Unfortunately, I had to DNF this book, but it's a good thing... hear me out. I did that thing where I got so excited about the look and sound of a book, I missed the fact it was Book 2 until after I was already accepted to read. I figured it would be fine, I could pick it up and still enjoy it. But, I soon realised how beautifully this was written and what I must have been missing out on in Book 1. I tried, in vain, to get my mits on it, but no dice. So I've put this one down, UNTIL I can read them both. The characters felt so complex and developed, the world so full and intrinsic, that I needed more. I needed to know these people, their world, just as the author intended. I can't wait to come back when I have finally had the chance to devour both.

This book took me on a journey. The first book I have read by Renee Dugan and I am now going to find every other book she has written to date and put her on my permanent watch list. I traveled every step alongside Lionyra, I feared for her and was frustrated with her and joined in her moments of hope and happiness along the way.

This book was cleverly written and paced in a way so few are. I find that often with adventures you are presented with an issue and a hero/ heroine and then almost transported through the stages of grand scheme, obstacle, almost failure and then blinding success which can be fun but you blink and miss key elements. I was engaged the whole way through this tale following every step and somehow even the boring and mundane chores and everyday actions like eating and getting clean clothing served instead to build more detail and understanding of the characters we are following.

I firmly recommend this book to anyone who enjoys an adventure that feels earned building and carrying you along and leaving you utterly satisfied with the ending.

I was given the opportunity to read this book through an arc provided by net galley in exchange for an honest review.

Thank you to Netgalley, the publisher, and the author for providing a free e-arc of this book. This was a great book with swashbuckling pirates, found families, great characters, and epic adventures! At times, the book lulled some, so it was hard to get through at points, but when it picked up, it really picked up! When the action scenes ocurred, they really made up for the lagging parts. The characters were all very interesting, and you found the main characters to be charming even when there are alternative motives that come to light. The romance was great, and you could see the development of the relationship well throughout the story where it made sense. It is the second book in a series but still considered a standalone. I have not read the first book, but after this, I am definitely interested in reading more by this author!

An intricately woven high fantasy that immerses readers in a world where loyalty and betrayal blur the lines between friend and foe. The story captivates readers with its rich world-building and multi-layered characters, each with their own motivations, desires, and hidden agendas. The author crafts a gripping and emotionally charged narrative that asks difficult questions about trust, loyalty, and the price of power. For readers who love a mix of political intrigue, action, and character-driven stories, this book is a fantastic addition to the fantasy genre.

Initially, I was having trouble with the writing. I couldn't make sense of the sentences; however, after a while, I got used to the language style and can easily read and enjoy the story. I like the storyline and how the plot is laid out. The dynamics between the characters were something that I enjoyed reading. Overall, I feel like I was taken on a long, adventurous journey while reading this story.

Another epic masterpiece I need to see adapted to the screen. Dugan's writing is already so visually enticing and cinematic that it's easy to envision what you're reading in your head. The cast of characters is so fleshed out and I love how real they all are - they all experience ups and downs, growth, and readers will be able to feel all the feels as they go along for the ride with Lio and Bash.
I really enjoyed this one; it was a great sequel, yet new readers can also jump into this book without having read the first and be fine. Once again the world-building is detailed and impressive and the story filled with plot twists that will make readers squeal.
To sum up, I loved it and will be diving into this author's backlist.

I really wanted to love this one because book one ended up being one of my very favorites. But this one I just couldn't get into and stay with. It felt clunky and slow to me, and didn't really feel like it was moving towards any sort of goal.

Dnf at 9%. Too cruel for me. Also couldn't get a hang of fmc. At first she seemed confident and so sure of herself but it seems to be only a font. She is pretty helpless and weak and I'm not a fan of all the beating she's receiving. I get that that's the point but I don't have to like it.

A Tale Told by Traitors is another exciting adventure in the Tales of Wonder and Woe series. Swashbuckling pirates, assassins, Princess Bride vibes, lots of action, found family and strong ties, this book has it all, making for a very entertaining read.

The world building is wonderfully descriptive, the character development of the new characters so aptly done. The book is a little wordy at points, which took me a while to get through, but over all, this book is exciting and the ending was just so good. And seeing how certain characters’ stories tied in with the characters from A Story Spun in Scarlet was fun to read.

Overall, I am really enjoying this fantasy series and the world created, and can’t wait to read more stories from this series!

Thank you to NetGalley and the author for providing a copy in exchange for an honest review.

This book is amazing.. well written and thoughtful characters. I really enjoyed the way the stories flowed and how well built and fast paced it was.. exceptional

Ahhhhh, this was one of my most anticipated reads since I LOVED Scarlet....and it did not disappoint! Love it!

