This book was a fine debut for these authors. It has an interesting enough concept and a lot of potential, but I found myself putting it down a lot and in no real rush to pick it back up.

The world building was simple and easy to follow. The side characters were likable, but I wanted more development there and without that, I struggled to really connect or care about any of them. The story felt very YA and juvenile, especially the romance. I was not a big fan of Laryk so I’d be interested to see any potential changes or new developments on this front in Book 2.

That said, that ending… I’ll be honest, I had no plans to read the next book and now I’m fully intrigued and cannot wait to get answers to the questions the end of this one left me with. I also did enjoy seeing Fia’s abilities develop throughout the story and am eager to see more of that in Book 2 as well.

Thank you NetGalley and ONYX Publishing for the ARC.

What an awesome debut romantasy! This has so many elements I enjoy in this genre - strong main character development, slow burn enemies to lovers, well written world building, found family, and badass magic/fighting! My only complaint is that as much as I was ready for our main characters to get together, the moment it happened felt a little rushed. The ending also left me with a lot of questions, but that's not necessarily a bad thing. I'll be over here waiting for book 2. Thank you Netgalley for the ARC!

The first thing about this book that caught my eye was the cover and when I finished reading the blurb I was hooked. I loved how powerful the female lead is and the magic system was awesome. I honestly couldn’t put this book down with each chapter drawing you in and the ending leaving you speechless and wanting more.

I feel like the book started off very strong but suddenly got very young, confused and felt a certain disconnected for me the reader unfortunately. A great plot idea butva little young in the execution. More YA though so if you like that then this book will be right up your alley.

I got this book as an ARC from NetGalley and I LOVED it. Easily one of my favorite books of the year. I loved the characters and their personalities. It was easy to remember who was who but no one seemed to be a caricature or over the top. The ending killed me. The book isn’t even released yet and I NEED the sequel. Whenever the authors finish it I hope I get the ARC for that one as well!

The good: the magic system is pretty cool, the characters are well written, the chemistry, the plot, basically everything

The bad: there are a couple times I had a hard time picturing what was happening and…that’s it?

As one last thing I absolutely cannot wait for the fanart. Especially of the dresses for the balls.

Thank you to NetGalley and ONYX publishing for this arc. It will be available wide on 9/3/24!

Hot. Damn. Whoa!

This was a trip and a half. Heavy world building but also very very character driven. This is NOT a light and fluffy fantasy book but a pretty dark one with heavy themes so mind your triggers. Fia is strength and resilience personified. Sidhe General Laryk is smoking hot. Honestly I want to own this. I want to read it again and again.

I am pleasantly surprised with this one! This book grew on me more and more as I read it, and I can tell you I will definitely be reading the sequel.

Upon reading the description of the book, I felt as though this would follow the same outline as many fantasy/romantasy books do nowadays (strong FMC with a hidden ability decides to utilize it against a danger to the world), but the first few chapters did hook me so I kept on going. The intrigue about Fia's power was a big selling point for me-I liked how slowly she figured it out, and as the reader I didn't fully understand her power with the way it was described either, so it felt as though we were on the same page as the character. I never really foresaw how exactly she would be able to use it, and I liked that it was unique in that way. I was glad there wasn't one cliche moment of heightened emotion or adrenaline that made her unlock her ability and thus allow her to use it from there on out, but rather a push-and-pull the way humans tend to have while learning and growing. The book went by quickly-it was an easy read for me, and I really loved some of the characters (Osta reminded me of Mische from Broadbent's books, or Adena from the Powerless series which I loved).

I couldn't quite give this book 5 stars though, because I didn't get the full sense of urgency with the wraiths. I understood they were dangerous and scary and of course Fia would want to protect her friends and family from them, but for some reason I couldn't quite put my finger on, it didn't seem super high-stakes to me and I think it was trying to. The romantic aspect also didn't fully engulf me-it was good, and I liked the characters but I never found myself swooning over the love interest here. I think maybe some instances I wanted more showing rather than telling with Fia and Laryk's feelings towards each other.

Finally, I did guess the ending of the book. However while sometimes for me this is a big bummer while reading, I don't truly know where the storyline will go from here which makes me look forward to the sequel when it comes out. I can guess a few different ways things can go from here, but it really does feel like the possibilities are endless, and I still have many questions about the wraiths and just about every character. I think this series has LOADS of potential-and I would love to see this book get some special editions in a book box as well!

Thank you Parker Lennox and Bree Grenwich, ONYX Publishing, and NetGalley for an ARC of Riftborne!

