I really wanted to give it 5 stars because this book has a lot of good stuff. It has representation, sapphic romance, lots of action, comedy, charismatic characters, twists... But it wasn't good for me. I didn't find the reading smooth, I spent a good few days without reading a single word of it, but I managed to finish. There are a lot of people who liked it, as well as people who didn't like it. If you also like the things I mentioned at the beginning, it's worth reading. Maybe this book is perfect for you.
But despite all that, I wanted to say that the author did a great job. Everything was described very well, I felt like I was there, watching everything happen.

** I want to thank NetGalley and the publisher for this ARC in exchange for an honest review. **

To survive in the empire where her family was massacred, Raena (Rowan) masquerades as a boy, becoming a knight and vowing to murder the Queen in retribution. However, Rowan’s plans are halted when she is unexpectedly exiled to serve Duchess Aven. Rowan has to learn to navigate the precarious political situation in the Kingdom, as she grows closer to Aven and learns who her real enemies are.

Let me start this off by saying I did not finish the book. I’ve had it for almost 3 months and I just have not been able to get through it. I understand with fantasies you generally have to get past the first 75ish pages before you really can into the book, but it seems never ending with this one.

That being said I did enjoy the relationship between Raena and Finn. Finn’s overall character was amazing and I loved seeing him on page .

DNF @ 25%

Final Rating: 2.5 stars

Thank you to Net Galley and Hansen House for the ARC.

This review contains NO spoilers.

Summary
This book was an okay read, but not a great read for me. I really loved the premise of it: Raena is a girl forced to masquerade as a boy for the sake of her survival in an empire where her family was murdered. She takes on the persona of a knight and while going through life holds a secret vendetta against the kingdom that she hopes to one day murder the Queen for what happened to her family. Going by the name Rowan, the story begins with her and another knight named Finn taking place in a gruesome competition put on by the crown. The tournament goes awry and Raena finds herself in a new land without anyone she knows and has to ultimately keep up with pretending to be a man.

Plot
This book was so slow at times that I put it down for days (if not weeks!) before I felt the want to finish it. A lot of the details and conversations didn’t only feel pointless, but they also were a little annoying. With this being said, there were several parts that I was excited to read and couldn’t put the book down for. Unfortunately, the slower parts just seemed to overwhelm the rest for me. The plot was not bad, but there were a lot of things that happened that left me with many questions. It just felt almost unfinished in the explanations in a way that it wasn’t meant to.

World-Building
The world-building was definitely lacking in this book. While some places I could see clearly in my mind, most of the cities and countryside explained were just a blur in my mind. I could be wrong, but some parts seemed to almost contradict earlier statements? If you gave me a pencil and asked me to draw even a sliver of this map, I would not be able to.

Characters/Romance
I loved the relationship between Finn and Raena, but there were long lengths of time where he wasn’t mentioned at all. I wish the relationship they had continued in the same way throughout the whole book. It could have made me connect to the characters more. In my opinion, Raena’s character did not really develop a lot. She had a goal from the beginning and was adamant on keeping to it the entire time which isn’t bad, but it is so very predictable. A lot of the conversations (between anyone except Finn and Raena) felt forced which is partly what made it so difficult to get through this book. There was no real spark or event that caught my attention and made me invest in these characters.

I loved the fact that this book has sapphic representation in it, but it just… didn’t live up to my expectations. It could be because I didn’t really feel connected to any of these characters, but the romance is just very simple. It plays out, in my opinion, like most romance novels you can buy anywhere.

Overall
I was disappointed in this book. I initially wanted to read it because of the sapphic representation, but this book was pretty hard to get through. I really gave it several chances, but it is rare for me to put down a book and then not want to pick it up again
.
I want to thank Netgalley, Cate Pearce, and the publisher for an ARC of this book. All opinions are honest and my own.

