“Whatever might have happened to you, you’re choosing to fight back.”

If I could give this book a million stars, I would.
Now don’t get me wrong, I am a lover of fantasy but it is common for me to get bored here and there and speed read through some chapters.
However, that was NOT the case with this book.
I gobbled, ate, devoured the entire book, chapter for chapter, word for word.

The amount of twists and turns in this book kept coming at me at a pace that was thoroughly enjoyable and left me on the edge of my seat long before the climax (hehe).
Not to mention the slow burn between Morgan and Draven?! Ugh, to die for.
Even just the story of Morgan alone and the trials and tribulations she had to endure and battle her way through long before this major journey she finds herself in by the end of this book. To still hold so much hope and love and kindness for those she cares for even with so much hatred surrounding her, is beautiful to read and experience.

Now Ms. Briar……ending really threw me for a loop. I mean it threw me so hard I had whiplash from my kindle.
I had my suspicionsssssss that something was suspiciousssss with Draven but I didn’t expect THAT.

Not only am I immediately moving on to the next book but will be counting down the days until a 3rd one 🥲 (ps I have no clue if there even are plans for a third but I swear if there’s not I’ll beg on my knees for more from Briar Boleyn 😍

OBSESSED.

This one I was really surprised with there was so many tropes jammed packed into and they were all done really well. My favorite being "touch her and you die". I am also always down for a good retelling and this book really did the Arthurian legend some justice. The side characters you meet along the way of the quest I found them roguish yet endearing.
Tropes you will find in this book include:
- touch her and you die
- forced prox
- slow burn
- morally grey MMC

If you like the FBBA series from Jennifer L Armentrout then you should definitely give it a try.

Dark fantasy romance retelling of Arthur and his knights of Camelot, but with fae. Amazing. Friendships, betrayals, politics, romance, schemes, magic and some good tropes we all love!
Good initial character development, I'm looking forward to seeing where it goes!
Love the concept, and what a cliffhanger - can't wait for book 2!

This book starts slow, as the world building is set up, but then the plot explodes and sucks the reader right in. Morgan (usurped) by her younger brother is sent on a quest to find Excalibur and return the legendary sword to her brother to aid in the upcoming war. Only this quest reveals Morgan has been feed so many lies about not only herself but everything around her.

🥀 FAE / Magic
🥀 LGTBQ+ Rep
🥀 Bodyguard
🥀 Only One Bed
🥀 Training Scenes
🥀 Forced Proximity
🥀 Complicated Family Dynamics
🥀 Hidden Magical Abilities

Overall, this book was really good! I loved the growth that the female main character went through as she makes her way through the quest. I also loved that it was a mix of fae and Camelot. Two of my favorite things! I am so grateful to already have the second book because that cliffhanger!!!

Really enjoyed this! The characters were so engaging and have a lot of depth to them.
Loved the story line and the pacing

Did I hate it? No. Did I love it? No. I feel like the plot, the world-building, the magic and everything is all there. But Morgan’s character development is not vibing with me. Does she every not hate him? Like…it’s just making me scratch my head and really blink a few times.

Everything else was chefs kiss.

A twist and a king Arthur tail. I loved how there was Journey deception, and the adventures that Morgan had you never really knew the whole story, but you saw the gathered it to Darvin. The last chapter was a bit strange. It was no longer in the point of Morgan, rather than on looking party that wasn’t there, at first it was a bit confusing, but then I understood that last chapter set up the second book perfectly and I cannot wait to continue reading. What else is author has for these characters.

Another addition to the ever growing romantic fantasy genre, with action, adventure and enchanting romance aplenty!

Overall a good story just a bit slow for my personal tastes and I didn't really like the main character very much, I found her quite irritating and hard to connect with.

What if Morgan le Fay was the good guy and King Arthur was the bad guy?

The Arthurian Legend is one of my favorite tales to read or watch something of. To be fair, I love reading about mythology in general, whether it’s Greek, Roman, Norse, Hindu, Celtic, or as King Arthur hails from, Welsh mythology. One of my favorite books is based on the King Arthur and Camelot stories, however, that was also a retelling with new ideas and stories involved, similar to this book. Loved that Merlin and “Lancelot” or in this book, Lancelet, were both females. Really enjoyed seeing other minor but familiar characters such as Sir Ector and Galahad. Though instead of Morgan being the the evil character from the original tales, she was a beloved character in this novel and King Arthur was evil through and through. He was a greedy, power hungry, conniving, insecure, and a scheming little shit with no remorse for his actions.

