Reviews with content warning for Death of parent - Queen of Roses

Reviews tagging 'Death of parent'

Queen of Roses by Briar Boleyn

22 reviews

mj_86's review against another edition

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adventurous dark 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

3.75

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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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laallain's review against another edition

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adventurous dark emotional mysterious fast-paced

4.75

Morgan Pendragon is the rightful heir to her kingdom, but her right is revoked and she spends her life living in her brother’s shadow - all because she has fae lineage & blood. Her future is promised by her father to the priestesses, in which she has little interest. So when her brother the king sends her on a quest for a legendary weapon, she embraces the opportunity to spend time away from his cruelty, despite having to travel with two guards she finds despicable. The reader joins Morgan on her travels where she encounters danger, lust, romance, mysterious creatures, and new information about her own identity.

I absolutely loved this - the writing style is captivating and beautiful, descriptive and emotional yet easy to read. The subject material was often violent but because I loved the writing so much I found it palatable. This was a really fun spin on & retelling of Arthurian life and Camelot! I’m definitely looking forward to seeing where that slow burn romance is going and also following that fantastic ending into the next book.

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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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allisonamber's review against another edition

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adventurous mysterious slow-paced

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

3.75

Definitely a slower pace but because of that it helps the world building. A different spin on Arthur and the knights of the round table mixed with fae. The FMC is very innocent and naive so not always relatable or a character with a lot of depth but I’m sure that will help develop throughout the series.

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linda_1863's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging dark emotional mysterious sad tense medium-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? It's complicated

4.0

Author placed listing of Trigger Warnings at the end of book. Story is a retelling of Camelot/ Excalibur/ King Arthur and the rest of the characters slightly altered. Some characters are now female. The MFC is the older sister of Arthur who was born to a Fae mother. Her father forces her to drink a potion every other night. When her father dies and Arthur becomes King his true colors come out and he increases the abuse she has endured since her mother's death. Arthur demands she takes on the task of locating Excalibur. The trip is long and challenging. The things she is forced to endure.
Was this a worthwhile read? Yes. I would suggest you flip to the Trigger Warning page before beginning just to prepare yourself. It really doesn't ruin anything for the reader. It may actually save some people from trauma that may set in.

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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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haleyc00k's review against another edition

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adventurous dark mysterious tense slow-paced

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

3.75

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daniellereadslikealot_'s review against another edition

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adventurous dark mysterious tense medium-paced

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

4.0

Arthurian legend, but make it fae? Count me in! I really enjoyed this book! I love reinterpretations of Camelot and all its main players and I especially love ones about Morgan. I thought the way she was written here was pretty fantastic. She was strong, but also had her vulnerabilities that made her relatable and complex. The court at Camelot was incredibly intriguing and I am 100% here for King Arthur as a ruthless king. I also really loved how Merlin, Lancelet, Kaye and Galahad were interpreted. Draven, I took some time warming up to and I’m still not fully there, but I’m very interested to see where his story goes. I did think it slightly dragged in the middle, but not so much so that I lost interest. The ending confused me slightly, but I think book two will clear it up. Overall, I very much enjoyed this fae fantasy twist on Arthurian legend and can’t wait to read the rest!

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