- slowburn
- dark romantasy NA
- enemies to lovers
- good world building
- worth looking at the TW + CWs (dark and triggering themes)
- part of a series
- king arthur retelling

Overall the concept was interesting and entertaining, however the execusion did need polishing. I will try the next book in the series and will keep an eye out for more of Briar's work in the future.

⭐️3.5/5

~ 3 Stars ~

Thank you to NetGalley and Xpresso Book Tours for allowing me an eARC of this book for review.

Firstly, I did DNF this book at 36% and my ranting is solely based upon what I read.

My main takeaway is that I think this story line and world has a lot of potential. It’s very intriguing, a world where more fae blood is looked down upon. A world filled with bias and prejudices that are acted out against and punishable by death on some counts. But unfortunately, this story just moved extremely slow. There was a lot of both SHOW and TELL where it felt like you were getting a little bit too much and wanted to move on in the story.

I could also see the plot points ahead, the secret identity reveal was feeling very obvious, which ultimately, combined with the slowness, had me putting this one down.

I meant to come back and finish, but then I realized as I kept picking a new book up rather than coming back to this one, I wasn’t going to be finishing….

Morgan Pendragon was supposed to be crown princess of her father's kingdom. That was stolen from her, by his anger and her mother's blood - supposedly, she's part fae, but neither her nor her mother have ever shown signs of this as far as she can remember. Now, her father is dead and her cruel brother sits on the throne, and he believes Morgan's fae blood can win him the conflict he's started, so he sends her on a mission to recover a mystical sword. She's sent away, a mere pawn once again, in the company of cold blooded assassin Karios Draven. Quickly, Morgan discoveres that very few people are what she thought they were - including herself.
I love myth retellings a whole lot - this one was no different. I really enjoyed this take on the Arthurian legend, the way characters were portrayed and Briar Boleyn's writing style. What I did not enjoy was some of the clichés in this story, including some of Morgan's choices - but I understand that this is a fantasy novel and therefore will have some very common tropes and characteristics. Am really looking forward to starting the second book!

Loved king arthur and i especially loveeeee the "retailings". Love enemies to lovers and the slow burn (altho infuriating ate times) was top notch. The world building and plot were amazing and easy to follow

Too many characters, too much violence. I couldn’t get through the first few chapters. I didn’t enjoy the “voice” of the main character. Not the story for me

This book hit my Fae itch beautifully. This Fae Camelot was a tale filled with self discovery and romance. Morgan is half human and half Fae which throughout the book she tries to navigate both identities. Don’t get me wrong there is gore and spice, which makes for an even better story.

This book was entertaining, it had my complete attention. There was a lot happening through the whole book, it was both political and romantical driven. Having this being a reimagining of King Arthur legend, but Fae threw me off at times, I think it could have just been a great fantasy romance without that aspect to the story. It was dramatic, suspenseful and kept me on my toes as I read. It did a really good job of writing the villains in this story that I absolutely despised, and I felt so bad for Morgan. She was getting stabbed in the back at every turn and some of her decisions or reasoning got on my nerves. The magic was interesting, how it was viewed and used in this world was very impactful to the characters of this story. Overall, I found this book enjoyable, it had a lot of suspense, and some surprising twists, so I would recommend checking it out.
Trigger warnings: sexual harassment, torture
I received this advanced ebook, via Netgalley. This review is my own honest opinion.

I enjoyed this book and am glad that it’s within a series! With a slow burn, and strange twists throughout, it keeps you on the edge of your seat. A different adaptation of King Arthur, but one that I would recommend.

Entertaining plot but the characters were not. This was just enough for me to finish but not trilled about it.

This was a great retelling, and a debut into fantasy from this author that I really enjoyed. There was a lot of world building in this book which definitely took some time to get into and used to, but at the same time it is often necessary for fantasy worlds as they often are, and need to be complex. It is also quite a bit of a slow burn, which I really enjoyed. Excited to continue on with this series.