This is book 2 in a series, but I found I was able to pick it up without having read book one with no problems, though, I'm sure I might have had slightly more context if I had read book one.

Firstly the cover design is top notch. I was immediately sucked in by the cover.

The story itself is full of rich, extremely descriptive writing that is beautiful but does sometimes get in the way of the story moving along. I'm also more of a fan of more sparse prose- so there were several moments when I felt like I was in an adjective farm - each color does not have to have an adjective, and it is possible- to just not name every color of each piece of clothing worn by a character. That said, I know many readers enjoy this- I, do not.

As far as the plot- we have a baker who is secretly an heir, and a pirate who's in trouble. Lio and Ryker have many secrets, including a secret past. Both are set on desperate tasks when their lives once again collide having to face some uncomfortable truths of the past, their own feelings and hopefully to rise above and succeed. Will they come together or remain enemies? You'll need to read to find out!

This book will appeal to those who enjoyed Adrienne Young's Fable series, Rueckert's If the tide Turns, or Davinia Evans Notorious Sorcerer.

Y’all. I knew as soon as I was approved for this book that it was going to take me on such an adventure, that I was going to be a different person at the end of it…and I was right.

Renee has a way with words that is untouched by any (most) in this day and age. Her writing is intricate and purposeful, and her characters are full of depth and life.

I fell hard and fast for Lionyra when I first met her in A Story Spun in Scarlet. An immigrant woman who made a name for herself as a prominent bakery owner, Lio was a kind soul to Addie-Cat (if you haven’t met Addie yet, I beg of you to) when she needed a friend. In A Tale Told by Traitors, we finally learn of the secrets Lio has been keeping, of who she was and is to her core.

This story is for folks who love adventures, titillating quests, pirates and love - both the family and romantic kinds. In A Tale Told by Traitors, we come to learn that there is beauty in our strengths forged by our own stubbornness…as well as strength in being soft.

This is a fantasy book about pirates, romance, and treachery. These are all fantastic elements to a story, in my opinion.
Overall, this book just wasn't paced in a way that engaged me, personally, and felt some elements could have been developed better. Regardless, many parts of this book were enjoyable to read.

I will start with the parts I enjoyed. Even though the female main character was definitely 'badass' during many moments in the book, it was nice to see a female protagonist that embraces a path other than that of the warrior, with her love of baking and denounciation of violence. Additionally, I did not predict the plot twist 20% in, and the other developments at 50% were also well thought out.

However, it gets 3 stars from me for a few reasons. It seems to forget that it is a standalone book at times, assuming other readers have read the previous standalone and must therefore be familiar with Addie, who is aluded to randomly in a way that makes little sense for a first time reader. I also think this is why the magic system was not fleshed out in this book or even explained at all.
The world building isn't my favourite, and I had to rely heavily on the map at times. I think that could have been done better. Also, many moments aren't developed enough to have any impact, mainly the deaths of characters who had little relevance other than to show how much of a bad time the FMC was having. The FMC's alias was also revealed before I really knew her actual name, so I spent a lot of the book confused when they kept calling her different names.

Overall, an enjoyable read that I personally am too cynical for. Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for sending me this ARC.

If you have read A Story Spun In Scarlet you will be delighted to recognise characters here but boy does this quickly become a true adventure story.
Lio has escaped her previous role only to find herself literally being dragged back but along the way she meets Bash, a pirate with a twinkle in his eye when he looks her way. Yet Lio knows he cannot help her escape from her vicious captor or can he ? Bash has his own secrets and they are ones that will see Lio on yet another pirate ship and this time she's about to turn the tables and take back control one step at a time !
Absolutely fabulous and very surprising as past meets present to give the reader a meandering and very engrossing story. The characters are fun to read about, their antics are truly a hoot and yet there's depth and emotions here that just grab the reader and don't let go. I thoroughly recommend this book and heartily look forward to reading whatever the author comes up with next.
This voluntary take is of a copy I requested and my thoughts and comments are honest and I believe fair

I devoured Renee Dugan's first book in this series, "A Story Spun in Scarlet", so I really took my time with this one. I savored it. I let it settle into my bones and my soul. Like the way good bread has to be evenly cooked in the oven, I let this story envelop me in it's warmth, its aches, its pain, and its triumphs. And I walked away better for it.

Set in the same world as "A Story Spun in Scarlet", we now follow Lio's story - and it's a rocky one. But my gosh, isn't she beautiful? Her strength, her kindness, her passion -- for life, for her loved ones, for her hobbies. Lio is an inspiration.

