The start was a bit confusing for me; but once I got past that aspect I really enjoyed this story. The main character is relatable and strong willed. I really loved her. The twists were excellent and the writing was nice!

5 STARS ALWAYS! This story is something else! Everyone needs to read this at least once. Love the author, the plot twists, the story of itself!

The Cerise was such an enjoyable read and I just cannot resist books about witches! The characters are well developed and you find yourself feeling invested in their lives. The magic system was well explained and easy to understand and the author does a fantastic job with describing settings and even clothing, one of my favorite things is to imagine the beautifully intricate designs characters are wearing.

The premise of the story is that the female main character, Khiara, is on a mission to kill all of the soldiers that were responsible for killer her mother and brother and while on the mission to kill the final man, whose actions the author describes really make you understand what brought Khiara to this moment, things go awry. The situation leads her with no choice but to enter the culling, a contest that aims to find the future Queen, to help her finish her mission.

You meet Riot and Bash as the story progresses and a love triangle forms. I'm not one to normally enjoy love triangles, however this one leaves you with so many questions wondering if either of these two are trustworthy. The story leaves you wanting more and I cannot wait to see where Khiara's story takes her in the future.

Thank you NetGalley and BooksGoSocial for the ARC.

Thank you NetGalley and author Bailey Black for the copy of this book in exchange for my honest review.

"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."

I devoured this book in one sitting. It has the Ruined by Amy Tintera vibes. I love reading this. I can't wait for the next one.

i really thought i'd like this book because the synopsis sounded interesting and right up my alley, but unfortunately this story fell flat for me. i was confused throughout the entirety of the book and wished some things were explained more clearly. khiara, the main character, went back and forth with her thoughts and actions so much that they were often contradictory. i liked the cliffhanger the book ended on and i am curious to see how the next book will continue, but this one was a bit disappointing.

thank you netgalley for providing me with an arc in exchange for an honest review.

After a confusing start, this story quickly became an exciting action/adventure.
Khiara is a Cerise. Gifted with the ability to create fire from within, she is hunted for her red hair (I know, weird, hey?) and is determined to kill the soldiers who killed her family. This leads her into a compromising position where her best friend, Ezra, tricks her with a love curse that backfires in the worst way.
This book has a lot of promise but suffers from choppy scenes and leaves readers hanging with a cliffhanger the size of Mount Everest.

Fast paced fantasy romance. A witch in a world where everyone, including family, want to kill witches. . Particularly those who are Ceries, a type of witch hunted most drastically, of which our main girl is.
The first chunk of the book is world building, though not tedious. It really picks up around the 37% mark and just speeds through it seems, and before you're know it, it is over!! I am going to need the next book ASAP.
This book being 221 pages of story is too little. There is so much covered in such a short space of time, the book could've done being around 400 pages to get us into the world and events more comfortably. I did enjoy it nonetheless, but, more would've been great to fully explore the characters, world, and situation more.

I do recommend this book, and again, I'm excited for the next one!

Read this book if you like:
⤷ a witch in a world where magic is illegal
⤷ a rescue mission
⤷ a touch of enemies to lovers
⤷ a revenge mission
⤷ he falls first she falls harder
⤷ 2 love interests (neither reverse harem nor love triangle)
— genre’s: fantasy and romance

Thank you to NetGalley for the Advanced Copy of The Cerise. This review is my honest opinion.

The main character, Khiara is a Cerise, or a witch. The story is fast paced, mile a minute, non-stop action that grabs you in the first chapter and demands that you finish it in under 24 hours. Like other reviewers, once I started I couldn’t put it down. All 3 of the main characters, Khiara, Bash and Riot are well developed, likable and interesting. There is everything you could want in a story: Magic, World Building, Political Intrigue, Love Triangles and Deception.

The downsides: The story has excellent “bones” but sometimes I felt like things were glossed over and hurried. This book could have easily been 500 pages and still action packed. I found myself wishing some things were detailed a little better, like Khiara’s relationship with Ezra. There were some minor typos in my copy, which distracted and broke the magic of the story.

Trigger warning: This book deals with sexual assault and issues of non-consent. I don’t feel like this is a spoiler, but it is important to note there is also an instance the main character’s free will may have been tampered with. I will say I felt like the author handled both topics tastefully and with sensitivity. There are also instances where male characters strike female characters, which may be objectionable to some readers. Again, it was done with care by the author and the book did not contain gratuitous violence. I didn’t feel like any of these issues detracted from the book or were disrespectful to victims, but each reader will need to use their own judgement here.

