What a ride!

This is an intense fantastical adventure, one I struggled with at times but ultimately quite enjoyed. It's queer fantasy drama + romance, though I recommend going in aware this is the first of a series so the romance is definitely more in the sexual tension/growing feelings stage here. The worldbuilding was very fun, especially with how it gets more and more intricate the deeper in you get. While I guessed a couple things ahead of time there were definitely twists I didn't see coming, all well written and sneakily foreshadowed!

I found Maximus to be an interesting, well-rounded protagonist, with strengths and flaws. The depth of his grief and rage was heartbreaking, his determination igniting. The supporting characters are great too, I didn't find any character to be too shallow or one-note, even the more vicious villains.

One thing I struggled with was the pacing. The beginning of the book and the final climax are great: sharp, action-packed, and vivid. The middle section dragged for me. It also reads more upper YA than adult to me, with a little bit of that coming of age plus Chosen One narrative vibe.

Even so, the parts of the book I did like were so enjoyable I'm definitely planning on picking up the next one! I have to know what happens, and I have a massive weakness for dragons.

I loved it! I honestly can’t wait for more I was hooked from the get go and could barely put it down! Thank you to Netgalleyand the publisher for allowing me early access to this title

DNF at 58% ...I'm kind of confused by all the gushing reviews. Honestly, to me this book felt scattered and anticlimactic. My overall mood while reading was frustrated, agitated, and overall just sour. I had high expectations based on the blurb, the cover, etc, but everything felt off, or too bland. I may try again one day but right now I just don't have the patience.

So the first couple of chapters are actually very strong; the intro the night of the festival, the inciting incident, etc. I also like how the parties set up as the main villains totally got Emperor Snoked early on.

But I quickly grew frustrated by Max, who is stubborn and defiant at the worst times, finds his bravery only when it's time to hang back and observe, makes scenes at the most idiotic moments, and makes his situation so much worse at every turn.

Trying to destroy his murder weapon in public and getting caught up in the events at the festival I can forgive, but after that once he'd become a captive, everything he did was so annoying to me. Max acts like a total girlboss, but when push comes to shove he's kind of a coward, his bravery and defiance flare up when he should keep his mouth shut but then when he actually needs to step forward or be strong it's gone. He's all bark and no bite. Which is fine, I guess, but he takes himself way too seriously, and for someone who I'm supposed to believe is like twenty-six he just seems way more like a seventeen or eighteen year old.

The book reads very YA. Upper YA, sure, but it's not as adult/new adult as I was hoping. I tried my best to accept that early on, but it got more and more grating the more dumb Max acted. I also had a hard time caring about his parents at all because while they seem like good people who love him, I know nothing about them. Max doesn't seem too concerned finding out he's adopted, which, cool, they're his folks either way and they're in danger so his priority is saving them, but even then he makes so many heedless mistakes and miscalculations and makes things so much worse. He gets people killed just because he wants the last word, he thinks he's smarter than he is. I love ACOTAR and I love Feyre, but she was never more annoying than in the beginning of book three when she kept patting herself on the back for being a girlboss spy, when literally everyone in the Spring Court except Tamlin knew what the hell she was up to.

Max fluctuates rapidly between boss bitch moments and then just straight up hating himself and thinking he's pathetic at all times. Writing a confident, powerful character who also struggles with self-hate is no easy feat, and even the most talented writers often fumble it. But it made it seem like he was all bluster, like he was gassing himself up far more than he deserved and I just couldn't delude myself along with him. It's not that I hated Max, I just found him stupid and kind of frustratingly weak.

I also got fed up with the love triangle. Every time I got comfortable with or invested in one of the guys we rushed past it and they would disappear for huge chunks of the plot. I was definitely more interested in Camron and Simian just truly seemed like the usual annoying 'mysterious dark broody bad boy' love interest with no depth to him, where Camron's trauma seemed compelling.

