*thank you to NetGalley and Briar Boleyn for providing me with an arc in exchange for an honest review*

verryyyyy strong 3.5 stars.

I am a very heavy romance reader. I love fantasy too, but if it doesn't have romance, I tend to get bored quite easily unless the fantasy plot is EXTREMELY interesting.

The plot definitely picked up after about the 60% mark. It was a pretty quick read, and i did enjoy it a lot. the only thing missing for me was the romance. I understand that it is all building for the later books, but i would've liked a bit of development with the two main characters.

Other than that, I did enjoy the book. It was a lot of world-building, so it did take a bit of brain power, which is why I give this a 3.5

Still reading the book. So far it’s interesting and it keeps me looking forward to what will happen in certain scenes. Nice story and I like the POV and how it’s unwrapping the story. Cant wait to finish and read the second book

I received this book from the publisher through NetGalley.

I had fun reading this book. Queen of Roses pulls heavily from Welsh mythology/King Arthur. I’ve read a lot of ‘romantasy’ and sometimes it feels like writers are trying to replicate ACOTAR or fill their books with unnecessary ~erotic~ scenes and I appreciate that Briar Boleyn did NOT do that. Queen of Roses delivers fantasy but feels original in a genre that often seems saturated with similar storylines. There’s definitely steaminess/tension here but I like that this book still has a solid plot.

I love slow burn, enemies-to-lovers, and forced proximity (we even get a “who did this to you?”!) and this book gives all of that plus kept me on the edge of my seat. I’m definitely looking forward to the next book in this series and reading more from this author.

*My only wish is that readers would have been given a map.*

Enjoyable if not a bit predictable along with some inconsistencies. Interested to see where this series could go
Our journey begins with Morgan Pendragon, older sister to King Arthur, who has been passed over as heir to the throne on account of her part-fae ancestry. She becomes unwittingly thrust into an adventure that may shape the fate of the realm. Merlin is a high priestess, Lancelet is a lady knight in training, and Galahad is an acolyte of the temple. The fae who once ruled have disappeared and all that remains is their abandoned cities and diluted bloodlines. While the initial instalment has its ups and downs, it lays the foundation for an exciting and expansive narrative.
In conclusion, Queen of Roses serves as a promising beginning to the Blood of a Fae Series. While it may not have fully lived up to my expectations of the first book, I find myself hopeful and eager to continue the journey in the next book.

I had such high hopes for this book. I love a good Arthurian retelling… but I contemplated giving up after realizing the author pulled a gender switch on Merlin and Lancelot. If this were any other retelling I would not have been bothered - but having read so many stories with these characters described as men rather than women it became difficult to get into the mental flow without pausing and reimagining every time Lancelot and Merlin were mentioned. Once my brain began to accept the new character imagery the book became easier to read.

Seeing how much of a struggle it was to read this one and knowing book 2 is twice as long - I don't think I'm ready to invest my time on the next one. I am curious to see how the storyline evolves and will eventually finish the series.

Thank you NetGalley for providing me with this ARC!

Queen of Roses is a retelling of the classic tale of King Arthur. Arthur is a cruel king with bias against the fae. Merlin and Lancelot are portrayed as females. Morgan is fae instead of witch and the older sister of Arthur. Arthur sends Morgan on a journey to locate and retrieve the Sword of Perun (aka Excalibur). Along the journey she meets new and old friends. And her traveling companions are not what they seem. Will she make it through dangerous wilds and monsters of myth to retrieve the sword or will she fail in her task?

I thoroughly enjoyed this retelling. Overall, it captivated me and I enjoyed the tale. I wish we would have seen more character development with Morgan. After a month plus on a rugged journey one would expect more character development beyond starting to embrace her sensuality. Maybe less snippy and brat-like. Sometimes the pacing dragged in yhe beginning. Once Morgan was on the road, the pacing was much better. I look forward to reading the next two books in this trilogy.

I really wanted to give 5 stars on this one and I absolutely thought I would until I met Vesper.

The story is loosely based on all things Camelot. I thought the main character, Morgan, was a very interesting character. She gave me all the main character vibes I love. I could easily see where this story was going in regard to her becoming stronger with each turn of the page. This story completely delivers on giving us someone to hate which is always needed in fantasy. Draven reminded me a lot of Cas from Blood and Ash. He is cocky but only because he knows he can back it up. He is sexy and loyal. We are led to believe the absolute worst of him all the while knowing this can't be true. Things are slowly burning between Morgan and Draven (although I will admit his name was hard for me to commit to memory for some reason even now that I am finished with book one.). The burn was intentional and slow and developing as it should when enters Vesper.

