MAGICAL BEASTS WITH ASSASSINS AND A CUP OF ROMANCE? I'M ALL HERE FOR IT!


I don't know where I should begin. Everything about this book was mind-blowing. I picked it up expecting some cheesy romance with average beasts show up here and there but boy I WAS COMPLETELY WRONG. When the premise announced that this is going to be something like Fantastic Beasts meet Assassin's Creed, well, I can't be sure that they're right because I haven't read Assassin's Creed. BUT, I can assure you that Kingdom of Exiles was perfection.


First, I want to praise Martineau for creating awesome and powerful beasts. I love this book mainly because of them. The description of these creatures was so beautiful and detailed. I could picture them breathing and moving inside my mind. I swear the images felt so real. Throughout reading this book, I tried so hard to remember their names and what their powers were. They just seemed so wonderful. Oh, how I love if there are some fan arts of them!


Now, let's talk about the world inside Kingdom of Exiles because I can't miss such a crucial and magnificent part of a fantasy book. I gotta admit there was a little explanation about how the kingdom works. Guess book one wasn't meant for that. But their journey took me to get a glorious view of the stunning places in this book. Not to mention the beasts realms and a mysterious place where the Charmers lived! They were written so beautifully I could feel like I was in there with Leena and Noc.


Besides the beasts and the world, I really liked the plot. Everything went so smoothly. No, that doesn't mean everything is going to be okay. Clearly, not. The writing hooked me from the start then things quickly heated and that made me can't stop reading. The story slowly but surely escalated into something big and magical. There were many things that got explained clearly in here but there are also some secrets that are yet to be revealed. This only makes me dying to read the sequel!


The characters, they were all super fun to read. With different personalities, they made an interesting squad. Let's break down some of them real quick:
Leena; brave, strong, smart, bold, and lovely. I liked her from our first meeting. She reminded me of some of my favorite characters.
Noc; always curious, cunning, mischievous, charismatic, secretive, and brilliant. He captured my attention right away with his silent mysterious way and the way he fought. He sure knew how to beat his opponent and gave a good show.
Kost; cold, aloof, smart, and honest. Even though he struck me as cruel at first but I came to love him. He was loyal and kind to his brothers and so dang good at strategy.
Ozias; kind, sweet, gentle. He was the only character that's most easy to get attached to. I mean, he was the nicest and understanding person, how could I not love Oz?
Calem; flirty, wild, genuine. It felt like there's fire running in his veins. He just full of eagerness and always looking for a challenge.


Beneath all that, this book left a strong impression on me. This isn't just about falling in love with a dangerous man.
It is about finding what you really want and fight for it, no matter what.
It is about trying to survive with a terrible and haunting past.
It is about appreciating what you have and show everyone who really matters to you that you love them


Overall, I loved Kingdom of Exiles! It was enchanting, magical, unique, and surprisingly sweet. The romance was well-written. It wasn't too much but engaging enough. I really adore this book. If you're looking for a fantasy read with mythical creatures, interesting characters, and gripping romance, I recommend you to add this book to your TBR.

I had a difficult time getting through this, at one point setting it aside and later coming back to it. The idea behind the story with the beast charmers was intriguing, but I was frustrated and disappointed with its execution.

To begin with, I found Leena and Noc’s thoughts and emotions to be at odds with their supposed characters. Leena was presented as a pragmatic woman who had forged a tough life for herself after being exiled and who was at least somewhat worldly when it came to men. Yet her puppy love-like thoughts about Noc nearly from the start seemed out of place and a bit silly. In addition, her almost virginal blushing routine when one of the assassins took off his shirt and came on to her seemed odd for someone who admittedly enjoyed uncomplicated physical relationships with men. Similarly, Noc was supposed to be a detached killer who eschewed personal entanglements yet he too quickly succumbed to the pitter pat puppy love when he saw Leena. When the insta-love turned into real love, I never really bought into it.

