Book 1 was a little slow for me but book 2 made up for all of that! This was a phenomenal read. It had a great slow burn romance with tons of court politics, adventure, and battles. There were quite a few twists and turns and it kept you interested with something new on almost every page.

My only complaint was that Rychel's events at the end seemed like weird timing. The book felt complete and then as if Rychel was tacked on there as an after thought. The fight scene would have been much better moving to the next book or earlier on then at this point. It just felt off. I skimmed through most of this because it just didn't read correctly where it was placed. It was a great idea but the timing kind of ruined that scene.

2.5 ⭐️ Thank you NetGalley and Starwater Press for the ARC.

Honestly I really wanted to like this book. I was enjoying the book up until the last 1/4. There is a lot of inspiration taken from other books in the genre. And while enjoyable at times, the book just didn’t do it as well as others I have read.

But the FMC just became insufferable. The MMC throughout the book shows her time and time again how he does care for her and all she can do is be angry and accuse him of lying. There is a real maturity missing from the FMC which made this book hard to read. The miscommunication between the two MCs is WAY too overdone. It was okay throughout most of the book but the end really solidified my low rating. I don’t think I’m going to pick up the third book in this series.

Thank you again to NetGalley, Briar Boleyn, and Starwater Press for sending me this arc for free in exchange for an honest review! Please check trigger warnings before you read!

Court of Claws picks up where Queen of Roses left off. I loved this book a little more than the first one! This book was a slow burn book, I don’t usually like slow burns but this was worth it. There was more romance, drama, and action as you read more. This book did keep me on the edge of my seat because of so many twists and turns.

The only thing that made me a little upset was that there was so much miscommunication and secrets between Kairos and Morgan’s relationship, but after reading why I understood a lot better.

Also it ended on a freaking cliffhanger! Definitely recommend and a must read for fantasy lovers.

This was ACOTAR meets hunger games. Super slow burn. If I was Morgan, I’d definitely have dove right in to Draven. Probably back in book one to be honest 😂

I loved the competition and watching their relationship grow. There was a few times when Morgan got on my nerves and I just wanted to scream at her to get over it.

I’m excited to see where the story goes so bring on the next book!

So I totally loved book one in this series, book two was even better!

More action, drama, intrigue and romance as we see the story continue. And so many amazing contrasting moments.

Ones that melted my heart. Those that had my heart in my mouth in suspense. Some that had me glad I wasnt reading this in public. Some that had me cursing NO!!

I adore Draven. Taking morally grey to a WHOLE new level for sure. And seeing the growth of Morgan as a character was unreal in this book. She has definitely escalated to one of my favourite FMCs in this book.

While book one was awesome and slower burn, this was hot and action packed on so many levels.

Brilliant! Loved how the author created such a fantastical world on multiple dimensions and how she escalated the tempo of EVERYTHING in this book.

The cliffhanger at the end will definitely need you wanting more. This is definitely a series must read for all fantasy fans.

Once again thank you Briar Boleyn for giving me the opportunity to fall in love with Draven -- i mean for letting me review this book lol. Thank you Netgally as well!

This book is the second of a sequel and can I just saw... THIS BOOK was way better than the first one. You already know the characters and can we say how I love so much Morgan and Draven they are so fierce and stubborn and kind, it's all I want in MCs.

Court of Claws gives you suspense, laughter and spice --- a lot of steamy scenes that I adored. I devoured it in a day and I can't wait for the third book!!! If you enjoy the world full of different fae races trust me this is a great book to pick up.

Enemies to lovers, fae magic, fake dating-ish, spice & more!!!

highly recommendddd!!!!!

Thank You to NetGalley and Briar Boleyn for the opportunity to review this ARC in exchange for my honest review.

Tropes
❤️‍🔥Slow/Medium Burn
❤️‍🔥Morally Grey FMC & MMC
❤️‍🔥Court/ Political Intrigue
❤️‍🔥Touch her and die
❤️‍🔥Forced Proximity
❤️‍🔥One Bed
❤️‍🔥Fated
❤️‍🔥Learning to use magic
🌶🌶🌶

In book two, Morgan, wake to find herself is a strange new dangerous court and her only protection is a man she despises. She discovers that she is stuck one a whole other continent with no means of escape while the kindgom she loves is being torn to shreds by her brother. As time rolls on Morgan learns more about her mothers family history, what her magic is capable of, and the love of a loyal mystical creature.

The relationship between Kairos and Morgan drove me insane 75% with all the secrets and miscommunication. But I understood after reading why. We learn about Kairos' past and what drives him. We learn he is part of a deadly competition as a way to regain his throne.