The worldbuilding actually felt very basic, vague, been-there-done-that for me. It was fine, but it wasn't anything special. In fact at 58% into the book I honestly felt like we'd learned far too few details and were still being fed such huge important information that felt like it should have been addressed far earlier in the narrative that it made it hard to get invested in because I genuinely didn't care, as it seemed at that late in the game that the author would just introduce whatever he needed to in the moment to keep the plot rolling, but it was all stuff I'd seen before in a billion other fantasy stories. And it's stuff I like, I just felt like there wasn't anything interesting or unique to flavor it or contrast with it, so I was left feeling like it was all wasted potential.

Maybe it doesn't help that I watched the new Dungeons and Dragons movie while reading the first half of this book and that was more well developed and charismatic in every way. I just couldn't maintain my interest when Max was so hard to root for and kept upsetting me so much I wanted to slap him, and Camron kept leaving him alone at the wrong time and neither of them seemed interested in actually governing for all their talk of shifting the power balance and rebelling and reclaiming Max's parents. At one point I wished his parents would just die already.

All this said there were some things I did like:

1) Camron, he's a cool love interest and one of the sole reasons I'm tempted to try reading this again one day in the future. I will give it a second chance, and that's probably mostly because of him. His backstory and the hints of emotional depth we see from him felt more skilled and more interesting than most of the other material

2) Beatrice. She's pretty damn impressive and powerful. I felt like she had major "I deserve my own backdoor pilot episode" energy. Give me a Beatrice spinoff I'll read that.

3) The dragons. Dragons are always dope.

4) The dragon armor Camron made. Serious Dragoons vibes. Very cool.

5) The hot guys. Simian has no personality aside from being a bad boy spy and I want him to either pitch a threesome or go away forever, but Camron is cool and fascinating. And swoony. Max...again, nothing but pity for the airhead. I wanted a powerful badass political mage character. After reading Iron Widow by Xiran Jay Zhao I just...stop giving me these annoying 'I wanna be normal' heroes and give us politically active rebels who have a plan and want to enact change! Most young people these days are political and wish for power! Not to be 'normal' and insignificant lmao. Still, hot gay dudes are hot gay dudes, props for that.

6) The Emperor Snoking of those two motherfuckers. I did enjoy that. Light 'em up!

7) The village/Ganthrax territory. The manor did seem very vivid, as did the forest.

I just felt like things weren't moving along fast enough or in enough detail, I didn't love the characters enough, and I was so annoyed it was sending me into a reading slump. Unfortunate dnf. Cover is beautiful.

I liked the writing style enough to try other books by this author, hoping this one is just a dud, because his tastes seem to be very similar to mine and his concepts and covers are all amazing. Just not the right time for me I guess.

Thank you to NetGalley for the review copy.

This is my first time reading a Ben Alderson book and I’m not sure what I was expecting, but I can confidently say it wasn’t this!

This being a riveting, fast-paced, well-written, high-stakes, high-fantasy romp, a bit dark and a lot brutal, featuring Maximus Oaken, a young servant who discovers his latent mage abilities, and the many, many people who wish to use him for the might his immense powers will bring to their personal plots and schemes for more control over the land of Aldian.

I might be slightly obsessed and therefore a lot bias, but I honestly couldn’t put this book down. Although the romance element is in the background—at least for book one—there was so much royal intrigue, heart-pounding excitement, and jaw-dropping twists and turns, I almost forgot I had picked this up because I saw the words “arranged marriage” and “found family.”

Don’t worry, there is a romance here—or the beginnings of one—but for most of the book there’s more than one love interest present, and half the fun was trying to work out who Max was actually going to fall for and who was the potential villain of the piece. Now I’m done, I know what team I’m on and I’m SO EXCITED to see what happens with Max and his potential beau in book two.

I honestly can’t say a damn thing about the larger plot without immediately spoiling something (or everything), but if you love grand world-building, magic and dragons, court intrigue, and juicy secrets and betrayals, this will be the story for you.

It’s pretty heavy—as in, it’s angsty and violent and stressed me the hell out several times with the intensity of some of the suspenseful scenes, but I was all the more obsessed because of the darker tone, which I’m not sure I was expecting at all, but am so glad I got here.

Now I must wait (im)patiently for book two, Heir to Frost and Storm (DO NOT read the synopsis if you don't want book one spoilers!!!), which you can all best be assured I have already pre-ordered and will be reading promptly on release day.

