Unfortunately this book for me is a DNF. I really wanted to like this book and get into the story but I was constantly pulled out as the Author has used Arthur as the kind of Camelot, Merlin (female) as his High Priestess and Lancelet as the MFC's best friend. I really couldn't fall into this new fantasy world of far when I was constantly being brought back to another world I believe is not mean to be connected.

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Queen of Roses - by Briar Boleyn

I loved this first installment of the 'Blood of a Fae' book series. I felt attached to the characters and enjoyed the beginnings of the world building. It reminded me of the first Wheel of Time books and the Blood and Ash series. Morgan and her companions travel to find a lost treasure in order to save her Kingdom.

I loved the ending and the build up was delicious, I am excited to read the second book.

Reader warning: trigger warning, but there is a helpful list at the back of the book.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for providing me an ARC of this book in exchange for my honest opinion.

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Thank you so much to Briar and NetGalley for the copy of this book.
An extremely good fantasy genre book, a great twist on the legend of Camelot.
Great world building, and given it's explained to/through the eyes of the sheltered FMC it's great to learn about the world along with her.<The last 100 pages are twisty turny, intense and yes I did pick up the second book as soon as I finished the first.
The cliff hanger was *chefs kiss*
For all fans who have and ACOTAR hangover, grab this series while you can!
I am so looking forward to losing myself in the rest of this series

<i>Remember to check the trigger warnings</i>

Did not finish this book after about 20%, cool premise but could not get into this writing style. So slow

I was completely enamored by "Queen of Roses” right from the beginning, the first book in the Blood of Fae series. If you're a fan of the ACOTAR series, you'll find this Arthurian-inspired dark romantasy right up your alley. You can look forward to enemies-to-lovers romance, betrayal, faeries, mystical creatures, legendary swords, war, and adventure. It's hard to believe this is Briar Boleyn's debut novel!
The story centers on Princess Morgan, a half-fae, half-human royal barred from the throne due to her heritage. Her malicious and ruthless human brother, King Arthur, seizes power and manipulates her by poisoning her with what he claims is medicine to suppress her fae traits. He assigns her an almost impossible task: retrieving a legendary sword, accompanied by two deadly bodyguards.
Kairos Draven is easily one of my new favorite characters. He's irresistibly attractive, with a sharp tongue and dry humor. He's dangerous, icy, and focused on his mission.
"Queen of Roses" stands out with its witty dialogue, magical realms, and mysterious characters. Fans of ACOTAR will find themselves right at home in this world, drawn to the enemies-to-lovers romance, betrayal, and adventurous storyline.
While the spice level is mild, reviews suggest that book 2 turns up the heat. I'm okay with that because I prefer slowly getting to know and love the characters rather than "instalove."
Special thanks to NetGalley, Starwater Press, and Briar Boleyn for this e-ARC in exchange for an honest review!

Wow. That's all I have to say. Actually it's not all I have to stay but I am dumbfounded. Thanks for NetGalley to let me read this book for free (it's also on kindle unlimited) in preparation for the third and fourth book coming out. And also in exchange for my honest review.

I loved it. If you like ACOTAR series you'll definitely like this. Enemies to lovers trope, romance, betrayal, faeries, mystical creatures, legendary swords, war, and adventure.

The story follows Princess Morgan, a half fae/half human princess who was rejected for the throne because of her half fae heritage. Her human brother rules the throne instead and is known for being cruel and vindictive, even to her. He sends her on a seemingly impossible journey to retrieve a legendary sword along with two murderous bodyguards. One of these bodyguards holds a secret, he is not who he says he is.

Kairos Draven is super hot and has a sarcastic, witty personality. He is dangerous, cold, and on a mission. He is 100% my type (I have issues).

The spice level is modest BUT the second one is promised to have more. I personally like a slow burn romance. I like to get attached to the characters before they start going at it like rabbits. I am going to the read the second and report on spice level. Because now I'm ready for some spicy action.

