🏹THE ARROW AND THE ALDER🏹

As you all know, I'm quite picky when it comes to fantasy. It's not my "go to" genre because I usually can't find fantasy books that I love. HOWEVER, I found another goodie that you should add to your list!

The Arrow and the Alder is a YA fantasy where Robin Hood meets Joseph and his coat of many colors.

✨ALL THE THINGS✨

-Slow burn romance
-Enemies to lovers
-Great banter
-Fantastic world-building
-Forest like setting and atmosphere
-Archery
-Magical elements
-Good vs. evil, light vs. darkness
-Action-packed, full of adventure
-character redemption vibes

This is my kind of fantasy. I loved the forest-like feel and Robin Hood vibes. This type of setting is one of my favorites. Slow burn romance burned so well. I was here for this chemistry. Oh so romantic especially near the end.

This is a standalone and well done in my opinion. I'm eager to see what this author writes next! Thank you to @barbaraklossbooks and @whimsical.publishing for my #eARC !

🏹🏹🏹

*Romance- closed door
*TW- near death experiences, dark fantasy elements, kidnapping, torture

This was Barbara Kloss's version of a fae story and it didn't live up to my enjoyment of her previous series for me.

This starts similarly to ACOTAR in that there is a struggling human town near the edge of the fae (kith in the book) lands and a daughter of a poor family is hunting in the duke's forest to provide for her family. She then manages to land in the fae lands and has to navigate this other realm. From there the stories diverge, but the initial beginning feels very familiar to anyone who has read in the genre. The war within the fae lands that has spilled into the human world also feels familiar, but is handled differently in this book.

I will say that these are more traditional fae where they can't lie, but can twist the truth and you never want to make bargains with or be indebted to them which I liked. However, I didn't like how that was used in building the relationship and I think their connection and chemistry suffered for it.

Overall, I still liked the writing style and it was a quick read, but the magic that was in her Gods of Men trilogy was not present in this book. I'm not sure I would pick up a sequel.

This was great, I really enjoyed both the plot and character development, looking forward to reading more!

2.5 ✰

Yet Another Redundant Romantasy…

From the very first pages, the sense of déjà vu is overwhelming: faes, a curse, a world to save… nothing original, really. This narrative framework heavily echoes countless other novels, without ever managing to stand out. I had read the synopsis, of course, but I didn’t expect faes to be involved, especially since the author uses a different term—kith. But changing the name doesn’t change the concept. It’s still the same creatures. And honestly, I’m clearly no longer the target audience for this kind of romantasy, and this book just confirmed it once again.

That said, I won’t lie, it's a quick, easy read. The writing flows well, it has a mildly addictive quality that kept me turning the pages. But I also found myself sighing, taking breaks, and even rolling my eyes at times, because some scenes were just too cliché, even cringe. What bothers me most is that I expected better from Barbara Kloss. I had really enjoyed Gods of Men, so I definitely didn’t see this low-effort romantasy coming.

The romance, which is supposed to be central, left me completely unmoved. Some scenes that were meant to be emotional or intense just made me cringe. We're told this is an enemies to lovers, but the attraction between the two main characters is immediate, and the only “tension” comes from the overused “I have to push you away to protect you” trope. That kind of narrative device doesn’t work for me anymore—and honestly, it just gets on my nerves.

Sadly, this is one of those books where the synopsis was a thousand times better than the actual story…


─── ୨♡୧ ───
•Hate to lovers
•Curse
•The chosen one
•Fae
•Prophecy


જ⁀➴ Thank you to the author, NetGalley and Victory Editing for the eARC in exchange for a honest review <3

This was such a powerful and emotional ending to the Pandoran Chronicles. The characters have come so far, and this final book really puts them through it—but in the best way. The story was intense, beautifully written, and full of heart. I laughed, cried, and couldn’t put it down. A perfect finale to an amazing series. Highly recommend!

The Arrow & Alder takes readers into a world that's both evocative and engaging making it an easy choice for a summer tbr.

We follow Josephine, a girl growing up in a dynamic and dangerous world. The Immortal Kith aren't to be trusted, that is a fact ingrained into Josephine, so when The High Kith Lord lands on her doorstep making demands of her and her family, her only hope is to flee. In an unfortunate turn of event's Josephine stumbles straight into the cursed lands of the immortals, where she stumbles upon an elusive stranger. Together they will navigate the dark and dangerous land while trying to undo an ever growing curse.

I think this story is simply put, a good time! I enjoyed the charters immensely and found myself genuinely rooting for them. The world was fun and engaging and suited the story so well. I didn't feel like it was telling a tale that was new or particularly fresh, but I don't think it needed to achieve that to be worthy of your summer tbr.

This book was such an anticipated release for me and it did not disappoint! I loved it! The tension was perfect, the storyline was amazing, and I was sad to see it end. This was a closed door romance and I felt that it was perfect for this book.

I adored Married by Treachery and so I seeing all the nods to that in this book was so fun! The Arrow and the Alder was one of my top reads for the year.

I would absolutely recommend this book!

This was so much more than I was expecting. It’s epic fantasy with a war, secret identities, a hidden city, familial ties and a romance that blooms and grows deep roots.

I love Seph’s fire, her drive and determination to survive and care for her family, but also to care for others outside her family. She is brave, compassionate, and although reluctant to lead, is someone people want to follow.

Alder is paying for his past sins and his reputation has suffered for them, but Seph is a light for him and causes him to be a better person. He is a strong leader in his own right.

I got this as an arc on Netgalley and it has since come out. If you love fae type books, you'll love this. This was really good! The story line was interesting and it had some solid twists and turns. It's one of the more better fae books I read recently.