Overall, I enjoyed this book. The writing and world building was spot on, but it did leave LOTS of unanswered questions. I don’t know if it was on purpose and will be addressed in subsequent books or if they were an oversight by the author- time will tell. It also ends on a MAJOR cliff hanger- which doesn’t bother me, but you may not feel the same way.

All in all, a good way to spend a sunny afternoon on the back porch.

ˏˋ°•*⁀➷
⊹ ࣪ ˖ <b>3.5 stars</b>



: ̗̀➛ <i>”blood was the key to it all. it cursed, it cured, but not without cost.”</i>



THE CLIFFHANGER?? the romance in this book was perfect oh my goodness. i loved this book! thank you to net-galley for giving me a copy to read and review.



: ̗̀➛ <i>”you, little bird, are quite the creature.”</i>



₊ ⊹.𖥔 ݁ ˖ <b>my thoughts.</b> i enjoyed this way more than i expected i would! the only thing i’d say is it was quite slow to begin with but after that it’s super fast paced. the romance in this book is a love triangle, and to be honest i’m not the biggest fan of love triangles but i think this was done very well. this book does touch on some dark subjects so i’d definitely look up the TWS if you’re thinking of reading this. some parts could be quite triggering to some. the ending of this book was shocking, i cannot wait for the next book to see what happens! i also loved how unique this magic system was and it was a very nice read.



: ̗̀➛ <i>”stars above, you’re beautiful.”</i>




₊ ⊹.𖥔 ݁ ˖ <b>characters.</b>

.˚₊<b>khiara</b>
: ̗̀➛ khiara was such a badass. i loved her. she’s such a strong character despite everything she’s been through and i admire it. she doesn’t let anyone disrespect her and i love it. khiara is honestly one of my favorite fmc’s i’ve read about.


.˚₊<b>bash</b>
: ̗̀➛ i’m not quite sure how i feel about the name bash personally, it feels like a bit of a random name but maybe the author had her reasons. i liked him at the beginning, and i mean i guess i still kinda like him now but he just didn’t really do it for me. i love how he saved khiara and i did find him very charming and likeable throughout the book. the one thing that threw me off a bit was how he allowed the other girls to say such rude things to khiara.


.˚₊<b>riot</b>
: ̗̀➛ again with the names, i have never heard anyone in real life called riot but i guess it is a fantasy book. i LOVED riot, at first i wasn’t so sure on him but he definitely grew on me. the way he cooked for khiara and was by her side 80% of the book was so cute. i hope him and khiara are endgame. at the start of the book i didn’t even think he’d be a love interest, let alone my fav!!

Bamboozled! 3.5 stars
At the beginning, I thought okay this is the romantic relationship - mysterious, powerful guy meets pretty, badass girl on a revenge mission, you know how this story goes.
1 + 1 = 2 and the how we get there is what will matter since this world is likely to throw some curveballs with her powers and the moving revenge plot.
Nope, wrong - Khiara really is out here with a line of suitors like she is giving out roses.
At some point, I was thinking so are we doing this relationship or no because we do not have a lot of time to get this together and turns out, we took a hard left. 1 + 1 does not = 2 but also, all the doors are open so maybe it still does!
We got a triangle and a locked up best friend with feelings all ending with a cliffhanger. I can tell you; I was not expecting it to pack this punch but now I am very intrigued to see where this goes!
*Thank you NetGalley for this ARC in exchange for my honest review*

The main character is a cerise which is basically a witch. Determined to seek revenge on the people who killed her family. She’s sidetracked when a friend is in danger. It was hard to get into in the beginning. sometimes it was confusing. Maybe I missed something but I’m not sure how Ezra got from the red room to the healers house. I like the concept and the whole thing is very creative and imaginative. I liked it and I will be reading the other books.

Khiara lives in a world where the color of her hair, makes her a target for the king's soldiers. Her vivid red hair marks her as a Cerise, a witch. Having lost her family to a cruel soldier, Khiara is on a mission to kill that soldier - and all the soldiers in his regiment. Her vengeance is sidetracked as her best friend becomes cursed. A kind stranger offers help and healing - but her friend needs to go to the palace healer. On a mission to now save her friend, she enters the Culling - think of like the bachelor - for the prince's hand in the marriage. I have a hard time with this story line because it jumps all over the place, I feel its an issue of too many ideas in a story under 300 pages. Also a lot of plot lines left unresolved or just unaddressed. I will also say it has some love triangle aspects which I personally don't like, not my cup of tea, I usually avoid the trope. Ends on a cliffhanger. I do think it has some interesting ideas and concepts, just wish the story would have focused in and given time to evolve those concepts.

