*ARC received from Netgalley; all opinions are my own.*

| 3.5 ⭐

TLDR: As the first in a series, it's quite weak until near the ending but shows a lot of promise for future books! Pretty much one woman is surrounded by misogynistic men trying to control her as she's "the key" to everything.

The beginning of The False Pawn was so rough, and I really felt for Anthea. The first 6/7 chapters had Anthea being SA in a club, physically assaulted outside said club, then we move straight into being physically assaulted by an elf who then makes her strip in front of him. Shortly after, she's threatened to make a deal or else become a sex slave, and then ends up being a slave anyway by the same men, with one taking advantage of her as a slave as well.

This poor woman doesn't get a bloody break throughout this entire book, and it really weighed me down. The above happened quickly in the first several chapters, but things don't ever get great for her, right up until the end. I feel so sorry for her character, to the point where it's difficult to like the characters, as they're all just so irredemable.

We have two love interests, with neither of them really speaking to me or making me root for them. They both abuse Anthea and take advantage of her in one way or another. Both characters go on to try to see "good," but considering what both did to Anthea, I hope she doesn't pick either one, and a third love interest pops up somewhere in the future books.

There's a decent bit of lore and world-building going on, but you mainly learn about it through info-dunping. I would have liked a bit more information on the kind of elves that are in this world and how exactly their magic works. It seemed like a more "old-school" type.

While The False Pan was a bit of a rocky read for me, I am interested in the story and would love for Anthea to finally get a real win and stop being treated so teribly by all the males (and females) around her.

Overall, it's a recent read that I would likely recommend, but just be aware that the main character goes through it for the entire book and can continue to weigh on you the more you read.

I hate to leave negative feedback, because I know authors put a lot of work into their books, but this was a dnf for me.. I really hated the character traits of the elves, cruel and sadistic, torturing human slaves being there main thing I found appalling. I love the elves from JRR Tolkien's works, and this was an insulting affront to the genre he so lovingly and carefully curated. The main character was unlikeable, one minute she's angry and rebellious and the next she's spineless... I didn't really see any true character growth, and couldn't relate to her. It took me about 50% into this book to finally realize it just wasn't getting any better. I'm sorry I couldn't point out anything more positive about this book, but there really is nothing I can add except that I liked the cover.

t was between a 3 and a 4 for a while but it really came down to a few different things. I put a 4 because I felt that over all for a first book Asavi did a really great job drawing the readers in and the fact that I am still going over everything that happened in the book days later is a sign of a good book!

Seriously, what a great debut! I was hesitant at first because the book started off a bit slow and repetitive but man when that twist hits! My jaw dropped and from that point on I could not put this book down.

 I do understand that a lot goes into building a whole fantasy world and the author seemed to be easing the readers into that but it was a bit slow at first. I loved venturing into a book about elves and not the “typical” fae book that have been so popular. I really enjoyed the different main characters and their individual personalities that are revealed throughout the book. I really disliked some at first but then started to like them as the book went on, I won’t say why; that is for you to find out. I also appreciated the range of emotions the FMC, Athena, went through throughout the book. She was dropped into this new world and had to process everything going on around her and adapt to this new life as a human in an elven world. She didn’t just accept her fate she questioned it and pushed back against those trying to control her but also fought with the emotions of feeling less then and felling weaker. I felt like this really made Athena more relatable and likable, which is good because at first I could not stand her.

The False Pawn does contain some spice for those of you who enjoy that. But, also has a slow burn romance starting toward the middle to end. I cannot wait to see what happens between the two characters in the next book. Especially since one is human and the other is elven.

One of my suggestions to the author would be to add a glossary at the beginning to help with all the character names. I did get confused at one point because a lot of the names started with E and a few that had similar endings. A lot of characters are thrown at you in chapter 11, and it was a bit overwhelming. I did create my own character guide about at that point so I could keep all the characters straight and what court they were from. This just made it easier to refer back when three people with names starting with the same letter were interacting. I added that to the end of the review for thoes of you who plan to read The False Pawn.

