Thank you for the ARC!

Book 2 picks up exactly where book 1 leaves off.

Morgan has found herself on a new continent/kingdom, Draven isn’t who she thought he was and finding out about herself as well.

New friends and new challenges she has to face to try to get back to Camelot, to Kaye.

Very fast paced, forced proximity, one bed and he fell first.

Couldn’t put the book down, but I feel the trials seemed rushed a bit but I understand there is more to the story and need to get to it.

Ready to pick up the next book and see what’s next.

Book rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️/5
Genre: Dark Fantasy Romance
Spice: 🌶️🌶️.5

Review:

Thank you NetGalley and the author for giving me the chance to read this amazing book.

“He was the most dangerous temptation I couldn’t resist”

Ok where do I even begin?! This book had me by a CHOKEHOLD !!! It picked up where the first book left off and I could not put it down.

We discover a lot more about Kairos in this story about where he’s from, his family and his past. We meet so many new characters good (and bad) and some we love to hate. We get a real taste of the enemies to lovers trope in this and we finally get that little bit of spice we have been craving since the first book.

It has magic, mythical creatures, forced proximity, lotssss of tension, found family, lots of twists 👀 (I was shook) and so much more.

I admit the first book is a bit slow to get into but IT IS SOOOO WORTH IT!!!!! If you’re sleeping on this series I’m telling you now, pick it up and start reading. It is becoming a new favourite of mine and I CANNOT WAIT to dive straight into the third book 😄

Court of Claws (Blood of a Fae – Book 2) - Briar Boleyn

I was given a copy of this story through Net Galley in exchange for an honest review.

Briar Boleyn is a Canadian author, however that is her pen name. Her real name being Fenna Edgewood – a bestselling romance author, with books such as her Gardner Girls series.



Morgan Pendragon survived the cave, but she is not anywhere she recognises and with the last person she ever expected to be – Draven.

She was unconscious and recovering from the injuries she suffered from her ordeals in the cave trying to retrieve Excalibur.

When she finally comes to she finds herself in the land of Siabra or as it is sometimes known the Court of the Umbral Throne. Turns out Draven is not simply Captain Draven but Prince Kairos Draven.

He has been absent from the Siabra for 20 years and suddenly returns with Morgan in tow as well as a holy and magical relic that has not been seen for many years – that is not Excalibur, which Morgan can only hope is not in Arthur’s possession.

As Morgan slowly recovers from her ordeal, she learns more about Draven and the people of Siabra and herself – and what she learns is not exactly what she wants to hear.

Morgan and who she thought she was, everything she was told about herself – is not quite the truth. This revelation is hard for Morgan to bear especially combined with Draven’s deception about who he truly is, takes a toll on her.

And it only gets worse from there, in order to keep herself safe in Siabra Draven claims had to name Morgan as his royal Paramour – the last thing Morgan wanted to be defined as. She needs to get out of Siabra and back to Pendrath, eager to make sure her younger brother Kaye and the people of Pendrath aren’t suffering at her brother’s hands.

As Morgan navigates the position that she has now found herself in and all the secrets she is slowly trying to unravel – she does what she can to get back to Pendrath hoping she can save them all and not lose herself before it is too late.



“Court of Claws” continues on the author’s unique interpretation of the tale of King Arthur as a dark fantasy with some spicy fae threads. I really enjoy reading this author’s interpretation of the legendary tale of King Arthur – there is lots of action and plenty of twists and secrets lurking over the next page – plenty to keep you engaged and entertained. The only thing that slightly annoyed me was Morgan’s reaction to Draven and how easily she was upset by him and the constant flip flopping. Yes, she was lied to and manipulated but if she gave him two minutes to explain you can understand where he came from – her life was in danger, and he did the best he could in the moment. I'm honestly surprised she wasn't more upset with Arthur and her own family given the way she reacted to Draven.

This is the second book in the Blood of a Fae series and it only hooked onto my heart even more! Man, I went through it all reading this book. I was left wanting a little more action and spice after the first book and Briar delivered!

If you are a fan of Hunger Games and Acotar, you must read this series!

*perfect enemies to lovers trope
*magic, mythical creatures
*romance, sexual tension, angst
*touch her and die
*witty banter
*forced proximity
*chemistry/spice
*bonded mates
*found family
*adventure, action
*blood rite trial

I was so happy with the relationship between Morgan and Draven and couldn't get enough. Definitely one of my favorite reads of the year!

