I think this series is only getting stronger as the books go on. At the beginning of Empress of Fae I wasn't loving the multiple point of views, but as the story progressed, it was a great way to stay connected with both Morgan and Draven, and their separate experiences. I really enjoyed the overall story of this third book and I thought the characters all played a significant role throughout. This book, like the first two, had an ending that felt a bit rushed, but other than that I thought the pacing was natural. One of my issues with the series overall is the continued negative experiences of SA between Morgan and other male characters. I believe this is an important and large issue, however for it to be something that is added into almost every relationship she has with any major male character, it feels a bit overwhelming. I think a character can be a villain and seen as evil without always having to commit the same crimes.

Overall, I really enjoyed this book and I look forward to finishing out the series with Knight of the Goddess!

Just when I thought King Arthur might redeem himself into a hero worth cheering for he does something foul. Morgan is running away from her duties in Myntra. Draven refuses to be left behind. Can Morgan stop Arthur? Will Morgan and Draven unite? Find out in Empress of Fae.

I want to thank Starwater Press for this ARC via Netgalley.

I've really tried with this series, but I think it's just not for me. I am not finding it enjoyable and felt myself get annoyed at many of the characters throughout.

I really enjoyed this book. The plot was brilliant and I enjoyed all the twists. It definitely became very dark towards the end of the book but it was showed how awful Arthur's crimes were.

There were moments of lightness towards the beginning of the book. Hawl and their frying pan had me howling with laughter.

I wish I got to see more of Morgan and Orcades relationship. I enjoyed watching it grow, but I would have liked to see more if it.

Overall, it was a great installment in the Blood of A Fae series, and really brought the plot together.

Hold onto your hats, fantasy fans, because Morgan's saga just hit turbo-speed with twists so wild, they'd make a rollercoaster jealous! I nearly dropped my popcorn when secrets about Morgan's dad started spilling—he’s been more backstage than a Broadway phantom, pulling strings and causing chills. And let’s hear it for Javer, who revealed his true colors in a cheer-worthy plot twist!

Despite Javer’s heroics, Morgan’s got a mountain of messes to clean up, but thankfully she’s not flying solo. With a pair of scrappy armies and some intriguing allies, including Guinevere and a notably wise owl, she’s geared up for whatever shadowy surprises come next.

Speaking of surprises, the shadow monsters are crashing the party like uninvited guests, adding a deliciously mysterious layer to this epic. The stakes? Higher than a dragon’s flight path, especially with dark forces creeping in thanks to Arthur’s antics.

As we teeter on the edge of a cliffhanger, I'm all in for what Morgan and her adorable exmoors tackle next. Throwing 4.5 spellbinding stars into the cauldron for this one!

Can’t wait to see how this magical brew concludes!

**I received this book from NetGalley for my honest review **

Empress of Fae is book 3 in the Blood of a Fae series by Briar Boleyn.
This has been a phenomenal dark fantasy romance series!
The amazing world building, the epic fantasy, Morgan’s journey, and all of the twists and turns made this book absolutely unputdownable!
Now I’m jumping right into book four!

Thank You NetGalley and Starwater Press for your generosity and gifting me a copy of this amazing eARC!

3.5⭐️

I received a free copy of this book through NetGalley and the publisher in exchange for an honest review.

Empress of Fae is the 3rd installment in the Blood of a Fae series. Morgan and Draven were apart for the majority of this book, which is the most likely reason that we have a multi-POV. I appreciated how most of the characters had no issues calling out Draven for all of his actions in the last book, and that he was accepting of the feedback.

I thought that the plot of this book was not as great as the first two. It almost felt like a retelling of the first book where Morgan was pretty much just going along with everything and once again put in a position where a power-hungry man is trying to manhandle her. I understand that there's a "plan", but no way did her character go backwards. Like I said, the FMC and MMC were pretty much separated, which is annoying when they've been together the majority of the first two books. They do interact in dreams, but I found that those were mostly used as smut scenes. It was also frustrating how quickly Morgan forgave Draven.

My favorite in this book has got to be Morgan and Orcades' relationship. I just enjoyed their interaction so much. Although this didn't hit like the first two, I'm still going to complete the series with the hope that the story improves.

I really enjoyed this continuation of this series. I have definitely grown attached to the characters and the story is so addictive. I would highly recommend this book!

I have grown so attached to these characters. The storyline and character development have been fantastic! I can absolutely picture everything in my head as I am reading along.
Morgan and Draven are so fucking cute. I can’t! I love their unique relationship and can’t wait to see what happens next.

