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.

In her gripping adult romantasy debut, *A Curse of Breath and Blood*, K.W. Foster delivers a dark and immersive tale of love, loss, and dangerous magic. Set in a world filled with ancient evils and complex political alliances, Foster introduces readers to Aelia Springborn, a once-powerful queen turned mercenary, haunted by her past and forced to confront it in order to save the world from an unimaginable threat.

Aelia, with her kingdom destroyed and her family presumed dead, has become a hardened, solitary figure, using her powers to break minds for a price. The emotional weight of her past — including a broken marriage to King Gideon and a failed love affair with Caiden Stormweaver — has left her content to live in the shadows. However, her quiet existence is shattered when Caiden tracks her down, offering her an irresistible proposition: help him stop Gideon from obtaining the deadly army of the Alder King.

The dynamic between Aelia and Caiden forms the emotional core of the story. Foster expertly weaves together the tension of their shared history, marked by betrayal and love, with their present-day mission. The deal they strike — that Aelia will erase Caiden’s memories of their relationship once their task is complete — raises the stakes even further. As their journey progresses, the old flame between them reignites, setting up a heart-wrenching emotional conflict. Can they move past their shared hurt, or will their fragile bond break under the weight of their mission?

Foster doesn’t just focus on romance, though. The world of *A Curse of Breath and Blood* is rich with danger, intrigue, and magic. Aelia’s journey to thwart King Gideon’s plan leads her and Caiden through a dark and atmospheric landscape filled with both physical and emotional peril. The threat of the Alder King’s army looms large, and the stakes are nothing short of world-ending.

As if the rekindling of an old love wasn’t complicated enough, Foster introduces Tharan Greenblade, a charming and roguish figure who adds another layer of complexity to Aelia’s journey. Her growing connection with Tharan creates a tense love triangle, testing her loyalties and emotions in unexpected ways. Tharan’s easy charisma contrasts with Caiden’s brooding presence, and the trio's fates become increasingly intertwined as they face mounting threats.

One of the novel’s greatest strengths is its blend of epic fantasy and personal stakes. The high-stakes mission to save the continent from destruction is balanced by the intimate, emotional journeys of the characters. Foster skillfully explores themes of sacrifice, loyalty, and the cost of power, all while creating a compelling narrative that keeps readers on edge. The dark fairytale atmosphere, reminiscent of *Nettle and Bone*, pairs beautifully with the intense romantic tension of *A Court of Thorns and Roses*, creating a world that is both haunting and seductive.

The found family dynamics, reminiscent of *Divine Rivals*, also add depth to the story. Aelia and Caiden are not alone on their quest, and the relationships they form with their companions offer moments of levity, hope, and camaraderie amidst the darkness. This sense of belonging contrasts sharply with the isolation Aelia has chosen for herself, highlighting her internal struggle as she tries to navigate her responsibilities and her heart.

With tension at every turn, *A Curse of Breath and Blood* is a spellbinding read. Foster’s world-building is lush and dangerous, her characters are flawed and relatable, and the stakes are sky-high. This is a novel that explores the sacrifices we make for love, the weight of the past, and the deadly consequences of breaking promises. Fans of romantasy will be captivated by this dark, atmospheric tale of magic, betrayal, and redemption.

For readers looking for an epic journey filled with heart-stopping romance, dangerous bargains, and a love triangle that will keep you guessing, *A Curse of Breath and Blood* is not to be missed.

“𝓨𝓸𝓾 𝓪𝓻𝓮 𝓫𝓮𝓪𝓾𝓽𝓲𝓯𝓾𝓵 𝓽𝓸 𝓶𝓮, 𝓐𝓮𝓵𝓲𝓪 𝓢𝓹𝓻𝓲𝓷𝓰𝓫𝓸𝓻𝓷. 𝓨𝓸𝓾𝓻 𝓼𝓬𝓪𝓻𝓼 𝓪𝓻𝓮 𝓪 𝓽𝓮𝓼𝓽𝓪𝓶𝓮𝓷𝓽 𝓽𝓸 𝔂𝓸𝓾𝓻 𝓼𝓽𝓻𝓮𝓷𝓰𝓽𝓱. 𝓦𝓮𝓪𝓻 𝓽𝓱𝓮𝓶 𝔀𝓲𝓽𝓱 𝓹𝓻𝓲𝓭𝓮.”


📖✨ A Curse of Breath and Blood ✨
🧚🏻‍♀️K. W. Foster
📚 The Mind Breaker #1

✨ A Curse of Breath and Blood ✨ is the 1st book in a debut Romantasy series with a Beautifully complicated world building and Fantastical magical species.

✨ Fantasy Romance
✨ Fierce Sassy FMC
✨ Love Triangle
✨ Second chance love
✨ Only one bed
✨ Fantastical Creatures
✨ Quest
✨ Multi POV
✨ Overcoming Addiction



The story follows the FMC (Aelia Springborn) a traitorous queen turned mercenary, in her quest to find her sister who has been "abducted" by her "ex" husband who is actually a f**king t0rtur0us P$YCH0PATH (pardon my language, I just detest him soo much !! 👿 ) .