I could gush about this story for hours and hours, but I could never full encapsulate the sheer rainbow of emotions one feels reading it for the first time themselves, so what are you waiting for? Grab this now and sink into your coziest armchair with some home cocoa and a strudel - it's going to be a lifechanging voyage.

I really did enjoy this book. There are a few things that kept it from being a 5/5 for me, but honestly, they are nitpicky and don’t change how much I enjoyed the book. I didn’t read the first book, so some of the things that bothered me may have been addressed in the first.

The beginning was a bit slow for me, but once it got going, it didn’t stop from there. Mostly, I think the slowness wasn’t a pacing issue but the beginning being very descriptive and wordy. I don’t think this was necessarily a bad thing, it just took a bit for me to get going with the story.

Lio as a character was very intriguing to me. She sometimes would do things that would make me scratch my head, but as I got to know her better, it made sense as there is a character that serves as a foil to her. She definitely has a large amount of growth in some ways, but honestly, to me she just seems like a good person. The life she ran away from was horrifying in its abuse, and you get to see some of that in the present day. Her foil in the book also experienced this same abuse, and I loved seeing how they reacted differently to essentially what was the same life experience.

I absolutely loved Ryker. I loved the few chapters we got from his point of view. He is doing what he thinks is best for his crew/family and is a pirate with a conscience. His family of pirates were also wonderful, and flawed. They felt like real people, living in a real, broken world. Their found family experience was as wonderful as it was heartbreaking.

The magic in this world isn’t really explained well, but this may be an issue for me since I haven’t had a chance to read book 1 yet. It also plays a very small role in the book as a whole. Since the magic wasn’t a big part of the story, I didn’t mind that it was only briefly mentioned or seen.

There is a lot of abuse seen by a large number of characters. But you get to see how they navigate it, how they use their found family for support and how they get their power back. The romance that is present does not overshadow the story, and IMO, well done.

While I enjoyed the plot, I loved the characters. There were a large number of them, but they felt individual and I cared, and worried, about what was going to happen to them next. Have fun reading!

Wow! I did not expect to love it as much I did. I think the pacing of the book was great and I wasn't even able to put it down, it really is a page turner. This was my first book from Renee Dugan and didn't know it was a series and would for sure read the books before this. This book is packed of good stuff from thrilling actions with pirate ships, on how the romance was set as a perfect slow-burn, and how detailed the worldbuilding is which makes reading more immersive. Thank you to NetGalley and Wave Walker Press for this ebook, I highly recommend it and couldn't wait for the next one to come!

This is epic fantasy set in a world full of political turmoil, conflicts of loyalty, and personal growth. The main character in the story, Lionyra Vara, also known as Alyona Graven, tries to go through her past life as a lost heir to a royal family while working out a new path for herself in the city of Krylan as a baker. The personal stakes that are so complex, and the interwoven alliances and betrayals underlying this narrative, hint at a deeply layered storytelling in which every choice comes with weighty emotional and political consequences.

A Tale Told by Traitors tells the story of Lionyra Vara, a baker immigrant in Krylan, leading a life as humble as her bread-yet she had been born into tangled intrigue of royal blood, politics, and rebellion. When soldiers and a familiar nemesis, the Pale Viper, come hunting for her, Lionyra-or Alyona Graven-is thrown back into her role as Delina, lost heir to Amere-Del. The story weaves her through struggles with her identity, the looming threat of a royal war, and the hankering for personal freedom. As the political tensions between Amere-Del and Krylan build up, Lionyra has to decide whether to heed the call of her birthright or to run once more.

Lionyra Vara (Alyona Graven): A strong protagonist, who constantly fights between her past and present self. Her turmoil, forged through trauma and the need for serenity, instead adds even more depth to the events at hand. The change from princess to baker was an overt representation of her deep-seated need to be free; still, she retains both acumen and fighting spirit. Her motivations come from a mix of guilt and self-preservation, but it is how she relates to the past-especially her sister Tristah-that remains poised in the balance as an emotional counterweight.

Lucretzia Nore: Pale Viper is a very villainous antagonist who served Lionyra's family. She is the ghost from the past, very hauntingly so. Her brutal methods and loyalty to the Del reveal deep psychological involvement with power and control. She tangles up the plot and forces the hand of Lionyra into the life she ran from.

Tristah: Lionyra's sister, much like a twin, though not seen during the early chapters, looms large in the memory and motivation of the protagonist. She speaks to the familial bond that ties Lionyra to her earlier life.

Audra Jashowin: An elusive, powerful Storycrafter, Audra is responsible for helping push the action forward. Added to this, her living stories and fugitive state mean layers of mystery are thrown on top of an already fragile political situation.

