I enjoyed reading Queen of Roses by Briar Boleyn, the first book in the Blood of a Fae series. It is a dark fantasy romance that follows Morgan Pendragon, a princess who is sent on a quest to find a fae weapon of power by her brother, the king. Along the way, she meets a group of outcasts, including a mysterious and attractive fae warrior named Asher, who makes her question her loyalty and destiny.

The book has a lot of things going for it: an intriguing plot, a rich and complex world, a diverse and likable cast of characters, and a slow-burn romance that keeps you hooked. The writing is engaging and descriptive, creating vivid images and emotions. The action scenes are thrilling and suspenseful, and the twists and reveals are well-executed. The book also explores themes such as identity, family, duty, freedom, and love.

However, the book is not perfect. I had some issues with the pacing, which felt uneven at times. Some parts were too slow and dragged on, while others were too rushed and skipped over vital details. I also felt that the book could have used more editing, as there were some typos and grammatical errors that distracted me from the story. Additionally, I found some of the characters to be underdeveloped or stereotypical, such as the evil king, the jealous rival, and the wise mentor. I would have liked to see more depth and nuance in their personalities and motivations.

Overall, I think Queen of Roses is a promising start to a new series that fans of dark fantasy romance will enjoy. It has a lot of potential and I'm curious to see what happens next. I give it 4 stars out of 5.

Thank you NetGalley for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

A fun, high fantasy read. I think if I had more than a cursory knowledge of King Arthur and Camelot I probably would have liked this book even more! Still enjoyed it without all the background knowledge. I loved the descriptions of the world and especially loved the representation in this book. We need more of that!

Can’t wait to grab book 2!

I received this book as an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Morgan Pendragon had an challenging upbringing. Her father, the King of Camolet, murdered her mother in front of her when she was 5 years old. He then went to remarry twice and both times having male heirs. An announcement was made to the Kingdom that Morgan's younger brother Arthur would be the next ruler and not Morgan due to the fact she is part-Fae in a Kingdom where Fae are not highly regarded.

Morgan has to hide her Fae blood she inherited from her mother by taking a potion which squashes any Fae abilities or appearances Morgan may have.

Morgan is thrust into an adventure when her brother King Arthur to travel through dangerous lands and retrieve a weapon of great power. She leaves with two guards. One of which is Kairos Draven, who she can't stand but starts to trust him more and possible other feelings start to arise.

During this adventure Morgan stops taking her potion and her Fae blood starts showing but will any powers come to light?

This action packed book has:

Magic
Self-discovery
Forced Proximity
Friendship
Lore
Adventure
Sibling Love
Witty Banter
Slow-burn romance
Spice

I found the world building and the characters very well written. I went into this book without knowing what I was getting and this book did not disappoint. I found it fast paced and I was always wanting to know what was going to happen next which is exactly what I look for in a book.

4.95 (minor grammar issues that the editor didn't catch that were noticeable enough to ruin the flow of my reading which can be hard to maintain at times due to my ADHD) but 5 by technical default, rounding up.

I liked it! It was a good King Arthur retelling with a lot of unexpected twists to make it feel fresh.

I definitely don't know near enough about Camelot folklore or Slavic mythology to pick up on any themes that the conjoining of the two may have created, but I found the choice to use the Slavic pantheon instead of the original Celtic to be a fascinating choice. I'm excited to see where it continues to go in the 2nd book.

It was refreshing to read a high fantasy novel where homosexuality was normalized; I think that it would have been cooler if the main romantic pairing had been gay but can't look a gift horse in the mouth--I hadn't expected a single character to be gay let alone two! There was some unintentional gay culture humor re: Draven that had me LOLing

There were some fun tropes that made for a few giggles (one has chills and the other warms them with their body, big baddie is a big softie deep down, etc), but they didn't overwhelm or takeover the story like what happens frequently in the trope-focused storytelling that is popular now. I mean, there are plenty of tropes that people seek out content specifically for within the book, but there was enough of a solid plot to the story where it didn't feel like a mental eye sore to me while reading.

I do appreciate the reversal of Arthur being cast as the fairly 2D (even the Mona Lisa is in 2D) villain to Morgan's rise to heroics. It brings to mind Thomas Wheeler's Cursed and MZB's The Mists of Avalon (like a nice mix of the two), and I won't lie: definitely pictured Draven as The Weeping Monk, & it was... satisfying, lol.

I think that the beginning of the novel was a little drawn out; it could have been just a tad tighter up until the hunt. From there, the pacing improved, and continued to do so up until the addition of a potential love interest; from there to the last chapters, things just seemed to fly by in a way that left the ending somewhat anticlimactic for me. That may have been my fault though as I tried to be more mentally present for my review rather than sinking

It was a fun book; I stayed up late on my nights before work reading it a few times, so it had me hooked pretty good!

If you enjoy slow-burn romance, King Arthur retellings, morally grey characters, and quests in a rich fantasy world full of fae, fantastical creatures and magic, then you will love this tale! I can’t wait to read the next book in the series because that cliffhanger definitely left me wanting more.

