Wow, what a read! The world building was incredible, and the characters had such a nice level of depth to them. I especially enjoyed Charlotte’s character over the book. She was raised with the expectation she would spend her life manning the farm and settling wraiths, which was what raised from the dead, much like souls, but she yearns for more. A life of adventure. And that she shall get.

Not to mention, Luc Montaigne. He’s the captain of the cardinal’s watch, and highly respected by them. As the youngest to ever rise so high in the ranks, he inevitably possesses an aura of intrigue and mystery. He owed the cardinal, and even when she asks him to do preposterous actions, such as burning down the Sand family orchards, he abides, driven by a strong sense of loyalty. I was inevitably intrigued by him the moment he was introduced. He emitted an aura of mystery, and I liked how Charlotte admitted that it wasn’t just attraction boiling between them. A line I particularly favor is “Charlotte knew enough about attraction to know this wasn’t it. This had nothing to do with how the soldier looked, or even how he treated her. It was as if something fundamental about the both of them called to itself.” That line gave me chills and immediately set the stage for the romance.

The short plot line to this story is as follows; Charlotte Sand settles the wraiths that linger, helping them find peace. However, in her world, two very different religions exist. One, to the old god, who the order serves, and the silent gods, who the cardinal’s watch serves. After Charlotte’s brother is killed by a cardinal watch’s lieutenant, she finds that she is her guardians new partner. She follows the order’s captain’s, Petras’s final order, which is to defy the cardinal and protect the prince, running away with her awoken Guardian Worth instead of bringing his heart to the capital as she was ordered to do. The running leads them to another guardian and his partner, Pol and René, and another guardian’s partner, Raquel St Clare, who hasn’t managed to awaken her guardian Bella Charis. Hiding from the cardinal’s watch proves difficult when Charlotte and Captain Luc De Montaigne run into each other at every turn. Their attraction is the definition of fire. Enemies by default, yet a connection burns between them, so strong that it basically bans them from hurting each other.

Charlotte and her guardian Worth find out somebody is wielding wraiths, which is illegal and very dangerous. On a mission to find the wielder, which proves to be extremely difficult, they also have to follow the cardinal’s ultimatum; settle all the old bones in the crypt or hand over Worth’s heart. However, once the task was done, the cardinal framed Charlotte for being the wielder, and arrests her. Worth and Pol flee, and Charlotte is locked in the castle, where she has a talk with the crown prince Artus. It’s then that he reveals himself to be on her side, and gives her a key to escape.

Lorraine the pure. I found that she was one of the fantasy villains I HATE the most. She manipulates those serving her, especially Luc, as she uses him and his power to wield. She sends wraiths to haunt and torture Artus, the crown prince of Niveaux, and in the final chapter admits that she will kill him slowly and wear his bones as a crown to go from regent to queen.

Thank to the publishers and Netgalley for sending me a copy of this book. I thoroughly enjoyed it and am looking forward to the next installment!!

Lady of Steel and Straw features:
- Strong-willed MC Charlotte
- Grumpy male lead
- Decent magic system and world-building
- The premise is incredibly unique (scarecrow hearts)

I enjoyed the blend of adventure and magic, but wished for a bit more romance. If I had to give one critique, it would be the writing style and pacing. My attention wavered consistently, and some tweaks can go a long way to transporting the reader instead of simply turning pages.

As always, thanks to NetGalley and the author for providing me with an arc in exchange for an honest review.

I thought that the world-building in this book was great. The sensory details in certain parts are ones that I would use to model good writing to my students. It did drag a bit in some places, but overall, I enjoyed this book a lot. It is also a great pick for my students who love romantasy but are not old enough to dabble in some of the more popular titles.

I found the pacing of this to be a bit back and forth - it definitely dragged in some areas, but then other areas I didn't want to put it down.
I think the author did well to introduce her world to the reader, and gave just enough detail to make it make sense, however I would never be able to accuse Rodgers of death by detail. I've never really been one for a Three Musketeers rewrite (other than the Barbie movie back in the day) so this was quite a refreshing read for me, being different from the other stuff I've read recently.
I really liked the characters in this book - Charlotte may be one of my favourite FMC ever!!! I liked the romance between the FMC and MMC, and I loved how he yearned for her - definitely one of my most favourite tropes
Overall this is a gripping and really enjoyable read.

