Thank you for the opportunity to read an ARC of Crown of Earth and Sky. All opinions are my own. I unfortunately read this directly following another Arthurian book and I had a hard time connecting with this story. The beginning was a bit slow and it was difficult for me to feel connected to the story. There was a lot of filler bits and this definitely could have been edited down.

This is a book with a folklore theme with a King Arthur retelling. It’s a unique retelling compared to other authors. The world building was easy to follow. The writing style was slightly weaker but I don’t comment in a negative way as it actually made the reading of the story easy. The story keeps you turning pages and displays enemies to lovers like tropes. I would recommend to fantasy readers

THIS CHECKED ALL THE BOXES. Spice? Check. Badass FMC? Check. Morally grey MMC? Check. I loved this. I could not put it down. If I could read this again for the first time, I would.

Crown of Earth and Sky was an exceptional read. I thoroughly enjoyed the book, captivated from start to finish by Emberly Ash’s vivid storytelling. The character development, especially Veyka’s, was a highlight for me—I love when characters grow in a way that makes them even more enjoyable to follow. Although the magic system wasn't immediately clear, I eventually grasped it and found it quite fascinating. Overall, it’s a fantastic story, and I’m excited to see where it goes next.

The FMC in this story is everything I could ask for. Smart, strong, and funny. She knows what she wants and doesn’t ask for anything. This was my first retelling and man.. it definitely left me wanting more. I am very blessed for NetGalley and Emberly Ash to allow me to be able to have the chance to experience this book. I cannot wait to read the second! And can anyone name a better MMC? I went down the rabbit hole of fan art just so I could picture the characters.

This story is not for everyone and I gave it 4/5 mainly because of how well written it is that some might not understand or be able to follow if this is their first fantasy like book. However, I always think it is worth a shot and you just might fall in love….

This story was such a fun read! In the beginning I needed some time to get into the story, but I loved the main characters. They literally carried the story. Also, the plot was super interesting. At some times, I kinda struggled to get to the end, but overall, this story was lovely to read. I'm also really looking forward for what part 2 will bring.

The beginning of the book was almost the end of my reading it. I struggled so hard to get into it then I was soaring through it. Then I was struggling again. While I don't know if it is just my mood or the book. I will still recommend this book. I loved the story line and I connected so deeply with Veyka in some ways but the truly amazing person to me in this book was Arran. I will give this author another shoot. But for me this was a take it or leave it book.

I enjoyed the overall storyline of this book and the tension between Veyka and the Brutal prince. The writing however made this a little harder to read. As we went on I found myself losing interest due to the filler. I felt as though I got a good description of the fmc right out the gate and I appreciated that she was plus size but it became a bit much.

Thank you to the publisher and Netgalley for providing me with this e-ARC! I do my reviews on my social media platforms. I am currently working on getting through my reviews so stay tuned! Leaving a rating as a placeholder for me and to not effect the books rating in order to post this. Thanks again!

I liked this one. The world building was good. A loosely reimagined Arthurian legend placed in a world filled with fae. I enjoyed the drama and angst of the arranged marriage between Veyka & Arran. This is a dark romance read and for me the romance was the star of this story. The spice was spicy! 🔥 Veyka Pendragon is an interesting character. I felt bad for her because she was isolated and abused as a child. Hidden to keep her secret safe until she was saved by her brother. His loss was unbearable for her and the author did an amazing job conveying Veyka’s grief and despair. There was a betrayal at the end that I definitely did not see coming but I feel like the plot got lost. It felt like I missed a part of the story. Hopefully the second book clears up any confusion and unanswered questions. Overall a good read.

Thank you to netgalley for the arc in exchange for my honest review.

Really good read and start to a fantasy series!! A bit long in some areas but otherwise really enjoyed it. Great spice 🔥. Characters to love and hate. Not a predictable read which is not the easiest in a fantasy saturated industry right now. Cannot wait to start book 2....immediately

Secrets & spice are the well fleshed bones of Crown of Earth & Sky.

Told in dual point of view it took me a little while to get going with this one, it is very easy to read, but the start felt overly long. However, once the action got started, I flew through it.

I can't really comment on the Arthurian legend retelling element, as beyond the names used, I don't know enough about the original. I like the premise, the world & the magic system. I was left completely open-mouthed in shock at one point & I love it when a book does that to me.

