This book was not at all what I expected, there was a lot of fighting but in a decent amount, a beautiful bond with a terraying creature, friendships and loyalty and a small romance. I had a lot of fun reading this book and am looking forward to the continuation of the series. The book does not really end in a cliffhanger, so Im even more interested to know where the story goes next. Recommend to readers who want more fantasy than romance, but with struggles of a woman in a male dominated and ruled world

Qick content list:
1st person single POV
woman poses as man
small romance subplot
oppressed women
bond between warrior and creature/animal

What I liked:
- the bond between the warrior and the creature was just beautiful. The Divhs happiness and how it cared for its (sorry his) human was nicely done and I didnt see myself caring so much for them when they were first introduced but it was extremely nicely done
- the FMC is nice, not sassy, but fierce and wants to fight for what is right. She is smart and figures out how to handle herself in this hostile world
- the companions of our FMC are nice additions, accept her and support her and I love them both
- most (though not all) fighting scenes were written in such an engaging way I almost mist my bus stop.. I couldnt put it down when the Divsh fought each other and had a blast. I usually dont particularly enjoy fight scenes so thats a huge plus

What I didnt like:
- the reveal that shes posining as a woman to the "authorities" was kind of anticlimatic? I dont exactly know what I was expecting but it was not just some talking and then some doom that from the looks of it would have happened either way?
- the romance was so odd, I totally see how the idea of a romance makes the whole book better. How the MMC felt betrayed at finding out her identity and all that comes with it. But there was not really a build up, they just met a few times and that was it? And he recognized her by touch? Sorry but the dude has so many women on his lab I doubt he can tell from one hand...
- some of the lore was either lost on me or just not explained well enough, though this is something that might just get more detailed in the next book when we get explanations for what happened at the end
- there is a point in the book where it says that at a certain "task" women used to be better and far suprerior to men... I dont like this kind of stuff. I get it, this world is mysogynistic and we want to reverse it somehow and have women have their place but I just dont feel like thats the solution. Might be more of a personal issue tho

Thanks to netgalley and Oliver Hebb Books for providing me with an ARC in exchange for an honest review

GIVE ME MORE NOW! This book was amazing and so well written with the characters well rounded, yet lovable and still having floors. I love the world building and the suspence in the story line. I just couldn't put it down and I want more

As a beginner in reviewing ARCs, it might sound too nice. But in this case, it is not! The book is really good, the spice is maybe at a 1-2 🌶️, the world building is just enough so that you can get immersed into the book, and the characters are very well written.
I do not want to give you a summary of the book, because you have to read it to find out :D However, even though I was a very big fan of the our FMC, Talia, in the beginning of the book, she takes on quite a lot of shit. Of course this is all for character development, to build her up to be the badass FMC we will know towards the end of the book.
Trials and found family, among the top 5 favourite tropes of mine, are very well done in the book.

Thank you NetGalley and the author for providing me with an ARC for this book!

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the opportunity to read this arc.

I LOVE the Mulan boy-dressed-as-girl trope, and I love enemies-to-lovers, so the premise of this book was immensely intriguing from the outset.

Our main character, Talia, is a young woman determined to do right by a family that has never done right by her. I admired her loyalty and her convictions, and I particularly loved that she grew to be more bold, confident, and to take risks as the story progressed. The writing was strong, the world-building was decent (though it could have used a bit more fleshing out, and it perhaps will be in future books), and the romance was a delightful subplot that crackled with chemistry.

I strongly recommend this book for lovers of fantasy, particularly YA fantasy. I will be purchasing a copy for my classroom library.

In a world where Talia is considered a minor bargaining chip, a horrific betrayal leads her down a path of adventure and power that could change her life forever, as long as no one ever finds out. When Talia's brother is murdered on the way to the Tournament of Gold, the magic of his armband that connects him to his divh Gent moves to her own flesh and Talia finds herself custodian to a magical creature whom she is not even meant to see. In desperation to honour her family, Talia dons Merrick's persona and continues to the tournament, hoping to hire some soldier's to protect her home. When she instead enters the tournament, she uncovers a deception that could ruin the realm. Can she stay safe long enough to foil a plot?

I really enjoyed this book. It is an epic fantasy adventure with a small romantic subplot. Talia balances on the edge of discovery as she grows to see value and worth in herself. I can't wait to dive into the sequel. I would love to see a special edition of this text with illustrations of all the dihvs.

“the way of warrior is death”

This book has given me Mulan vibes. I had a great time reading this book. I will admit it took a while to get into it. The beginning it’s a bit boring but it started to pick up quite quickly which I really liked about this book. The whole concept of this story is quite unique and entertaining to read about. I do wish that there was a bit more on the tournament.



: ̗̀➛Talia
She’s such a strong protagonist. I was rooting for her since she got branded with a Divh. I loved the way this book has represented Talia power, it was really great to see the fmc fighting and showing her full power.

