I was given access to this book well after it was published. I really enjoyed this story just as much as the rest of the ones in the series. I never wanted the story to end, and was invested page after page. Thank you Netgalley for an arc of this book.

I loved this book it had me glued to my kindle !! Thank you Beth ally and the publisher for this E-ARC

Oh wow, I didn't expect to love this as much as I did!
I absolutely devoured it from start to finish and, honestly it had most of the things I look for in a good fantasy. Briar Boleyn really knows how to paint a picture, the imagery was very descriptive and I could completely lose myself in the story. The writing is good, pacing is good, I like the character and their dynamics. And it's really freaking exciting, full of twists and turns, that are, yes, in some cases predictable, and in others really really surprising, which I loved. And it just kept getting better and better as the story progressed.
By the end (AND WHAT AN ENDING!!) I was at the edge of my seat.

I will say the choice to sort of take inspiration from King Arthur and his knights of the round table was pretty interesting...
I enjoy a good retelling of old myths, and while I would not call this a retelling per se it does, in many ways nod quite heavily toward the knights of the round table, in a way that, hear me out, I think is wholly unnecessary.
While it can be nice for the reader to sort of lean on these already existing legends and characters, in this book it sort of falls flat. And I mean that in the sense that apart from similarities in names, objects and places, to the best of my recollection there really isn't much else that tie the stories together, and that makes the connection to the classic legend just feel strange and a bit random. Truly, I mean this as the highest form of compliment - because the plot and characters and world building in this book is so rock solid it doesn't really need the "crutch" that a familiar tale provides, it has so few similarities that I don't see the point in connecting the two at all. This is good. Really, really good. All on its own. I am so, so excited to read the next one!

Massive thank you to NetGalley, Starwater Press and Briar Boleyn for the opportunity to read this. While I did receive this ebook for free, all opinions are my own.

Fantastic novel, enjoyed every minute of it! The dark atmosphere of the book was exactly what I was looking for. Highly recommend this!

I absolutely loved this Camelot retelling with an evil Arthur and Morgan being good. This book had me on the edge of my seat, never knowing what would happen next. Also the ending made me want to start reading the second book ASAP and I can't wait to see what happens next

I am going to scream about this book from the rooftops forever. The perfect fantasy books for the BookTok girlies.

3.5 stars

A really slow paced book. It took me longer than usual to finish and I almost DNF. The plot really picked up in the last 20% so I’m giving the 2nd book a shot.

Morgan was hard to love. I know she’s been mistreated by her family and has not been able to make choices for herself but man she really lacks some common sense and self preservation. It makes me feel sad for her that she’s so easily manipulated by the first person to shower her affection.

Thank you to NetGalley and Briar Boleyn for this ARC in exchange for my review

I really enjoyed this series, it was fun, easy to follow and not too complicated. It was a great series to read in my "nearly in a book slump". I would definitely read this series again.

This is my first book by this author, and I was very pleasantly surprised. I’m looking forward to continuing with the rest of the books in this series.
The story is an Arthurian reimagining, with Fae, and some twists, and turns that you won’t be expecting. It’s a dark fantasy, with some angsty, slow-burn romance, quests, adventure, and mystery.
Morgan Pendragon, sister of King Arthur, is sent on a quest to retrieve a legendary Fae weapon from the ruins of a long-forgotten kingdom. With Fae blood running through her veins, she has a lot to prove, and struggles to find her voice. We’re beginning to see some character development with her, which I’m sure will be explored more in the later books. On her journey, she clashes with the MMC, Kairos Draven, the royal guard sent to accompany her. He becomes the ultimate love interest- but this book just sees the seeds being planted, as not much in the way of romance, truly transpires on the pages.
I was truly engrossed in the story, and enjoyed all of the classic tropes that I have come to love in the epic romantasy genre. Looking forward to diving into the next book!

I was so excited to get a galley of books 1 and 2 to prepare for the release of the 3rd. This series has been so great to read as a fan of ACOTAR and JLA.

While this story could have been good- I feel like the pacing was off and resulted in a dull read. We didn’t set off on our quest until 50% through the book, and not too much happened beforehand. The characters and tropes used seemed very generic and I feel like just needed some zest, oomph and life added to them.

I really didn’t expect anything in this book, it was not as it seemed, all the characters had an agenda and it all got mixed up and washed away as everything started to change. All the characters were so unique and had distinctive personalities, especially Draven I always felt like he was hiding something it added to his intrigue. The author got the pace of this book just right it didn’t feel rushed or too slow. The journey they went on was quite exciting as Morgan found herself in places she never knew of and her life changed so quick. I feel like she grew into a much more well rounded character as the book progressed. I loved it.

I did not expect the book to start out as sad as it did. I think the writing style was different from what I’ve read in other fantasy books. The romance felt second to the plot and overall, it was good. I don’t know if I’d read it twice but I enjoyed it the first time.

Thank you to Netgalley and Victory Editing for the EARC in exchange for an honest review.

