*A Betrayal of Storms* by Ben Alderson offers a captivating and easy-to-follow fantasy world that quickly pulls readers in. From the very first page, the writing captures your attention with its well-paced plot and exciting twists that keep you turning the pages. The world-building is simple but effective, giving just enough detail to paint a vivid picture of the environments without overwhelming the reader. While some might wish for more backstory on the supporting characters, the main storyline is intriguing, especially with the relationship between Robin and Erix, which develops in unexpected ways.

The characters are engaging, particularly Robin, the main character, who shines throughout the story. The bodyguard trope adds an exciting dynamic, and the M/M romance is handled well, though Erix’s sudden intensity in his feelings for Robin left some readers a bit puzzled. Despite this, their chemistry is undeniable, and the plot builds a solid foundation for what promises to be a thrilling series. The balance between character development and action keeps the pace moving smoothly, making this an enjoyable read overall.

While some areas, like the supporting cast, could benefit from deeper exploration, the twists and turns in the story more than make up for it. *A Betrayal of Storms* is a strong start to what could become a standout fantasy series. Fans of the bodyguard trope and M/M romance will find much to enjoy, and the cliffhanger ending leaves readers eagerly awaiting the next installment.

A Betrayal Of Storms was my first Fantasy MM Book. There were come great twists in the book that I did not see coming. Definitely keen to read the rest of the books. Given 4 stars, may be harsh but I give 5 stars to my roman empire books

A Betrayal of Storms is a fantasy focused on a half fae male with a hidden identity. I absolutely love that kind of trope. When I read about the MMC, Robin (great name), I found his character presented as a lot younger than I thought he was supposed to be. Very much a submissive character and his love interest is an over protective fae. I did like the spice scenes and felt these were better written than the rest of the book. Generally I felt I was being shown and told a lot and I prefer language that creates intrigue and thought. Some of the language and sentences are lush but they are lost within the context provided. Overall a fun book and I enjoyed the MM romance element. Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for an ARC. This is a voluntary review of my own thoughts.

This was the first book that I have read by Ben Alderson, and an interesting foray into this new world. A Betrayal of Storms was a bit rocky, but I did like some of the characters and their progression. I liked the absolute betrayal that we continually saw, trust no one, kids. Trust no one. Will I read the next one? Absolutely. It wasn't unforgivable, just a few kinks to work out. We shall see how the next one goes! Thank you to NetGalley for the ARC to be able to review this.

Unable to finish.


DNF at 23%

Not captivating or entertaining. I felt like I was forcing myself to go through something unpleasant.

The very first page of the book absolutely captivated me. The writing was great. The storyline was amazing and the plot twists were fantastic. I really want to know how the series continues and can hardly wait.

DNF 24%, skimmed the rest.

This book was basically advertised as gay Sarah J. Maas, an author that I like. This book is nothing like those ones.

The main character is immediately obnoxious and unlikeable. Everyone is a copy-paste of what you expect the character playing that role to be, without any depth or motive. It gets very repetitive very quickly, both in content and phrasing. Because the author seems to be aware of this, he uses incredibly odd phrases at points that only make the tiniest amount of sense.

I tried to find one thing I liked about this book. I really did. The only thing I can think of is that it kept me occupied when it wasn't busy at work, and even then there was still too much book left when my job ended and I found I didn't want to bother anymore. I very rarely DNF but I had to for my own sake with this one.

I'm sure someone else could enjoy it, but I could not bring myself to read anymore.

This book was provided to me for free by NetGalley in exchange for honest feedback. Thank you Netgalley! <3
Likely more of a 2.5/5 :(
My first and honestly biggest complaint was the use of the word 'pregnant' to describe anything large or full - this is how I realised it was a male author (I'm sure a very nice man, but I digress), like I'm sorry, it just gave me the ick. Another thing that gave me the ick was the nickname, as others have mentioned, but I mean hey. That's not a reason to knock a book in my opinion. Just wasn't for me.
Now.. I may be imagining this, and I know a lot of things end up in lots of fantasy books because they're just such popular ideas, but this felt like it borrowed a lot from other popular fantasy books, Throne of Glass and ACOTAR in particular. That may not be the case, and it likely isn't, but it does call for maybe some uniqueness to help it stand out from the rest?

The romance... I appreciate the representation. I really do. I got excited when I realised this was an MM romance (somehow missed that when reading the description). The tension at the beginning was chefs kiss. But then it just became a bit... unbelievable, predictable.. dare I say boring? The plot followed the same trajectory, I feel there was a lot of opportunity for betrayal that went to waste. Tarron.. too easy. And why was I actually rooting for him and Robin? He was so much more interesting than Erix... ah whatever. I guess I was just a bit disappointed by it all.

I read this originally in 2022 (??) and remember that I really enjoyed the story. For me at that point, it was everything that it promised to be with minor mistakes/ stylistic errors which I’m happy to forget if reasonable.

