A fantasy romance with a prophecy after the old kings death that changes Keelys life forever when it looks like her little sister might be at the heart of it. Luckily she has a clan of kilt-wearing men who come to her aid.

DNF 36%
I really wanted to like it, the blurb made it seem interesting. But this was a hard hard miss for me.

I had a hard time getting into this book and I think it would be one I would have gotten more out of in paper version to keep track of everything. This is just a me thing, but readers more used to fantasy will enjoy this one.

ARC copy provided by Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

I didn't like reading The Blacksmith Queen. It ended up on my DNF list after I read about a third of the way through. I couldn't get myself to continue reading.

Ok, so as I have established in the past, G.A. Aiken’s writing is not for everyone as it can sometimes be a little bit out there and just plain weird, but I am a huge fan and for her faithful readers, this new series is going to be an adventure in amazing and terrifying ways. That being said here were my thoughts on this beginning to a brand new series.

An all new series begins from one of my favorite authors of all time, set in a tangential world to her Dragon Kin series which has been keeping me laughing and hooked on reading for years. G.A. Aiken’s new Scarred Earth Saga begins when the old King of the land dies, leaving no acknowledged heir. But a prophecy has been told that a young farm girl will become the new queen, leading to a civil war and leaving her and her family in danger. Luckily her family is not just any family of blacksmiths and farmers, especially her oldest sister Keeley Smith, a blacksmith of great renown and a seriously badass fighter. When danger comes for her sister and family, Keeley takes control of the situation, kicking ass, taking names, and generally killing anyone she comes into contact with. Determined to get her family safely to the other side of this prophecy, she is forced to accept the assistance of a group of legendary warriors including the sexy but gruff Caid. Travelling together and fighting together leads to an odd bond, but when they are betrayed by one of their own Keeley has to fight for her life. Once Keeley is out of the woods, there is now way she is going to give up her fight and now she has an all new unexpected enemy to fight in this battle for the crown and the freedom of their lands. Caid is kind of weird guy but it was fun watching him and Keeley circling one another and when they came together their passion was certainly undeniable. I loved seeing Keeley using her anger to overcome challengers and kill anything in her way, but her true strength was in her love for her family, willingness to sacrifice for her friends and unwillingness to deal with the injustice of the royalty fighting to lead. I am dying for the next story in this series and can’t wait to see who gets to rule the lands and what crazy lovers we get to enjoy next. Aiken does it again and I suspect I will be just as enamored of this series as I was of the Dragon Kin stories in the past. Another hit for sure!

This book is an entertaining and escapist read, and it sets you up to enter a fantasy series that is full of strong, independent women who are supported by the men in their lives. While I enjoy Aiken's usual banter and quip throwing, it did feel like the romance plot line was an afterthought in the book and the relationship between Keely and Caid could have used a lot more development. I'll still be reading the rest of the series just because of how well developed the Smythe sisters are and I can't wait to see how their personalities play out against the background of power struggles and upheavals.

I love G.A. Aiken! I love the new world of characters. I can't wait to read more. A must-read! The characters are so well written and the interactions keep the story flowing and action packed.

The Blacksmith Queen is the FIRST book in a brand new series. And I was elated when I realized that EVERYTHING I loved about the Dragon Kin series is incorporated into this new series.

The awesome and rambunctious characters. The over the top family dynamic that makes me crack up. The action. And the strong women that really are the center of it all. Everything I love and adore about this author's books was there. The guys that can't stop but fall in love with these women, including their crazy antics - this book had it ALL - and I was in heaven!

I'm so damn happy that the author started this new series. I have no idea what the next book is about, I hope it's still about Keely and Caid because their journey, at least Keely's, has barley started BUT I also can see so many future books about the other characters, especially the women.

The cast was amazing, very similar to Dragon Kin which will delight the fans.

There are still many secrets to uncover, and I mean not only plots but also backstories of many of the characters. The author built an incredibly entertaining and promising cast around Keely, and the possibilities are endless.

Even better, the world of the Scarred Earth Saga plays in the same world as Dragon Kin, and I'm a bit excited about a possible cameo.

I thought Keely and Annwyl had a wee bit in common, which delighted me even more. Like I said - this book made me very happy.

