Thank you to NetGalley and Terina Adams for a free ARC of this book in exchange for my review.

The premise of this book intrigued me when I first read the synopsis for the book and I was hopeful. Saying that this book needs a lot more editing. The writing was clunky, there was a lot of dense info dumps and I couldn’t connect with any part of the story.

I DNF’d this book 48% of the way through after trying really hard to get into it and finish it but it was putting me in a slump. Even though I read over 300 pages of this book I still feel like I don’t know anything about the characters of the world except for their one big trait. They were all one dimensional and felt like they were trying to be forced into tropes. Especially Tressya was very confusing to me, one minute she was written as a badass trained fighter from a secret religious group who takes no shit and the next she is meek and weak and doesn’t know what to do. It felt like she was changed to fit the scenes that the author wanted to include in the book.

Probably the worst part of this book was the writing for me. It felt clunky and confusing. There were so many times I had to reread sentences because they were not making sense to me from the way they were structured. And all the dense info dumps that weren’t actually giving enough information wasn’t helping with my disconnect with the writing.

The world also didn’t make sense, and not in a good way either. I was trying to understand how some of the magic worked or get explanations about the different peoples of the world but I had as much information from the synopsis as I did the first half of the book. Which lead to the plot not making much sense to me. Why is Tamas foretold to be the chosen heir? Why is Tressya sent to be the bride for the current heir? What is the deal with Tressya’s family? Where are all the people Tamas supposedly brought together and is leading? How come Tamas can play undercover spy when he is supposed to be leading an army?

And even get me started on the mating bite/bond thing. First of all, why does it take so long for us to know what that bite was when we are literally in Tamas’ head after he bites her. Also, I didn’t feel anything between the MCs at all. No chemistry, no attraction, nothing. A lot of their scenes that was supposedly setting up their romance didn’t click for me, which I think is what lead me to ultimately not like this book. The romance was shoved into the forefront so suddenly after so many chapters of nothing close to a romance it felt forced and I didn’t believe it.

Oh my goodness!

I love a good battle of the wills/enemies to lovers book. I really enjoyed both main characters (the tension!) and I enjoy getting the two povs. I even really found the side characters to be really interesting and not just filler.

A couple twists at the end which just left me wanting a second book... like now. Quite a few burning questions I need answered and just in general more Tressya and Tamas. Overall I feel like a solid 4 star read.

I did feel like it took a while to get me hooked in the beginning (hence the 4 stars) - a lot of information to get your head around which seemed a bit slow at times but once it got going I was completely hooked and couldn't out the book down.

Thanks for letting me review this on netgalley!

The Unbroken Queen is a very promising epic fantasy romance, it has a slow-burn enemies to lovers romance which dual POV! Getting to see both sides and what's going on in their minds is always a favorite of mine. The world building is well written and easy to understand.

The story takes off with a bang, literally, and is filled with political intrigue, and power hungry enemies who are all vying for the throne. It is so fun to read how Terina Adams was able to build genuine enemies who are at each other's throats and see how their relationship evolves into one of love and really sells the shift to the readers. The story is tense and keeps you wanting more and to not put the book down until you've finished the last page.

There is a lot of lore that comes with a first book in a series however Terina is able to make is easy to comprehend and helps with the wonderful world building for the read to really feel immersed and part of the world. I am very excited to see where this story goes and will be happily waiting the next installment. Thank you NetGalley for the ARC!

(3.75 stars) This definetly has all the hallmarks of a great fantasy series.

It had great intrigue, a slow burn enemies to lovers and had a unique plot which I found interesting.

I think what let me down a bit was the world building was quite heavy at the start and was a bit confusing and hard to follow.

I did love all the fantasy elements and it reminded me so much of game of thrones especially with the plot line that was north versus south and multiple people vying for throne.

I definitely think this series will be great as it goes along and I am very excited to see where this goes.

„The unbroken queen“ is exactly what it is promising to be, a fantasy epic with enemies to lovers, a very slow burn, an outstanding world building written in a dual POV from the male and female leads side.

The story is filled with politics, secrecy, intrigues, power thirsty enemies and a fight for a throne. When Terina Adams promises you enemies to lovers, she means it, we don’t talk rivals here but actual enemies who SHOULD be ending each others life. And yet their love stories doesn’t take over and does not put the world the story is set in to the background, because that was my favourite part about it. The very detailed and intense world building, as well as the very well written and developed characters.

I will not lie and say that in the beginning it is a lot of information input that is quite a chunk to work through but I promise, it’s worth it.

The interactions between the characters rank from funny to heartwarming —- to heart wrecking, covering every base.

If you have been a fan of series like Throne of Glass you will definitely enjoy this read as well, and I personally cannot wait for the story to continue.

