Honestly loved this book, just as good as the first two. The twist was so so great I didn't expect it at all. All the characters are just growing and I love how even though Morgan is the main character we get to see more from Dravens perspective. I'm so excited for the next one in the series.

Very entertaining third installment of Morgan’s adventures! This romantasy follows the legends of King Author, Lancelot, knights of the round table and Excalibur. Add Fae and mythical creatures for a little bit of spice! Speaking of spice, there is plenty. There are also dark subjects in this so I’d check your triggers before. Definitely excited to read book 4 soon!

Once again, I am enthralled by this story, it's exciting and fast paced, there are twists and turns that make me gasp aloud and it's easy to lose oneself within Briar Boleyn's descriptive imagery and completely step into this world.

However..
The thing that ruins this book (/series) for me is honestly the romance. Not because I mind Draven and Morgan as a couple at all, but because I feel like all these tropes are being forced upon them. And this is in no way unique to these books, I see this in a lot of romantasy nowadays. There are these classic tropes that readers like (fated mates, enemies to lovers etc), and the pacing of their relationship results in these tropes being forced into the relationship in this book rather than actually sort of having a natural place there.

For example, we start off with Morgan back to square one, hating Draven for the non-consensual marriage/mating situation, but gets over that in about 5 minutes and all of a sudden she's just obviously his mate and it feels so right etc.

There was a few sentences from Morgans internal monologue I had to highlight on page 87 (I hope this is right as I'm reading on my kindle) because they were a perfect demonstration of why I'm given whiplash by their relationship.
"I blamed Javer for Beks death, yes. But I blamed Draven more."
And then it continues a few sentences later "He had all but called himself Beks' true murdered. And I had let him."....."When the truth was..."..."We were all to blame".
Do you see what I mean? How we're going from 0-100 in the span of a few seconds?

There is another scene in this book where Draven is talking about him "knowing from the first moment he saw her" or some such and her responding with a similar sentiment, and that scene literally made me feel gaslit. How am I supposed to buy into this whole fated mates, true love, I've always known narrative when I have seen no evidence of this whatsoever? There just wasn't enough buildup through the first book, and not enough credible buildup in the second one either for them to have ended up where they are.

It's things like these that make me feel like there is an effort to push these tropes in, but not so much to actually let them run their course, enemies to lovers is a slow burn trope. It has to be for it to make sense. But here we go from "I hate you" to "I love you" and back and back again in such a short time span, and it feels like we as readers have been left out of the whole chain of events. I also feel like this has something to do with the growing demand for smut in fantasy, if they're gonna bang as continuously as it seems like readers want, enemies have to advance into lovers quickly - and it's ruining the story.

Apart from this, the mating thing is never really explained in this book, did he somehow "mate with her" during the whole wedding ceremony - which by the way we also never get further information about? Usually with fated mates in fantasy this is a two way thing, a sort of physical and emotional shift, but here it just seems like Draven says "we're mates" and she's like "nuh-uh!!!.... Okay sure", no further explanation necessary?

All in all I did enjoy this, the plot is exciting, the ending was super intense and promises a lot of exciting things for the next one, which I will be awaiting eagerly.

Massive thank you to NetGalley, Starwater Press and Briar Boleyn for the opportunity to read this. While I did receive this ebook for free, all opinions are my own.

Take an adventure across kingdoms in the midst of major battles in Empress of Fae, the third book in the Blood of A Fae series. This book is stunning in every way! With multiple POVs from characters throughout different parts of the world, we finally learn all (okay, well most) of the secrets of Aercanum and Morgan’s lineage.

In the third installment, SO MANY things are going on. We get some character reunions, heartfelt moments, action-packed battles, serious pining, and so much more. I really felt like I was kept on my toes throughout the book with no momentum lost. I love a strong FMC who is sassy and unyielding but really finds herself over time. What’s been building up in the first two books has come to fruition and I couldn’t be more entertained watching everything play out.

Truly enjoyed this book. Could not put it down.

