Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ 🌶️🌶️
Age recommendation: 16/17+
“A mouse also has claws and teeth. And a clever mouse knows that sometimes the best way to survive is to play the cats game better than they do.”
A E Asavi brings to us an amazing new fantasy series. “The False Pawn” book one in the series A Song of Ancient Flame, tells us the tale of Anthea Clark. A woman just trying to a catch a break from the unbearable amount of responsibility placed upon her since her parents' death. She feels it is up to her to provide for her sisters and keep them safe, but after a fight with her youngest sister, it becomes clear that she needs a night out. Anthea goes out and has a few drinks, but when she leaves the bar, a strange man attacks her. A strange man who knows her name… One babbling about dragons and her needing the free someone, Anthea struggles to get free, and when she does, she finds instead of getting a break more has been added to her load off responsibility. Thrust into a new world ruled by elves, with no know way to get home she has many things to figure out. Why won’t these elves let her leave, why are they so interested in her when to them she’s a mere human, and will she ever return to the human world again?
I adore Anthea. She is so relatable and her sparky attitude and ability to adapt is amazing. She is inspirational and everything a female wants to see in a fmc. I also love Beldor, I hated him at first but honestly, he seems like such a sweetheart, he is definitely my favourite. I also find both Endreth and Eldrion to be quite intriguing I love their protective nature, and I love their similarities, but I also love their differences. Endreth is on the shy side though he definitely doesn’t seem like it. Once you read the book you’ll understand though, but in this aspect Eldrion doesn’t give a ****. Eldrion doesn’t allow himself to be walked all over. No offence to Endreth of course… Moving on I find the character growth and plot develop really well, and I live for the slow burn in this read. It is done just right. I also really admire the authors writing style. It fits really well with the plot, and I could not stop reading! This is definitely one of my favourite reads so far this year. Now that being said, I did find some of the wording to be repetitive at the start, other than that I can’t think of anything else that I didn’t like.
Some of the tropes in this novel include: one bed, enemies to lovers, forbidden love, slow burn, and love triangle.
Now we need to add the TRIGGER WARNINGS: sexual assault, abduction, abuse, slavery, racism, suicide, ptsd, gore, and death.
It’s clear that the author put a lot of thought into this novel, from the unique names, to the different twists and details within this novel. I am ecstatic for the next book, and I hope many readers will find this series because it deserves some hype! Lastly I would like to say thank you to A E Asavi, and netgalley for a free e-arc of this novel in exchange for an honest review. It was an honour to read this novel, and I can’t wait to see more work from this author.

I really enjoyed this book. I want to thank NetGalley and A. E. Asavi for the opportunity to read the eARC.

I did struggle with the beginning of the book, I personally felt it was lacking plot and depth in the characters, partly because we were seeing it from the point of view of Anthea (FMC) who was constantly confused until about 70% into the book. I also felt there wasn’t enough of a strong story in the beginning leading us to anything, just that we were following a human girl who was scared and confused and kept in the dark.

Once Anthea was finally able to take control of her life and have a choice in whether or not she wished to participate in the prophecy I was drawn in. I really like the premise and I really like the world, it’s a very compelling story and I have started to really care for the FMC and want to follow her story.

I do find that because the book had such a delayed start the book ended in a way that felt quite abrupt as it finally had started to get going.

With that being said I feel like I would have enjoyed it if the book had either had less build up following Anthea while she was confused and unaware of anything.

I am however very eager to find out what happens as I was drawn into the characters and I’m eager to see where our FMC ends up. I am also interested in following the story of who I believe our MMC is, although it may change again and I’m interested to see where the romance goes.

I will be following this series as I know first books have a lot of world building and it’s needed to tell a compelling story and I have the utmost faith that A. E Asavi will keep readers on the edge of their seat as we follow Anthea and the many characters while they fight for Isluma.


Therefore I will be purchasing this book for our library members and hope the second book is everything I am expecting from A. E Asavi.