A few things I wasn’t a huge fan of were:

The time spent at the beginning introducing the main character, Athena. I was extremely fast and then BOOM she was in Isluma. I felt there wasn’t enough information or build up before she was swept away. Not sure if that was intentional or not. I barely remember what happened in chapter one so I guess if Asavi never brings back the sisters, I won’t be too disappointed.  The reference to auburn hair was a bit overstated. Not a huge deal just happened enough times that I noticed a pattern. There were a few non main characters I would like to have learned more about but I have a feeling they are going to come up (I hope) in the next book.

The False Pawn has an amazing ending but leaves you hanging at the end. All I can say is I cannot wait for book two to be released! There is no mention of when book two, The Nephrite Knight, is set to be released but it is not soon enough! I highly recommend this book to anyone who enjoys a good FMC, magic, dragons, battling courts and of course a few swoon worthy characters.

Thank you to NetGalley and author, A. E. Asavi for this Advanced Reader Copy (ARC) in exchange for my honest review.

Compiled list I wrote out of the courts and characters often mentioned in the book.

King Endoral - Crimson CourtAegonar

Endreth

High King Taranath - Obsidian CourtLady Yelaria

Prince Althar (eldest son)

King Icarion - Cattleya Court (notorious for his slaves)

Vanda- daughter

King Galodir-Nephrite CourtQueen FyralinVaelor(heir)Elodir younger PrinceSynthia sisterLate auntEldrion- High commander of the Nephrite LegionBeldor- guard/Nephrite Legion memberThalion- healer

Elara- maid

King Erandel- Iron Court (youngest of the Kings)

Azure Court

Amber Court (No longer in existence)

The False Pawn by A. E. Asavi, is probably one of the most conflicting books I have read in a long while. Honestly, I couldn't decide until probably three-quarters of the way through, if I actually liked the book or not. And it has nothing to do with the story, because Ms. Asavi's writing style is great. She brings depth and life to her characters, and it's obvious early on, most eadters will either lover or hate her story. Since I didn't hate the the book, it still gave me room to warm up to the story, which I did finally, about the last quarter of the way through the book.

Lies run rampant throughout this book. In fact, lies abound so much, it's hard to tell if anyone ever knows how to tell the truth about anything, or if everyone is going to grow a nose longer than Pinocchio. Physical torture is another tool that is used liberally in this book for most of this new world that the main female character finds herself trapped on.

The main female character, while she does the right thing and steps up for her family, putting food on their table and clothes on back, is a weak enabler. And by that I mean, she spins stories for people that intentionally hurt others, i.e. men who sexually assault women, and claim that the victim is the one really at fault, not the perpetrator. The enabling portion comes into play when you realize the main female character lets her youngest sister just laze around the house doing what she wants without contributing, yet the oldest sister keeps getting angry at her and yelling at her about getting a job, but never does anything to enforce her getting one, nor does she try to help her get a job - she'd rather stay home, get drunk and resent her sister.

The one time the female character does goes out, she does so more out of spite against her sister than anything. Then, before she knows it, she wakes up on some other world where humans are practically sub-par "citizens", and most are used as slaves, and those not slaves are considered
rebels.

Most of us, when we think of Elves, we think of either Christmas or Lord of the Rings and Middle Earth by J. R, Tolkien. You need to forget all about those preconceived notions of Elves when you read The False Pawn.

Elves in this book, like Mr. Tolkien's books are split into realms, but that is about where the similarities end. The False Pawn's Elves are angry, vindictive, manipulative, human slave-trafficking, and they don't care who gets in their way as long they get what they want, especially the royalty.

