I really want to like this book, I like the first few chapters but after that it wasn't catching my attention anymore. I'm sure there are some people that love a more slow burn type books but it just wasn't for me.

Thank you for the opportunity to read this arc for an honest review!

First I would like to thank netgally for this e Arc


So this story follows Layla Bathory she is the last royal of her bloodline after her parents are murdered. For years, she's sought solace in seeking answers, avenging their deaths, and secretly protecting the vulnerable.
Following a violent incident, she became known as the Blood Queen.

I love Layla's character development throughout the book. After the tragic deaths of her parents, she was completely lost and turns to revenge. As truths come to light, she slowly begins to embrace her role as the true queen.
Rune is a mysterious, possessive, morally grey MMC. They challenge each other and
compliment each other so well - I'm dying to see what happens next with their story!

Blood Queen is a binge worthy read with a staby
FMC, sizzling chemistry, and exciting storyline. I can't wait for Layla to lay waste to her enemies in the next book!!!!

My Goodreads review: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/5990913238

I enjoyed this book a lot and it kept me wanting to go back and read the entire time. I loved the plot twists and the characters. The writing style was done well and easy to follow and keep the reader interested.

I’m definitely looking forward and ready for the next book!!

I am a fantasy girly pop. Make it a royal fantasy and you can bet I’ll read it. This one was fun but the pacing was a bit too sporadic for me. Some parts you were just breezing over something interesting and others less engaging were drawn out.

The instant love vibe is really what knocked my review down some. Now if you are into instant love trope then this will probably rate a lot higher for you!

Thank you net galley for the ARC of this!

⭐⭐⭐⭐
🌶️🌶️.5

⚔️Arranged Marriage
🩸Magical Powers
⚔️Royal Families
🩸Possessive MMC
⚔️Strong, Independent FMC
🩸Mystery

This.BOOK.
This book was a fun, enticing, quick, entertaining read. It's not one that has a huge amount of world building or complex political systems. It is simple but it still has everything I love about a Fantasy Romance.
If you are looking for Epic Fantasy stories that include chapters upon chapters of world building and explanation, this is not for you.
This story is one that has intrigue without the exhausting and sometimes boring aspects of a much longer more adventure filled fantasy.

Caitlin has done an amazing job with the relationship between Rune and Layla. There is a lot of push and pull between the two throughout but it is never overdone. The way Rune seems like he would burn entire continents down for someone he cares about is 🔥.
I also really enjoyed the mystery aspect of the story regarding the murders of Layla's parents. Even though I could tell where the story was going, it didn't make it any less enjoyable when the climax came.

And to end it on a CLIFFHANGER?! I am just beside myself...
I can't wait for the second book!

I loved this book. It was a little slow at the beginning and the ending seemed rather abrupt but it was still great. I did find myself getting annoyed with Layla and her inability to see what was happening, once she didn’t kill Val. But other then that I definitely enjoyed this book and look forward to book two.

TLDR Review: Great book! Fantasy world-building and character development are a little weak, but I still enjoyed the read.

Spoiler-Free Review:

Blood Queen is a solid choice if you are looking for a fresh read. The beginning was a little slow, but as soon the random man from the bar said “I don’t want you frightened. I simply want you to submit”, I was hooked. This book is full of constant surprises (mostly logical, some not) and the characters are good. While I wish that there was a little more character development and some better plot clarification in some areas, I still definitely enjoyed the book. I recommend this read!

It’s a fun book to read and I really

Review with Spoilers:

While I wasn’t at all surprised that Layla’s one-night stand turned out to be the groom of her arranged marriage (the book description hinted at that), I never expected to like him as much as I did. In some ways, I like him better than the main character. I also wanted to see more spice between him and Layla. Also, the fact that her advisor turns out to be the bad guy was clear to me very quickly, but it took a long time before Layla discovered that, and even longer time before she does anything about it.

