A big thank you to NetGalley and Starwater Press for this Advanced Reader Copy in exchange for an honest review.

Queen of Roses yielded a wide array of reactions from me. I’ll start with saying that I really loved the concept behind this book. I am a sucker for all things Camelot and Arthurian, but I am not sure the Arthurian themes really worked here. Aside from names, nothing in the story reflected the Arthurian legends, so I’m unsure why the author didn’t go the extra step to make her own world. I thought there were several things done well and several things I desperately wish either didn’t appear or could be changed. I’ll start with the negatives to get them out of the way so that I can proceed to the parts I loved. First, the modern-day language bugged me, and the ‘bond’ between Morgan and Draven seemed very contrived. He gave her no reason to loathe him from the start, and Draven spoke like an angsty teenager rather than an experienced, disgruntled warrior charged with the care of a rebellious young woman. Draven’s switch from indifference toward Morgan to caring deeply seemed like an abrupt shift, and this shift did not make sense—nor was it explained. Florian was an entirely useless character. Every trigger warning pertained to Florian, and the scenes in which he appeared were pointlessly unpleasant. You could remove Florian from the plot and absolutely nothing would change; in fact, the book would have been so much better if Florian hadn’t been admitted to the cast of characters at all. Next, I would have loved to see more complexity in Arthur—sometimes understanding an evil character can help us hate him more, and this would have improved the storybook villain a great deal. The book also contained a few typos, grammatical errors, and repeat words. The descriptions were also poor at times (ex. “his wavy hair fell in waves”). The ending, however, was the most disappointing part. Things weren’t explained very well and suddenly two characters were thrust together as mates without any real bond between them and for no explicable reason. The ending relied on telling instead of showing, and Draven’s dialogue read less like what an actual human would say and more like he was story-telling what was happening in front of him. I physically cringed. The author also lingered on the plot twist far too long. The surprise-villain and the heroine stood there just talking for five pages and neither character said anything new. It slowed the plot twist down and I’ll admit that I experienced a great deal of boredom when this was supposed to be the most action-packed and emotional part of the book. I also didn’t understand why Lancelet had to appear halfway through the story again simply to tell Morgan about what was happening back in Camelot. She came back, shared some details, then died… what? Her plot function toward the end of the story would have been better formed through Morgan having sudden magic-induced nightmares that ended up being a form of subconscious scrying. I also did not understand why Lancelet and Morgan were training to become knights. While I love the concept of a Valkyrie-by-a-different-name, and I usually love the female warrior trope, this served zero plot function. She never used her fighting skills in any meaningful way, so the decision to make her a warrior just felt like another arbitrary plot choice without any real value. The two LGBTQ+ characters should have had more space in the plot. Neither were given important roles other than best-friends/sounding boards, and I would like to have seen them more involved. Now that I’ve gotten that off my chest, let me proceed to the good parts. I really loved the atmosphere. Each setting drew me in, particularly as we grew closer to the fallen fae kingdom. I loved the scene in the inn, and I really enjoyed Morgan’s physical transformation. I’m very much looking forward to finding out more about her fae heritage. I also absolutely adored the creatures in the story. The exmoors were adorable. I thought the harpies were rendered in a clever manner, and the zombie children were quite interesting. The first chapter of the story was very well done. It set the scene for the main character’s emotional development and gave us insight into the choices she would make in the future. The high priestess was likely the most well-done character, and I wish that all the characters could have been rendered with similar care and effort. Overall, every problem in the book linked back to Chekhov’s gun—everything in the story should serve a plot function, and there were many things that simply did not. That said, I deeply enjoyed the base concept and will continue to book 2.

This book was a really interesting retelling of King arthur and the world of Camelot. This book was a lot of world building and getting the reader set up for more books. Due to this, The love story and characters lacked a bit of nuance and development but it hooks the reader enough to want keep reading more books. Overall I enjoyed the book and am excited for the others to come.

First off, thank you to NetGalley and Victory Editing for allowing me access to this book in exchange for my honest review. I really enjoyed this book. I finished it in a day and immediately started book 2. I love a good fantasy series, and this seems to be just that. Morgan Pendragon is the oldest daughter of the king, but because she is half-fae, she is passed over for queen for her younger brother, Arthur, who is pretty much the worst and hates the fae for some reason. Arthur sends Morgan on a mission to locate an old fae weapon, during which she discovers things about herself that had been repressed and tries to figure out which of her companions, if any, she can trust along the way. I thought I had a good idea on how the story was going to go, but it definitely surprised me in a few places. Looking forward to seeing how the story continues in book 2!

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

The world building and character development was five stars. Despite all the world building, the story was a quick read and didn’t lose my attention due to lack of action. It’s your classic King Arthur tale with a fae twist.

