This is the second in the series and I can’t help but say how much I loved this book , I devoured it and didn’t want it to end, it’s so faced paced , full of fascinating characters and world building, its enemies to lovers, fae, forced proximity, strong FMC and MMC what more could you want, the next book if you’re me, can’t wait until November for the next

I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.

GOODNESS GRACIOUS!!! Thank you NetGalley, Starwater Press and Briar Boleyn for granting me access to this book in exchange for an honest review.

GAHHH!!!! FABULOUS!! INCREDIBLE!! OBSESSED!! ADDICTED!! MASTERPIECE!! PERFECTION!! I AM STRUGGLING TO FIND ENOUGH WORDS TO ADEQUATELY DESCRIBE THIS PHENOMENAL BOOK!!! BRIAR BOLEYN HAS DONE IT AGAIN!! THIS SERIES JUST GETS BETTER AND BETTER!! HANDS DOWN MY FAVORITE FANTASY ROMANCE READ SO FAR FOR 2023!! 🥀🥀🥀🥀🥀

The story has your enemies to lovers trope and is filled with magic, mythical creatures, romance, sexual tension, witty banter, forced proximity, sizzling chemistry/spice, bonded mates, love, found family, friendships, betrayal, secrets, heartbreak, adventure, action, unexpected twists and turns and a blood right trial! In my review of the first book I mentioned needing a little more fire and spice and boy did the author deliver in this book ❤️‍🔥❤️‍🔥!! I absolutely loved Draven with his touch her and you die vibes! Seriously, the world building, plot and character development is top notch!!

Court of Claws is a dark fantasy romance with a loosely inspired King Arthur retelling with a Fae twist! It picks right up from the cliffhanger in Queen of Roses with Morgan awakening in a bed that's not hers in an unfamiliar court as Draven's paramour. Umm, she definitely did not sign up for all of this but she quickly realizes that she must go along with the games in order to return home to help save Camelot from her treacherous brother, King Arthur.

ALRIGHT, ANOTHER HUGE CLIFFHANGER!! When I finished the epilogue I kept trying to flip for more pages because I just knew there had to be more!! Consider yourself warned! Now I have to wait for book three of the trilogy😩!!

Overall, I was completely captivated from start to finish! If you love ACOTAR and Hunger Games then this is the book for you! I highly recommend this series and it deserves a gazillion stars!! 💫💫💫💫💫

✨Because of the nature of this being a dark and twisted fantasy story please check the trigger warnings before reading this book.✨

Thank you to netgalley and the author and publisher for an ARC.

This is the second in the trilogy. This one was much heavier on romance with som interesting action. I was excited to get more Draven, but he didn’t seem the same character from book to book? Morgan remains whiny and dumb. Unfortunately, I didn’t feel invested in the characters or the relationship for this one.

Has some detailed, raunchy scenes which are good if you just want a quick read with some smut. But after the constant “Morgan is so innocent” thing from the first book, her sudden turn to expert was unbelievable.

I am mad, i am mad at Morgan for not letting Draven talk or explain himself for like 60% of the book; i am mad at Draven for not telling Morgan what he did in order to save her; i am mad Lyrastra lost an arm and at the fact that Sephone is still alive.

I knew we were gonna be set straight about Morgan's actual father, the amount of power she presentes in the first book had to come from two fae, not just one.

I am mad at the fact that Kairos SHOWED Morgan the love he has for her by cutting his horns and a piece of his heart as a "that's everything you'll get and stop asking for her life", and she just forgets like that was nothing. I agree with her that consent is the way, but girl... what will it take for you to see that there is nothing, not one person, more important for him than you???

I am mad at how easily Morgan says it would have been better for her to die like she wasn't reminding Kairos every chance she got that all she was doing was to save Kaye from Arthur.

I am furious at how she still doesn't realize that all she has to do is not only for Kaye or Lancelet or Galahad or Merlin, she needs to stop Arthur for Pendrath, and Lyoness and Reged.

Hawl, Odessa, Crescent and Gawain, Beks and Javer, Lyrastra and Nightcrawl, and of course Rychel were such nice and insightful characters, i enjoyed them so so much and cannot wait to read more of them. Hawl has a special place in my heart.

Morgan made it incredibly painful for me to read, but the rest of them made me want more which is why it took me so damn long to fininsh the book.

Miss Boleyn, can I jump inside in the next book to slap some sense into our dear Morgan PLEASE?