~ Thank you to NetGalley for an ARC in exchange for an honest review ~

The action! The romance! The plot! This book had it all. So much happened in this book, I don’t even know where to begin. Morgan and Draven were separated for a good bit of this book, we had some more courtly intrigue, lots of action, and a decent amount of spying and betrayal.

For this book we are back in Camelot, and things are progressing at an alarming speed- Arthur has Excalibur, he’s married to “Belisent” who is pregnant, Kaye is not there, there’s a new favored man who is horribly brutal, more brutal entertainment is going to happen, and things are vastly different with the country’s religion. Morgan has a pretty daunting to do list, she’s trying to find and save Kaye, figure out how to deal with Arthur, how to deal with Arthur’s right hand man, figure out what to do about Arthur’s wife, and figure out what she wants to do about Draven.

Girlie is a lot better than I am because she actually got done with everything on her list by the end of the book. This would’ve been a list that took me about a year to complete considering it takes me 5-10 business days to fold my laundry. I feel like the plot in this book just kept pushing along in a way I was absolutely loving. I do kind of wish that Morgan had learned a bit more about her powers in this book since we only have one left, but I am loving every time she uses her fire powers- and what the heck is up with how she killed Uther? I definitely want more info on that, that seems like she has another power we are all unaware about. I am so excited to read the last book in this series!

I really liked the first two books in this series but, unfortunately, this one didn’t grip me. I found myself skimming to get through some of the chapters. Kairos and Morgan were separated for most of the book and I think that was a lot of what made it hard to get through. They had some times where they met in dreams but that felt like sort of a cop out to me. It was clearly just a way for the author to get them together even though they were apart. I also found that Morgan went from being very mad and feeling betrayed by Kairos to just flipping a 180 and admitting her love, etc.
There were just some pacing issues, I guess.
The plot is still pretty interesting and I think I’ll read the fourth but I’m in no hurry.

I'm so invested! If I could give more stars than just 5 I would. I really can't tell you enough that you will love this series! Romance, packed adventures. I want to dive into the book, literally!!

Amazing! This series is just getting better. Briar Boleyn has a great talent for storytelling and the ability to grow their characters. Three books in and I am still learning more about these characters and the world around them. It is a great series that continues to build off of itself and adds more layers to what has been written and established in the last book.

I'm so glad that I found this series and have been able to read the installments back-to back-to back. I'm invested!

First--the negatives. 1) I did NOT enjoy the switching perspectives this time. I understand that our MCs are in different locations, so it's necessary for keeping up with them both, BUT adding in more character narrations as well just muddied the voices for me. The writing didn't change enough to be distinct, so I lost some of the personalities that I initially found engaging. 2) Dialogue throughout this one felt more forced than in the previous books. Again, it plays into the lost voices of the characters when their words seem like such a departure from who they previously were.

NOW...all that said... I still devoured this story and cannot wait to read book 4. The layers of depth coming through in the character development, the building tension of knowing this is all going to come to a head, the constant shock at just how despicable some characters can be... it all had me racing through this installment in just a day. The mix of book 1 and book 2 characters is just going to grow and be more intense, I'm hooked to see what happens with Guinevere, and the story with Morgan and Draven is clearly still the backbone.

Overall: 4 stars (I really liked it)

I'll tell my students about: language, sex (SPICY), LGBT+, parental death, violence/gore/murder, supernatural, trauma, physical abuse, rape (mentioned), infanticide

**Thank you to NetGalley & Starwater Press for the free ARC. All opinions expressed are my own.** Review posted to GoodReads 4/22/24

Empress of fea is the thrid installment in Briar Boleyns Blood of Fea series. We pick up here where book 2 left off with Morgan running away from Draven and back to Arthurs court. Draven, of course, is having no part of that and soon follows... thankfully.
This book was painfully slow, and really nothing happened for 75% of the book. It took me a week to muddle through and actually finish it. This felt like a filler book. You know the one that you find in a series that added no value to the overall story or character delepment. They just write it to put out a book or meet a deadline. It felt like the author had two ideas, and neither one really fleshed out. Hopefully, book four comes back with a redeeming arc, and we can chalk this one up to bad timing or a push to meet a deadline and get back to a story worth reading.

I can’t stop. I can’t put it down. I need to read more.

I’m addicted to this series, to put it bluntly.