Now, there are a couple of decent Elves thrown in, but you see their decentness AFTER they were told to help torture the main female character, with one breaking her hand and the other whipping her fourteen times instead of twenty because she passed out and she couldn't learn her lesson unconscious. A Queen is also decent, and does her best to try and help the main female character, explaining what is going on, why everyone is behaving the way they are, not that that excuses their behavior in the least.

By the end of the book, the main female character has a choice to make, and she realizes she has some major growing up to do at the same time. She finally comes to terms that she is probably not going to see her sisters again, so she could at least use her position to help the humans where she currently is, and make sure they are finally able to be treated fairly. But to do that she must learn how to do things she never thought possible, and become someone she never thought she could become.

Even though it took me a while to determine if I actually liked the story, Ms. Asavi did a remarkable job bringing an entire new world to life. Her characters are full of depth and make you think about where you are in your own life and the injustices that go on in the world.

If you want a book that is full of spirit, action, survival, hope, and most of all growth and love, then The False Pawn is just the book for you. I don't know when book will come out, but in my opinion, it won't be out soon enough.

Anthea Clark has a sense of obligation to her sisters, to work and pay the bills since their parents have died. After a fight she has with one of them she decides that she needs a night out on the town. While drunk and disoriented she stumbles out of the bar only to be confronted by a man who knows her name. As the man proceeds to draw strange burning marks on her skin, Anthea too stunned to move, the man continues the outrageous interaction by reciting a prophecy that she is unable to comprehend. Anthea is finally able to break free of this entanglement only to suddenly fall into another realm with Elven princes. She must quickly adjust to live in this new realm if she has any hope to return to the one she knows. But there is more to her than they all thought. Can she be this new realm's prophecy? Can she do what they want of her or can she break free and make it back home?
Overall rating 5/5
This book had me up multiple nights enraptured in Anthea’s story. There were points in the book that I felt mirrored ACOTAR’s plot which was both appealing and a bit too similar for me. I did enjoy the world building done by Asavi, and would love more dual POVs in the next installment.
*Thank you to A.E. Asavi, and Netgalley for the ARC copy. I am freely leaving my honest review.

Themes and tropes: enemies to lovers, feisty FMC, Broody Prince, Hot Commander, realm travel, prophecies and fate, dragons, elves, caste system, politics, betrayal

I enjoyed this book and would recommend if the above themes and tropes interest you. The books gives you exactly what is described and is written well. It starts off with a human FMC who gets abducted from her world and tossed into a foreign magical realm. The first half of the book is centered around a “feisty” FMC trying to figure out how to get back home, what she can leverage or negotiation to aid her goal. Despite not having magic, the FMC is protected against magic being used against her and uses it as a way to navigate her attempt at freedom. A lot of the book is her not knowing much about this new world, her surroundings or the elven royalty who are holding her. However, the second half of the book sets it up very nicely for you to want to continue reading the next book in this series. You learn about the political history of the realm, past and present betrayals, prophecies and fate that have led to this series of events, and there’s DRAGONS.

I really enjoyed: The writing style and pace, mixing it up with Eleven royalty rather than Fae.

I disliked: I wish some of the context from the later half of the book came a bit sooner.

oh man, I really don’t like to give out bad reviews but I could not continue with this book anymore. The False Pawn had all the right things I love in a book: fantasy, mystery, and romance. However, there were a lot of missing details and information that confused me. The pacing also felt all over the place.

I did like the FMC, especially her fun attitude. I made it to 40% before I had to put this book down. I had no desire to keep going on to find out how everything ended up, and that was so hard for me. I was hoping to enjoy this story more.

Writing reviews like these breaks my heart, but I am trying to read more for pleasure and am learning to put a book down if I am not enjoying it.

Anthea gets swept up by another world mistakenly and has to save the world. Can she survive.

If you liked court of thorns and roses this book is for you.
It has a very similar vibes to the story. Girl ends up in a world of elves. She’s different than them and has to save them.

