DNF
Unfortunately I could not finish this one. Everything felt a little flat and I didn't feel like reading it becuase of it.
Might give it another chance someday, but it's unlikely.

I like this writing! I got into it immediately - the detail really helped me picture the scene.

It’s a beautiful love story.

But it’s stories like this that make me rethink my Goodreads star-rating system.

Normally, if I thoroughly enjoyed a book, I will give it a 4-star rating. This is the problem with the Goodreads ratings skewing high. I can think a book is great - and recommend it to people and it still only have 4 stars. I reserve the 5-star rating for those books that pushed me over the edge; that had that <i>je ne said quoi</i> that made me fall in love with it.

But it seems like a crime to give this book a 4-star rating. It was very well-written; very enjoyable. I’d recommend it to other people. So, do I give it a 4? A 5? A 4.5 and round up to a 5?

This has got to be frustrating to authors. When people gush about a book in a review and only give it 4 stars? That’s got to be annoying.

Anyway. I don’t normally give ½ stars to a book. But I think this one was a 4.5. Rounded to 5.

<i>Thanks to NetGalley and Bold Strokes Books for a copy in return for an honest review.</i>

Birthright had a great intriguing start and character potential but as the book progressed it became less engaging and more formulaic

This is a fantasy taking place in a medieval setting. I was pleasantly surprised how much I enjoyed it. Although it did not grab me until the third chapter, from that point on I wanted to continue reading to find out what was going to happen in this adventure.

The two main characters are Aiden and Kathryn. Aiden is an orphan who was raised in a monastery and is quite naïve in all areas of life. She is not aware that she is really royalty until she meets Kathryn. Kathryn is a queen who comes to rescue Aiden at the beginning of the book. She is experienced in warfare and in sexual encounters. As one might expect, Aiden and Kathryn immediately feel an attraction and eventually identify it as love. The sex scenes were not intense and therefore didn’t take away from the storyline.

There are two secondary characters, Venn and Rowen. Venn is the protector for Aiden and Rowen is a cousin to Kathryn. They were good supporting characters and added to the story.

I found it interesting that the book appears to be set in a medieval era where love between two women is considered normal. This is certainly a wishful fantasy. I am glad to see that this was not a main issue.
The storyline is good and the momentum continues at a fast pace. The chapters are short and allow for Ms. Vaun to easily move from one main character to another to tell the story.

I have not read one of Ms. Vaun’s books but will surely do so in the future. It is always nice to read a new author and decide to follow their past and future creations. I would recommend this book to anyone who wishes to read a well written book over a weekend. Sit back and enjoy the light fantasy. I gave Birthright 4 out of 5 stars.

I was given this ARC in return for an honest review.

Missouri Vaun's Birthright is an LGBT fantasy/adventure novel. The author develops a world that has a medieval feeling, complete with monasteries and vassal farmers, while also being a place and time where a lesbian relationship is just as legitimate and open as a heterosexual one. This kept pleasantly surprising me throughout my reading of the book. The adventure part of the story was fun, including traveling across kingdoms, on "wind-ships" across deserts, and plenty of sword fighting.

While I felt that the fantasy world was well-developed, I was less impressed with the main characters. Queen Kathryn has prematurely inherited the throne from her recently deceased father and is experiencing some struggles presenting herself as a strong ruler. She is being challenged by a neighboring kingdom's ruler, Balak. When she hears news of the resurfacing of a missing, legitimate heir to Balak's kingdom, she sets out to find him. She is surprised to discover that Aiden, the long-lost rumored heir, is actually a young woman who has been raised by warrior monks. The two experience an immediate attraction and a romance that develops seemingly overnight. While their romance was sweet, I did not find it interesting, nor was I rooting for their love story. I had trouble connecting with these two, finding the secondary characters of Rowen and Venn more interesting and appealing.

This book is worth reading for its fantasy world alone. In our world, where those in the LGBTQ communities still often face derision, prejudice, and danger for living and loving openly, being immersed in a world where the Queen can openly love another woman is a refreshing break from reality.

