This Kingdom Will Not Kill Me cover art

This Kingdom Will Not Kill Me

Maggie the Undying, Book 1

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About this listen

An unforgettable fantasy set in a city peopled with ruffians, spies, malcontents and murderers. Experience out-of-this world adventure and dangerous politics as Maggie tries to survive waking up in her favourite fictional world.

A heart-pounding epic from No. 1 New York Times bestselling author duo Ilona Andrews.


When Maggie wakes up cold, filthy and naked in a gutter, it doesn’t take her long to recognize Kair Toren. It’s a city she knows intimately from the pages of a famously unfinished dark fantasy series – one she’s been obsessively reading and re-reading, while waiting years for the final novel.

Her only tools for navigating this gritty world of rival warlords, magic and mayhem? Her encyclopaedic knowledge of the plot, the setting and the characters’ ambitions and fates. But while she quickly discovers she cannot be killed (though many will try!), the same cannot be said for the living, breathing characters she’s coming to love.

Maggie joins a motley band that includes a former lady’s maid, a deadly assassin, various outrageous magical creatures and a dangerously appealing soldier. Soon, instead of trying to return home, she finds herself enmeshed in the schemes – and attentions – of duelling princes, dukes and villains. This all while trying to save them and the kingdom of Rellas from the ending she’s seen on the page: a cataclysmic war.

This Kingdom Will Not Kill Me is the beginning of the most epic adventure yet from genre powerhouse writing duo Ilona Andrews. For fans of Samantha Shannon, Sarah J. Maas, Danielle L. Jensen and isekai portal fantasy.

‘Exciting, complex, with indelible characters and a heroine who cannot die: loved it’
– Charlaine Harris, author of The Southern Vampire Mysteries

‘Absolutely brilliant! This is the kind of book that will make you forget the world exists’
– Sarah Beth Durst, author of The Spellshop

This Kingdom Will Not Kill Me will delight . . . a perfect blend of humor and high stakes’
– Katee Robert, author of Neon Gods

‘A fun premise and wonderfully deep worldbuilding’
– Django Wexler, author of How to Become the Dark Lord and Die Trying

‘An irresistible plunge into another world. I was captivated from the very first line’
– Danielle L. Jensen, author of A Fate Inked in Blood

Action & Adventure Epic Fantasy Royalty Fiction Heartfelt Crime Murder Assassin

Critic reviews

If you thought Ilona Andrews was at the top of her career, you haven't read This Kingdom Will Not Kill Me. Exciting, complex, with indelible characters and a heroine who cannot die: loved it (Charlaine Harris, bestselling author)
Brilliant! Absolutely brilliant! . . . This is the kind of book that will make you forget the world exists – it's gripping and fun and fabulous! (Sarah Beth Durst, bestselling author of The Spellshop)
Ilona Andrews casts the kind of spell every fantasy lover craves – an irresistible plunge into another world. I was captivated from the very first line (Danielle L. Jensen, bestselling author of The Saga of the Unfated series)
This Kingdom Will Not Kill Me will delight longtime readers and new readers alike! A fantastic cast of characters, a world you want to spend endless hours in, and a perfect blend of humor and high stakes. You don't want to miss this one! (Katee Robert, author of Neon Gods)
With a fun premise and wonderfully deep worldbuilding, This Kingdom Will Not Kill Me gives us an ordinary heroine who takes charge and refuses to let the world dictate her fate. Great for fans of Sarah Rees Brennan’s Long Live Evil (Django Wexler, author of How to Become the Dark Lord and Die Trying)
Filled with Andrews’s signature heart-stopping action, rich world-building, and emotional depth, This Kingdom Will Not Kill Me kept me up well past my bedtime, but it was so, so worth it (Jessie Mihalik, author of Silver & Blood and Polaris Rising)
Ilona Andrews's books are guaranteed good reads (Patricia Briggs, author of New York Times bestseller Iron Kissed)
Fantasy, romance, danger – this book has it all. Addictive. I need the sequel stat (Felicia Day, New York Times bestselling author)
Ilona Andrews delivers only the best (Jeaniene Frost, author of the Night Huntress series)
Another glorious entry in the Ilona Andrews legendarium. Both a send-up of, and a love letter to, your favorite fantasy tropes, by a master of the genre. Self-aware, tongue firmly in cheek, but also full of heart. The perfect balance of humor, romance, and thrills in one brilliant book (Brigitte Knightley, author of The Irresistible Urge to Fall for Your Enemy)
All the brilliance I've come to expect from Ilona Andrews and more: humor, high-stakes adventure, smoldering romance, and a good sprinkle of thought-provoking questions. Perfect for anyone who has ever wanted to jump into a book and rescue your favorite characters (Elisabeth Wheatley, author of Tears of the Wolf)
With intricate plotting, brisk pacing, and snappy dialogue, this self-aware take on the portal fantasy is a delight (Caitlin Rozakis, bestselling author of Dreadful)
All stars
Most relevant
Loved that the FMC isn't the fighter type and uses other means to get what she wants, and loved that she wasn't relying on the MMC to get things done. But I disliked how she became little Miss Perfect that always got things right. Every conflict she had to face was very quickly resolved with no casualties at all, always more or less in the same manner. Every character she meets quickly starts liking and trusting her as soon as she reveils their secrets.

Also, such a pity that the MMC was not who we were initially introduced to...

There were also waay too many different names and characters to keep track of, especially characters we're only briefly told (info dumped) about, but don't actually meet until later in the story as a big reveal; but by that time we had no idea anymore who that character is supposed to be and what that oh so big reveal was about.

So overall, I really enjoyed this audiobook but it definitely has its flaws.

I thoroughly enjoyed this book, but...

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Absolutely loved it - the story is rich and complex, incorporating delightful twists and written with such skill. Side characters are delightful.

The audio is outstanding - possibly the best I’ve heard from a solo reader. I’ve listened twice and it’s a book I’ll definitely return to, can’t wait for the sequel.

Fantastic story, wonderfully performed

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I could not put this down! A perfect mix of fantasy, intrigue and romance. Can’t wait for the sequel

So so incredibly good

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well thought out. the characters are believable, the plot flows, it is riveting. bingeworthy. I was unable to leave it alone. well worth the investment in time.

captivating

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such a good story, cant wait for the next one, hope we do not have to wait too long for it

loved it

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