There was a lot more of magic and fantasy involved than the normal King Arthur tales, but I didn’t mind that at all, it’s all right up my alley lol. There were Fae involved and stories of Gods and Goddesses too, it was all pretty cool actually. Also, loved Morgan and loved Draven!! The ending was kind of expected with one specific character that I loved immediately since their introduction, but I also felt a little distrust towards that character at times too. Don’t want this to be a spoiler for others so I’ll refrain from naming that character lol. But the unexpected parts of the ending were, first of all, Odelna and then the Hades and Persphephone vibes I got at the end. All in all, I really enjoyed reading this and can’t wait to read the second one! Thank you Starwater Press and NetGalley for this ARC, even though it took me forever to get around to reading this and the book is already published now and no longer really an ARC so to speak lol.

This story was so enjoyable, with a strong, relatable FMC, who guides us through the political intrigue and unrest of her country, led by her brother, the King. An arthurian legend retelling with a twist, it was well-paced, exciting, and full of diverse characters that each brought something to the story of the FMC. I'm excited to read the rest of the series!

This fresh take on the familiar Arthurian legend was divine! I was absolutely absorbed and read it in one day before moving on to the sequel. The world building captivated me equally as much as the uniqueness of each character. The characters come to live through the wonderful descriptions and interactions we have with them as readers. Boleyn is an incredible writer who brings a lot to the table through the way the story is told. I recommend this to the fullest!

I couldn't continue reading this book as the names of the characters resembling the court of Camelot puts me off. It puts me in a different setting than it was intended.

Thank you to the author and the publishing House for this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

I found this hard to contact with and sadly, I DNF this book.

tl;dr
An interesting take on Arthurian legend. Too dark for me, sadly.

Thoughts
I keep telling myself to give dark fantasy another chance, and I should stop telling myself that. My feelings on this book are split. On the plus side, some great twists on fae and Arthurian legend. The story had some great reveals, and I liked all the supporting friends. But it turns out I am tired of things being miserable always and at all times. While this doesn't go all the way into "gritty" territory, the storyline is definitely dark enough, with our MC constantly being kicked around from all directions (mostly from her really terrible brother), with barely a sliver of relief. At one point, I started to wonder why she was even still doing the quest, when she'd probably be better off just running away. Or perhaps using the time away to build that secret army her brother thinks she's got going on. But if you want a dark fantasy, this book absolutely fulfills the prompt. There's also a decent amount of spice, and a very slow burn romance (that looks like it won't really see completion until later installments), and I liked the world building.

Queen of Roses by Briar Boleyn, an Arthurian Fantasy Romance packed full of action.

Thank you NetGalley and Starwater Press for giving me an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

As someone who grew up watching BBC’s Merlin, this book had me hooked from the first page. To begin with, the characters were so well written. You could picture what they looked like, their expressions and personas. Morgan, the MC, is a determined, loving and strong character, who will do anything for those she loves, even if it means helping her brother, the King. The hatred I have for Arthur and his lack of care for his big sister is unreal :)

Furthermore, the plot had me on the edge of my seat. It was full of twists, betrayals, fight scenes and scenes that added so much depth to the characters. This features a slow-burn enemies to lovers romance that can be very frustrating as a reader when they both like each other but do nothing about it haha.

My personal favourite line from this book was: “”He doesn’t deserve pancakes,” I said crankily. “Unbearable man.”” and a bunch of other funny insults.

Lancelet I would die for. My favourite character by far. She’s smoking hot and I would follow her to the ends of the Earth.

This was SO FUN! I loved the general concept and the plot was intriguing. The character development could use some work, and I’m hoping we get a little more in book 2. I will be continuing on in the series, because THE PLOT WAS EVERYTHING! It was a quick read, which is always a good thing. Overall, highly enjoyed.

This book caught me at just the right time in just the right mood and I read it almost straight through. A very different retelling of King Arthur’s court with a fae mash up. So glad I have the sequel ready to go. Many thanks to Netgalley for an arc of this book.

Loved it!! The slowburn was amazing and drew me in. The pacing was great and fast paced, cannot wait to get my hands on the next one!