On re-read, I am less engaged. Which sucks cause I have been recommending this book as a great read for the last couple years. Although I think at the right audience, then that can still be true. I’ve just realised it’s not longer a reflection of my personal view.

I have not let the reread affect my rating too much (just one star off) as I may have felt it did not hit as hard as I knew what was coming. However, I feel as though this story did have an air of predictability which I just don’t particularly like in fantasy. In romance, I always see what’s coming snd I love it. But in fantasy, I want to be shocked and taken for a ride in terms of twists and turns and that did not do that for me.

Erix is just such a great character. “I am Erix and I am a friend”. So iconic. I felt his personality was well fleshed out and I craved scenes including him. I found all other core characters to be slightly caricature in nature; which I’m not necessarily complaining about as I appreciate this is fantasy. However, I struggled to like the others much or connect with them on any level. I think this is the reason why I disliked the second book in this series.

All round, this is a strong effort by an author that deserves attention but I just don’t think is quite the fantasy writer for me, on reflection.

3.5⭐️ 🌶️2
Main Tropes: Touch Him and Die, MM Romance, Only One Bed, Slow-Burn

Thank you to NetGalley and Angry Robots for the ARC!

Betrayal of Storms is an enjoyable queer fantasy romance which blends familiar plots and tropes with intriguing and unforeseen twists.

I felt the book is intended to be an entertaining easy read romance rather than aiming for plot complexity and more developed world building, and in this respect it does what it says on the tin!

Overall I found it a fun read and the story is set up well to develop in the following books.

I went into this book not really knowing what to expect and it turned out to be quite an easy read.

The world building is quite simple and easy to understand - I feel like we could have gotten more details, but it was enough to paint a picture of the world and environments. The MMC is quite likeable, I think he seems quite sweet albeit a bit naive at times. I will note, I felt he came across quite confident and cocky to begin with but this seemed to change very quickly (?).

I liked the supporting characters but really not much was learned about them. Whilst I quite enjoyed the relationship between Robin and Erix, I’m somewhat confused as the intensity in the way the latter feels (but I could be missing something?).

I am intrigued by the story and interested to see where the rest of the series goes.

3.5/5

Thank you to Angry Robot Books and NetGalley for providing me with a copy of this book to review.
I have been following Ben on Social Media for a while and was excited to read this book. It is the first in the Realm of The Fey series and follows Robin's journey into Wychwood as he discovers he is the heir to the Icethorn Court and its power. I mostly enjoyed reading this book but I wish the characters had some more depth. Even though this book was over 500 pages I felt like I learned very little of Robin and even less of Erix. I am not sure if that was done on purpose to keep things secret but I didn't become as invested in the characters due to this. I did enjoy the action-packed plot and the twists (which I did not see coming) made me want to keep reading!
I haven't decided yet if I will keep reading the series as I would like to know what happens to the characters but I am also not overly invested in them at the same time.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for granting me free access to the advanced digital copy of this book.
4 stars book from me. Loved the plot and the storytelling in A Betrayal of Storms and relatable, likable characters,. Loved every single second reading it.

Absolutely loved this idea so much!!! However, this authors writing style wasn’t for me which was the main reason I did not finish, and that is my fault not the authors! thankyou so much for letting me review this ARC.

Thank you to Ben Alderson, Angry Robot and NetGalley, for the amazing opportunity to read : A betrayal of Storms as an ARC.

Key words : fae / ice magic / LGBTQ / romantasy

This book is a mix of ACOTAR and Red Queen, there’s politics, a half fey, and betrayal.

Young Robin Vale is captured by Hunters who are after his (half) fey blood but he is rescued by a princess and her very handsome guard. They tell him that he might be the key to prevent a massive war between the human and the fey realms. He’s the lost heir of the Icethorn kingdom.
This book was very promising at first. I was hooked in the first few pages. However I felt like the relationships very quick, one day Robin hates all of them and the other he’s fine with going across the land to save a taster.
I did not really get into it tbh, the politics were nice but it feels a bit too repetitive compared to what I have read before.
I would have loved to get to know more about Robins siblings and Althea’s as well.
One of the big betrayals wasn’t really expected and I loved it but other than that I am afraid that I won’t really remember this book.

Rating : 3 ⭐️

I really, really enjoyed this read! I would definitely recommend it to other readers. This was my first book in a looooong, long time that was narrated by a male main character. It was also the first book I've actually ever read that had a gay romance through first person narration. I wasn't expecting it (I like to go into my reads knowing as little as possible about the love interests ahead of time in case there's a switch-up like ACOTAR). But, for a straight female reader I thought the romance was done very, very well. I actually wish there were a few more descriptors of Erix's physical appearance (hair, eyes, etc) so I could picture him a bit better, but the feelings between Robin and Erix were very sweet and simple which I appreciated.

I enjoyed the writing style overall, and I appreciated the difference in MC personality than the typical sassy, snarky attitude that seems to be so cliche for new fantasy reads lately. Robin wasn't afraid to admit when he was out of his depth, and I appreciated the doubt and his honesty to Erix, Althea, Queen Lyra etc. when admitting to this. I also appreciated that he didn't grasp how to fully use his ability at the speed of light like many others.

