i DNF’d at 45% unfortunately.

This is book 1 of a new romantasy series that is a loose retelling of King Arthur. This book is marketed as a Fae enemies to lovers with sizzling tension, banter, and a slow burn romance

•The pros: it started off very strong! Unique take for a King Arthur retelling. Diverse characters & LGBT+ rep.

•The cons: In my opinion, this needed a lot of editing. The inner monologue of the FMC had too much back & forth (she would ask herself a question and answer it in the same sentence… repeatedly). I also did not connect with the characters & the plot was a bit underdeveloped for me.

This is a wonderful new re telling of a well known story. We start in Camelot with Morgan as the oldest child of the king, learn about her life and the one of her half brother Arthur as well as her youngest brother. New is that in this version Merlin is a woman as well as Lencelet. But these are not the only changes. In this version Arthur is not a nice ruler, no here we see his dark side and Morgan who is usually the bad one shows us a different side to her story.
Normally the throne would be hers as the first born but her father took this right from her and decided that she has to become a priestess as she is supposed to be not human but half fae. Despite all of this she loves both her brothers and tried to protect Arthur from the brutal beating of their father, still sees good in him and hopes that he is a fair ruler. When Arthur sends her on a quest to fetch a weapon which is supposed to be of great power she has now way to decline it as she is fearing of the safety of her youngest brother. Together with two guards she is supposed to go on this risky journey. As these men were picked by her brother can she trust them to keep her save or do they have other orders?

If you want to find a new way an old and well know story is told you should check this book,
I really enjoyed it and was impressed how good the author is using a story well known to give it a completely new twist, show us different sides of characters well known and is creating a thrilling storyline here. I like the twist with fae and other creatures we have in this setting.
Right from the start I really felt with Morgan what she had to endure so far in her live and despite all of this what a wonderful person she is and what she is willing to do to protect people she likes.
The story gets an interesting new twist now that Merlin is not close to Arthur and Morgan is part Fae but shall now show this and was raised to fear this part of herself.
In this version you don't know the characters any longer hence you have to learn whom to trust. This I really enjoyed. Also the quest is very well written and there are twists I didn't see coming. So I really enjoyed this first book of this series and for sure I will also keep reading.

An Arthurian inspired story, but make it romantasy! It was so easy to be swept up into this world and I found myself finishing this book in no time at all.

The world building and magical system were easy to consume, however at times it became quite heavy with the lore which had a lot of information to remember.

The plot was full of adventure with a good slice of action, trauma, betrayals and self-discovery. I really enjoyed that I couldn’t predict the plot and I love the unexpected in stories!

The characters were well developed and experience a myriad of ordeals and developments throughout the book. I really enjoyed Morgan’s character, whilst at times I was frustrated with her naivety, I found her actions and emotions to be very real. With the main male characters, I really did not see the plot unfolding the way it did and I found myself constantly seeking the intention of the males, were they good/bad?

Once the story got rolling it really amped up with adventure and this was my favourite part. I’m looking forward to diving into book 2!

4.5⭐️

BOOK: QUEEN OF THE ROSES
AUTHOR: BRIAR BOLEYN
SERIES: BLOOD OF A FAE, BOOK ONE
PUBLISHER: STARWATER PRESS
LENGTH: 361 PAGES
OVERALL RATING: 5/5 STARS
BLOG RATING: 5/5 SALTIRE FLAGS

Magnificent fantasy novel based on King Arthur and his knights at Camelot this is romantic fantasy. Fans of Sarah J. Maas will get swept away in this fabulous series like I did. It has a lot of the same names like in the Arthurian tales but this story is completely different. As Morgan is the Princess of Camelot who might have some fae heritage as well. It shows she doesn't trust King Arthur who seems to have some wicked intentions brewing. Furthermore Morgan travels a road that might change her destiny forever.

As this book is about Morgan’s pursuit to discover an ancient relic and on this journey she finds herself in a fast paced adventure, filled with magic, darkness, danger, suspense, deception, and treachery and so much more.

Arthur is a self centered egotistical King who hates fae and the older he gets the more insane he becomes. This is an action packed, page turner that is a great start to a new series that readers will absolutely love! It had me gasping for air not knowing what would happen next! It definitely whets your appetite, making me look forward to reading book two in this marvelous adventure!

Disclaimer: I received a complimentary copy and an advance reader from the publisher. I voluntarily agreed to do a fair review and blog through netgalley. All thoughts, ideas and words are my own.

The story was fascinating and the premise was something I haven't come across yet. It took me a while to get into because I wasn't that invested in the characters but it captured me after 20%! I'm not the biggest fan of love triangles so that shot my rating down. KAIROS is just ~chefs kiss~

Queen of Roses is the first book in the Blood of Fae series.
It follows Morgan Pendragon, a girl born into a life of service, sacrifice, and duty.
Cursed from the time she was born, Morgan is cast aside as the rightful heir.
Constantly living in her brother’s shadow, the king, she is promised to the goddesses when she comes of age.
However, when her brother demands that she embarks on a quest to find some lost mythical object, she embraces the opportunity for adventure before a lifetime of servitude to the temple.

When I researched this book, everything said that it was a slow burn- but I was NOT anticipating it to be quite THAT slow.
It took me, a solid 250 pages to get into this book. The world building is incredible but intense, however after finishing the book I completely understand why it was so intense and why it was detailed and thorough.

Some people are going to adore this slow paced, slow burn fantasy - but unfortunately it wasn't me. The pace was too slow and I really didn't care for the characters.

