This was a fantasy book which is my favourite genre, I did struggle with this one and found I just couldn’t get into the book. Whilst I read the whole book I did have to read it overall several days.

Very much looking forward to this, sounds like something I will definitely enjoy, can't wait to finally get into it.

“𝑰 𝒌𝒏𝒐𝒘 𝒚𝒐𝒖 𝒘𝒐𝒏’𝒕 𝒓𝒆𝒎𝒆𝒎𝒃𝒆𝒓, 𝒃𝒖𝒕 𝑰 𝒉𝒐𝒑𝒆 𝒚𝒐𝒖𝒓 𝒉𝒆𝒂𝒓𝒕 𝒌𝒆𝒆𝒑𝒔 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒎𝒆𝒎𝒐𝒓𝒚 𝒚𝒐𝒖𝒓 𝒎𝒊𝒏𝒅 𝒘𝒐𝒏’𝒕.”

I was pleasantly surprised! I enjoyed all of the fantastical elements - sylphs, elves, goblins, the magic...

I loved both of Aelia's love interests! Currently, I think I'm team Tharan! He seems to love her for who she currently is. Caiden and her have a lot of history, so their love story comes with baggage. The bargain with Caiden was heartbreaking and it'll be interesting to see how their new dynamics will be.

That epilogue has me dying to read book 2! 🤯 Overall, I enjoyed the characters and the story and I'm intrigued to find out the rest. However, I think this book lacked some world-building. There were so many different kinds of creatures and courts and I think the rest of the story will benefit exploring that more.

I can’t believe I somehow missed giving feedback on this one! I really enjoyed the plot of this book! The romance… I didn’t enjoy the romance at all — the FMC went back and forth so quickly it was def an insta love, love triangle situation. But what kept me hooked and saved it was the plot and magic system! I was hooked.

This was a DNF for me. I got about 25% through and I could not get into it or connect with the characters unfortunately.

was not my favorite and i really could not get into the plot for some reason. i will try it again in the future

I really enjoyed this book and was engrossed in the story from beginning to end.

Our FMC, Aelia, has lived through very traumatizing experiences and we follow her in the aftermath of all this, on a quest to save the world next to her former lover and first love, Caiden.

A Curse of Breath and Blood was a great first installment. I've enjoyed the dynamic between Aelia and Caiden, and the addition of Tharan added a layer of tension and drama that was enjoyable. All of the characters were interesting and engaging and kept my interest throughout the book.

I am looking forward to seeing where the story will take us next. That epilogue promised a lot of drama and I can't wait!

Thank you to NetGalley and Aethon Books for the eARC!

A CURSE OF BREATH AND BLOOD - this review is a long time coming. I am giving it 4 stars because I felt like it was fun, climactic, and romantic, but I'm not convinced that I will be dedicating more time to the series in the future. KW Foster's writing is good, but nothing special that makes her stand apart from the crowd in such a saturated and overdone genre.

A Curse of Breath and Blood that is an immersive fantasy novel, that is action-packed, with vivid characters and a great debut novel. The book has a beautiful style and great pacing, however, book seemed to be poorly written and riddled with misspellings.

I don't quite know how to put how I feel about this book into words. I loved Aelia, but hated the love triangle and it was enough to make it feel tainted in the rest of the book. I couldn't choose who to root for, and it just felt messy.

This book just wasn’t for me. I didn’t finish it. It had great potential but was kind of all over the place.

I really, really wanted to like this book, but it just was not for me. To start, the world building is just not there. Throughout the book, random places, species, and magic components, etc. are introduced with absolutely no context. It also felt like the author just wanted to throw as many fantasy species and creatures into this book as she possibly could, and most of them really don’t add anything to the world or the story, nor are they all explained well enough for their differences to even be relevant. The magic system is also really confusing. It feels like the amount of power characters have is not only random, but also changes for convenience throughout the book.

The characters are also just…not compelling. The FMC is 30 (and believe me, I so badly long for older MCs), but she acts like a child. There is no point in saying a character is a certain age if they aren’t going to act like it. She will say she doesn’t trust someone or is afraid to share her story in one breath and then in the next, she just throws everything out on the table. Her tumultuous past is regularly mentioned, but we never get any details about what went on to give her the trauma she apparently has. Her marriage was abusive enough that she relies on sex and drugs (which she quits cold turkey because she is asked to and only subsequently mentions periodically when she has a lot of feelings), but we have no idea what kind of abuse she endured. All the side characters are one dimensional. Some love each other and some hate each other and we get no context as to why. Not to mention, the FMC and MMC agree to erase his memory of her ON A WHIM after a fight and seal their fate with the promise of death if they don’t make good on it? That just feels so dramatic and childish.

The plot doesn’t feel coherent. It just feels like a wild goose chase - we have one goal then when it’s completed, something happens and we randomly have to complete another goal. There are no nuances or intricacies that cause us to feel some kind of urgency.

Overall, the book just felt very surface level for me - I had trouble getting through it. Since it was advertised as Six of Crows meets ACOTAR, I had really high hopes, but the book does not give off the vibes of either book even remotely.

I really enjoyed this read - it had several tropes/aspects that I enjoy seeing in fantasy such as forced proximity and morally grey characters. The world building was done well to where it was a little higher than some more basic fantasy I have read, but easy to follow along with and kept me intrigued. I will definitely be continuing by picking up the next book. Thank you so much for the copy of this book!

Please note I received an advance review copy of this book for free and am leaving this review voluntarily.

For the most part, I really enjoyed this story. I liked that we had an interesting older female character with a bit of life experience and some genuine flaws. She's got an interesting backstory that I wanted to learn more about and the action kept me gripped.

Things I didn't love so much:
Why is the tough guy unironically called "Brutus Strong"?!
Aelia's chapters are in the 1st person while Caiden and Tharan's are 3rd person. It was confusing, particularly when the author forgot which character's chapter it was and swapped narration, sometimes mid sentence!
Related to this, the book definitely needs proof reading. One character briefly (unintentionally) changed gender. Words and phrases were also repeated frequently.
Quite a lot of cliches employed.
A few times I had to check back because things were referenced that hadn't been mentioned, e.g. someone is suddenly on a cross.
There were a few sentences that maybe sound cool but didn't actually make sense.
Pedantic point but I have to mention it: scorpions are not insects.
Most importantly: the forced love triangle (more on that in the spoilers section).

Despite my complaints, I do want to see where the story is going, I just hope the next book in the series is more polished.

***SPOILERS***





Gideon was hit with a bolt of lightning with no explanation, he's wrecked and then they leave. It was very anti-climatic and it felt like Aelia didn't actually need to do anything. Why did he need to be distracted? Was it really that distracting? Also not clear who did that (I assume Caiden).
Then they're surrounded by guards, Aelia calls the undead army to take care of it and then they all leave again.
Aelia breaks her back, takes a potion and is largely fine again.
Everything in the final few chapters of the book felt far too easy.

The second chance romance with Caiden was promising, though they did quite abruptly flip from hating each other to wanting to be together again. Then suddenly she's madly in love with Tharan with no build up. I liked seeing the friendship develop but the abrupt switch to intense love just didn't work.

I had high hopes for this book as I found the synopsis quite intriguing, but I must admit that it fell short of my hopes. I find the first 30% of the book to be quite intriguing but it becomes to confusing. There are many worlds and species to keep track of but not enough world-building or explanation. The lack of world building and character depth was disappointing. I was not a fan of the second chance trope either and not the love triangle which wasn’t well written in my opinion.

Favourite quote: "Your past is just a story, Aelia. Anytime you wish, you can start a new chapter."

This book is marketed as of A Court of Thorns and Roses meets Six of Crows. Starting the book did not give me those vibes, and I struggled to get into it. I tried to read mulitiple times, but was not interested in the characters or story long enought to continue. What I read did not feel original, and instead was similar to other books.

A Curse of Breath and Blood by K.W. Foster is an intriguing fantasy with a unique premise and a captivating world. The magic system is well-developed, and the characters are engaging, though some felt a bit stereotypical at times. The plot has plenty of action and suspense, but it occasionally slows down with too much exposition. It’s an enjoyable read overall, with enough twists to keep you hooked. A solid 3.5 stars—worth reading for fans of the genre, but could use a bit more depth.

A Curse of Breath and Blood by K.W. Foster presents an intriguing premise, blending elements of fantasy and romance. The protagonist, Aelia, is a complex character grappling with trauma and addiction, which adds depth to her journey. However, the novel faces challenges with pacing and character development. The rapid progression of relationships, particularly the love triangle involving Aelia, Caiden, and Tharan, may leave readers yearning for more gradual and believable connections. Additionally, some plot inconsistencies and a lack of comprehensive world-building can disrupt immersion. While the story has potential and offers moments of engagement, it may not fully satisfy those seeking a deeply immersive fantasy experience.

DNF Unfortunately this one didn’t pull my interest or keep me engaged. Interesting premise but not keeping me drawn

This book had an interesting concept, but the execution didn’t quite work for me. The story jumped all over the place, making it hard to stay engaged, and the pacing felt uneven. While there were moments of intrigue, the lack of cohesion made it difficult to connect with the characters or the plot. It had potential, but it just didn’t fully come together.