Tropes:
enemies to lovers
forbidden romance
fugitive x general
blackmail
she falls first

Thank you to NetGalley for giving this ARC, and this doesn’t influence my review. Wonderful writing style, unique world-building, MMC😏, hilarious thoughts of FMC. Low key wasn’t giving enemies to lovers, and didn’t like the chemistry between them. I feel like this book had potential, but I had to DNF it. This is in no way meant to deter anyone from reading it.

Fia has tried to keep her powers a secret and under control, but that goes out the window when the general sees her use them in a pretty compromising way. She is thrust into the military, which is something she never expected, given that she's part of a group of people that was almost completely wiped out. She must deal with harnessing her powers, interacting with people who hate her because of who she is, the larger situation as a whole, and whatever the heck is going on with the general. 👀👀👀

What a twist at the end! I am curious to see where this story heads.

Thanks to NetGalley for an eARC of this book for an honest review.

Thank you to NetGalley, Bree and Parker’s team for allowing me the opportunity to read this ARC. I really enjoyed Riftborne. The premise was what drew me in originally but I fell for the writing and characters who are complex and interesting. I am excited for my readers to read this book and I hope they will enjoy it as much as I did.

Thank you NetGalley, Bree Grenwich and Parker Lennox for the opportunity to read this book!

When I say I devoured this book, I DEVOURED it! I couldn't put it down!!! I was sad to finish it because I did not want it to end, I need the next one ASAP! It has all the tropes I love:
Enemies to lovers
Forced proximity
Morally grey MMC
Just YES TO ALL!One part of the book I particularly liked was the dreamwalk!🌶✨️
I can't believe I need to wait to read what happens next 😭 I've already ordered a copy of Riftborne to keep on my shelves because I loved it so much!

This book was just a genuinely lovely surprise. I enjoyed this book and found that I did not want to point it down while I was reading it.

Things I liked:
- The story line/plot was fantastic. I enjoyed the magic system and the world building. The pacing was great and I did not get bored with any part of this story. The ending was amazing and not at all what I expected. After that ending, I can't wait to see what happens next in the next two books.
- The characters were so well written and there was so much depth. At first, I wasn't sure how I felt about the General, but he grew on me the more that I read. I just wish that his character was explored more. Fia was such a strong FMC, and I loved her character progression as the story went on. Things definitely went from 1 to 100 throughout this book and I just know that Fia will become even better.
- The relationship was a definite slow burn. The build up from enemies to mentor/mentee with chemistry that the two had was sooooo good. It was definitely not a main focus of this book and it was brought up multiple times here and there as mentions and experiencing jealousy, but nothing happens for most of the book, which I was completely fine with, and was happy that it allowed for more focus on the plot of this book.

Things I did not like:
- There was literally nothing that I had a major problem with. If I had to nitpick, maybe just too much focus on the jealousy and throwing balls when people are dying. Those two things were things that I found myself rolling my eyes at once or twice.

Do I recommend this book? Yes! I would recommend this book for any fans of new adult romantasy, who love books that are focused a bit more on the plot than the romance. It did give me slight Fourth Wing vibes and I saw someone else compare it to Powerless. I did not read Powerless, so I can't 100% say if this is true or not.

Thank you so much to Net Galley, Bree Greenwich and Parker Lennox for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

To say I devoured Riftborne is an understatement - I couldn’t put it down.

The world building is gorgeous and textured, dealing with complex issues in a way that is manageable and easy to follow. The prose flows beautifully; the way people and places were described was so evocative. I was quickly transported into the world of Sidhe with all its struggles and wonders alongside our reluctant heroine.

Mentor/Mentee dynamics is one of my favourite romance tropes, and let me tell you, the chemistry is SIZZLING. Throw in a sunshine x grumpy bestie trope, and I’m in heaven.

Riftborne is out now and is a MUST READ new adult romantasy, for fans of Fourth Wing and Powerless (for the readers) and New Mutants/X-Men (for the movie lovers). I need the follow up after that cliffhanger. Lord have mercy.