Raena and Finn have both survived the massacre of their families and now years later Raena has reinvented herself as the brave knight Rowan. Sent to take part in a tournament they both unwittingly get on the bad side of the Prince which sees these best friends separated and sets Raena on a path to justice and also love.
Honestly I thought this was a stand-alone so I’m more than a little disappointed that I have to wait for the next book to get more answers. Raena is without a doubt very courageous and I loved her interactions with Finn which sadly disappeared as the story unwound. She’s a character of mystery because as much as she believes she knows her antecedents there were inconsistencies surrounding her particularly when it comes to her abilities. Exiled to serve Aven , Raena is far away from the mission she’s set herself of revenge against the tyrannical and murderous Queen. Yet with the kingdom on the brink of war it appears that justice can be served but it’s pretty obvious that so many secrets and lies have been told and this ends not quite on a cliffhanger but definitely leaving the reader with far too many questions.
I did enjoy this although at times I wanted things to speed up. I had guessed at least one very big secret but even that revelation somehow got bogged down with inconsequential waffling about what would happen to the Kingdom. No real explanations about why the Prince is just so thoroughly evil and messed up with an end that felt rushed to me. From comments I’ve read by the author we might get more about Finn in the follow up although for this reader as welcome as that is I sincerely hope there more world building as there are people/ creatures here that really needed a lot more explanation.
This voluntary take is of a copy I requested and my thoughts and comments are honest and I believe fair

Overall this was a nice read, but I was not blown away by it. I think it may have profited from more editing to make the pacing and the characters and the world building a bit more concise. If the premise sounds interesting to you, I’d say give it a shot.

Here are some issues that made this a difficult book for me to finish:

The world building. It felt complex and interesting, but overall left me confused. Some things just didn’t make sense to me or were so confusing that I got lost

I liked most of the characters, they were sufficiently complex and interesting to read about. All with the exception of Zander, who I felt was such a cardboard-cutout, was so over the top evil without apparent reason. I also didn’t quite understand the queen, what were her motives?

I found the beginning quite difficult to get into. There was action and it should have worked, but it didn’t for me. I think it was partly the pacing and partly that it took too long for me to get a good enough feel for the characters and the world.

The pacing overall was not that slow, but the book still felt like it dragged in some parts. I had quite a hard time getting through the middle part of the book (between the 50 and the 75% mark). I think part of it was that some characters seemed to vanish for a few chapters and then re-appear and they felt somewhat inconsistent at times.

The world, the characters, the plot, it all felt a little like I had already read this book. That is not to say that it didn’t have some unique elements, but it all felt kind of been-there-done-that to me

The romance was nice, but felt a little too rushed

Some of the dialogue felt pretty forced to me and there was quite a bit of info-dumping, especially in some of the dialogue

Well, this book was a massive disappointment. Id been looking forward to it since I read the synopsis, but sadly, it didn't pan out.

I think my main problem was that I didn't care about anything. Things happened, but they didn't affect me at all. Characters died, but I had no idea who they were. Even the main romance held no flame. It was all just bland, and way too long of a book to be bland.

Thanks NetGalley for the eArc in exchange for an honest review.

Brief summary: Young Raena Schinen escapes the murderous fate of her family and disguises herself as (Sir) Rowan with Lord Sylas in Hawk's Keep. She disguises herself as knight Sir Rowan to keep Queen Zarana (BLack Crown ruler of Candor) off her trail so she can revenge her family's deaths when the time is right. When Raena is exiled to the duchy of Colby, she meets and falls for Duchess Aven, who has close ties to Queen Zarana. While the Queen's son is being an all-around awful person and making a complete mess of Candor, Raena and Aven seek safety and each other after they are separated. War, politics, and lies create obstacles for all three main characters as they struggle to save themselves, those they love, and Candor.

Overall, 4/5 stars. What I enjoyed:
- Great action scenes
- Strong and interesting three main characters (some more so than others, but more on that below)
- Pretty good world building (sometimes a little overwhelming with the amount of detail, but overall it's nicely done)
- Fun banter between Raena and Finn in the beginning (majorly bummed that couldn't continue throughout the book)
- Very sweet and respectful love story (with some almost some Prince and the Pauper vibes). Raena's journey with Aven is heart-warming and I hope to see more of it in the next book.
- Possibly an unpopular opinion, but I love Queen Zarana. I think she is a great morally grey character, and this makes her extremely interesting.

Things that could be improved upon:
- The info dump that almost the first 38% of the book. After the awesome Trials scene in the beginning, the story drags a bit as we learn more about Raena and Candor's past (they are tied together and I think at least Raena's history could have been shared through conversations with Aven, and then we would have more Raena/Aven time too).
- Raena's Boen heritage (I have a lot of questions about this and I really hope book 2 addresses them).

