WOW! I was in love with Emberly Ash's writing and characters from the very first page of Crown of Earth and Sky. The romance! Found family! Curvy body representation! Veyka was badass and matched Arran's warrior energy over and over. I saw myself in the main character of the book throughout the story. This book dealt with the throes of grief and trauma that was very realistic. I found myself tearing up, laughing, loving the smutty scenes, and on the edge of my seat whenever there was any hand to hand combat or the mention of anything mystical. The twists and turns in this book will shock you, upset you, and keep you up all day and night. You might even read it in one sitting with the way the author uses foreshadowing to her advantage. I want more of Veyka and Arran's love story, more of the terrestial kindgom, and the elemental fae. I love watching the dynamic between two completely different faes. One who grew up secluded from others without anyone to defend them while the other was way too powerful and had no choice but to defend themselves in the face of adversity. I enjoyed watching these two characters team up despite their differences time and time again. The yearning, the banter, and undeniable connection between the main love interests made this book for me. I enjoyed the romance plot more than anything else. These characters were cut throat and refused to bow to anyone and even each other at times. I highlighted so many juicy scenes and scenes that had me racing through the pages to find out more.

This is the first book in the Secrets of the Faerie Crown series, a spicy adult romantasy based loosely around the tale of King Arthur. Veyka is a strong female character who becomes Queen through tragedy, she has had a horrific past and is determined not to ever feel powerless again. There are a lot of difficult themes in this book so I would recommend looking up the trigger warnings beforehand. Veyka and Arran’s romance is one of enemies to lovers and progresses rather quickly throughout the story. Ends on a huge cliffhanger, so be prepared.
Overall I really enjoyed this book. A brilliant first instalment.

Thank you Netgalley for the ARC.
The book is out now!

Magic:
This story has a cool magic system. The elementals rightly manipulate the elements: fire, air, ice, storm. The terrestrials manipulate flora or fauna (shapeshifting). From Arran's musing about what he thought people shift to, it seems like the animal fauna terrestrials shift into have to do with personality and maybe a bit of power/strength. It would be interesting to learn more about that.

Setting:
The story is set in the Elemental land, which I assume is the southern portion of the land and the palace is located on a mountain. There are are mentions of the Terrestrials homeland and the cold, which I hope we can learn more about in future books.

The book draws heavily from Arthurian legends with mentions of Arthur, Merlin, Excalibur, Knights of the Round Table, etc. Personally, I like that aspect. I think it added a familiar element to a new book.

Characters:
Overall, the characters were enjoyable. I did have to remind myself that Veyka is incredibly depressed and that is why she is the way she is. It got a bit much at times. However, the love that blossoms between Arran and Veyka seems a little spontaneous. I get there's a physical attraction between the two that drive them together, but they hate each other so much that it seems to thaw too quickly between them. I would have liked a little more slow burn, personally.

Plot:
The story revolves around two people who never expected to rule suddenly being thrust into power together. Both Veyka and Arran have tragic backstories which makes them slower to trust. Veyka also has her secret of no magic, but with so many references to the prophecy about a female elemental who can read minds, and the ability for her and Arran to communicate silently, it seems we'll be learning more soon.

I really liked the ending where they meet the witch, and the revelations tracked with my expectations.

Overall thoughts:
An enjoyable first book in a series. I like the cliffhanger that it ended on. I did find a handful of typos, but that is just a nitpicky thing. The story is solid, the magic system different than others, and the rifts/multiverse is neat. There was a lot of things set up in this book that I'm hoping all get addressed in future books because there are definitely loose ends here.

This does have adult love scenes and quite a few mentions of the lust between the two (almost too much?), so mindful if that isn't your thing.

Worth a read if you like Adult Fae books!

“𝐈 𝐬𝐡𝐨𝐮𝐥𝐝 𝐡𝐚𝐯𝐞 𝐝𝐢𝐞𝐝 𝐢𝐧 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐰𝐨𝐦𝐛”

Crown of Earth and Sky is the first book in the Secrets of The Faerie Crown Series. It follows two main protagonists Veyka Pendragon and Arran Earthborn; two fae who are vastly different but are forced to come together in an arrangement after Veyka comes to wear the crown due to the mysterious death of her brother: King Arthur.

Crown of Earth and Sky is a King Arthur retelling and it’s such a brilliant one at that. It’s charm is mainly not only the protagonists but the secondary chacraters as well, I absolutely loved all of them. The court intrigue, world building and chemistry between the main leads just sold it immediately for me.

I have one complaint: THE CLIFFHANGER?!? That was unreal?! When is the sequel coming out?!

