Well paced, well told and a really fun and interesting read. I enjoyed the basis of the book being a retelling of Arthurian legends but it’s so much more. Definitely recommended

King Arthur retelling in a fantasy romance world with Fae is about a girl named Morgan Pendragon. After Morgan watches her father kill her mother she lives with her trauma and sense of being less than because of her half Fae heritage. Morgan struggles to deal with the political issues arising from lack of food for the people that she wishes to help but not angering King Arthur who makes many shows of corrupt power all while protecting her youngest brother inside the castle. She fights to find her place where she can be content while avoiding marriage to an abusive powerful man or being celibate in the church or finding out who she actually is. Her life is changed when she is sent on a mission with Draven, the new guard, to find Excalibur, along the way finding new and old friends and defeating creatures she has only read about in stories. Does Morgan decide to side with her tyrant brother, King Arthur? Will she choose to keep her youngest brother, Kaye, and her friends safe while trying to help the land of Camelot? Will she side with her people, the Fae? Or will she choose herself to try to find happiness?

I loved loved loved Queen of Roses by Briar Boleyn. 5 out of 5 stars hands down. I have nothing bad to say about the book at all, it is utterly perfect. The spice so far in the series is 1-2, very enticing and sweet. I absolutely loved the ending and all the turmoil and heartbreak and cannot wait to read the second book. I was intrigued by the unique lore and creatures that I’ve never heard of before. One of the best books I’ve read this year.

**Thank you to NetGalley, Starwater Press, and Briar Boleyn for the ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review**

My disclaimer for this review is noting that my favorite literary genre is typically historical fiction. While I enjoy fantasy, I have not read any of the SJM or HB series, or any other booktok hyped fantasy reads (though they may or may not be on my TBR list).

I honestly really enjoyed this book! This was my first NetGalley read and I wasn’t sure what to expect from a debut dark fantasy/romance novel based on a Camelot retelling. I was, however, intrigued by the description provided.

I loved the mix of fae, folklore, historical fiction, and mythical creatures. The first half of the book was slower paced, as there was a lot of world building and descriptors of the setting in Medieval times. However, I enjoyed the attention to detail and the author setting the stage for her readers. I loved how much imagination the author put forth in building the world and I am hoping the investment pays off with future books in the series. I loved the spin on the Camelot retelling with strong female characters, LGBTQ+ characters, and a fae spin that kept the story interesting. The next half of the book flew by and I found myself staying up WAY past my bedtime to read “just one more chapter” as the author worked to build up her characters. The depth and development of characters is well done and I found myself invested in the story. It all leads up to a cliffhanger and I’m dying to read book 2 to see what happens!! Below is a synopsis of the story line.

Morgan Pendragon is a princess of the Rose Court of Camelot. Her mother was part fae and her father the King. She loses both of her parents at a young age and is raised alongside her 2 younger half-brothers. Before his death, her father arranges to pull Morgan from the line of succession (because of her tainted fae bloodline) and instead, makes arrangements to offer her to the goddesses when she becomes of age. Her younger brother and eldest son, Arthur, usurps her to become king. King Arthur is a tyrant and Morgan sees much of her father's cruel and ruthless tendencies in him. A mysterious handsome stranger soon comes to Camelot and this man, Kairos Draven, becomes promoted within the Royal Guard. Morgan’s first encounters with the stranger have her despising him. King Arthur commands Morgan to set out on a journey to retrieve the mystical fae sword, Excalibur. He appoints Captain Draven as her companion on the journey. He is a fierce warrior and risks his life to protect her. Along the journey, they must learn to tolerate one another and the forced proximity, slow burn romance is palpable. They are faced with a near impossible task and must travel to distant lands, where a long forgotten fae kingdom awaits.

This is your basic fae romance. It includes all the tropes you could want. I really loved the Camelot twist on the arguably overdone genre. However, the last about 30 percent kind of lost me. I think if a person who has not read countless fae romances would be unable to put it down -- the twist would definitely be something that kept them hooked. However, it felt too predictable to me to really feel the impact.

Thank you NetGalley for this book.