I absolutely loved this book, I’d even say I enjoyed it more than the 1st book in the and I am looking forward to reading the next one. Romance - fast read - and super engaging! Loved it.

3.5⭐️ 2🌶️

Big thanks to Starwater Press, Briar Boleyn and NetGalley for a copy of this book in exchange for my honest opinions!

Okay so after that slight cliffhanger of an ending on the first book… we are thrust back into this fantasy world of a Arthurian legend retelling. The first book did a great job of introducing us to the world-building of the tale, the MCs and gave us some action throughout. It did promise dark romance themes which didn’t seem to have happened in the first so I figured there would be more in this one… more on that later.

Well all that world building we got for Camelot? (I think that’s the name of the land where Morgan was from? Honestly I forget) - but all of that… right out the window. New world (continent? land?? I need a map here!) , and ALLL new characters besides Morgan and Draven. So whatever you retained from the first book is irrelevant to this new city. But honestly new city has some wild stuff going on so it’s fine.

What I didn’t expect was for Morgan to be so stupid for the first half. She was was all “You kidnapped me. I hate you.” When this man literally SAVED HER LIFE. Like I get you’re upset but get over it you are alive and can use MAGIC. There’s a whole ACOTAR like trial going on for the title of Emperor of this kingdom and there’s a lot of new characters.

The first half of this book dragged a little but then at the 60% mark it starts heating up and by that time I was HOOKED. There’s romance, a little spice (nothing I would consider crazy or really even that smutty - it’s giving The Love Hypothesis amount of spice), and a whole lot of action. There were parts that had my jaw dropping with things I didn’t expect. So here again I am left with so much information and CRAZY THINGS happening and now I’m ready for the third book!

3.5 stars rounded up to 4 since I was almost over it in the beginning but then it managed to reel me back in. I do wish Morgan wasn’t so stupid at times and there was more of that dark romance vibe that I was promised. But the plot twists that had me gasping more than made up for it.

Loved this, I enjoyed it more than the first book in the series and I can’t wait to read the third book when it comes out. Fast paced, lots of adventure and the slow burn romance got burning! Ended on a cliffhanger so desperate to see what happens next to Morgan and Draven. Five stars ⭐️ ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

"But I see you, Morgan Pendragon. I see you truly for everything you are and everything you will be and I claim you as mine."

3.75/4 stars (unsure on which I'm leaning towards more)

Thank you to Netgalley and the author for sending me an e-ARC of this book!

I liked the concept of this book - Morgan waking up in an entirely new setting, and Draven telling his people that she's his paramour (it's basically just the fake dating trope in a Fae setting) And the concept of the Blood Rise was also really interesting (three brutal trials that they were competing in for the throne). I was absolutely hooked reading this book and it was very fast paced!

The Court of Umbral Flames was such an interesting place to read about, it was so unique! The character development was good in this book, but it annoyed me that Morgan couldn't trust Draven even after everything he'd done to protect her and others, but I suppose if you put yourself in her position, he did lie about things and keep secrets. I found them both quite infuriating in this book to be honest!

I also really liked Lyrastra, and it was nice seeing her and Morgan's friendship blossom. I'm so glad we got more romance between Draven and Morgan in this book, and both of them finally started opening up to each other (until the end...) The ending honestly annoyed me, which is another reason why this wasn't a five star read for me. You get all this character development and then it's just completely erased in the last part of the book. The plot twist was great, but the fact it's torn Draven and Morgan apart just seems unnecessary, and makes it way harder to root for them as a couple when everything is so messy! But the final plot twist had me so shocked - I'm definitely so excited to see how that plays out in the third book!

Overall, I did enjoy this book, but there were a few aspects of it that just took away from my reading experience!

An epic continuation of the first book!

🌹 Dark fae fantasy romance
🌹 Slowburn
🌹 Arthurian lore elements

I loved the Arthurian elements woven throughout the first book and was thrilled to see them continue in the sequel, even if they did perhaps take more of a back seat. This second book is definitely more heavy on the romance (not that I'm complaining) and character development, whereas I felt the first definitely pushed plot more and let the romantic tension build slowly. I think ACOTAR and ACOMAF are a pretty apt comparison in regards to plot/romance building between the two, as a series.

