The Barbarian King's Assassin

Magic and Kings #1

by Eve Langlais

Tragedy forged her, but love tempered her steely heart. There aren't many choices for a child arrested and charged with murder. When a mysterious stranger asks an imprisoned Ilyana to be his apprentice, she accepts. Fast forward a few decades and she's an expert in her field, an assassin for hire with special skills, and an uncanny affinity for weapons. Her newest bounty requires her to eliminate the Barbarian King, only for the first time in her career, she hesitates. Turns out she and the monarch from the west might have a common enemy in the Grand Vizier, a highly placed official for a rival country. He's the one behind the bounty on Konstantin's head, and the person responsible for the death of Ilyana's parents. Rather than kill the King, she finds herself working for him. Together, they form a plan for revenge. What they don't expect is the ensuing tempest of secrets. A betrayal and a capture might spell the end for the Barbarian and the Assassin unless they're willing to fight not only for survival--but love. Contains mature themes.

Genres: Fantasy, Romance, Fantasy Romance, Audiobook, Magic, Adult, Enemies To Lovers

402 pages, Kindle Edition

First published March 8, 2022

About the author

~ New York Times and USA Today Bestselling Author

Hello, my name is Eve Langlais and I am an International Bestselling author who loves to write hot romance, usually with werewolves, cyborgs or aliens .

I should warn you, I have a twisted imagination and a sarcastic sense of humor something I like to let loose in my writing. While well known for my shifter stories, I am also extremely partial to aliens, the kind who like to abduct humans and then drive them insane...with pleasure. Or do you like something a little darker, more serious? Then check out my cyborgs whose battle with humanity have captivated readers worldwide.

If you'd like to know more, read some excerpts or find out what I’m working on, then please visit me at http://www.EveLanglais.com or sign up for my newsletter at http://www.evelanglais.com/newrelease .
I am also extremely active on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/eve.langlais.98

Reviews

[Crystal's Bookish Life · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was very fun and cute! Our heroine is sent to kill the barbarian king but oops ends up working as a bodyguard for him instead. They have great banter, the overall story has a good flow and their romance was very charming.

This was a light fantasy romance and a really fun read!

[Inna · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5 stars. I liked this book. Tbh, it was better than other books I’ve read by this author.

So this is the story of a female assassin who is hired to kill a king, but can’t go through with it. The king is engaged to be married to form a political alliance, but many don’t want the two countries to become allies, and so many attempts are made on his life. They begin to work together and eventually fall in love.

I really did enjoy most of this story… however, there were parts that irritated me. For example, I felt the author added angst in predictable ways that just made me roll my eyes. Instead of feeling true angst, I just felt exasperated by her choices. Some parts of this story were unpredictable and unique, but other parts were totally expected and unnecessary.

The heroine is also portrayed as SUPER strong, the absolute best assassin, right from the beginning… but she rarely actually is strong. She is bested by many around her, especially the hero. She frequently acts rashly and makes bad decisions. I can’t believe that an elite assassin would behave in the way that she does. But then again, her skills certainly are lacking in this book.

Anyways, still a decent book by the end. I will probably read the next in the series eventually.

Safe; no virgins, no OM drama, some OW drama because the hero is engaged to be married to OW for a political alliance. He offers to break it off but the heroine urges him to go through with the wedding, even so, he has absolutely zero interest in anyone other than the heroine. There is minimum interaction between him and his fiancée, just one scene that leaves the heroine very jealous, but nothing else happens. No scenes with OM/OW, no cheating.

[Listenwithbritt · Rating 4 out of 5]

2 spice

This was fun! An undercover assassin. Hot barbarian king. One bed trope. One horse trope.

I really enjoyed their banter. The storyline was easy to follow and it was well paced. Our fmc is super stubborn but totally kickass. Our MMC is this huge scary guy, but is actually a total softy, especially for our FMC.
I do wish there was more tension and I wish there were higher stakes for such an exciting storyline, but it was fine.

[Zoë]

a friend recommended this to me.

She said: "She tries to kill him and then he kidnaps her"

i think

but anyways the point is, with that one sentence it was added to my TBR

I am so excited to read this.

its giving me 'the shadows between us' and 'the cruel prince' vibes

[Lover of Romance · Rating 3 out of 5]

Quickie Review (May Contain Spoilers)

This was recommended through a friend, although originally I had this on a TBR for winter themed fantasy to read. I don't get a chance to read too much Eve Langlais, but this series has definitely held me intrigued. I did put this one off for a bit because I am not really a fan of assassin heroines, they just don't seem to resonate as well as male assassins do. However, pretty quickly I was swept away into this story and I do want to give much of the credit to the talented narrators. They really made this story just come alive so quickly for me. I also was so fascinated with how this author really built this story here. The plot was fascinating and the hero was a complete DREAM BOAT! I love me some sexy barbarians and he really embraced the role.