The story of Queen of Roses is a unique twist on the Arthurian legend, set in a world of fae. The world-building was truly impressive, creating a vivid and brutal society with complex family dynamics.

The plot was engaging and kept me hooked throughout. While it's categorized as dark fantasy, I didn't find it overly dark, with just the right amount of death and blood for a fantasy novel.

However, I did find the protagonist, Morgan, to be frustratingly and naive a lot of the times. And a bit disappointed by the romance as well, especially the introduction of a love triangle. The writing style also shifted at times, with Morgan seeming unaware of her own world. Overall, it was an interesting read with some flaws but I do recommend it and can't wait to get to the next installment!

Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for the arc!

Queen of Roses by Briar Boleyn is an amazing dark fantasy romance.
I thought the world-building and plot was just phenomenal.
The book was surprisingly very fast paced and I completed this book in one sitting. I could not put the kindle down.
I was sucked in by the first page and I thought the flow of the book was perfect, and it made for an easy read.
I would recommend this book to all the fantasy lovers out there. Go read this book. I'm already starting the next one today!

Thank You NetGalley and Starwater Press for your generosity and gifting me a copy of this amazing eARC!

"In my mind, I whispered words of apology for pushing the power away for so long. I didn't know. I didn't know what you were. I said it to myself, with my heart wrenching. I said it to myself, with a sob in my breast."

This quote comes toward the end of the book and hit me so hard I had to stop to take a picture of the page before reading on so that I would remember it. This is book one of a series, and this quote felt like the beginning of the story of this new Morgan LeFay, the start of the tale she will tell for herself. Early in the book I noted themes of agency, both its loss and reclamation; and of family. Here I recognized the third major theme of this book: self. Self-empowerment, self-respect, self-care, self-love. It's something that Morgan struggles with throughout the book (and, I expect, throughout the rest of the series), and something that I and probably many other readers can relate to.

I have to admit that Arthurian lore is not my forte, but from what I know I consider this Morgan to be Morgan LeFay much the way Elphaba is the Wicked Witch of the West. And I love her just as much as I loved Elphaba the first time I saw the musical of Wicked.

This series is a romantasy, but don't let the romance half trick you into thinking the fantasy isn't just as important. The plot plays out like a heroic fantasy with a hefty and delicious layer of both adventure and sexual tension--tension that is not resolved by the end. I have full confidence that when our hero and heroine finally act on their feelings, it will be worth the wait. For now, I scream at them from the other side of the page to quit being idiots and kiss already.

The plot itself gets bonus points for faking me out. It's hard to do that in a story like this one. I read a lot, and I dive into stories a lot. I went back and forth on Vesper for ages but I eventually fell for his disguise as completely as Morgan did, trusting him despite everything. I even put aside the questions of how and why they were attacked. In the end when he showed his true colors I could only blame myself for falling for his lies, and could only cheer for Morgan as she destroyed him as completely as Draven destroyed Whitehorn. (And I do mean *destroyed.* That is not a euphemism. He is deader than dead.)

That might be the thing that I cheered most in this book--the deaths that come to those who deserve them most. I was gleeful when I recounted Florian's death, thrilled to tell the details of how Whitehorn died. Romance comes with a happy ending for those who deserve it, but I loved seeing what horrible things happened to people who deserved an *un*happy ending. Briar Boleyn does an excellent job building up villains to be worth cheering when they fall.

All in all, I am very happy to have read this book, and very much look forward to the next installment.

Final rating: 4.5 stars.

Wow, this stories concept really drew me in! Fake and Camelot worlds coming together? Such a cool concept! The pacing and storyline of the book was great! Characters clearly have arcs you are invested in, and the ending! Cannot wait to read the next book in the series!

Thank you NetGalley for the ARC in exchange for an honest review!

Thank you NetGalley and Briar Boleyn for the ARC in exchange for an honest review!

This book started off with multiple references to the Classic tale of King Arthur and Merlin. However, it is very different from what you might expect. Arthur is not the perfect king, and Morgan is not the villan as in such other classic tales..

This book was incredible! I liked Draven right off the bat. I know he is the strong and silent type, and honestly thought that him and Morgan would end up with each other.. Ultimately their relationship (hateship?) is a rollercoaster ride filled with the ups and downs that you can never be sure whose side he is actually on. He is however, very knowledgeable in multiple things that you would not expect from a simple farmers son training to be a knight. As ruthless as he might seem, he does what is right and looks after Morgan as best as he can. Even if their quest is built on lies.

Morgan is a complex character. She is the oldest sibling, yet does not want the throne.. She has fight in her and trains well, but yet doesn't stand up for herself often enough.. and this potion/tea that she drinks every other day, just because her mother did, was questionable right from the beginning. So I am glad to have read the outcome of that, and hopefully the other books have more details into her Fae history.