This will be the book for you, if you enjoyed any of the following high fantasy series:

The Rifter by Ginn Hale
A Court of Thorns & Roses by Sarah J. Maas
Dragon & Emperor by Emily Holloway & Amanda Crowe
The Folk of the Air by Holly Black
Captive Prince by C.S. Pacat
Tales from Verania by TJ Klune
Rowan Blood by Kellan Graves

Was this the best book I've ever read? No, but still...

Ben Alderson is one of my most favorite authors. I haven't read a book of his I didn't love. So when I read this, I loved it, I really did. I was aware it's not the best, that there were some things I didn't like but overall it was still so damn good. How is he doing that? Seriously xd <3...

I loved and hated the characters with passion. The only two I don't really know what to think of them are Beatrice and Simion (don't get me wrong... I LOVE Simion, but) - their characters were constantly changing, I don't have an idea what do they really think or stand for. Still it wasn't anything that would disturb me from enjoying the story. And I believe we'll get to know them more in the second book.

The storyline? Flawless. I love me some good plot twists and Ben is mister in those (THAT ENDING!?). As much as I love the story, I love Max. Well... I love every single one of Ben's MCs and Max is solid second in my list (first place has Rhory from AoMF).

A little bit about romance in this book... I don't usually like love triangles, but this worked for me just fine. I still don't know who do I hope for Max to choose, I loved them both and even hated them both at some point... There was absolutely no spice which kind of shocked me because there were some pretty hot scenes that could've ended with spice... but I am kinda glad they didn't. It's just... well-written as usual. I love the dynamics between Ben's couples.

Wowowowowowow. Firstly, I'd like to say thank you to Ben and Second Sky Books for sending me an arc via netgalley in exchange for an honest review.
Onto the review: WOW. I need book 2 now! I am balls deep in love with Cameron, despite what happened at the end, like bro, without spoiling anything, it was not his fault.
I love the world, i love the writing, and i love everything. I love that no one in the book cared that 2 men were married. It was never even mentioned. I appreciate it so much.
This book was literally the definition of if merlin and arthur got together in the BBC show. If you like dragons, multiple love interests, a sexy prince and a sexy dragon riding spy, magic, so much gayness and quotes that will make you kick your legs and scream, THIS. BOOK. IS. PERFECT. FOR. YOU. Now go and read it 🫶🏼

Heir to Thorn and Flame starts off a series with a lot of promise- but not a lot of satisfaction. The story felt at times to reflect a rush world with characters who were not nearly as developed as I'd hoped. I came for a romance- with dragons- where a twink leads a himbo around with the crook of his little finger. Not exactly what I got.... I will be checking out the next book to see if I'm going to get MORE.

Magic, royalty, queer romance, and dragons? This definitely sounded like my cup of tea, and having previously enjoyed other books by Ben Alderson, I didn't hesitate to pick this up.

I thoroughly enjoyed the magic system and the world building in Heir to Thorn and Flame. Max was a great main character in the sense that he was caught up in events and much less in control than is sometimes the case in fantasy. He was given time to feel paralyzed by the choices, and it took him a good portion of the novel to gain more agency. He essentially felt more real to me than characters that go from zero to saving the world within the space of a few chapters.
As far as the two love interests, Prince Camron and Simion, are concerned, the latter didn't get as much room in this story as I would have liked, but I am intrigued by how the relationships between these characters will evolve. I'm also hopeful that we'll get to see more of the dragons in the next installment, and will definitely be picking up Heir to Frost and Storm when it comes out later this year!

I thought this book was fun. It has a lot of commonalities with other romantasy series so it would definitely be in the comfort zone for people that know they love that sub genre. However, there were some aspects that were refreshing such as how the main character doesn't start out as "tough" or the one that has to be responsible for everybody else in their life, as I feel like that set up gets overdone. I also liked how the relationships between the main character and the different people in his life were developed. The magic was mostly generic, but did have a couple cool aspects to it. One thing that I can't decide if it is good or bad, is that the pacing was really really fast. For a typical book in the genre that I've seen, the point we get to at about a third into the book is where I would typically see the first book end, or if not there then there was also another point later in the book that I thought seemed like a typical ending point. I'm not sure how I feel about how quick we flew through everything. That being said, I did enjoy how things concluded for this book. The only distinct flaw I can think of is that I overall really enjoyed the main character, but fairly early on in the book he made some choices that completely ruined my respect for him and ability to fully root for him, so the only way I could like him moving forward was by pretending that that scene didn't happen. To sum up my experience, when the next one comes out I would be interested in reading the sequel if I was in another one of my moods where I can't read anything that requires a lot of focus.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for sending me an ARC for this book!