Thank you so much Net Gallery and Emberly Ash for the ARC!

Anything to do with an Arthurian legend and I am happy. This was such an interesting twist on a legend we all know. Veyka is such a strong amazing character and I loved following her story and getting to know her more throughout the book. I was hooked from really early on and struggled to put this one down.

This book is a beautifully written start to a series. It is enemies to lovers, magic system, good world building, betrayal and revenge all wrapped up on an Arthurian based story. At first I was not the fondest to our MFC and questioned some of her choices, but as the story continues I found myself understanding what she was trying to do.It is an intriguing fantasy with romance and spice. It also ends in a BIG cliffhanger. I look forward to the next book

3,5 - 4 ⭐️

First of all thank you Netgalley and the author for this ARC.

I was to start this by saying i loved the story. It’s an arthurian retelling with i an angle i haven’t seen. Dual POV, found family, spice.

The worldbuidling was great, albeit a bit confusing with an overuse of expletives.

The main characters had enough body to them, i would have liked this for the side characters too though.

The only real problem i had with this book was the ‘emotional journey’ and the spice.
Most of it didn’t make sense to me. It read a bit forced and planted. By the ending it was spice for the sake of spice. I would have liked a bit more plot instead of adding this as filling.

Overall great story and i will be reading the next one, but i will probably skip those parts.

3.5/5 - I really wanted this book to be 5 stars. It checked all the boxes for the type of fantasy book that I love - Fae, morally gray male, shifters, magical powers. The relationship between Veyka and Arran was so well written and developed. They had great chemistry and I loved that Veyka was already powerful and strong before she met Arran. I could not put the book down once it got into the main plot. There were a lot of secrets that Veyka held close to her chest for a long time, so once everything started to become known, I was fully invested.

My biggest issue with the book is the Arthur and the Round Table aspect. It felt entirely unnecessary. Every character had a unique, fantastical name... and then there was Arthur. I kept waiting for it to tie in in some way that would make it make sense, but it never came. I believe the author would've been better suited to use Arthur and the Round table as inspiration, but come up with unique characters and plot devices on their own. The introduction at the end did not do enough to justify the Arthur plot, but I am curious enough about the story to read the next one to see where it goes.

This is an Arthurian Fae fantasy romance in which Arthur’s twin sister must assume the throne after he is murdered. In this world, there are elemental and terrestrial Fae, one from each must be joined with the other to rule as king and queen.

Once Arthur is murdered, his twin sister Veyka is required to take his place and be joined with Arran, the strongest terrestrial Fae in a millennium. Veyka is heartbroken and has retreated into herself. She has no desire to be a good ruler and lives for vengeance. As she and Arran fight their sizzling attraction, they unite to discover who betrayed the court and bring them to justice.

The tension between Veyka and Arran was amazing and the plot was well written and thought out. I really enjoyed this book and would recommend the book to those who love enemies to lovers and found family. There are some darker themes of child abide eluded to so please check trigger warnings.

This book contains:
Enemies to lovers
Found Family
Plus size FMC
Touch her and die energy
Betrayal themes
Elusion to off-page child abuse and trauma

"Only Arthur had ever made me feel loved. But that was the love of a brother."

"I'd let Annwyn burn, down to the last soul, if it meant Veykas life."

"Bloodthirsty, buxom, beautiful. Mine."


This retelling was absolutely amazing. The fae and shifters added so much to the story. The FMC is strong and BA. She was ready for her revenge and she was going to make it happen. The MMC was just as great. He would do anything for his people and for his mate. He always pushed Veyka to do her best. The angst for this couple was written so well. It was enemies to all enemies. They had so much growth together it was beautiful. The world building was so interesting and so we're the side characters. I definitely can't wait for the sequel. The ending was mind blowing and I need to know what's going to happen.


• Enemies to lovers
• Arranged Marriage
• Spicy
• Strong FMC
• Retelling
• Fae

This is a beautiful and tragic story about loss, love, adventure, and revenge.

It follows Veyka, the Princess of Peace who has been hidden in the shadows her whole life, and Arran, an unforgiving and ruthless battle commander. The only thing they both seem to have in common is they've never expected to rule their courts and kingdom. When Veyka experiences an unimaginable loss, her world is turned upside down in more ways than one.

I didn't have many expectations going into the book especially with the author's emphasis on the amount of spice in the book. Usually, there's not a lot of room for a detailed plot in books like that. Well, this book blew me away in that regard! I was interested in the steamy scenes, but stayed for the King Arthur retelling, the world building, and the internal battle of the FMC.

I highly recommend this book if you are looking for a new fantasy book with magic, intrigue, enemies to lovers, and revenge.

