The worldbuilding and plot were great, but character development just wasn't there. It is a fast-paced book and is engaging. Would recommend checking trigger warnings.

3.5/5 stars

Great Fantasy/Romantasy Morgan Pendragon/Morgan LeFay origin story. I quite liked it and the alternate POV of Arthurian legend. The writing was fast paced and interesting. Can't wait for the next book!

Very fast paced book but it was giving major FBAA vibes. While I have a love hate relationship with FBAA, I do like the pacing of book one - this book has a similar feel with the pacing and it makes it easy to get through.

A little predictable however much like like FBAA. If you can over look that and the need for development and less info dumping, then I think you'd enjoy this book! If those are some of the reasons why you did not like FBAA, then this book may not be for you!

Thank you so much for giving me an advance reading copy of this book. I'm SO glad this was my first ever ARC because I loved it. I'm not generally a fan of quest and adventure plots but this one I really enjoyed! It has just the right amount of action and dialogue and character development. This is a very fun, easy read and I didn't get bored once. It was an easy read and easy to follow. The only thing that I thought could use improvement is that the author used "was" a few times in a sentence and I think that's something that can be easily fixed.

The plot twist at the end of the book was everything! Can't wait to read the second one. Again, thank you.

The story is about Morgan, who is rumored to carry the tainted blood of the fae in her veins. Her birthright is stolen from her when she is a mere child. Growing up in the shadow of her brother the king, she has been promised to the goddesses when she comes of age. So, when her brother commands that she seek out a fae weapon of legendary power, Morgan seizes the chance to break free from the chains of her fate. As she travels, Morgan finds herself drawn into a strange group of outcasts. Believed to have vanished generations ago, a fae kingdom dreaded by mortals is ascending once more, bound to reclaim what was lost by violence and bloodshed. As the fae world, with its intricate web of lies and mysteries, is slowly revealed to Morgan, she is led to the terrible realization that the secrets she carries in her blood make her a greater threat than she could ever have imagined.

I didn’t have high hopes when I registered interest to read this book, as it is such a complicated world to build. But I wasn’t disappointed, Boleyn manages the world-building excellently and the story is action packed. The only thing that bothered me is the King Arthur storyline as the basis. I didn’t get it and don’t see what added value that brings. I think the story is strong enough on its own without the constant references. Either way, I couldn’t put it down! I can’t wait for the second installment, coming on June 30th.

I had SO much fun with this! I am constantly on a search for a new fantasy/romantasy read and this was a great one! If you love fae, retellings and a bit of spice, then you will LOVE this! This is the first in a series so I cant wait to see where the author takes us in the next books. I cant wait for book 2!

What fantasy fan isn't fascinated by King Arthur and his knights? This book turns the old stories completely around with Arthur's sister, Morgan, as the hero and other characters, such as Galahad and LanceLET showcasing an inclusive and dynamic set of secondary characters that will quickly catch a reader's attention and have them pulling for them from the start. This book does spend a lot of time world building, and I wish there had been more time spent on character development of those other than Morgan, but with the ending, I think that that will happen in future books in the series. Overall, the story was a new and innovative take on old characters and tropes, and I am anxiously awaiting the sequel!

WOW!
An Arthur story reimagined that I never knew I needed! I was definitely not expecting to enjoy this alternative version of Arthur/Morgan/Lancelot but I am happily surprised and dying for the next book!

What a pleasant surprise! I went into this story blind, just simply interested based on the cover and I’m glad I gave it a shot! I love the world and the intricacies of it. While the Fae culture isn’t totally unique and some aspects were a tad predictable, the characters make it worthwhile. Not to mention, I loveeeee the Camelot/King Arthur retelling with women being at the forefront 💪

Wow I was not expecting to like this book as much as I did. From the very beginning I was pulled into the world and characters.

Morgan has such a tragic backstory and I loved seeing her character grow throughout the book. I have so many questions about her fae heritage that I hope get answered soon! After that ending, I’m dying to know how she reacts to Draven.

Draven was definitely one of my favorite characters. I knew he was hiding something from the very beginning and when it was revealed I was jumping up and down excited. I’m so excited to see where the author takes his character in the next book.

There were so many twists that I didn’t see coming and I can’t wait to read what happens in Court of Claws! Definitely adding this author to my must read list.

Queen of Roses by Briar Boleyn was a delightful retelling of the legend of Camelot (with a fae twist) told from the point of view of Morgan, Arthur’s half-sister.

Style: 👍🏻👍🏻👍🏻👍🏻
Spice: 🌶️🌶️
Story: 📚📚📚📚
Overall: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Morgan, a part fae princess, lives in a brutal world. Her younger brother, Arthur, sits on the throne, ruling with brutality and hate. Instead of becoming queen (which is her birth right), she has been promised to the serve Merlin in the temple upon her 21st birthday. There is hunger and growing unrest among Arthur’s subjects. Morgan does her best to help, but it is more than she and her weaponry training can handle alone.

Then, Kairos Draven clomps into the castle, a hulking (and handsome) farm boy hired to work for the king’s guard. Morgan finds Draven in her way time and again. His “rescuing” frustrates her (in more ways than one).