Queen of Roses is a fantasy romance that is loosely a King Arthur retelling with fae. The story has a slow build in every way, from the story telling to the romance. I don’t know if I would call Morgan and Draven enemies to lovers just yet…..😉 But it does have mythical creatures, tension, banter, forced proximity, friendship, betrayal, sibling love, and self discovery.
I believe the plot could have used more spice and adventure. Hopefully that’ll change in the next book in this series. And in no way did anything take away from the fact that I was absolutely hooked to this story! AND OMG! that cliffhanger has me reeling!! I definitely need to read book 2 ASAP!

🖤Please make sure you check your trigger warnings! This one has a few.

Synopsis:
“Queen of Roses” by Briar Boleyn is a fae filled reimagining of the King Arthur legends told through the perspective of his sister Morgan.
Morgan Pendragon’s life in her home Kingdom of Camelot was far from ideal. Scorned for the fae blood passed to her by her mother, Morgan’s father passed over Morgan to give the crown to her brother Arthur. Instead of becoming the queen of Camelot Morgan has been promised to join the Temple of the Three, whether she wants to or not.
After learning about a legendary fae relic of untold power, Arthur sends Morgan to retrieve it in exchange for a say in her future. So Morgan sets off on this quest with her bodyguards and those who join them along the way.
My Thoughts:
I am a life-long fan of the Legend of King Arthur, and I absolutely loved this twist on the classic tale.
I enjoyed Boleyn’s reimagining of the characters from the legend. I also loved the world-building, the fae, and the magical creatures. I felt invested in all of the characters, and I look forward to seeing what happens to those who remain in the sequel Court of Claws.
My only critiques are that some of the discussions in some of the scenes in the book felt repetitive at times and could be edited down and have a more powerful impact. I also would have liked to see more development between Morgan and the intended love interest (but I am hopeful I will see a lot of that in the next book).
To wrap up, definitely read this book if you are into:
Arthurian Legend retellings
Strong FMC
Morally gray MMC
“Who did this to you?” trope
Forced proximity
Slow-burn
Dark fantasy/romance

Boleyn did a really impressive job with world building. As Morgan travels throughout, it is easy to visualize the journey and the terrors in between. However, it was hard to believe either a blooming relationship with either Draven or Vesper. The majority of any build up is very slow and subtle, but the spicy scenes are thrown in a bit haphazardly. I would love to see more development in the emotional side of relationships going forward.

First off, let me say I enjoyed the book. I'm in the middle of the second ones. The characters are fairly traditional, but enjoyable. The writing is good, the description isn't too much or too little. I'm finding I'm enjoying the second book more than the first, but not for the reasons you might think. This story flips the Arthurian mythos, but it's incredibly distracting to me. Honestly in a lot of ways, it feels like the Arthurian names are just stapled to these characters and I have found it to be a negative. I honestly wish the author had just given them different names. It would have worked better. I get the point of flipping a tale, and I have read my versions of various stories but this isn't merely a different perspective to a familiar tale. There are characters that don't match where they fit into their 'old' versions. I didn't mind the genderswap of one of the main characters, that was fine, but then it doesn't really fit the role that character is in traditional version. (At least so far)

I will say I think the author is good enough that it would have been as effective, it not more to do her own world building for these stories. Hence why I find I am preferring the second book as she steps away from the Arthurian court (at least where I am in my reading) and has creating this antithesis of a traditional, kind of unseelie court.

A hint of an Arthurian retelling but not the main prospect as such and a story I've really enjoyed!

It's given me ever so slight FBAA & ACOTAR vibes, it's definitely a major slow burn which better be worth it in book 2 which I've dived straight into.

There was one small smut scene in this one, nothing major and that didn't bother me as I was sucked into the plot of the book.

Arthurian legends are the inspiration for this fantasy series. But they have been flipped on their head and made LGBTQIA friendly. All is not well in Camelot - Arthur is a teenage king and tyrant, his counsellors are power hungry and he allows his older sister to be maligned and harassed. He's an all around horror!

Enter Morgan. The Elder sister of Arthur, half Fae - Half Human. She trains with the knights before she is shipped off to the local Temple aged 21. Her besties are Lancelet and Galahad and along with her younger brother Kaye they are essentially the only family she has.

But Morgan is about to get more than she bargained for when Arthur sends her on a quest to find Excalibur. She and her 2-man team are mismatched to say the least. How can she possibly find Excalibur when she's more worried about not getting stabbed in the back by her own guards!

