Thank you to netgalley and the publisher for an e-arc!

THIS BOOK. OH MY GOD. SAPPHIC, FAE, CHANGELINGS? DO I NEED TO SAY MORE???

“Being cruel, Bright Eyes. To us both.” And before I can ask what he means, before I can ruin it with words, he kisses me again.

Brief summary:
Faye discovers she’s part fae after being dragged into the the seelie and unseelie courts. After her best friend was taken by the seelie queen, the queen will only give her back if she takes her throne.

This book is fantastic! It’s written BEAUTIFULLY! I loved that Faye is bisexual. I found the interactions between Faye and isla to be so cute. The gay panic Faye would go thru, I found hilarious 😂

“The problem is, with her hands on me, my focus tends to falter.”

God the author did such a good job at making me love almost all the characters and then making me HATE one right at the end too. I also really liked how I really didn’t know who the love interest was going to be. The book ends and I still don’t know yet but I thought it was done really well.

Overall 5/5
PHENOMENAL BOOK!!! I loved it. The book was everything I wanted and some I didn’t know I wanted.

Thank you to NetGalley and Independent Publishers group for allowing me to read and review.

When marketed as a similarity to Sarah J. Maas and Holly Black, I was all for this book. But unfortunately it didn't live up to it, in my opinion.

Of Beast and Burden by Kelsey Kicklighter is a YA fantasy about fae. And conveniently a main character named Faye, who grew up hear stories about the fae and has always yearned to join them. But things aren't quite as they seem as Faye is half-faerie and is the heiress to the dark throne. To earn her rightful place, she must face three trials. All whilst not falling for the broody, obligatory morally gray character and her bodyguard.

I feel like this book had too many similarities to These Hollow Vows by Lexi Ryan, or at least it kept reminding me of it. But beyond that it was a nice read, not quite my favorite however.

2.5/5 I had really high hopes, but I just really could not connect or like the writing style. I found the mc kind of annoying.

This was a great read! I haven't read this kind of ya fantasy in a while and I think it revived my love for fae and the folk, which is awesome! The pacing was phenomenal and I absolutely adored the atmosphere. I really enjoyed Faye as a character, and though the romances were a big aspect of the book, they didn't overshadow the main plot. Gage is a compelling love interest. The ending with Kellan was a big surprise to me, but not so much with the reveal about Emma. I'm super excited to read the next book in the series. I look forward to seeing what happens with all the characters, and I think I might even buy physical copies of the books for myself.

The characters are sometimes lovely monsters and other times real nightmares. I loved Faye, how surly she can be, how real she can be, how much she cares about Ellie.
And the plot twists. OMG. The plot twists.

3.5 stars

Overall I really enjoyed Of Beast and Burden and thought it was a great debut novel! The banter is great, the storyline kept me interested, and am really looking forward to seeing where this series goes.

My only issues is that I did find the pacing to be a bit off. It starts out strong and gets you hooked then kind of rollercoastered between drawn out/boring and fast paced, but once things pick up it stays up. Other than that I really liked it and thought Faye was a pretty great fmc.

Gage is probably my favorite character though, because dark and dreamy (duh!).

This book wasn’t for me. The plot sounded like it would be right up my alley - a lost fae princess having to face three trials to win back her rightful throne - but I just couldn’t come to care about the story or the characters. The story turned out to be pretty generic with very few surprises to it, and the three trials held little tension to them. It felt like they should have played a bigger part and been more challenging. Unfortunately not even the plot twists could add any supsense for me, since I could see them coming. It was just really predictable what was going to happen. The potential was there, but the presentation felt just a bit lackluster.

The characters wasn’t able to save this one for me either. The main character Faye is basically your typical the chosen-one fantasy heroine, and there wasn’t really anything to her that made me invested in her. Something that isn’t a good thing, since the main character is the center of the story and if you don’t care about them then the story won’t grab hold of you. Because why would you care? I also not a fan of Kellan, as that kind of guys always rub me the wrong way. I don’t find them charming, just annoying.

With that said I can definitely see why and how people will enjoy this book, and probably have a soft spot for Kellan. Because it reminds me of some other popular “fantasy with fae” books out there. After reading this book I’ve come to terms with the fact that these types of books clearly aren’t a good fit for me, and are best left for other people.

An interesting start to a new Fae series! I love all things Fae and this book delivered. It had a Cruel Prince feel to it, which I enjoyed. Some of my favorite tropes are enemies to lovers and a love triangle, they’re both present and done pretty well. The world building was fantastic. Also, if you’re a fan of training and trials, you’ll enjoy this one!

Thanks to NetGalley for an eARC of this book. Of Beast and Burden started out very strong. I was immediately drawn into the story, feeling the suspense of Faye and Delia walking through the woods into the world of the fae, the frustrations of Faye’s relationships with her family. But then the story seems to change directions and we are left without any mention of characters from earlier in the book (it would have been nice if there’s was a way to have to the story feel like it had come full circle at the end). With that said, I did enjoy all of the characters and hope we see more character development in the next book.

I do think the plot unravels toward the end of the book. The trials did not seem that challenging, so there was no real conflict there (except for the 3rd one, which didn’t seem to fit with what we knew of the characters in that scene - trying not to have spoilers 🙃). Although seeing as how Faye didn’t really prepare for the trials, I guess it’s good they were easy?