It's not that Vesper isn't a good character but unfortunately, everything about him is thrust upon the reader with no back story. We learn why this is, but in my opinion, the damage was already done. Normally when something seems amiss I get some sort of foreshadowing or at least an inkling about why. I didn't with Vesper. It didn't feel like a true love triangle, there is no tension there. One minute he isn't here and then he is, and Morgan is just ok with it. It didn't make me feel tense, it made me feel like I no longer knew Morgan and I couldn't trust her to see the story I was invested in through to the end.

The addition of Vesper was like being doused in cold water just as things were heating up. It instantly made me see Morgan as more of a child where I was seeing her as an equal to Draven and then it made me see Draven more as a father figure. (This is definitely not the way things were going or will be going in the future I can tell so now it's just an awkward read) I hope book two will somehow reel me back in. I couldn't put it down for many chapters and then when Vesper joined the party I was eager for it to end.

Although the story is exciting and intriguing, I just can't get over the wrench that is Vesper. He has SUCH potential to be a great character he is just highly underdeveloped. In fact, when he first showed up he reminded me of Cardan. Then it fizzled out. I will gladly add additional stars to book two if this is fixed. Stay tuned.

Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for providing me an ARC copy to read!

I haven't read an Arthurian legend based fantasy book in so long, it was so much fun being able to coin through different characters and understand where certain people were derived from. The diversity was really nice to see between the 'good' character's being different sexualities and genders from what you'd expect. There's very good description and historically accurate clothing and weapons mentioned. ALSO huge huge huge bigups for that TW list at the back, very nice to see that. The writing style itself is done in first-person, has good detail with describing scenes and rooms, and the character seems to be quite understanding towards what the general public in her society would see. Self awareness, if you will.
There are definitely some on-the-nail tropes that are thrown in there, the 'who did this to you?' and 'touch her and i'll off you" trope goes hard with this. If you're a fan of the fmc coming to realise her feelings and overcome a past trauma in the standard booktok method, you'll like this.

Given all this, I found that there was just a really big push for the villain to be the most evil there ever was. I get why, and I understand this is just a thing that happens, but it didn't feel necessary. I like my villains a bit more subtle, I suppose. I found it unbelieveable that certain things would happen, given that our fmc is a princess so the little things like possibly someone going into private rooms of hers or her just not being recognised by people wouldn't be too easy? my opinion, of course

It's general fantasy fiction. It's a fun read if you don't start picking at the holes, but if you do you'll throw yourself into a loop.

Thank you to net galley and Briar Boleyn for supplying me with an eARC for this book!
This book is exactly as it states! It’s a perfect mix of fantasy and a bit of romance! The plot twists in this will be giving me whip lash for weeks!!
I love how the world building was easy to follow and keep up with! Even when adding new characters and tales and creatures, Briar did an excellent job with writing this book!
The development with Morgan and how she grows into herself is incredible, I can’t wait to see how she develops more in Court of Claws, I’ve already started it!
It’s definitely easy to tell it’s a dark fantasy book! With an impeccable slow burn romance which has you running to the next page!!
I can’t wait to see how this story develops more in the second book!

First off, thank you to NetGalley for the ARC in exchange for an honest review!

I had absolutely no idea what to expect with this book. I have read so many retellings of Camelot and King Arthur’s court, that you never know where it’s going next with a book of this type.

To say I was pleasantly surprised would be a massive understatement! The story centers around Morgan Prendragon (20), and her life in Camelot as the first born child of King Uther. Morgan, spending most of her life shunned for being half fae, resigns herself to a life of celibacy as a priestess in training when she turns 21, instead of becoming Queen since she is half fae and deemed unworthy of the throne.

What swiftly follows is a whirlwind of adventure, as her life changes more than she ever thought possible.

Absolutely cannot wait to start Book 2!

