Scan barcode
plush's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review
I struggled with this book. The first 100-150 pages especially. I cannot comment on this being an Arthurian retelling because I do not know the original story well enough. I found the book a tad confusing. The book seems to make the assumption that you know these characters, or at least a version of the story, so I think my confusion would be remedied if I knew the original better.
I thought the premise was interesting. The end of the book was dramatic. I think it struggled with pacing, which I understand is difficult, but the end had a lot happening with too little pages. I also wish that Morgan and Draven’s relationship was better fleshed out. I’m assuming that is going to be a major focus of book 2.
My absolute biggest issue with the book, and had this not been an ARC I would have DNF’d, is the fact that trigger warnings are included, but DO NOT include sexual assault/rape.
Spoilers-ish from this point on:
There are explicit scenes that HEAVILY insinuate that Morgan is raped. Nearer to the end of the book, she comments that “it didn’t go that far” but her assailant literally drugged her, tied her to a bed, cut her clothes off, and carved his name into her chest. This is how the chapter ends, and technically no rape occurs on-page, but the implication of the final paragraph seems to heavily insinuate what is about to happen.
“I watched as Florian positioned the dagger over my left arm. As he began cutting away the fabric of my tunic, I closed my eyes, praying to the Three that whatever drug he had slipped into my drink would take me far away again.”
Minimally that is sexual assault. It was very jarring to read, because I did check triggers prior to starting the book, and was extremely surprised that this did not make it into the warning list. I actually stopped reading the book, read a couple others, before deciding to come back to it.
I understand this is supposed to be a darker Romantasy, and I have read The Plated Prisoner series which follows a similar darker vein. I didn’t have a problem with that series. My main issue was that a list was provided, and this very glaring moment was left out. This is not at all a small, throwaway scene. It leaves large ripples in the story, and understandably the main character suffers from it. So, it really isn’t something that was *missed* and not put on the list, rather it seems to have been intentionally left out; either for shock factor or because it is later revealed he “didn’t go all the way” so perhaps the author didn’t think it counted.
I struggled with this book. The first 100-150 pages especially. I cannot comment on this being an Arthurian retelling because I do not know the original story well enough. I found the book a tad confusing. The book seems to make the assumption that you know these characters, or at least a version of the story, so I think my confusion would be remedied if I knew the original better.
I thought the premise was interesting. The end of the book was dramatic. I think it struggled with pacing, which I understand is difficult, but the end had a lot happening with too little pages. I also wish that Morgan and Draven’s relationship was better fleshed out. I’m assuming that is going to be a major focus of book 2.
My absolute biggest issue with the book, and had this not been an ARC I would have DNF’d, is the fact that trigger warnings are included, but DO NOT include sexual assault/rape.
Spoilers-ish from this point on:
There are explicit scenes that HEAVILY insinuate that Morgan is raped. Nearer to the end of the book, she comments that “it didn’t go that far” but her assailant literally drugged her, tied her to a bed, cut her clothes off, and carved his name into her chest. This is how the chapter ends, and technically no rape occurs on-page, but the implication of the final paragraph seems to heavily insinuate what is about to happen.
“I watched as Florian positioned the dagger over my left arm. As he began cutting away the fabric of my tunic, I closed my eyes, praying to the Three that whatever drug he had slipped into my drink would take me far away again.”
Minimally that is sexual assault. It was very jarring to read, because I did check triggers prior to starting the book, and was extremely surprised that this did not make it into the warning list. I actually stopped reading the book, read a couple others, before deciding to come back to it.
I understand this is supposed to be a darker Romantasy, and I have read The Plated Prisoner series which follows a similar darker vein. I didn’t have a problem with that series. My main issue was that a list was provided, and this very glaring moment was left out. This is not at all a small, throwaway scene. It leaves large ripples in the story, and understandably the main character suffers from it. So, it really isn’t something that was *missed* and not put on the list, rather it seems to have been intentionally left out; either for shock factor or because it is later revealed he “didn’t go all the way” so perhaps the author didn’t think it counted.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Misogyny, Physical abuse, Sexual assault, and Toxic relationship
emilynied's review against another edition
adventurous
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? N/A
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
1.75
This book was just ok in my opinion, starting with the fact that I think it was mismarketed based off of the plot summary. I got this book for "Stuff Your Kindle Day" and the summary of the book plus the anticipated reading experience just didn't live up to what I was expecting. This book fits in to the "fantasy romance" genre much of us are familiar with and love, which I didn't have a problem with, but aside from some elements, this book didn't stick out at all because it felt like nothing happened. We spend a lot of time in Morgan's home learning her environment and background before embarking on the hero's journey about halfway through the book. That's the first problem I have, we got to a singular event in the plot summary halfway through the book. The character building and relationships in the first half were fine and I think that Morgan's relations with her brothers are particularly interesting but I think that those scenes needed to be condensed in order to get to the action quicker.
The introduction of Draven felt very clunky to me and his whole character feels really unimagined and lacking in originality. I think that at a certain point when you read a whole lot of this genre, the mmc love interests begin to blur together because they all tend to have the same characteristics (dark hair, tall, infinitely bigger and burlier than the fmc, a warrior with weirdly quick movements in a world where the fae are "supposed" to be long gone and of course, a dark past (but actually they're just misunderstood)). I don't mean to call out this author in particular for this because I think it's a problem of the genre but it made me not care for the character at all.
I liked the whole hero's journey and traveling through mystical lands left undiscovered but there just was a lack of action and clarity that I was looking for. I felt like the entire trip was confusing because both the protagonist and the reader don't really know exactly what the goal is...I understand the purpose is to create mystery and probably build up to a reveal about the hidden "fae" world (just a prediction not a spoiler) but the plot ended up feeling underdeveloped as a result.
The introduction of Draven felt very clunky to me and his whole character feels really unimagined and lacking in originality. I think that at a certain point when you read a whole lot of this genre, the mmc love interests begin to blur together because they all tend to have the same characteristics (dark hair, tall, infinitely bigger and burlier than the fmc, a warrior with weirdly quick movements in a world where the fae are "supposed" to be long gone and of course, a dark past (but actually they're just misunderstood)). I don't mean to call out this author in particular for this because I think it's a problem of the genre but it made me not care for the character at all.
I liked the whole hero's journey and traveling through mystical lands left undiscovered but there just was a lack of action and clarity that I was looking for. I felt like the entire trip was confusing because both the protagonist and the reader don't really know exactly what the goal is...I understand the purpose is to create mystery and probably build up to a reveal about the hidden "fae" world (just a prediction not a spoiler) but the plot ended up feeling underdeveloped as a result.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual assault and Sexual harassment
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
More...