We meet so many wonderfully complex and interesting side characters throughout the story. There is so much more going on in the background (off page) that we have yet to understand.

This book kept me on my toes they entire time. Theres so many twists and turns you dont know whats going to happen next. I inhaled this book! Cant wait for book three!

Warning it ends on a cliffhanger!

🧐 my thoughts:
I definitely liked this one better than Queen of Roses, only for the fact that we got right into the story without the world building. I understand that we have to build the world first, I personally just don’t enjoy that (even though it is necessary), so I knew that I was going to enjoy this one much more.

👌🏻what i liked:
Right out of the gate you are thrown into a high stakes competition and the story takes off and keeps right on moving. For a slow burn of a book, there was so much else going on that the slow burn wasn’t unbearable. This book was action packed. I didn’t want to put it down! So freaking good! Can’t wait for book 3!

🥰 special thanks
Thank you to NetGalley, Briar Boleyn, and Starwater Press for granting me this e-ARC in exchange for my honest review!

I enjoyed Queen of Roses, but I liked this book even more! I loved the world building and the mythical creatures. I loved the unique fae features of each individual character, it is very common to always have Fae described as beautiful, human like fae, I loved seeing the varying features.

Morgan is still completely infuriating with very little character development. She just seems very young - younger than she is meant to be. Her constantly pushing back at Draven for absolutely NOTHING got very tedious.

There are so many twists and unexpected turns you will be hanging on to every word, enemies to lovers is my favourite trope so this series was always going to be right up my street and the spice was a definite bonus!!!

I can't wait to read the next one in the series,

This book was so much better than the first one! The story moved more quickly and was so much more engaging and exciting. Some sections were still far more detailed than they needed to be and there were a few times when specific phrases were overused too close together. I found the end disappointing and Morgan’s character in general. She has leaned too far into stubbornness to the point of not being likable. I am also a bit frustrated at how cryptic everything seems. It would have been nice to have a bit more concrete information about Morgan’s true background, as I think it would keep me feeling a bit more invested. Overall, this book was much better. Looking forward to reading book 3!

Court of Claws picks up in time where Queen of Roses left off. Draven saved Morgan with the help of Oldena, who isn’t actually a child.

This book was a wild roller coaster ride with shocking revelations until the very end. After Draven was revealed to be a Fae with HORNS, I thought the surprises were over but this story had one shock after another and I was there for it!

Briar Boleyn is weaving a world that is complicated and amazing. The dynamic between Morgan and Draven is full of longing and chemistry and is sizzling hot! The competition to become emperor was reminiscent of the Hunger Games in that it was a competition with death as a constant threat with only one victor.

I am obsessed with Morgan and Draven’s story and this world and cannot wait for it to continue! Briar Boleyn has cemented her place on my auto-buy author list, I will read her grocery list at this point.

If you love fantasy romance with intricate worlds, read this series immediately! I cannot recommend it any stronger. It’s amazing.

Thrown back into the action right away, this magical story takes you through so many shocking and heartbreaking twists even I needed a pack of tissues myself.

The world building does not go unnoticed even in this novel as the story continues, with a little more steam, with Morgan and Draven. Their chemistry is perfection… even if there’s a little help from a friend back in the previous book. I was devastated towards the end between Draven’s sisters doing and Bek.

This marvelous, absolutely spellbinding novel was an absolute pleasure to read and kept me stuck in its spell from the very beginning until the cliffhanger of an end. We’re talking barely able to put it down level of enjoyment from me!

If you like your fantasy with just a dash of spice, this series is perfect. If anything, I would love to see more of Draven and Morgan.

My thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for this copy to review.

This book, the second in this series, relocates our main characters from the setting of the previous book, Morgan's kingdom (and continent) to Draven's, which allows her (and us) to learn more about his history, character and motivations. The additional cast of characters I enjoyed for the most part, especially the developing, albeit somewhat grudging, respect between Morgan and Lyrastra and the charming Beks.

The world building continues to be a strong point of the author's writing, clearly revealing the court of the Siabra, the range of characters here and the complicated politics and history. The writing is clear and immersive and I didn't note any grammar, spelling or formatting issues.

The relationship between Morgan and Draven develops, with her needing to pose as his mistress to the wider court - which goes better at some times than others. However, I did grow somewhat frustrated by some of the inconsistencies and motivations of the characters - at times, Morgan seemed very practical, at others immature. Whilst I also enjoyed the development of Draven's character, the number of times he, or others, withheld information from Morgan or manipulated her grew rather frustrating - particularly on the last occasion, which I felt rather cheated Morgan of her success, so I was actually quite pleased to see her draw a boundary here.

I will look forward to the next book, when the two worlds and Morgan's new knowledge and abilities will collide.

I'll be honest here. I almost quit this book so many times. The first half was so tedious and Morgan was such an annoying character. She was almost intolerable with the way she acted and everything she said. I absolutely hated her and never wanted to pick the book back up. I knew I was getting an ARC from a different author on a specific date so I figured I'd read this one until then and if I wasn't finished I didn't care. Fortunately, things did get better. This was broken up into two parts, pretty much 50/50, and the second was so much better because Morgan wasn't such an arrogant, petulant, child. Plus, things finally started happening.

I also want to point out three things specifically. First. This author over uses the word(s) "fuck(ing)" and it is hardly ever used when it even makes sense. Now, I swear a lot. But here it was always thrown into a sentence and I had no idea why most of the time. It didn't enhance anything and in fact, made things more jarring. It was absolutely unnecessary in this book. Second. For the love of my time and sanity, please stop describing every single place, person, and piece of clothing in such detail. I get that you need a certain amount to build the environment and paint a picture of the character. But oh my gawd is this overkill. I just did not care about every single little thing. Third. The author's pandering in this book was way worse than the first one. I don't care if you have gay couples in your book, but almost every single couple aside from our main one here is gay. If that's your thing, more power to you, but it's not mine. Then there's the constant almost preaching about this bearkin in the castle and how he/she/they/it should be accepted by all no matter what. I read books to be entertained. Not to be preached to and have all this PC crap being shoved down my throat.

I went into this relatively excited after how the last one ended. And that was a mistake. From the moment Morgan wakes up she acted like a spoiled brat and deliberately went against what Kairos asked of her when she didn't get her way. To be fair, Kairos really did a bad job of explaining anything to her, but she really could have been way more mature about things. Basically, Kairos has brought her back to his fae kingdom, where he's a prince no less, because he couldn't think of anywhere else to take her to help her heal. Plus, you know, he bound them together at the end of the last book. In order to protect her, Kairos claims her as his paramour. Which is akin to a concubine I guess? It's the only way he knew to keep her safe, but of course she just absolutely freaks out about it and for this whole half of the book she hates him and fights him at every turn. And she also never listens, always jumping to conclusions, which just made me constantly want to smack her in her stupid face.

Like I already mentioned, things do get much better the second half. Apparently sex with Kairos has managed to change how Morgan feels about many things. She finds herself falling for him again and easily playing the part of paramour. She has finally decided to learn how to control her fae power because now she's terrified of hurting someone with it on accident. And she is determined to see Kairos succeed at his goal of winning the crown of his people despite the whole thing being rigged. For Kairos to become king he must compete in three trials and win. But he's not the only one competing. And each trial gets harder and harder. And more brutal. Kairos is willing to suffer thru it all though because he wants to change things. We learn quite a bit about his past and what he too has suffered thru. He wants to put an end to his father's horrible legacy and make his kingdom better.

Really, the last half of the book was pretty great. And then we got the end. Goddamn Morgan jumping to conclusions again and refusing to listen to anything Kairos says. And then literally jumping thru a portal with absolutely no idea what she's doing or having any sort of plan. That ending really ticked me off. Especially considering how well things were going by that point. I'm on the fence about reading the next book. I'd be lying if I said I didn't want to see these two get back together. But Morgan's stupidity is just so incredibly annoying.

Court of Claws- 3.5⭐️ 3🌶️

Betrayal
Fake relationship
Morally grey MMC
He Falls First
One bed
Surprise twist
Kingdom politics
Found family
Trials
War
Animal familiars
Miscommunication
🏳️‍🌈 Side Character Rep

This story begins right where the first left off. I really like how this reimagined Camelot is pulling more and more from the original. Links are being revealed and coming together. All of the little pieces of the original story finding their way into this one, just with a spin. It’s refreshing and highlights taking a misogynistic tale and restructuring it to not be so archaic.

The writing is a little stilted, it felt like the word “F*ck” was added in excessively (mostly by one character) to make things edgier… sometimes it was in juxtaposition to the story creating a jarring harshness of language in situations where you would expect more finesse. And I’m not talking about the bedroom scenes… those were good!

Anyway, it wasn’t off putting enough that I didn’t enjoy the book. Far more than the first, mainly because of the non-stop action and fast pace plot.

