“Another silent scream. I grasped at any shred of reality I could. “You’re not real. You’re not real. I am safe. I am protected.”

I absolutely loved this book and I will be anxiously awaiting the next book in the series, the author did an impeccable job showcasing the harsh reality many people face after leaving an abusive relationship. The mental health and CPTSD rep was beautifully written, and showcasing the spiraling into addiction, I applaud the author for touching on these dark topics without glamorizing them. This book felt like a much more mature folk of air story, with political intrigue and a morally grey female protagonist, adding in folklore and fae beings, I loved how the author wove the world building into the story, there is room to learn so much more as the world feels vast and yet concrete. The relationships between characters carried the plot well. Championing their quest for revenge, giving them a similar motive and creating a found family among unlikely friends. Another theme was grief, the grief that comes when someone loses a part of their identity, and has to rebuild, the grief of letting go of a relationship, and the grief of a past self.
With that said this book could be triggering for someone who has experienced this type of emotional trauma, although it is done tastefully it is something to be aware of.

While the plot was intriguing, the story fell short for me because of the lack of character development and world building. I didn't feel a strong connection to the characters and they didn't seem to have a strong connection to one another either. The world was murky and the plot felt rushed. I loved Tharan and Aelia's relationship, however, that is what kept me reading.

K.W. Foster knocked this book out of the park. I'm already needing the other parts of the series to come out! There are some parts that I was confused about. Some parts of the book went too quickly and I was wishing to have more of the story! There were some moments when the characters came into the scene and I wasn't sure where they came from. However, overall, I loved this book, the storyline, and the characters!

ARC Review of A Curse of Breath and Blood by K.W. Foster
* * * * *
An epic fantasy romance is our heroine fights the monster in her head, makes a painful deal with her first, takes a chance on another in her heart...as she makes an agreement to take down her enemies that will morph her into something she never planned on.

Aelia never got to live happily ever after with her first love. It was not possible. Sent away to marry a man who would bring horrors to her life, changing her more ways than one, and taking away all that she loved dear.
Years later, she uses her powers of the mind to make ends meet.
She was getting along just fine, in a sense, until an old face pops up needing her on his team. Caiden has never left her mind, not matter how many times she tries to literally erase him. The attraction is as intense as ever, not matter the bickering or past that affects them.
So to help them both move on, they make a deal: to erase her from his mind and eventually his life.
With the deal made and a quest to save the land, as well as Aelia's sister, she did not intend to fall all over again for Caiden, or find a spark in the charming Tharan.
An old love, a new fling, a sister in trouble, a wicked husband tormenting her mind, and death all around her...will Aeliea break or transform into something more that shall bring more death than she ever thought possible.

Talk about a complicated love life!
A monster of a husband - stab, stab, stab!
A first love with a binding agreement to wipe his memories of her forever - gurl...you are going to regret that!
A playboy that is digging his way into her heart - get it my woman!
Murdered parents. A sister who has totally lost her mind. Great friends and new alliances. A haunting spirit that will change Aelia's life.
Bloody balls. Epic battles. Steamy camping trips.
Very much wanting to know the next part to this story.

It’s giving ACOTAR vibes but better. Loved so many quotes in this damn book, I nearly highlighted on every page. I’m a huge fan of older main characters so THANK YOU

This book lacks worldbuilding—you're thrust into the story with a sudden time jump and little explanation of how things got there. The fast-paced narrative feels akin to young adult fiction, with our main character narrowly escaping death multiple times before the halfway mark. While there's plenty of action, it leaves little room for character development or relationship growth. We're told about emotions and connections, but they lack depth, making the second half feel rushed, like an instant love story.

The characters show potential but remain underdeveloped. The villain, described as sinister, only shows their true colors near the end, leaving little to root against. Aelia, flawed and healing from trauma, stands out, though her backstory remains vague. She reminded me of a more mature Aelin from Throne of Glass.

While the book's action-packed nature makes for a quick read, I felt it needed more pages or a split into two books to flesh out characters, world-building, and relationships. It will appeal to fans of fast-paced YA fantasy seeking a mature edge, but as someone who values deeper storytelling, it fell short for me.

Morally Grey FMC Aelia has been through every heartache you can think of, she reaches rock bottom and feels she has nothing left to loose. She reminds me of Thea from Legends of Thezmarr series.

