Skip to main content

Member Reviews

For fans of:
- Kingdom of Claw

Dimitar lives in a world infested by sinister, vile creatures called the Corrupted. He has spent his life training to fight these malicious creatures, but when King Connor, the ruler of a neighboring kingdom, is brutally murdered by the Corrupted, they go from being nightmares to combative adversaries. All Dimitar wants is to defend his people, arm and arm with his fellow knights, but he is instead assigned with the task of guarding his princess, Kaleela.

This book includes:
- Zombie-ish demons that will eat a man alive
- noble knights
- brothers in arms
- honorable kings
- a princess with a knack for getting herself into trouble
- rude-ass elves

This book has a great concept. Dimitar is very very likable and is probably the type of knight that I would fall desperately in love with. Kaleela is strong and I like that she is never embarrassed or afraid to express her feelings, even if she is feeling painful grief. Unfortunately, I wasn't able to deeply connect with any of the characters and wonder if they are a bit two-dimensional for me, or if the book just wasn't my cup of tea? Either way, I would still recommend this book to my pals.

I received this ebook as an ARC in exchange for an honest review. Thank you to NetGalley, Courtney & Clarke Collins, and Shadow Spark Publishing for the opportunity to review this book. This review has been posted across my socials under the username @tinynightingales, check out my GoodReads profile https://www.goodreads.com/user/show/62314863
my bookstagram account https://www.instagram.com/tinynightingales/
and booktok https://www.tiktok.com/@tinynightingales?is_from_webapp=1&sender_device=pc

Was this review helpful?

Highly enjoyable read. Characters are likeable and relatable. Setting (magic, history, races, countries, etc) was well put together, and coherent. Action was fast paced. Fun plot twists. Reminded me a bit of Sarah J. Maas and her work.

Was this review helpful?

I just don't think I was the target audience for this one. Got about 40% into it and was just a put off by the constant disregard of safety to deal with the supernatural threat.

Was this review helpful?

3/5 stars not my absolute favorite of a book but I definitely enjoyed it. But I did enjoy the elf’s in the book. I’m hoping book 2 will be more interesting in the series

Was this review helpful?

This book was well written and had a great vibe! I’ve seen too many fantasy novels lately with bad writing so I really appreciated this one.

Was this review helpful?

Adult novel with appeal for teens in terms of writing style and accessibility. This will also appeal to some LOTR fans and many fantasy readers who value a fast pace and familiar plot and character elements.

Was this review helpful?

Thank you to NetGalley and Shadow Spark Publishing for this ARC of *In the Name of Honor* by Clarke and Courtney Collins.

I ultimately decided to DNF this book at 60%, which was not an easy choice. It took me a long time to get that far, and I kept holding on, hoping the story would finally deliver on its potential, however this was just not the right fit.

*In the Name of Honor* presents a narrative that many may find appealing, but for me, it fell short. The pacing is extremely slow, and while I can appreciate a slow-burn romance, the plot felt stretched too thin, making it difficult to stay engaged. I wanted to connect with the characters and their relationships, but the gradual development felt more drawn out than immersive.

That being said, I can see how readers who enjoy intricate world-building with well-crafted settings and gradual storytelling might find something to love here. Unfortunately, it just didn’t work for me. For readers who are patient with character arcs and plot-progression, this might still be worth exploring; however, for those seeking immediate engagement or action-packed sequences, it may not be the best fit.

Was this review helpful?

Eh, I probably should have DNF'd this book. The plot was fine, but for some reason I felt like I was slogging through the entire read. The characters felt very one dimensional and I didn't feel an emotional connection to any of them. I'm also super confused why this is part of a series as it seemed to come to a conclusion at the end. The whole thing was fine, but I don't think this is a series I'll be continuing.

Was this review helpful?

I enjoyed reading this book took a while to get into but I did! Thank you NetGalley and the publisher for a copy of this book.

Was this review helpful?

A classic good vs evil fantasy with a little bit of romance, this was a fun read. The romance was developed right from the beginning and done really well. The plot in general wasn't something I personally loved, but I'm sure other people would enjoy this more.

Was this review helpful?

I was excited to read this book because I love the genre, but unfortunately, it didn’t quite land for me. While it had the right elements on paper, I struggled to connect with the plot. I kept hoping it would pick up, but in the end, it just wasn’t for me.

That said, I can see how readers who enjoy lots of world building elements in the style of Lord of the Rings might have a better experience with it. While it wasn’t my cup of tea, I appreciate the opportunity to read an early copy, thanks Courtney & Clarke Collins.

Was this review helpful?

Thank you Shadow Spark and NetGalley for the ARC!

Unfortunately, I was unable to finish this. While it was a compelling plot, I felt that it was just a mix and re-telling of already existing epic fantasy stories. The characters also felt one dimensional. Overall the writing also did not grab me since it was a lot of "telling" and not "showing."

Was this review helpful?

I made it to about 25% before I put the book down and just never came back to it. I don't know if it was the pacing of the story or what, but I never felt compelled to pick it back up again.

Was this review helpful?

There were a few parts of the book that I did enjoy but overall I wasn’t really feeling the book. So much was going on it was hard to focus on the main plot when so much confusing info/characters were introduced every few chapters. The world building and character were overall lacking

Was this review helpful?

This fantasy follows reads as YA (not in a bad way) and takes you on a great adventure. The characters are lovable and the plot makes you want to know what happens next. That said, the novel fell flat for me. There were times everything moved too fast, like the end, and moments where everything dragged on. I enjoyed the multi POV but feel like we got to know some characters better than others, I want to know about Dimitir and Olaf’s history! Who IS Ral and WHAT is Karn?
Thank you Net Galley for the opportunity to read this eARC.

Was this review helpful?

Really enjoyed reading this Tolkienesque tale about love, honour and war.
The characters had a lot of depth and the story was just the right amount of adventurous to be a cozy read.
I really like reading books written by multiple authors. This was not an exception here as well. The picturesque writing, detailed character sketches and the constant pace of the narrative kept this story interesting for me. I would love to read more by these authors.

Was this review helpful?

I really loved this book! The fantasy world was very well written and the plot was well thought out. And the romance was so good!

Was this review helpful?

From the first page I knew that I was going to enjoy this book. It’s a very rich fantasy world, with a lot of very interesting and loveable characters.

There’s found family and a wholesome slow burn romance; Alternating povs kept this fast paced and entertaining throughout.

I have to point out that I love when I’m reading a new fantasy world and it’s just queer…there’s no need to talk about it being a ‘thing’; It’s not political or debated in anyway at all, it just exists. More of this in 2025 please!

I did find that towards the latter half, the flow of the story became a little bit choppy. However, I was reeled back in by the the incredible imagery of battle and an ending that had me kicking my feet!

I absolutely will be continuing on with this trilogy, and can’t wait for the next instalment to be released!

Was this review helpful?

I could not put this story down. I stayed up so late to be able to finish it. It was an incredible story of love, loss, and growth!

Was this review helpful?

A pretty standard romantasy book following a princess and her guard. The writing style of Courtney and Clarke was decent and easy to follow, however there were aspects of the character development and character types that I struggled to logically understand in the circumstances.

Was this review helpful?