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frelle 's review for:
Queen of Roses
by Briar Boleyn
Whatever you think you know about the story of King Arthur and Camelot, prepare yourself for having everything turned upside down and put in a blender and combined in literally the very best way possible. From the first pages of the book, you find out that this version of the story is from Arthur’s sister Morgan’s perspective, and that Arthur is a villain. Morgan is the eldest child of Uther Pendragon, and is purported to be partially Fae, through her mother’s side. This makes her a mixed-blood offspring and not ideal for succeeding her father. Additionally, she is forced to regularly consume a potion to suppress any Fae characteristics that might manifest. Her best friend in the court is Lancelet, a female knight, and Merlin, also a woman, is the high priestess at the temple. While there is quite a bit of world building and backstory involved at the outset, it is interwoven very seamlessly and does not detract from the current timeline of the book. Arthur sends Morgan on a quest with escorts that include his newly appointed captain of the guard, Draven, who is a newcomer to the kingdom but has a reputation that precedes him. There are many revelations during this quest, the world building is steady without being heavy handed, and well-interspersed in the action, and the twists and turns in this story just come at you one after another. Within the storylines, you learn more about Morgan’s past, and meet new characters, and find out more and more about the mysterious stranger, the captain of the guard, that is accompanying her. She has been sheltered at court her whole life, and thought her future was certain. She didn’t like it, but had resigned herself to it. And during her quest, she has to process a lot of information about her history, her court, and herself. Morgan gains courage and confidence, and the skills she has learned both from sparring with the knights, and studying with Merlin, develop and blossom as the story unfolds. There is not much at ALL that is predictable in this book, even though I have some familiarity with the legend. I couldn’t wait to find out what happened next, and I was so glad I could read the next book in the series right away. I would recommend this book to anyone who enjoys dark fantasy, fairy tale retellings, morally grey characters, found family, forced proximity, slow burn romance, strong female characters. This series will be a part of my personal library in both physical and digital copies, and I’m already tempted to re-read it and take notes. It’s so jam-packed, compelling, and intensely emotional. (Warning: Familiarize yourself with the possible triggers for this book before you read!!!)