A fae centered Arthurian tale unlike any I’ve read so far. The author did a great job at descriptive world building, with scenes easily playing out in my minds eye. There was plenty of action, suspense, and even a touch of horror. An enemies to lovers, slow burn romance, a quest, with plot twist and turns aplenty. There was a love triangle, which I’m not usually a fan of but, it played out well in this story line. The FMC, Morgan Pendragon, was so blatantly naïve, yet I typically expect as much in a ‘book one’ of a series, especially one that features a fairly sheltered princess. I was happy to read that in spite of this, she still showed a strong sense of morals, fire, and spine. Now our MMC? Kairos Draven, aka Void’s Edge. Oh, how I’m a sucker for a smoking’ hot grumpy warrior alpha with a witty mouth, and a strong sense of “touch her and die” attitude, so you know who held all my cards. That ending? Just made me swoon all the harder. Now add a battlecat that rivals the size of a horse…and well Ms. Briar Boleyn you have well and truly stolen my heart. I’m excited to see where the story goes from here, and follow along to see more of the characters growth. I went into this story fairly blind, and I think I enjoyed it all the more because of it.

I finished this book in a whopping two days, which could have honestly been one. Once the story got going, it had me in an absolute chokehold and, it was difficult to put down. I only wish I would have started it sooner. Definitely won’t make that mistake with the rest of this series.

Special Thanks to @netgalley @saltwaterpress and @briarboleyn for the e-copy in exchange for an honest review. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

Devoured in a day. Can't believe this is the first time I'm reading anything from Briar Boleyn. I have no words other than this was one of the best books l've read in a long time. Off to book two!

Blood of a Fae. A Romance Doomed. A Precarious Mission. A Princess & Impending War.

"A Slumbering Kingdom Awoken By Blood..."


Morgan Pendragon was born to a life of politics and throwing away all that she loves for the sake of the throne. A princess that cannot love for herself, cannot think for herself. A princess who can only think of her bloodline, of the people that live in the shadow of the looming castle on the hill.

The people do not hold her in the same regard. For the princess who only thinks of duty and sacrifice has tainted blood, is a black rose in a garden of red blood ones. The princess is said to be of the Fae, known since she was child. Growing up to be the righthand of her brother, the king. Morgan was only to be reared in order to be gifted to the goddess herself.

One day, the king asks his sister to seek a weapon that shares the magic that flows through her veins. It is a Fae weapon. Instead of begrudging her brother this egregious request, the princess takes the task without looking back, feeling as a bird would to escape from the gold confines of its cage.

This is where we meet a unique gang of characters. This group of misfits is led by the dark warrior that catcher her eye. With her newfound family, the comrades navigate nightmares and dangers untold and unnumbered.

A Fae kingdom is awakened. They awake with a vengeance what once was lost to them. Morgan, our beautiful and fierce and brave leading character, finds more of herself than she bargained for in her quest for the legendary weapon.

This was a wonderful slow-burn romance with sufficient danger and action-packed scenes. The only reason I rate this as low as I do, is because I see no unique part of the story compared to countless other romantasy series. I will continue to read the following books, as it is not untasteful. I do hope there will be more to the story than what I explored in the first installment. 🌟🌟🌟/5 Stars!

I felt like this book was slow to start. There was a lot of world building which I understand is necessary for fantasy books but always drags on for me unfortunately.

I’m sorry I really tried to read this but I just could not manage to finish. There was absolutely nothing wrong with the writing, or with the story itself- I just did not find the plot compelling enough to continue. I got to about 20 percent. This book just was not for me. I was very bored and I did not care about any of the characters. I do think this is a personal issue and other readers would find this book very fun and enjoyable. I apologize for not being able to provide additional feedback.

Thank you NetGalley for giving me a eBook in exchange for an honest review. I have been intrigued by this author for some time, having encountered her name in various reading lists. This particular work is a dark fantasy romance loosely inspired by the legend of King Arthur. It encompasses elements of magic, mythical creatures, enemies-to-lovers dynamics, tension, forced proximity, love, betrayal, and self-discovery. Additionally, it unfolds at a very gradual pace. Readers who appreciate these aspects may find this book enjoyable. I understand that it is part of a series comprising four books.

In my opinion, Morgan's character development was particularly well-crafted. She was portrayed in a relatable manner, which significantly contributed to the overall appeal of the book.

