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

"To the fae and mortal dreamers...To the hope that lies in dreams."

Court of Claws is the 2nd book in the Blood of a Fae series. This books is definitely Draven's book despite it being told from Morgan's POV. It's very clear from the end of the first book that Draven is going to be our MMC, and he's a morally grey one at that. I really enjoyed his character in the first book, but was so frustrated with him in this one. There was a lot of miscommunication and a lot of it was due to Draven having all these plans and not sharing them with Morgan. It's a bit frustrating when supposedly you love her. Despite this, I thought that this author did a great job in moving their story and relationship along.

I'm not going to say anything about the plot because I feel like it's going to spoil the book. However, know that you will be introduced to a lot of new characters in this book, and I loved and loved to hate them all. Overall, this 2nd installment in the series was entertaining and I'm excited to see where the rest of the story goes.

I was given an advanced copy in exchange for my review, this is my honest opinion I am giving voluntarily. I felt all the emotions going on this journey with our FMC Morgan. The plot was fantastic, the writing style was so good and I don't think it's fair I am now hooked on another fantasy series. It is a long one but I really appreciate that. Overall I think this series is great and every book just keeps getting better.

Okay, so I was complaining about knowing where the story will go in the first book? NOT ANYMORE. I mean obviously, some of the high-level story arcs were straightforward but I was screaming into the void more often than not. In a good way.

In the second book of the Blood of Fae series, you will get:
🔥 High stakes, and I mean HIGH
🔥 Fated mates
🔥 Trials and challenges
🔥 War on multiple fronts
🔥 Deadly beasts who are at their core sweethearts

I was already excited to continue the series after the first book, but now I feel I cannot stop until I devour the last two books as well. I need my fix. The only reason I'm not giving 5 stars is that the writing style is not my favorite but I still immensely enjoy reading this story.

4.5 stars, rounded UP!

Ever since the cliffhanger of an ending in Queen of Roses, I've been waiting to dive back into Briar Boleyn's world of Morgan Pendragon. It's a shame I waited too long to do it. This was a powerhouse of a book packed with action, romance, extremely likable characters (a bear that cooks, plus an exmoor -- a giant cat that you can ride into battle!!!) and a challenge for the throne! This book just kept getting better and better with surprising twists that you didn't see coming.

I originally picked up the series because it was a take on Arthurian legend. I was not disappointed as we still talk of Excalibur and Camelot...not to mention that the HOLY GRAIL makes an appearance. If you know Arthurian legend... you'll be pleasantly surprised by a reveal for Morgan by the end -- whether she likes it or not.

Boleyn has left me hanging on at the end once more. Empress of the Fae -- here I come!

Thank you to NetGalley, Briar Boleyn and Starwater Press for allowing me the distinct pleasure of access to all four books in this series with the release of the final installment in March 2024.

I can’t believe how much I loved this book! The story is so addictive and the characters were very well written. I would highly recommend this book!

Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️ (3.5)
Spice: 🌶️ 🌶️(1.5)

"Court of Claws" by Briar Boleyn is the thrilling second installment in the "Blood of a Fae" series, and it's a book that had me hooked from the very first page. As I devoured the first book in the series, I was eagerly anticipating the continuation of Morgan and Draven's story, and Boleyn did not disappoint.

The book picks up shortly after the events of the first book, with Morgan waking up in a strange new place - the Court of Umbral Flames, the home of the Siabra people and Draven's own court. Draven, it turns out, is the Prince of Claws, and he's holding Morgan "captive" in his suite as part of a plan to make it appear that they are romantically involved so that she won't be harmed. What might appear at first like betrayal on his side and him kidnapping her, is actually Draven saving her life and hiding her from her brother until he has reclaimed the throne.

From there, the story takes some unexpected twists and turns, as Morgan navigates the treacherous politics of the Siabra court and the three trials that will determine the next ruler. Along the way, she meets a young boy named Beks who helps her escape captivity for a time and explore the palace's hidden tunnels. I really liked the addition of his character, he reminded me a lot of her younger brother Kaye.

One of the things I loved most about this book was the deeper dive into Draven's character and backstory. In the first book, he was a bit of a mystery, but here we get to see more of his motivations and the challenges he's faced. The relationship and dynamic between him and Morgan also is both intriguing and frustratingly complicated, with the revelation that they are now bonded, which adds an extra layer of complexity to their relationship.

That said, I did get a bit frustrated with Morgan at times, as she seemed to constantly mistrust Draven and overreact to the situation they found themselves in. I understand her hesitation, given the unusual circumstances, but there were moments where I just wanted to shake some sense into her. I would say that her character development was the biggest disappointment for me in the book and definitely took some of the joy away. In the first book I was praising the author for not depicting her as the typical FMC who is immature, stubborn and a bit slow-witted at times - character traits that have (unfortunately) become so common in fantasy romance novels. While she was smart, understanding, kind and resilient in the first book, she became almost unbearable in the second.

