Reviews

Blackheart Knights by Laure Eve

vezreads's review against another edition

2nd time I've dnf'd this book. Sometimes a good cover just isn't enough

jesster642's review

3.0

A pretty good, modernized take on Arthurian Legend
Personally not my style but still well written

lupinreads's review

4.0

Excellent!! The great writing, pacing, and world-building allow the reader to feel fully immersed in the world. I LOVED the premise of this book. Arthurian medieval knights on motorcycles?? Yes please? The characters felt three-dimensional and human. Of course, they each had their roles but people are never that straightforward forward and I felt this novel portrayed that well. Very casually queer which is always a huge bonus for me. This is set in a world without homophobia/transphobia and several characters are bi/gay/non-binary.
I don't know why I pick up a King Arthur retellings and cling onto the hope that maybe this time it won't follow the myth, but I have no doubt I will do it again the next time. All you can do is look on in horror and still doubt that it's actually happening. Clearly watching BBC Merlin's finale in 2012 (and many times since then) has taught me nothing.
The one thing I would change is that things only come into full clarity right at the very end. I wish the ending had been more drawn out and dramatic. I would have loved to see more of the immediate events following.

di_the_reader's review

This is not by any means a "bad" book, it just isn't for me. I was bored for about 99% of the time. The only time I wasn't bored was during the spicy interlude, which didn't last long. I made it to 47% through the book.

I don't think the back and forth in the timeline helped matters<spoiler/>

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexual content

pauline1512's review

adventurous dark mysterious tense slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

2.75

alkaiadyne's review

adventurous emotional

4.0

samerulesapply's review

adventurous tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

sidneyjdobson's review

mysterious medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

2.0

senqin's review

It always begins with desire. It is our fuel. It is our fire.
— Quote from the Caballaria Code

dnf @ 59%

I'm honestly bummed that I didn't end up loving this one. I jumped on ordering Blackheart Knights so fast when it was released. I mean - knights on motorbikes (that cover!)? competing to the death in arenas for the viewing pleasure of the masses?? in a dystopian London reminiscent of Gotham city?? and it's queer??? I just really wanted this book to be THE ONE - that amazing creative reimagining of those Arthurian legends I love that I've been searching forever for and this just...wasn't it. Unfortunately, Blackheart Knights had an AMAZING premise but didn't deliver on the execution.

The book consists of two separate timelines told side by side and keeps us in anticipation about how these two different stories converge. One focuses on Red, a young woman who wants to become a knight for vengeful purposes and the other on Art, an unexpected heir to the throne. I definitely enjoyed the beginning chapters the most. The one where Garad fights as Art's champion in a tournament to determine the ruler of the city was a fave and captured the feels I thought I was gonna catch with the rest of the book (even though each of those fights lasted only a couple of sentences

monster_noenergy's review

dark funny medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.25