In addition, Leena too often was outright stupid in her actions. <spoiler>She too quickly trusted Noc and the others and repeatedly depleted her energies, leaving herself vulnerable, sometimes for no good reason. She missed the obvious loophole in Noc’s vow not to let his men kill her. She claimed she was forced to sell her beasts to survive, but she easily could have used her own beasts’ abilities (healing, creating food, etc.) and sold her services through them to make a living. Heck, she could have worked waiting tables or other jobs nonmagical people did. There were other instances I can’t recall offhand.</spoiler> I found myself being exasperated with her (and Noc) for much of the book.

While there were some unanswered questions left at the end of the book, particularly about Noc’s history, I am not drawn enough to the story to read another book in the series to find the answers.

What do you mean I have to wait for book two? I didn't agree to that! (just kidding, I knew it was a trilogy when I started it). Overall it was a really great book and I am looking forward to the rest of the series

I truly enjoyed Maxym M. Martineau's debut Kingdom of Exiles. Fantasy and romance? Count me in.

I loved the world-building, and I was most intrigued by Hireath and Cruor so I'm hoping we'll get to spend more time in both places in the upcoming books.

Also, the cast of characters was wonderful. The slow-burn romance between Leena and Noc was spot on for me. Obviously Leena and Noc took precedence in this book, but I would love to get more in depth with the other assassins and beast charmers.

Hopefully, we'll get to see and learn about more beasts in the upcoming books as well. I couldn't get enough of them.

***I voluntarily read and reviewed an Advance Reader Copy generously provided by the publisher via NetGalley.***

When I first picked du this book to read it I was intrigued by the blurb and the cover. As I got into the story I was even more captivated by the story.

the author was brilliant in bringing to life the character and the world in which they lied. I found my self rooting for Leena because she was smart, strong and fearless. My heart went out to Noc.

I truly enjoyed watching these two characters explore their life choices and their connection to each other. I also loved that I got a sort of Fantastic Beast feels to it. My favorite was seeing the world come to life on paper. The author did a wonderful job breathing life into the worlds, the characters, and the story.

Overall A wonderful read and very enjoyable.

Pokemon-like creatures in a fantasy setting? I'm sold!
A really intriguing and interesting story with well-built characters, amazing world-building that is not too didactic.
Exiled Leena is a Charmer who gets a bounty put on her head: enter the Cruor, an assassin guild led by the mysterious Noc with a troubled past and his merry band of fellow assassins, and a flimsy alliance is struck.

Review can be found on *Milky Way of Books*

If you loved Fantastic Beasts and yet still felt unsatisfied, you will love this upcoming book! In a world filled with magic, humans, wild beasts, Charmers who can command them and secrets, an exiled Charmer will become an unwilling pawn in a secret coup for power. And she will meet an assassin who carries a deadly secret.

I didn't expect to love this book so much! For the past weeks, I had fallen in a book slump and the chance to review this beauty came when I needed it the most. The world-building is amazing (I don't know if there'll be a map in the final copy), but I feel that a map would do wonders. Also, the sheer amount of imagination given to craft these amazing beasts kept me rooted in the spot as I read epic fighting scenes, sweet cuddly creatures and beings with powers to grant wishes.

Leena and Noc were amazing! Slightly enemies, turned to friends and then lovers I rooted for every step in their journey as they both seemed to have more obstacles to cross than their enemies. The rest of the gang, sorry the assassins were amazing and I wanted more pages dedicated to them. I don't know if the next book will focus again on Leena or Noc but I want more of the men and women of the Cruor.

It's an amazing read filled with magic and beasts that will make wish either to have Leena's powers or at least Newt's suitcase.

I liked this book, although I think that I wanted to like it a bit more than I did. Being a cover art geek, I found the cover to be very enticing. If you've ever read a review by me, you'll soon realize that I'm a sucker for a blue and purple scheme. That coupled with the badass looking central female figure AND the beast silhouette in the background had me clamoring for the book. It seemed that the story would be full of mystery, magic, and some epic magically infused battle scenes. I learned, yet again, that my imagination sometimes sets me up for disappointment.

