3 stars

A Curse of Breath and Blood is a multiple perspective, adult fantasy romance. When I started reading this book it was very intriguing. I was really excited to follow the main character's perspective. She had a lot of trauma, strength and weakness, which was very captivating. The magic in this world was fascinating, especially some of the unique gifts, but I really wanted more from this story. There were several aspects that I thought needed more flushing out, details and backstory some of which included: magic, world building, character relationships and pasts. I just wanted more information, but I started to lose interest because a number of things still were not coming together. Aelia and Caiden's dynamic and relationship was so chaotic, messy and back and forth on if they were interested or not in each other that it became too much. My favorite parts of this story were the magic and setting, everything's else was fine or lacking for me.
I received an advanced ebook, via Netgalley. This review is my own honest opinion.

I loved the premise of this and there were chunks of it I enjoyed, but the world building wasn't quite what I think it could've been which lessened my enjoyment. I also didn't love the time jump. I felt I was told a lot of things that weren't shown on page and could've been. I did love the main character though! She was very likeable!

In this captivating fantasy romance, the author weaves a beautifully intricate world filled with magic, adventure, and an undeniable chemistry between the protagonists. From the very first page, readers are drawn into a richly imagined landscape where the stakes are high, and love transcends boundaries.

The characters are delightfully complex, each facing their own trials and transformations. Their journey is not just about romance; it’s about self-discovery and the courage to embrace one’s true self. The chemistry between them crackles with tension, making every shared moment feel electric and deeply meaningful.

The plot is expertly crafted, balancing moments of heart-pounding action with tender, intimate scenes that linger long after the book is closed. The author’s lyrical prose brings the settings to life, allowing readers to fully immerse themselves in the beauty and danger of this enchanting world.

Overall, this book is a delightful escape that deftly combines elements of fantasy and romance. It’s a testament to the power of love and the strength found in vulnerability. Perfect for fans of the genre, it’s a story that will stay with you long after you’ve turned the final page. Highly recommended for anyone seeking a magical journey of the heart!

I'm all for a fantasy romance but when it's full of revenge and lost love and new love etc I'm gripped.. This book was so well written it was easy to fall into the characters and feel everything they felt.. The storyline was epic and due to the epilogue leaving me picking my jaw up off the floor I cannot wait for more!!

I was initially roped in with the premise of this book and I think overall it has good bones. Once the plot picked up at around the 40% mark I was definitely more invested in the characters. I’m not sure how I feel about the two love interests as of yet because I get the vibe there is a lot of unknown factors that we as the readers are unaware of. I am looking forward to getting more questions answered in book 2.

I love a story where a woman gets herself out of danger and the goes back for revenge or in this case queen turned mercenary! I loved the immersive fantasy world with so many different creatures, as well as our love triangle. I ate this book up, reading it in just a few sittings.

4 ⭐️ 🫑

An enjoyable debut novel by K. W. Foster with a gripping cliffhanger revealed at the end. This novel is great for fans of the Lightlark Series and Petals for Vicious Secrets.

The story follows Aelia, a princess forced to give up the love of her life and forced to marry a neighboring king who abused her. After escaping she fell into despair and worked a mercenary while leaning into bad habits to feed her depression. One day she ends up reconnecting with her former lover Caiden in a quest to help rid the kingdom of her former husband. Along the way she meets a prince of another land and becomes embroiled in a love triangle.

Arranged Marriage
Love Triangle
Magical people and creatures

🍃 a curse of breath and blood review 🍃

This story is jam packed full of every element that makes a fantasy story great!
I am obsessed with the characters and the world and am hanging out for the sequel already 😍

Magical world building, intricate court politics, mythology inspired 🗡️ you cannot go wrong!

Aelia is the traitorous, disgraced queen turned mercenary with a tragic back story worth reading for. Following her quest to save her sister, this story explores complex relationships, war battles and mythical creatures, and ALL the fantasy races. We are talking sylphs, humans, elves, centaurs, halflings, magus, mermaids, gods/goddesses. Which is a dream to read!

We also get MULTIPLE love interests in Caiden, Tharan and Ursula 💞 say no more😍

Tropes:
🍃 friends to lovers
🗡️ found family
🍃 lost love
🗡️ mythology inspired

Thank you NetGalley for the opportunity to ARC read A curse of breath and blood!

We were promised a Romantasy and that is what Foster delivered! I was hoping for less of a triangle and more of a why choose scenario but this was a high stakes, fast paced enjoyable read.

Talk about some world building - K.W. Foster did an amazing with the nuances, it feels like you could open an door a step into this world. With that being said, the plot is more complex - there are a lot of different players, some are side characters and others are referenced, which leads to interwoven subplots. But this complexity draws the reader in and I was completely hooked until the every end - which was when I wanted to through the books across the room with that plot twist (you may see it coming, but you were hoping to wrong).
The characters felt multi-dimensional, not one single character, whether of one the main or a side character felt undeveloped. This characters had strengths and flaws, and throughout the book you became more and more invested in their story. And honestly, Aelia may be one of my new favorite characters, she falls into that morally grey category, and I am here for it.
I would recommend this book to anyone is likes dark fantasy, morally grey characters, complex world building, and some spice with their action. This is the first book in The Mind Breaker series and is not a standalone read.

Giving this book 4.5/5 stars.

I feel like for a debut romantasy from this author this series has a lot of potential.

The whole idea surrounding the book was really intriguing and exciting. I’m not usually one for love triangles, but I have to say, this one was better than most that I’ve read. I’m excited to read more from this author and maybe even reread this book a little later to see if my opinion makes it gain a few stars (rereads usually do).

