Thank you Parker Lennox and Bree Grenwich, ONYX Publishing, and NetGalley for an ARC of Riftborne!

This is a triumphant debut for Best Friend Author Duo Bree Grenwich. and Parker Lennox.. I can say I look forward to more from this D&D loving author duo in the future!

Riftborne follows protagonist Fia Riftborne. Orphaned after a rebellion, permanently marked as an outcast. We jump right into her world, where prejudice is rife and the danger of her uncontrolled powers threaten to take what little she has. Our story begins when Fia is caught losing control of her powers by the last person she’d want, Laryk Ashford, Sidhe General. Its now join the army who decimated her people or lose the only important thing to her.

This book had me gripped from the first chapter. We are put right into an immersive world of politics and powers. The world was so cozy at times. There is a deep sense of found family and comradery at times. Strong female friendship is heavily featured. Fia is a loveable character with understandable struggles such as self-doubt, jealousy, and at times, pettiness. You can’t help but fall in love. Laryk Ashford is a formidable MMC. Steamy heartthrob that you can never quite trust. This book will have you kicking your feet at points and fanning yourself at others.

My only Con on the book would be the struggle with pacing. We are rushed through at some points with large time jumps. These seem to be missed opportunities for further character development and story suspense.
4.25/5
I need the next book like yesterday.

Riftborne is an adventurous fantasy that kept reminding me of Six of Crows and a little bit like Fourth Wing- with less spice. It was a little more academic than I initially thought it was going to be but it was still enjoyable. It reads like an upper YA/ NA novel.

The tropes would be slow burn, enemies to lovers, morally grey characters , fantasy, and found family.

I loved the character descriptions and really enjoyed the lead character’s magical abilities. The plot twist at the end of the book was perfect- I’m sold for book two.

The banter and relationship between Laryk and Fia felt a bit forced, as though we jumped right in without having worked for it. I’d give it two chilli peppers out of five for spice.

Riftborne started off strong, then it slowed down in the middle, and the ending was exciting - I was sad for it to be over.

There is a playlist, pronunciation guide, and also a glossary at the beginning, it worth the time to look into.

Job well done for this debut for the two authors !

"I'm only trying to reason with you. To offer another perspective, but you can't see past yourself. You're so negative, you can't even imagine your life taking a turn for the better!"

It's rare to find such a pessimistic chatacter as the protagonist, and perhaps this is the reason why I didn't mind so much the first-person narration. In fact, it's also why I found myself loving Fia as a character. However, I did not enjoy the enemies to lovers with Laryk, mostly because I did not like him...
Despite that, I was amazed by the final plot twist and now I can't wait for the next book!
The wait is going to be really tough, especially since this book hasn't even been released yet 😭

Thank you so much to Netgalley and the publisher for giving me the chance to read this eARC in exchange for an honest opinion.

~ 4.5 ⭐️

Thank you to @netgalley and @onyxpublishing for a free copy of this book in exchange for my honest thoughts.

When I read this description I didn’t hesitate to pick up this book! I absolutely devoured it and this book brought me out of a slump from over consumption of other books! I didn’t want to put it down and when I had to, I was thinking about when I could pick it up next!

Fia was a relatable FMC and she was a fun character to follow along! I loved her snarky behavior and comments when she was irritated. She gave me many moments of laughing out loud and I loved getting to know her. There were a few moments with her character development that progressed just a little too quickly considering what we learn about her past. She gave into the circumstances faster than I thought she would have but it was still enough in line that I can easily overlook it.

Our MMC, the General, was a bit more frustrating to get to know. He comes across as cocky and abrasive throughout most of the book, keeping Fia at an arms length through derogatory comments and then suddenly we are meant to believe that he has loved her this entire time and root for them as a couple? I can get behind it to some degree, but I did wish that we got to see more of his softer sides earlier than we did, even if in small glimpses.

I loved the war college / training scenes and wished we had more of those moments. I would have loved to see our recruits working together a bit more with their respective powers than we got. I know this wasn’t meant to be the MAIN focus of the story but it was a bit more side plot than I wanted. Even the scenes where Fia is privately training her own magic needed to be a bit more developed. I wish those scenes of her magic development were more fleshed out to give us a deeper understanding of how it worked and grew as it did. She kept discovering new ways to use her powers but it felt like it was an afterthought.

I’m excited to read book two and get more world development. I always thought something more was going on with Fia and thee CLIFFHANGER was simultaneously frustrating and exciting!

Thank you to NetGalley and Bree Grenwich and Parker Lennox for an ARC of this book!

