I really enjoyed reading this book. The story itself was fantastic. But the world building at time did feel a bit chaotic and left me having to reread sections. But overall, I did enjoy it.

This was okay, I liked the plot but it was quite predictable and the characters/ world-building we're quite one dimensional so I would of liked learning more about them and their inner workings. The book read very easy and not complex at all so I almost finished it within one sitting. I honestly wish it gave more because I liked the premise of a 30 year old FMC which seems like a lot of people too. The love triangle was messy and dramatic and kept me thoroughly entertained.

Breezed through this book not because I was too engrossed but because the writing was simple and the plot was SO predictable. Nevertheless, I am curious who Aelia will pick (love triangle) in the next book!

The story moves at a pace that is too fast even to make reasonable sense. One moment we are running on the docks. Next we’re indoors and it’s raining fireballs. A character yells run and we all..run?? Ngl the plot and inner circle dynamics do remind me of ToG now and then but of a much subpar writing.

A special shout out: fmc is 30 which I LOVE! Overall, the book wasn’t bad per se but it’s lacking in character development, backstory on all their relationships/gods/villains and any explanation on those feels like it’s winged along the way.

Thanks for the arc via NetGalley!

Aelia Springborn is a telepathic Queen turned mercenary who has escaped from the influence of an abusive, power hungry King and Husband. With the help of her former lover, old friends, and a new love interest, Aelia battles through political upheaval, addiction, trauma, and a magical deal she is bound to honor.

I received this Romantasy Arc in exchange for an honest review and it did not disappoint! I highly recommend reading “A History of Moriana and the World of the Mind Breaker Series” from the authors website for the best reading experience. My biggest questions while reading this Arc were about the political background, the gods, and the cultural/race differences between the Sylph, Elves, and Humans. Each one of those questions is answered in that excerpt and I expect the book will lead with this prior to the story starting once released in September.

Aelia is a relatable FMC who is struggling through a healing journey from a toxic past filled with abuse, trauma, and addiction. Mental health is a recurring topic throughout the book and the representation was raw, real, and impactful. The love triangle keeps you guessing and both MMC’s are extremely likeable, although I think I may be leaning toward Team Tharan. The politics and world building were super interesting and I found myself wanting to know more about the dynamics between the sylph, elves, and humans. I would love to see the different courts and characters explored more in future books. The epilogue is a major cliffhanger and I can say without a doubt I am invested!

This book has a lot of promise. I wished we dove deeper into character development though. It all read very shallow and I never fully grasped the characters and their identities. I loved how Aeila was 30. That was definitely refreshing. The romance was sort of all over the place; but that’s okay. It was messy but filled with lust, longing and drama.

This book was ok. I might have missed it, but I didn't realize this wasn't a standalone until the end, so I kept wondering how they were going to fit everything into one book. I didn't feel for the characters. Maybe because the love triangle seems a little forced - or maybe it's not even supposed to feel like a love triangle, but I don't know what else to call it. I get the ACOTAR marketing comparison, because I felt it several times...which to me wasn't a good thing because it wasn't like an homage, more like copy/paste. How Feyre flirts with Tarquin & eventually messes with his thoughts seems a lot like Aelia and Tharan. Tharan is similar to Eris (red hair, bit of a playboy, but has more going on than he wants to show publicly). Aelia's journey of redemption and "growth" (using loosely), seems a lot like Nesta. Aelia and another SJM character Aelin, sound similar. The Morrigan, which I realize is Celtic folk lore, so not just SJM's creation, but still, another overlap. I love romantasy, but I need something a little different to really wow me anymore. Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC opportunity. Since it is an early read, I am hoping another round of editing can smooth a couple spots as well.

Thank you to NetGalley & the author K.W. Foster for this opportunity!!

One of my favorite quotes: “Hope is a dangerous thing. It blinds us to reality.”

A Curse of Blood and Breath was a refreshing and face-paced read. This was a strong beginning for a first book in a new world/series! I loved the mental health/addiction representation and the storyline for growth and redemption. The book was a perfect blend of fantasy and romance. It was intriguing to read both 1st POV and 3rd POV. I have to say, I’m definitely team Tharan and Aelia has my heart already!

