Overall I really enjoyed the premise of the story and I was definitely kept interested throughout trying to work out the secrets behind both Morgan and Draven’s characters. I had early predictions and some were right, some were wrong so having surprises throughout was good.

I enjoyed the world building in this book, we spent a large portion of it travelling due to the mission Morgan is sent on. We’re very slowly introduced to the ideas of a lot of creatures which though most don’t feature in book 1 likely means we’ll see them in future books. The world building itself also has a lot more to go in future books, I can tell we’ve only just scratched the surface. But please be aware this is quite a slow book.

I did enjoy the characters, though I did find Morgan frustrating once she had left Camelot. She proved herself to be more naive than implied early on in the book and she asks a lot of questions. But I can tell this is intentional and I look forward to follow her character development. This is a slow burn book, in fact there’s literally only 1 scene with a little bit of spice and I did find myself wanting, however this is a 4 book series so I’m biding my time for the romance to enter later in the series - I just hope it’s worth it!

Overall this feels very much like a usual book 1 set up book, I’m definitely invested enough to continue the series and see where it’s going. My biggest issue was with the chapter length, most are 20-30 min reads so it did feel like a slow book, because of this I didn’t find myself wanting to continue too long and that’s a big contributor to my 3.5⭐️ rating which I’ve rounded up to 4 for the purpose of this review and on Goodreads.

I love arthurian tales, especially those with a twist.

For me personally, the chapters were a little long, but that didn't detract from the story itself. The beginning was a little slower than I would usually like but I really enjoyed it from about the 40% mark. The adventure Morgan goes on really ramps up the tension and that ending definitely makes you want to continue the series.

Overall, I felt this was a 'beginning book' i.e. something you have to read in order for the rest of the series to make sense but a lot of it could have been cut to make it more fast paced. However, I have high hopes for the rest of the series. Will definitely be continuing.

Loved the world building in this book as well as the start of the slow burn romance. I can’t wait to see where the rest of the series will go!!

Thank you to netgalley for the advanced copy!

The world building was so good and each characters are pretty interesting. I love the slow burn and I love a good struggle. Though there are some things that wasn’t explained well enough for me to grasp but then I still love it. The romance, the fantasy, and the story literally makes me want more. Thank you Netgalley!

Found a new obsession with Briar Boleyn. I love story-retellings so this seemed right up my street.

A likeable protagonist in Morgan and your new literature bad-boy over protective man in Drazen within my favourite Romantasy genre and a lot of the tropes that are going wild on bookstagram and booktok at the moment: spicy romance, slow burn, enemies to lovers and more all set in a world based on one of my favourite legends OMG I will be continuing the rest of this Saga. Now eagerly anticipating the next installment.
Thankyou @BriarBoleyn for my new character obsessions. I would love to be considered for your ARC in the future.

For a more in depth Synopsis and further conversation. Check out my blog in future for a further review...
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Thank you Netgalley for granting me access to this book in exchange for an honest review!

The book started off a bit slow, but as I continued I really began to enjoy the story and look forward to continuing the series. The characters were amazing and super interesting. I loved following Morgan and Draven throughout their story and watching them grow closer during this mission. I definitely was not crazy about Arthur, Florian and Vesper. Awful characters, but then I guess the author succeeded there because that was the point. I loved Morgan's relationship with her friends Lancelot and Galahad as well as her relationship with her half-brother Kaye who she cares so much for. Morgan is such a strong character, she's experienced so much in her life from her mother's death, her step-mother's death, her father's rejection and then death, and her brother's continued rejection as well. He treats her as if she is the smelly sh*t on the bottom of his shoe due to her lineage.

Kairos Draven is a sweet and caring man under all of that "evil killer/murderer spy" stuff. When in danger he goes into full badass mode and works well with Morgan. He protects her every chance he gets (touch her and ****) and his character is really seen during the times he is presented with the creatures of Eskira. Really recommend this to all who love a good princess warrior and fierce male protective love interest.

It took me a little bit longer to start reading this book because of my mood reading, but I thoroughly enjoyed it

Thank you to NetGalley for giving me the arc of this book!
3⭐️ - didn’t love but didn’t hate. Would recommend to the right reader.
Check trigger warnings before reading the book.
Queen of Roses by Brair Boleyn. This is my first time reading one of her books. Enjoyed the concept of the story line: princess who was first in line for the throne has her life set out for her due to her part fae heritage. Her younger brother becomes king and rules strictly. Morgan (MFC) is made to journey to fae lands to retrieve an artefact for her king but will she be successful? Can she trust those with her? In the time she’s away from the kingdom she uncovers secrets about herself, those in her company and the lands she travels through.
I felt like it was a slow read. Personally it took me until reaching 80% through the book to become more interested and that’s when I felt the story began. The book was left with me both confused and wanting to read more to understand what just happened.
I enjoyed the imagery throughout the book and was able to visualise the setting and characters very clearly.
Themes/trigger warnings:
Abduction, abuse, death, assault, domestic violence

I enjoyed the story overall, and the world in which was set was intresting and new. But at times somewhat confusing. nothing major but frustrating nonetheless.

In terms of characters, they were all fairly well-built but lacked some depth, however that might be because there is more further on in the series.

I will definitely continue this series.

As the discarded firstborn princess of Pendrath, Morgan Pendragon’s life has never been her own. When her older brother offers her the opportunity to pick between two different fates, Morgan begins her quest for a fae weapon of legendary power. The journey is dark and treacherous and the unearthed secrets make Morgan question what is more important: duty or desire?

Rating: 4/5 ⭐️s - As the main character, Morgan is just enough parts damsel in distress and fiesty, stabby, warrior princess to keep me happy. I love the world building and magic of this world and am totally looking forward to a deeper dive. Then there’s the political intrigue and the various characters. Morgan’s brother is the kind of villain you love to hate while her best friends are diehard.

