Fantasy, Romance, Fae, Magic? I am here for it. It is hard to write a unique book in the romantasy genre because all of the plot devices can be pretty generic. I felt that Queen of Roses left me feeling satisfied that I read more of a unique take on this genre. This is the first book I've read with ties to Camelot/King Arthur and it worked well with the plot. Boleyn was successful at stringing the reader along where breadcrumbs of information was left as the action and suspense wore on.

This is definitely a slow burn in the sense that there is an underlying sense of desire between two characters but it pretty much remains in the enemies category for the entire book. My suspension is that the relationship will develop further in the second book (which I will be reading next!).

Check the trigger warnings. I was hesitant because *child death* is mentioned as a TW and I am particularly sensitive to that topic, however, it wasn't graphic or what I expected and I was able to handle it just fine. There is depiction of animal death through out though.

A pronunciation guide would be helpful because I am inept at pronouncing anything that isn't phonetic.

Thank you to Briar Boleyn,Starwater Press and Netgalley for this ARC. This is my honest opinion

Welcome to a world combining fae and the legends of King Arthur.( I love it ! )

We follow the story of morgan, fi fae-mi human who is a princess who finds herself in search of a precious weapon under the orders of her brother king arthur.

I liked the sympathetic, altruistic and protective side of morgan. Despite a childhood full of trauma, she was able to develop and learn to defend her values.

I didn't like the "love triangle" in the story, if you can call it that. I didn't understand the sudden arrival of a character and her interest in the story, but that's my opinion and didn't stop me from being invested in the story.
I enjoyed the twisty ending and couldn't wait to find out what happens next in Volume 2.

When I read this book genre is dark fantasy, I expect something that really dark and what people called toxic nowdays. But it wasn’t that dark for me compared to dark fantasy books that I’ve read before but it still have some trigger warnings. Please look up to the trigger warnings before you read this book, such domestic abused, death, child death, gore.

This book isn’t bad but also it isn’t the best dark fantasy book as well. It’s mid and I am still going to recommend it to anyone who want to read dark fantasy book as a beginner. This might be a good start for you so you won’t be shocked if you read something like this later.

Queen of Roses is a book I would say is inspired by the legends of Camelot and King Arthur, rather than a direct retelling. Its main protagonist is Morgan, Arthur's half-sister, and I immediately found her an interesting character to follow. The action in this book moved at a good pace and the world building was nicely handled. The story held my attention throughout and I was keen to move straight on to book two once this one ended. The romantic content begins lightly but then builds, and it looks like it will continue to get even spicier as we advance through the series. I am giving this first book four stars. It was an enjoyable fantasy romance that left me excited to find out what will happen next.

I received this book as an eBook ARC via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

I had forgotten the blurb of this book when I started reading, but actually it just made me really excited when I started noticing the little Arthurian subtleties and name references!

I really enjoyed this book, I started reading while I was in a bit of a book-hangover from a previous story and had struggled to get interested in anything I was reading. This story really gripped me and kept me hooked, wanting to find out what was going on. The secrets and stories are revealed gradually in a way that keeps your attention, wanting to find out more about what is going on, without dumping all the info on you at once.

I've always loved the legend of King Arthur, but this book gives a completely unique spin on it, and I loved it. I am a little mad that Arthur is a bit of a bad guy, but I have my theories about him that may or may not explain why he's such a d!ck...

I also loved the LGBT representation in the story, I identify as a cis-straight woman, but I appreciated the way the topic was approached in the story. There are references to homophobia in this book, but I think the way it is used to highlight the support and understanding from some characters, and to discredit others is a powerful tool.

I will definitely be picking up the rest of the series, and I can't wait to see what happens!

Wow! I haven't read such an interesting take on the Arthurian legend maybe ever. This books has so many peaks and valleys, as well as a few surprises I wasn't ready for (and that's saying something).

I enjoyed the main character Morgan; although, she did come off as naive and annoying at times. Her character development was also frustrating for me. Throughout the story I felt she'd made significant strides forward with her maturity, and then in the next chapter she was back to the whiny young woman bemoaning her situation.

I loved Draven. He is definitely going on the book boyfriend list. I can see such potential for his character development as well (including letting us in on his secrets, of which there appear to be many).

Overall, I would definitely recommend this book to any fantasy lover.

I received a free copy of this book for my honest review.

I wrote this, and it will post on 7/31/2023 on www.amrauthor.com. I will have a post about my review linking back to my site on my Goodreads, The Story Graph, Instagram, Pinterest, and Facebook accounts as well. On All but Pinterest I am @amrauthor and on Pinterest, I am @theamrauthor.

Queen of Roses by Briar Boleyn

Rating: 4 stars
Adult - Spice: slow burn
Genre: Fantasy, Fantasy Romance, Mythology, Romance
Tags: Arthurian, Fae, Morgan La Fae, Magic, Retelling, Abuse, Book Review
Blood of a Fae Book 1

This is the first book in the Blood of a Fae series. It is a retelling of King Arthur, but from Morgan’s perspective. There is also the twist that they have the same father, not the same mother. Morgan is a half fae, and wants to help her people and live a quiet life within the temple. Arthur has other plans and sends her off to find the legendary sword Excalibur. It is dangerous, but Morgan has no choice.

