What do you think?
Rate this book
The Queen & the Assassin #1-3
The Queen & the Assassin: Full Trilogy
This box set has been temporarily unpublished. Sign up for the author's newsletter to receive updates about newer editions.
737 pages, Kindle Edition
First published February 22, 2022
211 people are currently reading
589 people want to read
About the author
Lisette Marshall
28 books1,642 followersLisette Marshall is a fantasy romance author, language nerd and cartography enthusiast. Having grown up on a steady diet of epic fantasy, regency romance and cosy mysteries, she now writes steamy, swoony stories with a generous sprinkle of murder.
Lisette lives in the Netherlands (yes, below sea level) with her boyfriend and the few house plants that miraculously survive her highly irregular watering regime. When she’s not reading or writing, she can usually be found drawing fantasy maps, baking and eating too many chocolate cookies, or geeking out over Ancient Greek.
To get in touch, visit www.lisettemarshall.com, or follow @authorlisettemarshall on Instagram, where she spends way too much time looking at pretty book pictures.
Lisette lives in the Netherlands (yes, below sea level) with her boyfriend and the few house plants that miraculously survive her highly irregular watering regime. When she’s not reading or writing, she can usually be found drawing fantasy maps, baking and eating too many chocolate cookies, or geeking out over Ancient Greek.
To get in touch, visit www.lisettemarshall.com, or follow @authorlisettemarshall on Instagram, where she spends way too much time looking at pretty book pictures.
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews
April 2, 2023
I adored Tamar and Runo. They were the perfect grumpy sunshine couple!
.
Runo had such a golden and bubbly personality-- all smiles and swagger-- despite a dark and traumatic past. It also just so happens he had a knack for offing people. Seems he was just the guy to get past The Iron Queen's defenses. He was a delightfully complex character!
.
Tamar suffered terribly when she first took the crown, so she made herself iron. But it's a lonely and stressful world when you keep absolutely everyone at arm's length. Who would have thought that the man sent to end her life would show her how to live again. Seeing Tamar grow and remember that feeling things and being human does not equate to weakness was so moving. It was a hard journey for her, but I loved every step and stumble.
.
Runo had such a golden and bubbly personality-- all smiles and swagger-- despite a dark and traumatic past. It also just so happens he had a knack for offing people. Seems he was just the guy to get past The Iron Queen's defenses. He was a delightfully complex character!
.
Tamar suffered terribly when she first took the crown, so she made herself iron. But it's a lonely and stressful world when you keep absolutely everyone at arm's length. Who would have thought that the man sent to end her life would show her how to live again. Seeing Tamar grow and remember that feeling things and being human does not equate to weakness was so moving. It was a hard journey for her, but I loved every step and stumble.
June 2, 2023
I've read this trilogy like 5? times, now. I just love Runo and Tamar.
There's a scene from the last book in the trilogy that I keep going back to. It's probably one of my favorite book scenes of all time:
"I'll never understand how you manage to make some people hate your guts and make others adore you to death while doing the same things to both."
"Oh." He considered that for a moment. "I think it's about treating people as humans, frankly."
"Hm?'
"Those who're usually treated as less than human are grateful for it, and those those who are used to being treated as more hate me for it." He kissed her forehead. "And those who were previously treated as barely human at all apparently fall in love with me."
If you haven't read a book set in the five kingdoms, this trilogy probably should be read last, as there's a lot of tie-ins to earlier books.
Recommended reading order:
Velvet
Damask
Leather
Silk
The Spinster and the Thief
Iron
Silver
Gold
There's a scene from the last book in the trilogy that I keep going back to. It's probably one of my favorite book scenes of all time:
"I'll never understand how you manage to make some people hate your guts and make others adore you to death while doing the same things to both."
"Oh." He considered that for a moment. "I think it's about treating people as humans, frankly."
"Hm?'
"Those who're usually treated as less than human are grateful for it, and those those who are used to being treated as more hate me for it." He kissed her forehead. "And those who were previously treated as barely human at all apparently fall in love with me."
If you haven't read a book set in the five kingdoms, this trilogy probably should be read last, as there's a lot of tie-ins to earlier books.
Recommended reading order:
Velvet
Damask
Leather
Silk
The Spinster and the Thief
Iron
Silver
Gold
March 2, 2025
Tamar and Runo have a very cute love story and as characters I find them both to be very endearing with each other. About halfway through the second book I had a thought that they kinda remind me of Jack & Rose from Titanic but in a medieval-ish setting. 3 stars since I had hoped for a little bit more court intrigue, political maneuvering, and honestly, a stronger villain in the Empress. The stakes.. what stakes? It's really just a story about these two characters maturing into their forbidden romance with a very abrupt happy ending. If you start it expecting that you will not be disappointed, but I would personally recommend the Fae Isles series by the same author over this trilogy.
April 18, 2025
This was a good trilogy. It’s easy to read and understand but still has decent world building and descriptions. It’s almost the perfect mix of plot and 🌶️ (in my opinion) with the plot still taking a leading roll and few of the spicy scenes feeling forced or unnatural. I felt each book built well on the last and the relationship between Tamar and Runo developed with it.
October 29, 2022
Kind of disappointing how weak the author made a Queen. She gets bowled over by her advisors and then by her love interest.
September 3, 2025
DNF. The writing was good and story probably would have been really good if I continued
Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews