a curse of breath and blood was a solid romantasy debut.

well paced with vivid imagery and a storyline that keeps you on your toes. the journey itself to save aelia’s sister baylis really reminded me of the villains and virtues series which i adore. i do wish there was more depth to the world, relationships, and perhaps fewer occult/mythical creatures. the themes follow but are not limited to love, sacrifice, loyalty, redemption and betrayal. my favorite part of acobab is of course the sweet yet spicy romance between aelia and caiden. excited to see what becomes of this series! 3 stars

thank you netgalley and k.w. foster for my first ARC ˚ʚ♡ɞ˚

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

TLDR: It doesn't deliver on what the blurb or summary says. World building is chaotic and all over the place, and our characters don't fair much better. The overall idea was there, but just not the execution, unfortunately.

Off the bat, this book was/is marketed as a Court of Thorns and Roses meets Six of Crows—it's neither at all. If you squint, you could maybe connect some strings to ACOTAR, but I can't find any way in which Six of Crows could be compared. From the get-go, I think many will be disappointed if that bit is kept in for marketing the book.

I'll start with the good because there definitely are bits I enjoyed. I didn't mind meeting up with Aelin following the "ruin" of her life; it's quite refreshing to see a character's journey of building themselves back up without having to witness them falling apart. It keeps the focus on the "healing." We don't need to always see how bad a character has had it when it's how they proceed, which is the most important. 

Our main cast of characters is also older, with Aelin being 30 (I believe), which is nice to see, and she is also battling addiction and, at least from what I gathered from her description, isn't the typical "drop-dead, head-turning goddess" that female protaganists usually are. I will always root for the "normal" and flawed characters—such a nice change to the genre!

The lore, magic, and world building have some good points and could be great, but they're just nowhere near fleshed out enough—it couldn't really tell you much about the world, magic, or people because you don't actually get a whole lot. The book kind of just pops in with some information when you need it, and it just leaves everything feeling a bit all over the place.

The relationships between characters leave a lot to be desired as well. I wasn't really rooting for anyone, to be honest, except for Tharon, and that's simply because Aelin was doing him so dirty. I honestly had enough of him being the absolute best to her, yet she was still going on and on about Caiden. Like she was telling Caiden she loved him and then had a breakdown, and suddenly she was ready to jump into bed with Tharon despite not even leaving Caiden a full 24 hours? She was giving me wiplash, to be honest.

This leads into the other issue of pacing. I'm unsure if things were moving fast or slow or if it was the actions of our characters jumping from one thing to another that made it seem confusing, but it was incredibly hard to keep track of. Pacing issues water down Aelins addiction as well as she's supposed to have been an addict for years but can seeminly overcome this is a matter of days? A few weeks? It makes it feel very unrealistic.

All in all, I wouldn't really recommend Curse of Breath and Blood to anyone, but I hope that with some more time, editing, and revisions, K. W. Foster can improve her writing and storytelling, as this is only her debut, and continue the series on much stronger feet.

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
🌶️🌶️

- morally gray 30+ FMC
- one bed
- love triangle
- second chance romance
- deals bound by magic
- trauma
- addiction
- ACOTAR x LOTR vibes

A queen turned mercenary. A long lost love. An ancient evil reborn.

Wow! I was hooked from the first page! It is a fast paced and action packed story from the beginning. The world building/court politics are intriguing, and the characters are well written.

The FMC, Aelia Springborn, is in her 30s has experienced life, loss, and trauma. The author does a fantastic job of making you love Aelia even when she’s unlikable and intent on destroying herself.

Team Caiden or Team Tharan? Still undecided — I can see why she is drawn to both, but I’m leaning toward Tharan.

The epilogue had me 🤯, but it has set us up perfectly for the rest of the series! I’m already bouncing theories around for what is to come.

Congrats @authorkwfoster on an amazing debut novel! Thank you for sharing this ARC with me 🖤

"A Curse of Breath and Blood" by K.W. Foster presents a highly intriguing premise, which drew me to this book initially. While the writing and plot are fast-paced, the story also feels like a "been there, done that" kind of situation. Nonetheless, the spiciness is top-notch (and there, which I wasn't expecting), and our FMC, Aelia Springborn, is fierce; a true Nesta girlie.