This book is a dark romance loosely based around King Arthur but with Fae. After getting through the first 40% of interesting world building and getting to know the FMC Morgan I couldn't put it down. Morgan is a half fae princess who was born to be Queen if only her father didn't hate everything Fae and thought she wasn't fit for the role. When her half brother Arthur who is now King sends her on a task to find and bring back a Fae weapon she goes on an adventure with only 2 guards to keep her safe. One of them guards just happen to be the Captain of the guard Draven.
If you enjoy enemies to lovers, very slow burn, found family and forced proximity then this book is for you. I enjoyed Morgan's character even if I did question her actions at some point and well who doesn't love a morally grey man who asks 'who did this to you' when finding scars on our FMC. This book is very slow burn like snail pace slow. We don't get much romance in this book but since its the first book in a series it is expected a little. We get some good character interactions and found family which was enjoyable.
I had trouble with the first 40% which was mainly world building and getting to know Morgan but after that I couldn't put it down. I read it in a day and with the cliff hanger it ends on I went straight to amazon to get the next one.
I have a lot of question from the ending and can't wait to jump into the next book.
This is a dark romance so please read the trigger warnings before going in.

This is is a solid 4.5 stars out of 5 and I'm so excited to have received the next 2 books aswell. I had personally never heard of this series but was so drawn in by the synopsis.

This book was so eloquently written, every description of a person, place, animal, scene... omg it's like it tickled all of my senses at once. It really was an experience rather than just reading!

Also the pronunciation guide at the beginning of the book was an absolute lifesaver, 10/10 just for that! I was so surprised to see it at the front but had no issues saying any of the names.

We read the book in Morgan's POV and she is such a conflicted character, I felt myself really feeling sorry for her and routing for her bad b*tch energy to shine through the whole book and she's getting there! I think the next book will be a great builder for her.

We learn of Morgan's very rough start to life as a small child cowering in her Father's shadow, very close to her Mother until her demise. Following her traumatic childhood, she is raised 1 of 3 siblings and denounced from the throne, sworn to a life in the temple, out of the public eye. The date is fast approaching where she would live out the rest of her days as an acolyte.

She is offered a job by her brother, King Arthur, that could cost her the future but also offer another future than one of seclusion and celibacy. She meets some intense characters along the way and finds herself while facing a host of challenges.

I love a long chapter and these were just big enough without dragging on, there was so much detail to digest but it was such a smooth read, it just went in. If you like fae, arthurian fantasy, romantasy, plenty of trigger warnings... then this is the series for you!

I really liked this story and it definitely got better and better as the book progressed. It felt a little obvious and cliché the first half but as we got to the last third things got more interesting, more complex, and more substance was infused in the story and the characters to actually stand out and pique my interest. By the end of it I had to read book 2 immediately as the ending only makes you want to know what happens next.
It’s a fun coming of age or identity discovery story if you will for a lonely, mistreated princess. There’s a dark, tall, and brooding protector. We have fae magic and legends. We have zombies of sorts and an Arthurian retelling backdrop.

For me I found that this book was very slow to get into. I think it was because of the world building and it was setting us up for the later issues but the first hundred pages are pretty hard to get through. But it picked up eventually and the climax and ending were enjoyable. I believe that this series is going to continue to get better and I can’t wait to read the next book.

Love love love love love!! This book was everything I wanted it to be and I'm still thinking about it days after finishing it.
All of the characters were well developed and nuanced, and I found myself interested in all of them! The gender-bending of some well known characters was also great, and I love the depth it added to the character relationships.
The romance is very slow burn, but I've seen that the author has promised more spice in the future books and I CANNOT WAIT for that!
The writing was well-paced and gripping, and I constantly found myself thinking, 'just one more chapter!'
I honestly don't have a bad thing to say about this book, and I'm so excited to read the rest!
Thank you to NetGalley for sending me an eARC of this book!

Stripped of her birthright, rumoured to possess forbidden blood and tasked with an impossible mission, Morgan Pendragon faces dangers beyond her wildest imagination, but she proves herself to be a true queen throughout this amazing novel.

I never knew I needed this. Briar Boleyn's Queen of Roses was such an amazing read with twists and turns that took hold of me from cover to cover. I've mentioned a few times that Arthurian retellings are some of my favourite books to read, so when I found Queen of Roses I was excited as well as intrigued by the blend of Arthurian and fae as they are two I never thought about being together. And Briar Boleyn does not disappoint. This intriguing novel pulled at my heartstrings; falling in love with some of the characters (Morgan and Lancelet are my definite favourites!), creating good reasons to hate others and conjuring an atmosphere that made me feel I was in Camelot, myself.

Queen of Roses is a must-read for all fantasy, fae and Arthurian fans who enjoy the intrigue of ACOTR's court and the magic of Holly Black's novels.

Thank you, NetGalley and Victory Editing NetGalley Co-op for an ARC in exchange for my honest review. Thank you, Briar Boleyn, too!

A retelling of Arthur, count me in! This is Arthur but with a twist! What if Arthur wasn’t good and Morgan is the hero? I really liked Morgan! The author did a great job revealing her to me. I also really like Kairos. My only problem was I wanted more conversation between Morgan and Kairos. I didn’t like the direction it went with Vesper and wish we could have had more relationship (even just friendship) between Morgan and Draven. I feel like if I’m supposed to believe this relationship moving forward, that development was missing for me.

Thanks to NetGalley for an eARC in exchange for my honest review..