Ben Alderson has completely blown me away. I should have known this book was perfect for me, as it has everything I could possibly want: queer romance, fantasy, dragons, twists and turns, betrayal, etc.

From beginning to end, I was on the edge of my seat. The main character, Max, accidentally murders the heir to the throne and must assume his identity. Naturally, this results in several shocking events, including an arranged marriage to Prince Camron.

I cannot recommend this book enough! I am so excited for the sequel! 10/10

I was a little hesitant to pick this up as I wasn’t a fan of the previous book I had read from this author (Lord of Eternal Night) however I’m really glad that I did as I thoroughly enjoyed this one.

Heir to Thorn and Flame is a well written fantasy with a great cast of characters with so many twists and turns it definitely kept me interested. Max was a great MC who you couldn’t help but root for. The magic system and world building were also done really well. If I had one complaint it would be that the pacing felt a little off at times.

Definitely will be picking up the next book in the series when it comes out.

Thanks to NetGalley and Second Sky for giving me an eArc in exchange for a review

This was a really great book and I enjoyed every second of it.

The characters were really well written and the plot very interesting. I liked the world building and the story itself felt very original.

Looking forward to the other books in the series.

What a ride. I would say that the prose itself didn't always do it for me, but in terms of sheer magical chaos and political intrigue, it never let up. I was 5% in going "ugh please don't make this guy have a redemption arc, he sucks." Friends, fear not. Every time I thought I saw the next twist coming, I was wrong, because something much more upsetting and unhinged happened, and I mean that in the best, most sadistic possible way. I might loosely say that this book reminded me of a queer Game of Thrones with like... four Red Wedding-level scenes. It was relentless. I loved it. I did sometimes want Max to pull himself together and think clearly for 0.2 seconds, but honestly, it probably wouldn't have helped him much given how out of control every other sociopath in this book turned out to be. This was my first Ben Alderson book, and I'll be back for more now that I know what I'm getting myself into. Incredibly fun to read.

Thank you to NetGalley for the ARC!

i got access to this book through netgalley in exchange for an honest review
I liked this story, but i have a couple issues with the characters. some of them (like camron, simion, and beatrice) all felt extremely flat to me. it was like they were trying to be much more in the MCs life, but weren’t quite there. I liked the plot, and the writing style is good but not my favorite. will i keep reading the series? probably. would i recommend this to anyone? yeah, it was good representation even if the characters felt a little 2D.

Oof okay this book was a HOT MESS. First, the stuff I liked: the magic system was cool, and the world building twists revealed at the end were very cool. But that was basically it! The first half of the book really could have been condensed a lot; it felt very unnecessary to see Maximus get tortured for 150 pages. I also felt like the ending was more of a bait and switch than a twist. It felt rushed and one note, and honestly I wanted WAY more tension between Max and Simion throughout.

rep: two side characters of color

spice: none

Thank you to NetGalley and Second Sky for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Reading Heir to Thorn and Flame at times felt like reading two separate books. On the one hand, there is the book that matches the premise: a boy, Maxwell, becomes aware that he has powers that he does not fully understand and is made a pawn in a political game that he has no control over, falling into an arranged marriage along the way and having to hide the truth of his identity for the safety of those he loves. On the other hand, there is the second book: a boy, Maxwell, becomes aware that he has powers that he does not fully understand, and is then hunted by outside forces for reasons he will soon become aware of, while those around him are harmed or put in danger until he is forced to face the truth of his circumstances. On their own, any one of those stories would have been interesting. Together, though, they become a bit of a mess. In trying to tell two separate stories, each feels half complete.

