A fae centered Arthurian tale unlike any I’ve read so far. The author did a great job at descriptive world building, with scenes easily playing out in my minds eye. There was plenty of action, suspense, and even a touch of horror. An enemies to lovers, slow burn romance, a quest, with plot twist and turns aplenty. There was a love triangle, which I’m not usually a fan of but, it played out well in this story line. The FMC, Morgan Pendragon, was so blatantly naïve, yet I typically expect as much in a ‘book one’ of a series, especially one that features a fairly sheltered princess. I was happy to read that in spite of this, she still showed a strong sense of morals, fire, and spine. Now our MMC? Kairos Draven, aka Void’s Edge. Oh, how I’m a sucker for a smoking’ hot grumpy warrior alpha with a witty mouth, and a strong sense of “touch her and die” attitude, so you know who held all my cards. That ending? Just made me swoon all the harder. Now add a battlecat that rivals the size of a horse…and well Ms. Briar Boleyn you have well and truly stolen my heart. I’m excited to see where the story goes from here, and follow along to see more of the characters growth. I went into this story fairly blind, and I think I enjoyed it all the more because of it.

I finished this book in a whopping two days, which could have honestly been one. Once the story got going, it had me in an absolute chokehold and, it was difficult to put down. I only wish I would have started it sooner. Definitely won’t make that mistake with the rest of this series.

Special Thanks to @netgalley @saltwaterpress and @briarboleyn for the e-copy in exchange for an honest review. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

Devoured in a day. Can't believe this is the first time I'm reading anything from Briar Boleyn. I have no words other than this was one of the best books l've read in a long time. Off to book two!

Blood of a Fae. A Romance Doomed. A Precarious Mission. A Princess & Impending War.

"A Slumbering Kingdom Awoken By Blood..."


Morgan Pendragon was born to a life of politics and throwing away all that she loves for the sake of the throne. A princess that cannot love for herself, cannot think for herself. A princess who can only think of her bloodline, of the people that live in the shadow of the looming castle on the hill.

The people do not hold her in the same regard. For the princess who only thinks of duty and sacrifice has tainted blood, is a black rose in a garden of red blood ones. The princess is said to be of the Fae, known since she was child. Growing up to be the righthand of her brother, the king. Morgan was only to be reared in order to be gifted to the goddess herself.

One day, the king asks his sister to seek a weapon that shares the magic that flows through her veins. It is a Fae weapon. Instead of begrudging her brother this egregious request, the princess takes the task without looking back, feeling as a bird would to escape from the gold confines of its cage.

This is where we meet a unique gang of characters. This group of misfits is led by the dark warrior that catcher her eye. With her newfound family, the comrades navigate nightmares and dangers untold and unnumbered.

A Fae kingdom is awakened. They awake with a vengeance what once was lost to them. Morgan, our beautiful and fierce and brave leading character, finds more of herself than she bargained for in her quest for the legendary weapon.

This was a wonderful slow-burn romance with sufficient danger and action-packed scenes. The only reason I rate this as low as I do, is because I see no unique part of the story compared to countless other romantasy series. I will continue to read the following books, as it is not untasteful. I do hope there will be more to the story than what I explored in the first installment. 🌟🌟🌟/5 Stars!

I felt like this book was slow to start. There was a lot of world building which I understand is necessary for fantasy books but always drags on for me unfortunately.

I’m sorry I really tried to read this but I just could not manage to finish. There was absolutely nothing wrong with the writing, or with the story itself- I just did not find the plot compelling enough to continue. I got to about 20 percent. This book just was not for me. I was very bored and I did not care about any of the characters. I do think this is a personal issue and other readers would find this book very fun and enjoyable. I apologize for not being able to provide additional feedback.

Thank you NetGalley for giving me a eBook in exchange for an honest review. I have been intrigued by this author for some time, having encountered her name in various reading lists. This particular work is a dark fantasy romance loosely inspired by the legend of King Arthur. It encompasses elements of magic, mythical creatures, enemies-to-lovers dynamics, tension, forced proximity, love, betrayal, and self-discovery. Additionally, it unfolds at a very gradual pace. Readers who appreciate these aspects may find this book enjoyable. I understand that it is part of a series comprising four books.

In my opinion, Morgan's character development was particularly well-crafted. She was portrayed in a relatable manner, which significantly contributed to the overall appeal of the book.