Again, this book isn’t perfect. It has some weak areas that could have been made better, but that doesn’t mean the book is bad. I really enjoyed the book and I highly recommend it. The ending of the book is unclear about whether or not there will be a sequel, but I will definitely read it if it comes out.

Wow, what a ride! This was one of those books that the cover was calling my name and then the description contained one of my fav trope (arranged marriage/secret identity) that I was like BET, lol it totally sealed the deal for me.

While this was my first time diving into this author's work, I was immediately captivated by their writing style. Admittedly, the chapters were a tad longer than my usual preference, but the narrative's fast pace and lack of mundane slice-of-life moments created a relentless cascade of events. The storyline may have leaned towards predictability, but, personally, in the realm of fantasy, I often find continuous twists a bit overwhelming. So, it was a welcome change to unwind and let the plot unfold without constant war between my heart and brain. Nonetheless, the romance between the MMC and FMC was AGHHH-mazing. Their initial connection was strong, followed by a reality check that led to a relentless enemies-to-lovers scenario (more of a "hate you but not really" vibe). I couldn't get enough of it!

The plot, though simple and straightforward, was enjoyable. Layla, the main character, stood out as a fierce warrior. I appreciated how the author portrayed her as stubborn and wise, breaking away from the quieter female leads often found in fantasy. This one's a recommendation for those who crave a strong, independent female protagonist. I'm eagerly anticipating the second book!

Big thanks to Netgalley and Victory Editing for providing me with an ARC copy to share my honest opinion!

Tropes:

-Enemies to Lovers
-Arranged Marriage
-Secret Identity
-Magical Powers
-Witty Banter
-Royal Families
-One Bed
-Possessive MMC

Spicy Level: 🔥🌶️ 2.5 chili peppers

I really enjoyed this book. The writing style was nice and I liked the characters. Layla undergoes a compelling transformation in the narrative, grappling with loss and vengeance after her parents' tragic demise. As hidden truths emerge, she gradually embraces her destiny as the true queen.
Rune, a enigmatic and morally ambiguous male lead, adds an intriguing dynamic to the story. The interplay between Layla and Rune, their challenges and complements, leaves me eagerly anticipating the next chapters of their tale. The witty and entertaining personalities of Keir and Betsy, their bonded animal soulmates, provide delightful moments. I'm eagerly anticipating more of their presence in the upcoming installment.
Blood Queen is a great read, featuring a resilient female lead, scintillating chemistry, and an enthralling storyline. I'm anxiously looking forward to the next book.

You know how you start a book and you know you are not going to like it? Yep that happened to me with this book. When I first saw the premise of this book on one of the Facebook groups I was very interested as it got all of my favourite tropes. However once I started reading the book it didn't matter anymore as the characters were not likeable and the writing put me off.

Devoured this book!!!!! Can book 2 please come out now?

Layla starts off a bit naive and not dealing with what’s right in front of her, it was good reading her slowly become strong, independent from certain characters and badass AND figure out what we could as readers.

Rune was as morally grey as you can get them with a sprinkle of unhinged behaviour which sometimes was a bit like surely not?!?!? 🤣

Also can’t forget the amazingly snarky Keir.

Fast paced with Lots of twists and turns, solid spice and slow burn romance which keeps you on your toes but some of the twists were obvious due to lots of foreshadowing.

Lacked a bit of world building which I wanted more of, it was hard to fully follow the different kingdoms being mentioned- however this is likely me being greedy as I did love this book!

If you want to binge something, pick this book up 🩸🖤

**copy of the book received by NetGalley, opinions are my own**

ARC Review

Okay first of all, the cliff hanger at the end of this work was just beyond cruel and had me pondering like at 1am 😂

However, I loved Layla, she was the definition of an independent woman in this book who graciously allowed a man to tag along. This fantasy work has magic, and world building but thankfully without the heavy confusion of new magic systems, races, tiers, and more that is known to accompany fantasy works.