Aelia is fierce and sassy yet trauma of past events hold back her strength and determination to drive forward and utilize her gifts to their full capacity.

However, Aelia has great friends that lift her up and out of her endless hopelessness. It’s great to see her grow and move past her past through this story. Her progress is rough and raw and you feel her emotions while you read through her story. It’s amazing!

I thought this book had just the right amount of romance, suspense and questing. You really hate the bad guys and are hoping for the best, however, there are plenty of twists along the way.

I’m intrigued to see what happens next in this series. I thought the good guys had the upper hand, but maybe not… we’ll have to see.
——
The following may contain spoilers:
Great love triangle! But is it still a love triangle now???
Caiden is sweet and duty driven, but he messed up and didn’t fight for the girl in my opinion so I am not team Caiden. I suggest she moves on, she’s a different person now, past or no past between them.

I’m team Tharan over here, I loved him. Passionate, knowledgeable, doesn’t tell her how to act or be but accepts her, and has a lot more in common with Aelia. I do wonder though if Aelia did have something to do with his feelings (internally), or I’m hunching maybe they are mated somehow..?

Wow! THis book was a thoroughly enjoyable read for me. It was everything I love in fantasy romance fiction - high stakes, lovable and complex characters, delightful worldbuilding and more!

I loved our fmc. She was strong and resilient and wasn't afraid of a challenge. And Tharon *heart eyes* (can you tell I have a favourite).

Overal, I would absolutely recommend this book to anyone interested

3.5/5 stars

Thank you Netgalley for the ARC.

❀❀ 𝟮,𝟱 𝗼𝘂𝘁 𝗼𝗳 𝟱 𝗳𝗹𝗼𝘄𝗲𝗿𝘀!
"𝐎𝐮𝐫 𝐥𝐨𝐯𝐞 𝐝𝐢𝐞𝐝 𝐛𝐞𝐟𝐨𝐫𝐞 𝐢𝐭 𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐫 𝐡𝐚𝐝 𝐚 𝐜𝐡𝐚𝐧𝐜𝐞 𝐭𝐨 𝐥𝐢𝐯𝐞."

Before reading this book, the synopsis and the overall idea truly excited me: a blend of fantasy, enemies-to-lovers, magic, a second chance at love, a thrilling quest, complex and vulnerable characters, and multiple points of view. Thus, I found myself pondering: how could I possibly dislike this book? However, upon reading it, although I didn't end up disliking the book (in fact, I quite enjoyed it!), I also couldn't say that I liked it, although I really really wanted to and tried.

જ⁀➴ᡣ𐭩 𝐖𝐡𝐚𝐭'𝐬 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐛𝐨𝐨𝐤 𝐚𝐛𝐨𝐮𝐭?:
We follow Aelia Springborn, also known as the <i>Traitor Queen</i>, whose kingdom is destroyed and her family is gone. She earns money by breaking other's minds and erasing other's memories. She lives a life in the shadows, until the day that her former lover, her then love of her life, Caiden Stormweaver, appears back into her life. He has succeeded in tracking her down and now comes with a proposition she can't refuse: help him stop her former husband, King Gideon, from taking control over the deadly army of the Alder King. Once they succeed in doing that, Aelia will erase Caiden's memories of their relationship, erasing both the hurt and the wonder of their past. Aelia agrees to to the terms and goes on a quest bound by magic and aided by friends, but, it's not easy. Both the desperation, pain, attraction, longing, and love are alive between Aelia and Caiden's hearts. But, breaking a bargain in Moriana is deadly, their love can never be. Things become even more complicated when Aelia meets Tharan Greenblade, whom she cannot help but fall for. Fates are being intertwined, high stakes are being involved, and loyalties will be being tested. But, who is to trust?

જ⁀➴ᡣ𐭩 𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐩𝐥𝐨𝐭 & 𝐰𝐨𝐫𝐥𝐝𝐛𝐮𝐢𝐥𝐝𝐢𝐧𝐠:
I had trouble understanding the worldbuilding and imagining what the places looked like, and sometimes I didn't know where the characters were. I think this is because suddenly we're somewhere, and then suddenly we aren't and are somewhere else without much explanation, which left me feeling a bit confused and all over the place. I think if there had been more explanation, the worldbuilding would have been a lot stronger because I do feel like there's potential with all the different sorts of courts and environments. However, I did like the concept of the story itself!

‧₊ ''𝘖𝘶𝘳 𝘭𝘰𝘷𝘦 𝘣𝘶𝘳𝘯𝘦𝘥 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘥𝘪𝘦𝘥 𝘭𝘪𝘬𝘦 𝘢 𝘤𝘢𝘯𝘥𝘭𝘦 𝘣𝘦𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘭𝘪𝘵 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘣𝘭𝘰𝘸𝘯 𝘰𝘶𝘵 𝑎 𝑙𝑖𝑓𝑒 𝘧𝘰𝘳𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘳 𝘰𝘶𝘵 𝘰𝘧 𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘤𝘩. 𝘞𝘦 𝘴𝘢𝘷𝘰𝘳𝘦𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘯𝘪𝘨𝘩𝘵. 𝘖𝘶𝘳 𝘧𝘢𝘵𝘦𝘴 𝘸𝘦𝘳𝘦 𝘴𝘦𝘢𝘭𝘦𝘥 𝘣𝘦𝘧𝘰𝘳𝘦 𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘭𝘪𝘱𝘴 𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘳 𝘵𝘰𝘶𝘤𝘩𝘦𝘥.''

ps. I do advise you to perhaps look at the author's website for some information about worldbuilding, characters, character art and so on, maybe that helps a little if you want to be prepared or are a bit confused like me, and if not, then, I mean, the website looks amazing! :)

જ⁀➴ᡣ𐭩 𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐜𝐡𝐚𝐫𝐚𝐜𝐭𝐞𝐫𝐬:
We're being introduced to an interesting set of characters. To start the things that I liked is, to begin with, Aelia, how we meet her as our main character at the bottom of her life. Her kingdom destroyed, living with the trauma from what her husband had done to her and forced her to do through manipulation and power, how she copes daily with her addiction and her memories of her first love haunting her. From the beginning of the book, we see her vulnerabilities, we see her trying, falling, standing up again, and growing. I admired her strength with how she was carrying her burdens. She's flawed and through the other characters like Amolie, Caiden and Tharan, we see her accept that it's okay to have flaws and to not be ''perfect''. To accept herself. I find it difficult to talk about the other characters, I liked Amolie for how caring and kind she was, but It's just that I couldn't connect with the characters and I feel like I still don't know them that well. We don't get much background story. Some characters have depth, some barely do and some don't, so it felt a bit unbalanced and flat at times because the emotions and depth stayed at surface level. I would have loved to know more about the characters.

‧₊ ''𝘐 𝘥𝘪𝘥𝘯'𝘵 𝘸𝘢𝘯𝘵 𝘵𝘰 𝘭𝘦𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘱𝘢𝘪𝘯 𝘨𝘰. 𝘐 𝘸𝘢𝘯𝘵𝘦𝘥 𝘵𝘰 𝘵𝘢𝘵𝘵𝘰𝘰 𝘪𝘵 𝘰𝘯𝘵𝘰 𝘮𝘺 𝘴𝘬𝘪𝘯, 𝘧𝘰𝘳𝘤𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘸𝘰𝘳𝘭𝘥 𝘵𝘰 𝘭𝘰𝘰𝘬 𝘶𝘱𝘰𝘯 𝘮𝘺 𝘴𝘰𝘳𝘳𝘰𝘸 𝘵𝘰 𝘬𝘯𝘰𝘸 𝘮𝘺 𝘵𝘳𝘶𝘵𝘩: 𝘴𝘰𝘮𝘦𝘰𝘯𝘦 𝘭𝘰𝘷𝘦𝘥 𝘮𝘦 𝘰𝘯𝘤𝘦.''

‧₊ “𝘠𝘰𝘶 𝘥𝘦𝘴𝘦𝘳𝘷𝘦 𝘩𝘢𝘱𝘱𝘪𝘯𝘦𝘴𝘴 𝘵𝘰𝘰, 𝘈𝘦𝘭𝘪𝘢. 𝘋𝘰𝘯'𝘵 𝘧𝘰𝘳𝘨𝘦𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵. 𝘋𝘰𝘯'𝘵 𝘭𝘦𝘵 𝘺𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘱𝘢𝘴𝘵 𝘤𝘰𝘯𝘵𝘳𝘰𝘭 𝘺𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘧𝘶𝘵𝘶𝘳𝘦.''