The story held great promise, and I even enjoyed the dual POV storytelling. While, not my favorite type of recanting, it's started growing on me as more authors become better at utilizing it. The author doesn't disappoint on this level and does a great job of painting the experiences from both main characters’ views. There's a great sense of buildup on the underlying "mystery" of the book. However, we never get the release of a proper conclusion. I was rather upset when the secret wasn't revealed at the end of the story. After many hours of mulling (not consecutive), I surmised that I would have to accept it as a cliff hanger. That didn't completely satisfy me, but at least I was able to move past enough to write this review.

Other than the letdown of not being able to put a fancy green check mark next to ‘Mystery Solved’; I had some difficulty around the naivete of the female main, Leena. Sigh, Leena. I think that I felt all the things I was supposed to feel for her. Sadness at her exile, the desperation of her will to survive, despair at her lonely existence. On first being introduced to Leena, I started building a picture of a woman like that of the one on the book cover. Boy was I ever wrong. Instead, our heroine is super naïve right from the start. She is constantly tricked by the men in her life and doesn't even know enough about herself to interpret her personal feelings honestly. This is a stark contrast to a woman who has fought against all the odds to survive in a strange land alone.

We get glimpses into her overall dreams and aspirations but find that she is 'Okay' with putting them aside once love is found, or rather once she realizes that love has been found. That makes me wonder how much these were goals and not just girlish fantasies. On that note, I also expected to see some growth in Leena which didn't occur. Even after she decides to defer her dreams for companionship, I wasn't 100% sure that she was fulfilling her desires rather than just bypassing them to satisfy the emotional contentment of her new lover. Once again, a stark contrast to my ass-kicking fem warrior. On the other hand, there's our second narrator, Noc.

Noc, is supposedly the big bad head of a well-known and feared group of super assassins called the Cruor. They are known for being especially efficient and discrete in their dealings, and to-date they have no incomplete bounties. Sounds badass to me. Except, first "super-assassin" is summarily disabled and captured with little to no effort by our still semi-neophyte beast master. The other assassins we meet along the way are not what you'd expect either. While wonderfully introduced, they often display many "non-assassin" qualities. The description of the method used when becoming an assassin leads me to believe that much of their pre-assassin selves was lost in the transformation. Enter Noc. Here is an example of what an assassin should be; cool, detached and deadly. Well, only to a point, apparently his true self is contrary to all the early descriptors used. He's cursed, conflicted, and seriously lacks in self-control when around something he truly wants. As I read through the book, I concluded that these were his pre-assassin traits. It would be great to find out more about his past to determine if this was the real reason for such conflicted emotions versus actions.

All-in-all Martineau did a good job in storytelling. I'm hoping that since this is the first in a series that we'll grow to understand the characters more as the series progresses. I can't wait to find out more about the ancillary characters and their world. Here comes my caveat. The lack of truly epic battles and in-depth surreal scenery makes me hesitant to recommend this book to fans of high fantasy although I'm pretty sure that was the target base.

I look forward to reading more by this author and hope to see a bit more epic-ness in her fantasy.

Kingdom is a dual perspective book through the eyes of Noc, a cursed assassin with a secret past, and Leena, an exiled charmer with a formidable ex-lover who wants her dead. I would classify this book as a romance as it focuses more on character development than world-building. The cast of characters is varied and expansive. I can see the series following another set of lovers in the next installment and I wouldn't be disappointed. Although the world-building is minimal, I could picture the setting with ease. The magic system is explained enough, but there is still an air of mystery and room for growth. Overall, I enjoyed the characters and the romance. I really liked the conclusion. Almost all the conflicts were resolved, but there are still a few mysteries to uncover. The side characters will keep me coming back for more.

4.5 /5★ all the way.

The blurb for this book sounded good and I thought it be something I like. I ended up loving it and didn’t want it to end.

I loved everything about this book, the story, the writing, the characters but what I like the most, was the wold. It was new and fresh and so much fun to follow not only Leena and her beasts and the beast realm but also Noc and his band of assassins. I loved how both groups (charmers and assassins) had their own system and magic and little world but yet it is all on one. The book is in dual POV and gives you Leena and Noc, which was great because we get to see both sites and what they think and do at all times.

