DNF at 70% the narrator was nice however the first half of this book was especially strong but I just lost interest at the time but plan on picking up where I left off again

FINALLY, a high fantasy romance that features a MM romance!

I enjoyed this one! The world is intricate and nicely built, though the reader learns about the world at the same pace as Max - there is some world building in the first 2 thirds of the book but I felt like we discovered a lot more towards the end, when Max did. Compared to the world building, the characters feel a little one dimensional in this one but I have no doubt that their character arcs will build in books 2 and 3. Similarly, the romance isn't super developed yet but again, I'm sure this will build in the next books.

If you're a fan of Merlin, I definitely got some similar vibes from this book. I can't wait to see where this series goes!

I listened to this as an audiobook and honestly, the narrator did a great job. Sometimes I feel like with fantasy books, I would've connected more to the story and characters if I had read it with my eyes but this was not the case for this one.

CW: sexual harassment, sexual assault, violence, death, gore, sexual content.

A huge thanks to Bookouture Audio, Second Sky Books and NetGalley for the ALC. All opinions are my own.

Ben Alderson has such a fantastic way of writing queer fantasy. This Beauty and the Beast retelling has everything you could ever want. Its got vivid imagery, romance and strong characters you cant help but love and root for. I think many people will enjoy this title and I look forward to the next installment in Court of Broken Bonds.

I wanted to like this! I wanted it to be the MM fantasy to follow up on Fourth Wing and it was.. not

The pacing felt too slow, and the romance went too quick once it was introduced.

The audiobook was good! The narrator had good voices

Heir to Thorn and Flame follows Max as he realizes that he is a Mage. Then we are drawn into a political atmosphere where things spiral out of control.

Some big things that set this book out for the rest is the fact the MC is queer. I'll read anything with queer rep but for a very long time there I felt like fantasy was lacking, especially with MC at the front. I though the magic was thought out and paced well throughout the novel. Max himself was a very likeable character that I was excited to watch developed into the character he was in the end.

However, one of the big reason the book didn't work for me was the structure of the novel. Parts of the romance, and the fact it was a tad bit too long. I felt like I read two books in one at certain points. I also felt like the dragons that do make an appearance are fleeting. With that being said, I quite enjoyed the steamy parts.

Overall, I landed on 3.5 stars.

Would recommend.

Ewan Goddard is certainly a strong narrator; animated and dramatic, he made both Julian and his father leap of the page as creepy, intimidating villains, while conversely voicing Max with so much boyish charm that it was impossible not to emphasize with him. I enjoyed the listen very much, and the will-they-won’t-they of the romance has me hooked, so I look forward to book 2 in the series!

It’s rare I DNF a book that I have received an ARC for but I did at around 40%. I have waited until past publishing to submit this. As someone who enjoyed Ben’s Hades/Persephone retelling I was disappointed. I can’t put my thoughts about this into a well written paragraph so I will give you the bulletpoints:

• I could not bring myself to enjoy Max as the book went on. I adored him at first but he became frustrating to read. He makes choices at times that just seem counter to common sense, and reading about him becomes laborious. We spend so much time in his mind and the monologuing gets repetitive and exhausting.

• Sexual violence galore: it’s not for me. It never will be for me, but even so this just felt gratuitous. It felt like suffering was thrown at Max just for sufferings sake. I’m also disappointed that this aspect was not warned about- nothing in the marketing- I was expecting dragons and gay mayhem and I got this. No trigger warnings- big difference from my last read of his so i didn’t even think to check from an external source before I read. Nothing about this is fun.

• The writing itself felt under developed and a drop of from my last read of his. It almost felt like the content was supposed to be for an older audience but the style of writing made it feel like we were aiming for a YA audience.

I wish this worked for me and I hope to enjoy future content by Ben, this was just not for me.

Thank you to NetGalley for providing a digital ARC in exchange for a honest review.

Maximus Oaken has many in his life that would use him for their own gain. Even those he believes to have his best interest at heart tend to leave destruction in their wake. Is there anyone Maximus can truly trust?
This book leads the reader on a journey with Maximus that will break your heart, rebuild it, then bread it again. Author, Ben Alderson has done what he does best, he had created an immersive world that will leave the reader dying for the next installment! The story is ripe with detail and the foreshadowing will take the reader for quite a wild ride! So looking forward to book two!

Courtly intrigue, ancient magic, evil tyrants. The perfect set up for a good fantasy. This one, however, rang a little less interesting than most other books of the genre. The magic of the world is supposedly a bad thing. Mages/magic users are supposedly feared for their magic however when the main character is discovered to be a magic user it is seen as a good thing and suddenly is just mysterious and not particularly dangerous. On top of this, the story felt more focused around how everyone viewed the main character and his relationships with the people around him than it was on the actual plot. There were also moments where the character’s past traumas were brought up that felt more for shock factor than any actual character building. It was difficult to listen to, jarringly out of place with the text.

My first fantasy MM read.

I love fantasy, and don’t mind a queer aspect to my reads, this one sort of fell flat for me though. I can’t put my finger on exactly what it was. I liked the magic system, I liked the lore. It was enjoyable enough but not a top 10 read for me.

This audiobook is brilliant. The voice over is clear and the character voices adds depth to an already amazing story.

The characters are so well written and fleshed out that they are easy to fall in love with despite some of their deceptions. Max is beautifully presented main character that goes through so much but still come out stronger in the end.

The strong story arc is only made better by the abundance of twists and turns that keep you guessing until the end. The writing is easy to follow and creates an addictive flow to the book that you can’t put down. The ending is the best parts of completion and cliff hanger you expect from the first part of a trilogy. I can’t wait for the next instalments of this series.

📚Review: Heir to Thorn & Flame 🔥

By: Ben Alderson
Published: July 26, 2023

For years, Maximus Oaken, Max for short, has had to serve and obey the viscous magical nobles. One day, he’s attacked by the heir to the throne and accidentally responds with a lethal force of magic. Max is certain he’ll be executed, but his magic is too rare and his fate is much worse…the king forces Max to take on the identity of the boy he killed, becoming the heir and unwilling half of an arranged marriage to the dangerously handsome Prince Camron. Living a lie, Max can’t trust anyone, including Camron and definitely not Simion, a handsome, dragon-riding spy sent from the North to test his loyalty as a magician. Stakes are high and Max must protect his secrets and his heart.

Wowowow! Talk about twists, turns, revelations, and a cliffhanger! 🤯

This is a book with grand, beautiful world building, a fairly straightforward magic system, and riveting writing that makes you connect with Max instantly. Oh, Max! I felt for him so fast and so hard. His life is full of people and situations that hurt him, in part because he cares for others so fiercely and just wants to be happy. Reading this, I feel my heart was broken, healed, and then broken again.

I won’t lie, things were a little brutal at times. I’m excited to see where things go in book two, which seems like there will be even more court politicking at play. Pick this one up if you’re looking for high fantasy and high stakes, with a whole lot of heart. I say much more or I might give things away! 🤫

Verdict: Loved 🥰

This was such a great start to what I know will be an amazing epic fantasy series! Alderson has a way of making you fall for the first love interest and then taking it away. I absolutely loved the concept for this book and loved seeing how much his writing has progressed.

I loved the story. Unfortunately the narrator`s job, in my humble opinion left a lot to be desired. From pace to tone of voice... I was forced to give up and get myself a Kindle copy. ( bought it) I am looking forward to reading more from this author as I found on Goodreads some of his work with great reviews.

Five stars for the story - One star for the narrator.

I will not post my opinion about the audiobook on Instagram or Goodreads.

Huge thanks to the publisher and the author for this ARC, I really enjoyed it, The beginning was a lot darker than I expected., but, overall I found the main romance so comforting and absolutely the remedy after everything the MC went through at the hands of his tormentor.

thank you so much to Netgalley for gifting me this ARC in exchange for an honest review!!

well, it seems Ben Alderson has redeemed himself.
i had the WORST experience reading one of his books a few years ago and, since then, i lost interest on picking something by him ever again. until i saw that i could request this audiobook and that i was about mages and dragons so i was like "here goes nothing."
at first i was kinda angry at the MC, always doubting and not knowing what to do. but i ended up respecting him after a while, considering everything he did to survive. the world sounded amazing and complex, now i need a map to visualize it better. my fave part was the angst that the love triangle gave me. with who would the MC stay?? because when one was shining, the other did something questionable so i had no idea what to think, which made it even more interesting 😂
i have to say, the author improved A LOT in his writing. he didn't hesitate at the time of killing people or describing horrifying stuff, my only problem was the pace. sometimes it seemed like there were three books in one. it wasn't until the end that i understood why it was written like this. things were always happening, just when i thought it had quieted down another thing happened, which helped to keep me hooked to the story.
the narrator?? ten points, amazing job man, keep it up 💜💜
i kinda need book two now because THAT ENDING HAD ME GASPING OUT LOUD 😱

I really enjoyed this story. I’m slowly getting back into Fantasy and this was a great addition to my list this year.

Ben’s writing is so good and it kept my attention well. I loved the characters and am very excited to continue the series.

I tried to listen to this audiobook, but unfortunately I feel like it just wasn't for me.
I got over a fourth of the way into it and it just failed to make me care about the characters.

So, I'm giving this 3 stars, because there wasn't anything outwardly wrong with it and the writing was good, I really think it just wasn't for me.

Which is a bummer 'cause I really wanted to fall in love with this.

Merlin and Arthur finally together - or not?
Once more I have to admit to not thoroughly reading the synopsis of this book before requesting it. All it took for me to be persuaded was magic, arranged marriage, m/m, prince, and spy. Therefore, the story really took me by surprise. I was amazed by Max' first troubles and his self-determined but surely dangerous reaction to them. Given my spare knowledge, I had no clue where this Story world take me. Nonetheless, and with every glimpse I got at the author's Instagram page, I became more excited to explore the story and the world. Magic is such a complex and variable topic that I was eager to see Ben Alderson's take on it.

Reminded of other favorite books
Starting this story shortly after rereading and watching Red, White, & Royal Blue, I mistook Max' discomfort for some unallowed sexual tension between him and the first prince we encountered. I simple mention this mistake to point to the fact that I was horrified by the outcome of their meeting. The fantasy in my head quickly turned into a nightmare that caught my full attention. From there, the story could go everywhere. I accompanied Max through several fast chances in his life and felt every breath of relief and recognition with him. And when there were finally some people seeing through the enforced facade, I indulged myself in these tingling scenes. But, as I was reminded of Sarah J. Maas' A Court of Thorns and Roses series next, I couldn't really trust any of the characters helping Max, no matter how much I begged for their truthfulness.

Nothing is certain, everything is possible
I surely enjoyed this first book in this new series. For me, it was all about finding the courage to stand up for oneself and learning who to trust. And about magic. I can't wait to experience morse of Ben Alderson's plot twists, his thrilling fights and more... intimate encounters between the characters, and his world building. Although I felt like sometimes loosing track of the temporal development within this book and missed some transitions, I quickly got back on track and was riveted to my seat.  And then this finale... I am so happy we got a good cliffhanger to confirm what I suspected. This was an emotional but not a worthy or satisfying finale fight to be THE finale fight. I'm really excited to continue this story and to accompany Max' on his future adventures.

In conclusion
My first book of Ben Alderson will surely not by my last. I enjoyed Max' story a lot, the deeply desperate and emotional moments as much as the tingling ones between him and his potential love interests. This narrative gave me chills and amazing vibes, which is the perfect combination to enjoy a magical, queer, and brave book.

This one was true to the advertisedment of being an LGBTQ book--not just side characters in this one!! I absolutely loved the story and thought the pace was just right. It has a cool magical system and magical creatures. I'd say fantasy with a steamy romance sub-plot. I was anxious, horrified, angry, and might have ended up crying at the end a little bit. I will be reading more from this author!! The audio was good and it was really creepy at times. It's amazing how just changing your voice a bit can just make your skin crawl. It really made cringe away from one evil characters hit just right and make those emotions of disgust pop to the surface.

Trigger warnings: Rape (not explicit)