Morgan is an infuriating character. It’s almost like she is completely ignorant of court politics or intrigue. (Reminder, she was raised as a princess!) She only sees things in black and white. She is full of flaws; immature, annoyingly defiant for terrible reasons, stubborn, wishy-washy as hell, and seemingly purposefully and idiotically obtuse. Her character arc isn’t evident yet… hopefully she will grow in the next book… and says “f*ck” in more appropriate instances, instead of throwing it around because her character needs to be more daring and grown up… She just sounds like a middle schooler on a playground trying to show how badass she is by saying the worst curse word she can think of.

Draven seems to be an enigma with his loyalty and willingness to do what has to be done. Talk about the definition of “Morally Grey”. A softie with a hard exterior. Exactly what a morally grey man should be. He has killed, been exiled, caught for Morgan and himself, sacrificed himself and his kingdom. I think he is well written… as well written as any other fantasy romance MMC. They all have flaws.

The exmoors are so cool! I’m a sucker for animal familiars. If something happens to them I’ll riot.

The side characters are endearing. I’m undecided if I can get past Morgan’s poor character arc enough to read on… if I do, it’s only for Draven and the exmoors.

Thank you NetGalley and Starwater Press for the advanced reader copy of the book in exchange for an honest review.

The second book of Briar Boleyn's Blood of a Fae series picks up right where the first left off and follows Morgan and Draven into Draven's homeland. I enjoyed getting to know Draven's story more and learning more about the fae in his realm. Morgan, however, needs to get over herself. I spent most of the time just wanting to shake her into looking at the bigger picture and quit acting like a petulant child. I'm still looking forward to reading the next book and seeing where all of the revelations that happened in this book take us.

I won't have a chance to finish this before it archives BUT I've purchased the book so I can finish it because I love the series so far! I appreciate the opportunity to read this AND Court of Roses! I love them both! (And I will review on GR when I finish!)

I enjoyed this book and can't wait to find out what happens in the next one. The plot and story definitely have me hooked and this book's pace was faster than the first book, which I liked. I also liked that the FMC didn't have to participate (well, at first) in the trial. It was a refreshing take on the trial trope.

The relationship between the main characters is a bit hard to connect to. I really want Draven and Morgan to be together and I'm loving the enemies/rivals to lovers. In the beginning she was still not liking him and hating that he "kidnapped" her and kept her in his suite. She was constantly mad at him and then all of a sudden spicy things were happening. I think it would have made it better if it was more of a "hate fuck' - but it wasn't. The previous chapter she was all hating him and frustrated he won't tell her anything then POOF they are having sex and she's not hating him anymore.

There were also mentions of modern things and phrases which took me out of the story a bit. In my copy there were errors with names - in one chapter (apologies I forgot to write it down) Avriel is spelled as Azriel instead. Then at the end of chapter 21 Draven calls Morgan 'Breena.'

“Here's to the fae and mortals alike, united by starlit dreams that span the skies.”

This book is a continuation of Queen of Roses. It follows Morgan Pendragon after she is saved by Draven. Now in Draven’s homeland, more secrets come to light and Morgan must decide who she trusts. Not only that, Morgan must figure out who she truly is.

One thing I enjoyed about this book was the storyline of the trials. I found it to be gripping and I couldn’t wait to find what happened next. I also greatly enjoyed many of the characters we were introduced to in this book. Beks quickly became a character I loved and the character development of Lyrastra I found to be very well done. Similar to the previous book I liked was the different creatures and animals in the books and loved the introduction to Nightclaw. One final thing I greatly enjoyed was the inclusivity of this book, similar to the first one it had a large range of diverse characters, which I liked.

One thing I disliked about this book was the miscommunication. This is quite possibly my least favourite trope overall, and this book was full of it. It got very annoying, very quickly and I could really do without it. Another thing I disliked was the ending. I was extremely shocked when Beks died and to be honest it upset me quite a bit. I also didn’t quite understand the ending of the book. It felt a little odd for the storyline to jump from Morgan, to Lancelet who we were continually told was dead only to find her alive and with a character we had recently be introduced to with little explanation as to how or why.

Overall I thought this book was ok and initially thought I’d prefer it to the first book, however I wasn’t fond of the ending so I think I probably enjoyed the first book slightly more. I would recommend this to anyone who enjoys fairytale retellings, though I would definitely warn them to check the TW list first as this book isn’t for the faint of heart.

Briar does it again. If Queen of Roses sucked me in, this one devoured my soul. Morgan is exponentially more tolerable in this book and I found myself wanting to be her at some points. "Good girl" does it for all of us smut lovers and this one was no different. Draven and Morgan together are a forced to be reckoned with! Can't wait for book 3!