The writing style is straightforward and easy to follow, making it an accessible read. While it is the first book in a series, I am inclined to be optimistic about its potential, as many series tend to improve in subsequent installments. However, I believe the author could have exercised greater discretion in selecting moments for world-building. Elaborate descriptions of every room, for instance, can detract from the central narrative. World-building should be approached with finesse, rather than being applied indiscriminately.

Overall, I found this book to be an entertaining read, and I am likely to explore the other books in the series. However, it does not rank among my highest priorities.

This is a Camelot retelling but not as you know it. It's a great twist on the classic story. I started of unsure about this one but then realised it was me and my style of reading that wasn't gelling. SO I forced myself to slow down and enjoy the world building and descriptions. I am glad I kept reading because I ended up really enjoying it. The mfc grew on me and some of the plots twists and turns were unexpected. I cannot wait to see what happens next!

I really wanted to like this book, but ultimately ended up choosing to dnf it at 15%. It was really hard for me to get into this book and I felt that as I continued to read it I just got more and more confused. You are presented with a lot world building early on, but there is little to no explanation about some things. In the end, I just felt no connection to any of the characters or the story as a whole.

Thank you to NetGalley and Starwater Press for the e-ARC.

This was a fun read! It was a struggle to get into at first but about a third of the way into the story started picking up for me. The FMC seems to figure out and accept who she is by the end though. I swear though, this poor woman has the world’s worst judgement in men. There’s an interesting cliffhanger so I’m headed to headed to see how that’s resolved now, thanks for the read!

Queen of Roses is an Arthurian-inspired dark romantasy that is the first book in the Blood of Fae series. From the start of the book I was interested, some of the chapters dragged on but overall I loved this book! Morgan is a very strong independent FMC and I loved reading the book in her pov. Draven is a grumpy MMC but will do anything for Morgan if needed. This book is a rollercoaster that’ll leave you wanting more.. the ending was crazyyy. If you love dark romantasy, fae, grumpy MMC, strong FMC, touch her and you’ll die, slow burn, driven books you’ll absolutely love Queen of Roses!!

Upon seeing the cover, title, and description of Queen of Roses, I was immediately intrigued and decided to give it a chance despite not being familiar with the author. The author's unique take on the characters and storyline was quite enjoyable.

The initial world-building phase, leading up to Morgan's journey to find her brother was a bit slow-paced. However, as the story progressed, the pace picked up and became more engaging, making it difficult to set the book aside. The ending left me hanging, eager to delve into the sequel, Court of Claws.

The romance in the story develops slowly, with only a few intimate scenes, making it a mild read in terms of spice level. I am looking forward to seeing how the story unfolds in the next book.

I would like to express my gratitude to NetGalley and Starwater Press for the opportunity to review this book. #BloodofaFaeSeries #NetGalley.

I really loved the twist on the Camelot tale, which has always been so interesting to me. I thought the world-building and characters were great. Ultimately it was a little too slow of a burn for me, but I really enjoyed the story overall.

I know they say not to judge a book by its cover but the second I saw the cover & the title, Queen of Roses I knew that I wanted to give it a shot!

I went into this fairly blind, I have never read anything by this author and didn’t even realize it was loosely based on King Arthur & his court until I started to notice A LOT of similar names. For the most part I like what the author did and the way she flipped the script on some of the characters.

There was a lot of world building before Morgan sets out on a journey for her brother King Arthur. It was a little slow going but then as the journey continued things started to pick up and it was hard to put down. It ends on a fairly big cliff hanger making you want to dive right into book 2, Court of Claws.

This is a VERY SLOW BURN for the romance, the spice scenes are few and far between and I would say it’s probably a 1 on the spice scale! Excited to dive into book 2 and see how this progresses!

Thank you to NetGalley & Starwater Press for providing this copy for review. #BloodofaFaeSeries #NetGalley

This book everyone!! As a fan of SJM and JL Armentrout I absolutely loved this one and I'm sure you will as well.
The book is a king arthur retelling but with faes and it has amazing world building, which I enjoyed a lot! The characters are amazing and I felt connected to them from the very beginning.
The writing style really stood out to me since the book was able to grab my attention from the very beginning and I usually need some time to get into it. The tropes are amazing (Romantasy Smut Lovers, this one is for you)