This is a triumphant debut for Best Friend Author Duo Bree Grenwich. and Parker Lennox.. I can say I look forward to more from this D&D loving author duo in the future!

Riftborne follows protagonist Fia Riftborne. Orphaned after a rebellion, permanently marked as an outcast. We jump right into her world, where prejudice is rife and the danger of her uncontrolled powers threaten to take what little she has. Our story begins when Fia is caught losing control of her powers by the last person she’d want, Laryk Ashford, Sidhe General. Its now join the army who decimated her people or lose the only important thing to her.

This book had me gripped from the first chapter. We are put right into an immersive world of politics and powers. The world was so cozy at times. There is a deep sense of found family and comradery at times. Strong female friendship is heavily featured. Fia is a loveable character with understandable struggles such as self-doubt, jealousy, and at times, pettiness. You can’t help but fall in love. Laryk Ashford is a formidable MMC. Steamy heartthrob that you can never quite trust. This book will have you kicking your feet at points and fanning yourself at others.

My only Con on the book would be the struggle with pacing. We are rushed through at some points with large time jumps. These seem to be missed opportunities for further character development and story suspense.
4.25/5
I need the next book like yesterday.

Riftborne is an adventurous fantasy that kept reminding me of Six of Crows and a little bit like Fourth Wing- with less spice. It was a little more academic than I initially thought it was going to be but it was still enjoyable. It reads like an upper YA/ NA novel.

The tropes would be slow burn, enemies to lovers, morally grey characters , fantasy, and found family.

I loved the character descriptions and really enjoyed the lead character’s magical abilities. The plot twist at the end of the book was perfect- I’m sold for book two.

The banter and relationship between Laryk and Fia felt a bit forced, as though we jumped right in without having worked for it. I’d give it two chilli peppers out of five for spice.

Riftborne started off strong, then it slowed down in the middle, and the ending was exciting - I was sad for it to be over.

There is a playlist, pronunciation guide, and also a glossary at the beginning, it worth the time to look into.

Job well done for this debut for the two authors !

"I'm only trying to reason with you. To offer another perspective, but you can't see past yourself. You're so negative, you can't even imagine your life taking a turn for the better!"

It's rare to find such a pessimistic chatacter as the protagonist, and perhaps this is the reason why I didn't mind so much the first-person narration. In fact, it's also why I found myself loving Fia as a character. However, I did not enjoy the enemies to lovers with Laryk, mostly because I did not like him...
Despite that, I was amazed by the final plot twist and now I can't wait for the next book!
The wait is going to be really tough, especially since this book hasn't even been released yet 😭

Thank you so much to Netgalley and the publisher for giving me the chance to read this eARC in exchange for an honest opinion.

~ 4.5 ⭐️

Thank you to @netgalley and @onyxpublishing for a free copy of this book in exchange for my honest thoughts.

When I read this description I didn’t hesitate to pick up this book! I absolutely devoured it and this book brought me out of a slump from over consumption of other books! I didn’t want to put it down and when I had to, I was thinking about when I could pick it up next!

Fia was a relatable FMC and she was a fun character to follow along! I loved her snarky behavior and comments when she was irritated. She gave me many moments of laughing out loud and I loved getting to know her. There were a few moments with her character development that progressed just a little too quickly considering what we learn about her past. She gave into the circumstances faster than I thought she would have but it was still enough in line that I can easily overlook it.

Our MMC, the General, was a bit more frustrating to get to know. He comes across as cocky and abrasive throughout most of the book, keeping Fia at an arms length through derogatory comments and then suddenly we are meant to believe that he has loved her this entire time and root for them as a couple? I can get behind it to some degree, but I did wish that we got to see more of his softer sides earlier than we did, even if in small glimpses.

I loved the war college / training scenes and wished we had more of those moments. I would have loved to see our recruits working together a bit more with their respective powers than we got. I know this wasn’t meant to be the MAIN focus of the story but it was a bit more side plot than I wanted. Even the scenes where Fia is privately training her own magic needed to be a bit more developed. I wish those scenes of her magic development were more fleshed out to give us a deeper understanding of how it worked and grew as it did. She kept discovering new ways to use her powers but it felt like it was an afterthought.

I’m excited to read book two and get more world development. I always thought something more was going on with Fia and thee CLIFFHANGER was simultaneously frustrating and exciting!

Thank you to NetGalley and Bree Grenwich and Parker Lennox for an ARC of this book!

