A great story. The characters are all very interesting and well formed. It was a easy book to read and was well written.

This book started out amazing. The descriptions and world building really were great. The second half of the book I was more disappointed. I know it's a series and this is book one but there were SO MANY lose ends that happened from about half way through the book till the end and some where minor and I felt they would have been answered but weren't. SPOILER ALERT - here's one example. Jinx seemed to be really ill for part of the story, and at one point it said that her hand was mangled - but others seemed to not notice it - and it never explained why or how, another is when the Khiara keeps having scent flash backs between her two love interests - saying that the scent of each of them is familiar and takes her back to a time before her family was murdered - but she cannot recall why. This is an element of foreshadowing that just left the reader hanging. Why are there so many loose ends in this book?

I also did not like how the love interests were handled, there was Bash - the stunning prince who was a life saver in the beginning - and then without warning suddenly we were told she liked his guard who wanted nothing to do with her one minute and then everything to do with her the next. There was really no build up to either character or love interest - and it was sad to see such a good opportunity go to waste.

I would maybe recommend this book to teens or YA who are just getting into romantasy genre - but not to a seasoned reader. I hope the sequels are better.

I thought this was very good and I will have to add this to the shop shelves. Thank you for the chance for us to review.

A romantasy adventure you won't soon forget. And a warning - that ending is a killer! The story starts a little slow, but once you're deep into the world, you'll forget where you are and become completely wrapped up in the story. Khiara's got a lot of fire in her, and I'm not just referring to her magic. Although she's determined to get vengeance at any cost, fate has some curveballs coming her way. The world building is well done, and I hope we get to see more of it in book two. The pacing wasn't as smooth as I'd have liked, but the story is interesting. The characters are well-developed, and there are a few who will find their way into your heart. Overall, a great start to a new series.

On paper this is everything I like in a book but for some reason I just couldn’t connect with this.
I didn’t really like any of the characters and on a personal level prefer a spicier book.
I don’t feel a pull to read book 2 but this may just be my opinion.

I LOVED this book! Couldn’t put it down, a real easy read young adult romantasy. Great characters, plenty going on with a glorious slow burn.

I had a plan. Find the soldier who killed my family and make him pay. It should have been an easy feat. I’d done it over a dozen times, taking out each member of that regiment one by one, but the mission went sideways. It all started with the man in the woods. The one my webs of magic couldn’t sense even when he stood before me. Then my partner made a mistake, and now he’s lying in one of the Crown’s dungeons fighting for his life. I couldn’t leave him to die, but I couldn’t just walk into the castle either.

Or maybe I could.

With the help of some unexpected allies, I entered the Culling—a one-in-a-lifetime chance to become queen. I have no interest in winning the prince’s heart or the crown. My only goal is to get into the castle, find my friend, and get out before someone realizes I’m a Cerise.

But when the welcome ball turns from a grand event into a nightmarish dance of death, all eyes are on me. As if that’s not bad enough, the soldier, the one who took my family, he’s here.

This is what the first book, "The Cerise" by Bailey Black, is about. It is compared to "The Selection" by Kiera Cass or "From Blood and Ash" by Jennifer L. Armentrout. The romantasy includes all of my favorite tropes: forced proximity and he falls first. The story, plot and characters were great. It grabs you from the first page and you just can't stop reading. Once you start, you just have to read until you're finished. There are lots of twists and turns and you'll be wondering what happens next. Unfortunately, it ends with a mean cliffhanger, but the next part is coming out in November, don't worry.

A great book, ending in a cliffhanger, so I'm looking forward to the next book in the Kingdom of Lies series!

Thank you to the NetGalley and publisher for an ARC of The Cerise.

Its hasnt the book for me
Does not mean is a bad book
I like my books with a tons of spice
And if it has a full page of TW its the best for me
I will soon give this book another chance when its their time

Cerise=witch
I never saw her doing anything with her powers though. She just knew plants
She enters competition to find her friend but her friend dies before it. If I remember right.
Boring but a quick read

I’m absolutely captivated by the cover art of The Cerise by Baily Black—it's stunning and immediately grabs your attention. This romantasy, set in a world of magic, really took off once the characters and plot were fully developed. I became completely engrossed and couldn't put it down. I’m convinced that The Crown is up to something sinister, possibly harming its own people—definitely shady! I adored Khiara and Riot, while Bash, though a bit oblivious, hasn’t been bad so far. The buildup towards the end was incredible, leaving me eagerly anticipating the next book. The story offers a variety of engaging tropes that make it a must-read for fans of the genre.

While it wasn’t the worst book I’ve ever read (looking at you Cruel Prince), it wasn’t the best either. It literally ends in the most obnoxious way and I can’t find any news on book two.

I didn’t feel any attachment to anyone except for maybe Riot. Not a whole lot happens and I’m still not sure what the point is, but I might read book two if it ever happens just to figure it out lol.

Bash was fine, I guess. Although I don’t know who wouldn’t catch on that Bash is a nickname for Sebastian and he’s literally the prince. Or that the whole culling seems pointless. Still not sure who to trust in this one.

Thank you NetGalley for this ARC!

I enjoyed the plot a lot. I loved the fast paced storyline. I do wish there was more world building though. Other than that, it was a solid 3 stars.

“The Cerise,” by Bailey Black

Khiara is on a mission to find the man who killed her family and end him. Her plans were derailed by a man in the woods and her partner ends up being put into the Crown’s dungeon. In order to save him she enters the Culling, to win the chance of being Queen. She doesn’t actually want to marry the prince or crown, but she needs to get her partner out of the dungeon before anyone finds out she’s a Cerise.

