First of all I want to thank NetGallery for send me on my Kindle this book. The author with this first book introduces an unfair world. A Kingdom led by a tyrant, an unfair king but above all a CRUEL brother. And it is precisely the king's sister the female main character, Morgan, who just wants to please the family and be loved. The brother will decide to send Morgan on a dangerous mission accompanied only by two soldiers including a mysterious new captain of the royal guard, Draven. The vicissitudes that will follow their journey will be a lot between a quick departure and meetings new people. Whit this first book I think the author just wants to show us a glimmer of what will happen in the future. A much more introductory book for me, it makes the reader understand the world in which our characters live, empathize with some and hate others. Surely in the next we will see much more action that here is certainly not lacking in the final. Can't wait to read the next one to see what will happen and that's why I give it 4 stars. It’s well written but I want more Devren and Morgan moments for sure!
Ps: the author give some trigger warning at the beginning! Please read them and decide if you want to start the reading

An interesting retelling of king Arthur that focuses on his sister morgan. It has fae and mythical creatures and some great twists. I'm looking forward to reading the next book. Thanks netgalley and the author for allowing me to read this.

An intriguing combination of politics, action and adventure in this subverted retelling of Morgan(a) and King Arthur of Camelot. I loved that Merlin and Lancelet were women and both strong and powerful. Lancelet’s relationship with Morgan is warm, their friendship evident as they train together in combat and wile away evenings at the inn. Morgan’s relationship with her brother Arthur is strained and she never knows where she stands with him or how he will react. He’s a volatile king ruling with fear, urged on by his closest advisor. It’s difficult to imagine how awful Morgan’s situation in the castle is, especially as part fae, with few allies. It’s definitely important to read the trigger warnings before diving into this but it’s a great read and I loved diving into this world and all its dangers. Sent on an adventure with two of the least desirable companions she could expect, Morgan doesn’t know who to trust but I loved the dynamic between her and Draven and I definitely had some suspicions about him. There’s a lot to learn with the different creatures and the history of the humans and fae but it wasn’t overwhelming. I look forward to the next book in the series, especially after the unexpected twist at the end, and hope we see some dual narrative which I would have died happy to have in this book, but know it would have given too much away.

I received a free copy of this book. All views are my own.

I really liked this one, Im excited to read the next book. My only dislike was the amount of very complicated names, and that’s minor. The writing was good, the pacing was good, character development was good. The very end became a little bit confusing but I think that is because of it being a series and I assume everything gets explained.

This book was great! So many twists and turns. I found the first 35% a little slow as it was setting Morgan's back story and the dynamic of the Camelot but once Morgan set off on her journey the pace increased.. there was minimal spicy time in the first book but it does pick up in book 2.

I have to say I was rooting for Draven throughout!

This was described as perfect for fans of Holly Black, Jennifer L Armentrout and Sarah J Maas, and I have to agree. This book gave me From Blood and Ash vibes but the MMC did not quite suck me in th way Hawke did.
I enjoyed the play on the king Arthur legend and gender-bending of some of the characters and how the female characters were just as strong as the males.
I did wish there was a bit more chemistry between Morgan and Draven. I felt like it was building up nicely then another character was thrown in the mix and then everything that was building up was gone.. But I do feel the next book will remedy that.
All in all a solid first book and I cannot wait to see what happens next.
I want to say thank you to Netgalley for the book and I am leaving this review voluntarily

Thank you NetGalley and Briar Boleyn for allowing access the ARC in exchange of a honest review.

This book kept me reading until really late! The story is really entertaining and absorbing.

I went from curious, to mad, to excited, back to curious then really mad!
Lots of twists and secrets and surprises that I was not expecting.

Morally gray characters, a somewhat naive main character that needs to figure out what is really going on and some other characters that had me almost screaming.

I have theories and cant wait to start the next chapter of this adventure!

Wow, I was pleasantly surprised by this book! I went into it blind, so I didn't know what to expect. Although the beginning of the book was harder for me to read through, the rest of the book was fast-paced and flowed much better. The storyline and characters are very intriguing, I love the slow-burn romance and the fascinating fantasy world. I'm very curious to see where the story will go from here!

<I>’I was born to be a queen. But even queens could be set aside and forgotten.’ </i>

This was an absolutely brilliant twist on Arthurian Legend- Briar Boleyn has taken some well know myths and flipped them completely on their head; making them her own and incorporating Fae, magic and adventure.

I wouldn’t quite say this has a slow burn romance in it (YET!) but I can certainly see it heading that way. Personally I would have liked a bit more chemistry between the MC’s (and the hints we got of their chemistry and banter was brilliant) but as this is setting up a new fantasy world I’ve come to expect the first in a series to be a bit tamer in those regards.
If you enjoyed Raven Kennedy’s Plated Prisoner series or Jennifer L. Arementrout’s From Blood and Ash be sure to pick this one up!
We have a brilliant world and we’ll developed lore, in depth characters, a strong FMC who is finding and accepting herself, a grumpy MMC, strong friendship bonds, a road trip and a quest for magical items!

So excited to immediately start the second one!

The Queen of Roses by Briar Boleyn started out a bit slowly for me, but I’m so glad I stuck around for this fantasy that takes us back to Camelot in this adventure in knights, the Fae, and the beginning of what is sure to be an epic series about Morgan, Arthur, and Excalibur. Adventure, intrigue, and love are all in abundance.