Now for the heroine. I wish I could have really loved this book. I wanted to love it, but the heroine was the type of character that you struggle with resonating with. You see what she has gone through but to be honest her character development was lacking. And she had a certain amount of glee when it came to killing, to the extent that you just don't see in assassin heroes. It shouldn't have been something she was excited to actually do. You also see minimal growth on her end which was disappointing. But despite the issues I had with this heroine, it was a fun time with this story and guarantee you will be laughing all over the place.

[CallaLily · Rating 2 out of 5]

The story was compelling; it had an interesting view of assassins. The rebellious teenager routine of the adult FMC was exhausting.

[🇵🇸🇵🇸 hasfia 🇵🇸🇵🇸 · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 stars ✨

Brother wasn’t even a barbarian, brother lived in a castle his entire life 🙄

[Natalia · Rating 4 out of 5]

4.5

The h was feisty, funny and had a spine of steel!
The H was alpha but also loyal and kinda sweet!

There were some funny parts!


Will read the next one!

[SheLove2Read · Rating 5 out of 5]

I havent enjoyed a book this much in quite a while! 5 stars

[Rhiannon Chillingworth · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was okay. I wasn't sure I liked Illyana at the start. The author fell into the trap of making her talk the talk, but not really walk the walk, so instead of tough and competent she came across as arrogant and a little vapid.

I did enjoy th emidsoe of the book, as the banter and will they won't they backwards and forwards between her and the Barbarian King was engaging. But then it all got a little convoluted and ended in a relatively cheesy epilogue.

So this wasn't a bad read, but not a massively amazing one either.

[Kylie · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5 rounded up

This was fun, if a bit repetitive at times

[Alex (HEABookNerd)]

DNF @ 10%

I picked up THE BARBARIAN KING'S ASSASSIN because of the cover but unfortunately I did not like the heroine at all. She was 34 but came across more like a spoiled and obnoxious teenager. I think the author was going for tough and jaded but it didn't come across that way. After I decided to DNF this one I realized I've tried another book by Eve Langlais in the past that I also DNFed because I didn't like the characters. So this is clearly not the author for me.

Content Warning up to what I read: attempted rape of a child; on page death of a parent

[Jessica Frances · Rating 5 out of 5]

I think this might be one of the best Eve Langlais books I've ever read. It had everything I love about her work. A strong heroine. A crazy hot alpha hero. Mystery. Intrigue. Amazing world building. Addictive storytelling. I was hooked right from the start and loved every moment of this book. It deserves all the love. Highly recommend this (and the audio) to fantasy readers. If you enjoyed K.F Breene's Warrior Chronicles series, then you'll adore this book.

[Elizabeth]

DNF at 1%. I know I’m being picky, but I just can’t deal with the stupid heroine at this point. The narrator seems to be the woman at an older age telling about her childhood. Right after saying she knew better than to be stupid, she does something incredibly stupid. I just am not in the mood.

[JML · Rating 4 out of 5]

4&1\2 terrific🌟's for Barbarian King's Assassin 🌟 😂💖🔥

I don't think I've ever read anything by this author before but I'm glad I decided to take a chance. This book was a fun read filled with quirky characters , Witty repartee and laugh out loud moments. It was a pleasure to read. The world building could be a bit deeper but I think more about this magical realm will be revealed with each book in the series. Ilyana is just a child when we first see her being protected by her mother. Circumstances beyond a child's control force her to make life decisions no young one should ever have to make and her life is changed forever. Many years go by and she become one of the best assassins in the realm and her last job is getting rid of a King. Konstantin, A giant of a male from the lands of west ready to sign his life a way in a marriage of Convenience meets a remarkable female and just knows he has to have her that no other will do. Little does he know she's an Assassin bent on making him disappear. One minute she's after him the next Ilyana is working for him. She sees the man he is and like him. She's knows she's in trouble now. Can she keep him safe? Will he choose her over all else? You've got to give it a read and find out. I really enjoyed it and I'm looking forward to reading the next in the series.🔥💖🌟🔥💖🌟💖🔥🌟💖🔥🌟💖🌟💖🔥💖🌟🔥🌟💖🔥

[SnooRegrets]

DNF at 40 %

I liked the premise, but the 33 year old woman behaving like sullen teenager, who is trying really really hard to be edgy, was grating too much on my nerves. For an assassin she was very unimpressive, even though she at least really was portrayed as a real one and not some kind of Robin Hood Killer, who only offed bad guys. Still the thought of 60 % more with her is giving me a headache.