We have two love interest. Where immediately 50% in you have to start hating the first one because you can’t have two decent love interest. (Which I hate)

Anthea was fine I guess. Not my favorite character ever written but she was fine. One thing that pissed me off near the end of the book was the self doubt. Like in the beginning of the book okay, but then end no. That’s like a main character in a horror film crying at the last 15 minutes just standing there. At that point you have to keep fighting. Also, I saw in one review someone mentioned that she was too forgiving and I have to agree but also why did all the characters need to do something that made her either angry or need to be forgiven. Like I just want one character that I don’t have to hate for 5-10 pages

I was also upset she spent so much talking about her sisters but after the first 20ish pages we never see them in the book again. we just have to listen to the main character miss them

But I do want to thank the author, publisher and NetGalley for the ARC of this book.

Overall I loved it. Some of the names were very similar, and difficult to keep straight. But the author does a great job of making you feel everything that Anthea feels. The story itself moves along at a good pace, with some mystery, some adventure, some banter, and a good bit of sexual tension. Definitely worth reading, and I can't wait to read more!

An unusual portal story. Anthea is attacked as she leaves a nightclub and suddenly finds herself in an alternate dimension where elves are the dominant caste and humans are mere slaves.
Sometimes the scenes in the story can be intense with the slavery and dominance of humans such that some readers may be put off and as such clear trigger warnings may be required up front.
I found the romantic element a bit forced as it seemed too convenient and quick to develop especially as there was significant trust issues being portrayed.
Despite that I enjoyed the book an look forward to the next one so see if Anthea can locate the elusive dragons.

I'm afraid I had to DNF this at 11%, chapter 6.
It's a really interesting premise and though I fall within the target audience, there were a lot of aspects once reading that immediately put me off.

Firstly, Anthea is completely unlikeable from the start. My first note at 1% was "Am I supposed to dislike her?". I don't know if that's the case but for the next 10%, I did not begin to warm to her nor did I get the sense that I would.

I found that where a cliche could be packed in, it was. As a writer, I empathise with how easy it can be to fall into that pit but in combination with my other pet peeves, it made it hard to read without rolling my eyes.

I took issue with a scene early in the book - and this harks back to Anthea's likeability (or lack thereof) - where she is drinking whilst handling a work harassment case. Statistically speaking, this is very likely a sexual assault if not SA-adjacent.. I don't care how 'skilled' you are at your job or how well you handle your drink, that's not okay. I don't think this is something Asavi should have written in at all; what was the point? As I DNF'd the book, maybe it was important and came back later on. However, I doubt it.

The use of 'rump' from a protag who is young enough to go clubbing yanked me HARD from the story. At this point, I really was willing to put aside my small grievances but then an on-page SA takes place and it becomes very clear that it was written to give Anthea an excuse to leave the club by herself. This scene was handled in a very irresponsible way and what happened to her comes across as being inconsequential.

Descriptions were so lacklustre and at times, it was giving wattpad. Furthermore, Anthea was portrayed as being incredibly drunk (literally slurring) and yet she was taking note of several occurrences that no drunk person could possibly have processed. Her recall was good. She then seemed to instantly snap out of her drunkness (remember, slurring) minutes later. Anthea wakes up in a situation that is dangerous and life-threatening; one move and she could end up seriously harmed if not killed. And the first thing she does...is comment on the fact that she can see two moons? Yeah, no. It only goes downhill from there because, despite the situation she has found herself in, there is just a complete and utter lack of urgency.

She sees pointed ears and assumes...alien. This is initially set in an urban city and there is just no way that Anthea would not have even heard of humans with pointed ears signalling Elves (i.e. in movies or games etc.).

Essentially, I couldn't get into the book for more than a few minutes before something illogical or strange pulled me out. I couldn't suspend my disbelief at any point which is a shame because I feel there could have been potential. The lack of trigger warnings is also something I take issue with considering the mention of harrasment and then an actual on-page assault right at the start.