Despite this and the slow pace in the first half, the book is full of twists and turns that I never saw coming, and the world-building continues to be top-notch. The trials for the throne were particularly thrilling, and I found myself on the edge of my seat, wondering how it would all play out. By the end of the book, Morgan has made some significant strides in her own power and independence, and I'm excited to see where her journey takes her in the next instalment. The cliffhanger ending has left me with so many questions, and I can't wait to dive into the next book to get some answers.

Overall, "Court of Claws" is a great addition to the "Blood of a Fae" series, and I would highly recommend it to anyone who enjoys fantasy, romance, and a good dose of political intrigue. Briar Boleyn has once again delivered a captivating and immersive read that will keep you turning the pages long into the night.

This is the follow up from Queen of Roses( book 1).
Enemies to lovers! Romance! Spice!
Yesss honey!!!! This series is off to a strong start and I am obsessed! It is quickly becoming one of my absolute favorite series! This cliffhanger is killing me!

I am so wishy-washy about this book…I really want to love it but I have SO MANY questions. My one hope is that they get answered in the next books. The ending made me want to jump right in to book three! So, fingers crossed 🤞 that I get answers and more of Kairos and Morgan together AND building each other up because I think they can if only they could get over themselves!! The ANGST… and not in a good way.

Thank you to NetGalley, Starwater Press, and Briar Boleyn for the ARC read!

Morgan Pendragon is healing from her injuries. Prince Kairos Draven Venator must now enter The Blood Rise. All Morgan wants is to go home to Camelot but has no means of support getting there without Draven. What can Morgan do? Will Draven keep his promise? Find out in Court of Claws.

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

World building, character building.. This is a great series. Page turning face-paced, plot twisting, emotional rollercoaster.. Just go pick it up!

Thank you Starwater Press, NetGallery and Briar Boleyn for providing this ARC.

As on writing this review I have finished the series and read faster than I could review.
I didn’t want to put the books down and leave the world that Briar had written. Briar has such amazing world building and story telling that it had such a hook in me from beginning to end.

Cannot wait to read the other books that the author has published.

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

We got so much more information in this book and I’m so happy about it! I had such a great time reading this, and I am loving the dynamic between Morgan and Draven, they are so cute together. I loved getting to see more of Draven and where he is from and the people he surrounds himself with. This book definitely had that found family aspect to it that a lot of fantasy books have, and I think it was done very well.

I think that Morgan was being a little hard on Draven for pretty much the entire book, but I don’t think it was anything that really got in the way of me being able to read it. I am so so glad that we got some more information on the fae and what the heck is going on with that. I do think that the presence of fae in this book is a little murky, because it was shown to us in the first book that like no full blooded fae have been around for like 150 years, so Morgan just being totally down with it was a little odd but not entirely.

The trials?!!? I love a good trial, you can really tell I’m from the Hunger Games generation with how into to-the-death trials I am. I also liked that it made sense, sometimes the plot gets lost with trials involved, but that didn’t happen here. We knew why the trial was happening, we watched trials happen, and we got a little more into the trials than just that too. It also helped that Morgan didn’t know what was going on with those, so other characters explaining what’s happening to her didn’t feel like forced explanations.

This book was a stellar sequel- the plot kept moving, we learned more about Morgan’s background, we learned more about Draven’s background, we got more worldbuilding, and we got a good amount of action AND romance. 100% worth the read!

Part 2 of the Blood of a Fae series really built on the momentum from book one!

I have to say that I really enjoyed the additional characters brought in for this installment and appreciated some of the growth seen from our MCs from the previous book. It's clear that Draven and Morgan are still trying to figure out their relationship with one another, so their passion and foibles are more believable. The secondary characters, though, add so much dimension to building out the world and supporting the story line without overtaking it.

This story is much quicker paced and although the "challenges" seem to be glossed over too much to really be intimidating, the juxtaposition of the various events keep the story engaging. With space away from "King Arthur & his court", I found myself drawn into the world building of Myntra and the Siabran people. It made the originality of the author's ideas shine in a different way than book one and made this book much more enjoyable for me as a reader.

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)

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

Title: Court of Claws
Author: Briar Boleyn
Genre: Fantasy romance
Media: ebook
Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

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Favorite quote: “You're a force of destiny Morgan Pendragon. Or should I call you Morgan Venator?”
Sum of this book in 5 words or less: N/A

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Themes: retelling, family, murder, assault

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Thoughts:

I received a free ebook in exchange for an honest review.

Short summary - Morgan and Draven settle into life together within his kingdom. She wants to go back to Camelot to fight against her evil king of a brother, Arthur.

