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3.73 AVERAGE
3.73 AVERAGE
adventurous
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
Well that was a fun read. A Camelot retelling, fae, a quest, treachery, lies, betrayal, tension. I mean, this book has it all.
We meet Morgan and she's Arthur's fae sister who didn't get to take her place as queen of Camelot. Arthur is evil, Morgan has no clue who or what she really is, and he wants her dead.
Our MMC is built, mysterious, and full of secrets bubbling under the surface.
They go on a quest for the sword in the stone and danger lurks around every corner.
And that cliff hanger ending... it was a damn good read.
We meet Morgan and she's Arthur's fae sister who didn't get to take her place as queen of Camelot. Arthur is evil, Morgan has no clue who or what she really is, and he wants her dead.
Our MMC is built, mysterious, and full of secrets bubbling under the surface.
They go on a quest for the sword in the stone and danger lurks around every corner.
And that cliff hanger ending... it was a damn good read.
The King Arthur/Camelot spin is fun because it doesn’t predictably retell the story. Morgan as the MC, is a fantastic take, and I look forward to her learning more about who she is. Morgan’s friends, Lancelet and Galahad, have great development as side characters and I appreciate their scenes. Queen of Roses reflects many elements from other currently popular fantasy novels (primarily, From Blood and Ash), which is probably the only big detractor. To its credit, the characters in this book are not as annoying as other similar characters in this genre.
This was far darker than I expected. I’m surprised the trigger warnings weren’t more up front and center. It has the fantasy and romance I wanted, but also the typical world-building tone of a Book One. I liked this book, but wished there was more development of certain plot lines, magic, and Fae lore. For instance, I wanted to know more about who Morgan is as a person besides her trauma, and what growing up with Arthur was like. Mostly, I wanted to be more convinced of the stakes, and that Morgan was worth rooting for.
The way this ended was the perfect cliffhanger. Three quarters in, I was beginning to question if there was something big that could get me to read the sequel. Now I have so many questions about everything that happened in those last few pages. I’m glad the next book will be out soon!
Thank you to Starwater Press thru NetGalley for giving me the chance to read this! You’ve definitely got me hooked on this series.
This was far darker than I expected. I’m surprised the trigger warnings weren’t more up front and center. It has the fantasy and romance I wanted, but also the typical world-building tone of a Book One. I liked this book, but wished there was more development of certain plot lines, magic, and Fae lore. For instance, I wanted to know more about who Morgan is as a person besides her trauma, and what growing up with Arthur was like. Mostly, I wanted to be more convinced of the stakes, and that Morgan was worth rooting for.
The way this ended was the perfect cliffhanger. Three quarters in, I was beginning to question if there was something big that could get me to read the sequel. Now I have so many questions about everything that happened in those last few pages. I’m glad the next book will be out soon!
Thank you to Starwater Press thru NetGalley for giving me the chance to read this! You’ve definitely got me hooked on this series.
adventurous
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
No
Thank you to Starwater Press and Briar Boleyn for an ARC copy of this book to review.
An imaginative retelling on the classic Welsh Arthurian legends of King Arthur and Camelot. There is a lot to love about the world-building and the plot of this book. The descriptions are vivid and jam-packed with lots of mythical elements enriching the narrative and adding edge to this new imagined dark-age fantasy Camelot.
It’s got a gripping first chapter that’s brutally riveting, ensnaring you into the Dark Age court of the tyrant Pendragon king and the twisted family dynamics of this royal line. Action-packed plot drives this story with well-developed pacing, refreshing twists on Arthur’s legends (like making Arthur the villain!) and plenty of battle, blood and death.
Woven masterly into the story are the infamous names of the Knights of the Round Table and the legendary Merlin. Cleverly written these knights of old have been brought to life in new forms and rewritten as more inclusive representation of characters. Lancelet is a bad-ass swordswoman with bags of attitude. The gender-switch for Merlin’s character to a priestess was a particular stroke of genius. I wished to see more of this enigmatic Merlin, she stole the show for me.
For me, I felt a little let down my Morgan’s character. At first, I thought she was well-imagined, with spark and playing a role to survive in her psychopathic brother’s rule. Then quite suddenly, Morgan seems to become an entirely different personality all together leading her to dim, act stupidly and lose the plot (literally!)
I felt cheated by the romance set up too and the cliff-hanger at the end comes too late to be a saving grace for me. The first love interest Kairos Draven, a mortally grey guard on the rise at Arthur’s court, who watches Morgan very closely and rescues her from dangerous ventures she finds herself in. He has all the dark fantasy ‘who did this to you’ and ‘unlive those who threaten’ vibes that delight. The slow burn between Draven and Morgan is engaging, witty and the chemistry explosive. But then this drip appears, ruining Morgan/Draven vibe and seducing her away for some uncomfortable spice scenes that I skipped through to finish the book.