Thank you NetGalley for granting me access to this book in exchange for an honest review!

4.5/5 stars

Happy pub day to this great new series!!
This is my first arthurian retelling I’ve ever read, im not really a fan of that period but color me surprised i super enjoyed this one.
A raging fmc set on revenging her brother??? An arranged marriage?? What do you need more??
It’s an easy read and you get easily swept into the world building and the book itself

So so excited for the next instalment
Thank you Netgalley for the arc

Emberly Ash outdid herself with Crown of Earth and Sky. This book hits the ground running from the first sentence and does not stop from there. I couldn't put it down and I can't wait for the next one.

This book is a refreshing and fun read with lots of spice and tension between the MCs. I love our main characters, both Veyka and Arran are dynamically written and captivating. Their relationship is complicated and I loved watching it grow and change throughout this book.

The world building that Emberly created here is wonderful. I enjoyed the different kinds of fae and their powers and customs. I think the magic system is succinct while being interesting.

If you like your romantacy books with fae, enemies to lovers and an age gap I highly recommend this book. Thank you Emberly for a great read.

disclaimer: I was given an ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.

This was an amazing book I could not put it down I can't wait to see if there's any more going to come in the series or if it's just a standalone but I want to give it more than five stars but unfortunately I can't so good and cannot wait for whatever else the author has to share with us

Wow, this book has me gripped from the beginning. I loved the mystery that unfolded! These main characters were giving all the angst and I was here for it. I can’t wait to read more about Veyka and Arran’s love story!!

Oh my gosh. Oh my GOSH. Oh MY FRIGGIN GOSH.

His Dark Materials meets ACOTAR.

The last 30% of this book will build you up, tear you down, beat your emotions to a pulp, and have you crying for more.

A loose interpretation of the legend that is King Arthur.

Veyka Pendragon is the Princess of Peace . . . Or the Princess That Wasn’t Meant to Be.

In a cruel twist of fate, she is made Queen. In a court full of gossip and treachery who is a Queen to trust? Her betrothed, the so called Brutal Prince? Her guards? Her council? Her handmaidens?

The book starts off a little clunky for me as I didn’t understand everything (I’m not as familiar with medieval history this far back). There are still some spelling errors but man can this author write some SPICE.

Not only that but the way she describes the feelings of inadequacy, depression, sorrow, betrayal, and more is astounding. Five stars simply for that and the emotional soul searching this author must have done. For the way she poured herself into the main characters and did not shy away from the horrid situations and feelings.

I am eagerly awaiting the next installment as there are still so many questions.

I thoroughly enjoyed this read! I thought it was a great start to a new fantasy series and I’m excited for the follow up! Veyka was different type of heroine for me and I liked it. She was multilayered as was the main male character, Arran. I enjoyed getting to know both characters as well as the development of their relationship. I also thought the author did a great job with the world building. I look forward to seeing what’s next for Arran and Veyka! Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC that I received in exchange for my honest review! 😊

4.5/5 Stars

👑 Crown of Earth and Sky 👑

I want to lead this off by saying that this book surprised me in a very positive way! I went into it expecting something that was focused on steamy scenes without giving enough attention to the world. WELL, I promise that is far from what Crown Of Earth and Sky has to offer.

With Throne of Air and Darkness to be released in December 2023, this is a great fantasy read for adults that enjoy fae/shifter romance, court intrigue, and Sarah J. Maas worldbuilding.

Main Characters:
Veyka is powerless. She has been told this since birth, then locked away by her mother and dealt physical, sexual, and emotional abuse until the death of her father. With his death, Veyka's twin brother, Arthur, becomes King. Even with her newfound freedom, Veyka is still haunted by the trauma of her childhood and the damage is too deep for her to escape on her own.

Arran is a 300+ year old terrestrial fae commander. When he is selected as Heir of the terrestrials and must Join with Veyka, Arran is thrust into the world of court politics with the elemental fae that he must one day rule.

My Thoughts:
Crown of Earth and Sky deals with some extreme themes that may be difficult for some readers. There are descriptions of child abuse, noncon, and suicidal ideation. The last one is most prevalent throughout the novel. Please keep that in mind before reading this novel! Your mental health should always be your #1 priority!

Emberly Ash did a fantastic job of putting a twist on the tale of King Arthur. The elements of the holy grail and knights of the round table are present, but do not overwhelm the other facets of this story. The relationship between Veyka and Arran is believable, and the pain that Veyka suffers cuts deep. I was in tears at multiple points because I have felt the loneliness that Veyka deals with, and I know how difficult it can be to believe that our lives are worth living.

