Spicy fantasy romance. Loved the worldbuilding and really enjoyed these characters. I didn't realize it was the 2nd book and though the intro gave us some background I wish I had read Consort of Fire first. I plan on remedying that right now. ;-)

Thank you to NetGalley and Montlake for the ARC in exchange for an honest review

This is the second book in the series

I would recommend if you're looking for (SPOILERS)

-mff romantasy
-gods and dragons
-hard ones and soft one
-adventure

I adored the first book in this series and was so excited to dive into book 2. It was great to see the development of Ash, Zanya and Sachi figure out their relationship as well as how that interplayed with the world of gods. There was a lot of advenutre and excitement, leaving me wondering what was going to happen next, and the spice was spicin. I really liked how things were resolved even as new questions arise for the next book. A great second book that has me clammoring for what's to come next.

Queen of Dreams by Kit Rocha is a captivating and thrilling fantasy novel that will transport readers to a world of magic, power, and ancient enemies. The book follows Ash, who waited for three thousand years to find a consort who could break the Betrayer's chains. Instead of one lover, he found two: Sachi and Zanya, the primordial powers that embody creation and destruction, reborn as humans. Now, his ancient enemy has returned to threaten everything he loves.

Zanya seethes with magic and restless energy, her command of the Endless Void a potent weapon in the coming war. But she must embrace the darkness within herself to harness her power, and the scars of the past are holding her back. Sachi's connection to the Dream deepens, leading her beyond the veil of reality and into the heart of the Betrayer's stronghold. Torn from her lovers, Sachi must use all her wit and cunning to survive the Betrayer's treacherous court.

Rochas does an excellent job of creating a rich and intricate world full of magic and ancient power struggles. The characters are complex, with well-drawn backstories that add depth to the story. The chemistry between Ash, Sachi, and Zanya is electric, and their love story is both heartwarming and passionate.

Overall, Queen of Dreams is an excellent read for fans of fantasy novels. It has everything you could want in a book - action, romance, magic, and complex characters - and leaves readers wanting more. I highly recommend this book to anyone looking for a thrilling and captivating read.

Thank you so much for writing this story! Consort of Fire rewrote my brain chemistry. Both books had incredible characters, world building, pacing. My only complaint in book two is not taking the opportunity to grow Zanya/Ash’s physical connection while Sashi was away. There was a build up to that with the conversation between Sashi and Zanya where Sashi encourage Zanya to take comfort from Ash on her own.

The pacing of the high spice in book one made the lower spice in book two feel a bit jarring. Overall book one will forever be a favorite read of mine and book two didn’t quite meet the expectations I had for it but I have so my respect for the authors for telling this story.

Thank you for the opportunity to read Queen of Dreams early!

It's deeply gratifying to read a book by a writing team who clearly understands the craft of writing. Story structure, themes, motivations, etc. They know their characters, and they know the situations to put them in to give them the growth that they need. This story was a series of correct decisions and mindful writing. You can feel the intentionality.

As an erotic romance, Queen of Dreams shines. Sex is never superfluous. It never feels tacked on. Like a song in a musical, sex happens and the height of emotion and serves to either move the story or the characters forward.

Zanya and Sachi, in particular, feel like fully realized characters. Good at their core, but messy and not always reliable narrators of their own experiences. It gives them a life that I often find lacking in romance.

I love these characters and the world that has been built for them. ♥️

Tropes: Growly grumpy (x2) + bratty sunshine, found families (ofc), Queen of Darkness/Queen of Light, dragon shifter lol.

ARC provided by NetGalley.

Queen of Dreams is a beyond worthy successor to Kit Rocha's spectacular Consort of Fire. The immersive worldbuilding takes us to new heights and new empires. The suspense between the embroiled lovers sizzles and the incendiary climax is not to be missed. Suspense, action, fantasy, romance - this series has it all. I loved Queen of Dreams and can't wait to see where the High Court of Dreamers takes us next!

What a great follow up to Consort of Fire! I wasn't sure where the authors were going to go after leaving off the first book on quite the cliffhanger, but they did not disappoint. The characters of Sachi, Zanya, and Ash were so easy to root for and fall in love with, and having them achieve all that they did during this part of the tale was immensely satisfying. If you are looking for a fantasy romance with some serious heat/steam, I would highly recommend this series!

I'm a big fan of Kit Rocha, and I loved the previous book in the series for its solid world-building. They continue to build the world here, with dragon Ash, shadow mommy (as opposed to the ubiquitous romantasy shadow daddy) Zanya, and dreamy Sachi. Loved that Sachi got to do some work here and show off everything she learned to defeat the big bad. I would have liked to have seen the triad work out more of the tension in their relationship, particularly between Ash and Zanya. I also think this series could have been longer than what I am expecting is a duology, at least for this triad.