We dive into this book meeting Aelia Springborn, our main FMC in her 30s. Aelia, a queen-turned-mercenary has a rare magical gift, a telepath and the ability to break minds. It was lovely to see her growth and development along with overcoming her addiction to the best of her abilities. I believe we are missing some key background components to throughly understand Aelia’s character as a whole.
I enjoyed meeting our two MMC’s along with the side characters, there was a perfect amount of history and description!

Overall, the ending and the epilogue were set up phenomenally for the next book instalment!

I think this book/story has such great potential. There were some moments where I had to go back and re-read because the sentence structure was confusing me. I do like how the story played out and even with the ending, I am excited to see how the next book will answer some of the questions I have after finishing.

Really enjoyed this. A great little love triangle, a 30 y/o FMC which was refreshing and relatable rather than the standard teenagers we constantly get!

The world building did feel a little bit chaotic. I wonder if maybe this would have been better as a longer book or split into more as it felt quite a lot was put into one but I’d recommend giving it a go

First of all I want to say that I loved the way the author balanced plot and romance throughout the book, for me she developed these two points very well. Now I can say that I am totally team Tharan.

Unlike most people, I LOVE a good love triangle and this one didn't disappoint. The two romantic interests (Caiden & Tharan) are good options so you feel confused like the protagonist to choose one of the two but I decided and I'm 100% team Tharan (please be the endgame 😭)

Extra point for the FMC being 30yo, I'm really tired of teenage FMC's with super older love interests so this one was *chefs kiss*

I did not want this book to end.

Aelia Springborn is a strong fmc who overcomes a lot of hardship throughout the story, her character development is beautiful! She has a complicated love life, with devastating deals being made, and makes sacrifices for those she loves. I spent so much time rooting for her despite knowing the outcome, and still being devastated for her when it inevitably happened. The men in the book are so charming and respectful (except the villains) they make it easy to adore them, and so easy to understand Amelia’s actions!
The ending was a beautiful culmination of the lessons learnt along the way, and felt so cosy, with a shocking final two pages that set the stage for the next book perfectly.

1.5 ⭐️ I just felt confused for the majority of this book. To begin, the world-building was nonexistent, and I felt like I was constantly introduced to new people/places/courts without having any idea how they fit into the greater political scheme or where they even were in relation to each other (a map would've helped). Secondly, there was a significant amount of missing context behind all of the character's relationships with each other that were completely glossed over or only alluded to without getting any more detail. I was expecting more and more to come to light, but nothing ever did. It felt like I was reading the second book in a series (and if that's what this was, it still wasn't giving me enough background to understand the foundation for anything). The love triangle didn't even feel like a love triangle, because there was significantly more telling than showing when it came to describing ANY of the character's emotions.
Thank you to Aetheon and NetGalley for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

3.8 Stars rounded up to 4 below!

There's a few editing mistakes and thing's spelt wrong and words written wrong (I think if an editor had another look at it that would be good! - at one point in the book (closer to the end) it says Caiden's name when it should be Tharan.

That being said I really enjoyed this book it was a simple world to understand and I liked how we went straight into the story rather than having to have pages of world building. I really like the main character Aelia I really feel like she goes through a journey in this book and you can see how she grows which is nice. I like how instead of there just being enemies to lovers we have a passed love who has turned enemies but they've found their way back to each other. I wish we could get more of Caiden and Tharan's POV and what they are thinking (think this could be good for book 2). I like how Caiden did actually get his memories wiped (even though this part made me cry) because it had all the feels and was written really well. I'm interested to see whether his memories come back and if they do I want him to fight for Aelia as I actually feel she lowkey deserves better than Caiden.

Tharan is everything 😮‍💨 I absolutely love the relationship between Aelia and Tharan. I love that they can be completely honest with each other and I feel as if Tharan loves Aelia as she is now and they are growing together and sharing all of their scars. Whereas although I do like Caiden I feel like he loves the old Aelia before her trauma. Can’t wait to see what happeneds I want more Aelia and Tharan, I feel like there relationship is more special.

I'm intrigued to see where the plot goes in the next book. What happened with Aelia's sister as she seems to be double bluffing in the epilogue?! Will Caiden remember Aelia and fight for her? What will happen with the sceptre? Overall, I did like the book and would read book 2!

Quotes I loved:

“I’ve wanted to kiss you every day since the first time I laid eyes on you”

“I love you,” I said, looking into Caiden’s blue eyes. “I know you won’t remember, but I hope your heart keeps the memory your mind won’t.”