I’ll start off by saying that I did enjoy the story and I’ll definitely be picking up book 2 when it’s released. I enjoyed the story and the world building. I did feel like the timing was a little choppy, and some relationships developed pretty quickly without a whole lot of conversations happening. I’m really not sure about the main male interest, the General. He seemed pretty sketchy to me And it felt sort of out of character how Fia trusted him so quickly. I also felt like Fia made a couple decisions that were not in character and it threw me off a little. Overall, I really did enjoy this book.

In a world where a failed rebellion from 20 years ago, lingers under everything, Fia finds herself trying to stay hidden with magic that if found could mean a threat to the life she has so carefully curated. But when she meets the Sidhe General Laryk Ashford and her powers take over, everything changes.

The world building here was easy to follow, which for me is a huge one, since some of the more epic fantasies can make it harder for me to keep track of everything, and having the maps and pronunciation guide in the beginning was fantastic.

What more can you ask for in a romantasy than a good slow burn, a morally grey MMC and still a little spice. Admittedly, I was not a huge fan of the FMC as I found she gave off more of juvenile vibe with some of her actions, but you can’t love them all.

This book would be a great fit for people who like more of an epic fantasy, and for slow burn romantasy lovers.

A big thank you to NetGalley, and Bree Grenwich & Parker Lennox for allowing me to have an ARC for this book in exchange for an honest review.

This is an incredibly written, romantasy about Fia, daughter of Riftdremar rebels, living post failed rebellion as a citizen of its conqueror, the Isle of Sídhe. But sweet and shy Fia holds a deadly secret, which launches her head first into a life within the prestigious Sídhe guard. Along the way, she is tested mentally & physically as well as her willpower, friendship and every truth she has ever thought she knew about life, love and her homeland’s past. First in its series this book will have you sweating for more through the very last pages.

Really fascinating concept overall and loved the world and story. I’m intrigued by the histories and politics and really can’t wait to learn more. I found Fía to be a relatable and fun heroine to follow along with. I did feel that she put away her hesitation faster than we would have guessed based on her first couple decades of life. I would have liked more of a sense of how she developed and honed her focus outside the training sessions. Overall enjoyed and want to know more!

WOW. Thank you so much for allowing me to be apart of the ARC for this book. I absolutely loved it from beginning to end and quite literally could not put it down past the halfway mark (praying my boss didn't see my kindle on my desk all day). I love every character that we have met so far and I was absolutely floored by the ending. The vibes of this book are a magnificent combination of Fourth Wing and Throne of Glass with maybe a tiny hint of Vampire Academy thrown in. I am dying to dive further into this world with the remaining books and look forward to recommending this to anyone that will listen to me rant and rave about it.

Once again, thank you so very much for allowing me to read this incredible story!

Where's the next book? I'm ready!! This was such an excellent read and really hooked me from the beginning. I loved our strong confident main character! I picked this book because it reminded me of the cover of Powerless by Lauren Roberts and I absolutely loved that book. I think fans of that book will love this book as well! The world building wasn't too complex either and I appreciated the maps and pronunciations in the beginning of the book! Nothing worse than struggling to pronounce names, places, etc.

First I want to say thank you to NetGally and Bree Grenwhich and Parker lennox for giving me the opportunity to read this ARC.

All I can say is wow, I couldn't put this book down, The way you just get pulled into it from the start, I needed to know what was happening that instant, I was so intrigued by Fia and what was going on wither her, I loved how she found her self through out the book. Also what she can do with her focus like what ! come on ! that incredible.

When you meet Larynk you have no clue what he is about he is cocky and so proud to be part of the guard. I know Fia hated him with the passion because he stood for everything that she was against, but he saw what she could do and that made him instantly intrigued by her. Now I think that there is more to him then we don't know about him. I have this feeling that he is keeping something from everyone, that he still has more to his story.

This booked was incredible from the tension between the FMC and the MMC, the slow burn to the will they won't they had me on my toes. I loved seeing how close Osta and Fia were and she would do anything for her, nobody could mess with Osta

This book was easy to follow the world building was good to work with, the magic system that the people had was also good to follow. I was never confused once during this book. It did have spice but it was very low Grade which was fine because everything else that was going on in this book made up for it. There is a cliff hanger so I really have to find out what happens next. I can't wait for the next one to come out

This book has everything I love in a fantasy book, pronunciation guide at the beginning, maps! (Thank you to the author for sending me a bigger version) a FMC who we see blossom into a strong confident woman, a mysterious morally grey MMC and plenty of action and magic. This book had me smiling like an idiot in one scene in particular, read it and you’ll know which I mean. And after that ending I cannot wait for the next book. 5 stars

This was an interesting magic system and I loved the FMC. The writing style felt a little literal (a lot of tell, rather than show), but after a while I got into the rhythm and enjoyed it.