I LOVED and massively appreciated the summary of the story so far at the beginning of the book, and the cheat sheet at the back would've been even more helpful at the front. All fantasy series should be doing this!

Thanks to Montlake for the ARC.

I was really impressed by both books in this series. The worldbuilding is solid, the magic system is cool, and the action scenes are intense. Rocha does a great job mixing fantasy and romance, which isn't easy, but she pulls it off here.

In "Queen of Dreams," we get more adventures with Zanya, Ash, and Sachielle. Though, I kinda wished Zanya and Ash had a deeper connection. Sachielle is the main focus for both of them, but Zanya and Ash's relationship could've been a bit more fleshed out.

Overall, these books wrap up nicely but leave room for more stories in the future. Rocha brings the heat with steamy scenes and builds on the world she created in the first book.

"Queen of Dreams" digs deeper into the characters and plot, and while I wanted more time with some characters and more exploration of the world, it's still a solid read.

In short, "Queen of Dreams" is a great addition to the series, blending romance and fantasy in a captivating way. I'm definitely looking forward to more from Rocha!

I was SO excited to find the ARC for this sequel on NetGalley, since Consort of Fire was one of my favorite fantasy reads of 2023!

If you like:
--- Dragon shifters (and other shifters)
--- Why choose
--- Alternate dimensions
--- High stakes/kingdoms at war
--- Lovers who would do anything for each other
Then you need this series!

We're back with Sachi, Zanya and Ash, as they're now forced to confront the danger facing the kingdom from the Betrayer. While Zanya and Ash fight on the battlefield, Sachi is trying to do what she can inside the world of the Everlasting Dream to find something or someone that can help them. And on top of that, Sachi and Zanya are both still trying to grasp full control of their powers of the Dream and the Void.

But Sachi soon finds herself at risk, and Ash and Zanya can't come to her rescue immediately. There is a ton of tension as these three figure out their roles, both in their relationship and in how they can help protect the kingdom and its people.

The sparks and spice between these three are JUST as intense as the first book, but there are a lot of forces working against them. The magic system is wild and it's kind of crazy how it all turned out, but I'm looking forward to seeing where this series goes next!

I thought this was fun! Kit Rocha is a talented writer and I'm always left wanting to read more of their stuff.

Feel a bit silly for not realising that this was book 2 in a series but have enjoyed reading it nonetheless. The book picks up straight away and throws you back into the series. The characters have well-formed relationships and seem very interesting. I did not finish this book - I'm keen to read it from the beginning.

3.5 stars!!

I was really impressed with the first book in this series and I am equally impressed with this one. The worldbuilding is done well, the magic is amazing and the action is great. The steamy scenes are long and intimate and leave little to the imagination. I think it's hard to mix fantasy and romance and have it done well, but I have to say, this one is a good mix.

While I do wish that Zanya and Ash were a little closer and had a more intimate relationship (not talking about sexual) I understand that Sachi will always be number one for Zanya and Ash. I do think she adds a lot to the relationship and they make it work well.

All in all I think this was a very satisfying conclusion to the series but could also be built upon in the future.

Thank you NetGalley, Montlake and Kit Rocha for a copy of the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

When i started this book I didn’t realize it was a part of a series. I remember reading it as a 2nd book, but I completely forgot when I started it. With that being said, you definitely want to read the first book in the Bound to Fire and Steel Series, Consort of Fire.

Loved the characters both as individuals and together. It’s definitely a treat for those into romatasy! I really wish I could give a 3.5 with the stars, that's what I would rate this book.

I absolutely adored the first book in this series and listened to it on audiobook when it came out so took a while to get back into the book in a written format.

However, once I had gotten back into it, I was in. I loved these three in the first book and after the first book revelation about Sachi and Zenya, I was so excited to see their growth.

The plot was great, and Sorin was a great baddie.

I think there will be more in this series and very excited about where this world grows from here.

Ash will always have my heart though- my misunderstood Dragon.

The two authors behind the Rocha pen name have written a fun, detail-filled romantasy, an epic fantasy that clearly owes plenty to Robert Jordan’s endless clothing infodumps (and thankfully less to his braid-tugging, arm-folding heroines: Rocha’s characters are well-rounded and less quirk-piled regardless of gender). It’s heavy on atmosphere and catharsis although there’s a fairly large power differential between our leads and everyone else. At the end of the last book, two of our leads “leveled up” in no uncertain form, while the third is (and remains) an immortal god.

