About this episode
Raye explores the layers of The Ever King by LJ Andrews, focusing on its character dynamics and dark fantasy elements.
In this week's episode of Being Bookish, I'm digging into the layers of The Ever King , the 2023 fantasy novel by LJ Andrews that made the transition from indie favourite to traditional publication in 2025. While there's plenty of talk online about the relationships and the sea fae romance elements in this book, I'm much more interested in pulling apart the high-seas intrigue and evaluating the genuine mystery at the heart of the story. I'll be exploring how the character dynamics, the pirate sub-plot, and the Norse-inspired mythology connections hold up. As all my episodes are always spoiler-free, I have taken the time to really look at the story, looking critically at how the book fits into the dark fantasy/romantasy genre. I am going so far as to ask the big question...is this really dark fantasy? Whether you're a fan of Viking folklore retellings or you're looking to see how a character-driven story handles these specific tropes, I've got plenty of personal feelings to share on where this book might fit on your fantasy reading list. It's a deep dive into a possibly dark world, so grab yourself a cuppa and let's get into the sea fae secrets together. I'm really looking forward…
People in this episode
Host: Raye
Topics covered
- fantasy literature
- character dynamics
- Norse mythology
- dark fantasy
- romantasy
- sea fae romance
- pirate sub-plot
Keywords
- The Ever King
- LJ Andrews
- dark fantasy
- romantasy
- Norse mythology
- sea fae
- pirate
- character-driven story
- fantasy reading list
Mentioned in this episode
Books & works: The Ever King, Blood of Hercules, When Gracie Met the Grump, Cujo
More episodes of Being Bookish
- The Stephen King Thing - Cujo · May 27, 2026 · 50 min
- Blood of Hercules by Jasmine Mas · May 25, 2026 · 48 min
- Dire Bound by Sable Sorenson · May 11, 2026 · 55 min
- The Ending Writes Itself by Evelyn Clarke · April 27, 2026 · 34 min
- This Kingdom Will Not Kill Me by Ilona Andrews · April 13, 2026 · 51 min
- Overgrowth by Mira Grant · March 30, 2026 · 35 min
Explore listener stats, chart rankings, contacts and more on the Being Bookish podcast page.