"Crown of Earth and Sky" is the first book of "Secrets of the Faerie Crown," an adult fantasy romance series, retelling of the Arthurian cycle, written by Emberly Ash and currently in progress.

The story follows Veyka Pendragon, new and unexpected queen of the Elemental Fae of Annwyn. A title she was not supposed to have. A crown meant for her brother, Arthur Pendragon. Arthur, her twin, the only true affection of her entire existence. The only person worthy of her trust. A powerful king, kind, just and loyal to his subjects. Arthur, treacherously murdered during a sacred ceremony. No, Veyka should not have been crowned. But this tragedy forced her onto a throne she never wanted. Moved by a desire for revenge against the humans who betrayed her, Veyka finds herself facing her devious court and guarding a dangerous secret. The arrival of her betrothed, the infamous Prince Brutal, is just another cog in the wheels of time and space spinning around her. Arran Earthborn, the strongest terrestrial fae in millennia. If Veyka wishes to keep the peace her Ancestors fought and died for, she must join him soon. But the Brutal Prince has not earned his name by playing nice, and soon the rage and passion that builds between them threatens a secret that could tear their world apart.

Wow, I absolutely loved this book! Delightfully compelling, intriguing and hot, it had me hooked from the opening lines! I was absorbed in the events, captivated by the story, unable to tear myself away from the pages. I was amused, angry, moved and clearly melted and yes, I basically loved it all! I can't wait for the sequel to come out, I need it extremely!

I loved the writing! I found it captivating, sizzling and light, with vivid descriptions and incisive dialogues. The fast and brisk pace, accompanied by the presence of short chapters, in my opinion make it an all in one read. The book has melancholic and poignant nuances that I enjoyed a lot, cleverly alternated with more ironic and funny tones. And what about the spicy! Really mind blowing!

The world building is really interesting! As I mentioned above, the book is a retelling of the Arthurian cycle and help, I simply loved it! The story takes place on the Annwyn continent, which is dominated and inhabited by the fae. The fae are divided into two categories, each with its own realm: elementals and terrestrials. The elementals, as the name suggests, have elemental magic. There are fae with water power, fae with air power, fae with ice power, and so on. All except the power of earth, which belongs to terrestrial fae. In fact, the terrestrials can shapeshift or control animals, or bend vegetation to their will. For millennia the elementals and the terrestrials fought each other for power and supremacy, until the Ancestors stipulated the peace agreements still in effect now: once every generation the two fae kingdoms come together in the Offering, through an arranged marriage, crowning a High King and Queen of Annwyn. More specifically, this first volume is set in the Vale of Effren, the torrid elemental realm, climatically and morphologically opposed to Shadow Wood, the realm of the terrestrial fae. I could say much more, but I will stop here to avoid unintentional spoilers. In my opinion this is extensive, elaborate and complex world building, rendered in a clear and simple manner. I was fascinated by the mythology of Annwyn, the differences of the two kingdoms, with their specific and contrasting ways of acting and thinking, with their traditions and policies. I enjoyed it all!

The plot proceeds sizzlingly, full of action and events. Power games, court intrigues, betrayals and mysteries are interwoven with actual combat scenes. I found myself gripped by the events, curious to know. In my opinion, the fights are depicted well, so much so that I had no difficulty imagining them. Moreover, the spicy is really hot! In fact, the book is pervaded by a fiery passion, by a sizzling sensual tension, which sent me into juices! There are also some more serious and intense moments that moved me quite a bit. Clearly the final cliffhanger is something terribly illegal and I now need answers!

