I had high hopes for A Curse of Breath and Blood based on the synopsis but was unfortunately underwhelmed by the delivery. This felt like a really rushed romantasy, with just one big event after another big event without any sort of character or world building in between. I did enjoy the beginning 20% or so, and the verrrrrrry very end, but the middle portion just didn't do it for me.

Thank you to NetGalley, K.W. Foster and Aethon Books for an advanced copy in exchange for an honest review. Releases September 17, 2024.

3.5

🖤 Arranged Marriage
🖤 Drug Abuse
🖤 Blood Binding
🖤 Telepathy
🖤 Found Family
🖤 Quest

Aelia once a beloved princess and now a traitorous Queen. Five years ago she was forced to leave her lover, Prince Caiden to enter into an arranged marriage with Gideon. Gideon is absolutely horrendous. He manipulated and tortured her, broke her body and soul. Aelia eventually gets away and flees.

Aelia's sister, Baylis is currently missing, taken by Gideon. Aelia sets off with Caiden and their friends into order to find her.

Both Aelia and Caiden have been through a lot of hurt and trauma. They have a long history together.

High stakes, fast paced fantasy.

This new fast-paced, high fantasy story tackles real world issues with unconventional characters!

Aelia is a mature FMC that has suffered serious trauma and is addicted to fairy dust. We follow her and her exploration of herself, navigating her addiction/recovery, dealing with past trauma, and rebuilding relationships. During the story, we learn about hidden truths, family ties, and unique powers that are just developing for Aelia. She is somewhat an anti-hero and is a great addition to the incredible world of strong and reliant FMCs.

There are many different types of mythical beings in this book which is great for epic fantasy lovers like myself. There are also many supporting characters to develop connections with that offer up a great system for our FMC. A simple love triangle develops that is a good addition to the story, and isn't too complicated or distressing.

I felt like the world building and characterization were slightly underdeveloped and didn't really build a strong relationship with any of the characters. However, I think that this book is a great foundation for the series and there is much that can be built upon. The story flowed well and was easy to follow with a clear plot. I am invested in the storyline and looking forward to the next installment to see where the series goes!

First I want to thank NetGalley and K.W. Foster for an arc of this book, I appreciate the opportunity to read it!

I want to say first and foremost that I wanted to like this book, but I think it wasn't entirely in my attention span that it kept my interest. I enjoyed the first maybe 45% of the book, but after that so many characters were introduced that I couldn't keep track of who was who. I like books with good world building as well and sometimes the book seemed to miss that, which I'm sure others could understand more than me at this time. I did finish the book though and I gave it as fair of a rating as I could with not fully loving the book like I wanted to. I'm sure others will love this story and hope they do, but maybe I need to pick this book up at a different time and give it another shot.

First of all I loved this book😍 It feel like ACOTAR + King of Battle and Blood and I'm so here for it

The plot twist left me staring at the wall. I did NOT see that happen

The fmc was a little whiny at times but I definitely don't dislike her and her character development was amazing

✨𝒜𝑅𝒞 𝑅𝑒𝓋𝒾𝑒𝓌✨
📖: A Curse of Breath and Blood: A Fantasy Romance Novel (The Mind Breaker Book 1)
🌸 Releasing September 17

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️.💫

“𝘐 𝘭𝘰𝘷𝘦𝘥 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘯 𝘸𝘩𝘦𝘯 𝘐 𝘩𝘢𝘵𝘦𝘥 𝘺𝘰𝘶, 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘐 𝘸𝘪𝘭𝘭 𝘬𝘦𝘦𝘱 𝘢 𝘴𝘱𝘢𝘤𝘦 𝘪𝘯 𝘮𝘺 𝘩𝘦𝘢𝘳𝘵 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘶𝘯𝘵𝘪𝘭 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘦𝘯𝘥 𝘰𝘧 𝘵𝘪𝘮𝘦.”

Due to their positions and duty, Caiden and Aelia knew their young love was doomed from the start. When Aelia is finally whisked away to the Highlands to her handsome betrothed, they resolve to part ways amicably. But everything afterwards was no fairytale.

Years later, Aelia is now a disgraced queen turned mercenary who reluctantly joins Caiden on a high-stakes mission to defeat the person who irrecoverably broke her. Along the way, she encounters the devastatingly charming Tharan, who she is immediately drawn to. As they all slowly mend their souls, will they be able to prepare their hearts for what’s to come?

Tropes:
👀 Multi POV
🗡️ St@bby FMC
🦮 Golden Retriever MMC
💕 Reformed bad boy MMC
♻️ Love triangle
🏰 Court intrigue
❤️‍🩹Hurt/comfort
💫 Magic bargains
🧑‍🧑‍🧒‍🧒 Found family
🌶️: mild

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

Themes of memory, hope, and sacrifice resonate throughout this wistful and heartbreaking tale. I loved the interwoven memories in the story and the depiction of each character’s unique magic.

The author skillfully navigates the interplay between bad blood and broken hearts. All our MCs are grappling with trauma, hurt, and loss. Each character is beautifully broken, coping in their own way. But are they beyond repair?