**Thank you, Netgalley and Briar Boleyn, for the copy of this book!**

I am a fan of Romantasy, and was excited by the synopsis of Queen of Roses. But this was mostly fantasy with very little romance, little spice, and I struggled to stay interested with the writing style and plot line. The character names after King Arthur was confusing and distracting. I would not recommend this.

On Goodreads:

“Thank you Netgalley for this. I grabbed this so I could read book 2.

4/5⭐️

Camelot with a fae twist!! I thoroughly enjoyed this read and am looking forward to book 2 which I’m about to dive in.

Morgan Pendragon is clueless of who she really is. She saw her mother perish, received hate from her father, was overlooked for the throne and is being harassed cruelly by an “admirer” while her brother King Arthur looks the other way and absorbs himself in obtaining more power.

King Arthur requests for her to go off and obtain Excalibur, a sword that can help if and when war approaches. With a small party Morgan is off to fulfill the king’s wishes.

It’s fast paced and it was hard to put down. And that ending had me throwing my kindle. Intrigued to know where this goes.”

Review posted on Instagram and Goodreads!

I have been in a horrible reading slump since Fourth Wing and this book cured me effortlessly! Queen of Roses is a gripping first installment in the Blood of the Fae series that kept me captivated until the very end! I loved the premise of the book and the King Arthur inspired retelling was fresh and engaging. Morgan's development in the book is a little slow, but I love her strong spirit and optimism. Her dynamic with the characters around her, especially Draven, was a pleasure to read. This book was very clean in comparison to my darker tastes but it was the slowburn tension was worth it.

Fans of Sarah J. Maas and Jennifer Armentrout should definitely add this book to their TBR!

First of all I want to thank NetGallery for send me on my Kindle this book. The author with this first book introduces an unfair world. A Kingdom led by a tyrant, an unfair king but above all a CRUEL brother. And it is precisely the king's sister the female main character, Morgan, who just wants to please the family and be loved. The brother will decide to send Morgan on a dangerous mission accompanied only by two soldiers including a mysterious new captain of the royal guard, Draven. The vicissitudes that will follow their journey will be a lot between a quick departure and meetings new people. Whit this first book I think the author just wants to show us a glimmer of what will happen in the future. A much more introductory book for me, it makes the reader understand the world in which our characters live, empathize with some and hate others. Surely in the next we will see much more action that here is certainly not lacking in the final. Can't wait to read the next one to see what will happen and that's why I give it 4 stars. It’s well written but I want more Devren and Morgan moments for sure!
Ps: the author give some trigger warning at the beginning! Please read them and decide if you want to start the reading

An interesting retelling of king Arthur that focuses on his sister morgan. It has fae and mythical creatures and some great twists. I'm looking forward to reading the next book. Thanks netgalley and the author for allowing me to read this.

An intriguing combination of politics, action and adventure in this subverted retelling of Morgan(a) and King Arthur of Camelot. I loved that Merlin and Lancelet were women and both strong and powerful. Lancelet’s relationship with Morgan is warm, their friendship evident as they train together in combat and wile away evenings at the inn. Morgan’s relationship with her brother Arthur is strained and she never knows where she stands with him or how he will react. He’s a volatile king ruling with fear, urged on by his closest advisor. It’s difficult to imagine how awful Morgan’s situation in the castle is, especially as part fae, with few allies. It’s definitely important to read the trigger warnings before diving into this but it’s a great read and I loved diving into this world and all its dangers. Sent on an adventure with two of the least desirable companions she could expect, Morgan doesn’t know who to trust but I loved the dynamic between her and Draven and I definitely had some suspicions about him. There’s a lot to learn with the different creatures and the history of the humans and fae but it wasn’t overwhelming. I look forward to the next book in the series, especially after the unexpected twist at the end, and hope we see some dual narrative which I would have died happy to have in this book, but know it would have given too much away.

I received a free copy of this book. All views are my own.

I really liked this one, Im excited to read the next book. My only dislike was the amount of very complicated names, and that’s minor. The writing was good, the pacing was good, character development was good. The very end became a little bit confusing but I think that is because of it being a series and I assume everything gets explained.

This book was great! So many twists and turns. I found the first 35% a little slow as it was setting Morgan's back story and the dynamic of the Camelot but once Morgan set off on her journey the pace increased.. there was minimal spicy time in the first book but it does pick up in book 2.

I have to say I was rooting for Draven throughout!

This was described as perfect for fans of Holly Black, Jennifer L Armentrout and Sarah J Maas, and I have to agree. This book gave me From Blood and Ash vibes but the MMC did not quite suck me in th way Hawke did.
I enjoyed the play on the king Arthur legend and gender-bending of some of the characters and how the female characters were just as strong as the males.
I did wish there was a bit more chemistry between Morgan and Draven. I felt like it was building up nicely then another character was thrown in the mix and then everything that was building up was gone.. But I do feel the next book will remedy that.
All in all a solid first book and I cannot wait to see what happens next.
I want to say thank you to Netgalley for the book and I am leaving this review voluntarily

Thank you NetGalley and Briar Boleyn for allowing access the ARC in exchange of a honest review.