While I did struggle with the first almost half of the book, at around 40% it really takes off and I'm so glad I continued. I'm excited to see more from these characters in Defenders of the Black Crown!

True rating: 3.5/5⭐️

Hero AND Villain POV ✅
Sapphic fantasy ✅
Slow burn F/F Romance ✅
Action ✅

‘-She didn’t believe she would love only one type of person exclusively, woman or man.’

A woman masquerading as a male training to be a knight to avenge her family?

Traitors explores themes of gender identity, sexuality, politics and imperialism.

There were many aspects of this book that I loved. Although Cate’s writing is beautiful but the pacing of the story and information dumps and parts were overwritten.
It detracted from my overall enjoyment.

Cate clearly has talent and I’ll be looking forward to reading her next work.

Thanks NetGalley for the eArc in exchange for an honest review.

I have mixed feelings about this book. On one hand, the concept was interesting and the F/F couple was what made me want to read it, but the execution was not that great and I was bored for the most part. The writing was nothing too special, It was fine, but my biggest problem was the worldbuilding and the pacing.

It had a lot of info-dump in it, which I don't like. I read a lot of fantasy and I think for this genre it's better when the author takes it slow and explain the world in a more organic way, even if that makes the reader a bit confused at first. There were some cool ideas but they were explained in a messy and inconsistent way.

The romance was nice but the characters weren't remarkable, so I wasn't as invested in their story as I could have been. Also the pacing was too dragging, too much travelling and getting from one place too the other made it quite boring.

Even though the ending was intriguing it felt too sudden like there wasn't enough development to get to that point. Overall this was okay, I didn't hate it but I didn't loved it. The actual rating is more like 2.5 because it fell right in the middle for me.

Characters: Brilliant. I was invested in all of them
Plot: OMG THAT ENDING THOUGH. Not super emotional, not even very fulfilling but unexpected and somewhat of a cliffhanger. Half point.
Representation: pansexual, not much else. Loved the romance there was though. Half point.
Would I have it on my shelf: in my kindle library, but not my physical one.
Would I buy it for others: a few others, but I wouldn't go crazy over it.

Overall, a high 3 out of 5. I was invested in the book once I got around to reading it, but I wasn't hungry for it. A good book for fans of medieval historical fiction. Rounded up to 4 stars to account for taste.

Traitors of the Black Crown is an epic tale of kings, queens, knights, treason, loyalty, revenge and duplicity and mole people. And this is only the first book of the series. We follow the main characters the Knight Sir Rowan, Duchess Avenna, and Queen Zarana as forces beyond their control enmeshed their lives.
This was a thrilling read. It brought me back to my early years when I read everything I could about Knights and round tables and dreamed of living in medieval times. The action and tension is  brilliantly carried throughout the novel with each major character facing their own peril while still being a part of the complete storyline.
This is an exceptional first novel for Cate Pearse. Her writing captures you from page one, line one. The characters are three dimensional and easily captured in your minds eye. Reading this novel takes you away from your world and into Ms Pearse’s unique medieval one.

Starting off the book is well written over all. A part at the beginning was confusing and probably needs to be fixed. . The LBTQ vibes were very strong throughout and at one moment seemed to overtake the rest of the story. I liked the story especially the twist at the end which you will have to read to find out. I'm looking forward to the next book.

Thank you to Netgalley for providing me with this arc!

I had really high expectations for this book and while it wasn’t horrible it wasn’t what I was expecting. I was left wanting more out of everything, the world building, the characters and the plot overall. This is a debut so I’m trying not to be so harsh. Maybe the second book will be better!! Can’t wait to get a chance to read that

This book has a very interesting premise. I wanted to see how these 3 women's lives intersect. I wanted Raena to explore her identity.

It could definitely just be me, but this book was hard for me to get into. I wasn't sure if it was set plainly in the past, or in an entirely alternate universe, or in a distant future.

It also seems very long and the pacing seems off. some things race by that feel they need more time and some things seem very slow.

I don't know if there are things inappropriate for kiddos as I didn't finish the book.

That being said, I would try again if I was craving fantasy!