I absolutely love the twins - Crescent and Odessa. Even better? Crescent being with a man and having a human daughter. I love that this author didn’t hold back - including every version of family.

Hawl, the bear, the one who can cook so well. I loved the fact that there was a bear chef in this book. I really hope he’s in the next one also!

I wasn’t sure throughout the book if I liked Lyrastra or not, but in my eyes she definitely redeemed herself at the end.

Beks, sweet Beks…. He didn’t deserve what he got but I completely understand why the author did what she did.

This is on KU and I’m so glad because I’m onto the next one!

Wow, Book 1 got me interested but Court of Claws really pulled me in! I had mentioned in my review of book 1 I loved that this dark fantasy romance is inspired by King Arthur retelling with a fae twist! Court of Claws picks right up from the cliffhanger in Queen of Roses. And the push and pull with Morgan and Draven throughout the book is so compelling! I cannot wait to read Book 3!


Thank you NetGalley, Starwater Press and Briar Boleyn for granting me access to this book in exchange for an honest review.

*ARC received from Netgalley - all opinions are my own*

TLDR: Falls short of the first book. Both the FMC and MMC become their own brand of insufferable. The overarching plot and lore is what brings the rating up and will get me to continue with the story. Try at your own discretion!

**Bit of a ranty review and will contain some spoilers!**

I will preface this by saying that I loved Draven in the first book, however, it was like I was reading about a totally different character from the get go. There are very few parts in Crown of Claws where he’s a likable character and a viable love interest. He lies to Morgan throughout the entire book, gaslights her into not trusting herself, justifies the abuse of a child, forgives his advisor after he nearly kills Morgan and severely injures his friend and the list goes on. Plus his dialogue in the sex scenes feel so disconnected from his character, it didn’t feel natural to him at all.

Morgan is just as worse in her own way, she went from being incredibly meek and immature in the first book to being constantly angry and whiny about everything and everyone and is just so self centered towards side characters who I actually quite liked (as much as you saw them anyway). The only time she isn’t being angry and whiny is during sex where she forgets about her feelings and becomes a completely different person from what she’s written as and as soon as the sex is over she's back to her usual self.

There is also no growth or important “filler” throughout the book. For example, when Morgan is learning to use her powers, we go from her having absolutely no control and hurting people to then all of a sudden jumping a few days where she has semicontrol and then there's another jump to where she's battling with her magic and has complete control against armies and experienced fighters. It all just feels so rushed and we get zero insight into the journey she has had with her powers and it just feels like every chapter we’re just bouncing from one plot point to the next without a chance to see character relationships grow and also character growth from our main character.

The best points are still the world building and plot as I am still eager to know what happens next so I will stick with the series for now but definitely hope to see big improvements in the next one!

Let me tell you, I could not be more thrilled that I was a little late to the party with this series and have been able to read one book after the next right away; there is NO WAY I would have been able to wait between releases! I can’t put them down.

Court of Claws is the second book of the series and picks up right where the first left off. In this book, we find out a bit more about Morgan and where she came from, including a little more about her mother.

Finding herself in Myntra, in the heart of Siabra territory, Morgan very quickly learns that these people are not like any she’s ever met before and she most certainly is not in Kansas (or Camelot) anymore!

Battling with her head vs her heart when it comes to Draven, will Morgan take a leap of faith and learn to trust him, or was she right to be wary of him and his true motives all along?

I am utterly addicted to this series and am racing through them as I just can’t stop reading!

Brilliant on all levels.

Briar Boleyn, I salute you.

Thank you for allowing me the opportunity to read this.

This book picks up from the cliffhanger in book one and I was captivated from the start! It’s an enemies to lovers story but also develops Morgan’s character and strengths. We also learn about Draven and see a softer side as we learn his backstory.
More information is given about the Fae world and Morgan’s background. Epic battles where the characters fight to the death, will Draven be able to succeed? War in Camelot where Morgan will have to test her own loyalties. Reminiscent of A Song of Ice and Fire. A huge cast of characters, pure brutality and rollercoaster twists.

I received this ebook from Netgalley in exchange for my honest opinion and review. I loved Morgan’s growth throughout this book. She has really started coming in to her own, and i’m so here for it. While I disagree with Draven’s actions, I do believe he did it with her best intentions at heart.

If you like banter, humor, and enemies to lovers type of stories you’ll like Court of Claws.

There were hints that reminded me of From Blood and Ash and Bridgerton, which sounds maybe like an odd combination but when you read this I think you’ll understand.

Even while it shares some similarities, Briar’s way of writing has me hooked. From their descriptions to their story and character building, I’m always wanting to know what is going to happen next.

I’ll save you from the spoilers because you need to read this and judge for yourself.