Of course we get some nice and steamy romance between Leena and Noc but I think I like the friendship between all of them the best. A friendship between the unlikely group. I not only love Leena and Noc but his guys. They gave this book some humor and fun and where there for not only him but her. I thought Leena was a great match for this group and held her own just fine.

I really enjoyed Leena she was strong and never gave up, but I liked the most was that even with a guy in the picture she stood on her own two feet and didn’t rely on him.

Noc was broody, which was understandable given the situations he was in, but he still was fun to follow and once he lighten up a bit it was even better.

I also loved Kost, Calem and Oz and they were equally important to the story.

Overall I loved this book, it had humor, action, twist and turns and some romance. I adored the world and was sad to see it end. That being said I can’t wait for book two.

I rate it 4.5★

I enjoyed this book: Fun characters, unique “other-worldly” beasts and interesting relationships. I will keep an eye out for more books from this author.

I have voluntarily read and reviewed a copy of this title given to me through NetGalley. This is the first book the Beast Charmers series and it was just absolutely wonderful. It was just so easy to get lost in and I just couldn’t put it down. I most definitely will read more by this author.

Sexy adult Pokémon (yea, I'm serious) meets Dark stabby shadowy Brother/Sisterhood of Assassins. So there are Charmers, protagonist, Leena, (hence, Pokémon charmers - YEA, HENCE,) and they can find beasts in the wild and keep them in this magical bestiary necklace. They don't throw Pokeballs or anything, but they have this pheromone that they give off, that can be somewhat tantalizing to humans too. Enter Cruor, led by Noc. They're dead. Literally. Their history is shrouded in shadows, they get raised from the dead and they take "jobs" to kill people. Leena is supposed to be just a job, but Noc has history of his own. He can't show emotions of any kind because of an ancient curse that carried over from his past life. He's hoping one of Leena's beasts can undo the curse. So here we have a meet cute story were shadowy assassin meets Pokegirl and they spend a little too much time together.

On a scale of 1 to I judge all sexy books against KMM's Fever & Maas's Court of series (those were a solid 10 out of 10, steam coming off the pages HOT), this was a solid 6. It wasn't terrible but it wasn't super sexy either. Honestly, the plot and the characters were more interesting, and there's nothing wrong with that. I want to know more about Noc's past, which is where book 1 ends. Who is he? How did he end up with this curse? What's going to happen to Cruor now? The sexy scenes were just alright. There was something missing between the main characters that just didn't sell the passion that should be there in a romance/fantasy novel. The fantasy part is super solid though and that absolutely saved this book. Great read.

I dragged my way through this book. It took me till about halfway through to get into it. Half the book is a romance. No, strike that. It's an insta-love attraction where both parties pretend indifference and then say they'll never love another person again cuz they were betrayed in the past, etc blah blah. So we spend a great part of the book staring at each other and building up to the Moment they can finally let go of their old pain... Very original, right?

I can deal with a good romance. But I hate when characters mistake lust for love. You don't love someone because they're dark and mysterious or because they're spunky. That's called intrigue and lust. Please don't mix them up until you have time to build a real relationship with the other.

Romance aside, the beast magic parts were pretty interesting. I wish each beast got more screen time and more character. Charming the beasts were probably the best parts of the book. The rest could've been left out.

If you want an instant love romance that takes time to cook because boy and girl are pretending to be not interested cuz they have Deep Secrets, enjoy this book. If you want to read the good beast taming parts and skim through the annoying other stuff, it's doable and can be enjoyable too.

I received a copy in exchange for an honest review.

If you like a world of fantastical creatures, mythical beings, and the supernatural, the Beast Charmer series might be for you. With a dash of romance, violence, and fantasy mixed with a tough heroine - whose been through like A LOT- you have yourself a series worth waiting for. The main characters, Noc and Leena, compliment each other in unsuspecting ways. For example, we get to see Noc's softer side that lurk underneath the shadows (pun intended) that matches well with Leena's love for her creatures. Looking forward to the rest of the series.

Thank you to the publisher, Sourcebooks Casablanca and Netgalley for the e-ARC and opportunity to review Kingdom of Exiles. All opinions are my own.

IT’S NOT YOU, IT’S ME.