જ⁀➴ᡣ𐭩 𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐫𝐨𝐦𝐚𝐧𝐜𝐞:
At first, the prologue and first few chapters got me and I felt a few tears welling up in my eyes. It broke my heart to see how much Caiden and Aelia loved each other, how they cared so fondly for one another, but were forced to separate from one another. A love that could never be, but would have been so beautiful if it would have been. I felt for them. And I so hated Gideon and the whole law coming in between them. When I got a bit further into the story, I began to lose that feeling. <spoiler>Caiden comes back into Aelia's life and of course, old feelings come back again, but, it felt suddenly very forced and it didn't feel...real. Past feelings come back, but then there's Ursula, then there's Caiden and Aelia again, then there's Tharan and suddenly they are kissing, and then it's Caiden again then suddenly Caiden, Aelia, AND Ursula kiss, then suddenly it stops and that's it and then there's the erasing of Caiden's memories what should have been emotional, and it is, is but I didn't feel it because Aelia is then going to Tharan and falling for him and loving him. It went from ''𝘐 𝘥𝘰𝘯'𝘵 𝘸𝘢𝘯𝘵 𝘵𝘰 𝘭𝘰𝘷𝘦 𝘢𝘯𝘺𝘰𝘯𝘦 𝘦𝘭𝘴𝘦 𝘣𝘶𝘵 𝘺𝘰𝘶'' unnaturally fast to something else.</spoiler> So, it all just felt so all over the place and sudden and random and I just couldn't keep up with it all and connect with the characters and their romance, sadly. However, I do admire how all of the characters love one another despite their flaws and even love one another more with them, and tell and show one another that, and love each other with their scars involved.

‧₊ “𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘢𝘳𝘦 𝘣𝘦𝘢𝘶𝘵𝘪𝘧𝘶𝘭 𝘵𝘰 𝘮𝘦, 𝘢𝘦𝘭𝘪𝘢 𝘴𝘱𝘳𝘪𝘯𝘨𝘣𝘰𝘳𝘯. 𝘺𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘴𝘤𝘢𝘳𝘴 𝘢𝘳𝘦 𝘢 𝘵𝘦𝘴𝘵𝘢𝘮𝘦𝘯𝘵 𝘵𝘰 𝘺𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘴𝘵𝘳𝘦𝘯𝘨𝘵𝘩. 𝘸𝘦𝘢𝘳 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘮 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘱𝘳𝘪𝘥𝘦.”

‧₊ “𝘪 𝘸𝘪𝘭𝘭 𝘧𝘪𝘯𝘥 𝘢 𝘸𝘢𝘺 𝘣𝘢𝘤𝘬 𝘵𝘰 𝘺𝘰𝘶” 𝘩𝘦 𝘬𝘪𝘴𝘴𝘦𝘥 𝘮𝘦 𝘱𝘢𝘴𝘴𝘪𝘰𝘯𝘢𝘵𝘦𝘭𝘺. “𝘪 𝘭𝘰𝘷𝘦 𝘺𝘰𝘶, 𝘢𝘦𝘭𝘪𝘢. 𝘪 𝘭𝘰𝘷𝘦𝘥 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘯 𝘸𝘩𝘦𝘯 𝘪 𝘩𝘢𝘵𝘦𝘥 𝘺𝘰𝘶, 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘪 𝘸𝘪𝘭𝘭 𝘬𝘦𝘦𝘱 𝘢 𝘴𝘱𝘢𝘤𝘦 𝘪𝘯 𝘮𝘺 𝘩𝘦𝘢𝘳𝘵 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘶𝘯𝘵𝘪𝘭 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘦𝘯𝘥 𝘰𝘧 𝘵𝘪𝘮𝘦.” 𝘢 𝘱𝘳𝘰𝘮𝘪𝘴𝘦 𝘩𝘦 𝘤𝘰𝘶𝘭𝘥𝘯’𝘵 𝘬𝘦𝘦𝘱.

