The Bastard King by Donna Grant is a sweeping fantasy romance full of fire, vengeance, and forbidden love. Set against a backdrop of war and political intrigue, this novel delivers all the hallmarks of Grant’s signature style: high stakes, simmering chemistry, and a brooding, conflicted hero. However, while the story captivates in many places, it occasionally stumbles under the weight of its familiar tropes and a slightly uneven pace.

The unnamed protagonist—the titular "Bastard King"—is a compelling anti-hero, equal parts destructive force and reluctant protector. His quest to free his kin from captivity defines his life, making him singularly driven and deadly. Grant writes his internal struggle well, capturing the tension between duty and desire. The concept of him being a living embodiment of fire and death is effectively woven throughout the narrative, adding depth to his character and underscoring the danger of his emotions.

The heroine (whose name is kept mysterious here for spoiler-free purposes) is bold, brave, and harboring secrets that make her far more than a love interest. Her guarded nature and resilience make her a worthy counterpart to the Bastard King’s smoldering intensity. Their relationship is built on mutual fascination and respect, though it initially follows a well-trodden path of enemies-to-lovers tension. Their interactions are charged with longing and unspoken truths, and Grant excels at writing those near-electric moments when their walls begin to crumble.

One of the novel's standout strengths is its vivid world-building. The descriptions of fiery battles, ancient dragons, and ominous alliances immerse readers in a high-fantasy world where loyalty and betrayal collide. The dragons’ plight is at the heart of the Bastard King’s mission, and the emotional weight of his responsibility lends the story a tragic undertone. However, some of the broader political conflicts and magical elements could have been fleshed out further, as they sometimes feel like secondary plot devices to the romance.

The pacing is uneven in places. The early chapters build tension effectively, but the middle section slows as the characters wrestle with their feelings without much plot advancement. This lull detracts slightly from the momentum of the overarching quest, though the emotional development between the protagonists during this time is still engaging. When the climax arrives, it’s packed with action, betrayal, and difficult choices, but some readers may feel that the resolution wraps up a little too neatly after the slow build-up.

The central theme of sacrifice versus personal happiness adds emotional resonance to the story. The Bastard King’s struggle to choose between his kin and the woman who has captured his heart is well-developed and heart-wrenching. Grant doesn’t shy away from the devastating consequences of these choices, which adds weight to the final act.

At 3.5 stars, The Bastard King is an enjoyable read for fans of epic fantasy romance, offering brooding heroes, fierce heroines, and plenty of smoldering tension. Though the story doesn’t stray far from familiar tropes, its emotional core and rich world-building make it an engaging tale of love, loyalty, and destiny. If you’re drawn to stories of star-crossed lovers caught in the tide of war and magic, this one will hit the mark—especially if dragons are your thing.

Thank you Netgalley and the author for the chance to read The bastard king by Donna Grant. While this is the 1st part of a duology, it is a spin-off of previous series, and you can read them by themselves as I did, but I think reading the previous books would help with the world-building and make the books more enjoyable. If you like fantasy with dragons and other supernatural beings, this is for you. I enjoyed the story and the main characters, Kora and Derek, as they are attracted to each other even though they are enemies. The book ends on a major cliffhanger, however I had an ARC of book two, The uncrowned king and just continued reading.

3.5 ⭐️

ohhhh hello fantasy book revival!!!! ate this up and left *dusts off hands* no crumbs!

this was so fun and i finished it in like, two-ish sittings??? grant’s writing is addicting and i’m already obsessed with these characters.

This one fell victim to riding the dragon Romantasy high. It’s missing the character and world building. The premise is there, but the execution falls flat.

After reading more about Donna Grant and her books, I found out this book is part of a bigger book series which fills you in more about the universes, characters, etc. I feel like you can read this as a stand alone, but if you want to dive in deeper to her world and fully understand the character develop there are way more books!! This particular book does leave you with a pretty big cliff hanger, BUT the next book in this duology comes out on Jan 14,2025! I’ll definitely be reading it!

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for an advanced reader copy.

I recently read "The Bastard King" and found it to be an enthralling novel that kept me on the edge of my seat, constantly engaged. The story was filled with a plethora of elements such as action, mystery, suspense, magic, revenge, danger, betrayal, and steamy scenes. I was captivated by all of the characters, even the malevolent ones. However, the true villains may not be fully revealed until the very end, leaving readers eagerly anticipating the sequel. The cliffhanger ending is guaranteed to leave readers craving more from this story.
It was a thrill ride from start to finish and I would simply love to own a physical copy of the book to savor the experience all over again.
#thebastardking #netgalley

That cliff hanger!! I enjoyed this book. I wish their was more character building and more world building but other than that I had a fun time reading this.

