As this has been archived, I'll be reading this book on KU and will post my review once I have finished.

This is book one in a dark, fae re-telling of the well-known Arthurian legend in the search for Excalibur but Arthur plays a bitter and cruel villain and Morgan is the innocent one.

Plot:
Book one follows the journey of Morgan, who is the eldest of the Pendragon children and should have been queen once her father died, but she was disinherited in favor of her half-brother, Arthur, due to her tainted fae blood because her mother was fae. She suffers abuse by those in the kingdom who should protect her and her brother King Arthur does nothing to shelter her from it. He sends her on a dangerous campaign to find Excalibur, a weapon that has eluded many who have tried to find it over the centuries. Morgan is accompanied by two very dangerous guards on this quest and her brother doesn't care what they do to her as long as they accomplish the task. Kairos Draven and Ragnar Whitehorn, have bad reputations and she is not sure they have orders from King Arthur to return to Camelot with her after it is found.

Characters:
Morgan is extremely naive throughout the story and although had training to fight, did little to stop her abusers. Once they were on the quest, however, she experienced growth in confidence and strength and began to fight back with those who meant her harm. Draven is a handsome rugged "take no BS" kind of man. As hard as he is, he doesn't like to see people suffer and tries to keep Morgan safe and over the time they spend together she sees a different side of him than what she thought she knew. These two had some fun banter together and meshed well as main characters. I was shipping them to be more as they spent more time together.

Merlin, Lancelet are her friends and they all care for each other. They are all women too which is a nice little twist. Rather than them being pro-Arthur, they are pro-Morgan. She is the one suffering and being the punching bag for being a half-breed and never giving them reason to not trust her.

Worldbuilding:
This world was more interesting with the addition of fae and included some fantasy animals as well. It took a bit for the story to build up, so if you hang in there, it gets more action. I assume as the books continue that will keep happening since the first book sets up the scene.

Overall Thoughts:
In the first few chapters, I was getting used to what was happening since there were some changes in the well-known characters and I needed to get used to that storyline. Then the chapters stalled out a bit taking time to build what was going on, how she was as a character and how she was treated. It was very different from what I knew of this legendary tale. Once Morgan got out onto the road and their journey got going, things started to pick up and she started to stick up for herself. The characters are great and I have high hopes that they will continue to grow and the realm with new exciting additions. The book ended on a cliffhanger and will be interesting to see how it plays out.

Thank you to the publisher and author for the NetGalley ARC of this book to read and give an honest review.

This was an interesting story but a tough read. The plot, characters, backstory about the fae were well thought out and executed. However, due to my own shortcoming, I did not see the trigger list until having completed the book. That said, it was too much for me personally. The story had a slow beginning and was difficult to get into. That can be due to the world-building but the pace was too slow to catch my interest. The second half of the book was an easier read but I was taken out of the story a few times due to the fate of some of the animals. Overall, it was a good read with the potential for the rest of the series to be better. I personally won’t continue with the story due to the triggers.

Disclaimer: I received an ARC from the publisher via NetHalley. My review is optional and honest.

Leider konnte ich mich nicht auf diese Storyline einlassen. Derzeit fühle ich mich psychisch nicht wohl, daher muss es nicht zwangsweise an dem Buch liegen. Ich empfand den Schreibstil als angenehm. Er dirigierte mich nur so durch die Seiten. Das zeigt, dass ein Händchen fürs Schreiben gegeben ist. Ich würde auf jeden Fall zu einem späteren Zeitpunkt nochmal ein anderes Buch probieren (:

Briar Boleyn did an amazing job with this retelling. I love the growth and development of the FMC, Morgan Pendragon. She learns about herself and perseveres and the story is such a great coming of age story. What makes this book even better is the enemies to lovers story! Such a good trope and Boleyn delivered on it with her mysterious MMC and the slowest of slow burns.

This arc archived right after I received it so I wasn’t able to download it in time. I would love to be able to review this but I haven’t had the chance to read it, and I’ll need to purchase a copy to do that.

I really enjoyed this book. I can’t wait to read more by this author. Thank you to the publisher for allowing me the chance to read.

Book 1 of a new series. I'm obsessed. I can't wait to read book 2. A wonderful, new, and fresh retelling of Camelot and Arthur. Morgan is such a strong and interesting character. I can't wait to see how her story unfolds.