Spice Rating: 1/5 🫑s - Possible enemies to lovers slow burn. Don’t expect a lot outright spice but the scenes with spice are tingly delicious. Looking forward to some more.

one of the best fantasy romances that i’ve read in a while! the darkness vibes, plot twists and turns kept me so engaged and wanting more!

I really enjoyed this romantasy book filled with a slow burn and an enemies to lovers romance, fae, secrets, and betrayal, and just the right amount of action and adventure to balance it out.

I really enjoyed the beginning of the story, even if, at first, I thought it was going to be too dark for my liking (please, read the trigger warnings before reading it!), but, unfortunately, I was not completely hooked with the plot. Even if I really enjoy all the Camelot vibes and Morgan's character development, I feel that, for me, it was just an OK book, but I also feel that it's because it's the 1st book on the series, so I would like to read the second one to build a more solid opinion about it.

Thank you Netgalley for the e-arc!

I was surprised when I started this book. Surprised on how much it was easy to read and also how much I was enjoying the story.
This Camelot re-telling was what I needed. I liked a lot the new representations of the characters, Merlin as a woman and Arthur as the villain. I liked a lot the add of the fae to the story, it makes so much sense.
The world building is really great, but the magic is still a little too weak for now, so I’m really looking forward for book two when it will come out, mostly after tat ending!! Luckily I’ll not need to wait too much since book two is coming out in June.
Also, I would like to see a bit more of characters development, but the rest was so much enjoyable.

Thank you NetGalley and author Briar Boleyn for this ARC and all the opinions are my own.

Unfortunately, this was a big miss for me. The FMC was annoying, the plot felt like it was a direct copy and paste from a couple of the big romantasy novels of the moment, and it just did not inspire me to continue with the series. This is supposed to be a retelling, but I don't think there was enough of the plot for it to be a retelling.

I loved this book! What a wonderful introduction to a series. The characters were engaging, the world was lush and the banter was snapping. Would highly recommend and can't wait for the next installment.

Thank you to Starwater Press, NetGalley, and Briar Boleyn for the ARC
📚THE PLOT:
Queen of Roses follows Morgan Pendragon, who’s grown in the shadows of her brother because of the tainted fae blood in her veins. Now that her kingdom is on the brink of war, she is forced on a journey to seek out a legendary weapon that’ll save them from their doom.
💭MY THOUGHTS:
I am fully obsessed with this book! I love stories about fae and the legend of King Arthur. The characters are great and lovable, and I sense a fantastic story with immense potential. I hope it meets my expectations. This book is brimming with romantasy, twists and turns, betrayals, and an epic quest. If that's your thing, this book is for you.

As for my favorite character, it's definitely the morally gray Kairos Draven! That man was everything🤌🏼 and not just visually😉 He respected Morgan and her decisions, and still cared for and loved her! Though I found Morgan a bit frustrating at times, her character added depth to the story.
Rating ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Spice 🌶️.3/5

Tropes
🌹 Slow-burn romance
🌹 Enemies to lovers
🌹 Morally gray MMC
🌹 World Building
🌹 Epic Quest
🌹 Found family
🌹 "Who did this to you?" With a hint of Touch her and ☠️
🌹 First person POV

I really enjoyed this spicy fantasy romance. It had slow burn, enemies to lovers, one bed, forced proximity, found family, and other tropes that I love. This book really had it all and I ate it up!

I never thought romantasy would be a genre I would enjoy so much, but I tried this series by Briar Boleyn and I loved it even more than ACOTAR! The FMC development is remarkable and a “shining” example of what a strong and feminine female can be. This series is currently my favorite recommendation to share with friends and acquaintances! It does have a couple of spicy scenes in each book, but I would say they are easily skippable if that isn’t your vibe. The books are smart and sassy, and skipping the spicy parts doesn’t detract from the story in any way.

I don’t know how I’d never heard of this book before. It’s so good. The author retelling is perfect. The FMC is lovable as is the MMC. I love the twist of the love interest at the end. I knew something had to happen, but I liked how it plays out. I can’t wait to see what comes with this series!

ARC Review

Scale information:
1: terrible, awful, I cannot stop ranting about how bad it was; 3: this is exactly what I expect from a book of this genre; 5: I cannot stop thinking about this book, I must own a copy, I will tell everyone to read it.

Re: TW: Animal Death: from my recollection, no domestic animal death, though there is wild cat death (mostly off-page).

In general, this was a good book, averaging out to be what I would expect from the "romantasy" genre. The first third of the book was a slog, holding none of my interest. I was regretting signing up to review all four books in the series. But it does turn around before the halfway point, and I did end up staying up far too late to read (I literally fell asleep reading at one point).

The storyline, while slightly formulaic, is predictable enough without being a rehash of other books in the genre: no twists for shock value, no "gotchas" that don't make sense, and overall the book flows in an expected way (less "the author used foreshadowing effectively" and more "full of romantasy tropes"). There was foreshadowing and it was subtle enough to not be "whack the reader over the head with this", and still be obvious (personally I think there shouldn't be too much heavy thinking required for this genre).

I do wish this was an original story and world than a "retelling" of Arthurian legend. I think the story would have benefitted from having it's own names, countries, lore... even more than it already does (it seems to be very loosely based on Arthurian lore).

The formatting of the ebook was non-standard, and not in an artistic way. Just in an annoying marketing email way. It was less grating as I went, but definitely affected my star rating and enjoyment of the story. Overall very few typos or grammar mistakes (other than the paragraph formatting), so that was refreshing and pleasant to read.

Excited to finish this review to move onto book 2!

I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.