Thank you NetGalley and BooksGoSocial for this eCopy to review

I really enjoyed The Cerise, I felt the characters of Khiara, Riot and Bash were well developed and very likeable. It was well paced and I loved the descriptions of the cloths and settings. The magic system was easy to understand and Khiara's feelings were well conveyed.

Khiara is on a mission to kill all the soldiers responsible for killing her mother and brother, we meet her as she is trying to kill the final man, Graves who cut her neck and raped her. But her friend who has helped on all the previous missions Ezra tries to make her fall in love with him by giving her a love potion. He falls foul of a disease which turns people feral and Khiara has no choice but to enter the culling (a contest to find the future Queen) so she can get into the castle to rescue him.

The love triangle of Bash, Riot and Khiara is intriguing by the end I'm really not sure if either man is trustworthy time will tell

The novel ends on an epic cliff hanger I cannot wait to find out what happens to Khiara next

Thank you NetGalley, and Bailey Black for the ebook in exchange for a honest review.

Khiara has magic, in a land where it is illegal. If anyone finds out she will be killed. She put herself at risk seeking revenge. When her friend befalls a curse she has to enter into the castle of those hunting her to save him.

This is a 5/5 for me. I love when a book truly starts on page one and doesn’t stop until the very last page. I was absolutely involved from the first page to the very last sentence. I did not want to put this down.

Khiara is a strong main character. Her internal dialogue was all over the place but that made her more endearing to me. I felt like I could’ve been one of the friends she tried so desperately hard to save! I loved her magic and how she wasn’t sure of all of it how cautious she was about truly using it. I loved how her history is sprinkled throughout the book.

I thoroughly enjoyed how the book was sprinkled with the world building. It wasn’t just thrown into the first chapter. I felt it really flowed with the story.

Bash- what can I say I squealed when the name Bash came up. I’m a fan of Reign so hearing Bash I immediately said ooo girl trust him. But my initial reaction to him was he’s shady. He is a love interest of Khiara and at first I was like oh okay they are destined to be together I’ll let this slide. But as the story progress that feeling in the back of my mind that he’s trouble wouldn’t go away.

Riot- broody bodyguard of the prince who challenges Khiara at every turn. I enjoyed that he was very up front with his feelings towards Khiara and her influence on Bash. I LOVED how his character and story developed. I did not see that coming. There was one part that stick out in my mind (no spoilers) that made my heart break and heal all at the same time and it’s all his fault. I didn’t even have time to cry because he was already fixing it. He was so well written. I’m swooning.

Graves- he’s not a good guy. The worst kind actually. I hope he gets what’s coming to him.

Ezra- I’m undecided on him. I don’t love what he did to Khiara but I can level with him a little. Other than his love for her I need to know why? I hope the next books give us answers. He knew her history so to take choice away from her was very frustrating. However I also don’t feel he deserves his current state.

There was a laugh out loud description of a man’s penis in this book. I never thought I’d laugh given the circumstances, but I can honestly say I will never think of the color purple the same.

There were hard topics that came up in this book, abuse against women, and sexual violence. I think they were handled in such a graceful manner. I am impressed by the male characters in the book and how they approached the MC regarding these topics. You can really tell these parts were written with care!

I usually don’t love books that end on cliffhangers, especially if I have to wait for the next one but this series is one I think will be worth the wait!

Disclosure: ARC was provided by the publisher via NetGalley

The Cerise is set in the kingdom of Arcane where Cerise are redheads hunted for their presumed witchy, magic-wielding abilities. Khiara is a Cerise that gets roped into a bride-choosing event for the crown prince in an effort to save her cursed friend. The crown prince, to absolutely no one's surprise, turns out to be the random guy she meets on the street. Some witch and witch-hunter vibes were there, which I did NOT believe was capitalized on. I really liked the somewhat unexpected romance and would happily read more of their relationship dynamics.

Feel like the beginning emphasized Khiara's sick friend, but that plotline was left to the wayside for much of the book. Will mention there was the use of "carbs" in there...which clashed with the medieval-ish setting.

I thought the love triangle going on was tolerable, and the romance satisfying. Would have liked to see more witchy stuff, witchy culture though.