Donna Grant’s The Bastard King, the first book in the Bastard Duology, introduces readers to a captivating world of dragons and forbidden romance. The story follows Kora, a solitary creature with a tragic past, and Derek, a dragon bound to serve a ruthless ruler named Villette. Their paths collide when Kora, attempting to save an innocent victim, crosses into dragon territory.

Derek, intrigued by her bravery, finds himself drawn to her despite his sworn allegiance to Villette. Their forbidden attraction blossoms amidst a backdrop of political intrigue and impending doom. The novel effectively captures the allure and danger of the dragon world, with vivid descriptions and a sense of impending doom. While some readers may find the pacing slightly uneven, the story picks up momentum towards the end, culminating in a thrilling cliffhanger that leaves readers eager for the next instalment.

However, some aspects of the story may leave readers wanting more. Kora’s character, despite her strength and resilience, can sometimes feel inconsistent and her motivations are not always fully explored. Despite these minor drawbacks, The Bastard King is a compelling start to the Bastard Duology. The intriguing world-building, the developing romance between Kora and Derek, and the looming threat of Villette create a captivating and suspenseful reading experience.

Thank you in advance to NetGalley for the eARC in exchange for an honest review. And thank you to the author, who created this balm for my burnout! It is so hard now to find a good fantasy that has spice but also a stellar plot. This book has the ever popular dragon shifters, but also other magical being unique to the world.

Kora is the last of her kind, a Hellhound trying to avenger her people and family against the being who orchestrated their demise. Derek is a dragon shifter who has never questioned his worldview: save his dragon brethren at any cost. But what happens when the cost suddenly matters to him? This is full of action, love, revenge, self-discovery, magic, and betrayals. I cannot wait for book two!

This book was such a slog. The last 30 pages or so took me multiple days because I would open it up and read maybe 2 pages before ending up desperate to move on to something else. It wasn’t enough motivation to get to the finish line and I honestly would have stopped maybe 20% in if I hadn’t received this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

The book follows Kora, a hellhound, and Derek, a Dragon King (a dragon who can shapeshift into a man). Minor nitpick right off the bat: Derek’s full name is Dederick, and Derick is absolutely an acceptable spelling of Derek. I don’t know, if so many other things about the book hadn’t bugged me so much, I probably would let it slide. But as it stands, it just kept bugging me.

Kora is on a mission to avenge her family by killing Villette, a Star Person. She is the last hellhound on this planet after they were slaughtered by dragons (directed by Villette). Villette lives in a city called Stonemore. Kora meets Derek in a small village, they decide to hook up, and then her and Derek go to Stonemore to confront Villette. That’s pretty much the entire novel, and if it sounds like it shouldn’t be enough to fill a whole book, you’d be right.

What is a Star Person? I’m not sure and nobody else is either. Literally at one point Derek asks Kora how she knows so much about the abilities of a Star Person and she says “I’m not sure, I just know. And my uncle told me some stuff too.” (Not a direct quote but that is the gist.) This is a great example of the extremely shallow world building. There is an idea of this world that all the characters have in their heads, but it is not well explained to the reader and what is explained is done so in a really boring way. Eventually Villette is revealed to be millions of years old? With the kind of power that can disintegrate realms with the snap of her fingers? Okay, fascinating. She just really hates dragons, I guess.

The majority of the plot is spent in Stonemore, with Derek agonizing over whether or not he can trust Villette or trust the people who are telling him that Villette is evil and the dragons he has been “working” to free for hundreds of years are free already and he needs to confront Villette while she is weak. So much time is wasted going back and forth having the same conversation three, four, five times. Then, when action is taken, the author relies so heavily on telling rather than showing that it’s over in an instant and we’re moving on to more agonizing over past decisions (or lack of decisions) or monologuing.

The characters move through the world in such a way that I felt I could never get a grasp on the scenery or landscape. I never felt like I truly got a visual of any of the places they were. They would walk to a cafe, or sit at a bar, which gives you the general concept of the scenery, but that is pretty much where the descriptions would stop. This, along with the characters never explaining how they knew things or showing really any depth of emotion at all, contributed to the completely flat and shallow world building. It made it boring. I have no reason to care about these characters besides being told that Kora’s family is dead and she’s really torn up about it.

And finally, it’s not very well written. I noticed early on that most of the sentences are short and to the point, and wondered if this was a deliberate choice to depict something about Kora’s character while the prose was from her perspective. It wasn’t. That’s how the entire book is written, regardless of whose perspective it is being told from - and it switches around, largely following Kora and Derek but including others at various points as well. Again this adds to the impression that the world is shallow and lacks depth.