This book toes the line perfectly between 🗡Fantasy🗡 and
🌶Romantasy🌶. We get all the world building and pain of Fantasy with a delightful amount of spicy scenes.

I also love that the mention of 🍑 play (if you know what I mean) wasn't just a thought and then never mentioned again, like a ton of romance/romantasy novels will do. There is no need to mention booty play if you aren't going to actually go there, so thank you for actually committing to it!!

Overall, I cannot wait to grab the sequel when it comes out at the end of 2023! There are so many unanswered questions and plenty of room for theorizing.

On the evening that King Arthur is meeting with the terrestrials to continue their peaceful relations, Arthur is suddenly killed by humans. This leaves his twin sister Veyka as the new Queen of the Elemental Fae and is now the one who must marry the next heir for the terrestrials to keep the peace. However, Veyka has other plans, such as revenge on those who murdered her brother.

I wanted to like this book, but it fell severely short for me unfortunately.

What I liked is the world. It’s a vast world with the Fae and terrestrials(who I guess are Fae also, but can be shifters or have flora magic?). I liked the little references to King Arthur and those from his story. The start of the book is very good and books you in at first, which is always a good thing when starting a new book. There was a twist towards the end that I liked, but nothing really came of it, which was disappointing.

That’s basically all I really enjoyed about the book. The only plot was Veyka wants revenge and that she has to marry Arran to keep the peace and that’s about all I got from the plot and this is not a short book.

I primarily did not enjoy this book because of Veyka. She is grieving and does seem to be suffering from a form of depression, however, she was not a likable character, she had no redeeming qualities in my eyes, and the way she acted and the decisions she made could not justify the reason why. She’s a Queen. She has a kingdom to take care of, but all she thought about was revenge and herself. She took no interest in her kingdom and only wanted to find the traitor(s) within her own counsel and kingdom that had removed her brother. I get she wants revenge, but she could have gone about that a different way. She’s supposed to be 25 and she just acted petulant like a child and her answers were to drink or sleep around. And when she has a moment of clarity and realization that she does need to care more, the next page she’s thinking of drinking again to drown out how she’s feeling. The entire book I couldn’t bring myself to like her or care.

The toxicity in this book is astounding too. I know many will probably love the characters and the weird romance in here, but it was not for me. I was looking forward to this romance, but the romance did not appeal to me at all. The word hate, which is SUCH a strong word to use, is tossed around a lot in this book and I didn’t understand why everyone hated each other so much. Veyka hates Arran, but there’s no explanation why aside from maybe realizing how much more he cares about the people unlike herself, which hey, she can do something about it. Arran I could understand being angry and resentful towards Veyka and how she only cared about herself, but he also tossed the word hate around a lot and yet, wanted to sleep with her all the time. This romance and relationship was not a romance, it was just two people lusting after each other. It was just so toxic.

I know this book gives warning about darker elements in here, but there was nothing redeeming to me about those darker elements in this story. Veyka is selfish, petty and mean and Arran may have helped her start to climb out of the hole she dig for herself, but by the end of the book, it was too late for me. I just cannot bring myself to like this character which always makes it very hard to read a book when the main character or one of them is intolerable.

I really wanted to like this book, and I gave it a shot and read the whole thing hoping that I would like Veyka or just something that would help me like it more, but alas, that did not happen. I know many would love this book and the style, it just was not for me, though.

I received a free digital copy to read. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

Crown of Earth and Sky is my favorite book I've read this month. It was such a amazing adventure the entire way through.
It has fae. It has an Arthurian vibes, but so completely unique. It has deceit and intrigue. It's spicy. I don't want to give away too much, because this book needs to be read!

The fae world of Annwyn is split into two sects, elementals and terrestrials.
Ancient traditions have been set in place by the Ancestors to keep the peace between both kinds of fae.
Annwyn is facing upheaval as something sinister is happening throughout the realm.
Veyka, an elemental princess, finds herself in a position of power.
A terrestrial, Arran, is brought together with Veyka to keep balance in their world. But as the strongest terrestrial fae in history, he has earned his name as the Brutal Prince.
They hate each other. But will the hatred last?
Can they put their differences aside for the good of Annwyn?
Or will the world collapse around them?

🧚‍♀️Fae Romantasy
👑Arthurian Vibes
🖤Enemies-to-lovers
👫Fated Mates
👑Found Family
🔥Spicy Fantasy

Crown of Earth and Sky has all these themes and more. I 100% recommend this book!

The trigger warnings are listed at the beginning of the book and I suggest reading them so you know what you're getting into.

Thank you soooo much to NetGalley and the author Emberly Ash for the chance to read this! All opinions are my own.