I loved Veyka and Arran, protagonists with their first person povs! Veyka Pendragon is the new Queen of the Elemental Fae. A role she did not ask for. A task she was not meant for. She is the daughter of the powerful Uther and Igraine, twin of the strong and gentle Arthur. An anomaly in a world where twins are extremely rare. The reserve, the spare tire, destined to be relegated to the shadows or the background. Until Arthur is killed, plunging the kingdom into chaos and forcing her onto the throne. Veyka is a character I loved! Strong, independent, determined and cunning, she won me over from the start. Veyka is a woman who has been through a lot! Marked by a turbulent past, Arthur's death destroyed her. Veyka in fact was very close to her twin. Her other half. Her world. The loss plunged her into a vortex of apathy, characterized by constant methods to escape the pain. It has driven her toward a burning desire for revenge. Veyka is propelled by revenge, a purpose that drags her through her days. She is a seemingly tough and selfish character who hides a decidedly sensitive and suffering soul beneath her biting irony. As well as a dangerous secret that threatens to jeopardize everything. I really liked Veyka a lot! She has a wonderful characterization and in the course of the story follows a very good evolution. I became so attached to her that I wanted to hug her at certain times.

Arran, on the other hand, is the infamous Brutal Prince. Heir to the terrestrial fae, he is the strongest of his kind for millennia. An indomitable and ruthless warrior, he should not have been chosen as the future ruler. Arthur's death, however, forced him into the position. Unprepared for the role, he finds himself facing a situation outside his comfort zone. He is a strong, grumpy, proud, provocative and stubborn man, who beneath his apparent hostility hides a loyal, faithful and dutiful soul. Arran wants peace, desires prosperity and security for Annwyn. Marked by a difficult and painful past that has deeply scarred him, he hides his demons beneath his irreverence. Arran is a character who won me over immediately! I loved his multifaceted personality, his evolution. Also, he is absurdly hot! Seriously, I think I drooled badly for Arran! I mean he's too much stuff! My hormones did somersaults with excitement!

The relationship between Veyka and Arran is simply mind blowing! The chemistry between the two is palpable from their very first meeting. They are physically attracted to each other. There is a powerful lust. However, their contrasting characters drive them to dislike each other and fight this sizzling passion. The exchanges of barbs, provocative banter, various fights and more or less fair blows were extremely hot! I highly enjoyed the building of their relationship, which occurs in a slow and consistent manner. Veyka and Arran must come together in a combined union to fulfill the deal, but they do not know each other. Throughout the book they have a way to talk, deal with problems, discover hidden aspects of each other, and thus grow closer. I loved their interactions, the way they learn to support each other, accepting each other with their strengths and flaws. Also, I reiterate my love for the spicy in this book! Yes, there are several spicy scenes and yes, they are handled perfectly! Seriously, Veyka and Arran are wonderful together!

The secondary characters convinced me! They are not all deepened in the same way, but in general they satisfied me. I especially appreciated Parys, Gwen, and Cyara!

All in all, this is a start to a series that I absolutely loved and recommend to fantasy romance lovers!

Thank you to NetGalley and Emberly Ash for giving me an ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Wow, wow, wow, I thoroughly enjoyed this book. For me a 5 star read and 3 spicy peppers.
I received this book as an ARC and here is my honest review.
Who doesn't love a strong FMC (Veyka) and hot seven foot morally grey MMC (Aaran)??? This is a retelling of King Author but with fae and animal shifters.
The second half of this booked had me hooked with the adventure and the dynamic between the love interests in this book. I also loved the side characters and role they play in the story.
The end of the book had me hooked and I didn't want it to end, yes there is a cliff hanger and the second book doesn't come out until December.
Be mindful of the trigger warnings there is some serious content written into the book.

Okay listen I requested this because I’m in Briar Boleyn’s street team group and Emberly posted about this arc in there. I love King Arthur retellings so I was all over it. This was SO GOOD. I was hooked from page one. Veyka is such a badass, and also so broken that even though she could kill me where I stand I feel like I need to protect her at all costs. And Arran? WOW. So broody and hot and very wildly morally gray. So you know, our favorite kind of book boyfriend. The story was full of political intrigue and mystery. And the spice? Top tier. But that cliffhanger! I don’t know how I’m going to wait for book 2!

Wow. Couldn't put this one down! It's currently almost 2AM, and I started reading at about 2PM.
I loved the characters and the world building, and all the nods to Arthurian legends. Excited to read the next book in December!

I really enjoyed this book, which is why I'm giving it 4⭐️'s. That being said this book could have easily been 5 ⭐️’s with some changes.

