Reviews tagging 'Cursing'

Court of Claws by Briar Boleyn

4 reviews

irenemayblack's review against another edition

Go to review page

challenging dark funny tense slow-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

I absolutely adored every second of this book. The whole thing felt like a crossover of the challenges under the mountain in ACOTAR, and the hilarious banter of Fourth wing all mixed in with hints of Arthurian legend. In other words, a splendid fantasy novel and enthralling sequel.

To make things better— it was a bit spicier than Queen of Roses. I'm hoping to see this continue with the other books in the series.

The rising romance and banter between Morgan and Kairos was well written in my opinion for the rest of the plot going on around it. I loved getting to see their characters get more attraction to each other and to see character development grow stronger in them both as the book went on.

I received this book through Netgalley and I absolutely can't wait to see where the rest of this series goes!

⭐️ 4
🌶 2/5

Expand filter menu Content Warnings

sassypantsreading's review against another edition

Go to review page

adventurous challenging dark emotional tense medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? No
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

Court of Claws is so good, but oh, how I wish it was written as dual-POV. I NEED to know what Draven is thinking! There are so many little twists in this book that I want his thoughts on. His point of view would just add more fullness to the story. I loved (most of) the new characters that were introduced in this book. Morgan drove me a bit crazy. She was very stubborn and dead set on believing the very worst of Draven at every turn. I didn’t enjoy the way the book ended because I can’t possibly fathom what comes next in the story. Thank goodness I have the next two books ready to go! 

I received a copy of Court of Claws for free from NetGalley. Thank you to Briar Boleyn and NetGalley for this copy. I am leaving this review voluntarily. 

Expand filter menu Content Warnings

manaledi's review against another edition

Go to review page

adventurous dark tense medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Plot
  • Strong character development? It's complicated
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

2.75

I give her credit in that this book was not all that much like the first even if both are classics of the romantasy genre. A much more interesting cast of secondary characters. The villains are so very evil, almost like caricatures.

Expand filter menu Content Warnings

booksalacarte's review against another edition

Go to review page

adventurous hopeful tense fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? No
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.5

Court of Claws- 3.5⭐️ 3🌶️

Betrayal
Fake relationship
Morally grey MMC
He Falls First
One bed
Surprise twist
Kingdom politics
Found family
Trials
War
Animal familiars
Miscommunication
🏳️‍🌈 Side Character Rep

This story begins right where the first left off. I really like how this reimagined Camelot is pulling more and more from the original. Links are being revealed and coming together. All of the little pieces of the original story finding their way into this one, just with a spin. It’s refreshing and highlights taking a misogynistic tale and restructuring it to not be so archaic.

The writing is a little stilted, it felt like the word “F*ck” was added in excessively (mostly by one character) to make things edgier… sometimes it was in juxtaposition to the story creating a jarring harshness of language in situations where you would expect more finesse. And I’m not talking about the bedroom scenes… those were good!

Anyway, it wasn’t off putting enough that I didn’t enjoy the book. Far more than the first, mainly because of the non-stop action and fast pace plot.

Morgan is an infuriating character. It’s almost like she is completely ignorant of court politics or intrigue. (Reminder, she was raised as a princess!) She only sees things in black and white. She is full of flaws; immature, annoyingly defiant for terrible reasons, stubborn, wishy-washy as hell, and seemingly purposefully and idiotically obtuse. Her character arc isn’t evident yet… hopefully she will grow in the next book… and says “f*ck” in more appropriate instances, instead of throwing it around because her character needs to be more daring and grown up… She just sounds like a middle schooler on a playground trying to show how badass she is by saying the worst curse word she can think of.

Draven seems to be an enigma with his loyalty and willingness to do what has to be done. Talk about the definition of “Morally Grey”. A softie with a hard exterior. Exactly what a morally grey man should be. He has killed, been exiled, caught for Morgan and himself, sacrificed himself and his kingdom. I think he is well written… as well written as any other fantasy romance MMC. They all have flaws.

The exmoors are so cool! I’m a sucker for animal familiars. If something happens to them I’ll riot.

The side characters are endearing. I’m undecided if I can get past Morgan’s poor character arc enough to read on… if I do, it’s only for Draven and the exmoors.

Thank you NetGalley and Starwater Press for the advanced reader copy of the book in exchange for an honest review.

Expand filter menu Content Warnings