A Dawn of Onyx is the first book in The Sacred Stones trilogy and is an enemies to lovers romantasy based in the Onyx Kingdom where Arwen Valondale has been taken after trading her life to save her brothers. The trade ends up with her being thrown in a dungeon which happens to be inhabited by a very handsome, morally grey Kane, who just so happens to be the only thing that can get her out.

I loved this enemies to lovers romance between Kane and Arwen (especially as he falls first!) and the building chemistry and tension between the two of them had my heart beating fast! Although Arwen seemed a bit naive at times her character does seem fitting with her age and also is quite endearing that she can be so well versed and show strength in battle but is not as clued up with matters of the heart which I feel finds her more appealing.

The cliff hanger at the end has left me desperate to read the next book!

I really couldn't love this more! It had everything I love about enemies to lovers, fae romance, magick, dragons, all of it!! And as a crystal lover, the islands names were perfect. I'm so needing the next instalment I could cry!! The build up in this book was incredible, I couldn't put it down.

Thank you so much to the author, publisher and netgalley for an e-arc in exchange for an honest review. I give it a smashing 5/5 stars.

The blurb of this book made it sound really interesting. Obviously, otherwise I wouldn't have requested it.

However, I just couldn't get in to it. The characters were ok but I found it really difficult to differentiate the kingdoms and there were parts that I thought were particularly important that just weren't explained.

Tried to read it but i just couldnt get into it. Bored me to tears and i couldnt connect to any of the characters so i gave up. Sorry.

This book started off really well and i did enjoy it, however it felt like it lost its way half way through and everything just went at breakneck speeding with everything accelerated.. it was still fun and i enjoyed where the story was going, it just felt like it lost its way a bit.

Will be reading the next in the series, but not running to it.

An immersive fantasy with rich world-building and complex characters. Kate Golden weaves a story of resilience and magic that fantasy lovers won’t want to miss!

There was a lack of worldbuilding and some of the plot aspects did not make sense (war?) and plenty of inconsistencies, as well as some one-dimensional characters, inconsistent in their words vs actions. I was quite frustrated. However, there were redeeming parts, so it's a 2.5 stars for me.

I really loved this! I absolutely devoured it over the course of about two days and instantly ordered book two!

This is the first instalment in The Sacred Stones series.

Arwen Valondale sacrificed her freedom for her brother's and is now imprisoned to the Onyx king. She has been taught to fear his rule but life surrounded by his people quickly proves to be vastly different to the one she anticipated living.

I'll never not be in the mood for an enemies-to-lovers romantasy story and this contained all the plot points and elements that makes this genre so beloved to me! Were some parts cliché? Was it clear where the root for some of the early presented mysteries lay? Was it obvious were the romantic sub-plot was heading? Was the political intrigue obviously going in one direction? Yes to all of those questions! But also, did I have the most enjoyable time reading this and consume every page in a fast as fashion as possible? Also, yes! Sometimes we all need some escapism and this was just the literary plane ticket I needed.

I went into this book completely blind, not knowing what the story was going to be about and I'm so glad that I did. The whole thing felt like an adventure and I couldn't get through it quick enough. For me; this book was all about the vibes. I was invested in the story and I fell in love with the characters which resulted in me having a fabulous time.

The world wasn't hugely extensive or complicated which some may see as a negative, however for me, it meant that I was immersed right from the start. There was no period of "learning" that I had to slog through. That's not to say that there was no world building. I loved the descriptions of the different places on this continent; Periodot especially. I could almost feel the sea breeze as I was reading.

Arwen was my kind of female main character. Fiercely loyal, brave, witty and selfless. Despite being mislead and lied to continuously throughout the story, she never closed off her heart and remained true to herself. Her romance in the book was the icing on the cake for me. The slow burn angst of it was at times too much to take. The banter between the two of them had me laughing and the intensity between them leaped from the page.

This wasn't the most intricate of fantasy plots (though it did have some jaw dropped twists) but the characters (main and otherwise) were fantastically written and I either loved them or loved to hate them. Not every 5* has to be perfect in every way, sometimes it's enough that I just had a brilliant time; this book was one of those!

4.5 stars. Really liked this one. The characters were interesting and there were a few twists and turns, some I saw coming and some I didn't. Looking forward to reading the next one.

While it is competently written, A Dawn of Onyx is nothing if not the definition of a standard mid-2010s New Adult romantasy.

Feisty yet sensitive heroine? Check.
Brooding love interest who seems evil but may have a heart under all that smoulder and black clothing? Check.
Plot including magical powers, family secrets, childhood best friends, and general peril? Check.

There's nothing wrong with A Dawn of Onyx at all, but it seems almost like a smorgasbord of the tropes that came before it with little attempt to change things up or freshen the material. Still, it was a mildly enjoyable read and its intended audience will quite rightly devour it up.

How this is a debut I don’t know. The writing, the world building, the swooning?

I absolutely devoured this book and I’m so excited for the next two. I really hope that Kane and Arwin reconcile! That cliffhanger ending??? Need the next one immediately

Hank you to Netgalley and the publisher for my copy of this e-arc

I really enjoyed this book, the pacing was excellent and I read it in 3 sittings because I didn’t want to put the book down! One thing about it was that it felt formulaic in terms of how a fantasy book is written.

It was clear that it was set up for another book as the romance felt too slow burn not to be although I did enjoy this!

3.75 stars!

Thank you to NetGalley and Quercus Books for providing me with an eARC of this book.

After reading the synopsis of A Dawn of Onyx, I was so excited to read it. Unfortunately, the execution did not live up to the premise.

My main issue with this book is that it seemed to have been written around popular romantasy tropes, and many aspects felt like they had been plucked out of a few well known romantasy series. It felt very unoriginal, and therefore, predictable.

Although I found the idea of the various kingdoms being named after gemstones intriguing, the world building was lacking. There wasn’t enough differentiation between the kingdoms or explanation about the war. The plot suffered from pacing issues, and nothing really happened until right at the end.

The characters were one dimensional and had no personality or development. The FMC annoyed me with how naive and at times, stupid, she was. There were often contradictions with what she was thinking inside her head and her actions. The MMC is portrayed as wicked and cruel, but we never actually see any evidence of this. His character felt like a weak attempt at your typical dark, brooding, powerful, wicked (but not really) MMC. Frankly, I’m bored it.

Although this book wasn’t for me, I did enjoy Kate Golden’s writing style. I’d be interested to read more from her if she wrote something a bit more original.

Captivating. Kept me intrigued from cover to cover. I loved the characters and their love to hate you relationship. Steamy and funny all in one

such a fun fantasy book!! so sexy and so enjoyable!! i cannot wait to read the entire series and dive deeper into the characters!!

Something went wrong with the formatting of this when I sent it to my kindle. It made it really hard to read. Was super interested in the characters and story so powered through. Good writing!! Will maybe buy a physical edition in the future if I choose to reread.

5 star read. The romantasy paired with the mystery was so good. I thoroughly enjoyed reading it and would recommend it to anyone, as it wasn’t too heavy on the fantasy element.

I loved this one! It had me hooked from the get go, that slow burn enemies to lovers trope and mix of vivid characters made it totally bingable.

I loved how the author made us feel like we were physically in the world, everything felt relatable and real to me whilst reading making it easy to get lost in.

The cliffhanger ending left me wanting and needing that second book! Really looking forward to continuing with the series!