3 1/2 Stars. I am a huge fantasy fan, so I was anxious to get my hands on this book. This book was a little lighter than I would have liked, for my fantasy tastes. I prefer fantasy books that really grab you either emotionally or leave you wondering "how will they ever survive this?" This book is not like that. There is plenty of sword fighting and adventure, and having to kill to survive, just on a lighter scale. Even though this is not my favorite type of fantasy, I think this book will appeal to more people. You don't have to be a big fantasy fan to enjoy it.

The story is about Aiden, who grew up orphaned in a monastery. She has no idea that the birthmark on her back is really a royal symbol announcing she is the next in line to rule a kingdom. Kathryn, a ruler of a neighboring kingdom, hears that the heir might be alive. She is constantly at war with the kingdom Aiden should inherit. If only she could find the true heir and help them take back the throne, it would hopefully bring peace across the lands. Kathryn is not the only one that knows the heir is alive, and Aiden is in danger. Can Kathryn help Aiden take back her thrown, and what happens when feelings may get in the way?

I liked the world building Vaun did. In a time of horses and swords, no one really blinks about two women being together. While maybe not the most realistic, it was a nice change of pace. I was glad sexuality did not play a part at all. As in most fantasy books, there is a lot of traveling. I liked the beginning of the book with all the traveling the best. I thought the book got a little too predictable in the second half, and I found it easy to guess what was going to happen.

The romance was very sweet. With Aiden growing up with monks, she was a 21 year old virgin. I enjoyed her naivety when trying to figure out if a woman was even flirting with her. While the attraction between the mains was very fast. I still enjoyed the romance. I thought it was well written for Aiden's experience level.

This book was difinetly lighter and sweeter than most fantasy books. As I said before, I don't think you have to be a fantasy fan to enjoy this. It was not exactly what I was hopping for, but I still liked it and think most people will to.

An ARC was given to me by Bold Strokes Books, for a honest review.

Birthright is a fun, fast-moving story of a sort typical in fantasy: the lost heir to a throne taken by a tyrant. And this version is a fun example of the genre, with strong female characters coming out of your ears -- and falling in love with each other, too. The love story is at least as important to the plot as the lost heir, which is worth keeping in mind; it motivates the way the end of the story shakes out, and takes up a good amount of the narration. I enjoyed that though Aiden is boyish and Kathryn more feminine, there's no stereotyping -- both can fight, both can rule, both know what they're doing.

There are a couple of moments where I felt things rushed by a little too fast -- the connection between the two characters grows very quickly in just a couple of scenes -- and where I'd have liked a bit more depth, like the characters of Frost and of Gareth, or even Rowan. Without more background, for example, Kathryn's jealous moment made little sense, especially since how we got to that moment felt a little contrived.

Nonetheless, it's fun and has a happy ever after, and I'd definitely recommend it to people looking for lesbian fantasy.

Review goes live on my blog 5th March 2017.

I have wrestled with this author's releases on a number of occasions-enjoying some, while desiring more from others. However, I found "Birthright" to be a thoroughly well-done, fairy tale like offering, with impassioned warrioresses and an old-fashioned love story in which affection for another woman is an accepted facet of reality. I welcome escapes such as this in a time of deep discrimination and powers that foment hate. Further, Aiden was just slightly irresistible.

I received this copy from NetGalley in return for an honest review. A story set in the middle ages, Aiden, the orphan from a monestarty reaches her 21st and sets out to experience the word. Unknown to her, she is the daughter of the House of Roth, the royal family of Belstaff. Queen Katherine, of the kingdom of Olmstead, sets out to find this hidden heir to the Belstaff throne in hopes to depose the tyrant leader, Balak. I liked this story immensely. It was well written, filled with action, had well rounded and likable characters and flowed along at a nice pace. LIke many of the lesbian hero stories that have been coming out lately, it does have the "everyone is ok with strong women--who happen to be lesbians-- and no one bats at eyte any of it, but that's a nice thing to envision in current times. Solid and fun read.

This was a fun read. If you like the king and queens era of sword fighting and romance, you'll enjoy this book. Missouri Vaun has a way of capturing the reader with her unique style of heroine story telling. The characters are likable and the story is a sweet romance where most of the characters are women worriers or leaders.. It's a great fantasy to get lost in.. I would recommend this book.