The ending contained so much and had me reacting with so many other feelings.. sadness for Lancelet, terror for Morgan, and then confusion for Draven.. This could go so many different ways now.. I can't wait to see what is in store!

While this book was filled with incredible world building in a time with royalty and fae combined, there are still so many un answered questions.. why do the humans hate the fae so much, even the half fae? how does Draven know so much, cause the answers we have been given so far don't explain it all.. and how powerful is Morgan really?

Bring on book 2 !!

Morgan is the firstborn child of the king of Pendrath. Her mother was fae...either full-blooded or part, she isn't quite sure. Her mother used to take medication to suppress any fae traits, and Morgan has taken the same medication all her life. Morgan is traumatized by her childhood--specifically the death of her mother. Her father went on to have two more marriages, and she has a half-brother from each marriage. Because her father came to hate the fae blood in both her mother and herself, he changed the line of succession from Morgan to her brother Arthur. Morgan loves her brothers, but Arthur has steadily followed in their father's footsteps, which has led him further and further away from her.

The world is loosely based on Camelot, King Arthur, and that mythology. Briar Boleyn changes almost everything, so that's why I say loosely based. Arthur is evil (or at least seems to be), Lancelet is a girl, Galahad is going into service to the temple, and Merlin is a girl and is said to be mostly powerless despite being the head priestess over their religion. Lancelet and Galahad are both gay. The LGBTQ pieces were mentioned repeatedly but not dwelled on continually, and I didn't feel like the author was trying to preach, even if she was trying to present this version of the world as she would like it to be when it comes to this topic.

I felt terrible for Morgan. She has witnessed so much--at the hands of her father, Florian, and even Arthur himself. Yet she was generally pretty naive. She ignored so many red flags from Arthur. I guess we do sometimes get blinded by those we love. And, of course, the entire Vesper storyline was so obvious to me. I suppose her naivete is necessary for the storyline, but if you ever want to shake a heroine into common sense, you'd probably want to do so with Morgan.

Draven is assigned to take Morgan on a mission for her brother to retrieve Excalibur. Morgan doesn't trust Draven, but he's never done anything to make her mistrust him...other than perhaps being a little bit of a jerk when they first met. Obviously, the reader can see he is keeping secrets. Morgan knows he's likely keeping secrets, too, but she doesn't push him to reveal those secrets either.

The only highlights I made were of things I thought might come back in the future. So I have no quotes to share with you today.

Queen of Roses was a solid first book in a new series for me. I was hooked early on. I wanted to keep reading when I needed to stop for real life, which is always a good sign that things are going well. I like Morgan and want to see her succeed, even though I want to shake her a few times to have her wake up from her naivete. I didn't mention earlier that I don't like when book descriptions compare a book to others I've loved because it can feel like expectations build up too much. Time will tell whether this series stands up to the likes of Sarah J Maas or Jennifer L Armentrout. For now, Queen of Roses gets 4 Stars. Have you read Queen of Roses? What did you think? Let me know!

Queen of Roses is very loosely based on the Arthurian Legend, with a connection to the fae world. The story starts with Morgan being half-fae, and while she is the first born her father skips her and makes his son, Arthur the heir. As king, Arthur turned out to be a brutal king, When Arthur sends Morgan off on a quest to find Excalibur, things get interesting.

Kairos Draven is my favorite character in this story. He smoothly works into the story, becoming a major focus and much more likeable that the other characters. I found Morgan mildly annoying, but not always. While having certain ties with King Arthur’s court, I didn’t really feel it helped the story. The story stood on its own. I am looking forward to the next book in this series.

Thank you NetGalley and Starwater Press for an advanced ready copy Queen of Roses. These are my honest opinions.

Book review - Queen of Roses

For anyone who knows me I love a good Fae series and to add in the world of Camelot and Author was freaking EVERYTHING! I think Ive only read 3 really good fae series and two of them were by Sarah J Maas. In my opinion this series is in the league of those series. I never read any book series about the Camelot world but I’ve watched several movies and tv series. This book series is very different from the stories I’m used to. I’m enjoying the variation from what I’m used. I need to find the original story which I’m sure is very different and darker than the movies and shows I’m watched.

I love the fact that Author has a very different personality that’s usually shown on TV. Even the character Lancelot is different maybe not the personality but in other ways. You’ll understand when you read the book. Anyway, is Morgan supposed to be Morgana or will they be introduced later. There is also more to that entire bloodline, it’s just absolutely crazy. My favorite characters are Morgan and Draven. Lancelot and Merlin are growing on me but I’m waiting to see what happens next. There are too many plot twists and bombs being dropped for me to truly settle on who I like and don’t like.