The writing style is straightforward and easy to follow, making it an accessible read. While it is the first book in a series, I am inclined to be optimistic about its potential, as many series tend to improve in subsequent installments. However, I believe the author could have exercised greater discretion in selecting moments for world-building. Elaborate descriptions of every room, for instance, can detract from the central narrative. World-building should be approached with finesse, rather than being applied indiscriminately.

Overall, I found this book to be an entertaining read, and I am likely to explore the other books in the series. However, it does not rank among my highest priorities.

This is a Camelot retelling but not as you know it. It's a great twist on the classic story. I started of unsure about this one but then realised it was me and my style of reading that wasn't gelling. SO I forced myself to slow down and enjoy the world building and descriptions. I am glad I kept reading because I ended up really enjoying it. The mfc grew on me and some of the plots twists and turns were unexpected. I cannot wait to see what happens next!

I really wanted to like this book, but ultimately ended up choosing to dnf it at 15%. It was really hard for me to get into this book and I felt that as I continued to read it I just got more and more confused. You are presented with a lot world building early on, but there is little to no explanation about some things. In the end, I just felt no connection to any of the characters or the story as a whole.

Thank you to NetGalley and Starwater Press for the e-ARC.

This was a fun read! It was a struggle to get into at first but about a third of the way into the story started picking up for me. The FMC seems to figure out and accept who she is by the end though. I swear though, this poor woman has the world’s worst judgement in men. There’s an interesting cliffhanger so I’m headed to headed to see how that’s resolved now, thanks for the read!

Queen of Roses is an Arthurian-inspired dark romantasy that is the first book in the Blood of Fae series. From the start of the book I was interested, some of the chapters dragged on but overall I loved this book! Morgan is a very strong independent FMC and I loved reading the book in her pov. Draven is a grumpy MMC but will do anything for Morgan if needed. This book is a rollercoaster that’ll leave you wanting more.. the ending was crazyyy. If you love dark romantasy, fae, grumpy MMC, strong FMC, touch her and you’ll die, slow burn, driven books you’ll absolutely love Queen of Roses!!

Upon seeing the cover, title, and description of Queen of Roses, I was immediately intrigued and decided to give it a chance despite not being familiar with the author. The author's unique take on the characters and storyline was quite enjoyable.

The initial world-building phase, leading up to Morgan's journey to find her brother was a bit slow-paced. However, as the story progressed, the pace picked up and became more engaging, making it difficult to set the book aside. The ending left me hanging, eager to delve into the sequel, Court of Claws.

The romance in the story develops slowly, with only a few intimate scenes, making it a mild read in terms of spice level. I am looking forward to seeing how the story unfolds in the next book.

I would like to express my gratitude to NetGalley and Starwater Press for the opportunity to review this book. #BloodofaFaeSeries #NetGalley.

I really loved the twist on the Camelot tale, which has always been so interesting to me. I thought the world-building and characters were great. Ultimately it was a little too slow of a burn for me, but I really enjoyed the story overall.

I know they say not to judge a book by its cover but the second I saw the cover & the title, Queen of Roses I knew that I wanted to give it a shot!

I went into this fairly blind, I have never read anything by this author and didn’t even realize it was loosely based on King Arthur & his court until I started to notice A LOT of similar names. For the most part I like what the author did and the way she flipped the script on some of the characters.

There was a lot of world building before Morgan sets out on a journey for her brother King Arthur. It was a little slow going but then as the journey continued things started to pick up and it was hard to put down. It ends on a fairly big cliff hanger making you want to dive right into book 2, Court of Claws.

This is a VERY SLOW BURN for the romance, the spice scenes are few and far between and I would say it’s probably a 1 on the spice scale! Excited to dive into book 2 and see how this progresses!

Thank you to NetGalley & Starwater Press for providing this copy for review. #BloodofaFaeSeries #NetGalley

This book everyone!! As a fan of SJM and JL Armentrout I absolutely loved this one and I'm sure you will as well.
The book is a king arthur retelling but with faes and it has amazing world building, which I enjoyed a lot! The characters are amazing and I felt connected to them from the very beginning.
The writing style really stood out to me since the book was able to grab my attention from the very beginning and I usually need some time to get into it. The tropes are amazing (Romantasy Smut Lovers, this one is for you)

Thank you Saltwater Press and NetGalley for this ARC ( New Adult | Romance | Sci Fi & Fantasy)

The Queen of Roses by Briar Boleyn is Book 1 of Blood of a Fae, and I am so glad to have been lucky enough to get books 2, 3 and 4.