Unraveling the character of Layla as she strives to take over her kingdom while navigating the relationships around her made for an engrossing read which I highly recommend.

4⭐️ from me easily!

Noooooo no no no no it can't end like that!!! I need Book 2 right now!

This book was so good!! I am fully invested in this story. Layla was such an amazing FMC. She was strong, a bit dark, and didn't take sh** from anyone.

The MMC, Rune, starts off strong and dominant, but quickly becomes Layla's follower almost, trailing her around and doing what she says. The occasional dirty talk was good, but a smidge more spice would have been good to back it up.

I cannot wait for the next book!

I…….. how do I even begin with this book?

Okay let’s start with a thank you to NetGalley and Victory Editing to allowing me to read a copy for review. I really appreciate it.

………I hate the ending. Is this a standalone??? I will be so upset if it is. Im still here just wondering what even just happened????

Okay let’s start off with it being 3.5 stars for me. It was kind of slow, and it was near the end that it really started to pick up. The story is basically about a royal who became queen after her parents passed away, and she kinda got a bit on the aggressive side for those who treated their children badly, so she became known as the blood queen.

I thought it was a little more on the predictable side, but I didn’t see the twists in the end happening. Like. Brandt??? Another royal? Did not see coming. I knew he was the bad guy, but I couldn’t predict to what extent.

The spicy scenes were fun, I’m not much of a spice reader so there were some scenes I skimmed over because i just wasn’t up to reading them. I think this might be my first spicy fantasy, so I really don’t know what a good spicy scene is supposed to look like.

I don’t know if this counts as high fantasy, but it wasn’t too intimidating as a read. I do want to build up to reading high fantasy books though.

All in all, I’m glad I got to read this book, it was a worthwhile read and I really really really hope the author publishes a book stating what happens next because I am not happy with that ending.

I really like the premise of this book, but I felt that it fell a bit flat for me. I didn’t really click with the writing style, but I enjoyed the characters and the dialogue. I really wanted to enjoy this but I think it just wasn’t for me in the end.

Blood Queen by Caitlin Denman was not for me. I DNF'd at 60% and even that was a struggle to get through.

Layla's parents died 5 years ago, murdered in their beds. No one knows how it happened and Layla has been plagued ever since, refusing to take on full responsibility of the throne. Instead her parent's advisor, Brandt, helps Layla run her kingdom, while she takes care of threats behind the scenes. How does she take care of them? Murder, of course. The one her citizens saw, spur of the moment to save a girl, is the one she is known for, giving her the title of Blood Queen. A title she hates, despite her extracurriculars.

Layla is set to meet her betrothed, a prince from a nearby kingdom. She needs one night of fun first, one free from her responsibility. Too bad that was a huge mistake, one her trusty soul shard, a crow who carries a piece of her with him, warned her against. Now, Layla must rescue her kingdom from a drug that's taken over, get to know her future husband, and discover that which was hidden under her own nose.

Two words accurately describe this book for me: repetitive and inconsistent. Descriptions of things like soul shards or the color of Layla's hair were laid out multiple times and overexplained. Interactions between the characters did not feel natural and it felt like personalities would switch from scene to scene. A lot of things just felt out of place as well, with Layla's inner monologue often feeling like a disjointed 16 year old, unsure of herself, rather than a woman of almost 30.

1.5/5 stars: The idea of the story is there, and it has potential to be good but needs a lot of work. This would be good for people looking for a quick fantasy read with moderate spice and an enemy to lover trope.

CW: drug use, sexual content, death, violence, child abuse

Thank you to NetGalley, Caitlin Denman, and the publisher for providing an eARC. The opinions within this review are my own.

3.5 stars on SG, rounded up to 4 stars on GR.

The premise is what really grabbed my attention as who doesn’t love blood thirsty queens in a fantasy setting? Layla sounded like an interesting FMC and I can say that she definitely lives up to it!