I would say this was an interesting new author romantasy book. The blurb was a good sell, because the cover was not. The story started off very strong, but hit a peak around 3/4 of the way through. The writing got a choppy and it was a little bit of a struggle to continue, maybe because there is two authors?
-My review contains Spoilers-
The main character, Fia, definitely gave off 'there is no one like me' vibe. I was also iffy about the love interest, the general, because he had a 180 in demeanor. He was portrayed as a philanderer but then suddenly he is obsessed with her/ he hid his affection so well. It was a very long slow burn, and then huge plot points dump. It became a little juvenile with her jealousy, getting drunk and hitting on different guy because love interest gives a rival a bit of non romantic attention, but heroine thinks otherwise.
In the military academy there is no character development that integrated into the story. As side characters go, they left a lot to be desired. The nemeses were called a bigots and then that was it. No reasoning behind their hatred just that was it, surface level animosity. The authors seemed to favor that word with no real explanation. It seems like there is supposed to be this big class divide but it was portrayed only through her two classmates. Osta is ok, but also a bit of a nuisance. Why did she come on a military campaign being a dressmaker.
There were also little things that distracted me from the story, like questioning if this is a romantasy set in a semi contemporary period. I don't see people using language like "girlfriends" or characters drinking gin in a made up universe. Overall, concept of the story was good, could have fine tuned a little more. I would read the next book. I received an ARC through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

*********SPOILER ALERT*******

Thank you, NetGalley and ONYX Publishing for this ARC in exchange for my honest review.

I read this book in one day, it is so fast paced and such a fun, quick read! Riftborne is a new adult, fantasy romance that really had me feeling for our FMC Fia, from the start. She had such great character development, and her willingness to change to protect her friends and chosen family was really endearing. Not sure how I feel about our MMC, General Laryk Ashford, he had his moments (the sexy dream scene was great), but there were also red flags that had me questioning him and his intentions. So, I'm very interested to see where the twist at the end takes us, both for Fia's powers and heritage, and for a certain golden eyed, shadow wielder. Can't wait for book 2!

I loved this book. I could not put it down, once I started and got pulled into the story it was hard to convince myself to do anything else. Parker Lennox wrote one heck of a start to what I am sure will be a new favorite trilogy. The world building was well done, our characters were fantastic, and the plot was amazing. I also liked that the spice was there, but it wasn't through the whole book so it didn't take away from the plot, which can easily happen in this genre. I really can't wait to see what happens next with Fia, she already has started to develop into a strong FMC that can do so much with her power. I was sad this book ended, but I definitely recommend this book to anyone who likes fantasy and romantasy alike. I will definitely be keeping an eye out for the next book :)

Thank you NetGalley for an ARC of this book, its a new favorite!

Thank you Net Galley, Bree Grenwich, and Parker Lennox for the ARC!

Okay wow… holy sh**. I DEVOURED this book. The fmc… the mmc… the plotline… the supporting characters… I really fell in love with every aspect of this book. I really love how we actually saw the fmc grow from an unsure and self conscious person into a strong and confident badass. Don’t get me wrong, I love Aelin Galathynius as much as any fantasy reader, but going on Fia’s growth journey with her made her so much more relatable and I absolutely loved seeing her really come into her own power and strength.

The spicy dreamwalk?? *chefs kiss*

The final fight scene kept me on the edge of my seat and the realization at the end of everything left me well & truly gobsmacked. I knew everything couldn’t have been as it seemed, but I wasn’t expecting that big of a twist.

One of the things I didn’t love is the fmc and mmc’s relationship felt a little odd to me. Her trusting him almost immediately felt out of character for her, but I know that was important for the story’s development. Some of her friendship scenes did make me a little uncomfortable, but I think Fia’s power of forgiveness is stronger than mine haha.

Lastly, thank you for the pronunciation guide because I would have been absolutely lost without it 🙌🏼

Overall, I loved this book, it sucked me in from page one and I absolutely will be reading the next installment. I can’t wait for it to come out so I can recommend it to friends!


SPOILERS BELOW


Laryk and Fia’s quasi-enemy to lover arc was so fun to read and I really enjoyed it, he really helped her find herself, even if it was more for his own benefit & he made some questionable choices along the way, like his constant attention to Narissa and not even attempting to help Fia at the end (I don’t know what he could have done.. but like I said, Fia’s power of forgiveness is stronger than mine lol). I have a feeling I’m going to be falling for this dark haired, golden eyed, broody character that Fia has dreamt about…especially with the way he and Fia had their little moment at the end of the book?? I’m feeling like they may be the *real* enemies to lovers. But either way I can’t wait to see where this story goes!