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mileapo's review against another edition
adventurous
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
3.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child abuse, Child death, and Domestic abuse
Moderate: Sexual assault, Sexual violence, and Sexual harassment
viselik's review against another edition
fast-paced
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
I received an ARC of this book from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
I found the book quite enjoyable, and it was a quick read. I read it in about 4ish hours. I found the retelling of the story of Excalibur and King Arthur an excellent spin on the story, filled with fae and a believable world! I'm pretty interested to see where this story will go and the story of Morgan (who I totally did not call Morgana more than once).
The relationship between Morgan and Darven was interesting. Still, I did not see a spark of romantic tension between them, which was fine as I got so interested in the world and the story of the fae I forgot this was a romantasy (romance fantasy) book.
Without going into spoiler territory, I enjoyed how Arthur was in this! I loved seeing his arc and change throughout the book, which also helped me like Darven as an excellent comparison.
I found the book quite enjoyable, and it was a quick read. I read it in about 4ish hours. I found the retelling of the story of Excalibur and King Arthur an excellent spin on the story, filled with fae and a believable world! I'm pretty interested to see where this story will go and the story of Morgan (who I totally did not call Morgana more than once).
The relationship between Morgan and Darven was interesting. Still, I did not see a spark of romantic tension between them, which was fine as I got so interested in the world and the story of the fae I forgot this was a romantasy (romance fantasy) book.
Without going into spoiler territory, I enjoyed how Arthur was in this! I loved seeing his arc and change throughout the book, which also helped me like Darven as an excellent comparison.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child death, Chronic illness, Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Genocide, Gore, Homophobia, Misogyny, Rape, Sexism, Sexual assault, Toxic relationship, Violence, Blood, Grief, Religious bigotry, Death of parent, Gaslighting, Toxic friendship, Sexual harassment, War, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism
Moderate: Kidnapping
soniajoy98's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
2.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Child abuse, Child death, Cursing, Death, Domestic abuse, Physical abuse, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Blood, Grief, Death of parent, Murder, and Alcohol
Moderate: Drug use, Misogyny, Sexism, Torture, Vomit, Fire/Fire injury, Sexual harassment, and Injury/Injury detail
Minor: Bullying, Infidelity, Slavery, Kidnapping, Classism, and Pandemic/Epidemic
lastblossom's review against another edition
challenging
dark
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
tl;dr
An interesting take on Arthurian legend. Too dark for me, sadly.
Thoughts
I keep telling myself to give dark fantasy another chance, and I should stop telling myself that. My feelings on this book are split. On the plus side, some great twists on fae and Arthurian legend. The story had some great reveals, and I liked all the supporting friends. But it turns out I am tired of things being miserable always and at all times. While this doesn't go all the way into "gritty" territory, the storyline is definitely dark enough, with our MC constantly being kicked around from all directions (mostly from her really terrible brother), with barely a sliver of relief. At one point, I started to wonder why she was even still doing the quest, when she'd probably be better off just running away. Or perhaps using the time away to build that secret army her brother thinks she's got going on. But if you want a dark fantasy, this book absolutely fulfills the prompt. There's also a decent amount of spice, and a very slow burn romance (that looks like it won't really see completion until later installments), and I liked the world building.
Thank you to NetGalley and Starwater Press for a review copy. All thoughts in this review are my own.
An interesting take on Arthurian legend. Too dark for me, sadly.
Thoughts
I keep telling myself to give dark fantasy another chance, and I should stop telling myself that. My feelings on this book are split. On the plus side, some great twists on fae and Arthurian legend. The story had some great reveals, and I liked all the supporting friends. But it turns out I am tired of things being miserable always and at all times. While this doesn't go all the way into "gritty" territory, the storyline is definitely dark enough, with our MC constantly being kicked around from all directions (mostly from her really terrible brother), with barely a sliver of relief. At one point, I started to wonder why she was even still doing the quest, when she'd probably be better off just running away. Or perhaps using the time away to build that secret army her brother thinks she's got going on. But if you want a dark fantasy, this book absolutely fulfills the prompt. There's also a decent amount of spice, and a very slow burn romance (that looks like it won't really see completion until later installments), and I liked the world building.