Rating: 4.5/5 ⭐⭐⭐⭐✨
Disclaimer: I was gifted a copy of this book via netgalley and in exchange I am voluntarily leaving a review. All opinions my own.
The way I inhaled this book :o And am relieved to see the sequel is out.
This book is wild. Definitely heed trigger warnings at the back, though I feel they should have added one for sexual abuse/unwanted sexual contact. I'm not going to say who the abuser is but it's concerning that there wasn't a warning for it. That being said, I will definitely continue to follow this author. Briar Boleyn is really talented at world building and keeping you turning pages. This is somewhat an Arthurian retelling, with a fae twist (booktok would love this lol). I'm looking forward to book 2, and I want to thank netgalley and Boleyn for the opportunity to read this book.
If you like SJM, Jennifer L Armentrout, and other authors like those two, you may like this book (though it isn't as steamy as the stuff they tend to write lol).

To be very honest, I found this book a little rough and slow in the beginning. Morgan is a little hard to connect with throughout and honestly feels like a doormat half the time I am reading. She did get better just at the end, but it wasn't enough to save my thoughts on how I felt about her. The character death near the end infuriated me and I really wish it had not happened because it felt useless.

However, it is the plot that kept me coming back. The world as well which has clearly been built well. We will see how things fair with the next book. I am hoping it pulls me in more than this one did.

While the allure of the plot initially intrigued me, this book, unfortunately, failed to hold my attention. However, the fascinating plot remains a testament to their creativity. Sometimes, personal preferences just don't align.

SLOW
PAcing Issues
FMC was underdeveloped
Plot was haphazard at times

I love the retelling of King Arthur; I'm a sucker for those kinds of books and Boleyn does it extremely well by adding a new take.

This exceptionally clever story with a Camelot twist in it was great. I really enjoyed the book and couldn’t put it down. I was very disappointed when it ended and can’t wait to dive into the next one.

An excellent fae retelling of King Arthur. Morgan was a bit annoying at times but overall I loved the book.

"The Queen of Roses" by Briar Boleyn is an enchanting and imaginative Arthurian retelling, focusing on Morgan le Fey. From the start, I was entranced by Morgan's emotional journey and the novel's unique twists on familiar characters. The slow-burn romance and witty banter between Morgan and Kairos Draven added depth and joy to the story. With magic, destiny, and unexpected plot turns, this book is a must-read for fantasy romance fans. I eagerly await the next installment to continue this enchanting adventure. ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

This book is super similar to the first Blood and Ash book. So if that interests you, definitely check it out.

The beginning of the book was incredibly addictive, I loved it and couldn't stop reading from the moment I started.
There was a bit in the middle where it slows down A LOT and it took me a little more to continue. This was in the first half of the book. During this bit, the main character started to feel bland and a bit inconsistent at times, and I was feeling zero chemistry between the main characters.

I am glad to say though, the book regained strength in the second half of the story. I read it in one sitting. I liked the relationship and the characters and it ABSOLUTELY hooked me in. The ending was really good, with twists and action and it was unputdownable, leaving me super interested to read the next one.

The story in general is quite predictable, but that's never been a problem for me as I enjoy that -if that bothers you a lot, though, keep that in mind. The other thing I want to say is that the dialogue was a bit rough at certain times.

But the story as a whole was something I enjoyed and like I said, I definitely was left hooked and wanting more and more of these characters.

Definitely check the trigger warnings!

kay so I really, really enjoyed this book! I received this arc from Briar Boleyn and Netgalley. The amount of tropes I love that are in this book is just outrageous 🖤 I’m usually equal parts apprehensive and here for a good Arthurian knights of the round table re-telling story because sometimes it’s over done, but not this 🫠

We follow Morgan who was the rightful Queen of Camelot until her bigot father cast her aside because of her mixed fae-human blood line. Now Morgan is destined to a life of piety being a forgotten priestess. Her younger brother, Arthur, comes into power as King but he is cruel and ruthless.

