I will preface this by saying this that this is one of the very few fantasy romance series I didn't hate and saw all the way through which is absolutely a win in my book. It was quite enjoyable if a little long and spicywhich usually isn’t my preference. However, the romance and the fantasy felt pretty balanced out which is my main criteria for the genre. I believe I would have appreciated the experience even more in audio format since that’s generally how I prefer to consume my romantasy so I might revisit it in the future through an audiobook.

Briar Boleyn has once again proven why we keep coming back for more! She is a master when it comes to the dark fantasy genre! This conclusion is what I live for! Briar was able to bring everything together so beautifully. It left me breathless and glued to the pages like my life depended on it.

Morgan and Draven’s chemistry is something else! And that throne room scene! Talk about hot! 😆

This book had me and my emotions all over the place, but I would definitely come back for more every time. This is a series worth reading over and over again.

A Dark and Drowning Tide is a beautifully dark tale woven with rich folklore, an irresistible sapphic academic rivals-to-lovers romance, a gripping murder mystery, and an epic expedition.

The story follows Lorelei Kaskel, a sharp-witted folklorist on a treacherous expedition with six eccentric nobles to uncover a legendary spring said to grant immense power. For Lorelei, this journey is her chance to prove herself and fulfill her dream of becoming a naturalist. But the stakes rise dramatically when her mentor and expedition leader is murdered aboard their ship. With her remaining companions all potential suspects, Lorelei must lead the mission while unraveling the mystery. The only ally she can trust? Her infuriatingly charming academic rival, Sylvia von Wolff.

The worldbuilding in this novel is nothing short of breathtaking, immersing readers in a richly imagined realm. The murder mystery is masterfully crafted, keeping me hooked as the tension escalated. Saft’s prose is beautiful and evocative, breathing life into every page.

Lorelei is a standout protagonist - headstrong and determined, her character arc is as compelling as it is believable. Her dynamic with Sylvia, whose tender nature contrasts beautifully with Lorelei’s fiery personality, adds layers to the story. However, I do wish Sylvia’s perspective had been included to further enrich the narrative.

Overall, A Dark and Drowning Tide is a must-read for fans of dark academia, rivals-to-lovers romance, and richly magical worlds. Saft’s talent shines, and I’ll definitely be reaching for more of her work in the future.

2 ⭐️

Let's start with what I enjoyed about the book.
The scene in the throne room with the castle tour was absolutely hilarious and a much needed bright moment in a dark tale. Lancelet back in full force and happy, I loved that.

Sadly, the book just didn't finish the series in the way that it hoped. Instead of a big battle, we get a small group splitting off. Characters established in book 2 either don't reappear or are there for a very small period of time.

The storyline with the gods mostly confused me. I'm not sure if we were meant to have noticed signs for the reveal or not, but I certainly hadn't. It felt like the author was undoing her own lore.

The author has never shied away from killing her characters off, but this one felt a little like throwing them away. There was little time to mourn them, and the smut scene that occurred after 2 deaths was a little too far for me. Plus, the unanswered questions around the undead children and the curse of bearing no children. Will that end now? Will the children die fully?

Overall, I'm a little disappointed. The potential was so high, and unfortunately, the book just didn't do it for me. I received an advance review copy of this book, and this review represents my honest opinion. Thank you to netgalley, the author, and the publisher for the opportunity to read this book.

I really enjoyed this book! It was a captivating read that held my attention from start to finish. The story was well-paced, and the characters felt real and engaging. I’m grateful to the publisher for providing an early copy—it was a pleasure to read!

Definitely one of my favourite series ever. These books have evrything I could possibly want: magic, love, friendship, intrigue, twists, steam and fun.
I raced through the last half of Knight of the Goddess, I skipped some sleep time even because I just had to know how Morgan and Draven’s story ends. Well wow, my heart was beating so fast while I devoured the book and I felt elated and sad at the same time when I finished the last sentence. I love and hate the feeling of finishing a series I’ve grown to love.
Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for my copy. All opinions are my own.

I wrote this book. The female in the book had a lot of great character development and the world also progressed really well. I enjoyed the way the author blended cliffhangers and created a story that left me wanting more. This book had a ton of tension and it also created plots for future spinoffs. I cannot wait to see how the final combination of events occurs in for her to get her happily ever after. I also found that this was the book where the romance escalated, and I really enjoyed the twist interns that the author created as a main goal found her found family.

