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Merchant Blades #2
Lose A Princess, Lose Your Head
Captain Regina Fitzwaters and Kapitan Maximillian Jaeger are unlikely partners, bound together by an unbreakable curse. While lying low they accept a simple To escort an Eressian Princess to meet her betrothed.
Navigating a tangled web of shifting loyalties, conspiracies, and treason, Regina and Max must get the princess safely to the palace.
Because in Eressia, if you lose a princess, you lose your head!
Navigating a tangled web of shifting loyalties, conspiracies, and treason, Regina and Max must get the princess safely to the palace.
Because in Eressia, if you lose a princess, you lose your head!
- GenresFantasy
460 pages, Kindle Edition
Published February 25, 2017
5 people are currently reading
17 people want to read
About the author
Alex Avrio
3 books28 followersAlex Avrio is an author of fantasy short stories, novellas, and novels. Her new novel, The Alchemist’s Box and her dark fantasy novella, the Dreaming Demon, can be found for sale on Amazon. She was born in Nottingham, UK, to Greek parents. She has lived both in Greece and England where she returned to study for an MBA in the University of Kent. She has also a PhD in E-business Strategy Management from the University of Kent. She has been writing stories from an early age, and after concluding the PhD she decided that it was the time to try in all earnest to become a professional writer. Alexandra currently lives with her husband and their two cats in Newcastle upon Tyne, a place so far up north that if you go any further you’re south again. She would love to share with you her love of fantasy and adventures. She also has a book, bingo and dessert habit to fuel, so please help by buying the books. To find out more about Alex Avrio, and to keep up to date on her latest work please visit www.alexavrio.com. She would love to hear from you, and can be reached by E-mail: contact@alexavrio.com Facebook: facebook.com/alexavrio Twitter: @alexavrio
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Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews
May 25, 2017
Regina, Jaeger, and company are back in the second Merchant Blades book. This time, Jaeger is leading the team and Regina is his second in command. Some of the details of their strange curse come to light, and also their supernatural destinies are revealed. We get to meet plenty of strange new characters and spend some time with the ones we’ve already grown fond of.
Avrio shows her prowess at intrigue and plot twists once again as the Merchant Blades struggle to deliver their princess and discover where alliances truly lie. All of the players in this adventure have their own hidden motive and if the mercenaries don’t untwine the truth fast enough, they will lose more than just their paycheck.
The Merchant Blade series is perfect for those who must steal reading time from other life distractions. The chapters fly along and I felt quite accomplished finishing three or four in one sitting. The pace of the story likely pulled me into more reading time than I set out for, since I could just tell myself, “One more chapter will only take a couple minutes!”
The blend of Napoleonic era military action and the supernatural makes this a wonderful world. I also really enjoy Regina’s struggle to be seen as equal to some of her male counterparts. Not her team, though. They know that anyone in a Merchant Blade coat bleeds the same and can be trusted to protect your back.
I read an only draft of this book, but I’ve got my paperback on order. The cover art for the Merchant Blades series is just stunning! I can’t wait to dig into the third book.
Avrio shows her prowess at intrigue and plot twists once again as the Merchant Blades struggle to deliver their princess and discover where alliances truly lie. All of the players in this adventure have their own hidden motive and if the mercenaries don’t untwine the truth fast enough, they will lose more than just their paycheck.
The Merchant Blade series is perfect for those who must steal reading time from other life distractions. The chapters fly along and I felt quite accomplished finishing three or four in one sitting. The pace of the story likely pulled me into more reading time than I set out for, since I could just tell myself, “One more chapter will only take a couple minutes!”
The blend of Napoleonic era military action and the supernatural makes this a wonderful world. I also really enjoy Regina’s struggle to be seen as equal to some of her male counterparts. Not her team, though. They know that anyone in a Merchant Blade coat bleeds the same and can be trusted to protect your back.
I read an only draft of this book, but I’ve got my paperback on order. The cover art for the Merchant Blades series is just stunning! I can’t wait to dig into the third book.
May 14, 2021
Merchant Blade Regina Fitzwaters, previously Captain in the Merrovigia armed forces, has a hangover. To add insult to injury, she didn't even earn it—her partner and fellow Merchant Blade, Maximilian Jaeger, did. On top of that, given a partnership they're magically cursed to maintain, it looks very much as if she's going to wind up working for the Eressians, the previously opposing side in a very recently-won war. If that weren't enough, Jaeger, Eressian himself, is going to have to take the command on an escort mission that looks as if the Merchant Blades are going to be used as scapegoats...
Lose A Princess, Lose Your Head is a great sequel to The Alchemist’s Box, following Jaeger and Fitzwaters as they try to come to terms with their curse, their obligatory business partnership, and Eressian politics. The story-telling in this series is enthralling; well-paced and filled with characters well-developed enough to pull the reader forcibly into their stories. I felt there were a few areas where the technical side of the writing in this book could have been tightened up, primarily in clarity and consistency, but overall this read kept me just as entertained as the first book in the series. Jaeger retains his status as a convincing anti-hero; conflicted, competent, close-mouthed about his past, and practical well past the point of ruthlessness, and the world-building is very solid and plausible. A must-read for fans of fantasy adventure.
Reviewed for By Rite of Word.
Lose A Princess, Lose Your Head is a great sequel to The Alchemist’s Box, following Jaeger and Fitzwaters as they try to come to terms with their curse, their obligatory business partnership, and Eressian politics. The story-telling in this series is enthralling; well-paced and filled with characters well-developed enough to pull the reader forcibly into their stories. I felt there were a few areas where the technical side of the writing in this book could have been tightened up, primarily in clarity and consistency, but overall this read kept me just as entertained as the first book in the series. Jaeger retains his status as a convincing anti-hero; conflicted, competent, close-mouthed about his past, and practical well past the point of ruthlessness, and the world-building is very solid and plausible. A must-read for fans of fantasy adventure.
Reviewed for By Rite of Word.
April 23, 2019
Great Fun!
Merchant Blades is a great concept. I am truly having a great time reading about the crazy action these two get embroiled in. Can’t wait for the next one.
Merchant Blades is a great concept. I am truly having a great time reading about the crazy action these two get embroiled in. Can’t wait for the next one.
March 11, 2017
Continues where book 1 left off, and the plot races along once more. There are some superb side characters. I loved Enrico's brief appearance and hope to see him again in later series. The pirate queen, and the little supernatural adviser and his unorthodox mount were beautifully whacky, and the Emperor a wonderfully nasty piece of work. Loving it!
March 2, 2017
The continuing adventures of Regina and Jaeger, wherein Merchant Blade missions make for strange bedfellows.
It's an excellent blend of high and low fantasy with plenty of action and excitement.
The characters are great, the dialogue is terrific, and both the plot and writing are well-done.
It's an excellent blend of high and low fantasy with plenty of action and excitement.
The characters are great, the dialogue is terrific, and both the plot and writing are well-done.
Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews