I really enjoyed this debut book by Ivy Brannon. It took everything I've loved in fantasy books throughout my reading life and combined it into one novel. If you're looking for a new enemies to lovers with different circumstances throughout the book, this one is for you! Every page I turned seemed to have another plot line, which certainly kept me hooked throughout.

While I enjoyed how similar this book felt to others out there at times (think The Cruel Prince, combined with A Court of Thorns of Roses, but definitely more New Adult), at other times I wasn't as sure whether I enjoyed such repeated tropes and character personalities. However, I think my overall opinion is that it worked. I loved Lina as the protagonist: confident, kind yet sometimes brash and witty. Her quips kept the romances and interactions feeling fresh and unique. I'd love to see what role Wynn plays more in future books as I was really interested in his part in the book.

One thing I struggled with was the pacing, or more accurately, the jumping with time. I found it somewhat hard to engage with Lina's story entering the Fae world and it felt like she almost immediately reluctantly accepted it - we are told she becomes more confident, but I would've liked to see more of her adjusting to court life and feeling like an outsider. Also, the war has so many references within this book, and I feel as though it holds strong importance in future books, and yet Lina feels so distanced and involved in it all at the same time. However, the pacing wasn't incredibly difficult to deal with, just takes a few chapters to adjust to and by that point, the action's so hectic that you end up not focusing on the pace anyway.

Overall, I did really enjoy this book and I think Brannon has a lot of potential as an author seeing as her debut is this good! If you're a reader looking to fill the gap that other popular romantasy books have left, The Veil is definitely a great choice to pick up next.

Thanks to NetGalley for early access to this book! My review will be posted on my TikTok (@thebookishkat) closer to the release date.

This was a great read for fans of ACOTAR or even A Kingdom of Stars and Shadows. Hopefully the published edition will include designations for when the POV changes, as that was a bit confusing at times.

Lina is escaping a bad situation with her three brothers when they are attacked and two of her brothers are killed. What comes to Lina’s rescue is worse though: a monster creature that she evades enough to get away and is found by some fae (she doesn’t know they’re fae). Her youngest brother has been captured by the nethers and Alina is trying everything she can to save him. Think also comedic side characters, found family, a love triangle, and while Alina cries all the time, she works at becoming stronger and learning to protect herself.
I will watch out for the next book as I’m really mad about something that happened and want to have a change.

Rating: 3.5/5 (rounded up to 4 stars)

Spice: 3/5

This book was solid. Engaging story, pretty good characters, a plot that kept moving, lots of action. Overall, entertaining and worth the read. There is a love triangle/falling in love with two people at the same time situation, just a heads up if that’s not your cup of tea. The sex is explicit but not filthy; and there’s not a lot of it.

*SPOILERS!* —>

BUT—if someone had given me this book and said, “Here you go, it’s an ACOTAR fan fiction story,” I would not have questioned that. It so closely aligns to plot points in ACOTAR, that I’m actually wondering if it started as fan fiction. And hey, there’s nothing wrong with that! Love me some good fan fic. But you can be inspired by something, and write a new story, in a way that doesn’t leave the reader constantly comparing the two. I was doing that the entire time I was reading it. If you liked ACOTAR, you’ll probably like this book. It’s not it’s equal by any means, but it’s a fun read if that’s the mood you’re in.

Happy reading!

5/5 stars

I received an arc of this book from NetGalley, in exchange for an honest review.

I absolutely loved this book! I couldn't put it down the minute I started reading, I sat for hours reading this book.

The story is about a human girl named Lina Calder who goes hunting with her brothers and they find themselves in trouble on the night of Samhain when the veil between the fae and the humans is down. Her youngest brother Wynn gets taken by own of the Nethers and determined to save him Lina finds herself getting help from Soren, King of Astoria. But as Lina seeks to rescue her brother a war begins between the fae and the Nethers, and its partially her fault. Even though the story is mainly poised around Lina I enjoyed getting to know a lot of the other characters like Xavier, Syrena, and Hale.

Some things that I wish were added to the book was a little more world building in the beginning of the story about the different lands, rulers, and even some history about the fae and the Nethers. We do learn about the Nethers since they are the main enemy, but I wish there was a little more writing regarding the history of the world in general. Since there are more books coming out in this series, I'm confident that there will be more information for the readers about the world we are reading about.

I can't wait for the next book, there's still so much that I want to know about the other characters and I don't believe that Lina's story is finished.

thank you to netgalley, the publisher and the author for this arc!!

3.75 stars.

so i just finished this book and find myself having THE hardest time trying to write down a review for it. for a debut novel, this was so good!! i've read worse books by more well-known authors, that's for sure– which is EXACTLY why i'm having trouble with this.

i really liked this book, overall!! there were parts and aspects that i enjoyed less, but personal preference played a huge role in this and as the other reviews show, those things ARE better suited to other people! but apart from that, i loved the world, loved the characters, would definitely read the second installment when it releases. i'm curious for the journey that book will bring us on!