This was a great story and well worth a read. The Arthurian legends flipped on their head and expanded. Camelot is less shining pinnacle and more grubby grey stronghold. Morgan didn't really want to be queen but she'll be damned is she lets her brother grind their people into the muck. You're never quite sure whose side Draven is on, Lancelet is hysterical and beautifully and wittily written as the womanising Knight, Galahad is still the principled male but now he is an acolyte and lover of the male form. And if you love an animal sidekick, you're going to love meeting the Exmoor!

There are plenty of action scenes and scary moments. I still shudder at certain underground scenes. The romance is more slow-burn than some fantasies but I really enjoyed it as I felt it cranked up the suspense. There are treasonous allies, unexpected helpers and some truly funny scenes.

Morgan does get in her own way and she really does lend her trust to the wrong folk! She does have a tendency to see herself as always in the right but she does eventually see things from other point of views.

My first read by this author and now off to read book 2!

Queen of Roses is broken into two books. The first book took me a long time to get through. This author loves their imagery and that’s where I felt myself getting bored or struggling to focus. I love imagery (but my ADD doesn’t always handle it well) and it felt like that was a lot of the pages. Book 1 is definitely building up the story and setting so not much happens, but you get a lot of information. It’s essentially your info dump but pretty.

Book 2 was almost immediately better for me and I devoured it as quickly as I could. There were some parts that made my eyes roll though. For example, in Chapter 17 she thinks about some of the things Draven says and is all like, ‘Is that all I am to him?’ giiiiiirl, he doesn’t know you. You’ve hardly spoken to each other and have definitely not gotten along when you do speak. Why would you mean anything more?

Overall, I felt like this whole book was not what I expected, but found it a little predictable. In the summary, it says, ”As she travels, Morgan finds herself drawn into a strange group of outcasts…”Who? I read this and thought there would be maybe 4 or 5 people involved and that they would be outcasts. She’s initially sent with two guards of the castle, definitely not outcasts. Then you have Vesper about halfway along the way, but he is not framed or described as being an outcast at all? He came across as fairly popular and well traveled. The party was also not more than 3 people at a time. I am not including the last couple of chapters as that isn’t really much time of the journey in comparison in my opinion. There might have been a couple things I didn’t expect, but there are just a few things that are mentioned so many times or just in such a way that you know you’ll be more surprised if it doesn’t go the way you think it will.

When fenrirs were mentioned, I immediately thought of “Campfire Cooking in Another World with My Absurd Skill” and was hoping for a pet. Still got a pet, just not what I expected.

There was so much I did truly enjoy about this book and I'm excited that I already have the next book!

This novel is a retelling of King Arthur and Camelot, plus some. It is a retelling that I never knew I needed to read! Queen of Roses takes place in a world with humans and Fae/humans. Are there any pure Fae left after the centuries?
The world-building done by Briar Boleyn is simply stunning. The characters present a variety of features, from their bloodlines to their various tastes. I love that every demographic was included in this story. All the extra characters help the heroine come into her own, from torment to friendship.
There is never ending adventure that keeps the story full of action. The storyline and plot twists will keep you on the edge of your seat the entire time. I personally read the entire book within 24 hours and will be starting book 2, Court of Claw, as soon as I finish submitting my review. I simply could not walk away from the story.
This is a dark romance story. There are elements of abuse, starvation, and death.
Enemies to Lovers, Forced Proximity, Queer characters, Grumpy meets Sunshine, Found Family, Diverse Characters, Hidden Magic

This is the retelling of the century! What an incredible story. The amount of work and research that the author had to have put into this is unbelievable!

I have always been a fan of any and all King Arthur storie! I never realized that what I have been longing for was a Fae telling! Briar takes characters that we are all familiar with and changes them just the right amount, making this story perfect.

A female Merlin and a lesbian Lancelot (Lancelet)… yes please!!! All the characters that we know and love, as well as some new ones. Book one is a very slow burn but the amount of world building that’s happening makes the wait worth it!!

I got this as an arc on NetGalley and I’m extremely grateful for that!! I can’t wait to start book 2!!!