In all of this, Maxwell himself is a strange main character to talk about. He has very little agency in the story, and most events just seem to happen to him rather than him moving the story forward himself. As such, the moments that he does try and regain some agency tend to fall a little flat. Moments of friendship with other characters also felt clunky because the reader is just told that they're friends rather than seeing that relationship develop over time. Finally, seeing Maxwell instantly feel intrigued by -- and attracted to -- both Simion and Camron was a bit disappointing. Neither relationship really had time to grow enough for me to feel invested in the way that his relationship with these two evolves.

In terms of the plot itself, it has the potential to expand into something really engaging. I was certainly far more invested into the world building than I was into the interpersonal relationships of the characters. However, I found myself frustrated by a number of conversations that just went nowhere. Maxwell would be told to follow someone/ run somewhere/ do something, and when he would ask why (which is also the opportunity to tell the reader why), he would just be told "there isn't time to explain." Then, those characters would argue back and forth for entirely too long without really accomplishing anything. If there is time to argue, there is time to explain, even a little bit. It's a minor issue, admittedly, but it happened often enough for me to notice it and for it to be grating.

Although this book is marked as an adult fantasy, it is written in a very young adult style, which is often at contrast with the subject matter such as an attempted sexual assault, death, torture, and more. Heir to Thorn and Flame isn't afraid to go to some very dark places. When those moments hit, they really hit. The tension was high and the stakes felt very real. However, I don't really think those moments were explored enough after the fact for them to make enough of an impact on the characters or the overall plot.

If you're interested in a queer dark fantasy that is setting the groundwork for what could turn out to be a very strong series, then this book is for you. If you're like me, however, and are hoping for a deeper exploration of those dark themes in a way that would better match an adult fantasy rather than a young adult fantasy, then this might not be the right read for you.

I've never met a Ben Alderson book i didn't love. I will continue to eat up hibooks for breakfast lunch and dinner and I cannot get over the knack he has for developing magic systems that fully make me forget about the characters and spend God knows how long thinking of myself in them. this book had me foaming at the mouth for the second and I'm truly devastated that I have to wait for it, a problem I've notably had with two authors alone, the other being Kellin Graves, which if you enjoy Alderson you will absolutely enjoy Grave's Rowan Blood series. I have multiple times gone from Darkmourn to Rowan Blood and now I get I'm adding COBB to that comfort readathon list.

This one started strong. Maximus was a good character and the world-building was good. But it withered a bit as it kept going. By the end, I was skimming just to finish. Max just became an angry puppet to just about everyone. I really wanted to like this one more than I did.

Wow. This was just such a fun read! Magic and romance is all I ever want in a book and this had heaps of both. I throughly enjoyed this book and am beyond excited that this is the first in what I can only hope is a lengthy series. I adored the plot twists and how we were being feed exciting details of the magic system. I have many questions (good ones) that I hope I will get the answers to in the next book!

"Heir to Thorn & Flame" by Ben Alderson is an epic and exhilarating MM fantasy romance that kept me on the edge of my seat and reading late into the night. The story unfolds with a gripping premise: Max, once a servant, is now forced to take on the identity of the heir to the throne, including entering into an arranged marriage with the alluring yet dangerous Prince Camron. The plot is rife with action, violence, and surprising twists that kept me eagerly turning pages, hungry for more.

One of the standout elements of this book is the compelling and diverse cast of characters, especially the two love interests, Camron and Simion. Both men are captivating in their own right, and their contrasting personalities make for a captivating dynamic with Max. The slow-burn romance between them adds an extra layer of tension to an already adventurous tale.

The world-building in "Heir to Thorn & Flame" is rich and immersive, transporting readers to a magical realm filled with political intrigue and hidden secrets. I was fascinated by the intricacies of the magical nobles' society and the power struggles that unfold throughout the story. Ben Alderson has crafted a masterful and enchanting world that readers will want to explore further.

As the story reaches its thrilling climax, the book leaves readers eager to see how the relationships between Max, Camron, and Simion will evolve after the events of this book. "Heir to Thorn & Flame" is a must-read for fans of fantasy romance, offering a perfect blend of passion, adventure, and found family that will leave you wanting more. I highly recommend this novel to anyone seeking a captivating and fun-filled journey through a world of magic, love, and intrigue.