Thank you to NetGalley for my ARC

I will admit it did take me a while to get into this book, I found it a little slow to begin with and some things seemed out of place in the storyline however once I finally got further in, I found it to be a decent, interesting read.
The romance fell a bit flat for me sadly, I just don’t get any butterflies and felt like it was a little forced. I would’ve loved to have read more about the scarecrows, a bit of backstory on this practice would’ve been great!

Rodgers does nice world-building. She vividly sets the scene in which old gods, their powers, political intrigue, and personal strife all combine. I found the magic system—when it got down to the guardians fighting the vengeful spirits—to be quite fresh and interesting. The only thing is that I have the impression that it would have been much more interesting with extra depth in lore about the gods and character backgrounds to enhance the narrative.

I thought this was very good and I will have to add this to the shop shelves. Thank you for the chance for us to review.

I was intrigued by the concept, but I couldn't finish it. the writing style took me out of the reading time and time gain because of how heavy it felt, along with the slow pace.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher!
I found myself struggling a little incoherently through the very beginning/prologue which was a flashback scene, but once the main story began I was all in. I feel like there is more to tell with this story, so I’m hoping for a sequel!

***'Thank you to NetGalley and to the publisher for providing me with a digital copy of this book to review.***

Historical fantasy, unique premise and magic system told through multiple POVs and characters that hook you in and leave you wanting more.
I definitely see so much potential for this book as it's very different from anything out there, and am hoping in book 2 to see the world develop more.
Well written, leaves you wanting more!!!

I had so much fun reading this! The magic system is an interesting spin on necromancy and bonded warriors and Rodgers did an excellent job creating a believable character who thinks he's doing the right thing while actively doing evil. The main character is a bit of a Mary Sue, but that's not unexpected for the genre.

Really looking forward to the next one!

This book took me longer than I expected to be able to finish reading it. On one hand there were a lot of interesting elements I wanted to keep reading and finding out about, and on the other hand, there were some relationship issues in this book that had me sighing more then once.

Sometimes a good book can have situations that really frustrate you. This book is definitely that. I hope very much that there is another book in this series to come, because there is definitely so much more of Luc and Sand’s story that needs to be explored.

The four most important people in this story are Luc, Sand, Worth, and the cardinal. All four are bound together by complex relationships and both light and darkness that battles itself. The relationships between these four are all very rough in their own ways and it also contributes a lot into my frustrations when I was reading this novel.

I will be very surprised if Luc doesn’t become a full on monster that can’t control himself thanks to his blind loyalty to the cardinal in the next book. I know there’s a love story between Luc and Sand, but all of that fell to wayside for me due to the actions Luc takes in this book. A huge part of me wants them to never be together romantically. If they do in later books Luc needs some seriously long redemption arcs. The way he is now is absolutely not a state for them to even like each other let alone love each other in and if their love story continues I need them both to get to a healthier place otherwise I will be frustrated if they get together.

I’ve never wished for a slow burn the way the future of this story needs to be. I enjoyed so much about Luc and Sands history together, but who they are now things need to be SLOW. So so Slow. At the end of this book I’ve been riddled with anxiety and I am so scared for everything that will come next. That being said, this story now lives in my head and I hope in the future I will get the answers I’m searching for. Right now… I am a mess.

Inspired by the three musketeers sold me.. So Lady Charlote Sand who has no interest in giving her family up the the Cardinal Watch ends up losing her brother and she's forced to join the handsome and also her childhood love Luc de Montaigne and they end up facing a lot more than magic but a tension that is going to drive them both mad or not if they just admit

This is a YA romantasy. The MMC and FMC come to life on the pages. The magic system is interesting and I enjoy the herbalism that goes into the scarecrows. I would like to see a bit more of the world in the next installment but there is enough in it for this story. This is a great debut novel and I cannot wait to see what Erica comes up with next.

# Lady of Steel and Straw
# 6/25/2024 ~ 6/28/2024
# 5.0 / 5.0

Lady of Steel and Straw
by Erica Ivy Rodgers
YA Fantasy
NetGalley eARC
Peachtree
Pub Date: June 4, 2024
Ages: 15+


Charlotte Sand has the gift to calm the restless dead, the same gift her grandmother has, but what she wishes is to become the partner of the lavender Guardian, instead her older brother gets that honor when the Guardian wakes after the ten years of exile the Guardians were punished with for failing to stop the murder of the King and Queen of Tristain is over.