ᴀʀᴄ ʀᴇᴠɪᴇᴡ
ᴛʜᴇ ᴠᴇɪʟ ʙʏ ɪᴠʏ ʙʀᴀɴɴᴏɴ

It's hard to gather my thoughts, because I read this in one sitting, despite all my good intentions to actually sleep before work! I may be a little tired! This was fast-paced, and did not let go of my emotions, even at the very end. Secondly, I have some new favourite book characters (Xavier became a favourite 𝑣𝑒𝑟𝑦 early on), and even a new book boyfriend. 🖤🔥

This debut is high fantasy with Fae royalty, dark creatures, political intrigue, fighting, found family, stabby FMC, touch her and I'll unalive you, and some tension before the spice.

Swipe for blurb.

This book is an emotional rollercoaster. I enjoy the FMC, Lina, and love how unapologetic she is. Fae King of Astoria, Soren, and Lina's love interest, is brooding, dark, powerful and morally grey - what's not to love? It wasn't him who took my heart though...

A 🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟 read for me.


Ivy Brannon, I loved this! I will be keeping a close eye out for the sequel ARC, because I 𝑛𝑒𝑒𝑑 to know more! Also, if I fall asleep at work, it's your fault! 😂

🖤🖤🖤

Publication date : 1st February 2023

I received this as an ARC from NetGalley in return for a review. Thank you!

🖤🖤🖤

I’m so torn about this book. There are parts of it I loved. It reminded me of ACOTAR, From Blood and Ash and The Plated Prisoner all in one. Lina was a fantastic character and the world building was really strong. The side characters were well developed and I loved how the author dealt with some series issues within the story. The struggles I had were that the main love interests reminded me strongly of characters from other series. At the same time the similarities to other series would, at points, pull me out of the story. I still ultimately liked how the relationships were built and the ending left me wanting to know more.

This is the first book in the series and despite any issues I had with it I will definitely be reading the next book because I want to know what happens!

Tropes
-found family
-enemies to lovers

⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ .5 / 5
🌶 🌶️ 🌶️ /5

The Veil by Ivy Brannon is the first book of a series and I really enjoyed reading. As soon as I read the synopsis I was hooked. Without giving too much away the main character Lina gets rescued and taken into the veil which can be only accessed one day a year on Samhain. I don’t want to give anymore away but this was a 5/5 stars read. I couldn’t put this book down, I stayed up all night reading it. I can’t wait to read the rest of the series and see where this story continues. Thank you to Netgalley and Ivy Brannon for an opportunity to read an advanced copy of this book in exchange for my honest opinions.

4 ⭐️

This was imaginative, fast paced, and fun debut book by Ivy Brannon, It had many familiar tones of A Court of Roses, but much more adult which I really preferred.

It follows the story of a human named Lina that after an attack on a camping trip where her younger brother goes missing and her two older brothers are brutally murdered. Lina finds herself trapped in a world that was told as a fairy tale with a broody man Soren and his bestfriend Xavier, after they save Lina from the attack. Have her under their protection.

She is a human now stuck in a Fae world that Nethers has kidnapped her little brother. A world on brink of war with the Nethers and eachother.

Soren and Xavier reminded me so much of Tamlin and Lucian from ACOTAR so had many conflicts feelings over Soren.

I do really enjoy Lina's character but she definitely makes abrupt decisions without any thought of anyone else or what could happen to them in their world. My favorite character for sure is Hale. I really enjoy his character and real struggles with racism/bias from his community.

The world is pretty rich in first book and I hope it goes into even more in-depth in the second book for world building,

The writing style of this book is great. The majority of the book is told from Lina's prospective but then there are key moments that we get Soren and Hale's point of view. It was perfection. We even get a flash back chapter that helps explains some of the political relationships.

I really appreciated so much that this was an adult fantasy versus young or new adult,

Overall this is a really fun book and I'm really hoping that Ivy Brannon continues writing as this was a great debut and showed a ton of talent and prospect. Well done.

I would recommend this book to fans of Sarah J Maas, Holly Black, and Leigh Bardugo.

Thank you to Net Galley and Ivy Brannon for this advanced reader copy. My review is voluntarily my own.

I will be posting my review to my Instagram page The.Floofs.Booknook and retail sites closer to or on publication.

Completely obsessed with this book and need everyone to read it!

The Veil follows Lina Calder as she ends up in a fae realm after Samhain in an attempt to save her brother that goes wrong. This book has everything, steam, a love triangle that had me shouting for Lina to just pick one, moments that will shock you and have you laughing. I can honestly say I really enjoyed this book and has reminded me the magic is still there even when a big name is attached but I hope Ivy Brannon goes places with this.