A review by booksalacarte
Queen of Roses by Briar Boleyn

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!
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