‧₊ “𝘐’𝘷𝘦 𝘸𝘢𝘯𝘵𝘦𝘥 𝘵𝘰 𝘬𝘪𝘴𝘴 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘳𝘺 𝘥𝘢𝘺 𝘴𝘪𝘯𝘤𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘧𝘪𝘳𝘴𝘵 𝘵𝘪𝘮𝘦 𝘐 𝘭𝘢𝘪𝘥 𝘦𝘺𝘦𝘴 𝘰𝘯 𝘺𝘰𝘶”

જ⁀➴ᡣ𐭩 𝐎𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐫 𝐭𝐡𝐨𝐮𝐠𝐡𝐭𝐬:
Some moments were beautifully written and I have annotated a lot of sentences which I found either beautiful, emotional, or inspiring. I felt like there were moments of depth, and sometimes were it was supposed to be, it was more told than felt, but that can also be just me. Some moments felt rushed, sudden, and kind of cut off, which is the main reason why I unfortunately couldn't enjoy this book as much as I hoped I would. I am interested in the characters still and the story itself I liked and enjoyed. If a second book comes out, I want to read it, because I do am curious after that cliffhanger and would like to know what will happen with the characters. I think you'd like this if you like or would like a fantasy romance set in a dark atmospheric setting with a complex main character trying to cope with what she has been going through, with themes of trauma, addiction, loss, second chance forbidden romance, love triangle(s), found family, magic and high-stakes.

‧₊ “𝘞𝘦 𝘢𝘳𝘦 𝘯𝘰𝘵 𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘭𝘢𝘣𝘦𝘭𝘴, 𝘢𝘦𝘭𝘪𝘢. 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘴𝘩𝘰𝘶𝘭𝘥 𝘬𝘯𝘰𝘸 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘣𝘺 𝘯𝘰𝘸. 𝘴𝘰𝘮𝘦𝘵𝘪𝘮𝘦𝘴 𝘪𝘵 𝘪𝘴 𝘦𝘢𝘴𝘪𝘦𝘳 𝘵𝘰 𝘭𝘪𝘷𝘦 𝘪𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘢𝘳𝘮𝘰𝘳 𝘸𝘦 𝘣𝘶𝘪𝘭𝘥 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘰𝘶𝘳𝘴𝘦𝘭𝘷𝘦𝘴 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘯 𝘭𝘦𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘸𝘰𝘳𝘭𝘥 𝘴𝘦𝘦 𝘸𝘩𝘰 𝘸𝘦 𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘭𝘭𝘺 𝘢𝘳𝘦.”

‧₊ ''𝘠𝘰𝘶 𝘢𝘳𝘦 𝘯𝘰𝘵 𝘢𝘭𝘰𝘯𝘦 𝘢𝘯𝘺𝘮𝘰𝘳𝘦, 𝘈𝘦𝘭𝘪𝘢.''

𝘀𝗼𝗺𝗲 𝘀𝗼𝗻𝗴𝘀: ♬ ₊˚.
◎︎ •၊၊||၊|။||||| 0:48
- sweet nothing by taylor swift
- only love can hurt like this by paloma faith
- vampire by olivia rodrigo
- fuel to fire by agnes nobel
- glimpse of us by joji

˚ ༘♡ ⋆｡˚ I would like to thank NetGalley, the publisher, and author, for providing me with this arc in exchange for an honest review. ˚ ༘♡ ⋆｡˚

listen. i love a complex fantasy world more than anyone! but when you're 20% of the way through the book and still don't understand what's happening, it's just not fun. this reads like the second book in a series without having read the first. maybe it was just me, but this definitely did not live up to the blurb.

This was a hard read for me because of the abuse and mental health issues the fmc Aelia faces. She has been through so much and we don’t even have the whole story yet on what exactly happened to her kingdom. I am intrigued on what will happen with Caiden and hope Aelia gets to be happy with Tharan. But I am concerned for what Baylis will do to Aelia’s mental state in the next book.

I typically have a hard time with books that face mental illness and addiction so head on but I am glad that I was able to make it through because you can’t help but love the fmc and want to see her get the peace she so deserves. I would definitely recommend this book if you love a strong fmc.

A Curse of Breath and Blood is a compelling read for fans of fantasy and coming-of-age stories. K.W. Foster has crafted a narrative that balances action, emotion, and thought-provoking themes. This book is not only an exploration of magic and curses but also a heartfelt journey of self-acceptance and courage. Highly recommended for anyone looking to lose themselves in a beautifully crafted fantasy world.

Thank you to Netgalley for the opportunity to read this book. This review is my own opinion.