"The False Pawn (A Song of Ancient Flame)" by A.E. Asavi is a stunning and captivating fantasy novel that will transport you to a world of magic, myth, and mystery. It’s a game-changer.
The plot is expertly paced, with twists and turns that will keep you on the edge of your seat. Asavi does an excellent job of balancing action, suspense, and character development, making it easy to become fully invested in the story.
If I have any criticisms, the pacing can be a bit uneven at times, with some scenes feeling rushed while others drag on for too long.
Stunning world-building, complex characters, and expertly crafted plot, it's a must-read for fans of fantasy and adventure. If you're looking for a new series to get hooked on, look no further!!!!!

This book was really interesting, but it took me a bit to realize how much I enjoyed it because there was a lot to get through with the world building. It was amazing though, the way the author built up the cultures, the politics, the hierarchy, etc. Plus having a bada*s FMC never hurts as well as a bit of romance. I really did enjoy this book and the author's writing, I look forward to seeing where things go in this epic fantasy.

I absolutely loved this book. Yes some parts are a little cheesy and I personally think Anthea is a little whiny but that was ok with me.
Imagine after a night out you falling and somehow landing into a princes bed. You have no idea what’s going on or how you got there. You left your world for an unknown that you didn’t even know existed. All you want to do is get home to your sisters. That’s what happens to Anthea (Thea). This book is filled with lots of feelings, lots of masks, prophecy and perseverance. It was exciting to read and also I loved that I was feeling what she was feeling. It was quite the journey. I would absolutely encourage anyone who likes a little spice and a little adventure with fae to read this book! I can’t wait for the next one.

I LOVE a slow burn in a gorgeous fantasy world. The world building in this book was beautiful and gorgeous- honestly the writing style was just BEAUTIFUL.

The author did an amazing job balancing romance and other plot- and I couldn't read anything else for like 2 weeks after I finished this one.

10/10 would read anything else by this author, no additional notes.

By chapter three there has been one sexual assault and one threat of sexual assault; chapter four; more threats of sexual assault, adding slavery to the mix. Other elven courts are added to the story and their evilness is portrayed by how many threats and promises of sexual assault — and how many adverbs — they throw into a given conversation. Honestly, I found it to be ridiculously heavy handed, lacking any and all subtlety or tension.

That said, the world building is well explained — in bite sized pieces as Anthea comes across it rather than with info dumps. Conversations are a bit stilted, a bit simplistic, but the plot and the mechanics of introducing characters and events works, for me. The characters though … didn’t.

I found Anthea serviceable as a character. She reacted appropriately, thought things through, used her intelligence to handle situations, but I found her to be a bit hollow. She’s a protagonist rather than a character, which is fine. It just left me … whelmed by her. Eldrion, likewise, does all the proper things in the proper order, but I have no idea who he is as a character. What does he like? What does he want? What are his goals — beyond Anthea, Anthea, and Anthea.

For me, the overall impression is that this is a decent book. It just didn’t give me what I wanted; that doesn’t mean it won’t work better for someone else. I want to thank Net Galley and the publisher for granting me access to an advanced reader copy

The beginning was a little slow but it picks up the pace towards the 30% mark. It was an easy read as it's almost like a YA but with steam and older characters.

Overall, I liked it, and it was a good sunday afternoon read.

THANK YOU to NetGalley & the Publisher for providing me a free copy in exchange for an honest review!

Holy cow, I was actually pretty blown away by how invested I was in this book. I think honestly, its a solid 4 start read. There's some parts that lag a little, some parts I didn't like the direction of, etc. but overall I couldn't put it down, and I'm craving to read the second book!!

I think the first and most important part to discuss is how similar this feels to ACOTAR. I think this is mirrored most within the theme of Courts, Setting (mountains), Elves/higher beings/princes/kings, 2 sisters, enemy to lover, lover to enemy, playing a role, pacing, etc. However, there are all really basic things in my opinion. All fantasy books have some sort of combination of these things so to me it wasn't that distracting. I was a lot more invested with this than I was with ACOTAR, and ACOTAR has it's own very clear inspirations so...