A doomed love, a dangerous mission, a kingdom on the brink of war & a cast off princess. Why aren’t more people talking about this book! It’s glorious.
A loose Arthurian re-telling with an epic fae twist. All the characters you would expect are here but with a difference.
The first part of this tale is beautiful descriptive world building, we learn about the characters, the stall is set out then bam part 2 we are off an adventure…and what an adventure.
I truly enjoyed every part of this book & would urge everyone who enjoys fantasy or ‘romantasy’ to read it. I can’t wait to read the next books in this series & continue on Morgan’s journey.

Thank you to NetGalley & Starwater press for this arc copy in return for an honest review…I’m off to read the next one

GAH!!! This book omg. I loved every second of reading this. The story, the characters, the ending !! I immediately have to dive into book 2. Thank you so so much for this opportunity, I think I just found a new series to obsess over. I definitely give it 4.5 stars. My only downfall was how long some of the chapters were 🫡

Thank you NetGalley, Briar Boleyn, and Victory editing for providing me with an ebook copy of Queen of Roses.

When i saw that this was a King Arthur retelling I was very curious on how this would go. Some stories paints Arthur as a good man while others paint him as the villain.

Pros: Briar wrote her villains really well because I hated them. The Fae twist was also a nice touch.

This story definitely had some really good moments that kept me enjoying the story but honestly not much happens in the first half of the book. Everything happens in the second half of the book. I don't feel like it was fleshed out very well. The first 100 pages were not very interesting and I was kind of disappointed with just how unknowledgeable Morgan was about her world. In some ways this book felt like a prequel.

The ending was both a lot of information and not a lot of information. I feel like we got some knowledge but we got nowhere near enough.

While I had a feeling Vesper was not going to be good, Draven gave me the vibes of him not being this terrible person Morgan thinks that he is.

Overall I wish we got more story, more plot, more details in this book. I think if you took everything about this being a King Arthur retelling away and just let it be its own story then it would not feel like it fell so flat.

Despite all of that I would say it was a decent story and I will continue this series to see where the story goes.

I really enjoyed this book! It was fast paced, which I love. I get bored easy. And it had enough world building without being drawn out. Strong FMC with “chosen one” vibes. Plenty of plot twists and “omg was not expecting that” moments. Can’t wait for the next book!

Arthurian adventure, fae fantasy world, and slow-burn romance all packed into this first book of the series called, “Blood of a Fae”.

Honestly, I was not expecting this to be an Arthurian adventure and that was a nice surprise. I love how the story is tied into each other and it takes a whole new aspect on the adventure.
The love/hate relationship I have with some characters is going to have to be played out in the next three books because I really have no idea what will happen. The unpredictability of this series is an excellent attribute to the plot.

The romance in this was slow to get going but it was worth it. I know who I want Morgan to end up with but the author writes in such a way that I can’t predict who it will be.

Highly recommend this book. 5/5 stars!

Special thanks to #NetGalley, #StarwaterPress, & #BriarBoleyn for the ARC to review.

#BloodofaFaeSeries #BookWorm #Reader #ARC #BookReview #BookReviewer

This was a first for me by this author. I love Draven dark and brooding! Pretty good world building and intro to this new world. Can't wait to get through the others.

Overall, I loved this book and so excited to read the second. I’m hoping there’s more development with the FMC throughout this series because she was kinda blah for me. A lot of potential there for sure though. Loved the MMC and can’t wait to read the next book because great cliffhanger at the end!!

This is one of the first dark fantasy books I have read. I really enjoyed it, even though everything the FMC goes through make it hard to read in spots. I thought it was well written. I am not sure this is a genre I could read often because I get too stressed with some of the horrible characters, but I’m glad that I read this one and I am about to start the next in the series. I am excited to see where this story takes us.

What a world to be pulled into!
The plot was great, the characters were wow, the world building pulls you right in. I thoroughly enjoyed this book a lot, and can't wait to start the next! Its pace was fantastic, I never found myself lost or questioning if I missed pages throughout.
If you are a fan of Fae books, and the stories of Camelot, than this is 100% a read for you.
This book is so going on my favorites shelf.

Thank you netgalley, Briar Boleyn, and Starwater Press for allowing me to read this wonderful book as an ARC.

Dnf - I underestimated the trigger warnings. The part I read was fine. I wasnt a fan of the King Arthur retelling of it, so I dont think this would have been the book for me anyways

I was torn between 3 and 4 stars but ultimately feel it was a 4 star read. I loved the MMC so much 🫢 but needed MORE of him. Morgan annoyed me a little but I felt like her character just wasn’t fully developed.
I thought the word building was good without being overwhelming.
There is next to no spice which was disappointing because I thought it was going in that direction and then it swerved.
I thought it was paced well. I wasn’t bored or overwhelmed with action. I thought it was written well and I enjoyed the general storyline.
The ending was action packed and a major cliffhanger but it left me with so. Many. Questions. I’m excited to see where book 2 goes and the rest of the series.

Thank you NetGalley, Starwater Press and Briar Boleyn for an e-copy in exchange for an honest review. 💗

Overall book: 4/5 ⭐️
Spice: 🌶️

First, I want to thank NetGalley and Starwater Press for giving me the opportunity to read this book. I thoroughly enjoyed this book. It was certainly a slow burn and a lot of world building in the beginning, but it was so worth it to get to the middle/end of the book. There is very little spice until closer to the end of the book, but I believe the next book in the series has great potential for 🌶️! This book does leave on a cliffhanger and I am RUNNING to read the next one because I’m dying to know what happens next. Great plot and character development 👌

I really enjoyed this story once it left the story building behind. I felt like the author spent a lot of time building a lore that would have been more effective if woven into the story - which started happening about 1/2 through the book. I am looking forward to finishing the series and finding out how it ends. I also loved the twist of “white” hats & “black” hats.