This Kingdom Will Not Kill Me Read-Along: The Temple in the Tangle, Isadau, and a Mage Battle

In this episode of Book Dragon Banter, Katherine, Sage, and Zinzi Bree discuss chapters 37–39 of This Kingdom Will Not Kill Me by Ilona Andrews, from Clover negotiating for Maggie’s dress, to the eerie temple rescue of cursed mage Isadau, and questions about magic’s costs and rules. They break down the explosive mage battle as the crew races a closing time limit to loot a vault, Kaiden’s lockpicking win and Maggie’s stress aftermath, plus excitement that Isadau survives, returns, and immediately announces a two-week nap—leaving Maggie without her for the High Court. They also cover Maggie’s dance lessons with Arodel and discuss the book’s representation and world diversity, then predict ball drama, a kiss, and more political fallout in the coming chapters.

Author Blog TKWNKM Magic Breakdown: https://ilona-andrews.com/blog/but-how-do-the-fancy-spells-work-cousin/

Podcast links:

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BDB Fable Fantasy Focused Book Club: https://fable.co/club/diverse-fantasy-with-zinzi-bree-271215645134?referralID=f9KdWh3wtd

Other links:

Book Dragon Ink Online Writing Retreats: https://www.bookdragoneditorial.com/ink-retreats

Write With Me, Zinzi Bree - Substack: https://writewithmezinzibree.substack.com/

Sage: https://readorbleed.substack.com/

Book Dragon Ink: https://www.bookdragoneditorial.com/

Our Summer Read-Along: This Kingdom Will Not Kill Me (Bookshop.org affiliate link):

https://bookshop.org/p/books/this-kingdom-will-not-kill-me-ilona-andrews/f544c8f1dba95f55?ean=9781250377265&next=t&aid=124342&listref=book-dragon-book-club-reads

This Kingdom Will Not Kill Me Read-Along: The Temple in the Tangle, Isadau, and a Mage Battle

01:06 Dress Deal Drama

03:10 House Colors Talk

04:50 Clover Overworked

05:56 Temple Rescue Magic

08:55 Lore and Plot Holes

12:51 Magic Rules Debate

16:19 Isadau Returns

17:48 High Court Stakes

19:04 Dance Tutor Arodel

21:12 Gender Representation Talk

23:44 Pacing and Exposition

25:09 Representation Check In

26:56 Building a Diverse City

31:01 Arodel as Protector

34:05 Vault Raid and Mage Battle

38:34 Time Pressure and Kaiden

40:29 Next Reading Assignment

41:48 Ball Predictions and Romance

45:14 Wrap Up and Quotes

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