A fantasy novel that has a wonderful complex world that is fully crafted. The characters are a spontaneous love or hate. The love story is remarkable and I can't wait to read the next book.

ARC provided by the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review

Definitely charmed!! I was fashinated by the plot and waited months to be able to read this book and I can say that it was worthy. It takes a while to warm up but after the firts few chapter is impossible to not love the story and the characters. I loved the way their lifes change and merge. Beyond romance the book is full of adventure, magic and love..

This book is full of magic, action, fantastical beasts, curses and more, even a love story that may cause the death of one or the other parties involved. Can’t wait to read the second book in this series to continue this amazing story of intrigue.

Charmer Leena Edenfrell lives on the fringes of society since being wrongly exiled by her people. After trusting the wrong man, Leena vows never to give her heart to anyone else. Leena survives by selling her magical beasts, an act considered an anathema in her society, risking her life every day to do it. Now, someone has put a bounty on Leena that will end with her death. The Cruor guild of not quite human assassins targets Leena; however, they are rather surprised when she proves to be much more of a challenge than expected. Their leader, Noc, takes on the responsibility for the oath his guild agreed on to fulfill the execution order. Noc has his own major issues including living with a curse which causes everyone he loves to fall ill and die. Leena bargains with Noc to acquire the magical beasts that only a Charmer can call and gift to Noc and his men. Each beast has a special talent from simple comfort level abilities to monster size ones who make their owners a force to be reckoned with as they are quite deadly.

Leena, Noc, and three of his men set out on a journey to capture the agreed upon beasts. Leena has a hidden agenda to find the one beast who can help redeem and prove her innocence. Many adventures ensue for the group during their quest while Leena and Noc are irresistibly drawn to each other despite seemingly insurmountable odds. Noc will have to make difficult choices about who will be sacrificed.

There is definitely a Harry Potter vibe with the magical creatures who are bound to the Charmers. Told in first person with alternating POV’s between Leena and Noc, readers can expect much action, adventure, and fantastical creatures as well as romance. This is the first book in The Beast Charmer trilogy; clearly much more of this tale is yet to unfold including Noc’s history and the pursuit by enemies he and Leena have. This series is off to a promising start; fans of Amanda Bouchet’s The Kingmaker Chronicles which has a strong heroine, very appealing hero, and excellent world building will likely will enjoy this fantasy tale.

Hands down a phenomenal read from beginning to end! There just any enough words to express how immensely I've enjoyed this. The freshing concept that was filled with action-packed supernatural and paranormal elements almost left me to my knees with the author great writing style and should we also mention the characters? Needless to say that it became more than difficult to choose who was my favorite. Was it Noc, Calem, Kost, Leena or the other characters that left a good impression on me? I'm pretty sure there wasn't a character I didn't like and that includes Wynn and Winnow. Moreso each character, rather big or small, brought something to the story and that ultimately lead to the spectacular cliffhanger, if you want to call it that. This was definitely a series where Assassin’s Creed meets Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them, and it's worth the long read. During the course of this read, I seriously couldn't put this down and before I knew it I have made it to the epilogue but fortunately enough there is still much more to the story and I can't wait for the release of the of remainder parts of “The Beast Charmer Series”. Let's just say 2020 couldn't come fast enough!

Adventure on every page,, fantastical creatures, and slow burning romance. Highly recommend this book.

I loved this book! It took me away to another world. Fully of magic, adventure, action, romance, curses and so much going on. Looking forward to the 2nd book that will come. The characters are likable and you get a little glimpse into their past. There are teasers that keep you wanting more.

Leena Edenfrell is an exiled beast charmer who wants to get her way back home. Noc a cursed assassin who can't be loved or love because it will cause the death of that person. Fate brings them together when a hit is put on Leena, Trying to find a way to get the assassin's to end the hit she promises to give them 4 beasts in exchange for her life. Yet don't be fooled Leena also needs something from them.

Do yourself a favor and pick this book up. It is wonderful and I want to pick it up and read it again. This would make a great movie!

I succumbed again to the lure of a paranormal/fantasy romance for a light read whilst on a sightseeing holiday and fully expected it to be as trashy and bad as they usually are. This one was actually one of the better ones I've read, I enjoyed it more than Maria V. Snyder's books (well, apart from 'Poison Study', I loved that first one, although I'm not sure it'd retain my opinion after a re-read...) and this didn't irritate me anywhere near as much as 'A Promise of Fire' by Amanda Bouchet. I did still find myself scan reading a little and rolling my eyes on occasion, some scenes get rather repetitive, but the characters and world building (whilst not great) were fine and better than most I've read in the romance genre.