Thank you NetGalley and Terina Adams for the free ARC of this book in exchange for my honest review.

The publishing date is set for the 22nd of April, 2024!

Thank you to NetGalley and Terina Adams for an ebook in exchange for an honest review!

Rating: 4/5 Stars

This book did not disappoint! I was super invested in the story along the way. And the cliffhanger at the end!!!

✨Book Review✨

The Unbroken Queen by Terina Adams

Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ 4/5

•Genre: new adult|sci fi & fantasy
•Publish Date: April 22, 2024

This was my very first ARC and it did not disappoint! It begins very heavy with world building the first couple chapters (power through-it’ll be worth it I promise😉). The author is very consistent with geography and characters throughout the world building process that it was fairly easy for me to keep up.

If you enjoy:
*enemies to lovers
*slow burn
*banter
*royalty/politics
*unique powers and creatures

This is the book for you! The fmc is extremely strong willed and is the furthest thing from a damsel in distress. It’s written in dual POV, which had me invested in both the fmc and mmc throughout the entire book. The end had me absolutely rabid 🙀

Thank you NetGalley and Terina Adams for the free ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
“If we were loyal to our fates, we should be mortal enemies, yet here we were, entwined in each other’s arms.”
-
✨enemies to lovers
✨stabby fmc
✨slowwwwww burn 😌
✨he falls first and HARD
✨dual pov

As a romantasy girlie, I was thrilled to start this book. It is filled with politics, secrecy, hidden gifts, and a war for power. We follow the journey of two enemies who struggle with remaining loyal to their duty and following their hearts. That’s right, we have the best trope here ✨enemies to lovers ✨. The world building is pretty intense at first, but there are plenty of moments to catch up.

Y’all know I love a stabby fmc who can take care of herself ✋🏻 tressya is that girl 👏🏻 she’s born into the Sistern of Silence (think a secret womens society with hidden powers in the death arts) and is well-trained with blades. I absolutely adored her and how real she was. She’s supposed to be unquestionably loyal to the Sistern, but ultimately starts to question thinks (rightfully so imo ✋🏻). She wants to do the right thing despite her orders. This leads her to a path of finding friendship she’s never had and a war with her heart.

Okay now let’s talk about our mmc, tamas. Tamas is the leader of the northern realm with a thirst for his born right to power. This man is a SIMP and I’m here for it 👏🏻 he says all the right things to melt a girls heart. With that said, I did not enjoy his chapters 😭 I feel like his chapters ruined the pacing of the book and took away a lot of suspense we could’ve had without his POV. I felt like he was a little bland in his POV, but I loved him from Tressya’s POV. However, this isn’t enough to deter me from reading the next book!

Okay, okay let’s get back to my fav part - enemies to loversssss 🙌🏻 this is what I expect when I hear a book marketed as enemies to lovers! They’re born enemies with duties on conflicting sides, yet can’t control their hearts. Not to mention the tension with the slow burn 😮‍💨

Overall, I really enjoyed this book. I’m looking forward to the next one bc that cliffhanger got me good 😌

Reviews on Storygraph, Good reads and Instagram going live today.


The main issue that I had with this book is that it fell into a common trap that 'romantasy' books often do: ignoring the plot to advance the romance. Ordinarily, I would be fine with that but the romance in this book was not compelling. At times, it was also problematic.

First and foremost, neither Tressya or Tamas were well developed or interesting enough for me to care about them. Therefore, why would I care about their romance? Since Tamas bit Tressya for reasons unknown without her consent, are any of her feelings genuine or is she being coerced by the partial mating bond? I'm sorry but that's super problematic.

Due to the heavy focus on the 'romance' , the plot made no damn sense and I had so many unanswered questions about it and the world.
Why is Tamas the prophesied leader to sit on the Bone throne? How does the Nazeen know? What is the Etherwave? How does it relate to the Bone throne? What influence does the Sistern have beyond Tressya's home land? Who are the other clans of the north and why are they so willing to follow Tamas? What is the deal with the soul word and where does that magic come from? Why did the Mother give Tressya the ability to see/control spirits? Was there a point to that or was it just to advance the plot in places? And that's just the tip of the iceberg!
It felt like the world and plot line were underdeveloped which is odd considering how long the book is. Plot threads were started and then dropped. Tressya was able to sneak off way too many times without being asked very reasonable questions about her whereabouts considering her status.

Aside from the possibly coerced romance, there were two other problematic issues. 1) You buried one of your gays which is an overused trope. He was also the best character soooo. 2) Tressya had too much of the 'I'm not like other girls' syndrome to the point where it was annoying. She got alone with one female character who then died like 5 minutes later.

This needs to be beta read and edited more in personal opinion to fix the above problems as well as refine the world building.