So, long story short, if you love fantasy, strong but also at times crazy heroines, witty dialogues, and lots of action, you'll enjoy this story for sure. You'll get sucked into a fabulous and rambunctious fantasy tale with centaurs, dragons, dwarves and elves. It's bloody and gory at times, but boy it's also entertaining from beginning to end.

G.A. Aiken, one of my favorite authors of Fantasy Romance, has a brand new series out! I’m so excited about this because I love her humor and worldbuilding style and I was curious to see what this new series is about.

Since I know many of you will ask, I think it’s very different in style and tone to her Dragon Kin series. I would say that this book kind of falls in line with her more recent Laurenton books which tend to be more violent. I’ve kind of grown used to this because all the characters here have that tendency to them.

The biggest surprise for me about this book was that it wasn’t as humorous or sarcastic as Aiken’s books have been in the past. Since this is one of the things that I expect in a Aiken book, I was a tiny bit disappointed. However, I still found this book to be very enjoyable overall. I especially like the way Aiken utilizes multiple POVs to narrate her story. But the catch is, she uses secondary characters to share their experiences. These are characters who might not be considered important to some, but if offers something really different to her writing and paints her characters in a more menacing light.

I am definitely looking for to the next installment of the series and if you haven’t already read any of Aiken’s books, I would highly suggest reading her Dragon Kin series. It’s amazing and full of fun twists and turns.

Knowing this is a first in a series I really enjoyed it. I am a sucker for strong female characters and the men who love them. This was funnier than I'd thought it'd be and a little tamer too but it worked. While everything reached its natural conclusion and no cliffhangers, I can't wait for what comes next.

This book was so amazing. I was reading it when I 1st started playing dnd and I was finding alot of connections and it was great, which doesn't have alot to do with the story.

I really liked the new direction this book went vs the other Aiken books, but Laurenston kept her humor and badass characters. It was a great read and I highly recommend it.

The Blacksmith Queen is the first book to G.A. Aiken’s The Scarred Earth Saga. This book is a Fantasy Romance, so it’s full of action-packed scenes and adventure, but it has some romance elements. This happened to be the first book I read from G.A. Aiken and won’t be my last.

Storyline: The Old King has died, so his sons are battling and killing each other for the throne. There’s a prophecy, though, that a queen will ascend to the Black Hills throne, which is terrible news to the sons fighting for the throne. The centaurs set out to find the future queen and protect her from the King’s sons. They never expected to see the queen with the Blacksmith family. Now the family has to fight off royals and whoever else wants to kill the future queen in their family. I don’t want to give away too much of the storyline. I’m moving onto my thoughts of the story of what I did like and didn’t like.

My Thoughts: I loved the main characters in the story, and I also loved the secondary characters. G.A. Aiken not only had the main characters have a POV, but the secondary characters had one too. I loved getting all the different POVs because there were more angles to the story. Although, I wish I had less of the bad guys/gals points of view. It made me despise them even more. I loved the main character Keeley because she was strong and determined. She was one kick-butt heroine who could take care of herself. She also came off as rude and violent, so some readers may not like her. They may not even like the other characters too. Keeley’s family is much different from other characters I read before. This was the first book that I read from G.A. Aiken, so I had nothing to compare to, but I plan on reading her other books now after reading this one. I loved the humor in this book, especially with particular scenes that involved Keeley’s cousin, who was different from the other characters. There was also Keely herself and how she saw the world. It drove the Centaurs crazy how Keeley put herself in danger at times. I mean, she does have ‘demon’ wolves in this story that everyone is scared of, but her. I loved her to take in the world and how much she loved animals.

Here are the things I didn’t like, though, in the story. There are certain words in the book that was overused in how characters described each other. I won’t type them in my review. It got annoying at times. There was also the ending that left me in shock. I felt like there needed to be more, but I know that G.A. Aiken will continue it in the next book. I was not prepared for the ending, though. Overall, this book gets 3.5-stars from me.

Another thing that bothered me was the villain(s) in the story, but that is because G.A. Aiken wrote them to be hated, if that makes sense.

Would I recommend this book? Yes. I recommend it to readers that enjoy the Fantasy Romance genre and are looking for a book that has a lot of fighting in it. It has a lot of action-packed scenes, which is why I love this genre. The romance element is not a priority. The storyline, main characters, and even secondary characters take center stage in this book. I can’t wait to dive into the next book.