However, I will say that I love the cover and I also really enjoyed the little sister's sass.

I was able to read about 45% of this book before I unfortunately had to dnf, and there were many times before that when I wanted to put this down for good. But I always try and give books and their authors a fair shot.

There are a few reasons why I decided to discontinue reading this book. One of the main reasons is because the pacing and plot development don’t match up at all. The story will have progressed weeks or months but not much has happened in regards to plot. And characters form attachments that, in truth, don’t make much sense, because there is no emotional buy-in between characters. While the main love interest is obvious from the start, that isn’t because the author wrote them to be a love interest, it’s because the author follows typical tropes from other fantasy authors.

Another thing that confused me was how under developed the main character is. One moment she is strong and fiery, the next she is petulant and childish, and then she becomes a woe-is-me damsel in distress. I couldn’t get to know her because I felt whiplash in all the ways she presented herself unevenly throughout the scenes.

To give some credit- I do think that, of what I read, the author has a good idea in mind of where this story will go. It’s an interesting thought to have a human in another realm and impervious to the realm’s magic, yet able to understand their spoken and written language. If I could look past my other qualms, I think I would be interested to see where the story goes.

This book might be good for readers who are new to fantasy, like smut for smut’s sake, and who don’t mind looking past mid-quality writing.

This book pulled me in a few different direction and was very much a world building first installment. There is a ton of lore, character introduction, and surprising turns jammed into this book.

Anthea lives with her two sisters, acting as a pseudo mother to them after their parents died and going to work for a paycheck but not much fulfillment. I’m not sure what I expected, but it wasn’t her going to a club and then falling through a portal in to an elf-run world. Once there, she is imprisoned, forced to be a slave (or act as one, it’s confusing and edges close to Stockholm syndrome), kidnapped, tortured, betrayed, and then sort-of/kind-of revered? This book takes you through all the feels.

The overall story revolves around a prophecy and lots of court intrigue. Turns out humans exist in this world but they are a slave race, doing the bidding of the elves (who also have magic). It is quickly discovered that Anthea is immune to magic, so they quickly put her to work. Is there romance? Yes? I guess? Again, she is everyone’s prisoner so how much is her own bidding and how much is questionable consent? It toes a line there, but if you can put that aside, there are more than enough very attractive elves who could easily be in the running for Anthea’s partner.

None of this truly pans out as this is just book 1 and we need to set up a lot of things all at once. I’m not the best high fantasy reader, so admit that a lot of the very similar names ended up blurring together a times, but the author did convince me I should be rooting for our unlikely hero, Anthea. It will be interesting to see what other trouble she gets into in future books.

It's been a looooong time since I've read a portal fantasy and very often they are quite predictable and become quite boring pretty fast. But let me tell this book was everything BUT boring and predictable.
Not gonna lie at times the FMC infurme me but there's definitely strong character development which I enjoyed.
Ivrealy like that the author didn't try to be similar to anyone or tried toimic whats popular these days - the story is authentic and captivating. It finishes on cliffhanger so Im looking forward to the next book.

Considering this is the author’s debut, I feel they have strong potential. Many people with more patience with the genre will like this book.

I DNF because the dialogue felt pretty awkward, mostly due to the author’s greedy pacing and lack of subtlety. You really get hit over the head with the plot, whether you like it or not. However, to the author’s credit, they don’t fall prey to many romantasy genre traps, such as a ridiculously young heroine with no real responsibility, or overuse of weird vocabulary to describe hair and “orbs”. Overall, I think the author needs to work on their dialogue, vocabulary, and pacing in the long term.

Struggling to enjoy her life and desperate for a way out of her rut, Anthea finds herself in over her head in a world she never thought possible. Lost and confused in an unknown realm where nothing is as it seems, she embarks on a journey that forces her to examine herself and embrace the inevitable change as she tries to find her way home. Entangled with elves, magic, and prophecy, Anthea must unravel layers of deception and betrayal while trying to find her footing in a brand new world.