I recently finished "The Unbroken Queen" by Terina Adams, and I'm still reeling from the rollercoaster of emotions!

This book was a refreshing surprise in the fantasy genre. With unexpected twists and turns at every corner, it kept me on the edge of my seat, eagerly turning the pages to see what would happen next.

Adams' world-building skills are truly impressive, immersing me in a richly detailed setting filled with intrigue and danger. And the characters? They felt so real, with depth and complexity that kept me invested in their journey from start to finish.

But let's talk about that ending... It completely blindsided me in the best way possible, leaving me craving more. Adams has truly outdone herself with this one, and I can't wait to dive into the rest of the series. If you're looking for a fantasy read that breaks the mold, then look no further. Trust me, you won't be disappointed!

This is one of those books that throws the reader directly into a muddle of people and events and expects you to keep up. It’s a style that works for me, but may not be for everyone. There’s .. a lot of plot in this book, a great deal of focus on politics and treachery as plot after plot is discovered, with so many people involved and so many threads woven together that I found it a little tiring to keep track of. It’s not badly done, just a little frenetic. The pacing of the book ‘itself is fast, and for all that it’s over 400 pages, there aren’t any lulls or slow moments that drag the story down, but there also isn’t a lot of room for a reader to catch their breath.

Tressya is constantly at odds — with herself, with her father, with her watchdog, with her husband to be, with anyone and everyone — and often feels as if she’s just running on instinct. It’s nice to see a character able to and willing to make mistakes, and while she has some powers from her mage-assassin training, they’re limited, leaving her to rely on her training and her own intelligence. Tressya is a flawed character, heavily reactionary for the first half of the book, and I found her to be sympathetic and well written. She never knows more than she ought, has powers that feel unearned, or victories she didn’t work hard for.

I enjoyed her POV chapters much more than I did Tamas’s. While Tressya is concerned about her life, her duty, the plots and her need to survive in this new world, Tamas’s thoughts are … mostly about Tressya. To be honest, I much preferred seeing Tamas through Tressya’s eyes than I did reading his own chapters. Tamas’s side of the story added to some of the plot points, but I never felt like I had a real grasp on him as anything other than a love interest; his personality was just very undefined.

The world building is fun, with different kingdoms wielding different powers; one with its religious female magics (like the Bene Gesserit, complete with using their members as broodmaids), one it’s male wizards, others the ability to bond with and take the shapes of animals. The politics feel real within the world, and the magic system is neither overly explained nor overly hand-wavy. I enjoyed watching Tressya go from an obedient and insecure young woman to someone able to take control of her own life, and strong enough to defend others.

This is the first book in a series, and I’m eager to read the next one!

(I was given an ARC by NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.)

Thank you Net Galley and Terina Adams for access in exchange for my honest review.

“Follow the man who’s turned me into prey?” She shoved the bite mark in my face.
“Princess, you’re far from being prey. I’d say you’re more the hunter than the prey.”

When I say I loved this book I LOVED this book. The set up, the build, the execution was excellent. The flow of the story was just fast enough to keep you wanting more but not so fast that you’re overwhelmed. There was so much to love in this.
There was such a uniqueness in the world that I hadn’t read in a while. Besides your typical political struggles and hierarchy battles this had.. more. I don’t want to give too much away but if you love shapeshifters, sorcerers, enemies to lovers, creative world structure, and exciting adventure this story is for you.
I love that the story took place in multiple settings and the characters moved, I’ve read too many stories recently where characters are stuck in one area for chapters. I also liked the characters personalities shifting as they grew. People grow. A persons behavior should change when they learn something new or go through new things. Tressya and Takas weren’t stale. Each had so much conviction in what they believed and were strong characters. They were enemies, to friends, to lovers. It was so fun watching the love grow. This is a journey of discovery, and love happens to be there along the way.
This book is available to purchase and I urge you to make this one of your next reads!

I was provided an ARC of this book in exhange for an honest review.

Summary:
The Unbroken Queen is the first book in a series called The Bone Throne by Terina Adams. Tressya is the illegitimate daughter of a king, trained as an assassin by an all female society called the Sistern of Silence who secretly orchestrate her betrothal to a prince for ulterior motives. Thrown into a political game of chess and fight for power, Tressya will have to master her unique skills and decide whether the handsome Razohan leader that's wiggled his way into her life is friend or foe.

Thoughts:
This book had so much potential but ultimately wasn't enough to keep me fully engaged throughout. There was good character development and world building in the beginning and I actually liked the FMC. The ghosts were a riot and my absolute favourite. The plot dragged quite a bit in the middle, though, and I found myself losing interest quite quickly. It's heavy on the political and fantasy elements. The romance, though, was a bit weak, and the chemistry between the FMC and the MMC felt a little forced. The pace picked up in the end and the twists in the final section were pretty good. Overall the book was just okay. If you're not bothered by a slower pace and heavy politcs with little romance/steam you may like this one. If you're looking for a page turner that'll get your heart racing with lots of spice, this may not do it for you.