Thank you to NetGalley and Starwater Press for a review copy. All thoughts in this review are my own.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Domestic abuse, Misogyny, Sexism, Sexual assault, and Blood
Moderate: Child death, Death, Homophobia, Sexual violence, Death of parent, Murder, Alcohol, Sexual harassment, and War
Minor: Xenophobia
booksalacarte's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
hopeful
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.5
Queen of Roses- 3.5⭐️ 2🌶️
Fantasy Romance
King Arthur Reimagining
Guard and Princess
Princess Warrior
Hidden history
One horse
One bed
Battles
Deception
🏳️🌈 Side Character Rep
Self discovery
Slow burn
“Who did this to you?”
TW: domestic abuse, murder
This was the beginning to a different tale of Arthur and his knights. The twists in the tale were interesting and I found myself intrigued by where the story was going to go and how things would play out. The story focuses on Morgan Pendragon and her Fae heritage, casting Arthur in a bad light… to put it mildly. I’m interested to see how much the story stays along the lines of the classic tale.
I found the first half of the book to be a bit mundane, there was world building and character development. It wasn’t that there was a lot stuffed into the first half, but that the first half didn’t have the heroine stepping up and being bold. I found her disappointing in the castle.
I also wish there was a map… or that things were laid out a little clearer in regards to what the land looked like. For the longest time I thought they were traveling North in the second half… then all of a sudden the crew is going south?
The second half threw things into motion and that’s when the story really took off. Also, the MMC wasn’t suffocating and condescendingly always saving the FMC and rubbing her face in it. An interesting diversion from the typical guard/Princess relationship.
Plus, the cliffhanger was pretty good! A
Thank you NetGalley and Starwater Press for a copy of this book in exchange for my honest review!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Domestic abuse and Murder
lexkazokas's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Gore, Violence, Kidnapping, and Murder
Minor: Domestic abuse, Physical abuse, and Death of parent
pjc5355's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25
A big thank you to the author, publisher, and NetGalley for granting me an eARC of this book in exchange for an honest review!
“Queen of Roses” is an Arthurian-retelling with fae mixed in— it follows Morgan, a part-fae princess of Camelot, as she fights to to help out her struggling kingdom while coming to terms with the fact that her brother, King Arthur, is frankly Not A Good Dude.
If you’re looking for a pretty standard “romantasy” book, I’d suggest this one. The plot and tropes aren’t necessarily unique, but the quality of writing is definitely a step above what I normally see in this genre. The first half felt a bit slow compared to the second half, but the ending really captivated me and I honestly can’t wait for the next book— I’m especially looking forward to learning more of the fae-lore as the series goes on.
This one’s got just a dash of spice— it’s more of a slow-burn start with an expectation of the spice increasing as the series goes on.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Domestic abuse, Physical abuse, Sexual content, and Death of parent
Moderate: Animal death, Child death, Sexual assault, and Sexual harassment
bookgroundmel's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
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
3.75
I recieved an e-arc of this book and these are my honest opinions.
I hadn't realized this was a King Arthur based book and was a lovely surprise when reading. It is a na dark fantasy romance, the love interests are very cliche but I had issues with the "villian" it's very high school way of dramatizing the situation and seemed a little over done and annoyed me to no end reading those scenes.. the story it self was enthralling to read and I was really into the world and the play on king Arthur and other characters remade. There is some spice and it was interesting to.see the romance play out. I will definitely read book 2 to see how it goes!
I hadn't realized this was a King Arthur based book and was a lovely surprise when reading. It is a na dark fantasy romance, the love interests are very cliche but I had issues with the "villian" it's very high school way of dramatizing the situation and seemed a little over done and annoyed me to no end reading those scenes.. the story it self was enthralling to read and I was really into the world and the play on king Arthur and other characters remade. There is some spice and it was interesting to.see the romance play out. I will definitely read book 2 to see how it goes!
Content Warnings
Moderate: Sexual assault
Minor: Domestic abuse
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