This was a really great introduction to a new fantasy series. Asavi excels in world-building, creating a vivid and immersive setting. The attention to detail in the political, cultural, and social structures of the world enhances the realism of the fantasy setting and makes the reading experience much more immersive. The plot felt very well paced, with perfectly timed twists, reveals of information, and moments that built character development. This book has the perfect balance of romance and fantasy, sprinkled with political intrigue and spice. I can’t wait for this series to continue so we can see where Anthea ends up.

I’d highly recommend this for anyone who loves strong FMCs, magical courts, elves, dragons, and broody swoony bodyguards.

This story… was not what I expected. The pacing is reasonable and lots happens and it’s not really a plot I have come across before. But oh my days do we go from 0-60, from very little tension to sudden sexual advances in the name of “you’re my property”. Now this would be fine, but the whole human-is-slave concept is dialled up to 90 in the beginning, with every other utterance talking about obedience and discipline and other buzz words that really kill the mood. Less is more, more or less. Nothing, and I mean nothing, is left to the imagination, which is a shame.

Characters are interesting, though. I like Anthea’s stubbornness and unwillingness to bend. It’s done in a very good way, and whilst I didn’t resonate with her life experiences (how could I?), I did appreciate and sympathise with her. I liked her. She is a good MFC and I kept turning the proverbial pages to see what happened to her… I also loved how Anthea grows in strength, both politically and physically. She has an immense journey and is not just some meek creature out of her depth. The first third of the book was a challenge for various reasons but the payoff in the latter two thirds is significant and worth the wait. We are not dealing with a self-insert character, which is what I initially feared.

Now. The nomenclature has to be mentioned, because to me this was the biggest problem with the book. The names themselves seem to follow a phonetic and graphemic system that is acceptable for the average English reader can understand. The issue is that about 75% of the characters have names starting with “A” or “E”. It’s like the inspiration was LotR but it was taken one step too far. Even the horse’s name starts with an E. This is a problem for me keeping up with who is who.

Overall? I really enjoyed it as a book to escape into another world. Despite my negative points above, it did not detract from my general ability to switch off and enjoy story for the sake of the story and not overanalyse too much. I would advise warnings to be attached to this book as it is certainly not for everyone, but there is a large fan base who I know will love it. I am more than a little curious to see how the series progresses.

Poor Anthea, she just can't catch a break! I love every minute of her journey and can't wait to see if she can wake up the dragons. She's a total badass FMC!

I'd rate it a high 3.6. While I understand she's in a tough situation, her frequent complaints made her seem slightly naive at times and draining.

This book falls under the genre of romantasy - my favourite - and it has all the important points for that but I just didn't love it as much as I do other books. Overall I struggled a lot with the time jumps and the quite repetetive writing style because they slowed down readings drastically for me. The characters were ok but I needed some time to get warm with them und understand where they're coming from.

Thanks to NetGalley for providing an ARCI'm giving this book 1.5 stars.

I actually enjoyed the first 4 chapters and the last 4 chapters of this book. The rest of this was very difficult for me to get through. I don't believe the synopsis of this book fit for what actually happens in this book. I also believe this book and its future companions would greatly benefit from some trigger warnings. This felt more like a dark romantsy when I was not expecting it. The parts of the book that I liked were the parts where the MC was trying to figure things out on her own and not thinking about the "romantic interests". I really feel like the author could write some interesting fantasy writing but was trying to balance it with men for our MC to have romance with. I think the romantic interests are not great and should stay far away from the MC.

This book was very long and repetitive at times to the point I almost DNF'ed a few times.

I don't see myself reading this again or reading the rest of this series.

Trigger warnings I think other readers should be wary of are: Emotional manipulation, dubious consent, sexual assault, torture on page, violence to the MC and towards others, and human sacrifice in some pretty graphic detail.