A Curse of Breath and Blood

The Mind Breaker, Book 1

By: K.W. Foster

Narrated by: Emma Wilder, Gary Furlong

A queen turned mercenary. A long-lost love. An ancient evil reborn.

With her home kingdom destroyed and her family considered dead, Aelia Springborn makes a living, using her abilities to break minds for anyone with enough coin. Content to live a life in the shadows, her world is turned upside down when her former lover, Caiden Stormweaver, tracks her down at the edge of the world with a proposition she can't refuse: help him thwart her former husband, King Gideon, from obtaining the deadly army of the Alder King.

With a chasm of hurt between them, the pair strikes a deal; once their mission is complete, Aelia will wipe his memories of their relationship, releasing them both from their tumultuous past.

Bound by magic and aided by friends, Caiden and Aelia set off on a journey to save the continent from ultimate destruction. However, as their mission progresses, Aelia and Caiden find themselves reigniting the flames of their past.

But in Moriana, breaking a bargain is deadly.Things become even more complicated when Aelia meets Tharan Greenblade, a charming playboy whom she cannot help but fall for. With the threads of their fates entwining, the trio will be forced into a high-stakes game that will test their loyalties and raise the dead.

Don't miss this adult romantasy debut combining the dark fairytale atmosphere of Nettle and Bone with the heart-stopping romance of A Court of Thorns and Roses and the found family dynamics of Divine Rivals. With tension at every turn, this novel explores the sacrifices we make to save the ones we love.

©2024 Aethon Books (P)2024 Aethon Audio

Really great performers

Although the story is really not good for this one, the people that did the performance did a really great job

Great start to this series!

A Curse of Breath and Blood is book #1 in The Mind Breaker series. This is a new author for me (I am generally not a romantic fantasy listener) and I really got into this one! Aelia and Caidon were star-crossed lovers. She must marry someone else and Caidon must move on. This story has many twists and turns with betrayal, secrets, lies, a possible second chance at love, and a possible chance at a new love. I loved all the main characters, yelled at all the bad characters, and cried my eyes out when the ultimate loss happens (you'll know...). I did get a little confused at the beginning on some of the "fantasy world" details, but a few chapters in I was good. There is also a little teaser at the end for the next book and I'm really looking forward to the rest of this series!

The narration was fantastic. Gary Furlong and Emma Wilder are both veteran narrators and can pull all the passion, heartache, and sit-at-the-edge-of-your-seat anticipation for these characters and their fate. I'm pretty sure my rating would drop a star (4/5) if it hadn't been for the audio version. This duo were solid gold for me. 5/5!

A world askew with relatable flawed characters

A Curse of Breath and Blood by K. W. Foster sets up a land where a handful of characters from fantasy races (and some half-breeds) struggle to find their balance between loyalty to their kind, their family, and their kingdoms, Flawed characters with addiction, abuse, relationship, and other relatable problems are involved in a tale of family torn apart, betrayed love, painful memories, and new hope. Strong female characters and plenty of steamy scenes are expertly narrated by Emma Wilder. The story sets into motion a chain of events with a mysterious path to future chapters. The writing suffers from brief distractions of an overused word, and the dialogue could use some variation between speakers. All in all, a satisfactorily gritty, adult-themed fantasy with plenty of action and romance. [Disclosure: I received this title at no cost.]

Mindbreaker

Aelia gets her money from breaking peoples minds for anyone who can pay her fee. But when a former lover shows up to hire her to help him so her former husband cannot build an army. She agrees but with conditions. On their travels they seem to be rekindling, until another crosses her path.
Aelia seems to have a way about her that definitely brings out the romance side of this book. But this book also has plenty of action to keep things interesting. I really liked this book because it kept moving it didn’t slow down and definitely did not stop. The narrators Emma Wilder, and Gary Furlong brought this book to life they played off of each other brilliantly, I enjoyed the book a lot.

Tharan!! That accent!

The narration was clipped and held little emotion. Other than that the voices were awesome!

Fantasy Romance

A Curse of Breath and Blood by K.W. Foster is a fantasy romance that I listened to on audio narrated by Emma Wilder and Gary Furlong. This is the first book in The Mind Breaker series.

This the first book of K.W. Foster's that I have read, and it won't be my last. I was pulled in from the very beginning and couldn't wait to see what was going to happen next. I loved getting Aelia, Caiden, and Tharan's points of views throughout the book. It really brought the story to life.

The book ended on an amazing cliffhanger that left me begging for more. I can't wait for the next book in the series to be announced.

I would recommend this book if you're looking for a fantasy romance, second chance romance, enemies-to-lovers, or love triangles.

A Curse of Breath and Blood

4⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
5🎙️🎙️🎙️🎙️🎙️
2🌶️🌶️

A Curse of Breath and Blood is book one in The Mind Breaker series. K.W. Foster is a new author to me. This book was very unique and intriguing. Aelia is the FMC. In this book she proves that she is resilient and not one to doubt. She has overcome hardships in the past several years. She escaped the grasp of her abusive husband, and now may have to save her sister from the same man. This book has a wonderful magic system. This book ends with a bomb dropped in your lap. I can’t wait for the next book. Trigger Warnings: drug use, off screen abuse, and possible love triangle.

Emma Wilder and Gary Furlong did a fantastic job narrating this book.

Missed the mark on all levels

This book was super exciting to me in concept- but it fell completely flat.

Quickly upon starting I realized that this book is more like a first draft of a novel- missing backstory, world building, and any plot.

I blame this on the publisher as they let this works be published without pushing for more of everything.

Enchanting story

I highly enjoyed this romantasy. The trauma,addiction, grit, spice, tension,romance, mystical creatures, impending war and so much more. This story was top notch!

Story jumped around so much

I feel like there was so description or translation at all throughout the book. Just event after event and i was left there like how the hell did they get here???