This is the epic ending to the series. In this book we see the gods that we have learned much about. It was strange to go from our beloved main characters to meeting gods. Spoiler alert, they are not nice.

Of course this epic tale would not be possible without sacrifices. There are some heartbreaking deaths and some disappointment that we see very little of certain characters.

I’m sad to leave this universe but I’m happy to have read such a great saga.

Thank you NetGalley , Starwater Press and Briar Boleyn for this series!

I said in my review of Empress of Fae that so much felt wrapped up to me with the storyline of the overall series. Of course, Morgan still needs to deal with her father. Like many other fantasy series, the evil villain has increased in might and severity with each book. And maybe that was the problem. Morgan's brother was built up as the big bad for most of the series, and he was dealt with in book 3, now we have to deal with Morgan's father. And he's an even bigger big bad than her brother was. Actually, her brother was nothing compared to her father. Sometimes series that follow this path can be frustrating.

Knight of the Goddess starts off with a battle with Morgan's blood siblings that seems like all hope is lost. Automatically losing a battle with no hope of winning mixed with feeling a sense of completion after the previous book left me struggling to feel invested in Knight of the Goddess. And I kept putting it down in favor of reading other things. But of course, there must be hope. There's no point in a book with zero hope. Once things began to turn around, I was finally invested enough to want to finish this book.

-But an Ursidaur mates for a purpose, and when that purpose is over, they are solitary once more. We prefer it that way.”
How exactly does mating work with a they/them non-binary bear creature?

The inclusion of Morgan's niece narrating, Medra, was okay. I had a feeling where it was all leading to in the end. She's a confused kid who grew up way too quickly with the people she needed most not able to be close by her. But if they'd been there, the outcome likely wouldn't have gone as it did.

-"You should hate me." "But I don't," she snapped. "Stop trying to make me. It won't work." I looked away. "It worked with everyone else." "Is that what you think? That you succeeded?" I wouldn't face her. "They left, didn't they?" "Your aunt? Draven? They left to save you, Medra. Not because they didn't care."

-"You don't have to consider me your family," Odessa said quietly. If she was hurt, I couldn't tell. "I can still consider you mine."

One of the biggest pet peeves that I had with Knight of the Goddess was the transformations that Morgan goes through without the reader being aware of it. She's keeping some secrets from Draven, so we know there's something up. But it felt so jarring. I can't discuss it in detail because it would be spoilers, but who Morgan ends up being, and her relation to her father and sisters were confusing, didn't feel like it was planned out the entire series but felt like it was a convenient direction to conclude what had come to be a mess. Pull in the entire system of gods in this world and it just didn't add up to me the way it was supposed to.

-I prayed that they would suffer no further losses along the way to Camelot.
Prayed to who? Morgan didn't believe in or respect the gods in this world. And yet not greater beings were ever offered as a true God.

Ultimately, I found that I was a little disappointed with Knight of the Goddess. I would have been completely fine if the series had stopped after book 3. The entire book felt a little forced to me. I still liked the main characters, Draven and Morgan. But the rest of the cast of characters checked too many diversity boxes to be real. As a matter of fact, more of the secondary characters fall into the LGBT boxes than not. And I don't like to feel like plot, characters, religion, politics, or anything is being forced upon me as a reader. In the end, Knight of the Goddess gets 3.5 Stars. Not terrible, but not great either. Have you read Knight of the Goddess? What did you think? Let me know!

Although I loved the series. I found this last book extremely long and my interest in the characters faded. I understand this was setting the story for the spin off series. but I struggled.

Was I ready for this series to end? Absolutely not! Knight of the Goddess brings the conclusion to Morgan and Draven's story and it gave me so many surprises I defiantly wasn't ready for - I wont include spoilers for anyone but what a ride! Boleyns writing is fantastic and has you hooked, but we knew that from the series as a whole. New POVs, Final Quests and how many died?! left us with a good over all finale.

knocked to a four star only because I wished it was a little longer, and made the battles more thought out as they just felt over before they even began. I also had a re read the whole plot twist with Morgan!