I enjoyed this book. Did I rate this a 5 star, no and here is why. I found that the world building was tough. It felt like in some cases I was just thrust into a new place but didn't get much building into the world. As far as the characters, I felt that I had a decent grasp and understanding of Aelia. However, some of the other characters felt surface level or I didn't feel their background was expounded on enough. I had some difficulty jumping back and forth between Aelia and Caiden's POV. I also felt like the surface was just skimmed in regards to Aelia's trauma through her abusive relationship with Gideon. Also, I felt like it's not clear how Aelia obtained her powers. Was she made or were her powers/talents always dormant and were forced out from her abuse? I feel like we are just missing so much vital information.

I was not a fan of Aelia and Caiden's relationship, so I was glad when Tharan entered the picture. I feel like the last 1/4 of the book had the most suspense and kept me reading. The Epilogue has me wanting more, so I am looking forward to seeing the direction of the next book.

Overall, I would rate the book 3/5.

I really recommend checking out author’s website for some history of the world, get to know a bit more about the characters. She have summed it up really well! It’s very interesting to get more detailed description of the characters since there are so many unique ones as well powers!

This book gave me a real push into a well worked fantasy world with different courts, that yet doesn’t get too complicated! I felt like I was turning my head on every direction because the story was filled with all kinds of plot twists. They were really well worked and overall left me hooked! Starting from the first page, the lovers Aelia and Caiden are separated due to forbidden love and later forced to work together (which is filled with emotions and tension 👏). On the mission to find her sister, with enemies from her past on their heals and heartbreaking oaths, I was sit sat seated ready for the loop of the roller coaster!

Aelia is a fierce and brave FMC with telepathic powers, yet she has her obstacles and struggles (addiction). Through the story though we get to see her working on herself to become stronger, a better version of herself, which just made my love for her grow even more.

Caiden, being her ex now, they both have their reasons to hate each other following their past in the book. But omg the way this man would still be her personal shield is making my heart do summersaults. He’s sweet and lovingly but still isn’t afraid to speak his mind for Aelia’s best.

IF THAT WASNT ENOUGH Tharan joins to work with them adding a sparkle of love triangle! No cuz even though I love Caiden, Tharan really stepped up for me. I feel like him and Aelia can share their traumas to each other with more heart and honesty, and that’s the beautiful thing that I think was really important for Aelia to heal.

Thank you to NetGalley for the ARC of A Curse of Breath and Blood.

The plot and storyline of this one was interesting and has promise. There needed to be a bit more world building at the beginning as it jumps straight in with little explanation which was tricky to follow. I enjoyed the story line and characters but could have use more storytelling to weave everything together. I’m interested to see what happens next!

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Overall, I enjoyed the book, but there were a few points that bothered me. Although it was mentioned that the book has similarities to ACOTAR, I found these similarities quite striking. The story and characters were, in my opinion, too closely aligned with ACOTAR, which often gave the impression of fanfiction. In particular, the character Tharan seemed like an exact copy of Lucien in terms of appearance.

Another criticism is the small errors I noticed. For example, at one point, Caiden was mentioned instead of Tharan, even though Caiden wasn’t meant to be in that scene. Such mistakes are not major but still unfortunate.

Despite these issues, the book has its strengths, and the cliffhanger/plot twist at the end was really exciting. I hope there will be a second part to see how the story continues. I also look forward to the development of the love story between Tharan and Aelia, as Tharan is my favorite character. ;)

🇩🇪 Insgesamt hat mir das Buch gut gefallen, aber es gab einige Punkte, die mich gestört haben. Obwohl schon erwähnt wurde, dass das Buch Ähnlichkeiten mit ACOTAR hat, fand ich diese Ähnlichkeiten doch sehr auffällig. Die Story und die Charaktere waren meiner Meinung nach zu nah an ACOTAR angelehnt, was oft den Eindruck einer Fanfiction erweckte. Besonders der Charakter Tharan wirkte wie eine exakte Kopie von Lucien vom Aussehen her.

Ein weiterer Kritikpunkt sind die kleinen Fehler, die mir aufgefallen sind. Zum Beispiel wurde an einer Stelle statt Tharan Caiden getippt, obwohl dieser nicht gemeint war. Solche Fehler sind zwar nicht gravierend, aber trotzdem schade.

Trotz dieser Kritikpunkte hat das Buch seine Stärken, und der Cliffhanger/Plottwist am Ende war wirklich spannend. Ich hoffe, dass es einen zweiten Teil geben wird, um zu sehen, wie die Geschichte weitergeht. Auch freue ich mich auf die Entwicklung der Liebesgeschichte zwischen Tharan und Aelia, da ich Taran persönlich am meisten mag.;)

probably the most confusing arc i have ever read. i wish i understood more, especially cause the beginning was at least 3/5 stars... but the middle to end, oh i had to dnf.