I really liked this book. I loved the characters, and I was glued to the book to see if she was going to do everything without it going bad. The storyline was really good, solid and interesting the entire time, very fast paced. I didn’t like how the book ended right when it got so good, and I cannot wait to read the second book in the Kingdom of lies series. 4 out of 5 stars.

-Magic
-Witches
-Enemies To Lovers
-Marriage Selection

Thank you for the free copy, Netgalley.

I enjoyed this book so much. In a world where everyone hates witches, even your family, it was a beautiful tale of tension, mystery and femine rage and revenge.
The two love interest is my favorite thing, it's not exactly a love triangle but it's not a why choose and I am here for it!

it started off so well, so promising, and it all fell apart in front of my eyes 😵‍💫


Bash was so cute and would have been a great love interest if not for the forced love triangle and forced romance with the other guy. he was nice, funny, sarcastic, protective, respectful.... I feel robbed (again. I was also rooting for the prince in Throne of Glass)


I kinda lost all interest after the other guy became a love interest tbh we had a good thing going with the prince but he was made to be irrelevant and boring while the reader's encouraged to find the other guy hot and broody but really he's just rude and.... there. he's just there a lot and doesn't do anything out of the ordinary yet she's all flustered constantly


Kiara was really cool at first, her personality, her past, her morals, her powers and her actions all together made her loveable. that was until she suddenly changes all of her principles and personality and goes from "Men made me suffer too much I'm traumatized and will never let a man touch me romantically" to "Oh he's cute I feel all warm inside, I want him to touch me" in the span of 3 days. two different guys kiss her without her consent on separate occasions and she doesn't even bat an eye???? even without her trauma it warrants a reaction like come on!


(she falls. a LOT. and there's always an attractive man around to conveniently catch her and gaze into her eyes)


the TIMING was ridiculous especially with the romance aspect. miss girl has known the two guys for a grand total of 4 days before being so horny she jumps both, and not 10 minutes after facing the man who traumatized her SEVERELY years ago she's fantasizing about kissing the love interest. it felt a lot like forced romance, just throwing that in there when really she needed more time to develop feelings and process her trauma. another example, she meets the other girls and thinks "I won't be friends with any of them I can't trust them" right before immediately befriending one of the girls. she makes no sense whatsoever

+ don't know if that qualifies as a timing issue but I'll include it nonetheless, on two separate occasions she's having tension with the guy like sexy insinuations and BOOM it's broken by her hungry stomach making noise and him making her dinner. it felt like the author didn't know how to get out of the scene, what dialogue to add after the sexy comment so she panicked and redirected them to the kitchen


the plot itself was nice, especially with the guy who traumatized her, I wish that was more central to the story, but felt a bit reused and all over the place. to sum it up (it won't be summarized at all) she's trying to find a cure to save her cursed friend so she enrolls in a competition to become the prince's wife but she hates the royal family bc they killed her family and she wants to kill the man responsible but he's here in the castle threatening her and she's crushing on two guys but she has powers, more than she's supposed to have, what's up with that so she reads books to figure it out and one of the guys is supposed to hunt her kind, but also the king may have committed mass murder for some reason and she wants to find out why

as I said it's a lot. let me sum it up again in tropes and plot elements I found in this book to be similar to other books

The Selection : girls competing to marry the prince, with him going on dates with each of them etc

Throne of Glass : love triangle with the prince and his best friend who's also his guard

I can't think of any other really but I felt both of their influence heavily throughout the book


overall the story needed more TIME I can't stress this enough, the first 50% of the book is all happening in 24 hours!!!! and by the end I'm not sure even a week has passed. it's a good thing to give a character emotional baggage and trauma especially when relevant to the plot BUT it needs to be taken into account, you can't put her through the same tropes characters with less baggage go through, it's not plausible. someone was assaulted (and based all of her life on getting revenge for it) won't be at the center of a love triangle in 3 days and begging a man to take her right here and there. bring back her hatred for men pls

I found this book to be confusing and chaotic. There are many plot holes and the writing did not flow well.

The premise of the plot was great and I think it really could have been something if there was more focus on the flow. I was getting irritated with the plot holes and ended up DNF'ing at 70%.

This book starts strong, and does hook the reader in. I loved Khiara as a FMC - she is badass.

However, the book is way too fast paced for the first in a series. There's minimal world building, and the magic system (while a very interesting concept) was not explained enough. I had completely forgotten about hunters, and radicals are mentioned a couple of times but it's never explained who they are or what their motives would be.

I'm not usually a fan of love triangles, but this one felt kind of like the right fit for the characters. I'm just disappointed there was no slow burn or build up to anything. The sex scene felt very abrupt and came out of nowhere.

Overall, an enjoyable read with a fresh plot - but I feel it should have been fleshed out a little more.

2.5 Stars - rounding up to 3. This book was slow and only really picked up halfway through. From the synopsis, I thought that this would be something that I really enjoyed but it just felt flat, the characters were not fully formed.

Review:
I started to read this book with very high expectations and I do think that was my downfall.
Too many expectations only lead to slight disappointment.
The book starts on the right foot, and then it is like taking a fall into a huge drop only to pick up again.
The main character Khiara is shown to be something in the beginning, "telling" us the reader that she was supposed to be this badass revenge seeker. But most of her actions fall flat off what she could've been if she was more grounded and less 2D. I don't this is an isolated issue (Because a lot of romantasy) tend to fall into this trend. Not saying I don't enjoy them once in a while.
I do think there's a lot to enjoy. It's like how the story starts to pick up and there's no time to breathe (IN a good way!). The characters are fairly likable and there's a moment when I started to question their intentions (Which kept me at the end of my seat).
Worldbuilding-wise, I think it was not very expanded. A lot needed to be worked on (geography didn't make sense) but that doesn't bother me in the slightest.
I do see the resemblance in the book it was compared to (But i wish they stopped doing that).