[Heather Emery · Rating 5 out of 5]

Oh my goodness, I fell and I fell hard for this book. I loved how the connection between the characters is built throughout the whole book. It truly didn't feel like the type of slow burn, that as a reader, I wanted to speed up just a bit. The secondary characters brought roughness, humor and even more love to the story. Now for the story, maybe I just needed a change of pace from what I normally read, but I gotta tell you I enjoyed this book to the full potential. I think it shocked me more then anything how hooked I was on this book. Well done, can't wait for the next one.

[abi ୨୧]

Cover is giving Nina and Matthias vibes. Also this sounds so fun

[Anita · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was a light and cute enemies to lovers that I enjoyed. As long as you're not looking for a deep or intense or complicated plot and storyline I think you will enjoy this one. There was a bit of a surprise twist at the end that I didn't see coming which was enjoyable.

[Molly · Rating 3 out of 5]

The writing was wattpad level at best but I needed something to read on a long car ride. I feel like with better writing this would have ate

[Mykive · Rating 5 out of 5]

I just wished it wasn't Insta-love, but regardless I really enjoyed the story

[Natward1 · Rating 2 out of 5]

Didn’t finish after chapter 7. The writing and storytelling is just too clunky. Too in your face. The author over emphasizes way too much.

I did not like Iliyana .The author was trying too hard with her. She tried so hard to make her this bad ass assassin that all nuance was lost. A good assassin should pretend to be helpless in public. Pretend to be meek and mild. If you’re gonna be a good secret assssin you need to be unassuming. Iliyana was trying so hard to look like this bad ass that she came across as hokey, the way she talks to her marks the way she does and the way she struts around acting all high and mighty just makes her sound try hard.

Plus she was way too aloof about everything. I can see what the author was trying to do with her, but it made her seem one note. And her aloofness, especially about killing, turned me off to her. I like a character with depth. I want someone who is tough but also afraid sometimes. Strong, but can also show empathy and compassion. Or just feelings in general. For someone whose mom was killed by basically assassins, it seems lame that Iliyana would just continue hurting people the way she was hurt. I mean sure at first she had to to survive. But now she could stop. Or at least feel bad/conflicted about the devastated families left in her wake.

I just wanted some finesse. Some restraint. I didn’t like that when Iliyana and the king met they were instantly into each other. It just was all too in your face.

[Sara · Rating 3 out of 5]

It is not a bad book - if you accept that the heroine is absolutely in denial about her skills. She is the worst assassin ever. Absolutely hopeless. She thinks about herself as the best in profession but there is not even one job that she would do right. Even with the first one in the book, she had problems finishing it. Also, she is horrible naive. All the other characters were able to play her.
She is very much hopeless. There were several situation I had to laugh at her.

[MyRomanceHasNoLimits · Rating 4 out of 5]

Looking for a cosy, low angst, slow burn Barbarian or Assassin fantasy romance? This one is for you ❤
The banter!!

Changed my rating because there is nothing wrong with this book. The audiobook is so good.
I was just not ready for a cosy slow burn.

[Jocelyn · Rating 4 out of 5]

Um I did not expect to enjoy this story as much as I did. The plot is great, nothing drags out and it's a fun read. Nice escapism and mildly annoying MC. I actually enjoyed the world building and wanted more but it was a short book and not a trilogy

[Alyssa · Rating 3 out of 5]

Silly, and the constant reminder about how ~tiny~ the Heroine was compared to the ~big strong~ barbarian Hero was extremely annoying (also how the hell did she keep falling asleep on galloping horses). But still a fun enough romp.

[Linda ⭐️ · Rating 3 out of 5]

the whole book she made it clear that she does not want children … guess how the book ended.

[Tiny Dragon Books~ Reviews · Rating 4 out of 5]

AUDIOBOOK 🎧 Review of The Barbarian King’s Assassin by Eve Langlais

“Sharpen your blades, daughter. You’re going to kill a king.”