With that out of the way... I mostly enjoyed these characters. They all felt different enough, though the names got a little confusing all kind of starting with the same few characters. Even if I found myself being like, which one is that again? Once the characters talked, it resolved itself pretty quickly. I wasn't a fan of how the characters came together, for instance the relationship between our MFC & both males the author chose to be closest to her. The CHEMISTRY was there. But the lead up and eventual escalation of relationships weren't paced well. It would be really slow going, a ton of little moments, then BOOM something big. It just felt off. Also, I really disliked the introduction. The sister stuff didn't feel like it fit, and our FMC came off as a horrible person. Not how you want to introduce a FMC you're then going to put through turmoil and expect us to care.

**SPOILERS AHEAD**

I also didn't like the MMC/group's reasoning for their treatment towards her. I don't like the characters logic behind hiding all of it and treating her like crap. There was never a real reason for the crimson court to act the way they did. If they'd given her some time and freedom from the start, and were just honest with her, none of this darker stuff would have been necessary and she probably would have immediately jumped in to help them, in order to gain their help to get home in return.

The dragon stuff was kinda confusing. I couldn't quite figure out if they were people, dragons, both, etc. since there was so much lying. I think at the end I figured out there are dragons, descendants of dragons that look like people (think Wolf's Rain), and none of them are actually time travelers? ugh. The history aspect of the world was all over the place since our FMC is coming in blind and also doesn't know.

Lets talk about the spice/darker aspects -- I was very happy to find myself not cringing at the spice scenes in this book. Language is everything when you're writing a smuttier scene, and the language here was blunt, descriptive, and to the point. It was a little embellished without coming off as flowery/unrealistic which towed the line between a true romance novel and reality. Thank you for not being cringy with it AND not shying away from using appropriate terms for body parts. Call it like it is! lol.

I found myself wanting more intimate moments - not necessarily sex but like, kisses, sneaky hand holding, embraces that meant something, etc. like I mentioned before, it would go from glances, glances, glances, small brush of fingers against skin, to maybe a hug of comfort, to sex or something. It didn't feel like the intimacy ramped how 2 people falling in love would react. But the fact I was feeling chemistry between the FMC and like half the male characters made me very interested and I kinda wish she had more going on across the board lol. I also felt like there wasn't enough moments between FMC & her second love interest. I know, I know, it's coming in book two!

I was actually pretty happy with the torture (mental & physical) aspects in this book. Way more believable than some books I've read. I actually felt like I could understand her torment & that it was palpable, Again, it wasn't cringy, and her reactions escalated the way I'd expect to see (attempt on her life type thing). What I didn't like about our FMC is her reactions verbally. A lot of the time I would feel like whatever she was saying verbally was the opposite or completely off track of what I'd expect or want her to say. I realize this was within her character, but it did skew the conversations/consequences after into a direction that felt unnecessary or slightly annoying at times.

**SPOILERS DONE**

Okay, okay, I'll stop gushing my feelings about the book lol. I was honestly super invested in this novel and I'm sad I'll have to wait a couple years for the 2nd book to come out! I need it NOW! lol. Overall a really solid debut novel & very excited to see more in the future!

Thank you to netgalley and the publisher for this e-book ARC <3
DNF @ 65%

I tried realllly hard to finish this book. I wasn't super invested in it, but I could read it, and I was interested to see how it all unraveled. But after 65% of repetitiveness of "I'm a strong woman who won't be broken by these elves" and basically every elf being crappy and OVER AND OVER AND OVER AGAIN trying to either test her or get answers from her then her demanding answers then them telling her to "know her place"...

This was basically the entire 65% of the book, and then when the why is finally explained... I really didn't like it. And it didn't even feel like anything was going to change after it. I'm tired of not having answers, I'm tired of hating every character, I'm tired of men/women being a foreign word, even to the human MC, so everyone is a male or female.

This book wasn't horrible. I can definitely see others enjoying it. Just for me, I couldn't take the plot.

Thank you to NetGalley and A. E. Asavi for providing the eARC.

I enjoyed this book so much! It’s got just what my Romantasy loving brain needed, fantasy, mystery, deception, betrayal, and a bit of spice.

While I enjoyed this reading experience I did not enjoy the main character, she was unlikeable but I slowly started to warm up to her.

I am interested in where this story could go from here

*ARC received from Netgalley; all opinions are my own.*

| 3.5 ⭐

TLDR: As the first in a series, it's quite weak until near the ending but shows a lot of promise for future books! Pretty much one woman is surrounded by misogynistic men trying to control her as she's "the key" to everything.

