This was a pretty entertaining read that I think many would enjoy. The romance and suspense are built well, and I think that romance and fantasy readers would enjoy this book immensely.

As one of my most anticipated 2019 releases, I was lucky enough to get an early copy of this book from Netgalley, and I couldn’t be happier about it. Advertised as Fantastic Beasts meets Assassin’s Creed, it definitely lived up to expectations.

After the littlest bit of a rocky start – characters and world-building was introduced a wee bit abruptly – I fell in love with the uniqueness of this fantasy romance. Leena is a beast charmer who has been exiled from her community, and getting to know her sassy side as well as her compassion for her beasts was great character building. The beasts themselves were my favorite part – Martineau has a wonderful imagination.

I also adored our love interest, Noc, and his band of assassins. All had such unique personalities, and I can’t wait to read more about them. The pacing was spot on, the dark moments were gut-wrenching, and the romance had me swooning. Definitely add this adventure to your list!

When I found out about the upcoming release of this novel, I was as excited as I could be. I jumped in without the slightest apprehension. The disappointment was all the greater.

Yet the concept of the story is as well thought-out as it is catchy. Kingdom of Exiles is a bit of a mix between Pokemon and Fantastic Beasts, slightly spiced up with some Assassin's Creed. It's the desire to explore this universe that made me take this story to the end.

Imagine a world where mysterious creature charmers roam the earth in search of beasts to bond with. Each has its own characteristics and assets, but only the best charmer can approach the most powerful of them. Imagine a kingdom where a sect of assassins who have returned from the dead and are able to wield shadows roam. Bound by their lives to their contracts, they have no other choice but to carry them out. Imagine that one of these assassins and one of these charmers find themselves forced to collaborate. It has the potential to be explosive, doesn't it?

Unfortunately, that's all it is, just potential. If I liked playing the tourist in this universe, the story didn't thrill me for a moment, and I'm the first to feel sorry for it. Have I read too much YA fantasy and am I getting tired of always seeing the same tricks? I don't know. Insta love, rushed developments... everything here was hasty. The plot remained relatively entertaining, but it lacked depth for me.

I think I mostly liked this one because it was my dreams of being a Pokemon trainer brought to life. That did a lot in terms of how much I actually enjoyed it. Otherwise I found it a fun read, Weird seeing the romance aspect when I kept associating it with Pokemon so THAT was fun. There were parts of the story I felt could have been expanded on and I wasn't always invested in the story or characters, but it was a decent read.

Maxym M. Martineau’s Kingdom of Exiles is simply amazing. I'm not giving the book the highest rating of 5 stars because I personally lack knowledge of Assassin's Creed, but have seen Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them. With Maxym, in essence, combining the two together you had to be able to visualize everything. Having previously seen Fantastic Beasts definitely help me to visualize the unique creatures within the book. I was able to visualize the assassins and what they did, but I think having a knowledge of Assassin's Creed would have made everything better and clearer.

Kingdom of Exiles was one of those books that had my attention immediately. I was intrigued by the exiled charmer Leena, whom I viewed as strong and courageous. I was equally captivated by Noc and his band of assassins. I loved the mystery aspect of the book. I was surprised that I grew attached to the assassins, who have such loyalty to Noc and each other. This book brought out emotions I wasn’t expecting.

Kingdom of Exiles was a great start to the Beast Charmer series. I can’t wait to find out what Maxym has in store for readers next.

4/5 stars! I found this novel really enjoyable. The characters were well written and realistic. The worldbuilding was nicely done.

Love, love, love! This book was great. So much fun and so fast paced. I absolutely adored the main character. She is such a badass. I can't wait for the second book!!!

Wow! I really enjoyed this book.

Kingdom of Exiles introduces us to an exciting new world with roots firmly in the realm of fantasy while still holding on to a little UF feel. It's fresh and creative with a strong romance thread at its core, a well crafted cast of characters, a quest, and a mystery. What more could I ask for?

The book is told from the alternating POVs of Noc and Leena. Noc is the leader of the Cruor, a guild of assassins populated by men and women raised from the dead. (They're not zombies and they're not invincible, but just go with me here.) Leena is a Charmer in exile. Her people have the ability to lure and capture beasts--though it's not what it sounds like. The beasts are more like magical creatures, some powerful and aggressive, others gentle and joyous. And the capture isn't an enslavement so much as a bonding. It's an act of love.

That doesn't mean the beasts aren't a source of power. They are and they are what keep Leena alive, even as a hit is placed on her with Noc's guild. But Leena manages to turn things sideways, forging an agreement with the Cruor. She'll provide them with beasts of their own in exchange for her freedom.

I liked Leena quite a bit. She is pragmatic and a survivor while still keeping a pure heart. And Noc? Strapped with a gnarly curse preventing him from loving or to be loved? He was right in my lane...a bear with a thorn in his paw. There's such a great push and pull between these two, each believing they are doing what they must, even as they work in opposition with the other's goals.

I loved the supporting characters like Callum, Oz, and Kost. I loved the way the author handled bisexuality and different ways to love with such simple acceptance. I loved the beasts and the world and just about everything about this book.

I've read some reviews complaining about the length and/or the pacing. I didn't have issues with either. Yes, it's a little on the longer side, but it didn't feel like filler and it never lost my interest.