: ̗̀➛Gent
This lovely gentlemen honestly warmed my heart. The way her protected Talia honestly warmed my heart.

: ̗̀➛Caleb
He was such a lovely side character to read about. He showed that no matter what has happened in life, you don’t need it to slow down your life. I loved how he stuck by Talia and didn’t abandon her.

: ̗̀➛Fortiss
I’m hoping that we’ll get more of him in the next book since he somehow found his way to warm my heart.

: ̗̀➛Nazar
He is definitely a wise character with a lot of secrets. I really loved the way he supported the fmc but as well as that he also didn’t give her straight answers.


I’m really excited to see how the second book will go!





➺ “Power is a blade that cuts both ways, and in this court, you either wield it or bleed.”

➺ “You are in danger, Talia. Everything about you is danger. So beautiful, so fierce.”

➺ “You are Talia of the Tenth House, first blooded and firstborn. As such, you will fight with power and with honour, and with the strength your blood has give you.”

➺ “Great warriors fight with their minds. With their spirit and their hearts, yes, but mostly with their minds.”




Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for this arc in exchange for an honest review.

Court of Talons - Jennifer Chance
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Talia of The Tenth House is travelling with her brother to the annual competition where first-born warriors and their bonded beasts battle when he is murdered. His beast bonds with Talia, which is unheard of, women are banned from bonding and from battling so Talia must assume her brothers identity and fight for her house.

I really enjoyed this book. There were some Mulan vibes, and some great characters. Talias Divh (beast) was one of my favourite parts of the book but there were a lot of likeable characters, especially Caleb.

Looking forward to seeing where it all goes next.

Just when I thought I knew what a five star book looked like, here comes A Court of Talons with a “hold my bookmark” attitude and I’m so glad this was one of those books.

I couldn’t stop raving about it from the first day I picked it up. The plot? Thrilling. The world? Artfully built. The characters and story? Masterfully created.

This reminded me of A Knight’s Tale meets Ever After and Mulan with magical elements expertly intertwined into a whole new tale.

While there was one spicy scene in the book, I kind of wish there wasn’t. Not only because it makes it hard for me to recommend it to students, but also because I don’t think the story needed it and it felt more like the author was selling out a bit to keep up with all the other books now hosting extra spice. It kind of cheapened the story for me.

Regardless of that, I simply cannot recommend this book enough.

I adore the way this book represents women and their power it was so refreshing to see the fmc fighting and using her powers!!
The world building was pretty unique in my option and I grew more and more invested as I read on.
The side characters were well written and fleshed out so I found myself picking favourites (cough cough Caleb) I can’t wait for the second book!!

Loved it! I cannot wait for the next book - I need to know what happens next for Talia and Fortiss! Fantasy with a little Twelfth Night vibe. I don’t want to give any spoilers, but if you’re a fantasy girlie, read it!
Thanks to NetGalley for the E-Arc!

The concept was fun, giving Mulan meets magical realms/divs. The character development was a little slow but nice once it reached the max, and the world-building was fantastic. At times it was fast-paced and enjoyable, but at other times I felt like it was dragging and I'd never get to the next page.

I feel like the chemistry between the FMC and MMC lacked for most of the book, but when it "sparked" it kind of came out of left field. Maybe I'm missing something and read over a key romantic moment.

I did enjoy the banter between sister and brother, at the beginning, and I did enjoy some of the side characters.

This was my first book by Jennifer and it was outstanding. Very well written and the characters and storyline are really good. Looking forward to the next book.

At the beginning of the book, we are introduced to Talia of the Tenth house, and her younger brother Merritt. In a world where the first born child should be a son, Talia agrees to get married, to do something for her house and make them proud. On the way to a tournament, where Talia is to be married, Merritt ends up being killed, and his Divh, a type of creature that is bonded and controlled by only a select few, including the firstborn sons of the houses, and some high ranking warriors, ends up bonding with Talia when Merritt's warrior band places itself on her arm. Now, in order to find and get revenge on the person who murdered her brother, she must enter the tournament with the Divh.

I enjoyed this book although it did take me a little bit to get into it, because of the slow pacing. The tournament was pretty fun, but it doesn't really happen for a while so everything in between was pretty much just filler that I kept getting bored with, while waiting for the next big thing to happen.

Talia was a good FMC, who is very strong, and brave, willing to do whatever she can do bring honor to her house, even though she will die if/when she is caught. Fortiss was ok, but I feel like we didn't really get to see who he actually is, and spend that much time with him, except for the end.

Caleb was a great side character, and showed that no matter what has happened to you in life, you don't need to let it slow you down and you can still do great things. I was glad that he was actually a good character (got scared there for a minute) and didn't abandon Talia. I wasn't sure how to feel about Nazar for basically the entire book. He gave off weird vibes and I could never tell if he was actually on Talia's side or not. Next book, let's be sure to kill the father <3

I appreciated the fact that the romance was a sub-sub-sub plot and was very far from being at the forefront of this book. It allowed for more detail and focus on the actual plot, which was amazing. I loved the concept of this book, the magic system (Dihvs), the tournament, and the detail that was put into the fight scenes.