The beginning of The False Pawn was so rough, and I really felt for Anthea. The first 6/7 chapters had Anthea being SA in a club, physically assaulted outside said club, then we move straight into being physically assaulted by an elf who then makes her strip in front of him. Shortly after, she's threatened to make a deal or else become a sex slave, and then ends up being a slave anyway by the same men, with one taking advantage of her as a slave as well.

This poor woman doesn't get a bloody break throughout this entire book, and it really weighed me down. The above happened quickly in the first several chapters, but things don't ever get great for her, right up until the end. I feel so sorry for her character, to the point where it's difficult to like the characters, as they're all just so irredemable.

We have two love interests, with neither of them really speaking to me or making me root for them. They both abuse Anthea and take advantage of her in one way or another. Both characters go on to try to see "good," but considering what both did to Anthea, I hope she doesn't pick either one, and a third love interest pops up somewhere in the future books.

There's a decent bit of lore and world-building going on, but you mainly learn about it through info-dunping. I would have liked a bit more information on the kind of elves that are in this world and how exactly their magic works. It seemed like a more "old-school" type.

While The False Pan was a bit of a rocky read for me, I am interested in the story and would love for Anthea to finally get a real win and stop being treated so teribly by all the males (and females) around her.

Overall, it's a recent read that I would likely recommend, but just be aware that the main character goes through it for the entire book and can continue to weigh on you the more you read.

I hate to leave negative feedback, because I know authors put a lot of work into their books, but this was a dnf for me.. I really hated the character traits of the elves, cruel and sadistic, torturing human slaves being there main thing I found appalling. I love the elves from JRR Tolkien's works, and this was an insulting affront to the genre he so lovingly and carefully curated. The main character was unlikeable, one minute she's angry and rebellious and the next she's spineless... I didn't really see any true character growth, and couldn't relate to her. It took me about 50% into this book to finally realize it just wasn't getting any better. I'm sorry I couldn't point out anything more positive about this book, but there really is nothing I can add except that I liked the cover.

t was between a 3 and a 4 for a while but it really came down to a few different things. I put a 4 because I felt that over all for a first book Asavi did a really great job drawing the readers in and the fact that I am still going over everything that happened in the book days later is a sign of a good book!

Seriously, what a great debut! I was hesitant at first because the book started off a bit slow and repetitive but man when that twist hits! My jaw dropped and from that point on I could not put this book down.

 I do understand that a lot goes into building a whole fantasy world and the author seemed to be easing the readers into that but it was a bit slow at first. I loved venturing into a book about elves and not the “typical” fae book that have been so popular. I really enjoyed the different main characters and their individual personalities that are revealed throughout the book. I really disliked some at first but then started to like them as the book went on, I won’t say why; that is for you to find out. I also appreciated the range of emotions the FMC, Athena, went through throughout the book. She was dropped into this new world and had to process everything going on around her and adapt to this new life as a human in an elven world. She didn’t just accept her fate she questioned it and pushed back against those trying to control her but also fought with the emotions of feeling less then and felling weaker. I felt like this really made Athena more relatable and likable, which is good because at first I could not stand her.

The False Pawn does contain some spice for those of you who enjoy that. But, also has a slow burn romance starting toward the middle to end. I cannot wait to see what happens between the two characters in the next book. Especially since one is human and the other is elven.

One of my suggestions to the author would be to add a glossary at the beginning to help with all the character names. I did get confused at one point because a lot of the names started with E and a few that had similar endings. A lot of characters are thrown at you in chapter 11, and it was a bit overwhelming. I did create my own character guide about at that point so I could keep all the characters straight and what court they were from. This just made it easier to refer back when three people with names starting with the same letter were interacting. I added that to the end of the review for thoes of you who plan to read The False Pawn.

A few things I wasn’t a huge fan of were:

The time spent at the beginning introducing the main character, Athena. I was extremely fast and then BOOM she was in Isluma. I felt there wasn’t enough information or build up before she was swept away. Not sure if that was intentional or not. I barely remember what happened in chapter one so I guess if Asavi never brings back the sisters, I won’t be too disappointed.  The reference to auburn hair was a bit overstated. Not a huge deal just happened enough times that I noticed a pattern. There were a few non main characters I would like to have learned more about but I have a feeling they are going to come up (I hope) in the next book.

