The author provides a very cryptic Prologue (which is tugging at something in the back of my brain) and then jumps into the first chapter from Draven’s point of view. I was not expecting the POV to change, and normally I’m not a big fan of it. However, I understand the purpose since the FMC and MMC are apart (I also didn’t mind because I really like Draven). I LIVED for the Morgan and Draven interactions! They were just so dreamy and not to mention HOT! I’m so glad that Morgan came to her senses, and it was so cute seeing their relationship really grow into mutual trust, respect, and adoration. It is my favorite part of the whole series besides badass characters and exmoors!

In contrast to the fast pace of Court of Claws, the pace slows down in Empress of Fae as the stakes and danger rise to an all-time high at the Rose Court of Camelot. The reader gets a lot of new information that helps fit more pieces into a very complex puzzle. Of course, there are still some very big mysteries that I am chomping at the bit to solve (especially with the customary cliffhanger). I can’t wait to see what happens next in Knight of the Goddess and how it all ends *cries internally*!

This series is compelling, and this book will make you want more and more. Morgan and Draven are a strong beautiful couple. Like relationship goals people!!! I adore this book series and cannot wait for the next book even if I have to wait!

Thank you to Briar Boleyn, Victory Editing, and NetGalley for the opportunity to read and review Empress of Fae (Blood of a Fae, Book 3).

SUMMARY: Morgan returns to her people, leaving the Prince of Claws and the other Siabra fae behind. She intends to spy on Arthur under the pretense of being captured. Meanwhile, across the ocean, Kairos Draven finds his resolve and intends to find his bonded and stand by her side. Reminder to check the content warnings!

REVIEW: Empress of Fae pulls no punches in raising the stakes. Morgan’s guilt is palpable as we witness the current state of Pendrath through her eyes. This book feels more somber than its predecessors, mostly because of the horror show Arthur is running and partially due to Morgan and Draven being separated. Empress of Fae is the part of the series that includes “separate the love interests, so the FMC realizes she’s strong and doesn’t have to take crap from anyone,” and I usually find this part of a romantic fantasy series so hard to get through, but I loved how the author used shared dreams between the main characters as a way to still have them interact and give us some steamy scenes.

The kingdom has a darkness shrouding it, but now so does Morgan. She is definitely not the same woman who left Pendrath all those months ago, and we see that, especially in her interactions with Fenyx. Morgan is now more calculated, cunning, and is no one’s victim. I also hope everyone hates Fenyx as much as I do.

I missed Draven’s inner circle because they brought levity to the series. Hawl briefly appears, and we do get a tiny bit of exmoor action with Sunstrike and Nightclaw, but this book was meant to be about Morgan and her own personal growth. I appreciated the loose comparison between Lancelot’s fury towards Morgan and Morgan’s own anger towards Draven. In each case, it feels like a betrayal was committed, but in actuality, the circumstances were just incredibly dire, and everyone did the best they could. I really enjoyed Morgan and Draven repairing their relationship, because I know they’re going to need to be as strong as possible for what is to come in the next book.

This book is part of a series, and they definitely need to be read in order.

Overall, I’d give Empress of Fae ⅘ stars. I think it will appeal to readers who enjoyed A Court of Wings and Ruin, especially in regard to following a badass heroine returning alone to a place where she once felt weak and helpless in order to support a greater mission.

Thank you NetGalley for this ARC of Empress of Fae! I’m rating this book 3 stars, but felt it was closer to 2.5. It was a bit of a disappointment after the past two books which both were 4 stars for me.

I think the problem is that this book felt like a filler and until almost the end I thought this was a trilogy. The more concerning issue is that sadly the plot is a mash up of two great ideas, that together don’t work well.

In the first book we saw Camelot, and Morgan coming into her powers, exploring the world for the first time. I loved this mix of Britannic mythology and fantasy.

Then in the second book we are thrust into a more typical fae romantasy, which really grew on me. I loved the Sabria court, inside a volcano, how cool! Competitions, Morgan discovering her powers, it’s all awesome.