As I was fortunate enough to receive all 4 books in the series so far at the same time, I’ve been able to read them back to back and it’s a good job as I would not be okay having to wait between drops otherwise!

Empress of Fae sees Morgan returning to Camelot to face the realities of her brother’s tyranny. And it’s not a pretty sight.

Forced into hiding initially, she learns the very difficult truth of what’s been happening while she’s been away.

However, her brother’s antics are not her only concern. He has a new Lord General who is far worse than the last one and he has his sights set firmly on one woman: Morgan. Fenrir makes Florian look like an angel and he’s dead set on marrying Morgan. She’s in a race against time to save not only herself, but all of Camelot too before she’s marched down the aisle and into his (vicious and violent) arms.

And where is her believed Draven in all of this? Thousands of miles away in Myntra, where she left him.

Incredible series so far, I’ve recommended it to everyone!

I am not sure I’m mentally prepared for it to end and I only have one book left.

Truly a gripping and engaging continuation of the Blood of the Fae series. So many emotions were felt in the reading of Empress of the Fae, love, joy, anger, sadness, and just straight horror for the atrocities Arthur committed. This series is the first I’ve read from author Briar Boleyn but it will certainly not be my last, her story telling has me hooked. Draven and Morgan are where it’s at, I just adore them and their band of friends. My heart really felt for Javer and Caspar, truly honorable men who made a few regrettable choices in their past. As I said in the beginning this was such and engaging story and I’m looking forward to the next book. Thank you to NetGalley and Briar Boleyn for a copy of this book in exchange for my honest opinions

This is book 3 of the Queen of Roses series!

This book picks up where book 2 leaves off. While book 2 was all about Draven’s world, this book pummels back into the kingdom of Pendragon and the war that has ultimately decimated the kingdom and its people thanks to Arthur’s cruelty.

Morgan must act as the dutiful sister to the King in order to gain information to remove Arthur from the throne. Nothing goes as planned. There is a traitor in their midst, and Arthur’s new Queen is not as innocent as she seems..

I enjoyed the way that the author was able to keep Morgan and Draven together, even if it was only in their dream world for majority of the book. You could tell that he gave her strength even when them meeting wasn’t really face to face. There are so many moving piece at play here and the never ending twists make it so much better. I enjoy being sucked into this wonderful world!

A couple sections left me with questions.. how did the sword basically teleport Draven to Morgan? It was never explained.. what actually happened when each of the dying fae went to help Morgan with her injuries.. her eyes changed color, does that mean her powers did too? Will her and Draven keep Medra? What did Guinevere actually do to Arthur? He wasn’t blind cause he was looking at everyone..? And what is with the owl.. the fact that it keeps being noticed means it’s important.. right?

Ahhhhhhh! If you are a fan of a totally unexpected plot twist - this is it! I was on the edge of my seat for almost the entire book! I loved it so much. It was a little stressful, but sooo good! I’m still loving this Camelot fantasy retelling. I’m terrified going into the next and final book b/c I’m so warm and fuzzy with the ending here. 🔥📚❤️

This is the third book in the Blood of Fae series and you’re in for a ride. Morgan has returned to Camelot with Javer in tow. Her younger brother and everyone she knows are in grave danger due to Arthur’s terrorizing behavior. She immerses herself back into the court she hates in order to gather valuable information from Arthur and his deeply demented followers.
Draven is on his own adventure after deciding to sail after her. There is a problem in his plan, it takes an awful long time to sail across an ocean. He hold out hope that his mate is safe against the odds while he travels after her.

Getting Dravens POV was absolutely delightful.

“You’re on your way to her. You’ll see her soon,” he promised me convincingly. I gritted my teeth. “Or she’ll turn me away and I’ll spend the rest of my life like a dog at her heels.” “Well, there’s no other place you’d rather be, right? Barking behind her?”

As a warning, this book contains some dark material. It’s hard to stomach, but so is war and the story has been building to this point. Not to say you should have seen it coming but… you should have seen some of this coming. The horror of it all fits in well with what had already been set up.

You don’t get a whole lot of romance in this book, you do get some, but it’s not the main focus. That’s what I’ve liked about this series is that romance isn’t the main focus. It’s a story that happens to have romantic aspects. The real story is of Morgan Pendragon, a girl who was dealt some really shittt cards and has done everything in her power to write her own future. Draven just so happens to be there supporting her, not saving her. She did that all on her own.
We didn’t get a cliff hanger but we most certainly didn’t get relief. Worse is coming. I can’t wait to meet him.