Thank you SO MUCH NetGalley and Starwater Press for access to this arc!!

5/5 stars!!

This book. UGH THIS BOOK IS EVERYTHING!! The characters! The setting!!! The premise of a Fae Camelot!! I love it, I couldn't put it down, I cry, I'm going to be starting the next one asap 😍😍😍😍😍

Where to even start?! I loved every moment of this book and I really need the next one! Could not put it down!

This scratched the itch left by finishing Fourth Wing! I needed a fantasy fix and loved this one! Highly recommend for fans of the genre.

Fae retelling of Morgan Pendragon? Sign me up! I was super stoked to read this book when I read the blurb. Queen of Roses is a refreshing spin on the Arthurian legacy one that had its ups and downs when it came to characters, but for world building was fantastic. I loved how Briar described Pendrath and the Temple of the Three Sisters. I enjoyed the descriptions throughly and learning about the fae and the hatred humans have for them.
One thing I didn't like that much particularly in this book were some of Morgans actions. She seemed extremely submissive which sucked because I didn't expect that out of her especially towards the middle of the book. I loved Draven he's definitely one of my favorite characters.
I liked the romance, it was definitely a slowburn and that's a preference for me when it comes to romance so I enjoyed that!
Thank you to Netgalley and Starwater Press for an e-arc in exchange for an honest review.

Big thanks to briar boelyn and Netgalley for the eARC in exchange for a review.


The character and location names suggest a retelling of the sword in the stone stories, and there are a few elements to mimic that, but I would still very much call this a unique story.

There are fae, goddess and magic elements. The magic and fae (and the prejudices that come with that) are well written. They exist, they are acknowledged, there are consequences, good and bad, for them existing but no dramatics (..yet).
Decent level of steam, some fun, who-will-she-choose and and back stab or two.

I loved this. There's a strong growth from Morgan. Becoming her own person. Acknowledging the patriarchal limitations imposed on her and, making the best of those limitations.

5 stars. I loved it.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publishers for this ARC.

My thoughts:
This was a decently fast paced Arthurian retelling with a fae twist. The world building was well done, the backstory was believable, the family dynamic was pure chaos, and the action-packed hero’s journey perfectly cues up a sequel. This wasn’t a dark fantasy in the way I was expecting, and I think lovers of Throne of Glass or From Blood and Ash would enjoy this book. I didn’t love the emergence of a sort of love triangle and found the romance component a little lacking—but that the ending leads me to think that will be remedied in the second book. The FMC was a bit timid/naive throughout the story, but that didn’t bother me as I think this is an intentional detail that will change as she grows throughout the series. MMC was *chefs kiss* and I’m excited to see what’s next for him/them.

Brief summary: Morgan Pendragon, a part fae princess trying to blend in, should have been queen. Instead after the death of her cruel father, the throne passed to her younger, equally cruel, human, brother who—with the kingdom on the brink of war—has sent her on an impossible quest to retrieve the fabled sword, Excalibur.

content warning: references to sexual assault.

I restarted this book multiple times but just couldn't stick with it - I wasn't a fan of the writing style and found myself annoyed with the characters right away. Loved the premise of the story and would still be open to seeing how this author's style develops in the future. I have to include a star-rating for this, which doesn't feel entirely appropriate. Though I gave it one star, it does not feel entirely appropriate or fair to the author as I did not read the full story and ended up DNFing it

Thank you Netgalley for allowing me to read this book in exchange for an honest review. I am so happy you did, because I loved this book.

This is exactly the type of book I love - a fantasy with romance, magic, mythical creatures, wars between nations/races, and royalty/royal courts. It also contains some tropes that I really enjoy such as forced proximity and enemies to lovers romance. I also appreciate how family relationships and friendships are spotlighted. There is good representation on different ethnicities and sexualities, as well.

There are some trigger warnings for this book, but I felt like all these topics were handled in a very sensitive way, yet still gave a very realistic window into these sorts of situations.

The writing and plot line were well done. I did not perceive any gaping plot holes and felt the reading experience went very smoothly. I highly recommend checking this one out! I am anxiously awaiting the sequel and whatever else Briar Boleyn writes. Do not sleep on this one!

Camelot with a fae twist? YES, YES, YES!!

This is the first book in a trilogy and centers on Morgan Pendragon, because of the Fae blood that runs through her veins Morgan feels the need to prove herself constantly the differences she feels she has inherited from her mother set her apart and she tries her hardest to blend into the background not wanting to draw added attention to herself. Arthur the king and her brother are somewhat of a despot and Morgan now finds herself tasked with a dangerous quest venturing deep into a ruined Fae landscape all for a mysterious Fae relic that will prove her loyalty to the crown.

This book was an amazing journey, and I can't wait to read the next book!

A beauty and the beast inspired retelling of Arthurian legends, with a twist of the fae. While it sounds like too many things at once, the author really pulls this off! The world building is phenomenal, the characters are compelling, and the story keeps you reading until the very end. This one ends on an enormous cliffhanger, so be prepared to continue the series.

Morgan Pendragon, sister to Arthur, has always been different and an object of suspicion. When things in the kingdom reach crisis point, she is sent on a dangerous mission to recover an ancient artifact. Accompanying her is the curmudgeonly Kairos Draven, who can't seem to decide if he likes her, or wants to kill her. Throw in a whole Arthurian cast of characters, outrunning the fae, and danger at ever turn, is it any wonder that these two slowly find their way to love - but at what cost?

The second in the series promises to be full of intrigue; be prepared to rethink everything you thought was true.