A special thank you to NetGalley and the author for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

2.5/5

I am really struggling to settle on a rating for this book. Whilst I thought it had a lot of promise and I loved a couple of the characters. I felt this book fell short and didn't flow well. There were numerous aspects to this book I really liked but it just felt really flat overall.

It was incredibly fast paced which I loved but because of this there was little to no world building which is something I need in a fantasy book. There was also no character development and the relationships lacked depth which was really unfortunate. I would have liked more world building and background information on the characters as I feel like this is needed to form a connection to them.

Thank you to Aethon Books, NetGalley and K.W. Foster for an ARC in exchange for my honest review.

Just fantastic! Such a fast paced read but one I wanted to sit down and savor and have it never end. I loved it so much and I need more from this author immediately. The characters, the plot, the pacing. It was all perfection.

I liked the overall plot of this. However, there was a lot of "show" and less "tell" and I need a little better balance of both in my fantasy books to get me into the world-building. So many characters and plot points were introduced in the first fifty pages but the pacing for when you learned more backstory and details seemed off. But I did enjoy my reading time and would recommend!

I really wanted to love this book... but it just fell so short of its potential. The story idea is great, but I felt the storytelling and writing failed to really do it justice. I enjoyed the book enough to read it, however there were many parts of the book that were hard to read. A lot of repeated statements and also a lot of missed explanations. There were multiple times I felt confused about what was happening because it was either not explained or the characters described something different than what was told previously. There was barely any worldbuilding, and I really wish I understood more about the world and character backgrounds.
I did enjoy the characters. I found the main character interesting and fun to get to know, with her flaws and history, and I did appreciate the mental health representation in the main character as well as the mild LGBTQIA+ representation in the main character's sexuality.
⭐️⭐️💫 | 🌶️ | 💋

Thank you for the eARC and the opportunity to review this book! Reviews posted on GoodReads, storygraph, and Amazon (pending). Mini review to be shared on Instagram by this weekend.

-Forbidden Love
-Forced Proximity
-Love Triangles
-Anti-Hero
-Past Struggles
-🌶🌶/5

Wow I was not expecting that. This book was a captivating fantasy that draws you into a world filled with rich lore and unforgettable characters. We follow our FMC Aelia struggling with her past and addicted to "fairy dust". When her past catches up to her and needs her help, she finds herself needing to help. I felt like this book was fast paced and easy to understand. The traumatic past that you are shown throughout the book felt real and you truly were captivated by the story of wanting things to get better. I truly enjoyed this book and would like to thank K.W. Foster for allowing me to read an ARC of this book. Thank you NetGalley as well for allowing me to do so. I truly appreciate it and look forward to picking up another book by this author.

Thank you so much to @authorkwfoster and NetGalley for the ARC of A CURSE OF BREATH AND BLOOD!

Tropes include:
- Mental health rep
- Second chance romance
- Botanical magic
- Reformed bad boy love interest
- Morally grey 30+year old FMC
- Love triangle
- Enemies to lovers
- Golden retriever love interest

I love, love, loved this book! I loved the character development and the world building. I loved the love triangle and honestly can’t decide whose team I’m on, but I’m probably leaning just a bit more towards team Caiden. 🤣 Both MMC’s are so sweet and perfect for Aelia in their ways.

The FMC, Aelia, has had it incredibly rough and you will be cheering for her throughout the entire story. She really gets into your heart and like both men, you’ll be wanting her to find happiness.

I loved this story so so much and I am overly excited for the next in the series. You should definitely check out this book and it’s available today!

#acurseofbreathandblood
#authorkwfoster #romantasybooks #romancebooks #fantasybooks #arcreader #streetteam #bookstagram #bookaddict #anticipatedreads #kwfoster
#arcreader #kwfosterfamily #kwfosterstreetteam
#supportindieauthors

Thank you to NetGalley and Aethon for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

I could probably rant for a long time but I’m just going to leave it as I found this book incredibly poorly written, confusing, and including so many unnecessary elements, with random characters or world-building moments appearing out of nowhere. I should have DNFed it within the first few chapters but I try and finish all NetGalley books I receive. I’m glad this is over and I don’t care that it’s an incredibly unsatisfying end to any book, even the start of a series.

My Gods, did this book put me through so many emotions. It was beautifully tragic, yet hopeful. Excellent world building and character development. I cried a little in the middle of the book for sure. I appreciated that the characters were so honest and forthcoming with the struggles they were facing. And the ways they dealt with their trauma were so relatable. This book has some events I saw coming, and some things that I definitely did NOT see coming. I giggled, I smiled, I kicked my feet, I held back some tears.

Thank you to NetGalley and K. W. Foster for this ARC!

I am a romantasy girly, and I was so excited for this one. The blurb was very alluring, and the unique magical powers sounded so cool to me. I did like that Aelia is in her 30s. We need more female characters that are older. I liked the idea of unique magical powers.

However, I found that this one just didn't work for me. The world building was very minimal. For a unique world with magical abilities, I needed there to be more world building to pull me in. Also, there was a lack of character development with multiple characters. I ended up liking some of the side characters more than the FMC because of this. Lastly, the relationships were an issue for me. From the narrator, we're told about the relationships, but we don't see any of it from the characters themselves. We don't even get any thoughts or feelings from them for this. We know Aelia has suffered a lot of trauma because we're told, but we literally get no other information about this.

I almost DNF'd this one, but I powered through hoping for everything to connect. I ended it with a lot of questions.