Thanks to Starwater press and Briar Boleyn for the final arc in this series for exchange for an honest review.

Just as excellent as the earlier books in the series. Definitely worth continuing, such a great story beaytifywritten.

The perfect conclusion to an incredible series! Knight of the Goddess brings everything together for Morgan and Draven in such an epic way. The fantasy action is thrilling, and the romance is beautifully woven into the story. I was completely immersed in this world from start to finish, and I can’t believe I’ve finished the entire series—it was an absolute joy to read. Briar Boleyn’s writing never fails to captivate me, and I’m so glad I followed this journey to the end. Highly recommend for anyone who loves fantasy romance with rich storytelling and memorable characters!

Happy RELEASE day to one of my favorite romantasy series!!!

The final installment in Morgan Le Fay’s story as an Arthurian retelling. You. Do. Not. Want. To. Sleep. On. This. Story.

Available on KU or for purchase on Amazon - or both 😉 Everyone needs their shelf trophy!

While ya’ll are waiting for the next Rebecca Yarros and SJM novels, I’ll be in the world of Aercanum obsessing over the fae-inspired version of Jason Mamoa as Kairos Draven.😋

Seriously, this story has my heart and I’m so thankful to have stumbled upon this series last year and subsequently binged every book while marveling in the works that Briar has created and brought to life on paper.

A true 5⭐️ series!🫶🏽

#bloodofafae #bloodofafaeseries #booksbooksbooks #fantasyromance #romance #queenofroses #bookstagram #booklover #arc #bookish #briarboleyn #briarboleynstreetteam #romantasy #mustread

Thank you Net Galley and Publishers for letting me read an arc of this book in return for an honest review.

*slight spoilers*
The end of a series you love is always bittersweet and this one was no different. Was this like every other fantasy book? yes, did I still enjoy it? also yes. Evil comes to town and only a young girl can protect the ones she loves. She goes off on an adventure making friends and enemies along the way. She learns she's not actually mortal and she has magic. Battles are fought, people die. The guy she thought would hurt her is actually a good guy, and ends up being her mate. He's a shadow daddy and spicy things happen. The final boss battle comes, she loses friends and family along the way. She learns she's actually all powerful, a goddess, and she can save all humanity. The war is over, peace has come to the kingdom, she can finally be happy.

It's all the same but it was still a great journey. I got attached to some characters and of course they had to go and die on me. Tears were shed. Some of their deaths felt too short though, especially if they were supposed to be great warriors. Felt kinda rushed. And the ending was good, but also felt rushed. Like for 4 books we're building up to this all powerful and mighty battle and then it lasts like 5 mins. Other than that the world building was great. It was an adventurous series that I'm sad to see go.

3.5 stars
Struggling to write this review because I loved the first three books so much! The bar for this book was high. I did love the ending, but it left me with questions. Spoilers below!

I still don’t know what happened when Rychel left. It seems odd that she gave up her life to save one child. We’re also not told what happened with Guinevere- was her illness because of Morgan/proximity to the grail etc? We do not get this answer. All of the name changes kept me dizzy! I dislike when this happens in books because it is confusing. I understand that it makes for a surprise in the end, but I still dislike this.
The ending overall was satisfying, but some of these gaps left me wondering.

Thank you, NetGalley and Starwater Press, for this advanced reading copy.

I hate when good things have to come to an end and the end of this series was truly sad. There was a dark cloud/undertone immediately sensed from the beginning of the book that I could not shake as I was reading through. There was a feeling of unease as the crew embarked on their quest to stop the destruction of Morgan's father's reign. As you get deeper into the book and become part of their journey, the reader can witness the chaos her father left in his wake. Trust me when I say the journey was not easy or for the light-hearted. This book provided much growth and illustrated loss as Morgan and the crew battle against the Gods—everything you were questioning from the other books in the series is finally revealed. This was an excellent ending to the series.

Really enjoyed the series, was hooked the entire journey. Was invested in the characters the whole time.

I really enjoyed this book. Thank you so much Netgalley for an arc of this book. I apologize for the late review.

Rating - 5/5 🌟

Absolutely love Morgan and Draven! What a great way to end the series! Draven will forever be a top book boyfriend!