The side characters totally stole the show for me! Morgan and Draven are amazing but I will admit there were time when either Morgan forgot she was a badass or Draven turned into an alpha-hole and kind of lost me - I didn't see any of that in Book 1 and hope it is out of their system by Book 3. Overall a great sequel with a lot of promise for an indie series, but I hope to see Morgan staying true to her badass self in the next one!

I received an arc from Briar Boleyn and am leaving an honest review <3

Thank you to Starwater Press and NetGalley for the free ARC in exchange of an honest review!

Book 1 absolutely left us on a cliffhanger and Court of Claws picked up right where it left off. Lots and lots of world building and info dump, we’ve moved away from some Camelot lore and much more to learn! Draven is the prince of the Siabra people, another line of fae. There is a Blood Rite to see who will secure the throne of the Siabra and we meet a lot of ruthless competitions. This book we see Morgan and Draven’s relationship grow as well.

It ends on a cliffhanger!

Rating: ★★★★☆ (4/5)

Briar Boleyn's 'Court of Claws' takes you to a magical place filled with secrets and exciting characters. Boleyn makes this world feel real with lots of details.

The people in the story are interesting, and it's fun to see the main character change and grow. The story has lots of twists and turns, but sometimes it's a bit tricky to understand everything.

If you like magical adventures, 'Court of Claws' is a great book to read. It's like going on a thrilling journey!

I read and really enjoyed the first book in this series (Queen of Roses), but this one just sort of fell flat for me. This could just be because I read this one immediately after the first, I'm not sure. In reading this one, I just found the main character a little immature and that made it difficult to want to continue reading. Definitely inspired by ACOTAR, but just quite executed as well. Not my cup of tea, but I do think there's an audience of readers who will really like this dark fantasy.

I had a hard time getting into this - I love Briar Boleyn and think she's an amazing writer and storyteller but it wasn't for meeee.

#CourtofClaws I love this book! This is the second in the trilogy and goodness does it have the adventure! Morgan awakes in Draven’s bed with her last memories being of Lancelet being attacked. Now Morgan is thrown into the Court of Claws as Draven’s paramour. There is political intrigue, a possible romance (or is it all fake?) with Draven, a set of trials, and all this is happening while Camelot is in shambles. The plot twists in this one are great but be warned the ending will leave you ready to dive straight into book three with a cliffhanger and a plot twist.

I am SO glad I had Court of Claws already in my hands when I started reading Queen of Roses, just so I could delay the impatience just a little bit longer.
ICYMI, The Blood of a Fae is a dark fantasy Arthurian retelling, centered around the trials and tribulations of Morgan Pendragon, and her quest to unseat her brother, King Arthur, from the throne.

“I see you truly for everything you are and everything you will be and I claim you as mine.”

CoC kicks off right after the cliffhanger left behind in Queen of roses, and focuses even more on the tension and evolving relationship between Morgan and Draven. A major theme throughout this one was the miscommunication trope, secrets, and lies by omission, it killed me - why can't they just TALK (':
Thanfully, some of my favourite themes and tropes were still present throughout;

🗡️ Deadly Trials
💗 Spice
🗡️ Enemies to Lovers
💗 One bed trope (tents count too)
🗡️ Forced Proximity
💗 Touch her and die
🗡️ Found Family
💗 Fake relationship
🗡️ Enemies to Lovers

Book two dives deeper into Dravens story, spends less time world building - without sacrificing the momentum in book one, and features a hell of a lot more action. Court of Claws gives us more about Morgans past, her heritage, and the potential for her rule, while discovering the limits of her power.

I can't wait to see where this story goes, and I'm counting down the days until I can get my hands on book three. Thank you Briar and NetGalley for the ARC!

“Morgan Pendragon is far from insignificant. She's a force of destiny and you would do well not to trifle with her or ever let her name cross your lips again.”

I really enjoyed this book. Morgan must watch as Draven and his fellow competitors fight to the death in three deadly trials, to ultimately win the throne.
I still find Morgan to be terribly frustrating, as she is too stubborn and unforgiving towards Draven. There’s lots of witty banter, plenty of spice, and some interesting plot twists! Overall, I’m giving it 4.5/5 stars, I can’t wait until October to read book 3!

Good gracious.

I'm not exaggerating when I say I would lay myself at the feet of many of the characters in this book.

I'm going to try to be as spoiler free as possible in this review, but no doubt I'll spoil significant plot points from the first book. So uh. You've been warned?

