4.5 ⭐️

I am absolutely loving this series and cannot wait until the final book in the series comes out next month!!

The Blood of the Fae series follows Morgan, Princess of Pendrath and her journey to save her kingdom from her brother King Arthur. Along the way she meets Draven, an assassin with a dark history that she starts to unravel, while also unravelling her own history and a a prophecy that is much larger than she thought. In the third book things have all been coming together and leading up to a confrontation that will either see the humans and Fae be able to live in peace, or in the destruction of their kingdoms.

I haven't read many retellings before but I am loving the spin on the story of King Arthur! The imagery is amazing and the story keeps me guessing and has my heart racing. I still love Morgan and Draven, the chemistry 😍 They are so badass and down bad for each other I am obsessed. I also love the strong case of side characters with such interesting and mostly traumatic pasts but how they are pushing through to aid in the fight. The suffering of some of these characters is so heart wrenching!

Thank you to Netgalley and Victory Editing Netgalley Co-op for providing me with an eARC in return for an honest review.

Solid 3.5 for me. I really enjoyed the world building leading up to book 3. The anticipation of their arrival back together was well written but I can’t help but be frustrated by Morgan. They shouldn’t have been separated in the first place. I think that’s really why I didn’t enjoy this one quite as much as I did the last two. I’m really hoping for great things when book 4 is released. I do still recommend this series. There’s many aspects of this series that I adore & think were well done. A few heart breaking moments in this installation that I wasn’t expecting. Overall, solid 3.5 for me. Definitely recommend this series to anyone diving into fantasy.

Thank you to Briar Boleyn and NetGalley for this ARC. This series has only gotten better as it progressed. I loved the dual POV, I was not happy to see the mates separated so keeping tabs on them both was great. I can’t wait for the 4th and final book to see how Morgan and Draven continue on their journey!

I am disappointed with this book. Although I loved the first two books in the series, this one left me waiting for something to happen. The plot seemed to drag on, and I found myself wondering if I would be able to finish it.
However, I am glad that I did because the ending was action-packed and resolved most of the plot. I do not think I will read book 4

Honestly loved this book, just as good as the first two. The twist was so so great I didn't expect it at all. All the characters are just growing and I love how even though Morgan is the main character we get to see more from Dravens perspective. I'm so excited for the next one in the series.

Very entertaining third installment of Morgan’s adventures! This romantasy follows the legends of King Author, Lancelot, knights of the round table and Excalibur. Add Fae and mythical creatures for a little bit of spice! Speaking of spice, there is plenty. There are also dark subjects in this so I’d check your triggers before. Definitely excited to read book 4 soon!

Once again, I am enthralled by this story, it's exciting and fast paced, there are twists and turns that make me gasp aloud and it's easy to lose oneself within Briar Boleyn's descriptive imagery and completely step into this world.

However..
The thing that ruins this book (/series) for me is honestly the romance. Not because I mind Draven and Morgan as a couple at all, but because I feel like all these tropes are being forced upon them. And this is in no way unique to these books, I see this in a lot of romantasy nowadays. There are these classic tropes that readers like (fated mates, enemies to lovers etc), and the pacing of their relationship results in these tropes being forced into the relationship in this book rather than actually sort of having a natural place there.

For example, we start off with Morgan back to square one, hating Draven for the non-consensual marriage/mating situation, but gets over that in about 5 minutes and all of a sudden she's just obviously his mate and it feels so right etc.

There was a few sentences from Morgans internal monologue I had to highlight on page 87 (I hope this is right as I'm reading on my kindle) because they were a perfect demonstration of why I'm given whiplash by their relationship.
"I blamed Javer for Beks death, yes. But I blamed Draven more."
And then it continues a few sentences later "He had all but called himself Beks' true murdered. And I had let him."....."When the truth was..."..."We were all to blame".
Do you see what I mean? How we're going from 0-100 in the span of a few seconds?

There is another scene in this book where Draven is talking about him "knowing from the first moment he saw her" or some such and her responding with a similar sentiment, and that scene literally made me feel gaslit. How am I supposed to buy into this whole fated mates, true love, I've always known narrative when I have seen no evidence of this whatsoever? There just wasn't enough buildup through the first book, and not enough credible buildup in the second one either for them to have ended up where they are.

It's things like these that make me feel like there is an effort to push these tropes in, but not so much to actually let them run their course, enemies to lovers is a slow burn trope. It has to be for it to make sense. But here we go from "I hate you" to "I love you" and back and back again in such a short time span, and it feels like we as readers have been left out of the whole chain of events. I also feel like this has something to do with the growing demand for smut in fantasy, if they're gonna bang as continuously as it seems like readers want, enemies have to advance into lovers quickly - and it's ruining the story.

Apart from this, the mating thing is never really explained in this book, did he somehow "mate with her" during the whole wedding ceremony - which by the way we also never get further information about? Usually with fated mates in fantasy this is a two way thing, a sort of physical and emotional shift, but here it just seems like Draven says "we're mates" and she's like "nuh-uh!!!.... Okay sure", no further explanation necessary?

All in all I did enjoy this, the plot is exciting, the ending was super intense and promises a lot of exciting things for the next one, which I will be awaiting eagerly.