Morgan wakes up in a new kingdom where power hungry people will stop at nothing to gain what they want. She’s bestowed a title that aggravates her, but protects her nonetheless. She wants to go back badly to Camelot to put an end to the war, but she will have to bide her time before being able to.

We are back in Aercanum where we greet old and new characters . I love the side characters, the FLUFF to some of them. I wish I could just put my face in it. This book further develops the world, the characters and we get some nice background. The start is a little slow, the miscommunication trope is a little too stretched, but overall, I enjoyed it.

After finishing the first installment of this series, I was happy to dive back into Aercanum and discover a new continent, a new empire and new characters. @briarboleynauthor has imagined great side characters. Some I'd love to punch, others I'd squeeze in my arms like a huge teddy bear. I loved the group surrounding Draven, they are tight-knitted and they grow on you.

The book has a slow start, but it permits to further build the world and give it more dimension. I enjoyed it! I had some issues with the on-going miscommunication trope. A lot of problems would have been avoided if they were just honest and straightforward with each other. There would have been a whole lot less "I hate you!" from Morgan.

I enjoyed this book almost as much as the first one, but for different reasons! I will be diving in the third installment as I am eager to know what will happen next.

Court of Claws fell frustratingly into all the second-book-in-a-trilogy traps. Lack of character development; large sections where nothing happened; resets of any relationship development…

It was a shame because the book and the writing have huge potential. I mentioned in my review of the first book that Morgan doesn’t seem to develop as a character. Unfortunately, that is still true in the second one. In fact, her development is completely stunted by her hate-love-hate-love attitude towards Draven throughout.

Every time their relationship takes a step forward, she backtracks, goes back to hating him for absolutely no reason, we go through it all again and ended up back where we started. It was so infuriating – and makes Morgan a childish character.

The pacing felt all over the place as well. The ‘trials’ were interesting and added drama, but didn’t start until about 60% of the way through the book. I honestly can’t tell you what happened before then.

In between Draven risking his life and Morgan being, well, a brat, we have some sudden explicit sex scenes. Given the lack of emotional development, these scenes felt out of place and completely stopped any forward momentum in the book. While I don’t deny they probably had their place, all it did was jar from the lack of progress elsewhere.

I’m still going to continue the series: I want to know how it ends. But I don’t have high hopes. In fact, I can predict their relationship will suddenly come together right at the end after another book of on-off-on-off with Morgan being clueless of Draven’s obvious feelings. The drama is good; the premise intriguing; but the execution needs to be tidied up.

This series has me in an absolute choke hold. I cannot put these books down. This is becoming one of my favorite series! Very action packed in this book and I also hinted a similarity to ACOTAR. 3 trials have to be performed but in this the FMC has to compete against two other contestants for a crown and the seat of being the new emperor or empress. Although I like how these trials played out. Wish it was a little longer. The trials seemed rushed. Now for the characters. I loved Morgan in the first book but in the second one here I started to dislike her. She became immature and somewhat rude. Although I love how she steps up to defend those around her. I just hope her attitude changes in the next book and that there is more personal growth. Also the chemistry between her and Keiros Draven!! Woooo!! There was one certain part where I was giggling and kicking my feet. I was like "finally!!" I hope the chemistry continues to grown in book 3!! I love these two together. And Beks!! Poor Beks😭😭. One of my favorite characters! Also can we talk about the ending. What a cliff hanger that was! I don't want to spoil anything but wowwwww! (In a good way) I gasped when I read the last sentence.
Overall I'm gonna give it a 3.5. I'm on the border for giving it a 4. The plot is still there and flowing but I think it was just Morgans attitude overall that made me decide on the 3.5. Can't wait to read book 3!! Spice is 🌶🌶.5

I’ll elaborate. I loved the first book! The world building. The characters. The imagination. So, super stoked for this one… and all that remained awesome… EXCEPT Morgan… she was so unnecessarily mean. She overreacted constantly. There were times I thought “okay, she’s moved past this and it’s all good now” just for her to overreact yet again. I ALMOST didn’t finish reading it. What kept me going was the fact that I need answers haha and I love all the other characters so much.

Here’s hoping the next book has her chilling out.

Court of Claws pick up shortly after Queen of Roses ended. The setting shifted from the mortal realm to one of the Fae kingdoms. I really enjoyed the fish out of water storyline for Morgan as well as the character development for Draven. However, much like with the first book in this series, it felt like the pacing was off. There was a fair amount of action and enough intrigue to keep me reading, but there were parts that could have been trimmed. I would have also liked to see Morgan train with her powers.