The False Pawn has an amazing ending but leaves you hanging at the end. All I can say is I cannot wait for book two to be released! There is no mention of when book two, The Nephrite Knight, is set to be released but it is not soon enough! I highly recommend this book to anyone who enjoys a good FMC, magic, dragons, battling courts and of course a few swoon worthy characters.

Thank you to NetGalley and author, A. E. Asavi for this Advanced Reader Copy (ARC) in exchange for my honest review.

Compiled list I wrote out of the courts and characters often mentioned in the book.

King Endoral - Crimson CourtAegonar

Endreth

High King Taranath - Obsidian CourtLady Yelaria

Prince Althar (eldest son)

King Icarion - Cattleya Court (notorious for his slaves)

Vanda- daughter

King Galodir-Nephrite CourtQueen FyralinVaelor(heir)Elodir younger PrinceSynthia sisterLate auntEldrion- High commander of the Nephrite LegionBeldor- guard/Nephrite Legion memberThalion- healer

Elara- maid

King Erandel- Iron Court (youngest of the Kings)

Azure Court

Amber Court (No longer in existence)

The False Pawn by A. E. Asavi, is probably one of the most conflicting books I have read in a long while. Honestly, I couldn't decide until probably three-quarters of the way through, if I actually liked the book or not. And it has nothing to do with the story, because Ms. Asavi's writing style is great. She brings depth and life to her characters, and it's obvious early on, most eadters will either lover or hate her story. Since I didn't hate the the book, it still gave me room to warm up to the story, which I did finally, about the last quarter of the way through the book.

Lies run rampant throughout this book. In fact, lies abound so much, it's hard to tell if anyone ever knows how to tell the truth about anything, or if everyone is going to grow a nose longer than Pinocchio. Physical torture is another tool that is used liberally in this book for most of this new world that the main female character finds herself trapped on.

The main female character, while she does the right thing and steps up for her family, putting food on their table and clothes on back, is a weak enabler. And by that I mean, she spins stories for people that intentionally hurt others, i.e. men who sexually assault women, and claim that the victim is the one really at fault, not the perpetrator. The enabling portion comes into play when you realize the main female character lets her youngest sister just laze around the house doing what she wants without contributing, yet the oldest sister keeps getting angry at her and yelling at her about getting a job, but never does anything to enforce her getting one, nor does she try to help her get a job - she'd rather stay home, get drunk and resent her sister.

The one time the female character does goes out, she does so more out of spite against her sister than anything. Then, before she knows it, she wakes up on some other world where humans are practically sub-par "citizens", and most are used as slaves, and those not slaves are considered
rebels.

Most of us, when we think of Elves, we think of either Christmas or Lord of the Rings and Middle Earth by J. R, Tolkien. You need to forget all about those preconceived notions of Elves when you read The False Pawn.

Elves in this book, like Mr. Tolkien's books are split into realms, but that is about where the similarities end. The False Pawn's Elves are angry, vindictive, manipulative, human slave-trafficking, and they don't care who gets in their way as long they get what they want, especially the royalty.

Now, there are a couple of decent Elves thrown in, but you see their decentness AFTER they were told to help torture the main female character, with one breaking her hand and the other whipping her fourteen times instead of twenty because she passed out and she couldn't learn her lesson unconscious. A Queen is also decent, and does her best to try and help the main female character, explaining what is going on, why everyone is behaving the way they are, not that that excuses their behavior in the least.

By the end of the book, the main female character has a choice to make, and she realizes she has some major growing up to do at the same time. She finally comes to terms that she is probably not going to see her sisters again, so she could at least use her position to help the humans where she currently is, and make sure they are finally able to be treated fairly. But to do that she must learn how to do things she never thought possible, and become someone she never thought she could become.

Even though it took me a while to determine if I actually liked the story, Ms. Asavi did a remarkable job bringing an entire new world to life. Her characters are full of depth and make you think about where you are in your own life and the injustices that go on in the world.

