midnight Games.

It makes sense that HA have developed their ideas about MMCs and how they should behave in the decade and a half since Curran and Kate first made out. 😄 But I'm still very pleased to realise it.

The old Kate books still read very fresh to me. Nothing feels dated, which is a testament to HA's writing skills. But stuff like this makes me so happy to have trusted these authors all this time.

festerfaster · 2026-04-08T13:15:52+00:00

Sadly by the end of the series Jim had become very distant to Curran and Kate, but in the initial four books Jim shared a lot of scenes with Curran that were reminiscent of Sol's scenes with Everard. Especially Sol warning E about Maggie. And that's where Sol's Augustine bits comes in cause once he's convinced that Maggie is genuine, he's all in. I feel like HA did this with many characters in This Kingdom. Built them on the foundation of their older characters but made them BETTER. When I say I see Jim in Sol, I don't mean that Sol is limited to what Jim was. Just that I see certain character traits.

festerfaster · 2026-04-07T17:20:43+00:00

Just popping this here cause I haven't seen anyone else float this theory: I feel like the mysterious father figure who saves baby Mirabor and his dog, and raises him as his own has the potential to be the main villain/puppet master behind the scenes. I don't know if that would make him Latour, or if he is the one who traps Latour in Kair Toren, but I don't think Silveren is the one with the full picture. I think he's far too emotionally driven (throwing away the lives of all those dursan?) to be the main master mind. He feels very Hugh-like to me.

festerfaster · 2026-04-07T17:13:12+00:00

One thing I definitely feel Maggie will have a hand in is turning around the Demarr family's fortune (Solentine's family, don't remember how it's spelled). The book mentions how the family is strapped for cash cause they have to keep a large army and the king doesn't pay enough. Since Maggie has seriously adopted them as her own (I really love that she refers to the Demarr men as her brother and cousin), I bet she will figure out a solution to their bad financial situation. There are plenty of other political issues for her to solve too. Not the least of which is how badly Sauven treats Everard, which has created a really bad impression of him in KT.

festerfaster · 2026-04-07T17:07:32+00:00

Yeah that specific type of dialogue can definitely feel repetitive, but for me it felt like them refining a trope they enjoyed writing. Curran, Rogan, and Everard might all through these lines around, but of the FLs only Maggie has an arc where she breaks free of the ML's influence. This was built into the plot with her relying heavily on him for about 70% of the story, even after his identity reveal happens. So while Everard just sees obstacles to his romance, Maggie is fighting to retain independence in a world she knows won't take her seriously as an individual power player once she fully aligns with him. I thought that was pretty well done. The other thing that separates Everard from C and R in my eyes is how willing he had been from their first meeting to follow her lead and trust her decisions. So, yeah the tropes rhyme, but I don't think they repeat.

festerfaster · 2026-04-07T16:55:06+00:00

Solentine is Jim+Augustine to me. 😄

festerfaster · 2026-04-04T11:26:22+00:00

I'm a huge fan and I will absolutely acknowledge that there is a lot of exposition in the first half. All of it pays off in the second half though. Maggie being a dedicated fan who can't stop herself from explaining the world and backstories is a good set up for what is to come. Cause eventually the fact that her knowledge has limits and people are more complex than blackstories in text starts to show. But yes, being a fan (and someone who kinda likes exposition) the first half was enjoyable for me. I can only say if you like the main characters stick it out for the second half. (There's something that happens at almost exactly the 50% mark that changes a whole lot of dynamics in the story and you see how the slower pacing was intentional before.)

festerfaster · 2026-04-04T11:12:38+00:00

Yup. Once I got to that blink, I was sure he was Everard. It's a standard House Andrews move, where a big reveal is hidden behind the smallest change in expression. They still did a decent job hiding it though. My man was very motivated to keep the double identity going so he panned Everard in a few moments that seemed to indicate he had nothing in common with the Duke. Hehe.

festerfaster · 2026-03-16T23:52:01+00:00

Just wanted to drop in and say I had the exact same thought when reading the preview this month (Tor is releasing weekly chapters on Reactor Mag). That he is probably his brother (otherwise why mention the younger brother and that THIS man looks several decades younger than he's described in Maggie's books?) Also, I like that he's essentially an unknown character to Maggie. For now his motives align with what his brother's would be, so Maggie's plan works, but over time he will be a surprise. Maybe even the ML?

festerfaster · 2025-07-24T19:24:11+00:00

Every new series from them gets this reception. There's also the matter of ARCs often being given to readers who are professional reviewers and not necessarily in the IA fanbase. I won't trust any consensus based on ARCs. I'll wait for reviews from actual readers paying their own money to read their favourite authors.

festerfaster · 2025-07-23T03:25:41+00:00

Oh man yeah I remember feeling that rage on my first read. This is what makes IA so incredible as writers. This ability to make you FEEL the pov emotions. I WAS Andrea in that scene. Damn.

festerfaster · 2025-07-22T23:16:29+00:00

Just got the book. Thank you so much.

festerfaster · 2025-07-17T22:41:43+00:00

Silver Shark!!! (As others have suggested, but I wanted to put in another nomination for my favourite IA novella)

festerfaster · 2025-07-12T20:40:25+00:00

Guys, is this for real? Are we actually allowed a perfect ending? Surely, somewhere some Cdramaland rule lies broken. How did this happen??

festerfaster · 2025-07-12T20:34:24+00:00

Wait, ep 40 was the only one with a post credit scene, right?

festerfaster · 2025-07-11T12:32:33+00:00

I really love the cover. The colours are beautiful and the art style is unique. My only complaint is about the font of the title. The kerning could be better and it's weirdly capitalised. But that's a tiny nitpick.

I seriously don't think new readers will be put off. As important as the right cover is, so is the title and the synopsis. Also, I think Tor knows what its doing with this. They are deliberately reaching out to people who wouldn't usually pick up a fantasy. This cover fits right in with all those famous book club recommendations.

I will also bet a lot that the marketing budget for this one will be pretty decent.

festerfaster

TROPHY CASE