What I enjoyed about this book was the fated mate trope. There were layers to how it was presented here, and while I don't want to give anything away, it was interesting to read about Morgan and Draven's connection. Plus, I adore an animal companion and was so happy to see Morgan bond with her exmoor.

4.5⭐️

I really enjoyed Court of Claws. The world continues to be interesting, especially now that we’ve been introduced to the Siabra.

I think I actually enjoyed Kairos as a character more in this book than the first. We get to learn more about him and his backstory. He is, of course, less than forthcoming about a lot of stuff, but they didn’t personally bother me much. His motivations at least made sense to me. What bothered me, and what is really the reason this wasn’t a flat out 5 star rating, was that Morgan was super annoying in some parts of this book. I get that she’s stubborn and that’s just part of her character, but she was so ridiculous in Court of Claws. There were certainly points where her reactions were warranted, but they were overshadowed by the points where she completely overreacted, and rather than ask questions or try to get any information about the situation, she would just shut down and refuse to listen. It was frustrating at times. I just wanted to grab her by the shoulders and give her a good shake haha. I still like her as a character but a little less so than I did in the first book.

Overall, I liked Morgan and Kairos’ dynamic though. Aside for Morgan’s overreactions, I thought they had great banter and chemistry together. Their interactions were fun to read for the most part. I also enjoyed the introduction to new characters and types of fae. I do hope that continues in the next book, as I found it interesting to learn about.

Court of Claws was definitely much steamier than Queen of Roses was, and by all indications I’ve seen so far, Empress of Fae should be even more so. Make no mistake, this is a dark fantasy romance. If you’re not into dark, you won’t be into this series. I personally didn’t find it incredibly dark (honestly I felt like the first book was kind of darker??), but everyone has different limitations and preferences, so check the trigger warning list if you’re apprehensive.

Thank you NetGalley and Briar Boleyn for the copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. I am leaving this review voluntarily and all thoughts and opinions are my own.

Thank you #NetGalley and #BriarBoleyn for making this book available. #courtofclaws is the second of the series and proved to be even better than it the first book. If you like Arthurian like setting, dark fantasy, and a little 🌶️, you’ll probably like this. I found the main character a little annoying, but all in all a good read.

Just like the first, the story pulls you in. The twists and turns keep you guessing and wanting more of the story. Very well done! Now for the third!

And a special thank you to netgalley, victory editing, and of course the author herself, Briar Boleyn.

so you know how most trilogy's or book series suffer from that middle book syndrome? the second book curse? where the book is just a filler with adding virtually nothing to the actual plot or progressing the story in any way?

yeah not this book.

every single part of this book was needed. Every part of this book was integral. you couldn't take a single aspect away as it would drastically affect the ending.

second book curse what?

the character development was amazing. Draven really came into his own in this book. we got to see him come out of his shell and peel back all the layers to find this loyal and compassionate man, sorry fae. and Morgan, woooo someone lit a fire up her arse. she just went from strength to strength. she took no prisoners. it was so refreshing to see a FMC actually act appropriately to being basically kidnapped and held against her will. none of this wishy washy nonsense, she was pissed. and we loved to see it.

The ending! lets just take a minute here to talk about that nugget of a twist! without giving too much away, there was a the BIG twist and then a mini twist. the mini one you could sort of guess halfway through but that BIG one, corr was it a doozy. i did not see it coming and i had to put the book down because damn.

I've never moved so fast to download the next book. im talking a matter of minutes here.

this series is going from strength to strength and if the first two books are anything to go by then holy hot damn are we in for a wild ride.

I like the story. I like the concept of a retelling of Camelot with a twist and the new setting for the fae. I like all of the characters and even though the romance was slow it takes off in this book. The world building is new and different and given fantasy romance has been my most recent bender rhe worlds all start to blend together, but this series has something different and I appreciate that.

I read this very must straight after finishing the first book and it was an amazing decision. I love the forced proximity between Draven and Morgan who now need to pretend that she is his paramour and Morgan despising the idea because she hated that fact she is forced into it. I love how much it focuses on how the lack of freedom to decide makes her resent the circumstances themselves. Frankly I felt at times she was being a little harsh until Draven revealed the whole wife thing at the end - something that was heavily implied at the end of the first book - and shatters her view of him. Draven needs to grovel !! The pacing of this book was so much better and the description was also very well executed especially as we learn about the Siabra. The best thing is by far the relationship between Morgan and Lyrastra and how they break the typical trope of jealous ex sabotaging current lover.. That in itself doesn’t explain the complexity of Lyrastra’s relationship with Draven and yet the fact that the book doesn’t pit the two women against each other and instead focuses on a solidarity between them is so much cooler.