But then… book three is neither of these stories. She goes back to Camelot but she’s not the same person and she doesn’t continue to grow, she doesn’t practice her magic and even though she is Empress, she doesn’t act like one. Draven and Kaye aren’t there and it’s just kind of boring. She’s spying and doesn’t ever really have a goal. The storyline on her real family doesn’t really move forward until the end but we don’t even find out much.

Overall I think the author had two concepts for two great series, and they just didn’t marry very well. Not sure I’ll read the next but who knows!

Thank you NetGalley, Starwater Press and Briar Boleyn the the e-ARC of this book!

Another great book in the Blood of a Fae series but....this book was STRESSFUL. Empress of Fae sees Morgan back in Camelot trying to find her brother Kaye without Arthur finding out where she's been or her true intentions. Morgan has grown so much since the first book and I loved where her character was at in Empress of Fey. The book was well paced and the last third was action packed and I couldn't put it down. I'm so happy Morgan and Draven are reunited and can't wait to see what comes next.

Thank you to Netgalley, the author and the publisher for the electronic copy to read and review.

This is book 3 in the Blood Of Fae series by Briar Boleyn.

If you've read the first two then you are lucky to be able to now read even more from Morgan and Draven. I really enjoyed this installment. I loved the dual POVs and loved hearing directly from Draven which only solidified my thoughts about him as our MMC. He will literally move heaven and earth for Morgan.

I really enjoyed seeing Morgan and how she has grown in this series. For someone who has been through so much it's great seeing her progress as a person and as a Fae. She really seemed to except her mating with Draven in this book.

Again I don't want to give anything away but this is another edge of the seat read, fully immersive and so many twists and turns I didn't see coming.

Please add this series to your TBR immediately. Also highly grateful there was no huge cliffhanger this time as book 4 isn't out yet.

This series is brilliant! The third book is well developed, I love the way you get to hear Morgan and Draven's point of view. The dream sequences work so well and there are some great twists. I love the Fae characters, what an imagination.
Can't wait for the next book to see where it takes us.

Briar Boleyn does it again!!! Absolutely obsessed with this whole series. The suspense, the plot twists, the spice in this book *chefs kiss*! The next book cannot come fast enough!!!!

The peace that I felt reading this and it not ending on a cliff hanger :) :) :) I loved the dream sequences and that the current characters were developed more versus adding on a ton of new ones to create length or plot movement. This is a solid fantasy in the vein of ACOTAR. Nothing will be truly surprising but the action and resolution are great. The power and myth building are strong enough in this series that I'm curious how this will end. Overall, I think this is a solid 3.5/4 star fantasy read. The romance is great but there's so much more to this series than the spice. Can't wait for the next book!

While the first half of the book was a bit slow for me, I found that it really picked up in the second half, especially when Book 2 began. The pacing became more engaging, and I was immediately drawn into the story.

One aspect that I particularly enjoyed was the intimate moments between Draven and Morgan. These scenes allowed me to truly understand who they are as individuals and the depth of their connection. It was refreshing to see Draven support Morgan without overshadowing her, showcasing their strong bond.

The ending of the book didn't leave me on a true cliffhanger, but it definitely left me wanting more. I'm eagerly anticipating the finale of this series because I have grown so attached to these characters. They have become dear to my heart, and I can't wait to see how their journey concludes.

Overall, despite a slower start, this book won me over with its character development and compelling relationships. The ending left me craving more, and I am eagerly looking forward to the final installment in this series.

Thank you NetGalley and Victory Editing NetGalley Co-op for this eCopy to review

Wow what a 3rd instalment. I loved how we get multiple points of view they really give the series a greater sense of depth as you get to understand each character's point of view as well as find out what they are doing

There is lots of intrigue in this novel, who can be trusted? Who can be counted on to help? Who will defeat Arthur? Is there someone else pulling the strings?

Morgan and Draven's relationship deepened and leads to some spectacular scenes

Fenyx is another despicable person, I would have loved to find out his backstory

I absolutely cannot wait for book 4!