If you normally enjoy fantasy romance I'd definitely recommend 'Kingdom of Exiles' and I'd read the next one, in fact I'd possibly save it to read after a really nasty grimdark fantasy..!

(ARC provided by publisher via NetGalley)

Kingdom of Exiles is an extraordinary story that skillfully combines adventure, thriller, and romance into a gripping read. Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them meets Assassins Creed is an excellent description for Kingdom of Exiles.

We’re introduced to a fantastic realm where Leena is a charmer. This means that she can tame and bound with beasts (magical creatures with different supernatural abilities). Leena can summon them at will, and her beasts can protect her.

Blamed for a crime she didn’t commit, Leena is exiled by the Charmers Council and forced to make do by selling her beasts. Things go from bad to worse when an assassin tries to kill her, and she finds out there’s a bounty on her head. Her only chance to survive is to make a deal with the devil. Little does she know about the magic of Cruor’s Oath – assassins are bound by magic to complete their contracts. And thus the adventure begins.

“You’re a long way from home, Charmer. I will neither remove the bounty nor permit you to leave here safely.”

[…]

She was so fragile. Breakable. Hard to believe she’d somehow managed to trap my second-in-command. What made her so dangerous that she warranted a bounty?"

She strikes a bargain with Noc, the leader of the Assassins’ Guild by offering him beasts in exchange for her freedom. Since she’s unaware of the Cruor’s Oath, he can easily deceive her to get the promised beasts. He plans to kill her as soon as she delivers her end of the bargain. As you can expect, that doesn’t happen. Slowly but surely enemies turn into lovers, but they both have secrets and trust issues, so they fight their feelings. That part of the story was well developed and didn’t fall into the fake insta-romance trap.
He was an assassin. I was his bounty. There were so many things that could possibly go wrong— for both of us. And yet, no matter how hard I tried to fight it, I found myself drawn to him. Pulled to him like the ocean waves were guided by the moon.
Read the full review here: https://www.summonfantasy.com/book-reviews/kingdom-of-exiles-by-maxym-martineau

Be sure to read through to chapter 5. It may seem so hard and not great but if you make it that far you will fall into and read the entire book in one sitting. The characters are strong and wonderful. I absolutely love the creatures in the book. They were probably the greatest part of the book. Fantastic beasts would be proud to be known along with this one. I am excited to see what will happen in the next books.

Overall this was an enjoyable read. I wanted to know what would come next and read most the book in one go. However, I felt that the first 3 chapters tried too hard to sound ominous and used too many stereotypes to signal who was good/trustworthy or bad. Also, given the level of intelligence/moral rectitude attributed to the most mythical beast, it defied comprehension that it would be so easy to fool it into harming people it's master holds dear. Anyway, enough is left unresolved that I'd be interested in reading the next book in the series.

I have tried so hard to get through this. I almost quit at the way beginning but then I read reviews about how great this was. I’ll admit, when I got further into it I became more interested but im at 60% and I have yet to see anything exciting happen. The concept behind this is intruiging but the execution just doesn’t do it for me. The relationships don’t mesh well except for Leena and Oz. Noc is the main man here but I just don’t feel his emotions the way they’ve come out.
This was a DNF fr me. I just couldn’t go on.

Kingdom of Exiles by Maxym Martineau, a great fun read. I really enjoyed this book, it pulled me in from the first chapter and didn't let go, Leena is a charmer of mythical beasts and someone has hired assassins to kill her, assassins who never miss...

I really enjoyed this book. Sexy with unique concepts, but a bit predictable at times. All in all still a great book as long as you don't mind sexy bits.

This being the first book I read by the author exceed my expectations. The book was filled with magical beast and beast charming along with magical assassin. Leena is a beast charmer who is in exile and Noc is the magical assassin in charge with killing her. There is romance and does not end on a cliffhanger. I felt connected to them and enjoyed learning about the characters. I look forward to the next book in the story.

A very good YA Fanasty magical story.
Lena is a Beast Charmer and her friend accused her of a crime and a bounty is placed on her.
Noc accepts the bounty and goes after Lena.
Lena and Noc arrived at an agreement that's where all the action,drama,twists, suspense begins.
Very compelling story.
Really like all the characters and magical beasts.
Looking forward to the next.
Voluntarily reviewed.