Despite this book being 357 pages I flew through it in two days. Overall I enjoyed the story and look forward to reading the next book in the series. However, I did find some faults. Our FMC, Morgan is incredibly naive and gullible which made this book incredibly frustrating to read at times. The post-twist ending was clear after about 200 pages. Lancelet is insufferable, literally one of the most annoying characters I ever met. Sure, she might be a ride-or-die friend but it is her pestering and meddling in Morgan's love life that ultimately trapped Morgan. My last critique of this book is that the pacing is difficult to follow. I believed only days passed in the story but towards the last 100 pages discovered that months had gone by with little indication of such. All that being said, I enjoyed the premise of the story, the characters and the journey. There is a perfect balance between world-building and plot development. The next book is definitely set up very well and I think it definitely has the possibility of being a 4 or 5-star read!!

If you love a slow burn romance then this is the story for you! It was excruciatingly slow but oh so good! Great enemies to lovers trope too! I love how it seemed like it was loosely based on King Arthur but with Fae! The cliffhanger at the end has got me by the throat and I need book 2!

Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Wow. I loved this book so much. It definitely cured my fantasy hangover and I can’t wait to start the second book! The writing, world building, and character development is incredible. My heart breaks for everything Morgan (FMC) has been through, but I loved her strength, empathy, and perseverance, to continue for the people she loved. Being an older sister myself, I really related to her and Kaye’s relationship. Draven (MMC), was the perfect amount of grumpy with a dash of overprotectiveness who I know is just going to keep getting better in the second book. There is minimal spice, but I have all my fingers crossed that this next book will be everything I want it to be because Morgan truly deserves someone to love her unconditionally. Thank you to @briarboleynauthor for sharing this beautiful story with us - I can’t wait to see where we go next. Thanks to @netgalley and the publishers at Starwater Press for allowing me to read this book in exchange for my honest review! All opinions are my own!

Available on Kindle Unlimited - but totally worth the purchase if you don’t subscribe! ✨

I received Queen Of Roses as an ARC through NetGalley.

Other than knowing it was a loosely inspired retelling of King Arthur's legend, I went into this book blind, not even reading the synopsis tbh. But, Oh am I glad I did. Because who doesn't love a dark romance fantasy with FAE?

The world building, the magic, the lore, the extremely SLOW-BURN romance, the banter, I loved everything. Though, it was a little tooo slow for me. You know the author is a good one when she makes you love a character slowly then fall in hate quickly. (*cough*Vesper*cough*).

The characters have a fun promising journey ahead(with a lot more spice, I hope) and I cannot wait to dive into the next book already!

Some of my favorite quotes:

"He was the air I breathed. I could not live without him."

"He's proud, arrogant and utterly detestable."

"I burn for you, Morgan. You've set me aflame..." "Then let the flames consume us"

This is a mix of a dark fantasy romance centering Fae and a retelling of the Artuhrian legend. Two things I often don’t enjoy in books, but here it did work for me.

In the beginning we’re introduced to the world the story is set in. We learn a lot about the customs and politics that are present in the country and we see how the court works. It takes a while before we really get into the story, but that didn’t bother me. I liked learning about worldbuilding, about Morgan and her past.

Around the halfway point the story picks up pace and there’s a lot more action. It always feels like there is a plotline hidden behind everything that’s going on and we just scratch the surface when the book ends.

I’m excited to see where this story goes and what we’ll find out in the next book.

What a brilliant read!

You follow Morgan through the book who is a half fae and a complete gem of a character. I’ve already started the next book!
I definitely recommend reading!!

This twist on a King Arthur retelling was exceptionally captivating. I found myself loving and also being exasperated by the main character, Morgan, in her decisions throughout the book. I found the changes in the original tale to be refreshing and brought a new zest that I haven’t seen in many fantasy reads lately. If you’re a fan of the plot of the Plated Prisoner series then you’ll probably enjoy the storyline here as well. I can’t wait to start reading the next book in the line up! I do wish we could have gotten a bit more POVs through other characters especially in the final chapters. I will add as a note to the publisher as well that I found a handful of grammar mistakes and misedits as well. But overall I very much enjoyed this story.