Ilyana is an accomplished assassin and boy, does she know it. At nine years old, after killing two soldiers who murdered her mother, her new Master, rescues her from the Emperors dungeons and sets about training her as his apprentice. Travelling the land with him, Ilyana flaunts her prowess to other guild members, and reminds them that she is the Masters chosen daughter. Moving to a new city, and setting up their operation, Ilyana and her Father hatch a plan to stop a planned merger of two lands, by murdering the groom, the Barbarian King of Wesdroga (sp?) for pay. But when Ilyana comes across (King!) Konstantin, first as a mysterious man who piques her interest, and then again in her shop, Ilyana begins to LIKE him! It doesn’t hurt that he’s enormous, rugged and annoyingly chivalrous. When they discover they share a mutual enemy, these two unlikely allies might discover that they’ve been waiting for eachother all along.

I was surprised at how much I enjoyed this romantic fantasy! I’m not a regular romance reader and yet, Ilyana reminded me so much of Caelena Sardothien that I couldn’t help but be drawn into the story. Konstantin’s burly protector vibes had me swoony and I loved that the characters were 25+ years old, and avoided any teen-y angst vibes.
Included the tropes of ‘arranged marriage’, ‘secret identity’ and ‘fake relationship’.
There were also mythical creatures such as dragons and giant spiders. There were a few loose ends, magic wise, but I didn’t let it bother me too much. A medium spice level that was only really in the last 25% of the book but the amusing flirting was very enjoyable.
The audiobook Narrator (Kasha Kensington) was brilliant- smooth and well paced, and totally got the sarcastic nuances right in the dialogue.

[persephinae · Rating 2 out of 5]

It started out good but felt fanfic-y later and through the end?? Like where was the story from the beginning?? What happened to that?? The ending was super rushed and very mcu-y with an overload of quips

The book couldn't make up its mind whether it wanted to be adventure fantasy or romance. I know the book blurb said both, but it wasn't written like both, more like the author just wanted to smoosh it in with a shit ton of tropes

Like she was writing with tropes in mind, instead of a better written story

I really liked Konstantin, the Barbarian King. Ilyana the assassin was funny and had glimmerings of being a good character, in between the times she was made to be some quippy idiot who's the world's biggest moron at realizing what feelings are and what love is

It makes me lowkey annoyed that this could have been a better story, but no, we had to suffer through quips and tropes shoved into the story when they didn't need to be

Also the premise was dumb tbh

"I'll pay the assassin to guard me, even though I'm ridiculously strong and fast and honestly don't need guards. Also, apparently, this very smart assassin is buying this bullshit because she's a moron."

ALSO, as much as I loved how much he was in love with her, they never talked TO each other. Well maybe he did more than her. But goddamn, fucking talk to each other. What are your hopes and dreams? Who are you as a person? What's your favorite memory? What scares you? What are your hobbies? Who are these people beyond being a king and assassin? What do you like about each other? Like beyond looks??? What drives you up the wall???

2.5/3 stars out of 5 for the story premise, 4 for Konstantin because I liked him. RIP Ilyana's potential

[Nessa · Rating 3 out of 5]

THIS WAS A CUTE SHORT READ. PROTECTIVE HERO AND SNARKY BUT NOT ANNOYING HEROINE. This would have been better if there was even a level of depth to the romance and world building. It was definitely hilarious most of the time and sort of insta-love but, still enjoyable.

IILYANA had more presence than the male lead mainly because this was written in her POV. She's not a wilting lily, supposedly a kickass assassin and because of her past, in order to avoid death, she chose to train in the business of death at age 9. Based on her trade, at 33 years old, Illyana's hardened to the world and when contracted to kill the Barbarian King, she falters. It's almost too easy how that happened. I wanted more effort from Illyana but seeing as how this is supposed to be comedic fantasy romance in a way, the plot was kinda light. Sure, I found Konstantin's protectiveness to be cute, and the insurmountable times he had to almost rescue Illyana doesn't paint her in the badass chick light.

KONSTANTIN was cute and gruff but, like I said I didn't and couldn't get much of a read on his character except he's good at fighting, definitely better than Illyana, he's responsible and dutiful, oh and he's a total teddy bear most of the time unless Illyana's threatened. I think that part of the story won me over. Sorry not sorry.

OVERALL this had potential to become something bigger, but it's fluff. At times I was a little confused with the sudden emergence of fantasy creatures and magic...so it might have been better if the author expounded on the world building before getting into the characters and stuff. It's still enjoyable, if you're not going to nitpick about everything else.