But when a royal edict declares that the Guardians are no longer needed and orders Charlotte's older brother to deliver the heart of the immortal Guardian, (spoiler).

In the capital, rumors of wraiths, which were what the Guardians protected the people from, are appearing in the kingdom and something is tormenting the Prince of Tristain, and as he gets closer to sitting on the throne, the more frequent the torments become.


It took me a few tries to get into this story because I would doze off, but once things started to fall into place, and become somewhat different than other books, it started to go at a decent pace. It was an interesting concept of putting 'hearts' into scarecrows, but I think there needs to be a little bit more depth about the scarecrows and their hearts also. It's explained but a little more detail/history would make them more relatable/supernatural.

The blurb claims this to be inspired by The Three Musketeers, but I'm not making that connection because honestly, I see more of pirates or Zorro, but that just could be me. (Plus, there's not an overabundance of swordplay.) And the who/what/why was a little too simple.

The romance between Charlotte and Luc is ehh, but the connection between her and her Guardian is questionable. There was one interaction that made me question. And I'm not a big fan of Charlotte. I knew right away she was going to be 'spoiler'... And she kept doing it, but when she had her epiphany, it was lame. It needed more character reflection.

Because of a little bit of content, I don't think this is suitable for readers under 15.

I will be looking for the next book, but I hope within those pages more of this world will be revealed, with history and depth.

3 Stars

I really thought the magic system in this book was unique. Who doesn’t love enchanted scarecrows? It’s SO COOL. Unfortunately for me the rest of the story fell flat and I didn’t enjoy it like I was expected. More so of the style it was written but that shouldn’t dissuade anyone from picking it up!

A French historical fantasy inspired by the Three Musketeers and the first in a series. The story is told through multiple point of views. It follows Lady Charlotte Sand who is on a path of revenge after her brother dies. Then there is Captain Luc de Montaigne, facing off against his long-lost childhood love who has now triggered a war that could tear the realm apart. Charlotte and Luc have to decide who's side they are on and if they can trust one another or have to kill one another. The story has a Wizard of Oz-esque feel to it and it is a YA fantasy. I'm going to be completely honest and say that this book was a real slog to get through for me. I really found myself getting bored and disassociating from the book. Just getting to the end of the book was a drag. The characters weren't as engaging as I had hoped and the story felt slow. I really wished I would have liked this more but honestly it just didn't work. Unfortunately I will not be continuing with the series. I do think if you like the Wizard of Oz or the Three Musketeers, you should give it a try and see if it works for you!

Release Date: June 4,2024

Publication/Blog: Ash and Books (ash-and-books.tumblr.com)

*Thanks Netgalley and Holiday House / Peachtree / Pixel+Ink | Peachtree Teen for sending me an arc in exchange for an honest review*

Thank you Netgalley and author Erica Ivy Rodgers for the e-copy of this book in exchange for a review.

"After ten years of exile, following regicide in the House of Tristain, an alarming royal edict is delivered to the immortal scarecrow Guardians who once defended the crown: surrender themselves to the church of the Silent Gods, or stand accused of further treason. But with a puppet prince set to take the throne and vengeful wraiths appearing with alarming frequency, something foul and sinister is at work in the kingdom of Niveaux.

Lady Charlotte Sand was born to calm the restless dead. A headstrong heroine, she refuses to relinquish her family’s lavender Guardian to the Cardinal’s Watch—a rash misstep that costs her brother his life and sets her on a path for revenge.

For pious and handsome Captain Luc de Montaigne, it’s an excruciating predicament. His long-lost, childhood love has triggered a faction war that could tear the realm asunder. Now Charlotte and Luc must choose between killing one another and stepping closer to victory—or yielding to the electricity between them."

I enjoy reading this book.

The book had a very interesting premise and I liked the idea of the Guardians and how they were made.

While Charlotte shouldn't be so impulsive and, to put it simply, generally unskillful, I can understand that she's still young and for some reason she lacks experience (but yet she had to work in this area for quite some time, so I would expect some to prepare her at least a little bit). However, why were the old and powerful and oh so impressive people so bad at making plans? I have to say, the band didn't feel like people I could rely on to solve the problems they had.

Regarding the romance, I really don't see how she could be attracted to him more than physically. I can understand why he still sees her as his hero, but I wouldn't expect her to like him.

In conclusion, this book was interesting, but not very believable for me.