This book has so much potential! I really enjoyed the storyline, but it felt like it took a very long time for the story to begin and I didn’t feel like I gained much in the way of depth of character in the first quarter of the book.. The prologue felt unnecessary and I just wish things moved more quickly in general. I often found myself skimming some of the areas that were more descriptive than they needed to be. I think the story is creative, the writing itself is good, and I enjoyed the premise so much. Hoping the next book finds a bit more of a groove! Thank you for the chance to read this one

Thanks to NetGalley for allowing me to read this book free. This was SO much better than I expected! I did not have high expectations for a Robin Hood retelling. I was happily so wrong. The story follows Morgan- sister of King Arthur through an epic journey. This story had the perfect amount of tension, romance, and action. Boleyn does a fantastic job of incorporating a Fae-verse into the Camelot world. She does a beautiful job of giving the reader just enough details to keep them on their feet, reeling for more, without losing interest or being overwhelmed. The ending was 🤌🏻 just enough of a cliff hanger but not enough to make you upset as the reader. I ran to request the second book!

Arthurian mythos x bodyguard romance trope = OMG YES PLEASE

Princess Morgan Pendragon is 20, and the older half-sister of King Arthur, ruler of the Rose Court of Camelot and the kingdom of Pendrath. Her late father feared that Morgan inherited fae blood from her mother, so he named Arthur heir to the throne, and dedicated Morgan to serve as an acolyte to the goddesses beginning on her 21st birthday. Morgan chafes at the idea of being shut away in a temple to perform religious rites, and she fears her brother as she observes his increasingly cruel machinations to grow his power.

Kairos Draven is a mercenary soldier who arrives in Pendrath to join Arthur’s Royal Guards. Morgan soon learns, however, that Kairos’ true mission is to protect her on a dangerous quest. Arthur commands Morgan to locate and extract the mystical sword of Excalibur from the legendary, abandoned fae kingdom of Valtain. Morgan is sickened by the idea of Arthur obtaining a weapon of untold magical power, but she learns that she has no choice but to comply when she is threatened with the lives of her younger brother, friends, and innocent Pendrath citizens should she disobey his wishes.

This is the first book of a medieval fantasy romance series that remixes a number of different tales from the Arthurian literary tradition. Building on this foundation, the author has created her own mythological fantasy realm and original characters. To this point, I disagree with those reviewers who have criticized the author for not being faithful (or faithful enough) to canon in the narrative. This is because there isn’t any such canon in the first place. The Matter of Britain, in which King Arthur figures, is a body of literature created over the 12th-16th centuries. The tales changed throughout that time period, and many of the characters (e.g. Uther Pendragon, Lancelot, Galahad, Merlin) and stories (Excalibur, Lady of the Lake) that appear in this novel were developed in Europe centuries after Arthur first appeared in British text. Arthurian legend continues to be reimagined today, as is the case with this novel.

And I loved it. Absolutely loved it from beginning to end.

Morgan has been a victim of physical, verbal, emotional, and psychological abuse throughout her entire life. She has been conditioned to question all of her thoughts and emotions. What other reviewers have perceived as being weaknesses in her character, I saw as self-doubt, disassociation, and emotional capitulation resulting from years of persistent victimization by her family of origin. One of the main themes of the novel is the development of Morgan’s emotional intelligence and self-awareness.

I love Kairos. We are not supposed to know everything – or really anything of importance – about him as far as his backstory in this novel. For the romance tropes to work over the course of a series, we need to learn who he is as slowly as Morgan does. The fact that this author makes us want to know him, thereby feeling frustration that we don't, is a testament to her writing ability. She is able to intrigue us by seeing Kairos only as Morgan herself sees him. Morgan wants more. So do we!

This is not really a criticism as much as it is curiosity to know why this book is targeted as an adult romance and not as a YA. All of the characters except Kairos read as older teenagers to me. I did not think that the sexual content was spicy enough to warrant "spicy romance" or "only one bed" descriptors. If the sexual content in only a couple of scenes was toned down, this would fall squarely in the YA category, and I think I would have enjoyed it even more going into it with that expectation. The coming-of-age storylines (Morgan, Lancelet, Galahad, Kaye, and even Arthur) are not what a reader of adult fantasy or spicy romance is typically looking for. I think that might be the primary reason that some of the reviews have been more lukewarm than I believe this novel deserves. I am downloading book #2 as we speak!

Romance tropes: bodyguard romance, slow burn, enemies to lovers, hurt/comfort

TW/CW: Thank you to the author for your thoughtful consideration to provide this for the reader. The page number is located in the ToC.

Thank you to NetGalley and Starwater Press for the opportunity to read and review this novel. All opinions are my own.