This was sooo good and I really loved where the story went. I am so impressed by this fantasy romance series and I'm not sure why more people aren't talking about it. It has magical creatures, fairies, and steamy romance. It's also written very well. It did suffer a little from second book syndrome for me but otherwise, I thought it was a great read.

This is the second installment in the Sacred Stones series and I highly recommend you read A Dawn of Onyx first for the full experience of the world, characters, and plot.

A journey filled with pirates, kingdoms, secrets, treasure, and witchcraft will bring them to their most difficult task yet, will they be able to save each other before time runs out? .The treasure they seek will unravel them both as they navigate their feelings in a slow burn that is scorchin hot. Will Kane and Arwen survive despite their sacrifices? Can they find a way to destroy the one person who could doesn't care if they live or die?

Discover a world that is colorful, captivating, and full of zing in this fantasy that takes the reader on a journey leaving you on the edge of your seat until the very last page. Are you ready for the adventure of a lifetime? It's time to find out if Arwen and Kane can save a kingdom before time runs out.



..

Our story picks up with Arwen on a ship sailing for Citrine. After a twist of betrayal and lies at the end of book 1 Arwen and Kane must find their way back to each other, but is it worth it? Prepare yourself for cities under the sea, jungles, magical caves that transform, hidden treasure, pirates, a prison island, and magical beasts.
Ugh! I was ready for this second installment in this trilogy as soon as I finished the first! I was so happy with the progression of this story! All the different landscapes and kingdoms we were able to explore along with the people and beasts. I loved how our slow burn romance progressed, but I won’t ruin this review with spoilers, you will have to see for yourself!

If my five stars did not say enough, I loved this book. Read the trilogy….do it.

I don’t even know where to begin, and quite frankly, there’s not a lot I can say here that isn’t super spoilery if you haven’t already ready A Dawn of Onyx, but—holy shit.

This world, despite the fact that I am absolutely REELING from that ending, is SO FUN. I loved being able to travel to different kingdoms with the gang, I loved the quest and adventure aspect, and I love everything about Golden’s writing. It’s so easy to get wholly sucked into this world with these characters. I never wanted to leave!

On top of the fantasy, the romance was freaking chef’s kiss. Adding Kane’s POV gave everything so much more depth, and I loved seeing how down bad he was for Arwen. King Kane Ravenwood is a national treasure that should be protected at all costs.

I need book three IMMEDIATELY.

Thank you, NetGalley and Kate Golden, for allowing me to be an ARC reader for this book!

I adored A Dawn of Onyx and was so excited for this one. Good news! It did NOT disappoint! This book was everything I wanted it to be and more.

Action-packed, dual POV and plenty of steamy scenes kept this interesting and made it impossible to put down. I also appreciate any author who can create a solid, unique magic system and takes time for world-building!

That ending, though, while making us wait till October for book three!? The Audacity!

Kate Golden has just became my insta-buy author. My love for Arwen and Kane grew so much in this book. The tension is still so thick from the first book, which I love because I hate an enemies to lovers where they’re already besties in the first book. This was so well written and I ate up the pages like it was the last piece of ravioli (read: I love ravioli more than life) and I NEED THE THIRD BOOK ASAP!! This was easily one of the best books I have read this year, and easily a five stars!!

This was such a great follow up to A Dawn of Onyx and I liked that it picked up right where book one ended. This book was fast paced, action packed, and I really liked that we got to see more of this world because I find it so interesting. There was a lot of character development in this book not only with the main characters but also with the side characters and I enjoyed seeing Kane and Arwen’s relationship progress. I was not expecting it to end the way it did and I was shocked and can’t wait for book 3 to come out because I need to know what happens next. Thank you so much Netgalley and Berkley for the ARC.

I just absolutely love this series so much. That ending though!?? I need book 3 in my hands right this second!

Kate Golden does a phenomenal job of immersing the reader in the world she's created. This book had everything, and Arwens struggle with her emotions and situation and over coming it was everything.

4⭐️ Thank you Berkeley Romance for an e-ARC!
I enjoyed the first book in this series overall, but I think this was a great follow-up. At the very beginning I was a bit confused since it had been a while after finishing the first book, but once I remembered I became immersed in the story.

I like Arwen and Kane and their romance-I was rooting for them to get together and I enjoyed seeing their moments!

The fantasy aspects weren’t super hard to understand and the concept of the world-building and the kingdoms with different stones is cool!

I binged a good portion of this in a short time! I won’t say what happens, but THAT ENDING. reading I was already looking forward to the third book but now I’m especially excited for its release! All in all, this was a solid sequel, and I’ve enjoyed reading this series so far!

This was beautiful. I absolutely love how the story is unfolding, and the ending was GUT WRENCHING. I guessed what would happen maybe 2 pages before but then second guessed myself like “No there’s no way she’d do that!” WELL SHE DID THAT.

I can’t wait for the third book. I recommend this for anyone that is a fan of magic, fantasy, and broody male characters. Also if you want to have your heart ripped out and stepped on. ❤️

A sophomore success that promises an exciting book 3 in the series!

It is SO rewarding to see an author refine their craft and improve and this was so evident to me in this book. I loved A Dawn of Onyx, but it was so fun to see the improvements in Golden's writing and character/plot development.

I appreciated getting to see calm (and not-calm) moments between Kane and Arwen where their chemistry was able to shine through and I LOVED getting to see Arwen step into her own power and confidence. She has come a long way. And that ending definitely has me counting the days until book 3!

A Promise of Peridot is an exciting continuation of The Sacred Stones series that raises the stakes in every way. More passion, more magic, more action. You'll be on the edge of your seat waiting to see what happens next.