Morgan is the heroine to beat for other fantasy authors. In this book, she goes through that classic fantasy book trope where she's mad and petulant at the MMC (Draven) for doing something that saved her life. But man is her reasoning SOUND! Some of these fantasy heroines are like "boo hoo a big strong handsome man saved me" and Morgan is like "A big strong handsome saved me but is also lying to me about everything and I deserve better" and H*LL YEAH YOU DO!!

This book is less infuriating than the first book but not in a bad way. It is a very different piece of work than the first. It did not suffer from second book syndrome where pieces of it just drag as things are transitional. Briar Boleyn got around that by making this book a story in and over itself - not just a journey to the finale.

This book is everything I want fantasy romance to be. It is accessible, interesting, SMOULDERINGLY SEXY, and great fun.

A couple of bullet points:

- I would DIE for Beks.
- The LGBTQ+ representation is on point for this book again. Not stereotypical, not forced, just people living their happy lives. Once again I am sad that we have to read fantasy books to get such normalcy.
- Nightclaw and the Bearkin are easily the best animal sidekicks in the world.

Pick up this book if you like
-True enemies to lovers
-Spice that is there for the plot not just to be spicy (its GREAT spice, but it furthers the plot. It's not gratuitous)
-Very cool worldbuilding of different fae races
-Gauntlets/magical competitions
-Morally gray gray gray characters
-A heroine that is really fed up with the patriarchy
-A unique magic system that is very personalized to the user


Five star read, cannot WAIT for the third book in this series. I inhaled this book.



PS - that epilogue? holy. wow. Arthur really is the most evil villain ever.

As promised, I added a star for book 2.

The story picks up right where it left off. The Vesper situation worked itself out.

Dragon and Morgan are navigating their way through the Blood Rise all while falling more and more for each other. Secrets lay between themes and it provides a provocative tension. Morgan’s character is much more developed in this book and Draven is once again central to her thoughts.

My favorite new character is Lyrastra. She is a perfect villain turns friend. She is witty and fierce and somewhat terrifying.

The story progresses nicely but not too fast.

With that being said, however, some parts do feel rushed, particularly the Blood Rise itself. During the scenes of the blood rise, it was exciting and stressful. However, after each round, I found there wasn’t a lot of discussion about it, and it seems like somethings so central to the book would be discussed more thoroughly. I also felt very confused once again at the end. Without giving anything away I will say I do not understand why Morgan is so angry at the end. It made no sense to me. I sure by book three it will all make sense. However, I am sufficiently hanging from this cliff that was provided and I MUST have the next book. I will recommend this book.

"Get the fuck away from my wife"👹

I didn't enjoy it as much at the previous one but it was still a great ride. I'm always up for a competition with the character's life at sake 🙏

Their relationship/dynamic felt off for a while, I struggled to really get in the vibe what with all the pretending going on (I won't go into much details to not spoil). Some dialogue lines felt very unnatural, I just couldn't imagine someone saying those words in that way if they were in the same state of mind.

Still, Draven was still a real cutie, less bad boy now that we got more information on his past. Meanwhile Morgan was extra passive for most of the book, up until like 85% I was just waiting for her to actually do something.

I was very confused by the rooms, buildings, arena etc I couldn't understand where the characters were, how the rooms were set up etc. Also a certain point of the magic/power system, again I can't get into much details but one character was able to control their body very conveniently for the plot.

We get a tragic death but we can't even get into the sadness of it all we don't have time to grieve before they argue about their relationship, again. I thought I was gonna cry but nope straight back to the drama.

I was so mad with Morgan at the end, she behaved very unrationally. unreasonable girlie with unreasonable feelings and unreasonable reactions.

finally, the word "cantankerous" was very much a novelty and it did make me laugh.



[I received an ARC copy of this book and am giving this review freely]

Draven made a huge sacrifice by bringing Morgan to his homeland for safety and healing. He returned to the land that he was exiled from for committing a crime of passion. Although he has no regrets of the events that took place that night.

Morgan doesn’t know who Draven truly is. She begins to learning information about his homeland, and she realizes that there is more to the world than she was originally told. The secrets start to come to the light and Morgan might not be ready to face her past. But in order to save her kingdom she will have to.

This is book two in the series. Briar provided us with a new court, characters and answers to questions from the previous book. We got to know Draven in a deeper level in this book and his back story was heartbreaking.

The crumbs we were given about Morgan’s parents and her abilities had me itching to know more! I have my suspicious about her real identity, but I’ll keep those to myself for now.