This is the third in the series and the second to last. I got the feeling that a lot of the events in this book were basically a setup for the conclusion in the last book. That being said, this was still a quite exciting book and I'm quite eager to see how this series ends.

Thank you Netgalley for the opportunity to review this fantastic book!

This series is TOP NOTCH! It has gotten to my top 5 reads so quickly and I cannot wait for the 4th book! Amazing!

I was given access to this book well after it was published. I really enjoyed this story just as much as the rest of the ones in the series. I never wanted the story to end, and was invested page after page. Thank you Netgalley for an arc of this book. I was glad to be able to have gotten access to all of the books.

Not my favorite in the series. I thought this was going to be the last book in the series. So, I had a different set of expectations going in. This book is definitely your typical "bridge" book. Meaning this book contains a lot of set-up for book 4 and as a result there's significantly less action. Sometimes you simply have to get through a book like this in order to get to the end. Fingers crossed it's worth it.

Thank you NetGalley and Starwater Press for the earc.

Fantastic novel, enjoyed every minute of it! Absolutely nothing not to like about it. Highly recommend this!

This is the third part of a series, so this review contains spoilers for the first two books!

Morgan is back in Pendrath, and she will stop the war her brother has started. In the past year, Arthur has gone mad - their people have been starving and the war with the neighbouring countries is getting worse and worse. Morgan has to infiltrate the Court and try to find out how exactly she and her allies can usurp Arthur and make peace with his enemies, but this is a difficult task, especially if you're all alone on enemy land - but she won't be alone for long. Draven is on his way to her, over sea and land, with an army of Siabra.
I was a bit disappointed in this book. I loved the first two, but this one felt different. Usually I don't mind multiple POVs, but with the first two being told (almost) exclusively from Morgan's POV, I really didn't care for the Draven chapters and besides getting updates on how far along their journey they were, I don't think they served much purpose besides showing the readers just how dedicated he is to Morgan, which could have been shown in other ways. I also really didn't like the final ~75 pages and the resolution to the book, it felt like an easy way out of a truly difficult situation. Besides that, I still really like Briar Boleyn's writing and the way her characters are drawn. I will definitely read the fourth book, but I hope it's more like the first two!

I absolutely love how action packed this was. Some of it was pretty predictable, but it also kept me very entertained. I cannot wait to see how book 4 turns out. And how their stories end. I did miss all of the characters from book 2 and the exmoors.

Disclaimer: I did receive this as an ARC through Netgalley in exchange for my honest opinion.

I am addicted to this world. To the fairytale elements, the familiar fantasy elements and the new side of things. I am truly obsessed with this series.

I really enjoyed this series, it was fun, easy to follow and not too complicated. It was a great series to read in my "nearly in a book slump". I would definitely read this series again.

Thank you for this ARC.

Book 3 picks up exactly where book 2 cliffhanger leaves you.

Morgan is now back in Camelot. Trying to find ways to help her people and seeing all the happened while she was across the ocean.

Learning her true heritage and facing new obstacles.

I enjoyed this read, it did take me longer to read than the 1st 2 books. But the last 1/2 had me sucked in and I couldn't put it down.

“All or nothing. In dreams as in life.”

Morgan pulls away from Draven, returning to Camelot and destroying the portal she uses to prevent Draven from following her, but their bond is strong enough to span the distance between them, or is it? She is reunited with her friends and in a startling twist, her guilt knows no bounds. She is determined to join the resistance against Arthur’s cruelty and free her land from the poverty and famine that is now ruining it from within.

Morgan finally shows the character growth that I have been waiting for, being less impulsive and thinking more strategically for her friends and their goals to free Camelot. Merlin reveals the true depth of her character, and it is as beautiful as it is heartbreaking. I loved Morgan taking back her power against those who still thought their will to be more important than hers and the fact that Draven supported her and empowered her to do what she needed to take back her control.

The story still has twists that you do not anticipate and the pacing is still fast enough to keep you interested without being rushed. I love the fact that there is a book 4 so that Briar could continue the journey of these characters without making this book too wieldy or rushed.