Morgan of Pendragon witnessed a horrific event as a child, and it sets the tone for the first part of the story and her life. She is passed over for the throne by her father in favor of her illegitimate half-brother, Arthur, and is an afterthought thereafter.

When Arthur is in power, she spends her time with her friends, Lancelet and Galahad and practicing becoming a knight, all knowing that her father promised she would join the temple on her 21st birthday, to study under high Priestess, Merlin.

She sees a stranger, Draven, and after a few unpleasant encounters, finds out he is a member of the Royal Guard, Draven Koiros.

I’m not going to give away spoilers, but Morgan has terrible things happen to her at the castle and she is ultimately sent away, much to her horror, by Arthur on a quest to find Excalibur.

She doesn’t want to go- leaving behind her beloved brother Kaye, Lancelet, and Galahad. Having no choice in the matter, however, she is forced to, with Draven as a guard.

Draven is not who he seems and could or could not be there to protect Morgan. They journey through fraught lands, meeting creatures she had only read about and didn’t think they were real, encounter dangerous strangers and she may even meet the man of her dreams.

The book started slow, but picked up in Book 2 of the plot and I really enjoyed it from there on out, staying up late into the night to finish it.

I can’t wait to read the second book, Court of Claws.

This book was provided as an ARC by NetGalley and the publisher for an honest review. All opinions are my own.

3.5/4 out of 5.
This book surprised me! I’m not as familiar with King Arthur/Camelot myths and stories so my husband filled me in on some of where the inspiration came from but i have to say- I enjoyed this take on it! The book was a bit darker than I thought it would be (not a bad thing!) because I purposely didn’t read the trigger warning list to avoid spoilers. This book had some of my favorite tropes/elements as well
- who hurt you?
- traveling with the grumpy begrudging “guard” and oops there’s only one bed ;)
- female main character who is about to become a badass!
- magic, fae, and creatures
- mystery and betrayal (out my heart!!!)

I liked that I was surprised more than once with where the story went and I’m excited to see where it goes. Big ACOTAR/From Blood and Ash etc.

More review coming on Instagram and TikTok 7/2/23

Queen of Roses was terrific! From the world-building at the beginning to the relationship between Draven and Morgan, this is one of the year's best fantasies!

One of the best characteristics is the pacing of Morgan's maturation into her proper form (part-fae). As a reader, I felt her struggle, and as she learned, I learned with her. I loved turning every page and wanting to find out the "mystery" of her life with Morgan. By the end, I had a complete picture of what happened without it being directly said to me. That's one of the things I enjoy as a reader. Morgan, as a character, was also relatable in many aspects. The banter and her inner thoughts made me laugh. It was great having slight moments of comedic relief when there were a lot of dark themes within the book.

Overall, I enjoyed this book as a whole. I loved the slow-burn romance. The twists were incredible! I wanted to start reading the next one as soon as I finished! Thank you to Starwater Press and NetGalley for allowing me to read this masterpiece.

I am OBSESSED with this book. King Arthur retelling with fae? Yes please! This was such a fast, enjoyable read with many twists and turns that kept me guessing what was going to happen next. If you like enemies to lovers, slow-burn romance, one-tent trope, "who did this to you?", great banter, quests, and magic you will love this book.

This book was exactly what I wanted it to be. It was easy to read, it kept my attention, and had the classic slow burn that I love so very much. There were a few bits here and there where it dragged, where the writing felt a bit much, but it didn’t interrupt the overall story. The final reveal at the end gave me very much the end of From Blood and Ash and The Daughter of Smoke and Bone - the like massive worldbuilding reveal that leaves you like what the heck just happened. I’m gonna start the next book right now!

Morgan is rumoured to carry the tainted blood of the fae so she is promised to the goddess. She is commanded by her brother to seek out a fae weapon and she seizes the chance to escape. She meets a group of outcasts and finds love and friendship along the way....

It reminds me so much of Arthur and Camelot. Great characters... love the camaraderie especially. Terrific plot.

Thanks to the publisher for the arc.

Draven, what!!! The ending! I need answers.😱 I don’t know if I want to yell or cry lol. Love when a book gets me in all my feelings. Can’t wait to start the second book today! But let’s start from the beginning.


What a prologue!🤯 I was hooked so fast! “There has always been blood on my hands, one way or another”

The book starts with Morgan hearing her parents having a conversation and her mom confronting her dad about him cheating. What a horrible thing for a 5-year-old girl to hear and see at such a young age.

Then, we jump to 15 years later. With Morgan being half Fae and her father’s hatred for them. He sidelines her and has her younger brother Arthur become king.

Being an unwanted princess isn’t the life anyone would want to live. Morgan goes through so many different things that just keep knocking her down but she never gives up. Their strength and her heart are always in the right place.

Let’s talk about the dreamy, sexy Kairos Draven. They bumped into each other a few times and do not like each other. But when Kairos noticed her bruises and how protective he was over her for wanting answers to what happened. I knew right there, that he was going to be perfect for her.

I don’t want to give too much away. You have to order this book! I read it straight for hours and could not put it down. I loved how well-written the book was. I’ve read a lot of books and the words spoke to me. Putting attention to detail is very important and the author knocked it out of the ballpark with her use of language.

The retelling of Camelot and Excalibur was really cool and I loved how diverse and different it was. Especially the gender twists. It gave it a whole fun vibe. This is the type of fantasy book that I love!


Thank you to NetGalley for the EARC! As always, my review is my opinion and thoughts. This review will be shared on my Instagram (@Alexandriavwilliams_) shortly.