Regarding the title, I have to say I'm not sure why it's called crown of earth and sky based on what I read. Yes there are elemental and terrestrial fae types but again earth and sky didn't really have much to do with either of the main characters. Maybe a bit of earth but that is pushing it.

I enjoyed the relationship between both the MFC and MMC, it was a bit of a slow burn but there was chemistry between them. I didn't feel like the miscommunication trope was done well though. It was revealed quickly and resolved to fast for me. Which made it feel pointless to the plot.

The questions regarding the MFC are not answered. We didn't even get that much of a glimpse at all in answering the questions regarding her and her storyline. Which was incredibly frustrating.

Also the incessant over use of the word goldstone for the guards and walls was annoying, and the use of the word aural for alcohol?? Why?

There was also a ton of grammar issues in the book. Even in the beginning. I know this is an arc so I’m sure it will be fixed before release. But I had a ton of annotations in this book of misspelling, incomplete words and misplacement of words that just didn’t belong or should have not been used at all in my opinion.

I enjoyed the book enough to want to read the next one. But definitely a few things about it I didn't enjoy. But I do recommend it.

This book had me hooked from the first line!

I love a book that has action and heated romance. Twists and turns you are on the edge of your seat to end in a cliffhanger! Need to read the next book when it comes out!

It’s such a great retelling of King Arthur that I thoroughly enjoyed! She also wrote some great spicy scenes! It was amazing!

Thank you to NetGalley and Emberly for the Arc!

This was beautifully written. It had you on your toes as soon as it started. “I should have died in the womb”

Spice, fae, and action your thing? You’ll absolutely devour this. But be prepared for an absolute cliffhanger 😮‍💨

I’m ready for book two. Like NOWWWW.

The brutal prince is 🥵🥵🥵🥵

This book was very transparent, but a fun read. I thought the plot mostly made sense, though the subplot about the plague in the human world and whatever is going on in Gawaen's lands with children going missing were pretty much abandoned. I didn't think it was really necessary to introduce another bad guy. The author could have just stuck with the main plot of finding out who killed Arthur. It also would have been way more interesting for Veyka to be researching her powers instead of insisting there was nothing there.

Also, this book was chef's kiss spicy. Thank you to Emberly for writing sex scenes that use the actual names of anatomy and for having a female character very clearly written as plus-sized. I very much enjoyed that.

I did find a lot of the passages to be repeated over and over. Multiple times, Veyka would be thinking of talking to Arran only to tell herself she couldn't divulge any secrets and that she was running away. Over and over the same plot points, it was really annoying and kind of made me worried that characters were dumb.

While I did have issues with this book, I will be reading on to the next in the series. Hopefully, it covers the plot holes and does more to talk about void and ethereal magic.

Thanks NetGalley and Emberly Ash for the ARC!

This take on the Arthurian legend had me hooked from the first chapter and now I must, absolutely, have the next book the moment it comes out. Princess Veyka is her brother's heir until Arthur's bride arrives and provides him an heir. Younger by minutes, the royal twins are different in status and temperaments, and when Arthur is murdered and Veyka becomes queen, she becomes a shadow of her former self. Fueled by rage and the desire for revenge, she must now marry to join her realm to the terrestrial one. Much like her, her designated groom, Arran, has not been raised for his new role - it was supposed to be Guinevere who would marry, Guinevere who would be Queen. Arran and Veyka don't see eye to eye on just about anything. He thinks poorly of her because she has left most of the running of the land to her council, she dismisses him as someone getting in her way, but they are both attracted to each other and slowly begin to allow a partnership to blossom. The chemistry between them is amazing, the changing in their relationship well paced. Veyka is a wonderful MFC, she has survived a lot and trained relentlessly to become a skilled fighter, although she is rather too trusting of those around her. Arran is much more than the Brutal Prince he is known as, and his initial lust for Veyka becomes a deeper and understanding love. This book ends in a cliffhanger, and you bet I will be getting my hands on the second of the Secrets of the Faerie Crown books when it's released.