I will be reading the next book very soon as I need answers, though I am a little scared I'll just be left with more questions 😅

It took me a minute to get into this book- the world building and verbiage were pretty confusing to me up until half way through the book. Once I got to that point I started to really enjoy it. The tension between Arran + Veyka was sooo good!! The spice was at a good level, a bit much at first but after the character development and their enemies turned lovers I really liked it!

Overall, I would recommend this book to someone looking for a heavy romance fantasy novel and will probably continue with the series!!

This book was difficult to read and found it challenging to finish. This book was not suited for my liking.

3.5 stars ⭐️

Opening with "I should have died in the womb," Crown of Earth and Sky is one of those books where you're like Death? Tell me more.

P.S. There's a character called Parys (I'm assuming Paris) and each time I saw his name, I was like 🌿 Parsley 🌿

One of the first things I really liked in Crown of Earth and Sky was the writing style and it was just... beautiful 😍 and this had dark elements and content warnings—please check the trigger warnings beforehand.

Full review on Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/5836765295?book_show_action=false

~ Thank you Emberly Ash and NetGalley for the ARC in exchange for my honest review ~

This was a great fantasy novel! I loved the pacing and the characters so much! I'm so happy that I took a chance on this novel and I look forward to so much more by this author!

I absolutely loved this book! The story was captivating, I loved the growth we see in Veyka, specifically. The magic system was a little confusing, but I ended up really liking it. I very much enjoyed the romance too. Overall, great story. I can’t wait to continue this series!

In Annwyn, there are two races of Fae, the elementals (who control wind, fire, weather, ice, and water) and the terrestrials (divided into flora and fauna, earth magic wielders and animal shifters respectively). Veyka is an elemental princess, never expected to rule but suddenly thrust into power when her elder brother is assassinated. Veyka now finds herself not only taking over the throne, but also betrothed to the infamous Brutal Prince of the Terrestrials.

The most intriguing part of Crown of Earth and Sky for me was the magic system. All magic comes at a cost. It can be anything from a few aches and pains to being rendered unconscious to death to something terrible happening to your property or your loved ones. The fact that the nobles rarely used their own magic and instead required their servants to endure these costs on their behalf was a fascinating detail and it added another level of complexity to the palace culture and politics of this story.

One of the major qualms I had about this book was that Veyka's personality and motivations are all due to the seclusion and torture she endured for the first 20 years of her life, at the hands of her mother. Her mother was even stripped of her powers and sealed within her wing of the palace yet we never find out anything more about what happened beyond that Veyka was secluded and tortured for 20 years. We don't know why her mother did this, why no one came to help, what happened during this time. Veyka is clearly a very haunted person, but without knowing what happened to her and why, she ends up coming across as more unlikable than complex. The other thing that haunts Veyka is her grief surrounding her brother's death. This grief would have had much more of an impact had we seen more of the brother. He was in about 2 chapters before he was assassinated and we never get any flashbacks or memories of him after that. It's hard to feel sympathetic for her grief when I have no attachment to Arthur. Veyka's feelings and actions would have made a lot more sense if her motivations and backstory had been fleshed out.

What really frustrated me was the lack of character development. Multiple times throughout the book Veyka came to the realization that she should be better, do better for her kingdom and for her people. And then she was right back to not caring about anything and distracting herself from doing anything meaningful or taking up any of her duties as queen. Despite numerous wake up calls there was zero growth. The only characters that had any sort of complexity were side characters, Parys and Cyara.

There was a huge plot twist near the end of the book that was so unexpected I actually gasped out loud. And then it was never discussed again or unpacked at all. I wanted to know the motivations and the reason for Gawayn's betrayal SO BAD and we got nothing.

I genuinely loved reading this, the romance, the plot, and the characters were everything! It took a bit to get into I will admit but once I got a third of the way in it really all came together and I found myself struggling to put the book down! The tension between Veyka and Arran was palpable! The politics while heavy didn’t over crowd the rest of the story and overall it was an amazing book!

I wanted to love this one but sadly it was just not good. The writing style was fine I think it was just the story/plot and the characters. This one was just not for me at all. I do hope that it finds its readers.