I can’t wait to see the woman Morgan develops into and how the other characters will develop around her. I just know things are going to get wilder and crazier considering the ending of the book. Morgan has a long way to go on her journey and it’s going to be interesting to see who her allies and enemies will actually be.

I can’t wait to read the next book which I will be getting in the next few days. This book is a 5 out of 5. I couldn’t find anything to criticize about this book. I hope the rest of the series only continues to take me on an exciting and wild journey.

Such a great start to a series, it's a 3.75/5 Stars for me. It didn't quite make the 4 stars for me, as the ending seemed a bit rushed. All over I really recommend the book. The storyline is interesting and I loved the atmosphere of the book. I'm especially taken with the mysterious and brooding guardian, who is also the MMC of the series and I am very excited to learn more about him in book 2. I also look forward to see how the FMC deals with her newfound abilities and where the story will take us from here. Especially as there's so much more to learn about the world, it's magic and who the FMC really is. If you like the Legend of Arthur and Fae, as well as fantasy romance and mysteries, I recommend you pick this book up.

I loved loved loved this book. As someone who recently has gotten into fantasy I love how this book mixed high fantasy aspects with modern fantasy for new readers like me. I wish I weren't so busy with my life right now because what I would give to sit down and read all three books after this one right this very moment. Bolelyn's characters and world-building is amazing, and I loved this book with all my heart. I am rooting for the main character so much I can't wait to read the rest of this series. It has been so much fun to learn about this world and the people who are part of it.

*Thanks to Netgalley and Starwater Press for the ARC - All opinions are my own*

TLDR: Well worth the read and thoroughly enjoyable! Gets a bit slow in the middle and I wish the FMC wasn't as infantilised but can't wait to read book 2!

I had no idea I would love Queen of Roses as much as I did! Arthurian stories haven't been my favourite so far but QoR surprised me. It was a unique twist on the legends with a fae twist and love the world-building so far. Briar Boleyn did a really great job in detailing the world and really helped you visualise everything.

The plot does lose its pace a bit in the middle and things just get a bit too slow in my opinion but the first and last sections in the book are great.

The characters are brought to life so well and feel fully fleshed out but I have a big gripe with the way Morgan was portrayed.
I can understand with her upbringing and place in society why she is so meek but I really expected her to grow and break out of that shell a little more. You could see bits of who she could be in her fight with Draven and felt like a bit of growth from her was sorely needed and hope it will come in future books.

Also, at least from the first book, this is marketed as a “Dark” romance and there really isn’t anything dark about it, nor has the romance really amped up yet but I do believe it’s supposed to in the future.

It’s a good book and I feel like there’s a lot of promise for future instalments and I can't wait to read them!

Note: I feel like I say this in every review for a “dark” romance, but why does the FMC always have to be r*ped or sexually assaulted. I love a good dark romance but it’s just a constant theme in the genre at this point and I sorely wish it wasn’t.

I really loved this book. The writing was beautiful and the banter was so good! I would highly recommend this book!

I havent read a good slow burn romance in a long time. most of the time i find slow burns just drag but this book executed it so perfectly.

The enermies to lovers mixed with the mythical creatures and the magic and the world building was complete perfection.

i'm so excited to continue this series especially after that cliffhanger.... like excuse me you can't end a book like that!!

overall this is a great start to a new fantasy series

4.75 stars

Morgan Pendragon is the rightful heir to her kingdom, but her right is revoked and she spends her life living in her brother’s shadow - all because she has fae lineage & blood. Her future is promised by her father to the priestesses, in which she has little interest. So when her brother the king sends her on a quest for a legendary weapon, she embraces the opportunity to spend time away from his cruelty, despite having to travel with two guards she finds despicable. The reader joins Morgan on her travels where she encounters danger, lust, romance, mysterious creatures, and new information about her own identity.

I absolutely loved this - the writing style is captivating and beautiful, descriptive and emotional yet easy to read. The subject material was often violent but because I loved the writing so much I found it palatable. This was a really fun spin on & retelling of Arthurian life and Camelot! I’m definitely looking forward to seeing where that slow burn romance is going and also following that fantastic ending into the next book.

3.5 ⭐️
Queen of Roses started out a bit slow for me, but the end had me hooked and wanting more!

Morgan is passed over for the crown, which is giving to her younger half brother. She watches his rule and feels for the people of their kingdom, hoping to help in any way. However her brother sends her off on a mission and along the way she questions who she really is and everything she’s been taught and she starts to show her true fae self.

Omg enemies to lovers done and a slow burn romance is just my roman empire. This book is a Arthurian retelling with a Fae twist which just adds more magic. The story is filled with pain, magical creatures, tension, forced proximity, banter, betrayal, adventure and so many unexpected twists and turns. And I need the next book asap after that killing cliffhanger.