My favourite parts of this were the found family, although this was tempered by instances later in the story as well as the exmoors who are just adorable!

Thank you to Netgalley and Victory Editing co-op for the opportunity to read this series – I simply can’t wait for Knight of the Goddess to release

Another great series! Give me all the fae novels. Boleyn does a great job world building and writing characters that stick with you.

*Thank you to NetGalley and ARC provided by Victory Editing NetGalley Co-op for providing me with this book in exchange for an honest review*

This was an epic conclusion to an already awesome story. Some parts of the book were a little too predictable but even though I hate when this happens, I was immersed in the story that I didn't give it much thought. I really loved it and I highly suggest you read it.

With enemies closing in on all sides, Morgan finally returns home to find her home to be a nest of snakes. Draven, thousands of miles away from his wife, is left with his kingdom in a state of turmoil with very few allies left in the viscous fae court. With so little time and so few options, they both find themselves desperate to save their people.

This book includes:
- a deranged king
- ancient curses, allies, and enemies
- mythical creatures
- arthurian myth retelling (Merlin, Lancelot, King Arthur, Uther, etc.)
- meddlesome gods
- LGBT supporting characters
- found family elements

"Empress of Fae" was an entertaining read. I find the mixture between contemporary romantasy tropes and ancient Arthurian Lore to be quite interesting (although there are few Arthurian elements in book 3). Anyone who was left at the edge of their seat by book 2 will find the next installment in the series so be a satisfying follow up as Morgan comes even more into her power and into her role as liaison between two peoples.

Unfortunately, I do feel like the pacing was very slow in this one and I felt like very little happened. Similarly to my thoughts of book 2, I still feel that the various villains are missing tangible motivation other than "they're evil." Even the heroes felt like they lacked real depth. Morgan was less whiny, but her behavior felt irrational. Why would she sass someone who she is supposed to convince that she is harmless? It felt like "headstrong heroine" behavior just for the sake of it, and did not match her personality from the previous books.

I received this eBook as an ARC in exchange for an honest review. Thank you to NetGalley, Briar Boleyn, and Victory Editing NetGalley Co-op for the opportunity to review this book. This review has been posted to GoodReads - check out my profile https://www.goodreads.com/user/show/62314863

A great ending to the story. We’re back in our very first location from book 1. Morgan the FMC is reunited with some familiar characters and the conflict is at its apex. The stakes are high which was very much appreciated. We get back to the Arthurian elements of the story (knights at a round table, magical sword) We have some steamy lucid dreaming of sorts, some trials again of sorts, some spying/pretending, an evil king and an even more king’s captain.
All in all the story gets resolved and wrapped up nicely. The romantic conflict also ends in a satisfying way.
This trilogy ending made the reading journey worth it.

Empress of Fae is the third book of Briar Boleyn’s Blood of Fae series. The second book ended with Morgan escaping through a portal back to her home with Javer following her. Morgan destroys the portal so that Draven cannot follow and so that she can focus on saving her little brother and Camelot.

While I am really enjoying this series and did enjoy this book, I have to say I was disappointed in parts of this book. I felt the twist/realization of who betrays her confidence was very obvious. The utilization of Javer was lacking and so disappointing. He follows her into Camelot and hides and is gone for most of the book to be killed 20 second after coming back to help Morgan felt unsatisfying. I expected more from the character.

Morgan’s character was again frustrating to read. She trusted people who were such red flags and the way she consistently kept giving Fenyx time to fight back instead of ending him! It was infuriating to read! (My theory is that he didn’t die in that fire since the way I read his name is the same as phoenix and I will be so frustrated if I’m right).

Draven is the main reason I love this series. He crossed the ends of the Earth to save his Queen and wife. I loved the development in this book where they could interact in their dreams. Morgan evolved as a person and in her relationship with Draven and I think was finally able to fully appreciate him.

I am looking forward to reading all future books in this series and to find out what will happen next!

Thank you to NetGalley and StarWater Press for a copy of this book in exchange for my honest review.