I received this ARC via Netgalley and the publisher in return for an honest review. I loved this book! If you are a fan of Ilona Andrews and Anne Bishop, you should like this story very much (rare praise to compare to those amazing authors!). Strong characters; excellent word-building. This is a great start to a new series. The ending resolves enough that, even though it obviously sets up for a sequel, the ending status quo is satisfying as a stand-alone. In a world with magic, there are Charmers who live in a closed society and can symbiotically bond with other world creatures. An exiled Charmer, falsely accused, Leena is on her own and scraping by. She learns, the hard way, that there is a bounty on her head and the assassins guild has accepted the contract. This precipitates an unheard of agreement between Noc, the head of the guild (all of whom have died and been reborn, by the way) and Leena, the exiled Charmer. Their agreement takes them into dangerous situations, accompanied by three other members of the guild. Noc has reasons for wanting to use the agreement, of course. There is romance, deception, a fairly unpleasant section with a horrible Charmer who tortures Leena, and reconciliation. I look forward to reading more from this author and can't wait for the next adventure.

Kingdom of Exiles is the first book in The Beast Charmer series. When I read the blurb I was intrigued and I'm happy to say the book didn't disappoint at all. It was unique and funny and once the plot grabbed me I wasn't able to put it down untill I finished it. The start was a bit slow and it took me some time to get sucked into the story but once it did.. Oh boy, what a ride it was. The author creates a fantasy world full of beasts and magic, but she doesn't feel the need to spend time laying out that world for you. Instead, you discover it as you're reading the book. It feels much more natural that way. The plot was really great - every important scene led to another, the fighting scenes were amazing, the magic and mythology were interesting... The book was different, entertaining, and kept my attention. And the characters were well developed and very interesting.
My only complaint is that I didn't really understand why Leena and Noc were atracted to eachother, let alone why (or how) they fell in love. I didn't feel the chemistry between them right up to the end.
But overall I enjoyed the book very much and I'm really looking forward to the next in this series. I really hope it will get even better because I did kind of get attached to the characters and I'm looking forward to reading more about them. This book was really great. I highly recommend it.

I really enjoyed this new series. Lots on offer in the book and really looking forward to more from this author.

tw mentions of abusive relationships/rape

First off, thank you to the author, publisher, and Netgalley for sending me an ARC in exchange for this honest review!

The blurb describes this as Fantastic Beasts meets Assassin's Creed, but truth be told, I know nothing of either of those franchises. If anything, Leena's world reminds me more of Pokemon, albeit like....a dark, sexy version of that world? Trust me, it works a lot better than that sentence makes it sound. I went back and forth on 3-4 stars on this one, and ultimately decided on four - because I genuinely did enjoy this one that much, even if it's not my usual read.

I tend to be in love with the idea of paranormal romance, but I rarely (if ever) actually ENJOY reading them. They're often too dramatic for my taste, or the characters are two dimensional, or worst of all, the 'love' story just reeks of consent issues and weirdness. I say all this not to dissuade anyone from Kingdom of Exiles, but to highlight all the ways it steers clear of those common pitfalls. This is a lush, exciting paranormal romance, and I had a blast reading it.

Fair warning to future readers, there IS an abusive relationship (and near the end, something that seems like a rape parallel to me) but none of that occurs between our MC and her LI. Martineau treats those darker storylines with respect and care, and the end result was intense but cathartic, making me genuinely ache for Leena even in the midst of her swashbuckling adventure.

It helps that Martineau hits so many of my fav things throughout this novel too. Enemies to lovers? Check. Doomed, tragic antiheroes? Check. Interesting, unique worldbuilding? Check. LGBT rep???? Check check check. This is by no means a perfect book (the chemistry between the leads is rushed, the writing isn't exactly subtle, and then there's the tired trope of the gay side char being in tragic/unrequited love with his best friend) but it was such an enjoyable read that I was more than happy to overlook those things.

This is definitely a creative book, and I'd say that for anyone who's looking for some absurd, escapist fantasy with plenty of tension/romance, then this is the book for you. The ending was satisfying enough, but clearly setting things up for a sequel, and the most interesting storyline (for me) has yet to be resolved. I know it may be a long way off, but still, after this one I definitely look forward to seeing what comes next for Leena and Noc!