This book was everything! The action, magic, romance, it was truly phenomenal. You fall in love with the characters right from the start. There’s so much that happens, you just have to keep reading to find out what’s going to happen next!

Thank you for this ARC NetGalley.

I really wanted to love this book, the idea of it was interesting. There are some parts i genuinely enjoyed.

But the lack of world-building, explanation of species, historical events, world systems made this book quite hard to read.

The characters I feel could be interesting and likeable, if the world building had more depth to it. But it also felt rushed. It went from one thing to the other with no sense of direction, it felt chaotic. Which again made it difficult to read.

It needed more meaningful dialogue between characters to explain certain plot points. I think it could have done with an index for species, world systems (courts, monarchies) so it would be easier to read along with. The pacing suffers by only using a couple of pages, to relay major plot points. This then feels confusing and jarring to read. Unfortunately, this is a two star read.

To conclude I feel the premise of this book could be enticing, and unique. I just think it needs a lot more editing before it can get to that stage. However it is creative, fun and having an older FMC is very refreshing to see.

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

Another DNF book for me, I got to 52% and decided I could not carry on reading any longer. The book is trying to be a Sarah J Maas novel but it is far from it unfortunately.

I was so excited about the book from the very beginning and enjoyed the first few chapters. However, there are numerous problems in the story and writing style which are difficult to overlook.

The book moves at such a fast pace that it just not realistic for a first book in a series. There is a huge lack of descriptive world building!

I unfortunately do not recommend this book and think it feels more like a first draft rather than an edited book.

Thanks NetGalley for this ARC 🫶🏼

Starting with a broken woman who ends up back in the life of the love from her youth. A Curse of Breath and Blood has ACSF vibes, but with less backstory, I care less about the main character and whether she was clean.

The universe grew on me, but I would have liked more structure and development in the beginning. A map and family tree/court structure would have helped. I was also frustrated when learning new world information in the final chapters. 

Was the one spicy scene written by a man? I'm yet to know a woman who uses the C word to describe her private parts.

By the end, the characters had grown on me. A longer book with more world-building, more writing action and more romance would have made me happier.

Thank you to NetGalley, Aethon Books, and K.W. Foster for an E-Arc. This is my honest review.

There were so many things I really enjoyed about this book: the FMC was a 30 years telepathic badass, the story was really fun and creative, and Tharan Greenblade was PERFECTION. While the story had heaps of promise, there were a few hiccups that held it back from greatness! The most glaring issue that I think bleeds into most of my concerns is the lack of detail being written in. There were moments when the author left out key details of characters moving across a room, details on setting that would help contribute to creating a more fantastical world, or clarification on character's actions so we knew exactly what was taking place. Overall, I was left wanting more by the end of the novel.

Tropes that I loved:
- Love Triangle
- Second Chance Romance
- Cool Magic System
- Friends to Lovers but also Enemies to Lovers
- Spice 🌶️

I enjoyed Chapters 1 -5, but then I started to get extremely confused about where this story was going. So many characters were randomly popping up, and I had to reread some scenes to figure out where this story was going. Unfortunately, I had to DNF at 40% as this book was not what I was expecting, and I could no longer give my attention to the story, which was all over the place. I do see where the author was going, but the road to the ending was way too all over the place, and I jumped around too much for my attention span.

Thank you, Net Galley, for giving me the chance to read this book.

Absolutely amazing read! Brilliantly written, superbly paced and engaging until the very last word. I loved this book, definitely one of my top reads this year.

I love the world building and characters in this book! The cover made me stop, the blurb made me want to read, and I am glad I did. The book did start of a bit slow, but I think that was more because of setting the scene for it. Once I got into the book I couldn't put it down, and I'm really looking forward to the next instalment. Thank you for the chance to read!