3.75 rounded to 4 Stars

Queen of Roses is loosely based off the King Arthur tale but with fae . Same characters but names and genders have been changed.
This book follows Morgan Pendragon who is half fae after her mother. She is the kings first born daughter but has been denied her birthright due to her fae lineage. Instead her brother Arthur takes the throne and is becoming just as cruel as her father was. Morgan is also trying to protect her innocent younger brother from Arthur too.
Morgan sent on an impossible mission by her brother soon learns what she is capable of and what her brother the king really is up to.
The romance I thought was going to happen ended up heading towards a love triangle which I don’t mind.
The world building is fantastic in this book and I really enjoyed it. The plot flowed perfectly and had a good steady pace. I enjoyed the action throughout the book. I especially loved the twists that I did not see coming.
The ending does finish on a cliffhanger but I have book two I can delve straight into!
This is a great start into a new series.

Thank you to Netgalley, Publisher and the author for and advance copy in exchange for my honest review.

This book started off a little slow for my liking but about halfway through it was so worth it. At first I couldn’t wrap my head around some of the drastic changes in some rather famous characters but I can’t wait for book 2

I really enjoyed this book! I went into it blind and was really pleased with how. Inch I loved it. Having an Arthur/Merlin retelling but with Fae mixed in is just genius!

Even though most of the story is set with them travelling, I didn’t find myself getting bored as there was still plenty to encounter in the woods.

I really liked the characters! I think Draven needed to be featured a bit more. As soon as Vesper came into the picture Draven kind of disappeared. I absolutely loathed Vesper and thought he was slimy right from the start. I did like Morgan BUT she did start to annoy me because it seemed like she wasn’t capable of thinking for herself! She had absolutely no backbone and was hoping she’d build one as the story went on but sadly not. Hopefully in book 2! I’m also hoping to see more of Draven’s furry kitten friend too.

Really nice and easy to understand world building as well. This one definitely ended on a cliff hanger though so will need to immediately dive into book 2!

I received an ARC copy of this book from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

Lately I’ve been really enjoying retellings of stories I know from being a child so when I saw there was one based on King Arthur but with fae I was immediately interested.

I really enjoyed the fact that it was switched on it’s head - Morgan, a young fae, half sister of Arthur being the protagonist made me feel straight away that this was something I would enjoy as Morgan is usually depicted to be the villain and Arthur as the good guy. But that’s not the case here.
Morgan is the older sister who has been passed over for the crown by her father in favour of Arthur. Arthur is currently the king when we are introduced to the characters and Morgan has been promised to the priestesses but would rather be a knight.
As you might guess Arthur is after Excalibur and has sent his sister Morgan to bring it to him. Joined by Draven they set off in a hurry. As time passes Morgan starts to change physically along with powers manifesting.
This book has some of my favourite tropes - strong female main character, grumpy mysterious love interest, forced proximity, touch her you die etc.

It is what you would expect from the first book in a fantasy series in that you have the required world building but I would say it’s not the whole first half of the book is explaining what’s happening and you’re almost begging for the story to start.

All around a very good read. Something familiar with the King Arthur story but at the same time it’s not a story that I’ve found to be overdone.

Also - I have a love/hate relationships with cliffhangers. I will 100% be picking up book two. Plus the authors note promised more spice in book two…

This book is now one of my absolute favorites! Spice is always a plus! I devoured this in one sitting. I could not put it down. It does end on a cliffhanger so enter at your own risk but book 2 is out now. (Thank goodness because I need answers) Definitely pick this up if you are also an SJM fan.

Blood and ash fans your next five star read is here. A world to get lost in one of the best books I have read this year.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for providing me a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

While fantasy romance is usually not my genre as I don’t want the romance aspect to take over the fantasy world, I asked for this book and wanted to read it because of the interesting plot. A king Arthur retelling, a woman whose destiny has been taken away, a group of outcasts, a new kingdom… Sign me up !

The plot is the real strength of the book, carefully structured to maintain the readers' interest throughout. Boleyn's adept storytelling leads us through a journey filled with twists and turns, keeping us hooked as we follow the MC in her quest for freedom and purpose. The slow start was really enjoyable, full of world and story building and made the fast paced hunt that followed even better and really high stakes.
Boleyn's writing style is both eloquent and graceful. The author's prose flows smoothly, allowing for an easy and enjoyable reading experience.

I found Queen of Roses to be a well-rounded fantasy novel that effectively combines elements of captivating plot, skillful storytelling, character development, immersive world-building, and good prose. Though the romantic aspect may not have resonated with me, it contributed to the overall depth of the narrative. This book stands as a solid addition to the fantasy genre, earning a rating of around 3.5 to 4 out of 5 stars.

I would rate it around 3.5 to 4 out of 5 stars.