Aelia is a Fierce STRONG FMC who has had a terrible past, but the way she overcomes her grief and addictions was a thing of beauty, loved her sassiness and her character development.

Coming to the MMCs , you gotta choose your team guys , and I and DEFINITELY Team THARAN ❤️‍🔥🍃🧝🏻‍♀️

The plot, albeit a little complex, is very fascinating and emotionally draining.
The magic system and the beings are vivid and unique.

And just when you think you are gonna get a Happily Ever After, BAM!! 💥 (Yup 🙂‍↕️, true story!! )

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.
.

Thank you so much K W Foster and Netgalley for this amazing opportunity to be in your ARC team 💜
Eagerly waiting for Book 2 😍

📚ᎪᏒᏟ ᏒᎬᏉᎥᎬᎳ📚
4.5 ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐

“𝐖𝐞 𝐚𝐫𝐞 𝐧𝐨𝐭 𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐥𝐚𝐛𝐞𝐥𝐬, 𝐀𝐞𝐥𝐢𝐚. 𝐘𝐨𝐮 𝐬𝐡𝐨𝐮𝐥𝐝 𝐤𝐧𝐨𝐰 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐛𝐲 𝐧𝐨𝐰. 𝐒𝐨𝐦𝐞𝐭𝐢𝐦𝐞𝐬 𝐢𝐭 𝐢𝐬 𝐞𝐚𝐬𝐢𝐞𝐫 𝐭𝐨 𝐥𝐢𝐯𝐞 𝐢𝐧 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐚𝐫𝐦𝐨𝐫 𝐰𝐞 𝐛𝐮𝐢𝐥𝐝 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐨𝐮𝐫𝐬𝐞𝐥𝐯𝐞𝐬 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐧 𝐥𝐞𝐭 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐰𝐨𝐫𝐥𝐝 𝐬𝐞𝐞 𝐰𝐡𝐨 𝐰𝐞 𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐥𝐥𝐲 𝐚𝐫𝐞.”

🌸 GREAT DEBUT!! - A Curse of Breath and Blood by @authorkwfoster is a high-stakes Romantasy with a love triangle dynamic that will yank at your heart and make you ache from longing memories, gentle whispers and soft caresses. It will lead you down a path of love, pain, and regret, and you can't help but feel for our FMC, Aelia.

🌸 The emotions in this story run deep, and @authorkwfoster does a great job mixing in heavy real-world problems into some of the characters' lives, with mental health, addiction, and marital mental & physical abuse. I enjoyed having some of these representations for the characters though because it made them feel more real & easier to connect with. It also shows how easy it is to blur the lines between right and wrong sometimes and delves into the reasons why someone might torture themselves with the person they can't have, drown in past happy memories and fight to discover what they want & deserve.

🌸 The action scenes definitely gave off a LOTR vibe (which i loved 🤗) from the fast pace and high-intensity fantasy mix of swords swinging, blood spraying, and magical creatures banning together to take down their enemies.

🌸 The characters and the found family group were my favorite parts of this book though. Amolie & Roderick brought the perfect amount of banter to our family group, and their friendships to both our main characters will warm your heart.

✨️ Thank you @netgalley and @authorkwfoster for the opportunity to read this ARC!! ✨️

#acurseofbreathandblood #kwfosterauthor #bookhypegirl #streetteam #arcreader #arcreviewer #neverendingtbr #fantasybooks #romancebooks #fantasyseries #spicyreads #slowburnromance #readanytimeanywhere #bookdragon #enemiestolovers #morallygrey #lovetriangle
https://www.instagram.com/p/C__zlD-SCzw/?igsh=eTVhMTd2bWRzdmVh

𝐑𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐠: ★★★★
𝐒𝐩𝐢𝐜𝐞: 🌶️🌶️
𝐀𝐮𝐭𝐡𝐨𝐫: K.W. Foster
𝐏𝐚𝐠𝐞 𝐜𝐨𝐮𝐧𝐭: 357
𝐏𝐮𝐛𝐥𝐢𝐜𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐝𝐚𝐭𝐞: September 17, 2024

𝐖𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐭𝐨 𝐞𝐱𝐩𝐞𝐜𝐭:
🗡️𝙼𝚘𝚛𝚊𝚕𝚕𝚢 𝙶𝚛𝚎𝚢 𝙵𝙼𝙲
🗡️𝙱𝚘𝚝𝚊𝚗𝚒𝚌𝚊𝚕 𝙼𝚊𝚐𝚒𝚌
🗡️𝚁𝚘𝚖𝚊𝚗𝚝𝚊𝚜𝚢
🗡️𝙼𝚎𝚗𝚝𝚊𝚕 𝙷𝚎𝚊𝚕𝚝𝚑 𝚁𝚎𝚙
🗡️𝙻𝚘𝚟𝚎 𝚃𝚛𝚒𝚊𝚗𝚐𝚕𝚎
🗡️𝙴𝚗𝚎𝚖𝚒𝚎𝚜 𝚝𝚘 𝙻𝚘𝚟𝚎𝚛𝚜
🗡️𝚁𝚎𝚏𝚘𝚛𝚖𝚎𝚍 𝙱𝚊𝚍-𝙱𝚘𝚢 𝙻𝚘𝚟𝚎 𝙸𝚗𝚝𝚎𝚛𝚎𝚜𝚝
🗡️"𝚆𝚑𝚘 𝚍𝚒𝚍 𝚝𝚑𝚒𝚜 𝚝𝚘 𝚢𝚘𝚞?"