I’ll start off by saying that I did enjoy the story and I’ll definitely be picking up book 2 when it’s released. I enjoyed the story and the world building. I did feel like the timing was a little choppy, and some relationships developed pretty quickly without a whole lot of conversations happening. I’m really not sure about the main male interest, the General. He seemed pretty sketchy to me And it felt sort of out of character how Fia trusted him so quickly. I also felt like Fia made a couple decisions that were not in character and it threw me off a little. Overall, I really did enjoy this book.

In a world where a failed rebellion from 20 years ago, lingers under everything, Fia finds herself trying to stay hidden with magic that if found could mean a threat to the life she has so carefully curated. But when she meets the Sidhe General Laryk Ashford and her powers take over, everything changes.

The world building here was easy to follow, which for me is a huge one, since some of the more epic fantasies can make it harder for me to keep track of everything, and having the maps and pronunciation guide in the beginning was fantastic.

What more can you ask for in a romantasy than a good slow burn, a morally grey MMC and still a little spice. Admittedly, I was not a huge fan of the FMC as I found she gave off more of juvenile vibe with some of her actions, but you can’t love them all.

This book would be a great fit for people who like more of an epic fantasy, and for slow burn romantasy lovers.

A big thank you to NetGalley, and Bree Grenwich & Parker Lennox for allowing me to have an ARC for this book in exchange for an honest review.

This is an incredibly written, romantasy about Fia, daughter of Riftdremar rebels, living post failed rebellion as a citizen of its conqueror, the Isle of Sídhe. But sweet and shy Fia holds a deadly secret, which launches her head first into a life within the prestigious Sídhe guard. Along the way, she is tested mentally & physically as well as her willpower, friendship and every truth she has ever thought she knew about life, love and her homeland’s past. First in its series this book will have you sweating for more through the very last pages.

Really fascinating concept overall and loved the world and story. I’m intrigued by the histories and politics and really can’t wait to learn more. I found Fía to be a relatable and fun heroine to follow along with. I did feel that she put away her hesitation faster than we would have guessed based on her first couple decades of life. I would have liked more of a sense of how she developed and honed her focus outside the training sessions. Overall enjoyed and want to know more!

WOW. Thank you so much for allowing me to be apart of the ARC for this book. I absolutely loved it from beginning to end and quite literally could not put it down past the halfway mark (praying my boss didn't see my kindle on my desk all day). I love every character that we have met so far and I was absolutely floored by the ending. The vibes of this book are a magnificent combination of Fourth Wing and Throne of Glass with maybe a tiny hint of Vampire Academy thrown in. I am dying to dive further into this world with the remaining books and look forward to recommending this to anyone that will listen to me rant and rave about it.

Once again, thank you so very much for allowing me to read this incredible story!

Where's the next book? I'm ready!! This was such an excellent read and really hooked me from the beginning. I loved our strong confident main character! I picked this book because it reminded me of the cover of Powerless by Lauren Roberts and I absolutely loved that book. I think fans of that book will love this book as well! The world building wasn't too complex either and I appreciated the maps and pronunciations in the beginning of the book! Nothing worse than struggling to pronounce names, places, etc.

First I want to say thank you to NetGally and Bree Grenwhich and Parker lennox for giving me the opportunity to read this ARC.

All I can say is wow, I couldn't put this book down, The way you just get pulled into it from the start, I needed to know what was happening that instant, I was so intrigued by Fia and what was going on wither her, I loved how she found her self through out the book. Also what she can do with her focus like what ! come on ! that incredible.

When you meet Larynk you have no clue what he is about he is cocky and so proud to be part of the guard. I know Fia hated him with the passion because he stood for everything that she was against, but he saw what she could do and that made him instantly intrigued by her. Now I think that there is more to him then we don't know about him. I have this feeling that he is keeping something from everyone, that he still has more to his story.

This booked was incredible from the tension between the FMC and the MMC, the slow burn to the will they won't they had me on my toes. I loved seeing how close Osta and Fia were and she would do anything for her, nobody could mess with Osta

This book was easy to follow the world building was good to work with, the magic system that the people had was also good to follow. I was never confused once during this book. It did have spice but it was very low Grade which was fine because everything else that was going on in this book made up for it. There is a cliff hanger so I really have to find out what happens next. I can't wait for the next one to come out

This book has everything I love in a fantasy book, pronunciation guide at the beginning, maps! (Thank you to the author for sending me a bigger version) a FMC who we see blossom into a strong confident woman, a mysterious morally grey MMC and plenty of action and magic. This book had me smiling like an idiot in one scene in particular, read it and you’ll know which I mean. And after that ending I cannot wait for the next book. 5 stars

This was an interesting magic system and I loved the FMC. The writing style felt a little literal (a lot of tell, rather than show), but after a while I got into the rhythm and enjoyed it.