Story was missing too many details to be enjoyed.
While the MFC was okay, all the men were insufferable. I was going to rage quit pretty early on due to that.
Plus, the plot was too repetitive, making it hard to continue.
There was just too much that didn’t make sense and that made it too difficult to enjoy this book.

This was a great romantasy debut!! Although it was a little light on the romance, despite their being multiple potential MMCs (but not in reverse harem way which was sad). I think the romance will pick up more in the following book and this one more so focused on world building and our MFC figuring out what the heck is happening, This was definitely more adult and darker than a lot of the romantasies I've been reading, there's torture and big mistreatment of our heroine. The similarities to ACOTAR are also huge and you can see she was heavily inspired by SJM, but that's not a bad thing, I think Asavi'a world and story was still unique and I'm really curious where it's going to go next!

Always love a book where the main character is whisked away to another land far away from the rea world......speaks to me in away.....
loved the concept and plot of the story. awesome job

The False Pawn by A.E. Asavi blends fantasy, mystery, and romance into a captivating tale of political intrigue. Anthea Clark, a woman feeling overwhelmed by life, is suddenly thrust into a dangerous new world of Elven princes, court politics, and a brewing war. With humans considered second-class, Anthea must rely on her wits to navigate the perilous landscape and protect herself—and her heart—amidst the slow-burn romance and shifting alliances. For fans of plot-driven romantasy, this novel offers an engaging mix of suspense, deception, and fantasy with a hint of spice.

Thank you to NetGalley & A.E Asavi for giving me a complimentary copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

In theory, The False Pawn ticked all of my boxes: romance, fantasy, political intrigue, foreign land etc, however, I believe it was missing some key elements to make it un-put-downable.

The overall premise of The False Pawn had promise. I felt as though the characters could've been better developed- specifically Anthea, the FMC. I admire that she is a strong-willed and stubborn character, but this made her naivety VERY annoying.

⭐️⭐️⭐️
A very slow burn book that took me a while to get into. Honestly the first time I picked it up was months ago and could not make it past the first few chapters but glad I tried again a d finished it. Not sure I would continue with the series however.

Honestly, the book got me when it said it had dragons and "a bit of spice." I mean, any spice is fine but DRAGONS??? I was sold and I love a good fantasy/mystery book. This got me good and I really enjoyed the book a lot. I originally picked it because of the title and was reeled in after reading the description and after reading it I was satiated.

4.5 stars. Really enjoyed the journey and looking forward to the next book. I think I would have liked a little more world building, but overall enjoyed it.

I absolutely LOVED this book and I would highly recommend it to anyone who loves romance and fantasy. This book absolutely had me in awe. First she was in real life hating her job and then was put into a fantasy world. HIGHLY RECOMMEND!

2.5 stars

Thank you to NetGalley and publisher for the ARC in exchange for my honest review!

Anthea is the responsible workaholic older sister - I enjoyed the beginning banter with her sisters and the parts about the cats on the counters.. I really would have enjoyed more from the sisters or even flashbacks with the sisters later on in the books. Anthea goes out and gets intoxicated one night and ends up in a magical world with elves.. she had no idea magic existed and had never heard of such a place. There’s intricate world building with a unique magic system, heavy politics, and different courts. Humans are taken as slaves in this world and Anthea finds herself as a slave to a Prince of the crimson court….. but eventually she sneaks away to another court and there we have the start of a love triangle. Things aren’t what they seem - how come Anthea is immune to the spells thrown her way, how come she can understand this ancient tongue? Anthea reads up at the library to learn more and ends up training in the nephrite court .

I’ll be honest it was hard for me to get through this book - I felt like I was drowning in the politics and it felt really repetitive. I didn’t love Anthea & I really didn’t care for the love interests. I found myself bored throughout most of the book waiting for something interesting to happen. There were some funny moments sprinkled throughout and the ending brought this book from a 2 to a 2.5 for me.

I think there is an audience of fantasy lovers who will enjoy this book, but sadly it wasn’t for me. I would be interested in reading more from the author in the future.

I almost ~ALMOST~ DNF'd this one because the beginning felt slow and wasn't holding my attention. BUT. I'm glad I stuck with it. After trudging through about twenty percent of the book it started to get interesting and then I couldn't stop reading. I enjoyed Anthea reading/ trying to manipulate those around her and was pleasantly surprised by the twist. There are two love interests introduced, but really after a certain turn of events (without spoiling things) there is only one she should even be interested in. There were a lot of names and characters introduced, and they all started to sound the same. I felt like I was constantly having to think about and try to remember who each person was. Which was annoying. The ending had me hooked though - I will be continuing the series! Thanks Netgalley for the e-ARC!

This debut novel offers a unique blend of fantasy and suspense, but it didn't fully deliver for me. The main character, who finds herself in a strange and dangerous new world, spends much of the story in the dark, with key details only revealed much later. This created a lot of buildup without many answers until the end, which made the pacing feel slow at times.