That in turn meant that in this book, the tension feels less... tense: an assortment of powerful old gods and our newly super-powered heroines are standing up against one powerful old god and whatever weapons he has managed to muster, and while we're told (and shown) that he has levied some powerful weapons and allies of his own, it didn't feel as perilous or danger-filled as the last book. Romance-wise, it didn't feel like a triad so much as a V; both Zanya and Ash are in love with Sachielle, but their relationship feels less romantic - although it does involve having sex - and more familial/platonic. Rocha's Beyond series had several couples in open relationships and frankly that was what the romance felt like to me. In some ways I would have preferred that they'd done that here - it didn't feel like there was enough space for the full triad relationship to make sense. In general "not enough space" was a takeaway for me: there was so much extensive worldbuilding, and so much going on behind the scenes, and all of that wedged into only two books with a focus on the central romantic relationship(s) - it felt blurry. It should have been a saga.

Overall, though, a satisfying conclusion to the first book and a series I will enjoy re-reading. Here's to more meaty romantasy like this, with grown-up relationships and complex high fantasy plotlines.

I received an ARC for free but opinions are my own.

I absolutely loved this. Coming on the scene as a sequel to a worldbuilding-, plot-, and characterization-heavy first book means Queen of Dreams had a lot of work to do to maintain the strong foundation Consort of Fire established... and it nailed it. The descriptions are lush and detailed without going down a garden path of excess, the characters we've already met and fallen in love with get space and complications to deepen their characterization further, and the new characters we meet are given a fair shake at being represented well. Plot threads left open in the first book are picked up and continued here, building further on the elegant worldbuilding already established.

The sex scenes are spicy, well-written, and with purpose beyond just 'it's hot'; everything on the page is character development and dynamics that help enhance the interactions between the characters and peel back layers for the reader. The balance between the primary triad is absolutely on point; interests are shared, everyone has flaws and struggles, and the relationships between the three are unique rather than copy-paste. What was built in Consort only grows here.

The plot is balanced well between the various threads going on (and I absolutely loved having a nonbinary character clearly established on the page) and comes together in a way that makes internally-consistent sense for the world and characters. My only complaints are that I would have liked to see more!, and some characters I enjoyed from the prior book don't get as much page time as I would have liked.

The sequel to Consort of Fire, Sachi is separated from her lovers Zanya and Ash as she must use all her training to defeat the Betrayer.

Consort of Fire was one of the best books I’ve read, so I was beyond excited to get an ARC of Queen of Dreams. It did not disappoint in the slightest. There was quite a bit of world building which sometimes I find slow, but Kit Rocha did it in a way that had me hanging on every word. I loved seeing the character growth from Zanya and Sachi. For those who read Consort of Fire for the *spicy* scenes, there is still some spice but not nearly as much as in Consort of Fire. Instead this novel has more fantasy plot lines. I really loved this book.

Thank you to Montlake Publishing and NetGalley for the ARC!

I'd been thinking about reading Consort of Fire and finally gave in a little while ago. Those who have already read it know it ends on a rather large cliffhanger. I knew I needed book two ASAP. Luckily for me, shortly after finishing, I was browsing NetGalley and saw Queen of Dreams available for request. The way I smashed that button! I dove right in and really enjoyed it! While book one has a focus of Sachi and Zanya together and Sachi and Ash together separately, Queen of Dreams puts in the work to make Zanya and Ash comfortable together too. I really liked all three of these characters, as individuals and together, though Zanya is probably my favorite. It did a good job of wrapping up the story of Sachi, Zanya, and Ash while leaving the door open for more. I would definitely read more books in the world! The heat is high, so romantasy fans looking for some spice will be in for a treat!

With Sachi imprisoned in the Betrayer's Court for most of the book, I expected Ash and Zanya relationship to develop so that they had a relationship outside of Sachi so that it didn't seem that Zanya was merely tolerating Ash for Sachi's sake.

Unfortunately, while they became somewhat closer, that didn't happen and while everything revolved around Sachi, it became evident that despite the revelations at the end of the first novel, Ash still thought of her as some sweet little girl that needs his protection and who can't handle herself and make her own decisions. Zanya while overprotective knows that Sachi can take care of herself and make her own decisions.

What really stuck out to me was the portrayal of Sachi, blonde haired, sweet tempered, a princess, adored by all in contrast to Zanya, the Endless Void, dark haired, dangerous, out of control, feared, a handmaid, makes staff nervous.

It made me uncomfortable that Zanya has no one and nothing outside of Sachi and even her relationship with Ash revolves mainly around Sachi. Sure, I get that Creation and Destruction are two halves of the same whole, bound together etc but everything Zanya has is through Sachi which is in no way healthy and not really addressed.

The plot was slightly disappointing with the Betrayer being an underwhelming villain and Gywnivra. the Stalker and the rest of the Betrayer's court being underutilised.