"𝐻𝑜𝓅𝑒 𝒾𝓈 𝒶 𝒹𝒶𝓃𝑔𝑒𝓇𝑜𝓊𝓈 𝓉𝒽𝒾𝓃𝑔. 𝐼𝓉 𝒷𝓁𝒾𝓃𝒹𝓈 𝓊𝓈 𝓉𝑜 𝓇𝑒𝒶𝓁𝒾𝓉𝓎."

𝐀 𝐂𝐮𝐫𝐬𝐞 𝐨𝐟 𝐁𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐭𝐡 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐁𝐥𝐨𝐨𝐝 was an addicting read that I finished within a few days. I found myself pulled into the dark and complex world of Aelia Springborn. She's a character who's fiercely independent yet deeply scarred by her past that literally broke my heart reading everything she went through. She's not the typical fantasy heroine...she's rough around the edges, a bit morally gray, she deals with the aftermath of mental and physical abuse and self copes with "drugs" to help her not think. She was once in love but left that love behind and now she's built a life in the shadows, using her abilities to break minds for survival. It's not the life she's always pictured, she's lonely and like I said you can really feel how deep that loneliness goes.

𝐂𝐚𝐢𝐝𝐞𝐧 𝐒𝐭𝐨𝐫𝐦𝐰𝐞𝐚𝐯𝐞𝐫 who was the love of Aelia's life comes back and boy oh boy the tension between them is strong. You can feel the hurt between them and I loved how their relationship wasn't simple or easy. There's so much history and so much pain but there's also chemistry that still lingers between them. Caiden doesn't come back into her life for a reunion though, he comes back with a proposition that could change everything: help him stop her former husband, King Gideon.

𝐓𝐡𝐢𝐧𝐠𝐬 𝐠𝐞𝐭 𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐧 more intense when 𝐓𝐡𝐚𝐫𝐚𝐧 𝐆𝐫𝐞𝐞𝐧𝐛𝐥𝐚𝐝𝐞 gets brought into the story. At first he was a mission..for Aelia to get close to him and read his mind. He turned out to be more than just a mission. His dynamic with Aelia was fresh and different from what she has with Caiden. I love a good love triangle, it's one of my favorite tropes so I knew that this was going to be good. The connection she has with each of the men is complicated because who does she choose?

𝐈 𝐰𝐨𝐮𝐥𝐝 𝐝𝐞𝐟𝐢𝐧𝐢𝐭𝐞𝐥𝐲 recommend this story who enjoys fantasy with deep emotional stakes. It has magic and lots of action, complicated pasts but new beginnings and learning how to heal and grieve.

I love a fantasy book with an interesting magic system. This book fit the bill. And we get a flip on the morally grey trope with our FMC filling that role. As well, Foster provides a vast array of characters from mythology including the Sylph ( which are not often seen), mages, fae, goblins, and mermaids just to name a few.

I love how the author wove all of these elements together and and maintained a cohesive, entertaining story. Aelia was such an interesting character, not in spite of, but because of, her flaws. She had such an inner strength (even with her early drug use) and a fire to her. And I'm here for the love triangle. I'm still not entirely sure who I want her to finally end up with in further books. Caiden or Tharan. I think Tharan is a better fit but am a simp for first loves.

I do wish there had been some more world building and maybe more in depth explanations of the differing magic systems. But that may come in future books. Would also have liked more of Aelia's back story and what happened to her during her time in the Highlands. As opposed to vague references. Over all a pretty solid book. And I would pick up book 2 to see where the story goes. 3.5 stars rounded up to 4

This wasn’t what I was expecting when I read “Acotar meets Six of Crows”. And while I didn’t hate it, I think this was one of those stories where the main character kind of ruins it for me. I could just never quite get myself to like her very much. She grew on me a little bit as the story progressed, but in the end I feel like her interactions with side characters was more endearing than herself. I think this book is definitely a great read for people. It just wasn’t my favorite.

I really enjoyed the side characters. They had a history together that while hinted at, was never really elaborated on. I wish it had been. My favorites are definitely Amolie and Tharan, with an honorable mention to Lucius. Those characters really made the story enjoyable for me.

I hope the author elaborates more on the world in future books. There are a lot of courts/politics that left me a bit confused trying to sort through. The system of deities/ruling powers as well needs to be elaborated on. While intrigued by the world, I was left with a lot of questions that I hope to see answered in the future.

The POVs definitely bothered me the most. While the FMC’s POV was written in first person, the MMC’s was written in third. It was jarring the first time and frustrating for the rest of it. Consistency would be really helpful for the reader.

I totally believe this could be some people’s cup of tea. In fact, if some things were different, it would be mine. I think there’s definitely potential in this series, and I’ll check out the next book when it comes along.

Thank you to NetGalley for the ARC in exchange for a review.