While the FMC is thrust into intense situations, the romance felt forced and didn't add much depth to the plot. The manipulation and deceit she faces are central to the story, but her reactions felt a bit too forgiving given what she goes through. That said, the novel does a solid job of setting the stage for future books, and I'm curious to see where the story goes next.

I love this book so much! I’m so glad that the next one is coming out in February, and that I didn’t read it any earlier because that cliffhanger was a killer.
I appreciate the overall story as it followed the popular romantasy plot line of human meets magic folk and discoveries hidden abilities - as a simple human who wishes that this was possible IRL, I’m a sucker for it. I also thought it was interesting that the FMC didn’t spot all of the breadcrumbs or immediately see the bad behavior of the elves that surrounded her in real time. That she didn’t suddenly become able to intuit their every move because she’d been there for a little while made it more realistic to me. As a captive Anthea tried to be smart and plot against her captors, but like many of us, she simultaneously remained naive and hopeful, until she actions of those around her taught her to expect and respond differently. Some reviewers were annoyed by this but I think it made her relatable - because I’d probably be hoping against hope that those around me weren’t betraying me left and right too. It’s only because I read these types of book 24/7 that I tend to pick up on the plot twists AGES before they come up - so I’m not sure it’s fair to expect the character living it to see each situation for what it is in real time. Stayed up until 12am to read the 70 pages last night and I have no regrets!
Love this is a debut novel and can’t wait to see what this author sends our way next!

A very refreshing fantasy romance with political aspects.
Well written with interesting characters.
The FMC was powerfull and very well portrait editor .
The MMX was intriguing and very mysterious.
I had a good time with it.

Here’s your review for The False Pawn by A.E. Asavi:

I genuinely enjoyed The False Pawn, a promising debut novel by A.E. Asavi. The story kicks off with Athena, the FMC from a modern time period, crossing paths with multiple Far courts in conflict—a premise that gets interesting quickly. The intrigue and tension between the courts pulled me in right away.

While the overall story was engaging, the pacing felt a bit uneven. Some parts, like the initial romance and the time spent in the first court, felt rushed, leaving me wanting more depth. On the other hand, certain sections leaned heavily into political machinations, which slowed things down for me. I also found the mix of modern language with the fantastical world and mythical creatures slightly jarring at times, though not enough to detract from the experience.

Despite these minor critiques, I really enjoyed the direction the story took. A.E. Asavi crafted a unique blend of modern and mythical that I’m curious to see developed further in book 2. If you’re looking for a fresh take on fantasy with compelling courtly drama, give this one a go—I’ll definitely be following the series!

Thank you NetGalley for allowing me the opportunity to read and review this title!

It was definitely a nice debut novel! I liked that it had fantasy, mistery and romance and action. I really liked the premises and the thought of the story and world. I did find however i was not able to enjoy the story fills unfortunately.

The romance felt a bit forced and just not something i was enjoing as much as I wanted to. There were certain aspects to the characters that made me dislike them on some level a bit and it made it more difficult for me to get into the story and relate to the characters.

I did enjoy the magic system and the action this book had to give and I do think it sed the premises for book 2 perfectly! I did find the writing style nice as well!

Thank you to netgalley, the publisher as well as the author for a advanced reader copy in exchange of an honest review.

This whole story is about a world where humans are slaves to elves. Sounds good, right? It was okay. I have to say a little forgettable in the height of the romantasy genre. I think it was a well written debut, but ultimately not my cup of tea. I appreciate the opportunity to read!

This book was a little slow at some points but I gave it a chance to the end. Safe to say it was alright. I will read the next one to see where it goes from here.

I enjoyed this story, and I’m looking forward to the next book. I liked that our FMC, Anthea, is in her 30s and has no innate fighting skills; she is a refreshing change from the stabby teenage protagonist that features in so many stories lately! Anthea is very confused, scared, and unwilling to trust those around her - completely understandable in my opinion, though it did take me a little while to warm up to her.

This book has it all: political intrigue, court politics, prophecies! I really felt the FMCs frustration, being thrust into a world she has no knowledge of, being kept in the dark by those who promise to protect her and keep her safe, being betrayed and not knowing who to trust. Anthea is being used as a pawn as elven kings try to outmanoeuvre their political rivals, and she is desperately seeking scraps of knowledge to piece together the bigger picture and strengthen her position in the courts she finds herself in.

I loved that this book was very heavy on the plot and world building, with the romance elements taking more of a back seat. With so many morally grey characters, it was hard to tell who truly had Anthea’s best interests at heart, and if anyone was worthy of her trust. The second half of this book was really well paced and hard to put down!

The story moved very quickly at the beginning (perhaps a little TOO quickly) but it helped to put us in Anthea’s shoes, suddenly plucked from one life and dumped into another with no time to adjust!

The way this story ended has me so excited for the next book! This book featured a lot of world building and has definitely set up for a very interesting series. I cant wait to read the second book, and I would recommend this story!

Not my style, I couldn't really connect with any of the characters and the plot seemed to be going no where.