Reviews with content warning for Sexual assault - Queen of Roses

I started this book because I was 100% influenced by the authors social media presence and also love to support Canadian authors. This book has so much potential - but it is really clear that this was the first book the author has published. My abbreviated review is that this book has many flaws BUT it is worth reading because as the series progresses the writing makes the characters have more depth and autonomy. I am glad that I finished the book with enough curiosity about what was going on with the characters to read book two. There was so much growth in the writing! I plan on reading the entire series.

Now for a more in depth review. Don't worry there wont be any spoilers. This books takes the characters from the King Arthur legend and takes them on a wild adventure. I love the places it goes and the plot is well thought out. It was easy to see as a reader what the author wanted me to feel. I loved the twists. Unfortunately the writing of the thing that happened lacked depth and it felt like you were just watching things happen and didn't add depth the characters relationships.

When the book ended it felt like I was in the middle of a book. The FMC Morgan had spent the entire book having things happen to her and it ended with her feeling like a forever victim and not a character that overcomes. My personal opinion is that if you take the first and second book in the series and smoosh them together you have a more complete story arch and the relationships have more depth. But more on that in my review of book two!

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phangirl's review against another edition

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medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

3.5

C - 7; A - 8; W - 6; P - 5; I - 4; L - 3; E - 1.
34/70 (49%)

I really liked the concepts in this book. It really felt like it had do much potential but imo it fell flat in every way. The writing and pacing were decent at the start, but about 60% in the grammar started to drop off and the pacing slowed down a lot for me.

when I finished the book I was so angry about the Morgan's complete lack of agency that I couldn't s op thinking about rhe book. There is literally no point in which Morgan makes an active choice or takes any action. Eg not drinking the potion (Draven threw it away), leaving (Draven made that happen), killing Florian (self preservation but is debatable), loving/liking Vesper (he enchanted her), etc.

It's not for me. The plot and 'character development' were predictable (and I almost never make predictions while reading), which is so disappointing!

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jrice17's review against another edition

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adventurous dark mysterious medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.5

Thank you to NetGalley and Starwater Press for the advanced reader's copy of this book!

I was pleasantly surprised by how much I enjoyed Queen of Roses. I am by no means an expert in the Arthurian legends, but I appreciated the use of the characters and lore from the stories. So going in most people will have a general idea of characters and items to expect to hear about in the book.

The story was a little slow and repetitive in the middle, but sometimes slower pacing is needed to have explosive scenes in other parts of the book. And those last few chapters of the book were NOT what I was expecting. After reading through the end of the book I had to know more about the world, Morgan (our FMC), and Draven (knight), and continue reading the series.

I really appreciate that the two most stereotypical views of Fae and Faeries is portrayed in the book. We get both the extremely human/classically beautiful as well as the human/animal hybrid interpretations of the Fae. In many Fae inspired books I have read, it seems that the author chooses one or the other, but not both. I hope this dynamic is explored more in the next books in the series.

I can't wait to continue reading this series!

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emilygibbs's review against another edition

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adventurous 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

3.5

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rowanhill's review against another edition

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adventurous dark emotional tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.0

Features:

Loose retelling of Arthurian legend with fae a dark twist
Slow burn, enemies to lovers romance; not much spice
Excellent world building
Cliffhanger ending that will leave you begging for more

This loose retelling of Arthurian legend turns everything on its head and was a wild ride I totally didn’t expect! There are a lot of intriguing ideas introduced to this version of Camelot that makes it feel unique and fresh. Boleyn constructs this world in such an engaging way that the hunger to know more about it kept me reading through an otherwise slow start to the story. Once the real adventure starts, the plot really takes off and it becomes hard to put down. Though I loved the story overall, I still felt like there was some untapped potential, especially in the character department. If you are looking for a true retelling of Arthurian legend and/or a steamy romance, you will probably be disappointed. However, if an engaging, action packed fae fantasy with an Arthurian flavor sounds like your kind of book, I would definitely recommend this read!

Pro: Camelot reimagined

The world building in this book definitely makes it stand out. The story takes place in Camelot, but it is a Camelot like you have never seen it before. It has been shown that fae lore and magic fit comfortably into the context of Arthurian legend, but Boleyn takes it even further than expected. This world has a true sense of history and culture that has evolved, in part, through a long and tenuous relationship with the fae. Morgan’s complicated position at the beginning of the story is due in large part to how she fits (or doesn’t) into this established cultural identity and the success of the world building makes everything she experiences feel more poignant. Honestly, this has such a unique identity that it really wouldn’t be Camelot if all of the names were suddenly changed. For me, this really made the rest of the story work.

The Breakdown: An uncomplicated character in a complicated world

This book follows the story of Arthur’s older sister, Morgan. Due to having fae blood, Morgan was passed over for the crown and finds herself in the odd situation of being royalty while also being part of a group society looks down upon. As a result, she is often overlooked and experiences both freedom and vulnerability as a result. Despite all of the wonderful world building and the complicated situation Morgan finds herself in, I thought she was an uncomplicated character.

Having lived a sheltered life, Morgan is naturally naive about a lot of things. However, some of this naivety is more extreme than what is fitting for the character and her experiences. There are some moments of brilliance in how Morgan processes and questions what is happening around her, so it is sad when things become more ‘cookie cutter’ and prevent these deeper, more intriguing developments to flourish. This issue is even more prominent with the other characters and the end result individuals that feel one note in an otherwise complicated world. This improves as the story develops, but I was still left feeling like there was a lot of untapped potential.

Special thanks to NetGalley for providing this ARC in exchange for an honest review!

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erinnicolecreads's review against another edition

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adventurous mysterious slow-paced

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

3.0

Thank you to Starwater Press and NetGalley for the ARC in exchange for an honest review!

While I thought this book had some good potential, I often found myself running into things that made it difficult to fully delve myself into the story. The pacing felt off, either to slow or too fast/time skips, the plot wasn’t very consistent throughout the story, twists were easily predicted, at times I was wondering what the point of the plot was, and the characters often fell flat. There was also a lack of world building, which often left me feeling confused. Despite all of these things, I do see the potential in the story and can see it progressing in a better manner as the series continues.

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erinreadstoomuch's review against another edition

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adventurous mysterious medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.0

Pleasantly surprised with this alternative holy grail/excalibur story! Very excited to continue on.

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manaledi's review against another edition

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adventurous mysterious slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

2.75

Very strandard quest fantasy. Not as dark as the title makes it seem. Not really sure what's Arthurian other than the names. Not bad but not particularly memorable.

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