I have read many books Kloss has written and think she is very talented. The Arrow and the Alder was a great read. I enjoyed the world-building and the characters. The dynamic between Seph and her family was interesting. I think the villains in the story could've been developed more and the plot had some predictable moments (but also a twist I didn't see coming!). The only (very small) letdown for me was the romance. It has some swoon worthy moments and the banter between the characters were great. On a chili pepper scale, this is a green bell pepper for on page descriptive moments. It will be the personal preference of the reader to decide if they will enjoy that. I really liked this book, definitely recommend it, and will continue to read anything Barbara Kloss writes!

This book will keep you reading. I enjoyed reading it and could hardly put it down.
This is a clean read and the editing is good. I received an ARC from the publisher via Net Galley. I was not required to write a review but chose to do so and the opinions stated are my own.

Thank you Netgalley, Whimsical Publishing, and Barbara Kloss for sending me this advanced review copy for free. I am leaving this review voluntarily.

I had to purchase a copy of this book due to file format issues.

Overall this was a really good book, and I enjoyed it. The pacing was spot on, and all the characters were likeable and memorable. I really enjoyed the slow burn romance, and the tension had me on the edge of me seat.

The magic was fascinating, and I would love to see stuff like this in more books!

I liked The Arrow and the Alder, especially the main characters. Josephine was tough and stubborn in a good way and I enjoyed how she didn’t trust people too easily—especially the powerful ones. Alder, the prince, was interesting too. He had a lot of secrets, but he clearly cared about doing the right thing. Their relationship, going from enemies to something more, was fun to watch grow!
The world in the book had a really cool feel to it, full of dark forests, curses and magic that felt really cool and mysterious. I liked the vibe of it all, even though some parts of the story moved a little slow for me. I didn’t always feel fully pulled in, but the atmosphere and the character moments kept me reading.
Overall, it was a solid fantasy story with characters I cared about and a setting I enjoyed spending time in!!

This was really fun, and basically what I want the romantasy genre to be. There was adventure, romance, politics, high stakes, good worldbuilding, internally consistent characters, and drama, and I thoroughly enjoyed every minute of it. If you're looking for a fae romantasy but want the romance content to stop at steam and never reach spice, then this is a good fit for you. I know I'd happily read this book again, and I'll be on the lookout for more by this author.

Thank you to NetGalley and the author for an ARC in exchange for an honest review!

The atmosphere in The Arrow and the Alder is great, super gothic and eerie. I do think this is more YA than described, but it was an interesting read nonetheless. Seph is your classic strong, sassy FMC but it was a breath of fresh air to see her struggle and not instantly be great at everything. Alder’s is also flawed, but you get that vulnerable moment and I just loved him from there.

I did want more from the villains, and it did feel a tad predictable - but otherwise a really fun YA romantasy.

This was such a fun one. Trying to work together when you're mortal enemies and just trying to stay alive was not their plan, it's what they're dealing with.

I thoroughly enjoyed this book!! The story felt unique and unlike anything else I’ve read before. The world building was beautiful, and the love story was AMAZING. Even with zero spice, I didn’t even notice because the yearning and the beautiful way the characters spoke to each other was so wonderful! I would definitely recommend this to anyone who likes fantasy/romantasy!!

Beautiful book full of allegory and hope and enough romance to season it. I fell in love with this world and am eager to return to it when the lines of it have begun to smudge in my mind.

Josephine, Seph as she is called, is determined to protect and provide of what remains of her family. Her brothers and father have been dragged to war by the kith, immortal beings who had been the cause of the curse slowly leeching from their lands into the human world. However, when one of the kith comes to her family's doorstep, she realizes that the stories she has been told may be closer to her family than expected.

I am still processing all the little details that Kloss wove into this story, and for all its dark moments, there is such hope threaded through it as well.

4.5⭐️

Fae (in this book kith). Slow burn. Enemies to lovers. Secret identities. Magic. Monsters. Immortal royals. Ancient curses.

This is The Arrow & The Alder in a nutshell shell. It’s a mix of the ancient magic and world-building of J.R.R. Tolkien’s The Lord of the Rings, the lyrical sweet romantic innocence of Rebecca Ross’ Divine Rivals, and the decaying woodsy feel of Naomi Novik’s Uprooted.

Josephine and Alder were such rich, deep, well rounded characters. I felt I really got to know them on a personal level and that doesn’t happen very often for me. I got lost in their swoon-worthy romance and the detailed world around them.

I also deeply enjoyed that it was a closed-door romance. It was wonderful to experience a love story with its sweet subtleties and witty banter.

Thank you NetGalley and Whimsical Publishing for this complimentary ARC ebook copy. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.

***Posting to Instagram, Goodreads, StoryGraph, and Fable on May 8th.***

Sephie, the main character, is shocked when their small village is raided by kith, immortal beings that she does not trust. They are seeking a coat that is hidden beneath her home and when she refuses to give it to them to protect her family, she runs into the woods.

Unbeknownst to Sephie, she stumbles into the kith kingdom. It is here that the kith prince, Alder, accompanies her to court in efforts to get the coat for himself to gain back the favor of the court.

As Sephie and Alder journey together, Sephie begins to learn more about her history and the coat itself. When the curse that has come upon the land threatens to destroy it, Sephie must come to terms with what she has learned in order to save herself and both the mortal and kith worlds.

Overall an enjoyable book. I thought the characters were well written and I liked Sephie as the FMC. I do wish the author would have gone more into the kith themselves as well as their magic, but a good novel nonetheless.

Thank you for the ARC!