I got this book from the author. The story differs from the Arthurian retelling I have read in the past. It isn’t the first from Morgan’s perspective, but the changes that are in this one make for a very different characterization. It makes for a rich tale and keeps you wondering where it the story is going. I love that there has been a gender change of Lancelot. I like reading this book and can’t wait to read Court of Claws.

Tell me if this has helped in your choice to add this book to your TBR.

To see what I am reading next, you can find me on Goodreads or on The Story Graph. You can also follow me on Instagram, Pinterest, or Facebook.

Until next time, enjoy what you're reading.

Pages: 375
Read: Digital
From: Author, is also available on Kindle Unlimited

4/5 ⭐

I had absolutely no idea what this book was about when I started it. The first bit of the book was a bit slow, a lot of world building and background history of the FMC. But in the end I couldn't put it down and had to finish it asap.

At first I was really annoyed witht the FMC, she is pretending to be a badass woman, learning how to fight, sneak out at night to help people, but still when confronted with battles of her own she just doesn't fight back and plays the victim.

But then I got sucked into the story, the drama, the fights, the fastpaced plot. Yes, some of it might be predictable if you read a lot of fantasy books, but that didn't stop me from liking this book a lot.
The plot of the book in the beginning feels like a lot of info dumping, but it gets better. I like the banter, the fight scenes, the betrayel, the revenge and the plottwists which kept the book very entertaining.

For me there wasn't really a lot of romance, maybe you can describe it as a snailpaced slowburn, so if you are looking for that I don't suggest this book.

I did end on a cliffhanger, but one I am really excited about as I have part 2 already so I can directly continue with the story 😄

*I received a reader's copy by the publisher via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.*

Morgan pendragon, the once destined queen of Camelot, is having a very rough go of things. After being removed from the line of succession and being promised to the temple upon her next birthday, her brother Arthur, now king of Camelot, has tasked her with a quest to retrieve the fabled sword Excalibur. The journey is fraught with peril and political intrigue - and unexpected attraction.

I really enjoyed this. It’s such a fun and fresh take on Arthurian legend. Yes there are a lot of names that you’ll recognize but all the actual characteristics have been changed from the original legend. I like how Boleyn was totally unafraid to make these super classic characters villains or gay and totally change up their background for the purpose of this story. I also really appreciate that she wasn’t afraid to give us some gut punches.

Thank you to NetGalley for an advanced copy of this book in exchange for my honest opinions.

Wow this book had me hooked from the prologue! From about 10-40% it was very much world building and character building, which is to be expected in a Fantasy book! But oh my goodness once it picked up I couldn’t put it down!

This book felt like Throne of Glass meets Arthurian Legend and I couldn’t get enough!!

The FMC Morgan is the older sister of King Arthur! Basically Arthur is a jerk, Lancelet is Morgan’s best friend and a GIRL, Galahad is a monk and Merlin is a high priestess!

I absolutely loved the way Boleyn has written these characters and their different personalities and I cannot wait to start the second one.

Everyone needs to pick this book up it’s absolutely amazing!

5/5 stars and will be recommending this book to everyone!!

First, thanks to Netgalley, Briar Boleyn, and Starwater Press for the ARC!

I. Loved. This. Book.

Morgan Pendragon is a naive part-fae princess with complicated family dynamics and a longing for adventure. She is sent by her brother (the King) to find the sword Excalibur. As you can guess, the trip does not go entirely smoothly and the book ends on a cliffhanger!

I loved the easy-to-read writing style, and the action scenes were not ones I wanted to skip over - which is my gripe about some fantasy books. I could have used a lot more spice, but she said it's going to get spicier with each book. Off to order the next!

This book started out slow for me then piqued my interest the further we got! This is a fae enhanced retelling of Camelot and Excalibur. Morgan is the eldest of 3 and half fae, skipped over for the crown and destined to go live in a temple instead. Her younger brother, Arthur, is a cruel brother and king, and sends her on a quest to find a weapon with 2 men to guide her.

I’m very excited for the next in the series as this ended on a cliffhanger!

The Queen of Roses- A Authorian retelling with a fae twist! In the beginning it was slow it does not pull you in right away but when it does it grips you! About 1/3 of the way the action, the atmospheric intrigue and the slow burn of Draven and Morgan. This had gore, revenge and twists. The ending was mind blowing and unexpected. You suspect that theres more to Draven, but not this. And then the cliff hanger! I downloaded the next book ASAP!

✨ Morally grey characters
✨ Forced proximity
✨ Touch her and .. 🔪
✨ Camelot retelling
✨ Slow Burn 🔥
✨ Action-packed

I loved this book so much. A kind of retelling of the story of the tales of King Arthur and Camelot. Told through the eyes of his sister Morgan.