Empress of Fae by B.Boleyn is book three in the series. I strongly recommend to read the books in order. The previous books are Court of Claws and Queen of Roses.
Set in a reverse Camelot world where Fae are strongly disliked, where Merlin and some knights are female, yes I kid you not.
Morgan, Draven, Kaye and Arthur's story continues. I liked the story and the writing is great, I loved how Morgan forms relationships with other characters.
An incedible read and I can't wait for more.

The third book in the series was so much better than the second.

While Morgan returned to Camelot, Draven is still in charge of the court she left. This book was done in dual pov and it was a great choice. We got to see more of our beloved characters Morgan left behind but also everything happening in Camelot was well done. Arthur has another best buddy who is very cruel and doesn’t care for anyone. We finally get to know more about what was happening with Kaye and also with a few characters we missed since book one. While I still think most of this book is predictable, there was an event at the end of the book that was surprising, because I never knew about this part of the legend. The author also talked about in in the author’s note.
The book shows a part of how cruel war is and how senseless it is.

I think Morgan grows a bit more sure of herself in this one and is way better at standing up for herself. Chapter 16 had such a sweet quote that I marked as one of my favourites, it really shows how much the relationship between Morgan and Draven has developed.

I didn’t like the reveal of the power at the end, because it also feels like a play into what is popular. Each their own I guess.

I enjoyed this so much and I read bits every time I could during a full and stressful week. I’m looking forward to book 4 and the continuation of this story, I really want to learn more about the three artifacts (and hopefully the reversement of that one curse we know off since book one).

Thanks to netgalley for providing this arc.

An Arthurian legend retelling but make it fae…

Briar Boleyn continue to deliver with her Blood of Fae series with its third book Empress of Fae. I had myself convinced that this series was trilogy but I was pleasantly surprised on finishing this book to find out there will be a fourth! Empress of Fae takes off immediately from the conclusion of Court of Claws, with newly crowned Empress of the Court of Umbral Flames Morgan finds herself back in Camelot, which is very different to how she left it prior to her mission to get Excalibur.

Empress of Fae switches between Draven and Morgan’s POV, which is especially helpful since they are apart for most of the book (completely Morgan’s fault btw). I did appreciate that Morgan forgave our boy Draven quite quickly, I didn’t know if my heart could handle her hating him again. Due to the distance between them, I was also concerned we wouldn’t get to see a lot of interaction between these two but Briar came through with the goods and had them meeting through their “dream walking” abilities. One of my only gripes with these too was the overuse of the word “mate”, we get it guys, your mates haha, but otherwise I’m obsessed with these two.

There is a bit of spice in this book, but not as much as the previous book (considering these two are apart for most of the book apart from dream walking, this didn’t surprise me). This doesn’t effect the story or the characters relationship at all, in fact I think that it was perfect as it left more time for the plot and world building.

Again I found myself absolutely adoring the side characters in this book, with many returning (Merlin, Lancelet and Hawl) and several new characters (Guinevere and Orcades-I’m counting her because we get to know her character in this book) that all add so much more depth to the story. My only gripe with the side characters is Javer, wtf happened to him for most of the book? Will we ever find out? When he followed Morgan through the portal to Camelot I thought he was going to be a much bigger character in Empress of Fae, but he disappears for most of the book, only to turn up exactly when needed? I need to know where he was hiding this whole time! Also Briar you did our girl Orcades so dirty and I don’t know if I can forgive you for that (just kidding I think that what happened with Orcades was gut wrenching but completely necessary for the plot and I will forgive you.. Eventually).

Overall a great addition to the Blood of Fae series, I’m excited to see where Briar takes us in the next book!

Thank you to NetGalley and Briar Boleyn for providing me with an eARC of Empress of Fae in return for my honest opinion.

4.5 stars!!

This book was a beautifully painful read, . I know this is a dark romantasy book, but the darkness here was especially hard to get through so make sure you check the trigger warnings before reading!

