DNF
But I will! I promise!

It’s a lot of world building which is obviously needed but it’s not drawing me in right now.

The writing is lovely, but it’s just not for me at the moment. I think I started it while in a reading slump and needed something shorter to pull me out of it.

I will update my GoodReads review once I have read it.

This book was so much more than I expected. I am so happy that I stumbled upon it on tiktok because it's amazing. I love seeing a strong FMC embrace her inner strength. After suffering so much trauma at the hands of her father, brother and Florian she still found her voice with a little help from some less than likely sources.

Parts of Morgan's story were so traumatizing so it is very important to pay attention to those trigger warnings. There were just the right amount of twists and turns to keep me interested without becoming too much. Cannot wait to read book 2!

A retelling of Morgon Pendragon, King Arthur, Merlin - but with more fae/fantasy. This was a new to me author.

I wanted to like this book so much. There was so much potential (with “touch her and you die” vibes and some From Blood and Ash nods) and it had bits and pieces of all the good stuff -though I feel it needed to move a bit faster (at times it felt very slow) and then as the book did finally pick up the pace I felt there were new characters and plots that needed more character development. The book is the first in a series so we're of course left with more questions than answers - and sometimes that's good but it left me a little frustrated instead of yearning for MORE.

I liked Morgan the MFC - she was empathetic and strong and kind. I liked Draven (MMC) but felt we didn't get enough character development from him. I loathed a few characters and while I get that sometimes we need the truly bad villian (not the morally grey kind) - I really disliked several characters for their cruelty.

I didn't hate the book - but I struggled at times to keep going and ended with more questions than answers. I'm round to 3 and feel hopefully the second and third book in this series tie everything together.

Thanks NetGalley and Starwater Press for an ARC book in exchange for an honest review. Release date: April 15th 2023

Not so much a retelling of the King Arthur tale as it is a reimagining and a what-if scenario.
I found the tale interesting as it was told from Morgan's perspective and the trials she has to endure in her own adventure. The King being a side character of sorts.

Overall this wasn't one of my more serious reads. I don't normally pick up books that do fairytale retellings or similar. Many are over done. But this was a good one that doesn't heap a lot of the original details onto the reader to make it feel tedious. There was a freshness to the tale with Morgan branching out on her own adventure and learning the trials of life outside the castle walls.
In this tale she's unjustly demonized rather than the normally evil witchyness in the adaptations of the legend.

The descriptions of Morgan go back to the original benevolence and protector of King Arthur as his sister. I very much appreciated the true to source relationships.

This is a great story. The world building is wonderful. I love the author’s take on this classic story. All the characters are wonderful bold and vibrant. The plot is amazingly complex with intriguing twists. The author has a gift for pulling the reader in and engaging the reader’s heart and mind. I greatly enjoyed this book and I can’t wait for the next book.

Firstly thank you so much for this book! I’ll be posting an honest review..

The storyline of this book I was so into from the moment the ‘Princess’ didn’t feel part of the family and wanted to do things on her own. To the moment they took the journey of their lifetime which could end terribly.

I actually hoped that Morgan and Kairos would be a thing straight away.. the thought of him just makes you swoon😍 definitely a character that could’ve been built up a lot more.

The chapters felt a little long and took some time to get going which was what made me take some time to read this book.

However the cliffhanger had me shook!!! I’m like will they, wont they. Is she okay?! There’s a possibility I will read the next book but I’m slightly on the fence.

If you love fairytale retellings then this might be the fantasy romance book for you. Its a new take on the Camelot story. It has all the good tropes including enemies to lovers, slow burn and spice. It is the first book in a series and I enjoyed it so much I instantly downloaded book two.

I am so happy this was the first book I read for the year! This book gave me everything a fantasy book should. It was an explosive start to what is shaping up to be an amazing series. There was romance intermixed with the fae and Camelot lore. It was perfect!

It ended on a cliffhanger so I started the 2nd book in this series immediately. Thank you Netgalley for the opportunity to review this story

I will be leaving feedback for this book in the future :)
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Queen of Roses is a dark fantasy romance with a loosely inspired King Arthur/Camelot retelling- with a Fae twist!

* SLOOOOW BURN
*ENEMIES TO LOVERS
*BANTER
*MAGIC
*FORCED PROXIMITY
*ACTION & ADVENTURE
*SPICE

The plot was definitely interesting and the world building hooked me in. I'm looking forward to more plot building in the next book. I wasn't a fan of Vesper, but he was necessary for the story line.

Get ready for an epic cliffhanger ending! I'm so glad this is a series, because I can't get enough!

I’ve never read a lanclot/author retelling before so it was quite interesting to see if from a different perspective! However, the pace of the story wasn’t my favorite. I felt like if took a while to get started on the adventures and the love interests weren’t my favorite. My favorite scene will always be the “who did this to you”, I’m a sucker for those!