Thank you to Kate Golden and Berkley Publishing group for an ARC copy of this book for an unbiased review

A Dawn of Onyx was one of the first books I read in 2023, and I was excited to start a new romantasy series that showed such potential. It probably would have behooved me to re-read A Dawn of Onyx before A Promise of Peridot, but ah well. Arwen and Kane continue to be excellent characters. The spice is spicing in this book. The side characters are so good and well fleshed out, and the twist and turns were great! I'm so excited to read the next book, and I really wish more people knew about this series. Fourth Wing who?

I have been waiting for this second book since reading A Dawn of Onyx. I really enjoyed the characters and the battle between good and evil. Plus, who doesn't love a tall handsome fae who wields shadows? I was excited to pick back up in book two. I really enjoyed A Promise of Peridot overall. All of the side characters have my heart. I found the will-they-won't-they of the two main characters kind of meh. I also thought there was maybe too much in the book? Every time we were taken to a brand new part of the world, the characters quickly left. I would have like to sit in a few of those adventures a little longer. I did NOT like the plot twist at the end mostly because I don't like the trope it's headed toward. I really hope this doesn't play out in book three. Gross.

Firstly- thank you NetGalley & Berkley Publishing for the ARC copy of A Promise of Peridot ✨

HOLY MOLY. What a ride this book was. Here is a series of my face from beginning to end:
😞😏🫨😬🫣😱😬🥵🧐🫣🫣😳😧😮😬

Kate Golden truly knows how to leave you craving more at the end of a book. My jaw was on the floor. I may have even said “WHAT?!” out loud with my husband and toddler fast asleep next to me.

Shadow daddy Kane. 🖤
This man had me saying “SIR” out loud several times.
While he’s full of danger and can 💀 without moving a muscle, he’s really just a cinnamon roll of a guy.

Our girl, Arwen, is going THROUGH it. I personally loved her growth through this story. I’m nervous for her in this next book, however.. 🫣

This message is for Kate: I need more of Mari & Griffin. Like a novella. It’s a NEED.

Dawn of Onyx & A Promise of Peridot are truly so original and like a breath of fresh air in the romantasy genre. I seriously can’t wait for book 3, A Reign of Rose! 🥀

❗️A Promise of Peridot is available April 11, 2024!

An enjoyable continuation to a pretty standard romantasy series

Kate Golden's sequel to A Dawn of Onyx delivers on promises of slow burn romance, groveling morally grey men, a complex political landscape, and a powerful FMC accepting her fate in a prophecy meant to be her doom. Arwen's struggle to come to terms with both Kane's betrayal and her fate are heartbreaking (a few tears were shed) and very well done. I love a two POV book, especially since Kane knows so much more about the world than Arwen and I loved being in his head (except when he was monologuing about being a monster or making comments about how petite Arwen is). The plot is fast paced, with nearly non-stop action, twists, and turns. The characters are complex and relatable, but I NEEDED more Mari and Griffin!

I bounced between 3 and 4 stars for a while, and decided that since I read the book in 2 sittings, it'd get 4 stars.
First off, I was LOST at the beginning. I ARC read the first book so it may have been that it was just too long ago for me to remember all characters, but I was overwhelmed by the onslaught of names and if they didn't make enough of an impact for me to remember even their names...well...
Second, the world building felt a bit simply for an adult fantasy book. I don't think the religion with the sacred stones is super clear or actually important (other than to replace "god" with "stones" in curses)
Third, I am not a fan of the epilogue because it kind of ruined the cliffhanger ending and it gave me the ick in terms of where book 3 might go.

I will definitely still read book 3 when it comes out, as well as anything else Golden publishes.

I love this! It was such a good read. The tension, the romance, the friends. The ending was so shocking and I’m excited for the final book. I felt like the pacing of this book was perfect.

First, I want to say thank you to the publisher for sending me an ARC. I read A Dawn of Onyx a few months ago and was so excited to receive the second book of this series! Second, ummm…. The cliffhanger?! How am I supposed to wait months for the next one?!

Ratings:
Overall Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ 4.5/5
Writing: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ 4/5
Plot: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ 5/5
Characters: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ 5/5
Romance: 🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹 4.5/5
Spice: 🔥🔥🔥🔥 3.5/5

What to Expect:
✓ Dual POV (my fav)
✓ Lots and lots of pining and angst, particularly from the men
✓ Great world building/exploration of new kingdoms
✓ Slow burn romance
✓ Lots of action throughout
✓ Fun secondary character dynamics

Thoughts:
Ugh I just am loving this series. And I love Kane, Arwen, Mari, Griffin, and everyone. In this book, we get way more world building which I loved. All of the new monsters, new magic, and traveling around to all of the other kingdoms really made the story fast paced and enjoyable, and I never really felt like the story was lagging.

Where this book really shined for me was the characters. I really loved the friendships and relationships throughout, especially Mari and Griffin. Bringing in Fedric also added an entertaining dynamic for angsty sad boy Kane. Arwen did a lot of necessary growing throughout this book, and of course the romance between her and Kane is swoon worthy.

The ending was an absolute wild ride and certainly made me NEED to read the third, which luckily is showing as coming out in the fall ♥️

Unfortunately, though I enjoyed parts of it, this book series isn't for me. Although I did enjoy the overall plot, the MCs just don't connect for me and the tropes fell too obvious in this series.

This was a great follow up to book 1, I loved the romantic tension, and the side characters were so great! Can't wait to finish the trilogy!!

stronger than the previous book in the series. strong work! i quite enjoyed it. thanks for the arc, would recommend quite a bit