A review by junisreading
The Fox and the Dryad by Kellen Graves

emotional funny hopeful informative inspiring lighthearted mysterious sad tense 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

5.0

Perfection was only found in exchange for gentleness. Perfection was only given with promise of gentleness.


Literally on my knees crying for these gay ballerinas. This is the perfect romcom, set in the modern-day Rowan Blood universe.

Putting all the plot from this book in a stand-alone and doing it so well is not an easy feat and Kellen Graves executed it brilliantly. I loved the way Briar’s pronouns were integrated seamlessly into the narrative (he/they, for those wondering) and the double POV made the reading even better, something we don't have in the main Rowan Blood series. Seeing first hand how pathetic and ridiculous Malric is definitely added to the experience.

Kellen’s writing makes you feel and experience the ballet scenes even if you’re not familiar with the score nor the choreography (although I highly recommend watching the performances on YouTube) or even don't have any ballet knowledge at all. By the end of the book I was already looking up adult beginners classes in my city.

And the plot, oh, the plot. Something so beautiful and simple as the lengths you would go for someone you love, and the consequences of it. To the surprise of no one, I'm completely obsessed with this story and its characters, from their love of designer clothes to their difficulty with opening up and asking for help. Might've made my mommy issues worse, but that was completely worth it. I'll just talk about this in therapy next week. [/hj]

 He and Briar Hunt, hand in hand, would rent the veil apart irreparably.


As a Rowan Blood freak fan, all the little bits and pieces of new worldbuilding information were delicious and so well placed that it didn't feel heavy in a modern-setting stand-alone in which the worldbuilding was not the main focus of the plot.
And can we talk about all the easter eggs??? I can't wait for the RB volume 3 in the late spring, I need to know what happened to our favourite fey/human couple in all those years between the main series and TFATD.
  I also never thought I could be this feral about another couple after Cylsaf, but boy they found some good competition with Malric and Briar. Something about himbo fey lords just messes with my heart.

I went through all of my highlights to find good quotes for this review and now I’m even more determined to find a solution for the Twitter quote bot (and to reread this book as soon as possible), The Fox and The Dryad is simply filled with delicious quotes, just like everything Kellen writes. 

Thank you so much Kellen for this eARC in exchange for an honest review, I’m forever grateful for everything you write, this book was simply a delight <3 

Expand filter menu Content Warnings