There is something there. As I mentioned, the characters (and author) clearly have an idea of the history of this world and the motivations of the people living within it, but the telling of the story ended up being completely uninteresting. Two stars. I would NOT recommend you spend your time on this book or keep an eye out for future books from this author.

I had no idea this was a spin off series when I started reading, and I felt it. I wasn’t sure of really anything that was going on and I felt like I was missing a ton of information. I would absolutely recommend reading Donna Grant’s other books first before picking this one up.

I unfortunately had to DNF this book. I pushed myself to like it or at least give it a shot, but I’m 25% in and so far nothing is from my liking. There’s not really a well structured plot besides the sexual attraction between the protagonists. What really changed my mind about this book was where “Kora woke to the feel of fingers inside her”. That is rape, even if they were sleeping together before this. Majority of this book so far has been explicit sexual scenes, no story or world building. That’s my reason for DNFing.

Thank you to NetGalley and Donna Grant for an ARC of this book. I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.

I wish there had been a note about this being a spin off series when I signed up for the ARC. It felt like I was missing a lot of world building and backstory. It made it hard to get a good grasp of what was happening.

The pacing was inconsistent, but picked up a lot towards the end. I'm not sure how I feel about the spice scenes. I kept feeling like I wanted to skim past them because they weren't really grabbing me. It kinda felt like they were there for the sake of it, and didn't enhance the story much.

Huge cliffhangers are one of my biggest pet peeves. If that bothers you, maybe wait until the second book is out so you don't have to wait.

Overall it was an okay book. I think I will have to go read her other series and re-read this one again. I bet I will enjoy it a lot more the second time around.

### Book Review: *The Bastard King* by Donna Grant
**Rating:** ★★★☆☆ (3/5)

Donna Grant's *The Bastard King* introduces readers to a medieval fantasy world brimming with intrigue, war, and magic. The story follows Magnus, a fiercely independent bastard prince grappling with his identity while navigating the political treachery surrounding his father’s kingdom. His reluctant journey toward reclaiming his rightful place, alongside his growing bond with the enigmatic heroine Lore, forms the emotional heart of the book.

Grant excels in crafting vivid settings and intense battle scenes, drawing readers into a world where alliances are tenuous, and power is everything. Magnus is a compelling protagonist, his vulnerability tempered by resilience, and Lore provides a strong, balanced counterpart with her own secrets and motivations.

However, while the plot has promising elements, the pacing falters slightly. The first half of the book feels burdened with exposition, and some secondary characters lack the depth to make their actions memorable. The romance between Magnus and Lore, while touching, develops a little too predictably, and moments of tension are resolved too easily.

Despite this *The Bastard King* is a solid entry for fans of medieval fantasy with a touch of romance, but it doesn't quite reach its potential. It was still an enjoyable read for me and I really hope it’s laying groundwork for a more impactful sequel.

Thank you NetGalley for this ARC
This was such a good read! Loved the characters and the world building was great! I loved the aspect of shifters! Dragons, hellhounds, druids, magic all around! Thank you for making an action packed book with some spice! Like just the right amount for me and very tasteful too!

4,5. This was a great fantasy read! It was engaging, fast paced, and the world building was wonderful. Definitely a great read for fans of this genre.

The story itself captivated me and I continued to read just to find out more about the characters. The main female character has a lot of past trauma clouding her mission. Meanwhile, main male character is having issues reconciling with his own memories. It is heavy on the enemies to lovers trope with a good spice level. However, I am not a fan of the clipped writing style and the repetitive use of names. It may be that the writing was just not for me.

Thank you NetGalley for the ARC of The Bastard King. So to start, I have never read a Donna Grant book before, I am impressed! The book starts off slow and so at first I was worried. However, it picks up. Nice amount of steamy scenes. I just wish there was more character development and more to Kora and Derek’s relationship. It felt a lot like insta-love. Additionally, a little confused by the title. Maybe it will all make more sense in book two!

I had complicated feelings about this book! The writing felt a little hard to connect with. There wasn’t a ton of world building, so I had questions from the start that never really got answered. Derek and Kora are a fun pairing together. Their relationship develops FAST (with a lot of spice, that I don’t normally enjoy) so be ready for that. Overall, it just wasn’t my favorite!

This was good story. Not great, but good. I struggled a bit and I know this is a classic case of, “it’s not you, it’s me,” since everyone I know that read it, liked it.