If you want a book that is full of spirit, action, survival, hope, and most of all growth and love, then The False Pawn is just the book for you. I don't know when book will come out, but in my opinion, it won't be out soon enough.

Anthea Clark has a sense of obligation to her sisters, to work and pay the bills since their parents have died. After a fight she has with one of them she decides that she needs a night out on the town. While drunk and disoriented she stumbles out of the bar only to be confronted by a man who knows her name. As the man proceeds to draw strange burning marks on her skin, Anthea too stunned to move, the man continues the outrageous interaction by reciting a prophecy that she is unable to comprehend. Anthea is finally able to break free of this entanglement only to suddenly fall into another realm with Elven princes. She must quickly adjust to live in this new realm if she has any hope to return to the one she knows. But there is more to her than they all thought. Can she be this new realm's prophecy? Can she do what they want of her or can she break free and make it back home?
Overall rating 5/5
This book had me up multiple nights enraptured in Anthea’s story. There were points in the book that I felt mirrored ACOTAR’s plot which was both appealing and a bit too similar for me. I did enjoy the world building done by Asavi, and would love more dual POVs in the next installment.
*Thank you to A.E. Asavi, and Netgalley for the ARC copy. I am freely leaving my honest review.

Themes and tropes: enemies to lovers, feisty FMC, Broody Prince, Hot Commander, realm travel, prophecies and fate, dragons, elves, caste system, politics, betrayal

I enjoyed this book and would recommend if the above themes and tropes interest you. The books gives you exactly what is described and is written well. It starts off with a human FMC who gets abducted from her world and tossed into a foreign magical realm. The first half of the book is centered around a “feisty” FMC trying to figure out how to get back home, what she can leverage or negotiation to aid her goal. Despite not having magic, the FMC is protected against magic being used against her and uses it as a way to navigate her attempt at freedom. A lot of the book is her not knowing much about this new world, her surroundings or the elven royalty who are holding her. However, the second half of the book sets it up very nicely for you to want to continue reading the next book in this series. You learn about the political history of the realm, past and present betrayals, prophecies and fate that have led to this series of events, and there’s DRAGONS.

I really enjoyed: The writing style and pace, mixing it up with Eleven royalty rather than Fae.

I disliked: I wish some of the context from the later half of the book came a bit sooner.

oh man, I really don’t like to give out bad reviews but I could not continue with this book anymore. The False Pawn had all the right things I love in a book: fantasy, mystery, and romance. However, there were a lot of missing details and information that confused me. The pacing also felt all over the place.

I did like the FMC, especially her fun attitude. I made it to 40% before I had to put this book down. I had no desire to keep going on to find out how everything ended up, and that was so hard for me. I was hoping to enjoy this story more.

Writing reviews like these breaks my heart, but I am trying to read more for pleasure and am learning to put a book down if I am not enjoying it.

Anthea gets swept up by another world mistakenly and has to save the world. Can she survive.

If you liked court of thorns and roses this book is for you.
It has a very similar vibes to the story. Girl ends up in a world of elves. She’s different than them and has to save them.

We have two love interest. Where immediately 50% in you have to start hating the first one because you can’t have two decent love interest. (Which I hate)

Anthea was fine I guess. Not my favorite character ever written but she was fine. One thing that pissed me off near the end of the book was the self doubt. Like in the beginning of the book okay, but then end no. That’s like a main character in a horror film crying at the last 15 minutes just standing there. At that point you have to keep fighting. Also, I saw in one review someone mentioned that she was too forgiving and I have to agree but also why did all the characters need to do something that made her either angry or need to be forgiven. Like I just want one character that I don’t have to hate for 5-10 pages

I was also upset she spent so much talking about her sisters but after the first 20ish pages we never see them in the book again. we just have to listen to the main character miss them

But I do want to thank the author, publisher and NetGalley for the ARC of this book.

Overall I loved it. Some of the names were very similar, and difficult to keep straight. But the author does a great job of making you feel everything that Anthea feels. The story itself moves along at a good pace, with some mystery, some adventure, some banter, and a good bit of sexual tension. Definitely worth reading, and I can't wait to read more!