The editorial reviews say that this series is perfect for fans of ACOTAR and the fourth Wing and they are not wrong.
Pub Date 15 Apr 2023 | Archive Date 25 May 2024
ARC provided by Starwater Press

If you are looking for a YA romantasy that has everything in it- witty banter , a slow burn romance and whole new wold that you cannot but fall in love with, some whom you will really dislike, but all uforgettable.

It tells us the story of Morgan who is the chief protagonist of the story, and her inner battle between what she wants and what is destined for her. All in this is set in magical fae kingdom where we are learning about the entire world, with the backdrop of magic, morally grey characters budding romance (enemies to lovers...) and who Morgan is capable of being (..a hint at her power)

I Loved Briar's easy writing style and practically tore through this book so that I could read the rest of the series. In my opinion, just on the basis of this book alone, I think that Briar is right up there with the high priestesses of fantasy Rebeca Yarros and Sarah J Maas.

I couldn't wait to read Books2,3,and 4

*This book was gifted by netgalley in exchange for an honest review. Thank you!*
This was so good! First thing I will say is if you love From Blood and Ash you will love this. It gave me a lot of the same feelings as FBAS. This is about a half human half fae princess named Morgan who is an outcast in her family and kingdom. Her Skank of a brother Arthur sends her on a mission to retrieve the legendary sword of Excalibur so he can be all powerful. It’s a mission that for some undisclosed reason only she can complete.
SPOILERS BELOW!!!!!!!!!!!⬇️
For my review I got some notes to share:
•I love the sibling relationship between Kaye and Morgan and when she had to leave him behind and now doesn’t know when she will see him again it’s killing me. She loves the boy so much and I hope he’s okay and stays as sweet and kind as he was before he had to stay with Arthur.
•Florian is a Skank
•Arthur is the biggest Skank
•Vesper almost had me I almost rooted for him but he Tamlin’d me so now he’s also a Skank.
•The Exmoor situation had me sobbing the mama and then the baby both had me sobbing
•NOT LANCET MAN WHYYYY😭
•lastly the way I gasped finding out about Draven 🫣woooooah I knew there was something weird about him but I didn’t really think he would be one of the old fae



this review was posted on good reads and instagram as of May 2 2024

Thank you NetGalley and the publisher for the copy of this book. I enjoyed the story and thought it was a great set-up book for the series. There is a lot of world building and some of it could be slow (similar to the first ACOTAR book) but I'm excited to see where the series goes and keep reading!

Thank you to briar, the publishers and Netgalley for allowing me to read this book, I’m so grateful. I loved this book! I was really blown away by how well this was written. It does start off slow but I loved the world-building and character descriptions.

An Arthurian retelling you say??? With enemies (sort of - they really don’t like each other at all, very slow-burn) to lovers and a mission? And a sassy, part-Fae princess that likes swords? Sign me up!

There are so many problems with this kingdom and I’m going to make a random guess and say that the garbage, narcissistic men in charge are at fault here. (I love an easy-to-hate character.) And I just love that Morgan is not blind to it AT ALL. She’s instantly suspicious and rightfully so. She’s a smart woman that wants answers. And I respect that.

We have a deliciously scrumptious classic…a “who did this to you” and that is really such a draw for any book. You get bonus points for that one! And so perfectly timed.

The story focuses a lot on the lore of this world, while still keeping a bit of mystery (especially when it comes to the Fae, their kingdom, and what has happened to truly cause this hatred towards them).

I did feel as if the beginning moved a bit slowly, but I find that really common in fantasy books because of the introduction to a new world. (So I can easily overlook that.) And it definitely sped up after that (once everyone was introduced and the real story began). I will definitely continue to read this series! And would definitely recommend to any fantasy lover.

Thanks to NetGalley for a digital copy of this book in exchange for my honest review! My review is already up on Goodreads and will be uploaded to TikTok with my monthly wrap-up at the end of May.

The plot of the story is very interesting, an Arthurian retelling set in Camelot, with a log of characters from the original story, but very different in this story.

I found King Arthur to be very infuriating, and ugh, he's a well written villain, but I really hope he stays a villain and ☠️ in the next book. He would really deserve that.

It was a bit hard to accept how naïve Morgan is at the beginning of the story, but she got a bit more confident to the end of the story, so I can say she got an arc where she learned a lot of things, who to trust, who not to, and who to protect and defend and who now.

Draven is the bad guy who doesn't fail to protect Morgan for the really bad guys, I loved how he was written and I know there's more to him, so really looking forward to find out more about him in the next books.

Loved the banter between the two of them, very slooow burn tho, hoping for more action in the next books. 🤭🤭