One incredible change from the previous books to this one was the introduction of other POVs throughout the story. So, since we are picking up right where we left off with Morgan back in Pendrath and Draven still in Myntra, it is only logical (and delightful) that the book is split between their POVs as they work on their respective missions: Morgan's to infiltrate Arthur's court as a spy and rescue her friends and Draven's to get his butt back to his wife.

The elements of this story that really worked for me were the bond connection and how that all fleshed out, the introduction of the round table and all those new/old characters that sat around it, and the strengthening power in Morgan. Morgan especially has grown so much from the beginning to now and it is wonderful to see how much she still is able to care and fight for the things that really matter, and to be there for others even when they aren't sure they want her there at the time!!

Thanks to Briar Boleyn and NetGalley for the chance to read this book! I will certainly be counting down the days until the next book in the series comes out (and hope to read an ARC again!!)

Thank you NetGalley for the ARC. As this is the third book in the series, I have to thank the author that each book ended as they should. No cliffhangers, no frustrations. Each book was headed towards its own destination but still kept their continuity.
In this installment, Morgan and Draven are separated, but Morgan is more settled in terms of her feelings and decisions. She is back at Pendrath, which has become a country of chaos. Arthur is more than evil, ruling with brutality and now is married and expecting an heir soon. Morgan is pushed back to the castle and another wicked suitor is introduced, Fenyx, who is crueler but also smarter than Florian.
She is separated from Draven but this is rather for their benefit, since they can step back and weigh their actions in retrospect. In their dreams, they get united. We can say that at the last chapters they are actually together, but in their dreams, they have managed their issues quite well.
I liked how things turned out in the end, the introduction of the real evil, Morgan’s father and how they have to move forward, to another war.
Since I have read the first two books a few months ago, I had to turn back to them at first, to feel tuned to the things going on, I can say that I will read the books in series after they are out completely, I believe this continuity will make the effect pf the story more settled. Still, thanks Briar Boleyn for how your books end.. I definitely loved the story and the way you have written them, easy but not simple, flowing and not confusing..

I have enjoyed this series overall and love the plotline, but this last book kinda lost me. The pacing felt off in some parts and there were some things not explained as well. Maybe that had to do with all the characters that we hadn't seen from the first book? Either way, I didn't feel as invested in this one than I did with the second book in the series.

However, I still loved Draven and Morgan and the development of their relationship.

Thank you to NetGalley for the eARC of Empress of Fae by Briar Boleyn.

I LOVE THIS SERIES.

Another fantastic installment of Blood of a Fae. This series is one for the romantasy lovers. If you're reading Mass or Armentrout, start reading Briar Boleyn.

Now I have to wait until March for book 4!! 😭

This is the 3rd book in the series and you must read the first two. I really love the authors writing style. It keeps you engaged and looking forward to what happens next. Unfortunately, this book fell a little flat for me compared to the first two. Definitely still worth the read and I’ll for sure be checking out the 4th book.

Morgan (the FMC) finds herself back in Camelot and things have gotten *grim*.

Her brother, King Arthur, has let the place go to sh*t as he wages war on multiple fronts at the cost of his subjects lives. And on top of everything else, Morgan has been voluntold to run back to brother-dear and spy for the rebellion. If only she had just accepted that pesky, yet sexy, sexy mating bond.....

But someone who *has* accepted the bond, is Draven (the MMC), and he's taking to the seas and skies to find his boo.

In a multi-book series, authors often split up their MCs at some point which Boleyn has done here as well. However, she has them meeting up in a romantic little dream world Morgan and Draven have cooked up for themselves. Not only is it the perfect place to get down and dirty (there's a hot spring for that), but to also have long, informative chats to update each other on the goings-on. I stan a communicative couple!

🌶️🌶️🌶️/5

✨ He fell first ❤️
✨ Dual POVs
✨ Slow burn romance
✨ Bonded mates 💞
✨ Found family
✨ Fae magic

The book ends very sweetly, but a storm's brewin' and villains are coming out of the woodwork. Book 4 will be released in 2024.

* Thank you to NetGalley for my eARC in exchange for my honest review *