That said, the world-building and premise of this book is captivating and kept me turning the page even as my dislike of Morgan’s character grew. Some might disagree with me about Morgan, she wasn’t the protagonist for me, but the rest of the book I enjoyed reading rounding this up from a 3.5 to 4 star read.
I received an arc copy of this book from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.
Tropes to expect:
- Chosen One Quest
- Enemies to lovers/strangers to lovers
- Love triangle
- Forced proximity
- One horse/tent
An imaginative retelling on the classic Welsh Arthurian legends of King Arthur and Camelot. There is a lot to love about the world-building and the plot of this book. The descriptions are vivid and jam-packed with lots of mythical elements enriching the narrative and adding edge to this new imagined dark-age fantasy Camelot.
It’s got a gripping first chapter that’s brutally riveting, ensnaring you into the Dark Age court of the tyrant Pendragon king and the twisted family dynamics of this royal line. Action-packed plot drives this story with well-developed pacing, refreshing twists on Arthur’s legends (like making Arthur the villain!) and plenty of battle, blood and death.
Woven masterly into the story are the infamous names of the Knights of the Round Table and the legendary Merlin. Cleverly written these knights of old have been brought to life in new forms and rewritten as more inclusive representation of characters. Lancelet is a bad-ass swordswoman with bags of attitude. The gender-switch for Merlin’s character to a priestess was a particular stroke of genius. I wished to see more of this enigmatic Merlin, she stole the show for me.
For me, I felt a little let down my Morgan’s character. At first, I thought she was well-imagined, with spark and playing a role to survive in her psychopathic brother’s rule. Then quite suddenly, Morgan seems to become an entirely different personality all together leading her to dim, act stupidly and lose the plot (literally!)
I felt cheated by the romance set up too and the cliff-hanger at the end comes too late to be a saving grace for me. The first love interest Kairos Draven, a mortally grey guard on the rise at Arthur’s court, who watches Morgan very closely and rescues her from dangerous ventures she finds herself in. He has all the dark fantasy ‘who did this to you’ and ‘unlive those who threaten’ vibes that delight. The slow burn between Draven and Morgan is engaging, witty and the chemistry explosive. But then this drip appears, ruining Morgan/Draven vibe and seducing her away for some uncomfortable spice scenes that I skipped through to finish the book.
That said, the world-building and premise of this book is captivating and kept me turning the page even as my dislike of Morgan’s character grew. Some might disagree with me about Morgan, she wasn’t the protagonist for me, but the rest of the book I enjoyed reading rounding this up from a 3.5 to 4 star read.
I received an arc copy of this book from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.
Tropes to expect:
- Chosen One Quest
- Enemies to lovers/strangers to lovers
- Love triangle
- Forced proximity
- One horse/tent
Queen of Roses (Blood of a Fae #1)
by Briar Boleyn
3/5 ⭐
(NOTE: I received an Advanced Reader Copy in exchange for providing an honest review).
Queen of Roses is a Morgan Pendragon (Camelot) retelling through a fantasy romance lens. It is the first book in the planned Blood of a Fae seies by Briar Boelyn. I am not a huge King Arthur/Camelot gal, so this character and the storyline were all completely new to me.
I liked but didn't love this book. It had a lot of tropes I enjoy, including:
*enemies to lovers
*touch her and die
*who did this to you
*witty banter
*slow burn
*forced proximity
That said, something just didn't click with me. I enjoyed going on Morgan's travels but I didn't get fully emotionally invested. There was enough good stuff there that I would read the next book; I think there is a lot of potential. It wouldn't be the first time I've thought a first book was just setting the table for a fabulous full series.
by Briar Boleyn
3/5 ⭐
(NOTE: I received an Advanced Reader Copy in exchange for providing an honest review).
Queen of Roses is a Morgan Pendragon (Camelot) retelling through a fantasy romance lens. It is the first book in the planned Blood of a Fae seies by Briar Boelyn. I am not a huge King Arthur/Camelot gal, so this character and the storyline were all completely new to me.
I liked but didn't love this book. It had a lot of tropes I enjoy, including:
*enemies to lovers
*touch her and die
*who did this to you
*witty banter
*slow burn
*forced proximity
That said, something just didn't click with me. I enjoyed going on Morgan's travels but I didn't get fully emotionally invested. There was enough good stuff there that I would read the next book; I think there is a lot of potential. It wouldn't be the first time I've thought a first book was just setting the table for a fabulous full series.
adventurous
dark
mysterious
medium-paced
adventurous
funny
mysterious
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
5⭐️ Loved it! A must own book.
Read this if you like an upside down re-telling of King Arthur with a stabby FMC, evil villains, and an epic quest with many secrets and surprises.
Read this if you like an upside down re-telling of King Arthur with a stabby FMC, evil villains, and an epic quest with many secrets and surprises.
adventurous
challenging
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated