The story was fascinating and the premise was something I haven't come across yet. It took me a while to get into because I wasn't that invested in the characters but it captured me after 20%! I'm not the biggest fan of love triangles so that shot my rating down. KAIROS is just ~chefs kiss~

Queen of Roses is the first book in the Blood of Fae series.
It follows Morgan Pendragon, a girl born into a life of service, sacrifice, and duty.
Cursed from the time she was born, Morgan is cast aside as the rightful heir.
Constantly living in her brother’s shadow, the king, she is promised to the goddesses when she comes of age.
However, when her brother demands that she embarks on a quest to find some lost mythical object, she embraces the opportunity for adventure before a lifetime of servitude to the temple.

When I researched this book, everything said that it was a slow burn- but I was NOT anticipating it to be quite THAT slow.
It took me, a solid 250 pages to get into this book. The world building is incredible but intense, however after finishing the book I completely understand why it was so intense and why it was detailed and thorough.

Some people are going to adore this slow paced, slow burn fantasy - but unfortunately it wasn't me. The pace was too slow and I really didn't care for the characters.

A doomed love, a dangerous mission, a kingdom on the brink of war & a cast off princess. Why aren’t more people talking about this book! It’s glorious.
A loose Arthurian re-telling with an epic fae twist. All the characters you would expect are here but with a difference.
The first part of this tale is beautiful descriptive world building, we learn about the characters, the stall is set out then bam part 2 we are off an adventure…and what an adventure.
I truly enjoyed every part of this book & would urge everyone who enjoys fantasy or ‘romantasy’ to read it. I can’t wait to read the next books in this series & continue on Morgan’s journey.

Thank you to NetGalley & Starwater press for this arc copy in return for an honest review…I’m off to read the next one

GAH!!! This book omg. I loved every second of reading this. The story, the characters, the ending !! I immediately have to dive into book 2. Thank you so so much for this opportunity, I think I just found a new series to obsess over. I definitely give it 4.5 stars. My only downfall was how long some of the chapters were 🫡

Thank you NetGalley, Briar Boleyn, and Victory editing for providing me with an ebook copy of Queen of Roses.

When i saw that this was a King Arthur retelling I was very curious on how this would go. Some stories paints Arthur as a good man while others paint him as the villain.

Pros: Briar wrote her villains really well because I hated them. The Fae twist was also a nice touch.

This story definitely had some really good moments that kept me enjoying the story but honestly not much happens in the first half of the book. Everything happens in the second half of the book. I don't feel like it was fleshed out very well. The first 100 pages were not very interesting and I was kind of disappointed with just how unknowledgeable Morgan was about her world. In some ways this book felt like a prequel.

The ending was both a lot of information and not a lot of information. I feel like we got some knowledge but we got nowhere near enough.

While I had a feeling Vesper was not going to be good, Draven gave me the vibes of him not being this terrible person Morgan thinks that he is.

Overall I wish we got more story, more plot, more details in this book. I think if you took everything about this being a King Arthur retelling away and just let it be its own story then it would not feel like it fell so flat.

Despite all of that I would say it was a decent story and I will continue this series to see where the story goes.

I really enjoyed this book! It was fast paced, which I love. I get bored easy. And it had enough world building without being drawn out. Strong FMC with “chosen one” vibes. Plenty of plot twists and “omg was not expecting that” moments. Can’t wait for the next book!

Arthurian adventure, fae fantasy world, and slow-burn romance all packed into this first book of the series called, “Blood of a Fae”.

Honestly, I was not expecting this to be an Arthurian adventure and that was a nice surprise. I love how the story is tied into each other and it takes a whole new aspect on the adventure.
The love/hate relationship I have with some characters is going to have to be played out in the next three books because I really have no idea what will happen. The unpredictability of this series is an excellent attribute to the plot.

The romance in this was slow to get going but it was worth it. I know who I want Morgan to end up with but the author writes in such a way that I can’t predict who it will be.

Highly recommend this book. 5/5 stars!

Special thanks to #NetGalley, #StarwaterPress, & #BriarBoleyn for the ARC to review.

#BloodofaFaeSeries #BookWorm #Reader #ARC #BookReview #BookReviewer

This was a first for me by this author. I love Draven dark and brooding! Pretty good world building and intro to this new world. Can't wait to get through the others.

Overall, I loved this book and so excited to read the second. I’m hoping there’s more development with the FMC throughout this series because she was kinda blah for me. A lot of potential there for sure though. Loved the MMC and can’t wait to read the next book because great cliffhanger at the end!!

This is one of the first dark fantasy books I have read. I really enjoyed it, even though everything the FMC goes through make it hard to read in spots. I thought it was well written. I am not sure this is a genre I could read often because I get too stressed with some of the horrible characters, but I’m glad that I read this one and I am about to start the next in the series. I am excited to see where this story takes us.

What a world to be pulled into!
The plot was great, the characters were wow, the world building pulls you right in. I thoroughly enjoyed this book a lot, and can't wait to start the next! Its pace was fantastic, I never found myself lost or questioning if I missed pages throughout.
If you are a fan of Fae books, and the stories of Camelot, than this is 100% a read for you.
This book is so going on my favorites shelf.

Thank you netgalley, Briar Boleyn, and Starwater Press for allowing me to read this wonderful book as an ARC.

Dnf - I underestimated the trigger warnings. The part I read was fine. I wasnt a fan of the King Arthur retelling of it, so I dont think this would have been the book for me anyways

I was torn between 3 and 4 stars but ultimately feel it was a 4 star read. I loved the MMC so much 🫢 but needed MORE of him. Morgan annoyed me a little but I felt like her character just wasn’t fully developed.
I thought the word building was good without being overwhelming.
There is next to no spice which was disappointing because I thought it was going in that direction and then it swerved.
I thought it was paced well. I wasn’t bored or overwhelmed with action. I thought it was written well and I enjoyed the general storyline.
The ending was action packed and a major cliffhanger but it left me with so. Many. Questions. I’m excited to see where book 2 goes and the rest of the series.

Thank you NetGalley, Starwater Press and Briar Boleyn for an e-copy in exchange for an honest review. 💗

Overall book: 4/5 ⭐️
Spice: 🌶️

First, I want to thank NetGalley and Starwater Press for giving me the opportunity to read this book. I thoroughly enjoyed this book. It was certainly a slow burn and a lot of world building in the beginning, but it was so worth it to get to the middle/end of the book. There is very little spice until closer to the end of the book, but I believe the next book in the series has great potential for 🌶️! This book does leave on a cliffhanger and I am RUNNING to read the next one because I’m dying to know what happens next. Great plot and character development 👌

I really enjoyed this story once it left the story building behind. I felt like the author spent a lot of time building a lore that would have been more effective if woven into the story - which started happening about 1/2 through the book. I am looking forward to finishing the series and finding out how it ends. I also loved the twist of “white” hats & “black” hats.

Firstly, I want to thank Netgalley & Starwater Press for giving me a copy of this book to read and give a review for!

I thoroughly enjoyed this book! The arthurian retelling with fae and magic was a great combination I didn’t know I needed. I really loved the FMC as she developed her strength and discovered herself throughout the book. I really felt for her and for a fantasy character, she was relatable. The plot was strong and kept me wanting to know what happens next. The book was slightly predictable but not in a way that ruined the story. The slowburn was slowburning and I can’t wait to read on to see whats in store for the FMC and the MMC.

Not going to spoil anything but the ENDING! I’m going to need to read the next book ASAP!

Overall amazing story and a great beginning to the series. I can’t wait to read more!

This was a thrilling Camelot inspired story with fae, lost kingdoms, and magical creatures, I enjoyed the plot and see great things coming in the next book. The use of the original names such as Arthur and Lancelet was a nice touch, but there is tons of originality intertwined into the story that this did not limit the vibes. The journey to find Excalibur was slower paced, which came with many additional surprises, encountering magical creatures, new companions and many deadly threats—plus some banter and fun moments that balanced the dark side of this story well.

The world building was great, each new location came with fantastic descriptions from the author and the main MC, Draven, whose retelling of the locations history was a nice touch. The slow burn is slow AF, derailed by a weird “love triangle” vibe that was not my favorite. It did give the main FC, Morgan, a chance to learn more about herself, enjoy the journey more with a companion, and still continued the slow burn while getting some spice.

The ending was fast paced, which felt a bit rushed with the slower pace of the rest of the book. There could have easily been an extra 50 pages to draw out the end and give the reader a chance to catch a breathe and understand the full depth of what was happening. There are some questions left unanswered that are now ash (IYKYK) which left one of the side characters falling short and another unaccounted for. The cliff hanger was fantastic tho it left me eager to continue the series.

Thank you Briar Boleyn, Starwater Press, & NetGalley for the opportunity to read Queen of Roses.

This book is a fantasy read set in a world we have come to know well - Arthurian times but with a Fae twist
Here we have King Arthur as the villain and his sister Morgan is the heroine
She has been held back all her life , tormented and abused , unable to make her own decisions ....... she is sent on a quest by her brother with men who are meant to protect her , or are they .?
The Fae element of the story begins to raise tensions - how will she cope with the lies and mysteries that her 'blood' will come to reveal ?
This is a story of discovery , intrigue and slow burn romance - the plot has begun to expand , setting the reader up for the next book in the series .- I will say I am not a fan of cliff hangers .

Even though I found this book difficult throughout the first half it did pick up as the story progressed - I will have to read the next book in the series to see where Morgan's path takes her !
I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own

Queen of Roses is an Arthurian retelling with Arthur as the villain (or at least as one of them) and Morgan as our protagonist. Morgan is best friends with Lancelet, a female knight, and Galahad, a pious man and future acolyte of the temple. Morgan is also promised to the temple, destined to succeed Merlin, the head priestess of the temple, on her twenty first birthday (one year from the time this book takes place), though she does not wish to follow that path. When she is sent on a mission by Arthur, she is accompanied by her last pick of guards, but leaving Camelot wreaks changes on her both physically and emotionally in ways that Morgan never expected.

The first in a four book series, this book has quite the task of world building, setting up the history and present of our protagonist as well as the world that blends Arthurian legend with fae fantasy. While the world building is effective, it does make for a very slow first half of the book. The second half, when Morgan leaves on the mission, is where the plot really picks up, and where I started to actually enjoy the story.

There is a bit of a cliffhanger ending, and the slow burn romance is incomplete in this book; both of these things lead readers to want to dive into the second book in the series. Based on the first half of this book, I was not planning on continuing, but the second half drew me in enough that I would be interested in reading the rest of this series

Thank you to NetGalley and Starwater Press for the ARC!