With deadly bargains, ancient evils, and an unforgettable love triangle, A Curse of Breath and Blood will have you on the edge of your seat, unable to put the book down until the very end. I am begging for the next book ASAP!

Huge thanks to the author and NetGalley for the ARC opportunity! This is my honest and voluntary review

Aelia Springborn is the FMC and the main POV that we follow throughout the book. Aelia is the definition of broken and damaged, often turning to means of men or dust to help keep her demons at bay. This brought a unique perspective to the flow of the book as she copes with her traumas.

While reading you will be given glimpses into who/what has caused Aelia to turn into the stone cold mercenary that she is, and how her life ended up on the path it did. The book is quick paced with situations happening often one after another.

I wouldn't consider this a book about a love triangle. As the love is forced to change and evolve because of events that happen. To be honest, I have no idea which guy I would rather her be with anyways! There are a couple open door scenes but I found the romance was more secondary to everything else. The epilogue is a terrifying cliffhanger that made me interested in reading book 2.

When I first heard about this book being compared to ACOTAR I was a little nervous but I think K.W Foster has done a fantastic job with A Curse of Breath of Blood.

This book follows Aelia Springborn - a Queen turned mercenary breaking into minds for coin, navigating royal courts in Moriana.

Full transparency, Aelia is a morally grey, hot mess of a FMC on a mission to rescue her sister Baylis while stuck with her ex lover Caiden which immediately had me hooked.
When I think about the Amelia we meet at the start of A Curse of Breath and Blood this sentence really felt like it captured her-
“Famished from five years of living in cigarettes and hate”

The chemistry between Caiden and Aelia never quite hit the mark for me, with the plot movement it felt like we were expected to understand they were deeply in love from the get to, then hating each other and then back in love with each other. If the book were a little longer I think there could have been more relationship development between the pair and a chance for a slower burn - as well as ironing out the world building as it did get confusing at times.
Thank god for Tharan coming in clutch!!

If everything else hasn’t convinced you to give A Curse of Breath and Blood a go, here are some features that had this book checking all of my boxes-
- Love triangle
- Powerful but damaged FMC
- Fantastic villains
- Dual POV
- Stunning cover artwork
- Epic ending that has me desperate for book number 2

Overall an enjoyable read and an interesting take on a romantasy.

I wish the ARC had come with a trigger warning for passive SI, self-destructive bx, addiction, abusive relationships. While I wasn't too phased by these mentions, there are many readers who will want this addition. When it comes to characters, Aelia wasn’t exactly the most likable person, but none of the characters were likable for me. Aelia went towards unhealthy coping (i.e., addiction, promiscuity) but she did seem to see her overall worth despite the pain and trauma which did show a level of resilience. I was curious to learn more about the mind-breaking power but the slow writing pace made it so that curiosity faded. The world building and character descriptions were decent but not notable for me as a reader. The espionage-style warfare was interesting to follow. The romance was shallow at times but it felt somewhat intentional because of the time and trauma that has passed since Aelia and Caiden first fell in love. I found that this Foster did a good job of highlighting the difference between first love between teens and a lasting love that grows together. Another thing that made "A Curse of Breath and Blood" difficult for me to get through was the random information added and the seemingly random plot points that had abrupt mentions or changes (e.g., the beheading scene).

Overall, I had a hard time loving "A Curse of Breath and Blood." It's not a bad book, but it wasn't Ohmigod-let-me-read-more great either.

Review going live September 12

I loved this story. It was fast paced, had interesting characters, a flawed protaganist, "Who did this to you?", old love, new love, and so much more. Where it fell flat is the world building. I am still confused about all of Aelia's past that kept being referenced but never fleshed out as well as general world building that should cover the creatures living in this world, how the leadership works, religion, and magic. I felt that the book could have ended sooner so that the world could have been fleshed out more. There were also some confusing time jumps where I felt like I was missing something as a reader.

I love Aelia as a character. While she is badass, she is also real and has a lot of reactions to situations that I feel most people can relate to. I wish we would have more development of her and Caiden's relationship rekindling because it felt like one day they were at each other's throats and the next they were back together without any in between.

Overall, this was a great fast paced romantasy and I'm looking forward to getting my hands on the sequel.

As a reader, I am almost always drawn to pretty covers with a decent blurb. This book definitely fit that bill. However, I wasn't expecting to love this book as much as I did. This book gave me King Arthur vibes mixed with Once Upon a Broken Heart. We have warriors, who doesn't love a badass FMC who can hold her own in a fight, we have deep seated trauma and we have magic and spice. Without giving too much away, when Aelia and Caiden made their oath to wipe Caiden's mind after finishing their quest, my heart wept for them. This is a beautifully written romantasy novel which deserves readers to give a new author a chance as you will not be disappointed.