4.5⭐️ - I LOVED this book!!!! The writing was phenomenal, the characters were well-developed and their relationships felt natural, the world building was unique and interesting (there are a looot of names and there’s so much lore to understand so I’m glad there are more books coming lol).

I felt like the pacing was perfect. At first, I thought it was going too slow since there had been so much but somehow so little that happened by 75% in. But by the time the ending comes around, it all makes sense why the build up has to happen the way it does. Talk about a TWIST!!!

This was a solid romance fantasy... romantasy? I never know which to classify books like this as. I don't think it falls under fantasy romance because I felt the romance was a bigger plot than the fantasy, but the fantasy was very well written. Sometimes books with multiple authors feel very disjointed but this melded seamlessly. I'm interested to see where the characters end up in the next book.

I liked the protagonist Fia and will say right now that the love interest Laryk was written in an absolutely appalling way . He's more than a bit snide and yes she finds him attractive but he is frequently absent so I really struggled to find their "romance" believable.
Things I did like, well the surprise ending as I'm obviously hoping for a different love interest so more along the lines of ACOTAR although if the author's can make the relationship more real somehow perhaps I can forgive the smirking Laryk. The magic system was interesting with different characters having different and pretty powerful abilities. Hmm characters, whilst not completely fleshed out Fia does find potential friends and allies but ouch she really needs to watch her back ! I think what I found most interesting and unique was the simple fact that the general population have absolutely no idea what is really going on and as this ends there are so many possibilities that in spite of my reservation about the romance I really will lookout for the next book.
This voluntary take is of a copy I requested from Netgalley and my thoughts and comments are honest and I believe fair

I received an ARC of this book from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own.

Rating: 4.25/5
I really liked this book! What a great debut to a new series and for an author pair! I have been wanting to get back into reading fantasy, and this was a great way to do that.

I really enjoyed the various topics an themes throughout the book, with a faction of people who are branded due to the sins of their parents and the way they navigate through life because of those brands: the way they are treated, the way they grow up, the jobs they can find, etc. Fia, our FMC is one of these branded, marked for a betrayal that she didn't even commit.

I also really enjoyed the magic system in this book, as I thought that it was unique with powers that were unique. The way the authors spend time explaining how they work made me really buy in to the whole system and made it believable. The variety of powers that people can have and the variety of strengths that they can have adds to the complexity of the system and to the sheer strength of the team of people we spend time with.

The pacing of the book was really well done as well. I never felt bored and was always looking forward to what was coming next, while still being told that there was a jump in time between chapters that helped me buy in to our FMC, her powers, her training, and everything else. Nothing felt rushed and nothing felt too slow.

I enjoyed our MMC, Laryk, as well. I thought that the romance was well done and I liked the way that it built up over time and almost sneaks up on you, but it never felt wrong. I liked that he was willing to train her to control her powers, but wasn't her main trainer for the Faction. Even though he wanted to use her as a weapon, that is a pretty common thing in a fantasy novel and I was okay with it. Especially once he started to show some of his colors and be considerate of her needs. I am withholding being completely on board as it is only the first book and I have learned my lesson too many times lol.

The ensemble cast is really great! From Fia's friendships with the other branded, the trainees that she befriends, and the various leaders she interacts with, I was looking forward to each interaction and learning more about each person. They were all interesting and unique, and I really enjoyed the character work done on each of them. Brava! I am so used to being able to draw parallels between characters of the ensemble of various series, so this was a nice way to break the cycle and have something fresh.

The twist at the end was not what I was expecting, which is pretty unusual for me! I'm pretty good at predicting where things are going, so I am super excited to see where this series is going especially the ramifications of that twist, and I cannot wait for the next book to come out. I will definitely be continuing this series.