We meet Layla five years after her parents’ death on the eve of her betrothal’s arrival. She wants one last passionate night with a stranger, but things certainly get turned upside down very quickly when the next day it turns out that the very man she enjoyed the night with is actually her betrothed. I absolutely loved the immediate conflict this created, although I do feel like the pure hatred was a bit of an overreaction at times throughout the story.

I enjoyed that the magic system is interesting and different from typical fantasy books in that only royalty (ones born into, not married into) has access to powers and has power/soul shards which show as animal companions like Layla’s crow, Keir. I really liked this touch as it’s very different to other books I’ve read and I think it lends itself to potential exploration later in the series.

Unfortunately, I did find a lot of the plot and twists very predictable. That being said, this didn’t stop me from enjoying the book, though I would have enjoyed a twist I didn’t see coming. Parts of the story were quite forgettable sadly due to this and the pacing certainly felt very rushed at the end of the book which always frustrates me as a reader. Although I definitely saw it coming, I appreciated the twist at the end and the cliff-hanger certainly left me reeling. I’m excited to pick up the sequel once it’s out as the story really does intrigue me.

Blood Queen is book one in Caitlin Denman’s new fantasy series. I had the privilege of reading Blood Queen as an eARC, so thank you so much to the author and NetGalley for providing me with this copy in exchange for my honest and unbiased review!

What I loved:
- This was action packed! I love a FMC who knows what she’s doing. It was so exciting to watch her take on her battles!
- Rune. That’s it, that’s the bullet point. 🥵
- The whole cast of characters was exciting and fleshed out. I especially loved Keir and Marv!
- The idea of soul shards was so cool to me. This was a fun and fresh take on magic!
- Layla’s perspective was so interesting. Her overall arc was captivating and kept me on the edge of my seat!

What I didn’t love:
- The pacing was a little off for me at times, but it didn’t detract from my overall enjoyment of the book.
- Some of the characterization didn’t make sense to me, like Rune being clumsy in the dungeon scene while also being a super skilled warrior. But there were not a ton of instances of this, so this is a minor point.

Overall, I am rating Blood Queen 4.5 out of 5 stars! I would recommend this to fans of TOG, An Heir Comes to Rise, Song of the Marked, and Court of Dragons.

4.5 on StoryGraph, 4 on GR & NG

I really, really enjoyed Blood Queen, and I’m looking forward to the next book, but I have a very big problem with the writing. I spent the entirety of the book trying to figure out what, exactly, the author has against complete sentences. The sentence fragments were killing me! There were also so, so many editorial errors, particularly with misplaced, misused, or just plain missing punctuation. The verb tenses often didn’t agree, sometimes within the same sentence! I actually pondered a couple of times if perhaps the sentence fragments happened because the author did not use the correct tense. The only reason this book was 3 stars for me is because I truly enjoyed the plot and I’m excited to see what happens next. If I had found the plot to be lackluster at all, this would’ve been a 1-star for me, purely based on the grammatical and editorial mistakes. If you’re publishing a book, do better.

I received an advance review copy of Blood Queen, and I am leaving this review voluntarily. Thank you to NetGalley, the author, and the publisher for this book.

Overall, I enjoyed the book. The writing was easy to read and allowed for an immersive experience, and the story held my attention. I liked seeing Layla progress from being a sheltered queen who allowed others to rule her kingdom to understanding what was happening in her kingdom. However, there were also some things that I did not like about the book. I felt like the book's first half had good pacing, but the last 50% was very fast-paced and could have been slowed down to provide more detail and let the characters work things out more in their relationship. I also wish some parts of it included Rune's POV to understand some of his thoughts because the way his personality seemed to flip sometimes made it hard to tell if I liked him. I look forward to picking up the next book in this series to see how the cliffhanger resolves itself and how Layla and Rune's relationship progresses. Thank you, NetGalley and Victory Editing NetGalley Co-op, for sending me an e-ARC in exchange for an honest review!