Tropes:

✨Fantasy
✨Spice
✨Enemies to lovers
✨Who did this to you?
✨Second chance love
✨Found family
✨Magic
✨Love triangle
✨Quest
✨Forced proximity
✨Multi POV
✨Forbidden love

4.5 ⭑
Aelia, our 30+ morally grey FMC, has been through so much. Heartbreak, trauma, abuse, addiction, loss of self, and yet she FIGHTS! Although Caiden is part of her past & holds hard memories, their relationship is special. I never thought a book could break my heart in an instant like this one did! But Tharan… Tharan is there to pick up the pieces. Aelia’s growth and vulnerability with him was truly a testament to character growth throughout this book. ALSO, a huge honorable mention goes to Amolie! Her compassion is bliss.

I was concerned about the time gap between the prologue and chapter one. There were a lot of unanswered questions that felt distracting. Around 30% I hit a turning point, and didn’t want to put this book down.

Now, the other side of this book.. the GIDEON side of this book… THE EPILOGUE OF THIS BOOK! I’ll just be here waiting for book two in this hot new trilogy!

This book was average. It definitely lacked some world building and some characters had depth and some didn’t. I like it but it isn’t something I would recommend often.

The beginning of the book was a little slow for me and as it did pick up a bit sometimes I felt like I was struggling through some chapters.

Thank you for the arc in exchange for my honest review.

I think I just got overwhelmed after thirty percent of reading it. After then, I've decided to take a break from it. I love the whimsical dark feel though.

I really enjoyed this! I thought it gave some acotar vibes but also very different and I loved the magic in it. Also it had great romance where I could really
connect with it and root for it. Love the characters as well will be adding to our library and recommending to everyone!

This story had potential, but I mostly just felt overwhelmed.

There was so much info about the different species and the different territories and rulers that I couldn't keep it all straight in my mind. It also starts off in what felt the middle of the story. There is so much that happens with all the characters before the book starts that is referenced and it seemed like we were missing out on a lot.

Aelia was a Princess before she was married off, but we got almost no information about her country and the hierarchy. She got married off and was a Queen for 6 years before becoming "The Traitor Queen" and now she is an assassin, but I am still unclear about what happened for her to become a traitor. There were also casual mentions of Caiden and Tharan being Princes, but we got barely any info on Caiden's history and only a bit about Tharan too.

It goes back and forth in memories to give us some backstory, but it ended up confusing me a lot trying to figure out what timeline we were in. Maybe if the memories started at the beginning of a chapter or something? Mostly they were in the middle of Aelia having a thought and we weren't given any page breaks to differentiate. Granted, I was reading an ARC, so formatting may not be complete, but it served to throw me in and out of the story a lot.

It had some intriguing characters and a good group of different people. I also liked Aelia's mind magic and the different ways she was able to use it. Other than that, the book was very average with nothing really standing out to me.

Read if you love:
-Bisexual FMC
-Love triangles
-Humans, Sylphs, and Elves
-Political Intrigue

I received an eARC from Netgalley and the author. My thoughts are entirely my own.
Finish Date: 9/6/24, Release date: 9/17/24

Thank you Netgalley, the publisher and the author for providing this arc!

DNF @20% (71 pages)
Unfortunately, I wasn't able to connect with this book. The premise initially intrigued me, but the execution felt off from the start. I struggled to empathize with the characters, and the frequent introduction of new characters left me feeling disoriented.
I've seen the "Six of Crows" comparison used frequently, and I agree that it's often misleading. This book does not share the same tone, character dynamics, or overall atmosphere.

3.5⭐️
This was a great concept, and I really enjoyed the characters. The beginning had me hooked right away. This would have been a 4⭐️ read if it had some more world building. It just didn’t have the enough world building to help make the story fully cohesive. Which is kind of disappointing, because it really had the potential to be great, especially with the enjoyable characters.

When writing reviews, we often complain of books dragging along, but this one had the opposite problem. It was moving TOO fast, so the plot, characters, and worldbuilding were not adequately fleshed out.

I liked that the FMC was in her 30s, even though she really didn't act like it. She told us she was in love, but I didn't believe her since she's falling for every character she comes across. I fear corny dialogue has become an epidemic in the romantasy genre.

A quick and easy read - thanks to Netgalley, Aethon Books, and the author for this eARC!

Thank you for letting me read the ARC copy of this book!

I am very excited to jump into this book when I first read the description. The main character, a queen who became a mercenary because of her five years past live is quite thrilling and sad especially knowing the fact about what happened with her past relationship and what her current husband did to her. Knowing she carried her scars and tried to conceal it, feeling old when she only got 30, I feel you well woman.

This is not a high-stake fantasy for adult fiction, the history of their universe and humanity within it could be explored deeply, but the world is served with interesting elements such magical dust, witches, elf, beast, etc. As for the character, I don't know if it was the author intention to create a morally gray or just some missing points of the development. But I do feel a hollow spots if it claimed as morally gray character. Despite the character development is missing some points, I do enjoy the whole story.

The writing style is comfortable to read though there still lots of engagement can be built. I wish there are more Caiden's viewpoints about his past live and his feeling towards Aelia. Same goes to Aelia, it would be nice if her past is well-detailed so as a reader, we can bond well to Aelia. Remember that our main characters are on their 30, there should be more consideration and obstacles in their journey whether is personal-internal conflict or external challenges, everything should not be easy sometimes.