HAPPY RELEASE DAY!!!
I thought waiting until now would be a perfect time to write this review. I currently have settled on a 4 star for this book but overtime and as I sit and think about the characters I can see this rating growing.
Its not often I start a fantasy book and can automatically tell that it will be a high rating for me. Usually there is a lot of world building which makes it hard for me to get into the book but this was not the case. You are sucked right into the story and action, Fia shows her personality right from the first page and you learn about her powers/inner battles. You meet both main characters and are introduced to a side (I want to call her a main character) character, along with some history to the story/plot.

General Ashford hits grumpy right on the head, these two are definitely enemies to lovers. Between their encounters at the balls, comments made during training at the gym, and like Fia mentioned seeing cracks in his exterior and catching glimpses of a different General, you are going to fall in love with these characters and the tension between them.

Watching Fia start off as a girl going through so much was just what I needed, she felt real to me. Between battling her inner thoughts, trying to please Osta, Ma, and stick to what she believes along with her new assignment (trail to join the guard and learn how to control her focus) made it really easy to get sucked into this story. I fell in love with the Isle of Sidhe and am already waiting for this second book.

*ARC received from Netgalley - all opinions are my own*

TL;DR: Really enjoyed despite me having a few gripes with the plot! Riftborne would be best suited to those looking for an easier, almost YA, feeling fantasy. Definitely recommend and can’t wait for the sequel!

| 3.5 (rounded up to 4)

Review:
If I took away the romance, Riftborne was a very solid 4-star book and a solid start to the series but felt like the romance has potentially let it down a little for me.

As I said, as a purely fantasy book, I loved it! It was a bit of a simpler read but still really enjoyable with some interesting history we’re learning about throughout the book and a magic system that really has my interest. I liked that the authors have given each of the “classes” of powers different manifestations of said powers.

The romance, however, I wasn’t a massive fan of unless General Laryk turns out to not be the intended love interest, which I personally hope he isn’t. He comes across as very cold and unfeeling towards Fia throughout the entire book and on the few occasions where he is showing some sort of feeling for her, it comes across as very power hungry and wanting to own her as opposed to genuine love. I think he could potentially feel like he may have feelings for her but honestly think it’s her power that he’s attracted to and getting to know a way to crack her - Laryk actually mentions something similar during their training sessions. I’m really hoping for a different love interest in the future, especially given certain plot points at the end.

Aside from my issues with the romance, my oly other gripe is how Fia seemingly “gets over” her hatred of the Aossi and just sweeps all the discrimination she and the other Riftborne have faced aside when she meets a handful of people who don’t discriminate against her. Nevermind the fact that she tries to twist it to be “Ma” planting that in her head. Very bizarre that anyone could get over that so quickly.
Overall, despite my couple of flaws with Riftborne, I did thoroughly enjoy reading it and I’m very excited for the next book to see how things progress, especially with the ending happening the way it did!! Definitely recommend!

(Also final, more personal, side note on the romance - the authors state that Laryk is an Xavier to Fia’s Dark Phoenix which doesn’t make things clearer to me as a lover of both the X-Men movies and the comics. Nevermind that that’s a bit of a complicated and contested topic in the fandom so?? Regardless, Laryk hasn’t endeared me to him at all but only time will tell and I have my own theories for what will happen next!)

Thank you to netgalley for the ARC

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ / 5
🌶 / 5

✨ Enemies to lovers
✨ Found family
✨ Only one tent
✨ He's her superior
✨ Jealous / posessive MMC
✨ Wallflower FMC

I LOVED this one!!

What I loved:
Fia will be immensely relatable to the wallflowers out there, especially those who sway more toward the realistic/pessimistic side. But if you're ever the optimist, you'll probably be frustrated by her POV. I absolutely loved her journey of self-acceptance so far, the growth in just the first book tells me that while there is an insanely interesting plot, the story is also incredibly character driven as well.

The world building flows without info dumps or dragging the reader through unwieldy monologues. I am so incredibly excited to learn more about the history and dive deeper into the plot in the next books! This book kept me on the edge of my seat and when I wasn't able to read, all I wanted to do was pick it up and finish it.