Aiken has a way of making heroes out of plain folk. The old king has died, his sons are fighting each other and business is good. Keeley Smythe is perfectly happy to supply the soldiers of the latest war with her Blacksmith wares. Fate has a crazy way of stepping in. Keeley is drawn into this war because of a prophecy that predicts a Queen will emerge and it seems like it will be her wacked out sister. Cunning like no other, Beatrix is power hungry and a few grains over into the psychopath territory. Well, that just won't do. Backed by Mountain warriors who just happen to be Amachai, (Centaurs), and her strong and prolific family, Keeley embarks on a journey fraught with danger, lots of crazy quips, a devoted side kick in Caid, and did I mention a pack of demon eyed wolves, who adore her and whom she treats like docile puppies?
This is Aiken's strong suit, women who are thoughtful, intelligent, fight like hell, and take no sh*t. This is a great start to an ongoing saga.

I received this as an ARC, and these opinions are entirely my own.

I received with thanks an ARC copy of The Blacksmith Queen from Kensington Books and Netgalley.

This is my review of The Blacksmith Queen by G.A. Aiken. This was published on 27th August 2020.

This was my 1st book by the author and will not be the last one that I will read. This had everything a fantasy should have. The writing style was engaging from start to finish. I really enjoyed the mix of characters and setting within this novel.

Would recommend if you love a Fantasy

G.A. Aiken, one of my favorite authors of Fantasy Romance, has a brand new series out! I’m so excited about this because I love her humor and worldbuilding style and I was curious to see what this new series is about.

Since I know many of you will ask, I think it’s very different in style and tone to her Dragon Kin series. I would say that this book kind of falls in line with her more recent Laurenton books which tend to be more violent. I’ve kind of grown used to this because all the characters here have that tendency to them.

The biggest surprise for me about this book was that it wasn’t as humorous or sarcastic as Aiken’s books have been in the past. Since this is one of the things that I expect in a Aiken book, I was a tiny bit disappointed. However, I still found this book to be very enjoyable overall. I especially like the way Aiken utilizes multiple POVs to narrate her story. But the catch is, she uses secondary characters to share their experiences. These are characters who might not be considered important to some, but if offers something really different to her writing and paints her characters in a more menacing light.

I am definitely looking for to the next installment of the series and if you haven’t already read any of Aiken’s books, I would highly suggest reading her Dragon Kin series. It’s amazing and full of fun twists and turns.

This book was wonderful. From world building to characters i loved and even ones i loved to hate. A must read for 2020

The Blacksmith Queen is the first book in The Scarred Earth saga. This was an excellent first book. Once I started reading I couldn't put it down. I'm excited to read the next installment to this series.
The Blacksmith Queen is the story of Keeley of the Smythe clan. She is a blacksmith just like her mother was. She is extremely strong and cares deeply for her family and for all creatures.
The Blacksmith Queen follows Keeley. This is the story of her and how her life changes in a blink of eye. Through the story Keeley also finds the love of her life.
The story contains demon wolves, centaurs, dwarves, elves, and dragons. It also has a medevil setting. There is plenty of action and a slow building romance.
The Blacksmith Queen is an awesome read and I couldn't put it down till I finished it. I'm excited to read the next installment to The Scarred Earth saga.
I give The Blacksmith Queen 5 out 5 stars.
I would recommend this series to anyone that enjoys fantasy with plenty of action and a slow building romance.

Thanks to Kensington Books and Netgalley for an Advance Copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. I loved this book - it was rollicking good fun. I devoured the whole book in one sitting and can't wait for the next one.
I should mention that the ... ehem ... love scenes were a tad clunky and a bit crude. I thought the romance was moving towards something a little more sedate. Not being prudish, as I have been known to enjoy the odd steamy scene - it's just the lead up didn't match the moment when our Queen and her Centaur finally get together.
I did love their dynamic, though, and enjoyed their repartee and reluctant admiration. And the fact that Keeley isn't your average simpering heroine, but an honest to good muscly blacksmith with a kick-arse family.
Could not put this down!

Outrageously over the top! But I loved it. It's hilarious and gory! I adored the characters and the dialogue was just the most fantastic thing ever!

Seriously this book as been a much needed read to this bored reader. I loved the characters and setting so much!