First I'd like to thank the publisher and NetGalley for providing the eARC in exchange for an honest review.

I simply love getting to know new stories, with that anxious feeling of finally being exposed to a new universe, to new characters, a new society. And, although it's not especially different from all the other books of its kind that I've read in my life, Traitors of the Black Crown brings a new shift to all of it.

Although it's a little slow, the first third of the book presents us to the main character's reality, burdened with the fact that she has to hide herself to even survive. And Raena was very interesting to me, easy to cheer for and at moments I caught myself worried she or anyone she loved would suffer.

I'm not a descriptions fan, to be honest. But this book's descriptive paragraphs and expositions felt important to the story, and well placed within it, serving as a way to develop the characters and the universe at the same time. Also, the action scenes were well conducted, as well as the time passages, working well with the changes in the point of view.

Finally, I just loved the romance. Very well developed, it was calm and patient, full of respect and taking an important part of the story, but not taking all of it. There was enough space to develop all of the political scheming, the plot twists and the voice of characters that grew as the story gained layers.

Thanks to the publishers and NetGalley for providing me with an eARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Raena Schinen has been hiding from the crown for over a decade, masquerading as Sir Rowan and plotting her revenge on the Queen for the slaughter of her family. She finds herself exiled to a foreign land and in service to Duchess Aven Colby, whose kinship to the Queen presents a danger to her cover.

The story is told alternatively from the point of view of Raena, Aven and Queen Zarana. ‘Traitors of the Black Crown’ is a slow-burn queer fantasy set in a rich fantasy world. I enjoyed the world building, the dialogues and chemistry between Aven and ‘Sir Rowan’, and also immensely liked Finn, one of the secondary characters. However, the character of Zander came across as cruel, spiteful and spoiled, and I found myself getting annoyed at him whenever he entered the page. Beyond his character flaws, I thought he fell flat as an antagonist, and he is the reason I’ve given this book a three-star rating.
#netgalley #traitorsoftheblackcrown

Though the first few chapters were incredibly dull and I contemplated dropping the book multiple times, I pushed myself to continue because I find it impossible to stop reading anything until I finish. This is very lucky for Pearce because it is the only reason I managed to get through Traitors of the Black Crown. My biggest issue is the inconsistent pacing. The book had a habit of alternating between mind-numbingly slow to suddenly accelerating to the point where it was hard to process. Just when I began to get excited about some action, the book would spend far too many pages with pointless dialogue or backstory.

On the bright side, Aven and Raena's relationship was very sweet and wholesome, and I wish Pearce spent more time developing it. I found them to be the bright spots in this book, and I know they had the potential to become great characters had they been given enough time to bloom. Unfortunately, it felt to me that little time was spent on the main characters, let alone the side characters, and the relationships they shared felt forced.

*Thank you NetGallery and Hansen House for the ARC. All thoughts and opinions are my own.*

I absolutely loved this book. I have been looking for a book that I enjoyed as much as The Priory of the Orange Tree and this book delivered. The character building and world building was so in-depth, but also didn't feel overwhelming at the same time. I highly recommend this to anyone that loves a sapphic romance paired with a fantasy type theme.

Traitors of the Black Crown centers on Raena Schinen who has been disguised as a male Knight ("Sir Rowan") to avoid being detected by Queen Zarana. Queen Zarana had ordered the Queen's guard to murder Raena's entire family, but Raena had narrowly escaped. Raena grows up with the singular goal of getting revenge on the Queen. There's a little bit of a Game of Thrones feel here, as the Queen's son has strong Joffrey vibes. I say this because when Raena is finally close enough to get to the Queen, the Prince exiles her to serve as a night for Duchess Aven Colby. This is where the story gets interesting in my opinion. There's a number of twists I hadn't expected and the chemistry between Raena and Aven is excellent. This summary barely skims the surface and I strongly recommend you read this book! I can't wait for the next one.

Excellent book. And an easy read. I don’t mean easy read in the sense it’s simple, there are lots of different aspects to it and so much going on, but they to me made me want to keep reading. So much so I finished it in 2 days! Loved it

dnf at 16%

I just couldn't get into this book. The writing style just isn't for me. The start which is supposed to be action-packed is really not, and there were so many characters introduced in the first chapter itself and I couldn't keep up.