I kept this on my TBR longer than I meant to, but that only means a shorter wait for book 2. And I am excited to jump back in this world as soon as possible,

Rating: A-

I usually enjoy fantasy and science fiction but not this on. It was boring and I didn't get more than a couple chapters in before I gave up. I did not finish.

Exiled beast charmer Leena Edenfrell is in deep trouble. Empty pockets forced her to sell her beloved magical beasts on the black market—an offense punishable by death—and now there's a price on her head. With the realm's most talented murderer-for-hire nipping at her heels, Leena makes him an offer he can't refuse: powerful mythical creatures in exchange for her life.

If only it were that simple. Unbeknownst to Leena, the undying ones are bound by magic to complete their contracts, and Noc cannot risk his brotherhood of assassins...not even to save the woman he can no longer live without.- Goodreads

The world building of this novel is fantastic. It really sucks you in and you have high hopes for this book. But I did not like the characters at all. Leena was a lot of talk but did not train herself, find more knowledge enough to be as bad ass as she is portrayed in the beginning of the novel. Noc. . . was just a mess. Like not even a likable mess but just a mess. His who dynamics was off and he didn't know what he was doing not even in the least.

Overall, the pace of the novel was pretty good but I couldn't fall for this book like I wanted to because of the characters.

2 Pickles

I thought the world created in this book was very new. Most fantasies rely on a common trope but the idea of magical creatures in a parallel realm was an interesting twist. Loved mysterious hero and love my heroines to be kick ass. A great read to satisfy my craving for adventure. Clearly I’m bored.

I appreciate the time and thought that the author put into this book but it just didn’t flow for me. I was intrigued by the premise but the actual book fell a bit flat for me. I would love to see what this author comes up with in the future though because I feel they have real promise.

Kingdom of Exiles contains a mystifying world of magic that I was completely enveloped into from the start. This story follows an exiled beast charmer, Leena. I thoroughly enjoyed the magical beast aspect! Leena is able to charm beasts and she has many that have different skills that come in quite handy. The romance in this book was something I didn't know I needed, but absolutely loved. The magic in this world with both the assassins and the charmers was so engrossing, I found myself searching to see when the second book would be released when I was just halfway through this book. Definitely a solid fantasy novel with a fresh new feel.

I received this ARC via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

I loved this book so much! I loved Leena’s relationship with her beasts and how she and the assassins grew to love each other. Noc and Leena were so sweet together and I really loved how her and Kost’s friendship developed over the course of the book. I didn’t love the end so much. Leena’s time trapped by Wynn wasn’t as interesting as the rest of the book but overall, I still adored it and can’t wait to read the rest of the series!

DNF at 10%.

Not sure if it was the writing or wrong timing, but I couldn't seem to get into this book and had to give it a pass.

Eek! I want more in this world!! Please? I grabbed this ARC when I saw it in my email and I don’t regret it one bit!

Okay. We need to start with Leena, because she was LEGIT. A Beast Charmer? Guys, this was such a new and exciting world that I instantly was hooked.

Maxym weaves a story that you can’t put down. I dove into this on a busy afternoon and got nothing else done after I started it.

This book had it all, the action, the swoon, and a little bit of sexy thrown in. We meet some amazing creatures and are thrown into a world that you don’t want to leave. World building at a level 10 and characters that are so unique you want them as your friends.

After hearing some unsettling things about this story from good sources, I'm no longer interested in reading and reviewing it.

DNF around 20% in. I wasn’t feeling engaged by the story and it lost me entirely when the characters started catching beasts via a magical version of pokemon.

I’ll have to admit, the description of “Assassin’s Creed meets Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them” is definitely enough to pique my interest. Not two stories I would have put together on my own–but Martineau makes it work fantastically. (No pun intended.) We have an exiled magic-creatures-wielder and an assassin-for-hire going toe to toe, with each of them trying to save themselves.

Leena is our beasts expert (a Charmer), with a sassy tongue and a taste for the dramatic. Noc is our assassin, hired to kill Leena but selfish enough to want to cure his own curse before figuring out what to do about the Charmer. And if Leena likes a flair of drama, Noc has it again tenfold. So these two move forward, Leena trying to save her life by trading Noc and his men some magical beasts, and Noc trying to fix his own problems before he kills Leena–in more ways than one.

Bit of a slow start, but once this got rolling I was absolutely sucked into it. Leena has enough sass for the next three people in line, and neither she nor I quite knew what to do with Noc and his people at first. I’ll admit, we took a path with them I didn’t expect. Leena’s backstory was predictable, and the whole plot between Noc and Leena was exactly what you’d think it would be. But as any of these stories really need to be, I was connected enough to the characters themselves and how they were going to get from point A to point B.

And of course, I get to the end… and it’s only book one.

I’ve tried so hard to avoid book ones. I have 857 books on my TBD right now, and that’s probably not a complete list. Now I have to add two more.

And as is so often the case with book ones I pick up through NetGalley, book two isn’t due out until early next year, and book three late next year.

So it looks like I’m putting two more books on the list. Because if there’s more to these two’s story, I want to be there to see it. (And a post note as I went to publish this: it’s a six-book series. I am so doomed.)

Rating: **** – Recommended

Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them meets a fantasy world of assassins and secrets in Kingdom of Exiles. If you like your magic with a dose of romance, this book is one you need to read.