I also adored the strong female friendships, namely with Osta, Raine, and Ma. I wish we got more Dravyn and more about their time training and learning. I'd love to have seen those relationships develop even more.

What I didn't love:
Laryk's hair. Oh my god, I need a fantasy love interest with short hair, PLEASE. I also feel like this is the second love interest I've read about in the past month that had long red hair and I'm...not here for it.

I also really didn't like how Briar flipped from being a friend/ally to being a jealous man child? Like, we get it - Ashford is hot. Clearly Briar wants to bone him too, but calling out his teammate like that was gross and I hate that their issues weren't resolved in this book, though I'm hoping that's intentional and it will be important in the next book.

Cooed. This word is used WAY too often in the book. Why is everyone cooing? Stop with the cooing.

Some of the descriptive choices were odd - certain words would be chosen to describe how someone said something, but the very next paragraph would give their attitude/emotions a different picture. It pulled me out of the story each time and this was a story that I fully immersed myself into, so it was a bit jarring.


Overall though, this was one of the best ARCs I've read in a while and I already know that I'm going to have a massive book hangover from this one!

If you enjoyed Fourth Wing, I think you'll enjoy this one quite a bit! I'd also recommend it for fans of ACOTAR and FBAA.

And yes, while there are some similarities to Fourth Wing (namely a rebellion and kids of the rebellion members being "marked" along with a war school) I don't consider those similarities to be bad or indicative of anything. War schools and rebellions are pretty common in fiction, not to mention real life history, and there's definitely real world precedent of wanting to identify and isolate "outsiders" IRL too. The plot is different enough, interesting enough, and compelling enough to stand on its own. But if you liked Fourth Wing I can't imagine you wouldn't also like Riftborne.

This book was so. good.
I cannot even begin to say how much I enjoyed this book and yet I will TRY. Riftborne had a very cool magic system and yet not overly complicated to understand. Fia was such an interesting character because she so clearly wants to just live her life and be unbothered and yet she cannot seem to escape her power. Very much a true "greatness thrust upon them" type hero. Watching her transform and strengthen her skills was intriguing and exciting.
Great enemies to lovers plot line but also [ THAT TWIIIIST at the end. Had me shook and gasping.
The worst part about reading this book was realizing it was book ONE of a TRILOGY. So I will simply be refreshing the authors' page waiting for book two.

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️🌶️🌶️🌶️

I just finished this book and I devoured it in a day!
I'm so impressed and I am needing book 2!
It has all the tropes but in a new and refreshing way. Plot twists are wonderful and the character development for the MFC is fantastic!
Enemies to Lovers Forced Proximity
Magic xx Training
Plot Twist
Dash of Spice
Mind the Cliff
I received the eARC from ONYX publishing through NetGalley for my honest review.
Thank you ONYX! I loved it!

I was drawn in from the beginning. The characters, the world, the BANTER. This book kept me wanting to read more. The relationships are so real the change in the FMC made sense and weren't just "overnight". The revelations/twists I did not see coming from the beginning. The cliff we find ourselves on at the end? Perfect spot to end the book even if my reader heart wants MORE NOW. Please.

If you are debating this book, don't. Pick it up and start reading. I highly doubt anyone would ever regret it.

Thank you Netgally, Bree Grenwich, and Parker Lennox for the ARC!

This book 😮 it had everything I love. It’s fast paced, gripping, me gasping 😂 the growth within the FMC Fia was on point.
Not to sure about her chemistry of her and MMC but that might just be me 😂
Riftborne made me forget that I was reading and made me feel like part of the story and that ending 😮
I cannot to grab a physical copy as a trophy 🤩

•RIFTBORNE•

by Bree Grenwich & Parker Lennox
Pub. 9/3/2024 (UPCOMING RELEASE)
•💅🏼💅🏼💅🏼 (3️⃣ manis)•

Thanks to @netgalley, #onyxpublishing and the authors for the advance digital copy!) 🐍

Hey friends 👋🏻! RIFTBORNE is a new romantasy novel coming out in early September. I really enjoyed the world built within this novel - a realm based on the author's adventures and the fun of playing D&D with their friends, which I love! It's great to see authors channeling their many passions into their work.