Tropes:
Political Intrigue
Mortal Enemies to Kind of Lovers
Female Assassin's
Talking Spirits
Mating Bonds

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

The beginning of this book was hard to get into as it was heavy on the world building and was a lot of information to try and take in, which can be a bit overwhelming at times. I carried on reading as I wanted to get to where the story actually began and not let the barrage of information put me off, and I'm so glad I did.

This story was full of intrigue and twists. It's dual POV, and I was really rooting for both characters even though they're on opposing sides. As hard as getting through the start was once I got into it I couldn't put it down. Observing as relationships developed and the storyline started to come together and secrest were revealed and really pulled the story together. I'm looking forward to seeing where the series goes next.

I was lucky enough to receive an arc of this for my honest review. I would recommend this book, and I would advise anyone to persevere through the heavy world building as it's worth it all once you get into the story.

A Spellbinding Tale of Intrigue and Sacrifice: "Unbroken Queen" by Terina Adams
"Unbroken Queen" by Terina Adams weaves a captivating narrative of political intrigue, hidden powers, and the ultimate struggle for survival. Set in a world where loyalty is tested and secrets abound, this novel takes readers on a thrilling journey alongside a princess bound by duty and destiny.
At the heart of the story is an illegitimate princess, betrothed to the crown prince of the House of Tannard, yet harboring a secret allegiance to the formidable Sistern of Silence. As she grapples with her dual identity, she discovers that she has been manipulated by her mentor and chosen for a purpose she cannot yet comprehend—a purpose that could have catastrophic consequences for the realms she holds dear.
Curious to uncover the secrets that lie within the pages of 'Unbroken Queen'? Trust me, you won't want to miss the twists and turns that await you! Dive into the captivating world of political intrigue, hidden powers, and unyielding determination. But remember, the real adventure begins when you turn the first page. Are you ready to discover the truth?

- Tressya is the illegitimate daughter of the king and is raised by a secret society of women called the Sistern. She's combat trained and has magical abilities. And is sent to another kingdom for an arranged marriage.
- The story didn't draw me in the way i would've liked. The beginning was confusing with all the character introduction and world building.
- I honestly expected more romance but overall it was an enjoyable book.

This book is a solid start to a new fantasy series. The premise was complex and interesting. The characters were well drawn, especially some sure characters. The romance was good. There was a lot of character introduction and world building right off the bat that was a bit hard to follow. Good action, conflict, and drama. But cliffhanger ending.

This was a great book! The world building was so good! And the romance was just what I wanted. I would highly recommend this book!

Thank you Terina Adams and NetGalley for an ARC in exchange for my honest review.

Who doesn't love when a book starts off with a big bang. I mean... literally. BANG. Kidding aside, this book is the first in a series written by Erica Adams that follows the story of Tressya, a princess with some killer skills who can definitely hold her own , and Tamas, who has claim to the Bone Throne. From there the story is full of adventure, slow burn romance, and political intrigue. All ending with a very unpredictable cliffhanger (I truly didn't see it coming! ) that will have you obsessing for the second book in the series.

soo,
as a fantasy, this book is basically about the northerners and southerners warring for the bone throne. there was deception, enemies, allies, love, magic, ghosts and everything in between.(very GOT-ish if yk what I mean)

as a romance/romantasy though,😏😏😏this is about Tamas and Tressya. Tamas is the Head of the Razohan clan in the North who also has clajms to the Throne of Bone and Tressya is this badass princess who has some special abilities related with death and has come to get married in Tarragona which is a southern kingdom.
we basically see how Tressya becomes involved in the politics in Tarragona and her relationship with Tamas (who isn't even her betrothed!) which is kind of forbidden because they're on opposite sides of the war and we see how the lines between them become blurrier with literally every interaction, and I'm telling you right now, the tension between them, the chemistry- .

unfortunately, this book wasn't doing for me; hence, the 4 stars. if I was being objective, I definitely would give this book 5 stars, but I wasn't able to connect with the characters, and something about plot was just off. it felt too crowded, and had holes in it at the same time which was weird, and the characters would do things that their characters weren't meant to be doing which left me a bit confused at certain points because ??.

anyways, this is part of a series and I can't waitt!! to read the next book, and hopefully the series only gets better from here. so anyone looking for a fantasy recommendation with light smut, badass ass fmc, and very smitten mmc with a medium-fast pace, THEN THIS IS FOR UU!!

some of my notes while reading:
this is SO Game of Thrones omgg
truly Radnisa is so horrible she acts like Nesta from ACOTAR