I think this will make a wonderful series! It started off a bit slower but a lot of detail that came of use as you read through it. By the second half it was difficult to set the “book” (kindle) down, just wanting to continue reading until the end. I love the characters! There are some sadder moments within the book but I’m hopeful that in the coming books things will work out. And after reading the epilogue.. we’ll now I need the second book please and thank you!
Overall I give it a 4 star review :)

Thank you NetGalley for this ARC

Wow! I’d say maybe more of a 3.75 stars if I’m being particular but this was such an interesting and fun read. I could not put it down and finished it in a day. The plot was fast paced, although at times I felt like I missed something? But overall I loved the characters and the world, and the epilogue left me wanting more! Great romantacy, great angst, definitely looking forward to where this series goes…

Aelia is a telepath that can see into minds and alter memories, very cool concept! I liked the plot and idea behind it a lot.
Overall, it’s a 4 star for me! The world building was unique and I liked the characters.
The Epilogue really got to me and I look forward to continue in this series.

Thank you so much for the e-arc in exchange for an honest review!

Thank you NetGalley for this ARC.

I would give the book 3.5/5. I finished it in a day and couldn’t put it down but sometimes things happened too fast I felt like they were explained so quickly.

The story line is intriguing and I connected with Aelia and her struggles. Love Tharan and I wish we got to know more of him. I would read a whole book just about him.

The epilogue had me anxiously awaiting the next book.

ARC REVIEW

A Curse of Breath and Blood
Rating: 🌟⭐️⭐️⭐️🌟
Spice: 🌶️🌶️

This was just such a good read. I absolutely loved it. I loved the banter and the character development. I loved the world and the lore. I loved Tharan most of all. A great, face-paced read with an older (30yr old) FMC who is broken and hurting but shows such strength despite it all. Cannot wait for more!!!

I feel like there wasn't enough development of the fantasy setting for me to really visualize what the world looked like. It often feels like the lead female has slept with, or will sleep with half of the characters introduced in the book-- which would be wonderful, but in addition to a lack of worldbuilding, the author often tells you straight out how the characters are feeling instead of showing how they feel. I got to the mermaid-type ex named Ursula before I finally called it quits. A more deft author could pull it off, but Foster isn't there yet.

Absolutely loved "A Curse of Breath and Blood"! This fantasy romance debut had me hooked from the first chapter—I wished I could ditch all my responsibilities just to keep reading 😊. It’s a perfect blend of 'A Court of Thorns and Roses', 'Six of Crows', and a touch of 'Lord of the Rings'. The feeling this book gave me is exactly why I adore reading fantasy.

Aelia is a fierce main character. As a telepath, she can enter minds and alter memories, leading to some heart-wrenching moments. The world-building is incredible, with different courts, magic, epic battles, and side characters I loved—Amolie and Roderick are the best! Tharan, who started as a side character, grew on me and now I can't wait to read more about him.

The dual POV storytelling with a surprise chapter kept me on the edge of my seat. The writing is beautiful and descriptive, making it easy to picture everything. Heads up, Aelia’s journey involves dealing with addiction, so be aware of the trigger warnings. The story touches on heavy themes like sacrifices and loss, but Aelia’s character development was inspiring. From a traitorous queen to a commanding ruler, her growth was incredible, and now I desperately need book 2 after that jaw-dropping epilogue 😫.

Tropes:
❤️‍🔥 Love triangle
❤️‍🔥 One Bed
❤️‍🔥 Mind Magic
❤️‍🔥 Second chance romance
❤️‍🔥 Morally grey FMC

𝒜 𝒞𝓊𝓇𝓈𝑒 𝑜𝒻 𝐵𝓇𝑒𝒶𝓉𝒽 𝒶𝓃𝒹 𝐵𝓁𝑜𝑜𝒹 𝒜𝑅𝒞
unfortunately, this was a 𝑫𝑵𝑭 for me.
I did like that our FMC was thirty, and I also liked that she had a vice. Seeing our MCs struggle with addiction just adds a certain 𝓳𝓮 𝓷𝓮 𝓼𝓪𝓲𝓼 𝓺𝓾𝓸𝓲, in my humble opinion.
That being said, right from the get-go, this felt like a second (or even third) book in a series, not an introduction. There were so many characters, relics from the past, old friends & lovers introduced by the fifth chapter that my head was spinning (and not in a good world-building way, I still knew nothing of the world or who Aelia was).
While I can see that it may not be fair to abandon a book five chapters in, my time is limited and I’m learning it’s perfectly acceptable to stop reading when I know something isn’t for me. I should know by the fifth chapter whether or not it is something that I will actually enjoy reading or not, and this one was a no for me. I know people WILL enjoy this book, it’s just not for me.