Overall, it was a decent first book from a new author. I am interested to see where this series goes and how the author grows with her next book.

Rating: 2.5
I wanted to read this because I really like the cover and typically like books about fae. This wasn't bad, but it wasn't anything special. It was a quick and easy read and the characters were ok. I didn't really like the writing and nothing really happened until the end. It is supposed to be a series, but I don't think I'll be reading the the next one.

This was such a fun read! I absolutely loved the characters and the journeys they went through. The book was so engaging and full of twist and turns. I will be recommending this book to everyone!

Of Beast And Burden by Kelsie Kicklighter ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

The story is about a half-human girl, half fat girl, Fayelynn, who was always attracted yet scared by the existence of the fae world. She knew first-hand what happens to the mortals who indulge with the fae by looking at her mother fade into madness after her encounter with them but saw always had a guilty fascination. Everything changes when she learns she's one of the faes too, and not only that- she's the rightful heir to the throne of the Unseelie court. She has to claim her throne now if she wants her human friend, Ellie, back while trying not to fall for the handsome Unseelie King, Gage, whose crown she has to challenge for or his beautiful nymph turned knight- Isla. 

The story had me captured in its spell. The plot was amazing and descriptive, giving an awesome image of the world explained in it. The characters were good and lovable.
Faye is a surly but loyal girl who's very protective of the people she loves. She is unaware of her fae heritage until she meets a pair of them with her perfidious friend, Cordelia. As the book proceeds, her glamour grows and so does her confidence in her power. Though she still keeps her human heart by not being Unseelie cruel.
Gage is the brooding, handsome goblin king who willingly accepts Faye as his predecessor. He too is very loyal to his people. He defeated Faye's father, The Mad King, at his request so that the fae could be saved.
All the other characters were nicely brought in and shown. I didn't expect Kellan to turn on Gage and Faye. I was liking his charater but I think he was too desperate to get away from his sister, the Seelie Queen.

I enjoyed this glamourous world. The book cover is mysterious and gorgeous. I'll be waiting for the next book; I really wanna know more about Faye's powers, how she'll rule the kingdom, and who will be her love. (I'm hoping it'll be a threesome- Faye, Gage, and Isla. Fingers crossed!)

Of Beasts and Burden is perfect for readers who enjoy fast-paced, face-centered fantasy. The story follows Faye, a half-mortal girl who discovers her heritage.

Things I liked:
-fast-paced adventure
-urban fantasy (there is entrance to this world of fae from our own)

Things I wasn't crazy about:
-no surprises- the story is pretty easy to predict for fantasy readers
-characters and their relationships didn't totally jump off the page for me

Overall, if you love fantasy tropes and want a quick-paced read this could be for you.

This was a lovely first installment to a series. I'm a sucker for fae stories so when I read the synopsis I took the chance and requested the ARC. I have to say, I'm glad I did. I really liked the lore and learning about it with our main character.

The cast is a nice mix of personalities and characters with interesting backgrounds. I loved the bisexual rep in the book and I'm here for it in the sequel.

I was, however, upset that a victim of abuse was disposed of instead of helped just so two of the three main characters survived. The victim's actions at the end of the story seemed pretty out of character and I think the ending could have been much different.

I hope the sequel redeems the ending and I can't wait to see what will happen to Faye.

Honestly I couldn't quite get into the book. It wasn't bad, it just couldn't grab my attention. It felt very similar to Cruel Prince but not quite as entertaining or captivating. But it's an interesting world and concept, and the main character is bi with both a male and female love interest. I think there's potential, but it just couldn't grab my attention long enough for me to get hooked.

I'm all for the Fae and Fairytales, this mish mash of the genre, other Myths and Legends, loveable Characters and Monsters was perfect. I never wanted to be Unseelie more than I did reading this story.
Enemies to lovers, LGBTQ promises, Kings and Queens and the 'monsters monster'. The last few chapters I did not see coming and would have liked a happier ending, but it made sense for the trio to continue.
I can not wait for the next book

I couldn't really get into the book. The writing wasn't bad. It just didn't catch my attention and hold it. The idea of the story was a great one.

Nothing truly new here in the Unseelie/Seelie world. The main character is likeable enough and good to see bisexual rep as a matter of fact way. For those who love everything Fae and crossed into the human world, plus the start of a series this is definitely for you. It's written well and moves along; you don't have to wait too long for plot points to be uncovered while still leaving room for a lot more. 2.5 stars and I'll be looking for the next in the series. Those who love Holly Black will find a lot to like here.

This is a perfect YA fantasy especially for fans of Holly Black. This first book has some really great characters with wonderful character development. I do feel like I needed a bit more world building. I found myself wondering what different areas of the underground and summer court looked like. Overall though, the relationships between characters, the tension, the conflicts and the overall intrigue kept me wanting to keep reading. A great start to a new fantasy series. I look forward to reading the next book in the series!

Thank you to Independent Publishers Group, the author, and NetGalley for an advanced copy of this book for my honest review.

This was absolutely astounding!!!!! I love most fae stories and this is one of the best I’ve read.
The characters are sometimes lovely monsters and other times real nightmares. I loved Faye, how surly she can be, how real she can be, how much she cares about Ellie.
And the plot twists. OMG. The plot twists.

WOW! It is way too soon for me to say this, but I am absolutely looking forward to book 2!!!!! Can’t wait to see what else is in store for these monstrous new allies and friends.