“I will find a way back to you” He kissed me passionately. “I love you, Aelia. I loved you even when I hated you, and I will keep a space in my heart for you until the end of time.” A promise he couldn’t keep.

“I closed my eyes. Nothing like having your romantic history laid bare in front of your current lover, your husband, and your ex-lover, who’s mind you erased”

“You are beautiful to me, Aelia Springborn. Your scars are a testament to your strength. Wear them with pride.”

I did not love this one. I liked the idea of it and there were parts that had me engaged in the story, but overall the book did not deliver for me. The world building felt disorganized, and the actual storytelling felt more "tell" than show, which meant that the pacing felt very weird to keep up with. The romantic plots felt rushed with and I was not overly invested in any of them, aside from the second male love interest.

I did like that FMC was in her 30's and I appreciated her very real struggles, it just needed so much more to feel explored. I did like the idea of this book, but without the depth the story concept deserved I think this one falls flat.

Thank you to NetGalley and Aethon Books, all opinions are my own.

A redemption arc without the failure part. A fantasy tale travelling through lands with varied races to save the day.

Though the characters share a deep background there’s very little history/depth provided. While I’m glad that the side characters declaring their deep friendship and platonic love weren’t killed off after said declarations it felt like they were made to reinforce a history unseen. This book felt like it was the second or third in a series rather than the first one.

Good chemistry between interests and friends and side relationships. Some great dialogue and healthy relationships. Difficult topics aren’t skimmed over or dismissed or used for plot device. The lore is slowly building to a grand story in the next book. A plot hole which we’ll ignore or we can’t save the day (or be saved) and be in two places.

Overall a good book which was exciting to read and close to those iconic romantasies just a little darker but needs some more developing. I also said that of ACOTAR and it’s become my personality. Would give the next book a chance

Thank you Aetheon Books through NetGalley for an advanced reader copy for an honest and voluntary review

A Curse of Breath and Blood follows Aelia, a queen-turned-memory hitwoman who sets out to save her sister from the man who tortured Aelia for years. As Aelia goes on her journey, she deals with love, loss, as well as her own powers (and demons).

This book was one of the first fantasy/romantasy books I’ve read, but the story was easy for me to keep up with and pick back up on, and it was nicely paced; I was nervous with a genre I’m a little less familiar or comfortable with that my threshold to DNF would be much lower, but I loved the story and I hope to read more (the last chapter really just left us like that huh).

Aelia’s powers really captured my attention and the way Foster described Aelia’s “mind breaking” process was so fascinating to me. Much like other reviews, I’m also a fan of Tharan after getting to know him a little more.

I read this book as an ARC, so I’m keeping in mind the fact that this book will likely go through more edits and I’m not focusing too much on frequent repetition of some words, misspellings, etc. The only thing that drove me a nuts for a minute was some head hopping, but it seemed to get smoother the more I read.

A Curse of Breath and Blood. The Mind Breaker Series Book 1.
A Debut Novel By K.W. Foster.

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
🌶️🌶️

Be sure to check triggers before starting.
A Beautifully magical fantasy romance.

Tropes:
🖤Morally Grey FMC
🖤Love Triangle
🖤Second Chance
🖤Only One Bed
🖤”Who Did This To You”
🖤Magic
🖤ENEMIES-TO-LOVERS
🖤Reformed Bad Boy Love Intrest
🖤Golden Retriever Love Interest

Snippet:
Back in the library of his mind, Caiden gave me a half-hearted smile. "This is it. The last memory."
He handed me a few pages containing our memories from the morning.
A sob grew in my chest, spilling out in a wail. This was all that remained of us. Just a few pages.
•
•
A Curse of Breath and Blood is a refreshingly unique and fun story to read. It has its ups and downs, a love triangle, bad guy, multiple magical creatures and so much more to tantalise your senses

This is an outstanding piece of fiction by the wonderful new author K.W. Foster. She has built an incredible concept and conveyed it perfectly to the page. Her penmanship is astonishing and coaxes you in to this alluring fantastical world. Beautifully done!

A thrilling and fast paced, action packed masterpiece with dark aspects knitted throughout the narrative that will have you on the edge of your seats.

I was hooked from the very start. We have a brilliant and compelling love dynamic between the MC’s. Epic battle scenes and exotic world building. A beautifully unique take on the storyline with our FMC being slightly older than usual… it was unexpectedly refreshing.