I dont think I'm the target audience here. I was so intrigued by an Arthur retelling in favor of Morgan. I do like the gender role swap of Merlin and I also liked Arthur being portrayed as the bad guy. But for me this book just felt like teenage rebellion, wanting to be the one infavor instead of the outcast, sneaking off in the night, SA, and just absolutely no safeguards being used to protect her as a woman or as a princess. It seems very gilded cage awkward rebellion and the book is far too long because we bear the dead horse for hundreds of pages with the same story.

I was really intrigued by this book. An Arthur-legend retelling focused on his sister Morgan. Merlin and Lancelot are both female (Lancelot is Lanclet) and Arthur is slightly sinister. Add in a mysterious, dangerous man (Draven) and I was ready to be completely swept away.

But sadly, the pacing was off. It took far too long to send Morgan off on her quest. And then once things were starting to get good between Morgan and Draven, a new love interest was introduced and Draven was all but dropped from Morgan's thoughts. Not to mention that Morgan's powers suddenly appear and are promptly forgotten about.

There was a lot to like about the book, such as the mystery surrounding Morgan's heritage, the scheming at court, the tried and true 'who did this to you' moment, but there was a lot that could have been trimmed to make it a stronger book.

I am a total sucker for a good fantasy series, and with this first book of the series I am hooked.
I love the unique spin on the old King Arthur story, and I really enjoyed how everything was put together by the end.
The ending was a bit of a cliffhanger so I'll be starting book two ASAP.
Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for allowing me to read this ARC

Honestly I loved this!
It has all my favourite vibes (TOG/FBAA, etc)

I haven't read many retellings of the King Arthur/Camelot story, so I was pleasantly surprised by this book!
I felt transported into the world and that's exactly what I look for when I read! While I wish there was just a little more development between the two MCs, I'm assuming the slow-burn of this story explains the small lack of it. While it was a slow-burn with little spice, I still loved this story! The pace of the storyline itself was fast and always kept me on my toes!

So excited to keep reading the series!

Overall this was a 4/5 stars for me! x

As the first born, Morgan should have been queen of Camelot, but she was deemed unfit by her own father. She now lives in the shadow of her brother Arthur. With her country on the verge of going to war with its neighbour and her own freedom at stake, she is sent on a mission to retrieve Excalibur, a mythical fae weapon.

I must say, I do enjoy when old tales are revisited and I enjoyed how the author shuffled the characters. This book really sets the mood for the other books in the series. It had flaws, could have been better proofread, and there were a few predictable plot twists. Unfortunately, there is some unnecessary violence that I really don’t understand its purpose. The book ends with a cliffhanger.

It is a solid first book: I can feel how this book was used for building the world and putting the characters in place. I am eager to see what the other books will be like.

Also, there is quite an extensive list of triggers at the end of the book. Please do verify if some subjects are sensitive for you.

I do often give 5 stars because let’s be honest, if it’s good why doesn’t it deserve all the stars?? I go in with an open mind and love ARCs. This one deserves every single one of those stars though and I hope everybody gives it a chance! I just finished the second book and am about to start the third, knowing I am going to be devastated while waiting for the fourth to be released!! Fingers crossed I can be part of that ARC team because WOW! This series is now in my top 5 ever! That is truly saying something!! Great great job. Enough world building to where I feel like I’m getting a story and not just too much smut. Also not so much building that I feel not encouraged to want to finish it. I could not put this series down! There have been twist and turns that I did not see coming which for me I usually can guess the plot pretty well so this kept me on the edge of my seat. One of my not so favorite things is when the main characters always become lovers to enemies and circle over and over again before we get our HEA, but I know that’s what makes a good book we’ve got to have some storyline. So 5 stars from me all the way!!!! 👏🏼

My rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Spice level: 🌶️🌶️

Read if you like:
▫️Arthurian retelling
▫️fae and magic
▫️found family
▫️reluctant allies
▫️court politics

Thanks to NetGalley, Starwater Press, and Briar Boleyn for the ARC!

I read this book in a day and a half. I am fully obsessed. I love books about fae, and I love the King Arthur legend, but this flips it on its head by making Arthur the bad guy! It was perfect.

If you want action-packed romantasy with twists and turns, betrayals, and an epic quest, then this is your next read. It has basically everything you could want: forced proximity, slow burn, enemies to lovers, and a surprise ending that I did not see coming.

Kairos Draven is my new book boyfriend. He is broody, overprotective, and gives hardcore “touch her and 💀” vibes. At one point, he literally says “Who did this to you?”. He is 🔥🔥🔥

In summary: I loved every second of it. I gobbled it up and wanted more right away! On to book 2!

This book was awesome! Fast paced and had me hooked from the very beginning! I can’t wait to read more books by Briar Boleyn! So good!

Thank you for this ARC!!!

I remember being obsessed with Arthurian stories back in high school and watching Merlin.
So as soon as I read it was a retelling retold as Morgan being the Heroine I was sold.

Morgan is the elder sister to her 1/2 brother Arthur, who is the King of Camelot, she is sent on a dangerous quest to find Excalibur for him. On this journey she discovers truths about you her family and herself.

The ending left me wanting to know what’s next and glad I can pick the next book up immediately to continue.