2.75 but rounded up to 3 stars for netgalley and goodreads
A Curse of Breath and Blood was…I guess entertaining enough that I didn’t DNF but it did leave a lot to be desired.

1. World building…needs improvement. I felt as though it didn’t give me enough and sometimes felt like the characters didn’t even know enough about their own world?

2. 30-something FMC that read more like a 18-19 year old. I legit kept forgetting she was supposed to be around my age.

3. Everything felt very convenient? Like both sides…it was like conflict was happening but also no conflict was happening since it was all resolved very quickly. From the relationships to how information was found out (telling). Characters were able to get away with a lot even though through world building they shouldn’t have… a traitorous Queen with only encountering really a set on enemies that were her husband and the castle? Even with Tharan, like “Ope yeah I’ve heard about you” and then move on. No question of anything really? Even if Gideon was an enemy, I feel like there should have been more questions around it? Also was Gidion or Erissa the enemy? I get they were working together but it was more Erissa, which I think was purposeful but the fact that I’m questioning it…? Idk.

4. Character backgrounds. I wanted MORE…but in a different way.

5. Every moment that was supposed to be “BIG” ended up being a “…cool yay” and move on. For example the end when Baylis woke up it was like “she’s awake! Okay eat” and that was it?

6. The relationships…I really couldn’t tell if this was a lot triangle? There was Ursula too? That relationship plot kinda seemed pointless… second chance romance, kind of? Friends to lovers felt more like insta like/love. Idk…again maybe this falls under the fact that everything was too convenient. Also Tharan was a bastard but became king, even though a previous conversation made it seem otherwise? Again no one questioned it except his sister, briefly… and to opened up way to quick to Aelia. I think it could have happened in that conversation but the flow and pacing was just off? I felt like it was off for a lot of the book.

Thank you netgalley for the ARC.

Thank you to NetGalley for providing me with an ARC of this book.

This was a DNF for me. I stopped reading about 40% through the book.

The story centers on Aelia Springborn, a princess who must leave her childhood sweetheart, a Sylph prince named Caiden Stormweaver, to marry a king named Gideon Ironheart (yes, all of the names are like this). However, Gideon abuses Aelia and, in the process, makes her half-Sylph, giving her telepathic powers. At least, that's what I was able to piece together from what I read, as the reader has to infer it from the disjointed conversations of the characters when they meet many years later. Caiden rescues Aelia from Gideon, but after the abuse she suffered, she blames him for not rescuing her soon enough and runs off into the world to become a mercenary who can read thoughts and alter minds.

That all happens before the story starts, which is several years later. Caiden et al find Aelia in a tavern, drinking her troubles away, after having recently done a job for a king where she had to remove the memories of his daughter and her soldier-boy paramour. It turns out that Aelia has a younger sister, and the group must save her from the evil clutches of Gideon!

From that point, the story reads like the average D&D adventure, complete with random monster encounters that have no relevance to the story. There are numerous anachronisms and colloquialisms that feel carelessly included rather than intentionally placed to create a distinct and believable world for the characters to inhabit; There are continuity errors, where a character who was not in a scene is suddenly there with no explanation; There is also a scene where they are escaping through underground tunnels, only to be attacked by a Kraken, which they easily defeat, and are then pursued by cave trolls (a nod to 'The Fellowship of the Ring'). However, unlike the scene in 'The Fellowship of the Ring', there is no purpose to the scene. At best, it is a pop-culture reference. The scene in 'The Fellowship of the Ring' forces the fellowship to go through the Mines of Moria, a path that Gandalf is afraid to take, and that dramatically alters the trajectory of the story. Here, the encounter is just another random event that has no impact on the story.

There is a story here that some people are going to enjoy. There is a plot and there are some good ideas, but it needs significant editorial help.

Aelia and Caiden are two people who are past lovers and friends. Caiden is bound to a promise he made and Aelia is broken. What happens when these two start tackling problems beyond their grasp? Tharan is a halfling who is enamored with Aelia. Will his passion get in the way of the revenge Aelia has set out to do? Curious to how this story progresses but honestly was hoping for a romantic connection with Lucius.