Aelia Springbourne is our fierce female character. She has her share of baggage dealing with addiction and at the age of 30 is one of the oldest main characters in a fantasy to date. She has a unique, magical gift. She’s a telepath and a mind ripper… and, Former royalty.

I absolutely Loved her character and the development she undergoes throughout her journey through the storyline. Her character is well weaved and deeply intricate.

A little backstory would’ve been beneficial on Alia’s behalf to fill in some of the blanks, although, we had a snippet at the very beginning when she was young and in love… I’ll leave it there… no spoilers!

Caiden Stormweaver. MMC no. 1. Aelia’s former lover, who she meets early on in the book. A wonderful and complex character that you can’t help but love.

Tharan our second MMC. Who we meet later on in the story.
I loved his character, a lot! I found it hard to choose between the two. But I couldn’t help but be more drawn to Tharan in the end.

The well imagined and delicately crafted plot line is meticulously weaved around a stunning and magical world that makes it a delight to read. beautifully vivid and detailed. Descriptive and well executed.

Fast paced action and perfectly balanced storytelling, slowing the stride when the plot demands it is eloquent.

With a multitude of magical creatures, such as, Satyrs, centaurs, elves, and so much much more. The world building develops nicely and with grace throughout the storyline.

This is a story of sacrifice, loss, love, magic, and the deviousness of court politics. And, hello…Forest magic - bring it!

The journey the characters take provide the narrative with many twists and turns along the storyline. I found myself quite frustrated with the female character at times. I just wanted to shake her! Come on, love!

The Spice was moderate, but rather enjoyable nonetheless. The side characters were beneficial to the overall storyline and brought a sense of depth to the narrative

For me, this was fantastic concept and a wonderful work of genius by KM Foster.

The ending is quite intense and It will leave you needing the next instalment desperately!

I can’t wait for the next book

A Wonderful start to this beautiful world. I can’t wait to explore it further in the next book.

Quotes:

"We are not our labels, Aelia. You should know that by now. Sometimes it is easier to live in the armor we build for ourselves than let the world see who we really are."

"Love blinds even the most careful planners."

"You are beautiful to me, Aelia Springborn. Your scars are a testament to your strength. Wear them with pride."

Thank you NetGalley for the advanced copy…

3.5 rounded up

Thanks to NetGalley for this ARC.

This was an enjoyable book, but it felt like so much crammed into 300 pages. I think I would rather have the backstory as book one and then present day as book two. Or at least a backstory novella. I loved Aelia because she's kind of unlikeable. She smokes, she's an addict, she's grumpy, she has PTSD and mental health struggles. But we see her grow, evolve, and yet she's still imperfect. She doesn't become a perfect person along the way, and I love that.

This story involves quests and trials, a love triangle, found family, and a whole slew of creatures (including a unicorn! 💜). It ends with a cliffhanger, and I do look forward to seeing how the rest of Aelia's story plays out.

I really wanted to enjoy this and love triangles used to be my jam, but I fear I am no longer the target audience for these.

I did love that the characters are older and there seemed to be more sustenance to the story.

3.5 out of 5 stars.

I enjoyed the story and the characters. I just think it had so much in the story that it felt like 2-3 books in one without a huge amount of development. Again, solid ideas and arc, but lacking depth.

Because it lacked some depth, I felt the pacing struggled at moments. Certain areas stalled, were boring and were slow. Between the big plot points, the transitions were okay.

I liked most of the characters. The FMC, Aelia, is the most interesting. She has moments where she is so strong and then other moments where she is overwhelmed. I like this journey that she takes (although, more explanation about her relationship with her husband, Gideon, and the crazy lady who seems like the worst of the bad guys, would help to make more sense of how she ended up where the book starts.) I don't really like Caiden. That's it. I don't like the rehashing of their relationship/love. I hated how they just fell back into a physical relationship so easily after all the hate. It wasn't for me. I did really like Tharan, but again I wanted more for his development. I hope Aelia stays with him for the rest of the series. I did feel some secondary characters needed some more umpf to make them "punchy" in the overall plot, but most are likeable.

The ending is solid. It ends in a cliff hanger, and it sure promises more in the next book and beyond.

I think there is so much to explore here, I wish more time was spent developing the world and characters so that everything hit to the potential that it could.