This book kept me reading until really late! The story is really entertaining and absorbing.

I went from curious, to mad, to excited, back to curious then really mad!
Lots of twists and secrets and surprises that I was not expecting.

Morally gray characters, a somewhat naive main character that needs to figure out what is really going on and some other characters that had me almost screaming.

I have theories and cant wait to start the next chapter of this adventure!

Wow, I was pleasantly surprised by this book! I went into it blind, so I didn't know what to expect. Although the beginning of the book was harder for me to read through, the rest of the book was fast-paced and flowed much better. The storyline and characters are very intriguing, I love the slow-burn romance and the fascinating fantasy world. I'm very curious to see where the story will go from here!

<I>’I was born to be a queen. But even queens could be set aside and forgotten.’ </i>

This was an absolutely brilliant twist on Arthurian Legend- Briar Boleyn has taken some well know myths and flipped them completely on their head; making them her own and incorporating Fae, magic and adventure.

I wouldn’t quite say this has a slow burn romance in it (YET!) but I can certainly see it heading that way. Personally I would have liked a bit more chemistry between the MC’s (and the hints we got of their chemistry and banter was brilliant) but as this is setting up a new fantasy world I’ve come to expect the first in a series to be a bit tamer in those regards.
If you enjoyed Raven Kennedy’s Plated Prisoner series or Jennifer L. Arementrout’s From Blood and Ash be sure to pick this one up!
We have a brilliant world and we’ll developed lore, in depth characters, a strong FMC who is finding and accepting herself, a grumpy MMC, strong friendship bonds, a road trip and a quest for magical items!

So excited to immediately start the second one!

The Queen of Roses by Briar Boleyn started out a bit slowly for me, but I’m so glad I stuck around for this fantasy that takes us back to Camelot in this adventure in knights, the Fae, and the beginning of what is sure to be an epic series about Morgan, Arthur, and Excalibur. Adventure, intrigue, and love are all in abundance.

Morgan of Pendragon witnessed a horrific event as a child, and it sets the tone for the first part of the story and her life. She is passed over for the throne by her father in favor of her illegitimate half-brother, Arthur, and is an afterthought thereafter.

When Arthur is in power, she spends her time with her friends, Lancelet and Galahad and practicing becoming a knight, all knowing that her father promised she would join the temple on her 21st birthday, to study under high Priestess, Merlin.

She sees a stranger, Draven, and after a few unpleasant encounters, finds out he is a member of the Royal Guard, Draven Koiros.

I’m not going to give away spoilers, but Morgan has terrible things happen to her at the castle and she is ultimately sent away, much to her horror, by Arthur on a quest to find Excalibur.

She doesn’t want to go- leaving behind her beloved brother Kaye, Lancelet, and Galahad. Having no choice in the matter, however, she is forced to, with Draven as a guard.

Draven is not who he seems and could or could not be there to protect Morgan. They journey through fraught lands, meeting creatures she had only read about and didn’t think they were real, encounter dangerous strangers and she may even meet the man of her dreams.

The book started slow, but picked up in Book 2 of the plot and I really enjoyed it from there on out, staying up late into the night to finish it.

I can’t wait to read the second book, Court of Claws.

This book was provided as an ARC by NetGalley and the publisher for an honest review. All opinions are my own.

3.5/4 out of 5.
This book surprised me! I’m not as familiar with King Arthur/Camelot myths and stories so my husband filled me in on some of where the inspiration came from but i have to say- I enjoyed this take on it! The book was a bit darker than I thought it would be (not a bad thing!) because I purposely didn’t read the trigger warning list to avoid spoilers. This book had some of my favorite tropes/elements as well
- who hurt you?
- traveling with the grumpy begrudging “guard” and oops there’s only one bed ;)
- female main character who is about to become a badass!
- magic, fae, and creatures
- mystery and betrayal (out my heart!!!)

I liked that I was surprised more than once with where the story went and I’m excited to see where it goes. Big ACOTAR/From Blood and Ash etc.

More review coming on Instagram and TikTok 7/2/23

Queen of Roses was terrific! From the world-building at the beginning to the relationship between Draven and Morgan, this is one of the year's best fantasies!

One of the best characteristics is the pacing of Morgan's maturation into her proper form (part-fae). As a reader, I felt her struggle, and as she learned, I learned with her. I loved turning every page and wanting to find out the "mystery" of her life with Morgan. By the end, I had a complete picture of what happened without it being directly said to me. That's one of the things I enjoy as a reader. Morgan, as a character, was also relatable in many aspects. The banter and her inner thoughts made me laugh. It was great having slight moments of comedic relief when there were a lot of dark themes within the book.

Overall, I enjoyed this book as a whole. I loved the slow-burn romance. The twists were incredible! I wanted to start reading the next one as soon as I finished! Thank you to Starwater Press and NetGalley for allowing me to read this masterpiece.