Khiara is a witch, and magic is punishable by death. This is single POV, fun, fast paced, and even has a pronunciation guide. Which honestly, I wish more fantasy books included it.

While on a mission to kill the man who murdered her family, things go terribly wrong:
-She meets a suspicious man in the woods who seems immune to her magic.
-Her bestie gets sent to the royal dungeons after getting cursed and trying to kill her.
-The only way to sneak into the castle and rescue him? She’ll have to join The Culling. Which is essentially the bachelor, but during ye old times.

There’s a lot to unpack here. Does the premise make total sense? …no. But is there intrigue around the mystery man from the woods? 1000%.

As for her bestie? I couldn’t tell you why she was so hell bent on saving this man. He was cursed after attempting a love spell on Khiara. Then he tried to kill her when the magic took hold of him. She’s convinced she can unbind him from the curse but…eh, debatable.

If you read this, do it for the vibes. It’s super quick, under 250 pages, and the writing flows super well. It does end abruptly though, so it’s not the cliffhanger I was expecting. We'll probably get more answers in book 2?

TW: murder and flashbacks to rape.

Thank you to the author, publisher, and NetGalley for my advanced digital copy!

I love being pulled into a story right away, and that's exactly what happened when I started reading The Cerise a few hours ago.

Khiara is what's known as a Cerise, a woman with red hair and strange powers. Since Cerise are being hunted and destroyed throughout the royal territories, Khiara has learned how to hide her hair color and play the role of dutiful niece. However, she's also on a mission to avenge her late mother and brother who were killed by the crown. So far, she's found and dispatched of all but one of the king's guard who carried out the attack to her village. Finally, Khiara has located him and sprung her trap, but her closest friend, Ezra, makes a mistake that forces her to ally with king's soldiers, Bash and Riot. In order to get back to Ezra, she must enter the Culling, which is essentially The Bachelor, and use her forbidden appearance to win the prince's heart.

Things I enjoyed:
- From Blood and Ash (as advertised) + Belladonna vibes
- Hinting at the past with familiar scents and shadows of memories
- Possibility of a "What does it feel like... to lose?" moment in the next book

As a big fan of new adult and adult romantasy, I really enjoyed the author's writing style so I could sense where some of the story was going. I still have questions about Khiara's past and which characters are actually "good" and "bad," but I know the author is being intentional with her reveals. I was surprised by the emergence of a second love interest and I'm not sure who Khiara is going to end up with at this point, which means the love triangle is love triangling!

I'm really excited for the next installment of the Kingdom of Lies series! Thank you to the author and her publisher for an ARC of The Cerise.

Stars: 3.75

I have no idea which way is up in this book. I find most of the lore and the world building is poorly explained and the ending just left me with more questions. The thing between the characters is so unbelievably confusing, and so hot and cold I couldn’t tell what was going on. The second book has really got some explaining to do!

The pacing of this book could use some work. The first few chapters may also be very triggering for any victims of sexual assault. There are still quite a few typos. Some scenes and dialogues need some work on transitioning.

Overall, the book has good bones but just needs some fleshing out and editing.

The Cerise is the first book in the Daughters of Legends, Kingdom of Lies series. Khiara is a Cerise, a type of witch that has been hunted down and killed, along with anyone else who helps them, including her own family. She finds herself part of a competition called the Culling, a chance to marry Prince Sebastian and become a future Queen. But Khiara is only participating in order to help her friend, who is injured somewhere nearby.

The blurb drew me in, particularly with its focus on vengeance. I think that the story has potential and is likely to get better in future books as the lore and the world is further explored, but I think that the length of the book and the depth of the detail didn't quite work for me.

The book is 221 pages when you exclude the contents, the further book recommendations and the information about the author, and I don't think that 221 pages gives enough space to properly explain a unique fantasy world, establish a detailed plot and explore two separate love interests. Khiara didn't even join the Culling until 45% of the way through the book, which doesn't leave a lot of time for us to form a connection with either the two possible love interests, and everything happens very fast. I do appreciate that the first 45% was trying to introduce readers to the world, but because of the overall number of pages, even that felt rushed. In this section in particular I kept skipping back a few pages or a full chapter because it seemed like I was meant to know something that I didn't, but I couldn't find where it had been explained.

With an extra 100 pages, I think the story could have had more room to breathe, and to get deeper into the characters - all of whom seem interesting but just need more time devoted to them.

Disclaimer: I received an ARC from NetGalley, but this is my voluntary and honest review.