I liked the unique magic system that was created and explored and I liked several of the characters a lot, but found others to be a bit less “likeable”, but in a way I think is intentional for the characters to show an arc.

This first book in the Esprithian Trilogy feels like a setup for more exciting adventures in the subsequent two novels. While I enjoyed it, I felt a little disconnected from the ending. Perhaps it's due to my own expectations of what we would get out of this first book in the trilogy.

I think the book stood decently well on its own, but wish there was a more fully cohesive message. It offers good commentary on the class divide and the military industrial complex, showing how some choices are forced upon us and affect those we care about. The book also highlights the importance of communication and empathy. However, I hope that the other books will provide a more comprehensive "POV" on certain aspects. Maybe on a reread, I’ll feel differently!

With other tropes like “enemies to lovers” and “forbidden romance” embedded, lovers of dark fantasy and some spice will likely enjoy this one 🌶️ 💖 ✨.

See the synopsis on slide 2 and the QR code to a curated Spotify playlist by the authors on slide 3!

Excited to see who reads this one and to chat more about it in September! 💚🩶🖤

DNF at 63%

I got very excited to read this book at the very beginning of it, thanks to the decree put as a first chapter. I thought it really set the scene of the social climate. Unfortunately, 60% in, I still don't understand the world : in what sort of society are we? in what period are we (middle ages, renaissance,...)? I was just lost.
I also thought we should have had another chapter before the first one to get to know our main character before the action starts, but it wouldn't have changed anything because I still don't know Fia as well as I should 60 % in the book.
Now, the fact that I knew who the love interest was from the first chapter made me laugh. It isn't a negative point, but he was introduced so early in the story, I just had to laugh. But we don't know anything about him, so why does Fia want to jump his bones? No idea.
We need to talk about dynamics, especially between Fia and the General : she's supposed to hate him/be afraid of him and yet she talks to him as if he was just an arrogant boy from school. And he just drops his mask almost instantly before her. Where is the yearning? Also, they never really talked so why is there a strong attraction between them? I'm absolutely not on board with this relationship.
Generally, I love when there is a training bit in a book. Here, it just wasn't appealing, like I didn't care. Also, the Lieutenant isn't even respected by his recruits, which is weird I think.
Am I gonna talk about the character of Ma? You know, that unsufferable, selfish, borderline abusive person? No, I won't spend more time thinking about her.
In summary, I just felt left down by this book, who had such good premise.

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️.25 stars
🌶️🌶️ spice

Why you should read it:
✨Military/War College Setting
✨Army General x Outcast/child of the rebellion recruit
✨Forbidden Romance
✨Enemies to Lovers
✨Elite force for those with rare powers
✨Found Family
✨Slow burn

Favourite Quote:
"I was his, utterly and irrevocably. His weapon. His lover. His salvation. And then I knew. I would cripple armies, break minds if that's what he desired."

I’ve said it once and I’ll say it again, you can never trust a redhead in a fantasy book.

And there are too many redheads for just one plot twist in this series…I’m suss about you Laryk, you’d better not fuck with my girl Fia. Is he a reformed playboy or is he up to his old tricks? Time will tell.

This book was the slow burn of all slow burns, I couldn’t tell half the time if anything was going to happen and them BAM! Ooft, it was worth the wait.

Overall the pace started quite slow but it felt ok for the narrative to have the character development breathe a little bit to start off. The action really ramped up in the last quarter of the book, and although it was lighter on the world building, it feels like there's so much to come for book 2 on that front given the big old McTwist at the end.

And then you threw old smoldery gold eyes at me?! I honestly can’t tell what’s going to happen in this series and it’s legitimately thrilling.. I can’t wait to read the next book!