It took me a while to start this ARC, which I requested after being intrigued by aesthetic and plot hints on TikTok. Not having delved into any fantasy Arthur retellings before, I saw this as an ideal introduction. The book held considerable promise, especially in the first half, where its unique approach to a dark fantasy King Arthur-inspired story caught my attention. Briar Boleyn draws from traditional Arthurian tales but introduces an entirely different twist, including some gender swaps. Although the story started off slow, the pace eventually picked up, keeping me engaged towards the end.

OMG I loved, loved this book and could't put it down. The story telling with the twists from the original was just amazing and the characters really did make you love or hate them. I am looking forward to reading the next in the series.

A huge shoutout to NetGalley & Briar Boleyn for the chance to dive into Queen of Roses! 🌹📚

What a ride this dark fantasy romance turned out to be! It’s got a fresh twist on King Arthur that kept me hooked and craving more. The journey was such a thrill, and I absolutely loved every page!

Meet Morgan Pendragon: once a "denounced" queen destined for the temple while her younger brother, King Arthur, holds the reins of Camelot. Morgan, a half-blooded Fae with only a hint of her Fae heritage, is sent on a quest by her cruel brother to find Excalibur.

With her ragtag "guardians," she faces epic challenges, unearthing the secrets of Fae and Gods along the way. 🗡️✨

Can’t wait for book two in the Blood of Fae trilogy to see where Morgan Pendragon’s adventures take her next! 🌟📖

Queen of Roses by Briar Boleyn is a captivating fantasy novel that delves into themes of power, love, and betrayal against a backdrop of lush world-building and intricate plotting. A wonderful novel and I had fun reading it.

I was excited to start this book and couldn't wait to dive in. Having read a couple of books based on Arthurian legend I was intrigued to see what this one had in store for me. I have to say the world-building was excellent and the slow burn was definitely slow burning. At times I felt the story could have been shorter but it was still an enjoyable read.

Very interesting and engaging story. Great world building and background. Already submitted feedback for this book to publisher previously.

Really enjoyed this book!! Found it very easy to get hooked into. My first by this author but will not be my last!!

I felt this book was a bit slow to start with however it really picked up in the second half and I could not put it down.

The world-building is so well done and creative, this alone would have made the book worth reading even if it didn’t include anything else.

I loved the characters and felt really invested in their story. The characters are well written and authentic.

This is a great introduction to the series, which gets even better in the following books.

Thanks to NetGalley and Victory Editing NetGalley Corp for providing me with this arc.

dnf, unfortunately a case of me not appropriately assessing trigger warnings. would recommend this series with caution but based on the little under 20% i read, and raving positive reviews i’ve seen from friends and mutuals, it seems to be a great start to the series!

3.5 ⭐️

This book was a very slow start & I did contemplate putting it down & trying again another time. However, having checked out other reviews I saw that if I kept going it would be worth it & I have to agree. When you hit 60% this book takes off, it's just a shame that the build up is so long.

Some people said it was like Blood & Ash, but I just didn't see that. However, I am looking forward to the next book & finding out what happens next.

This book is super similar to the first Blood and Ash book. So if that interests you, definitely check it out.

The beginning of the book was incredibly addictive, I loved it. After a bit though, it slowed down a lot and it took me a while to continue. This was in the first half of the book. The main character started to feel bland and a bit inconsistent at times. Plus, I was feeling 0 chemistry between the main characters.

I am glad to say though, the book regained strength in the second half of the story. I read it literally in one sitting. I liked the relationship and the characters and all of it absolutely hooked me in. The ending was really good and it definitely left me interested to read the next one.

The story is quite predictable, but that’s never been a problem for me since I enjoy that. If that bothers you a lot, though, keep it in mind. The other thing I want to say is that the dialogue was a bit rough at times.

I know after all that it doesn’t seem like it, but the story as a whole was something I enjoyed and like I said, I definitely was left hooked and wanting more and more of these characters.

And a very important thing: definitely check the triggerwarnings.

I'm not sure how it passed me to forget to make the review here, but I finished this series some time ago. So I'll be pasting the same review on the series. I LOVED IT. Couldn't put it down honestly. I loved Boleyn writing style and the way that she wrapped me up in her world.