Minor Characters: Supporting characters, such as the redheaded Mithran soldier who captured Lionyra and the sea captain Jularius, give depth and suspense to the impending tale. They function not only in antagonistic roles but also as reflections of the prevailing structures in society.

Perhaps above all, identity is the whirlwind of emotions that wracks her in the throes of attempting to come to terms with herself, and there is Alyona, the lost heir; then there is Lionyra, the free baker. The poignancy that fills the novel speaks to a greater question of fate and free choice.

If the title is anything to go by, it says much about the nature of conflict that follows through the book. It stitches betrayal right into the tenuousness of the relationships-be it Lionyra abandoning her royal duties or the betrayals stuck in her past. These interlink with motifs of loyalty, especially how far one will go for family, duty, and freedom.

Almost, the backdrop of Amere-Del and Mithra-Sha is permeated with political tension. What urges beings like Lucretzia Nore and Sha Lothar-the motivation-continuous, to manipulate or control those beneath them in their rank is a very strong one: power.

Lush and evocative, the writing of R. Dugan is a feast for one's senses. The opening scene, full of sensory input-from blazing fireworks to the smell of singed clothes-drops the reader into Lionyra's world. The prose in Dugan is figurative, full of evolving metaphors and descriptions that give life to both emotional and physical landscapes. Events flutter between points of introspection and action as it balances internal conflict with high-stake tension. The early chapters are slow-moving and well-meaning, dealing with the personal growth of Lionyra in facing her ghosts.

Overall, A Tale Told By Traitors is that sort of sweeping epic for which one reads fantasy epics: identity, power, and betrayal writ large. R. Dugan is strongest at character work, giving Lionyra that psychic depth which defines a new generation of modern protagonists. Richly constructed, Amere-Del boasts layers of mythology, political intrigue, and personal stakes that promise to drag readers into its depths.

Lovers of character and world detail the likes of which comes from a Robin Hobb or a Patrick Rothfuss will find much to love herein from Mr. Dugan.

Overall Rating: ★★★★☆
Writing Style: ★★★★☆
Characters: ★★★★★
World-Building: ★★★★☆

"My life’s tale ended—and began—with fireworks."

“I have no people. Lionyra Vara straddled two worlds and belonged to neither.”

“Everything will be precisely as it was."

“I would not give you Audra Jashowin if it meant I could disappear like a shadow from this city forever.”

The plot behind this book was fantastic. Lots of twists and turns to get to the final result. I loved following Lio's journey and seeing she grew and developed.

That said, there is so much detail on every page that it kind of bogs down the story for me. Reading this was like pulling teeth. And that could very well be a me problem. I am very easily distracted and too much detail sends me spiraling, so then I have to re-read to remember what's going on. However, since that is a personal problem, I'm not counting it against the book. Because, like I said, the story was great.

I loved almost all of the characters. I loved the setting. I loved the pirate-y feel. I loved the found family, the forced proximity, the hidden identities. I even loved all the little tie-ins to the first novel that connected the story without relying on the first too much. I'm just sad it was so hard for me to get through.

What an epic, swashbuckling adventure! There were falls from grace and redemption for just about every main character! And what comes with that is sometimes a slow start, which is what this felt like for me. For about the first 40% of the book I had to really push myself to read more and then when I got super invested (for the remainder of the book), I started to forget some of the finer details because I felt a little bogged down in some of the descriptions.

The characters are well-developed, with each one feeling like they had a real story to share and real life to continue living. The character's choices made sense and I appreciated how well Dugan relayed the reasons (through thoughts, conversations, and interactions) behind those choices. The plot definitely felt like an epic adventure and at some points I wish it was a little bit shorter in spots because I fear some people may decide it's too much, even though the ending of the story is totally worth it. The villains were as unlikeable as the found family was likeable, and for many different reasons (violence, dirty deals, cruelty, inaction, opposing political views, etc.)

I was expecting more magic from the tale, especially with the opening of Addie and her tale. I thought magic would be more involved in the adventure than it actually was. It's okay that it's not, because at the end their is brief mention of her again and additional magic involved, but it felt like magic in this world really only bookended the story, as if it started and ended it and wasn't used or thought of much for the actual adventure.

The writing was well done and engaging. I didn't find myself having to go back and reread something again for clarity. The imagery and descriptive writing was immersive. I appreciated the first person point of views because it allowed me to really feel what the characters were experiencing. I had no problem imagining what was happening, and something was ALWAYS happening.

The plot reads as an epic adventure might. We go through the hero's journey and more! It is packed with action and appropriate pacing. I never felt like I was getting left behind or skipping ahead without gaining what information I needed to continue.

Fun read, definitely reccommend to anyone who is looking for an adventure with a found family and a little bit of romance mixed in!