The little details, like the strength of power being diluted with too many family members, were very cool. I really thought it was an interesting note that Tarron's father had noticeably gained strength immediately upon his son dying.

Another thing to mention were the plot twists. I found them refreshing-not only was there a plot twist that really DID feel like a plot twist, but there also was one pseudo-twist that we saw coming from a mile away, and I like that it seemed intentional. I never expected Robin's father to be a Hunter, but I certainly wasn't shocked when Tarron was the enemy all along. There were many, many doubts and hints about that-although Briar being in on it definitely WAS a shock! That twist also served to introduce Briar's group, which is quite an interesting addition to the plot.

The one thing I am a little stumped on, while minor, is Gyah. Why was Gyah so exhausted from flying everyone over the lake to find Briar's antidote to the Tugwort poisoning, but then had no issue at the end of the book flying Robin and Erix all that way to the depths of the Icethorne Court?

Regardless, there are a lot of very cool wrinkles and folds in this story that I can see making the sequel even better, perhaps a 5-star read. Briar's group, Gyah's abilities, Robin's father? Tarron's father wanting revenge for Erix killing him? The inevitable war, and the human's strange new abilities? I think all of these being delved into more will be so fun. Will we find more individuals like Gyah? I'd love if she played an even bigger role in the next book. Will Briar's group take up a major role in the upcoming war? I hope they won't just be disbanded due to Tarron's death, as I think that could be a really awesome new minor plot to add into the development of things. I will absolutely read the sequel when it is released!

I picked this E-Arc up last night and finished it today.
I genuinely couldn’t put it down.
I am a huge fan of what one could say is the biggest fairy-based book series out there at the moment and having only read it recently I was worried I wouldn’t be able to connect to something similar.
I was wrong!

I’m by no means a literary connoisseur and could understand why some may not be a fan of the writing style if you’re into more “epic” fantasies but this ticked all the boxes for me.
I’m a fantasy fan through and through and a romance fan a close second, this was the perfect mix of the two.
It wasn’t slow for me, even at the beginning, the action came fast and I could visualise it well.

The tension of the MM romance had me giggling and kicking my feet and the spice.. I caught myself gasping out loud and I’m by no means a prude!
Being a gay man, I sometimes struggle with the hetero spice books and can find myself cringing at some points, it was refreshing to be able to experience what the majority do when reading the other neon fairy books mentioned earlier.

I felt like I understood who the core characters were after a few sentences of them being introduced.
The love interest was a LITTLE overbearing but I understand the whole duty shtick. Im not one for pet names so they always make me cringe and it took me a couple of seconds to connect the dots with that one but it was cute at times.

Now one of the plot twists I saw coming but the other took me by surprise and perfectly sets up for more in the remainder of the series.
I understand after reading some of the other reviews that some backgrounds of characters weren’t fully explained but I’m hoping these are expanded on in the other books.

All in all I’d say this was right up my alley. This is straight on my preorder and the series on my TBR.

If anyone needs a fantasy heavy romantasy with fey, magic, seasonal courts, spice and plot twists, this is the book for you.

Thankyou for the opportunity.

We start our story with Robin, who is 1/2 Fey but living with his father in the human world. He is kidnapped and turned over to an organization collecting Fey for an unknown purpose. About to die, Robin unleashes a power he did not know he had and the adventure begins from there.

I love magical stories and seeing Robin attempt to learn to control his new power. He quickly becomes attached to his personal guard, Erix. Delightful spice then ensues.

Although Erix remains a bit of a mystery throughout, it was enjoying seeing Robin grow and gain confidence. There were multiple interesting side characters, especially Althea who is both soft and strong.

There is urgency and a lot of action along with a bit of court politics. The magic system is interesting and I can't wait to see Robin grow into his powers and regain his court.

There is a cliffhanger that will bring us into the second book. I can't wait to read more.

Thank you NetGalley and Angry Robot for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Actual rating is 3.5 stars. I'm not sure how to feel about this book. There were parts that I liked and parts that I really didn't.

To start with, the "nickname" is absolutely awful. First off, I don't like little bird as a pet name to start with. But the fact that the MMC's name is Robin makes the nickname seem a little too on the nose. Every time he was referred to as "little bird," I died a little bit on the inside. I also felt it took away from some of the more serious, and the steamier, scenes because I couldn't stand it.

However, the betrayal I felt at the double plot twist was real. I was shocked and angry and oh so upset for poor Robin. I'm unsure if I like him as an MMC or not, but I still felt for him at the time. A betrayal of trust always cuts deep.

I'm vaguely attached to the MMC, but not overly invested. If I happen to come across the sequel, I'll probably read it. But it's not a sequel I'll be searching out, if that makes sense.

Absolutely loved this updated version from Ben! This queer fantasy is a must read for anyone who loves fantasy with lots of twists and turns