Lots of familiar names but in this version Merlin is a high priestess, lancelot is lancelet lesbian soldier and Arthur is an evil tyrannical king. Throw in some waring factions of Fae and this is shaping up to be a brilliant book series.

I have already downloaded the next book in the Blood Of Fae series, Court of Claws and can't wait to start it.

🌹Queen of Roses🌹

Need something to get your claws into?

What about a
DARK
FANTASY
ROMANCE

This is the first book in the Blood of Fae series by Briar Boleyn … also known as USAs bestselling author Fenna Edgewood.

First things first, I loved it!
I tried to go to bed at a reasonable hour and this book did not let me, it’s claws had sunken into my mind and play court political warfare. It had me plotting where I thought deception and betrayal would arise and how it’d come to light.

This is such a unique dark fantasy romance, it is not your typical dark fae book but one inspired / a retelling of King Arthur.

This book is filled with morally grey and dam right morally black characters. The court machinations and betrayals are unexpected and heartbreaking. Don’t even get me started on that weasel of a man Florian. (I need to vent about that man and maybe some other characters 👀)


Author Briar Boleyn has written a dark adventurous book that holds innocence and depravity within its tight claw, its jaw achingly blood thirsty whilst showing hope of a better life, world. One where all can be free to express themselves and live in harmony.

This book ends on a heart stopping end that will leave you desperate for more! I’ve so many questions and the tension 😍

⭐️4
🌶️2 1/2
💧3


🖤Tropes 🖤
🌹Who did this to you?
🌹Forced Proximity
🌹One Horse/bed
🌹Grumpy sunshine
🌹fae
🌹Slow burn
🌹King Arthur retelling
🌹Steamy

If you loved:
🗡️Cruel Prince
🗡️The Plated Prisoner series
🗡️From Blood and Ash
🗡️Throne of Glass series
You’ll LOVE this!

Thank you Briar Boleyn, publishers and NetGalley for the opportunity to read this. ❤️

Well, this is not an easy book to put down! This is a really refreshing twist on the Arthurian legend, only packed with slow burn romance, blurry round the edges morally grey characters and plenty of cool Fae.

The story centres around Morgan, older sister to Arthur, the king of Camelot who has been shoved out of the line of succession due to her heritage. Life at court is tough for her, despite her close friends Lancelet (who is a fantastic character, extremely well written) and Galahad, but life gets more difficult when Arthur sends her away to look for a sword, accompanied by two fairly unsettling guards.
I loved the story and the characters. Morgan's character development is great but hoping she can step up a little bit more in the next books. The slow burn romance is done really well, bit of misdirection making it even better!

In the next books I'd like to hear more about the histories and the events which have been referenced up until now. There is a drip feed of information all the way through, courtesy of some partially answered questions, and it really makes me want to know more!

Not only is this book great in itself, I think it's set up the rest of the series amazingly well.

I'd say this is probably more NA given the spice level, and the fact they apparently step up the spice as the series goes on. Check trigger warnings too.

4.5 ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️💫
Thank you Briar Boleyn and Netgalley for this Arc! I loved this book. I’ve been in a reading slump lately because I haven’t found any books to truly hold my attention. This book has a LOT going on.

This is a sort of retelling of Camelot, Morgan Pendragon is sent on a journey to fetch Excalibur for her half brother, the king, Arthur. There are a few twists and turns along the way, as well as mythical creatures, love, deception, and magic of course.

What I loved:

Exmoors! Battle cats!

The Fae twist

Draven! He’s dreamy. But WHAT is he?

The world building! I loved how much attention to detail there was. I could imagine every pillar and every landscape. It wasn’t overly wordy, it was just enough!

The plot has a lot going on. I did not expect the ending AT ALL- Vesper! I don’t want to post spoilers so that’s all I will say, except that I was SHOCKED!

What I didn’t love:

Not much for spice but apparently this is a slow burn leading up to book 2.

A LOT of characters up front. It’s hard for my brain to create and remember a lot of characters when introduced all at once. I often have to skim over some of the information at first and then come back to it later when the character is more relevant. But all of the characters here did become important at some point.

Dead zombie children 😂 omg nightmare fuel but I was so surprised by it, that I also kind of loved it.
That cliffhanger! I need the next book NOW!

This book was definitely outside of my comfort zone but I enjoyed the plot . I wish there was more development to the characters , I recommend this to those that enjoy slow burn book with fantasy .

Thank you to Starwater Press and NetGalley for providing an advance copy in exchange for an honest review

Run don't walk to get this book!!! Loved this book!!!!! The characters were great. It was a little slow for me at the beginning only because it is a different read for me then what I am use to but still wanted something different. I really loved everything.

I LOVED this book! The characters, the plot and a clever retelling of Camelot.. I can’t wait to read the next book and lucky for me, I already have it 🙌

5/5 stars — Briar Boleyn is a great writer that keeps you turning the page just waiting to find out the next part in the story!