So, when Arthur instructs her to travel the lands in search of the mythical Excalibur she is hesitant, but agrees out of loyalty to the crown. And while she knows she shouldn’t trust Draven on this quest, she finds herself wondering if he is the ONLY one she truly can.

Queen of Roses was quite the adventure. This fantastical epic is the definition of a slow burn. It is loaded with twists and turns and a healthy dose of graphic violence. Morgan and her rag-tag group of friends are endearing and easy to root for. Draven is the very definition of hardened warrior and made me clap with glee when he asked, “Who did this to you?”

If you like fantasy retellings, a fist-full of gore, and the slowest of slow-burns, then this book is for you. I can’t wait to get my claws into book 2!

Better than I expected! I didn't think I was going to love it after just finishing a 5 star read but am super happy that I did. The characters were great and I thought the pacing was well done! Definitely will be reading more by this author.

Thank you for the opportunity to review this book.

Morgan’s destiny has never been her own to choose. She is the cast-off princess who was removed at the true ruler of her kingdom due to the mix of fae and human blood that runs through her veins. Morgan is sent on a dangerous mission to find Excalibur by her brother King Arthur who despises the anything to do with fae which includes his older sister. Along the journey, Morgan discovers who she truly is while uncovering the dangers beyond her greatest imagination.

This book is an Arthurian retelling with a twist, obviously the Fae part but also gender twist from the original characters. This author does excellent with the world building where it doesn’t just feel like a massive dump of information all at once but explains the world in great detail at the same time which is something I truly enjoy. Queen of Roses is a slow burn and it feels like this series is just going to get pretty spicy. It definitely covers some pretty heavy topics so be sure to check your TWs if you have any concerns in that aspect. Overall, I thought this was a good book and will definitely be picking up the next book in this series.

I really enjoyed this! The characters the world, it all kept me enthralled.
I’ll definitely be looking forward to other works by this author.

I really enjoyed Queen of Roses by Briar Boleyn! I loved the concept of a fantasy retelling of King Arthur / Camelot. I’ve never read anything like it and thought it was a super unique concept to a well known story. The story was well paced and kept me hooked the entire time! Once I started it was really hard to put down.

I overall really liked the female MC. I thought she was well written and had good inner dialogue. She was a character that you could really immerse yourself in and root for! I wish we had gotten a chance to learn more about the male MC, but I feel like that is coming in the second book. Their connection was also well written but not over the top. I liked the slow burn, low key enemies to lovers. I am really excited to see where their story goes. I’m also excited to learn more about their individual history which I feel like was hinted at the end of the book.

Overall, loved the story concept, pace of writing and characters. My only wish was that we knew more about the magic system / fae, but I’m really hoping that we get more of that in the second book!

This was such a delightful and interesting fantasy read! A very unique take on a retelling of King Author and Camelot. There were enough twists to keep the plot interesting, the pace I found was just perfect as it kept the reader intrigued but still left enough time to fully understand all the intricacies of the world building. This was a darker read than I had expected, however I found that the darker parts were not just for shock value, they were properly placed and made sense in the context of the story. I would consider this a dark fantasy romance. I am so excited to read the rest of this series!!

This. Was. Awesome!

A totally new take on the sword and the stone but so much juicier, more magical, and way sexier. I thoroughly enjoyed this book!

A sad princess manipulated by her cruel family is forced on a mission. Only to discover a secret of power within her and perhaps a sultry love interest of questionable character and incredible muscle? 😋

The plot development was top notch, I didn’t find myself lost in the adventure…instead I found myself guided and fiending after each page. The whole book really takes it to another level at the end when you’re left with a head pounding cliffhanger.

All in all I would recommend this to anyone who enjoys tasteful romantasy, ACOTAR, rhapsodic, and a touch of darkness. I absolutely loved this and will be purchasing the next one!

This was read as an ARC thank you to netgalley and the author for allowing me the read and review!

A unique retelling of King Author and Camelot.

Book 1 of Blood of a Fae.

Morgan's life was never hers especially being in the shadow of her brother. She has to go out on an adventure that the King has requested her to go on.

This book isn't my cup of tea and I wanted to broaden my horizons with different genres which this story does.

I just wanted to say thanks to NetGalley, the author Briar Boleyn and the publishing company Starwater Press for sending me this book.

Queen of Roses was a delight to read! While I could guess some of the plot points, I found myself still shocked every time one of the twists happened. I didn't realize how much I needed to read a dark retelling of the Arthurian Legends or how much I truly enjoy twists on them (Legendborn, Mists of Avalon, Silver in the Bone). I want to consume it all. Out is the Beauty and the Beasts retellings, I'm here for the Arthurian Legend ones.

Queen of Roses is certainly a Dark Romantasy, leaning harder into darker territory than many other romantasy titles. The final scenes were full of body horror that I wasn't quite prepared for but wasn't something that felt out of the blue. I'm excited to see where the author takes this series, knowing where we've started.

Thank you, first, NetGalley for the eARC. I loved this book SO MUCH! it took a second to get into it but once I did i went from 15% to 60% complete in a matter of an hour or so. I could not digest this book fast enough! I cannot wait to see what comes next but this book was even more than I expected. If you love history mixed with adventure then this book is for you! Camelot, Excalibur and the Fae all mixed into one book !! WOW.