What can I say that hasn't been said by the many many reviews before me. This book continued on to keep you on the edge of your seat. Definitely got some Hunger Games vibes with the entire Kingdom up for grabs. Can not wait to see how this plays out with the conclusion of the story!

5 stars!
I Love this series!! I loved this book even more than the first. I cannot wait to read the next book that I have qued and ready. This book was filled with action, magic and angst.
Thank you to NetGalley and Briar Boleyn for the opportunity to read this book.

So it continues in book two of the "Blood of a Fae" series by Briar Boleyn. This is more often than not when I stop reading a series as it usually stalls or takes some side turn that is hugely unnecessary. I was therefore pleasantly surprised to once again enjoy the incredible world building created in this book and was interested to see where the story was heading. The focus on Draven was interesting and his development or character arc makes sense and flows well. But sadly what did not work at all was Morgan whose character development went absolutely nowhere. In fact, it felt like it progressively got worse. I have nothing against a character unable to read a situation truthfully, to be naïve, unware of the loyalties or to misunderstand another persons intentions. But Morgan presented a challenge to read in this novel, was immature, insufferable at times and quite frankly someone a reader can seriously dislike. There is enough to head to book three to resolve the cliffhanger at the end of this one and to give a chance to the end of the series living up to the potential and good start it got in the first book.

Thank you to NetGalley for this copy of Court of Claws for a review of books 1-3.

Overall rating: 3.8/5

I liked the second book much more than the first. Morgan and Draven had great angst with each other. Because Morgan doesn't know exactly how Draven saved Morgan's life, she sees it as him kidnapping her. Once she gets to the palace, we learn that Draven is actually a prince. Though this trope can be played out, I didn't mind it here. The first half of the book was more setting in motion the fake relationship with Morgan and Draven. Another trope that I thought was done well, which I normally don't like, was the "one bed" trope. It was refreshing to see that the bed was big enough for them to have their own space and that Draven would leave early enough. I believe Morgan's reaction having a "weapon" with her was funny and Draven didn't seem to find her a threat. The best fake scene between the two, was when they were outside during one of their parties and he confessed his feelings for her. However, though he meant it, having everybody hear it for the fake relationship rouse ruined it for Morgan. The heartbreak from Morgan felt so real that I got caught up in it.

Once the book started progressing and Morgan and Draven finally got together, it was when the plot started moving quick. The trials for the crown was great until Draven used his new found powers, that is later revealed as sharing it through the bond with Morgan. The twist with Draven knowing that Morgan would enter and win to become empress without her consent, was not my favorite part. For me, it shifted my view on the series. Especially when Draven entered the room after her title was revealed, and pretending to give her little attention, to then acknowledging her. The announcement of their bond, which is discussed more in book 3, was very traitorous and I felt what Morgan felt. I had many feelings during this book. And lastly, the plot twist of Lancelot revealing herself to Morgan. Overall, so much happened in this book and I did enjoy most of it. The ending is what knocked down a star.

Having waited patiently for Book 2 from the Blood of a Fae series, I was so happy to get the chance to read this and I devoured it in hours! Mogan’s story in Book 1 and Briar Boleyn did not let up in this installment. She had it all going on brilliantly! Admittedly a bit slower-paced than the previous book, Briar Boleyn made sure to put so much detail into the world building as we find our heroine in a new land, bringing with it a whole new series of challenges to overcome, as well as plenty of unsavoury character that we love to hate. The ‘morally grey’ but much-loved Draven gets the opportunity in this book to have his backstory explained and we can learn so much more about him (and love him even more!).
Slightly annoyingly, Morgan’s character was - at times - a little too defiant for my liking, simply refusing to seek the support of those around her, especially when it is offered. However, we do also get to meet a wealth of wonderful new characters that help to keep the story moving along at a great pace, bringing with it lots of opportunity for those characters to develop the story.
This is an absolutely amazing series and I will constantly recommend it for fans who love romantasy, with great spice, a delightfully morally grey MMC and a sassy FMC who will do anything for those that she cares for.
Briar Boleyn has such a talent for writing and I cannot wait to get stuck in to book 3 - I have it ready and waiting!!

Thank you to NetGalley, Briar Boleyn and Victory Editing for an ARC of this book in exchange for my honest review.