Morgan gets sent on a wild quest with a unique knight that she detests yet strangely likes at the same time. The quest does not go as planned obviously! The romance is definitely not what I expected at all! I was hoping for more spice honestly BUT with a certain morally gray knight 😂

I was pleasantly surprised by how much I didn’t guess and how many surprises happened in the last 75ish pages.

The ending was equal parts disturbing and awesome! I absolutely love all the fae creatures and territories that are mentioned in this! I also love that Merlin and Lancelot are both women in this retelling! I will for sure be reading the second book that’s out on Kindle Unlimited very soon! I’m dying to know what happens after that wild ending!

❥ 3 stars ☆

This book is a retelling of Morgan Pendragon and King Arthur with Faes.
I know most of the names since before, and I have seen and heard about the characters in movies + TV series, like in ❝Once Upon A Time❞. One character I wasn’t really familiar with before is actually Morgan Pendragon, which was probably a good thing for this book.

Merlin and Lancelet are women in this story, which is a fun change. Lancelet is lesbian and there’s sadly some homophobic people living in their society.

Morgan is part-Fae, and so was her mother. When Morgan was 5 years old, she witnessed her father who was the King of Camelot, murdering her mother. She lost her loving mother while being left with her abusive father who disliked her for being Fae.

Her father remarried twice, got a male heir both times, and both of his wives later died. One day her father announced Arthur as the next ruler and King, because of Morgan being part-Fae. Morgan has a great sibling connection with her youngest brother Kaye, and she even cares about Arthur even though he’s lately showing what a cruel person and ruler he really is, just like their father was.

Morgan’s future is decided. When she turns 21, she will join the Temple of the Three Sisters. Merlin is the High Priestess of the Temple, and Morgan is supposed to become the High Priestess after Merlin one day. Morgan is officially a princess, but she really is an outcast in the Rose Court.

Florian is such a disgusting and annoying character. He’s basically stalking Morgan in order to get every opportunity to abuse her, while saying he wants her to become his wife instead of going to the Temple. It’s so disgusting, and it’s unfair that she wouldn’t be more protected from anyone wanting to harm her inside her own castle and home.

King Arthur gives Morgan a mission. She has to go on a long journey to find the lost legendary weapon Escalibur, which he claims they need if and when there will be war. She is accompanied by 2 guards, Kairos Draven and Whitehorn.

Kairos Draven is a new royal guard who quickly rose in ranks but Morgan later learns that he’s also an assassin so she isn’t sure if he can be trusted. He has been nice to Morgan both before they left and while they are on their journey, and he seems to care about her and her safety. I liked that and I liked him as a character, and it was nice to read about their relationship developing.

❝She’s purring,❞ I exclaimed in delight.
❝Stop taming the battlecat,❞ Draven said, looking slightly annoyed. ❝She’s a killing machine. Not a house pet.❞
❝Says the man who snuggled beside her all night,❞ I retorted.


As a cat lover, the ’exmoors’ seems so cute, battlecats. I would love to see what they look like, maybe they would remind us of the bigger felines in our world but maybe they would be much bigger? It was so cute how one of them purred just like a cat would and how it even slept next to Draven. Aww!

❝When I awoke, I was in my tent, but I was not alone. There were arms wrapped around me. I could feel them, tight and heavy. My cheek was pressing against something rough and hard. My eyes shot open. My face was against Draven’s chest.❞


Later on their journey they met Vesper who’s also half-Fae. I didn’t really believe that he genuinely liked Morgan and I was suspicious of him from the start.

Most of the book follows the group while they are on their journey. ‘Enemies’ to ‘lovers’ vibes. The book ended with a big cliffhanger which definitely made me want to read what happens next with Morgan and Draven!

💀 CW: abduction, abuse, animal death, child abuse, child death, deceased family member, domestic violence, drug use, poisoning, violence.