Massive thank you to NetGalley, Starwater Press and Briar Boleyn for the opportunity to read this. While I did receive this ebook for free, all opinions are my own.

Take an adventure across kingdoms in the midst of major battles in Empress of Fae, the third book in the Blood of A Fae series. This book is stunning in every way! With multiple POVs from characters throughout different parts of the world, we finally learn all (okay, well most) of the secrets of Aercanum and Morgan’s lineage.

In the third installment, SO MANY things are going on. We get some character reunions, heartfelt moments, action-packed battles, serious pining, and so much more. I really felt like I was kept on my toes throughout the book with no momentum lost. I love a strong FMC who is sassy and unyielding but really finds herself over time. What’s been building up in the first two books has come to fruition and I couldn’t be more entertained watching everything play out.

Truly enjoyed this book. Could not put it down.

This is the third in the series and the second to last. I got the feeling that a lot of the events in this book were basically a setup for the conclusion in the last book. That being said, this was still a quite exciting book and I'm quite eager to see how this series ends.

Thank you Netgalley for the opportunity to review this fantastic book!

This series is TOP NOTCH! It has gotten to my top 5 reads so quickly and I cannot wait for the 4th book! Amazing!

I was given access to this book well after it was published. I really enjoyed this story just as much as the rest of the ones in the series. I never wanted the story to end, and was invested page after page. Thank you Netgalley for an arc of this book. I was glad to be able to have gotten access to all of the books.

Not my favorite in the series. I thought this was going to be the last book in the series. So, I had a different set of expectations going in. This book is definitely your typical "bridge" book. Meaning this book contains a lot of set-up for book 4 and as a result there's significantly less action. Sometimes you simply have to get through a book like this in order to get to the end. Fingers crossed it's worth it.

Thank you NetGalley and Starwater Press for the earc.

Fantastic novel, enjoyed every minute of it! Absolutely nothing not to like about it. Highly recommend this!

This is the third part of a series, so this review contains spoilers for the first two books!

Morgan is back in Pendrath, and she will stop the war her brother has started. In the past year, Arthur has gone mad - their people have been starving and the war with the neighbouring countries is getting worse and worse. Morgan has to infiltrate the Court and try to find out how exactly she and her allies can usurp Arthur and make peace with his enemies, but this is a difficult task, especially if you're all alone on enemy land - but she won't be alone for long. Draven is on his way to her, over sea and land, with an army of Siabra.
I was a bit disappointed in this book. I loved the first two, but this one felt different. Usually I don't mind multiple POVs, but with the first two being told (almost) exclusively from Morgan's POV, I really didn't care for the Draven chapters and besides getting updates on how far along their journey they were, I don't think they served much purpose besides showing the readers just how dedicated he is to Morgan, which could have been shown in other ways. I also really didn't like the final ~75 pages and the resolution to the book, it felt like an easy way out of a truly difficult situation. Besides that, I still really like Briar Boleyn's writing and the way her characters are drawn. I will definitely read the fourth book, but I hope it's more like the first two!

I absolutely love how action packed this was. Some of it was pretty predictable, but it also kept me very entertained. I cannot wait to see how book 4 turns out. And how their stories end. I did miss all of the characters from book 2 and the exmoors.

Disclaimer: I did receive this as an ARC through Netgalley in exchange for my honest opinion.

I am addicted to this world. To the fairytale elements, the familiar fantasy elements and the new side of things. I am truly obsessed with this series.

I really enjoyed this series, it was fun, easy to follow and not too complicated. It was a great series to read in my "nearly in a book slump". I would definitely read this series again.

Thank you for this ARC.

Book 3 picks up exactly where book 2 cliffhanger leaves you.

Morgan is now back in Camelot. Trying to find ways to help her people and seeing all the happened while she was across the ocean.

Learning her true heritage and facing new obstacles.

I enjoyed this read, it did take me longer to read than the 1st 2 books. But the last 1/2 had me sucked in and I couldn't put it down.

“All or nothing. In dreams as in life.”

Morgan pulls away from Draven, returning to Camelot and destroying the portal she uses to prevent Draven from following her, but their bond is strong enough to span the distance between them, or is it? She is reunited with her friends and in a startling twist, her guilt knows no bounds. She is determined to join the resistance against Arthur’s cruelty and free her land from the poverty and famine that is now ruining it from within.

Morgan finally shows the character growth that I have been waiting for, being less impulsive and thinking more strategically for her friends and their goals to free Camelot. Merlin reveals the true depth of her character, and it is as beautiful as it is heartbreaking. I loved Morgan taking back her power against those who still thought their will to be more important than hers and the fact that Draven supported her and empowered her to do what she needed to take back her control.

The story still has twists that you do not anticipate and the pacing is still fast enough to keep you interested without being rushed. I love the fact that there is a book 4 so that Briar could continue the journey of these characters without making this book too wieldy or rushed.

My favourite parts of this were the found family, although this was tempered by instances later in the story as well as the exmoors who are just adorable!

Thank you to Netgalley and Victory Editing co-op for the opportunity to read this series – I simply can’t wait for Knight of the Goddess to release

Another great series! Give me all the fae novels. Boleyn does a great job world building and writing characters that stick with you.