After an interesting twist on the legend of King Arthur and his round table? Well, you’ve found it in Of Blood & Light.
Learn about the world of Thule alongside River, who is abducted from Earth due to mistaken identity. There is a lot at play – politics, families, and Blight, the illness that is slowly killing the land of Thule, despite all efforts – and they are all cogs that turn to make the story as wonderful as it is.
The world-building is well-developed - a mix of magic, Arthurian legends, and some Victorian stylings (unfortunately the Victorian sentiment somewhat carries over with the way in which women are treated in the book – characters can come across as misogynistic in certain aspects).
It is also worth noting that there is romance in this book (a little bit complicated, seeing as he is technically her brother-in-law…) but only black pepper amount of spice.
Would recommend if fantasy with a splash of romance is your thing.

Review posted on Goodreads on May 3rd, 2023. Link to review: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/5523583043

<b>Arthurian legend, bodice-ripping, and capybaras: welcome to Thule!</b>

Oh yeahhh. This might be one of the most refreshing books I've read this year yet. I mean can we get some round of applause on this one?

<img src="https://media.tenor.com/029LgfMnsisAAAAC/applause-leonardo-dicaprio.gif" width="200" height="200" alt="description"/>

You have given me a new life, Ms Monk.

I came into this one with low expectations, as I usually do with new-to-me authors. Plus, it promised us an Arthurian legend (something I'm kinda in the mood for lately idk why), and, it features my newest animal obsession:

<img src="https://static1.straitstimes.com.sg/s3fs-public/styles/large30x20/public/articles/2023/04/26/rdcapybara203_2.jpg?VersionId=_ABmGfqgpRfu82Yzl_53iGcfTJlIDqFz" width="250" height="200" alt="(the capybara, not the cat)"/> (the capybara, not the cat)

So, with that in mind, this book surprises me. The level of detail in the worldbuilding and backstory, I am impressed. I'm a whore for an excellent worldbuilding and this book delivered. I feel like I was transported right into the story the moment the book starts. It's not a generic sort of worldbuilding, you know, the one that you usually get with some other books. This one got a great magic system, interesting mechanics to them and even technology surrounded them. I mean, have I mentioned how impressed I am? The last time I was impressed by a magic system, it was the Hidden Legacy series.

And the characters? Oooohh, we got no asshole alpha hero in this one guys. WE HAVE A GENTLEMAN!

<blockquote><b><i>"Will you forgive me this one sin?"</i></b></blockquote>

<img src="https://media.tenor.com/Avxsk6MXOT0AAAAC/funny-girl.gif" width="270" height="200" alt="description"/>

I know, I'm regressing to a teen a bit here but bear with me for a while. It has been a hot minute since I read a genuinely good hero that doesn't overpower our girl with his alpha-ness. And our girl, River, what a fantastic protagonist. She's smart, something that I don't think the author portrayed that well, and drama free from what I can tell. You don't get that airhead attitude from her, the one that creates complicated situations wherever she goes. Well, she did create one huge complicated situation, not on her own will of course.

And the plot? I think I'll end it here since I want you to read it on your own. All I can say is that it's original and darker than I expected (not something I usually found in a fantasy romance but definitely in horror and those <i>dark</i> romances).

All in all, I have a massive fun with this book. A slower pace fantasy romance with great worldbuilding, interesting characters, an excellent magic system, and an original plot. Definitely an easily recommended book to those who love plot-driven fantasy romance with vibrant worldbuilding.

*I received an ARC copy of this book through Netgalley in exchange of my honest review. *

Thank you to NetGalley for the opportunity to read rage and review this arc which is now available.

A bodice ripping fantasy in Proto-Celtic about Authorian Legends? Yes! A million times yes! Oh my god this was so so good and unique and good lord I loved every single word. It evoked such moments of clarity in my imaginings as I read. Go read this book now!

Thank you Netgalley and publishers for the arc of ‘Of blood and light’ by C Monk.

It’s so well written and reads with ease. I wasn’t sure what genre this is but why should we label everything!

Stunning read! Another author to add to my favourites.

I fear I've set the bar too high with this as my first ARC from netgalley.
5 luminous and resounding stars for the tale of River Greer. River is trying to save her youngest sister when she is stolen in the night and transported to a place light years from earth and straight into Arthurian legend. River will do whatever it takes to not only return home to save her sister but to save the foreign world of Thule from the mysterious blight. Along the way she will discover answers to questions of her past, including what exactly happened to her long disappeared mother and sister.

Now that the summary is out of the way, let me say this. I'm picky with writing styles. If I don't like the writing style I don't care how good the story is, I'm immediately taken out of it. C. Monk is such a gifted writer and story teller. I absolutely adored the writing. Descriptive but not droning, she knows how to paint a picture and tell a story without making it too flowery or losing me in the details. She kept me captivated the whole time. Normally I don't always like when modern/current language is used in stories because I feel it takes away from the fantasy/surreal element of sci-fi/fantasy stories. However, she uses the perfect amount of it to inject humor in the story and it offers us a way as the the reader to forge a connection with River.
I loved the characters and the world building, the story was paced very well.
Most of all, as an avid reader of romance I was a big fan of the romance in this story.
I can't wait to read more from this author and look forward to the sequel!

When I started reading this I had difficultly trying to categorize the trope of story this is, It's not enemies to lovers. It also isn't a kidnapped/imprisoned or mistaken identity trope either. It doesn't really fit into any of them. It is however exciting. It has an interesting premise with the female lead, River, being kidnapped and brought to another planet to be handed over to a Duke as his missing wife. Who just so happens to look just like her. This planet has it's own magic system that is dying and the duke is spending his life trying to keep things going on his land. River seems to fall in line a bit to easily with the archaic rules of owning women and controlling their every movement that exists there. She also seems to fall for the duke a tad too quickly as well. But there are deeper plots afoot, a missing duchess to still find and a world that needs saving. I really couldn't put down the book as it kept me interested through every chapter. So while it isn't my standard fare romance wise, it was exciting with a quickly moving storyline and a very detailed world and characters. Thank you to netgalley and the publishers for allowing me to read this book in exchange for an honest review.