<i>The way of the warrior is death</i>

Thank you Netgalley for the chance to read this arc in exchange for an honest review.

wowowowow I loved this book! I could gush about it forever! I love a flawed MC and Talia embraced those flaws and came out stronger. The story was soo gripping with a blend of action, and romantasy in the best ways. The worldbuilding and the characters were captivating. I cannot wait to see what else this author comes up with!

The vibes this book gives off are immaculate! The tournament, the Divhs, the Houses, and the world as a whole were just *mwah* chef's kiss! Now, although the world building was beautifully done, I found the plot itself to be lacking. I found myself getting whiplash from how the plot would go from fast-paced to slower than a turtle. The feminist in me hated how patriarchal the society was. What do mean Talia was supposed to be killed just because she was the first-born girl?!? I wasn't a big fan of the romance in this either. Talia and Fortiss's love story seemed a bit shallow and rushed to me.
I would like to give a shoutout to Gent and Caleb; those two have my heart <3
This book did bore me a bit, but I'd be lying if I said I wasn't intrigued by the ending. Now we wait for book 2.

Just wait.

It gets good after the first few chapters. The Magic and the world building is different than fantasy books I have read before but that doesn't make things bad, its world building! I like how it has a little bit of everything, an FMC that can show she can save herself, romance and characters with mystery to them that you don't trust. I enjoyed this book and can't wait for book 2 to come.

I never enjoy giving low review ratings, and here I’m only doing that because after multiple attempts to get into this book (over the course of a week only making it 10 chapters in), I had to DNF. I think it is very well written and there are many who would likely love it, it just isn’t for me. I am giving 3 stars because I refuse to give less and impact the overall rating negatively when I didn’t finish the book. If you like fantasy and battle and tournaments, you’ll likely enjoy this book.

Court Of Talons follows the story of Talia of the Tenth House as she struggles with the death of her brother, secretly bonding to a Divh (a monster that women are not allowed to bond with), and taking on her brother’s identity to fight in the Tournament of Gold. Along the way, she meets the dangerously handsome and powerful Fortiss of the First House, who might be the killer of her brother but also someone she is undeniably drawn to. Talia must keep her identity a secret while she uncovers who killed her brother and bring honor to her house. However, she discovers an even bigger secret along the way that could destroy the entire realm. Will she be able to survive and save everyone else?

This book was such a wonderful read. I actually really enjoyed the fact the book wasn’t mostly focused on Talia with a love interest (though we do get one) and we were able to see a main character who isn’t perfect but tries to learn skills that can help not only her but others as well. That being said, I did love her interactions with Fortiss and would love more interactions between the two.

I was captivated by the women in the story, who had to live in a realm that treated them as less than. Especially Talia who as a first-born daughter should have been killed, but stayed in the shadows so her younger brother could pretend to be the older of the two. Even with all the trauma she had suffered growing up, she still wanted to bring honor to her house even if it met her death. I loved how strong of a character she is and would be so interested in hearing about the other woman we meet throughout the story as well.

Other than the women, I loved the diversity of the characters. Caleb, Nazer, and even her Divh, Gent, all had such interesting personalities that made the story fun to read. I would love to hear more about Nazer’s background and what made him the priest of the Light that he is in the story.

I recommend this book for those who like secret identity, mystery, and tournaments but are not looking for a lot of spice. Thank you, Jennifer Chance and NetGalley, for providing me with this ARC to read in exchange for an honest review.

This book was quite enjoyable. It was a little bit repetitive in some areas though. The romance was really sweet and I would highly recommend the book!

The books unique magic and world was a nice change, wonderfully unpredictable. I absolutely adore Nazar, Caleb and Gent! I’m all about the fact that this story is more about a woman who can save themselves, we need more of those. Nice reminders women are powerful and can do whatever they set their hearts too. 💕🫶

I will say it took about 12 chapters to really get into it, the plot would pick up and have me on my toes but then it would lose me again, Also the chemistry between the FMC and love interest felt like it was missing something, possibly because the world building was big and the romance kind of felt like it was fit into it but not one of the important details, I feel like the relationships with her friends grew beautifully, but the love interest left something to be desired. I also wanted to point out there are some moments where Talia repeated the same information a lot, but other than that I really did enjoy the book.

The villains have me wanting more info immediately, they seem new and unpredictable! I can’t wait to learn more about it all but especially The Court of Talons. The Talons have my heart and I’m sad I’ll have to wait to learn more about them but I’m happy to wait till book 2 🫶

I would like to thank Jennifer Chance and NetGalley for the opportunity to read this advance copy of Court of Talons. To the rest of you, Happy Reading 🥰