Great high fantasy read for Sarah J Maas fans. Great series and loved the writing style. The cover is amazing art

𝙎𝙩𝙖𝙧 𝙍𝙖𝙩𝙞𝙣𝙜: ⭐⭐⭐⭐
𝙎𝙥𝙞𝙘𝙚 𝙍𝙖𝙩𝙞𝙣𝙜: 🌶

When I first started reading I was wondering how much I'd enjoy it because it's very 'Arthurian heavy' with characters and elements of the legend, but I quickly found it to be unique and very well written.

I love the spin on the classic story, and how characters are completely re-imagined, but my favourite part of the whole book would have to be the relationship between Princess Morgan and her guard Draven — it's very slow burn with beautiful tension, enemies/ rivals to..., in a dark fantasy romance that will keep you guessing.

The cliffhanger ending left me with so many questions, and I cannot wait to read the next book!

💢 𝙏𝙒𝙨: kidnapping, abuse (including threat of sexual abuse; child abuse), animal death, child death, grief, domestic violence, drug and alcohol use, poisoning, violence, gore

☆I received an ARC of this book from the author and Netgalley. All thoughts are my own honest opinions.☆

Thank you Netgalley and Starwater press for the advanced copy.

I absolutely adored this book. I binged it in a matter of days. I was hooked from page 1. This is everything I love in a fantasy romance. It was dark and gritty with a king Arthur retelling spin. It had all of my favourite tropes from enemies to lovers, to forced proximity. There was a lot of action which is an absolute must for me the characters and world building was extremely well done. I would definitely recommend this for any fae romantasy fans.

Excellent.

That's what I'm talking about. A fantasy book with magic, secrets and a morraly grey dark haired character.

Queen of Roses is the first book of the series. The main character is Morgan, a princess. A queen without her throne. An anomaly in her own kingdom. An outsider even for her family.

But she has a quest. Will she make it?

A journey for finding a relic, but also a journey to love what she is.

Well written with plenty of humor and some bonus hot scenes.

Briar Boleyn gave life to her characters. Can't wait to read the second book!

If you are into high fantasy, elves and magic, this book is for you!

Thank you NetGalley and Starwater Press for the opportunity to write an honest review about one of my favorite books ever!

I am sure that there are many people who are going to really love this book. But it wasn't for me. I didn't like the characters. Sorry.

Queen of Roses is a dark romance with love triangles, slow burn, and many other iconic tropes throughout it. It was kind of like a retelling of an arthurian tale, it was a pleasant read and i have some friends that absolutely loved it! The writing itself was good, no grammarical errors that I found, and the story was a fun change, but what I had a problem with was the characters themselves. Morgan was entirely too sheltered to be a relatable and enticing lead. It was painful seeing how unexperienced and naive she was and it made some of the scenes awkward to read.

Thank you Netgalley & Starwater Press for granting me access to this book in exchange for an honest review!

Here we are again with regrets about not reading a book sooner. Holy crap this was a good one! This is a Dark Fantasy Romance King Arthur retelling and was so well done! Thank you to NetGalley and Starwater Press for the opportunity to read and review this book.

In this version Arthur is a d-bag and his half sister Morgan is part fae. Arthur, as was his abusive father, are/were prejudiced against the fae but is willing to use Morgan to get what he needs to further his agenda. Along the way we meet several expected characters (even if they're girls now which is AWESOME) and a little different than we remember from the kids version.

I mean, just read the blurb if you have to but I'd just skip it and read the book. I'm so late to this game that book 2 is already out and book 3 is in the works.

Firstly, thank you to NetGalley for sending me this book.


I really did want to like this book.
In spite recent overuse of fae in fantasy I am not bothered by it as long as the world building, plot and the characters are unique and creative and written well.

I’m sorry to say neither of this was achieved in this book.
A fae take of the Arthurian legend sounded like something that could have potential and to give a bit of credit here - the beginning was somewhat intriguing and could have been captivating if the writing was not as mediocre and repetitive.
Sadly as the book progressed the writing got worse along with the plot and the lack of any character depth whatsoever.
All the characters felt like they were written by an AI generator, completely flat and very much a blueprint we have seen a thousand times before.
The relationships between characters were so extremely one dimensional and unbelievable at times that they felt a lot like a children’s book and how you would explain, say a friendship, to a six year old.
Added to this the plot was beyond predictable and every step of the way I was certain what is going to come next. It did not grab me in any way, it did not present any excitement or desire to continue and the only reason why I did was to provide this review.
The writing itself was extremely repetitive, dialogue felt awkward and forced and the smutty scenes at the second part of the book made me cringe and want to close it and never open it again. It felt uncomfortable reading them and the choice of words the author uses is not in any way erotic or romantic in any way.

Overall, this book felt like reading a fan fiction of a fan fiction, a little over 300 pages took me more than two weeks to read which I think is the longest I have ever took to finish a book of this length purely because I had no desire to pick it up.
The reading process was actually uncomfortable because of how bad the read was.

I enjoyed it so much that I just went ahead and bought it. I enjoyed the writing style a lot and the main character is really like able. I enjoyed hearing of Morgan’s story and how she faces the challenges of being fae in an anti fae kingdom with her brother who is a ruthless, hateful, merciless EVIL king. The story has romance, action and humor. The ending is pretty crazy and I already have started the second book of the series. I would recommend this book! I highly enjoyed it myself.

I really enjoyed this dark fantasy romance filled with a slow burn and angsty enemies to lovers romance, fae, secrets and betrayal, and just the right amount of action and adventure to balance it out. I've read a lot of fairy tale retellings this year, but this was the first King Arthur retelling. It was a bingable and fresh take on fae romance.

I loved book one and can't wait to read books two and three. Tysm for letting me be an ARC reader. On to book two I go!