I dearly wanted to love this, the synopsis was interesting. I had read some good reviews, I was SET to love this…and then I didn’t. But I also didn’t hate it. So please take this review in that light.

First off, HIGH STAKES POKEMON. That is what thought popped in my head and I could not get it out. Leena (and other Charmers) charm these creatures into being their friend and staying with them. They use them for a handful of reasons and care for each other, so yes, if you are even a tiny bit of a Pokemon fan, you can’t miss the similarities. I actually really loved this. It was fun getting to see all of the creatures and I wish we could have learned more about them!

My biggest turn-off was the instant attraction. Noc is supposed to be an assassin after her, and literally after their first run in he’s forgotten that was his job. Immediately they both (dual POV) talk about how attractive, brave, etc. each other is and I didn’t have long enough to get behind their relationship so I felt like I was continually playing catch-up.

I liked the world-building. Maybe could have been more intricate though it was an enjoyable time as Leena, Noc + crew moved throughout the country to achieve plot goals. I really got a sense for the towns and the way most things worked. It’s an easy read overall and easy to keep going. I really loved the side characters that were with Noc (his other assassin friends). They were fun, had different personalities and forged great friendships with Leena.

As far as the plot goes, things were way too easy. For instance, this beast that Leena needed to catch to prove her innocence happened in a few paragraphs, and nothing even went wrong. There was so much build-up to how dangerous and deadly this could be…but it wasn’t. The same thing happened with Noc. His own personal issue was taken away from him so simply!? I actually doubted that it had happened because I thought there was no way it was that effortless.

I know it’s only book one, so I understand some things get left out for later installments. I was missing more backstory (and story in general), from everyone. Based off of how the story played out I believe this information is coming in book two. So while I was bummed, I get it. I also missed general explanations of some things that jumped out of nowhere.

Overall audience notes:

Adult fantasy romance
Language: a bit of strong language
Romance: kisses make-outs, and [personally the only other thing I had trouble with and skipped over] a few way too explicitly detailed love scenes
Violence: physical, animals, poison, magic, knives, torture

It did take me a little while to get invested in this book due to how many characters are involved and the world building. Once I did I was hooked. Yes, it is a bit like Fantastic Beasts or even Pokemon. Loved reading about the different beasts and their power. The fact there is an actual relationship between the Charmer and the beasts along with rules for having them was a plus for me. Too often their are no real responsibilities to having beasts. Ending was well written and I see the possibility for other stories very easily. Yes, it is a long read but well worth the time.

Very pleased by this book. It was interesting and engaging enough to make me care about the characters. The world building was a little limited, but sufficient to support the story. The plot wasn’t overly predictable, and the story was clearly set up for a follow up, which I’m happy about. Writing was at a good level, not too simplistic. I’d definitely recommend to others and will read any follow up books.

When I read that someone says a book is like this book or that book I can’t help but have expectations. 9 times out of 10 what I get is not what I was promised. BUT Kingdom of Exiles really reminded of Fantastic beasts and Assassin’s Creed.

Leena Edenfrell is a Charmer. She was exiled years ago from her homeland for some alleged transgression. To survive she has to do things she never thought were possible, she sells beasts for money. And if that weren’t bad enough she now has to deal with a price on her head. In her desperation she offers a deal to the master assassin, Noc who was contracted to kill her. An offer he can’t refuse. Because he has a secret. And that secret can end him and everyone around him. She offers him magical beasts in exchange for her life. But life is never that easy.

Kingdom of Exiles is a spellbinding tale, the story mixes fantasy and romance expertly. I laughed and cried with Leena and Noc as their past lives and their feelings were revealed, as we get to know them, how they became what they are. It is so very rare to meet with characters this well developed, this full of life when reading a debut novel.
Maxime Martineau is a genius and I can barely wait for her next book. I became so enthralled in this fantastic story that I even dreamed about them.

Thank you to NetGalley, Sourcebooks Casablanca and Maxym Martineau for my copy.

This is epic fantasy at it's best. Remarkable characters in an amazing world. Such wondrous beasts attainable in a unique fashion.