A Dawn of Onyx

The Sacred Stones, Book 1

By: Kate Golden

Narrated by: Ruby Cherise, Will Damron

A 2023 Romantasy Goodreads Choice Award Nominee!

The breakout TikTok fantasy romance, now with special bonus material!

Captured by the king of darkness, she was forced to find the light within.

Arwen Valondale never expected to be the brave one, offering her life to save her brother’s. Now she’s been taken prisoner by the most dangerous kingdom on the continent, and made to use her rare magical abilities to heal the soldiers of the vicious Onyx King.

Arwen knows better than to face the ancient, wicked woods that surround the castle on her own, which means working with a fellow prisoner might be her only path to freedom. Unfortunately, he’s as infuriating as he is cunning—and seems to take twisted pleasure in playing on Arwen’s deepest fears.

But here in Onyx Kingdom, trust is a luxury she can’t afford.

To make it out of enemy territory, she'll have to navigate back-stabbing royals, dark magic, and deadly beasts. But untold power lies inside Arwen, dormant and waiting for a spark. If she can harness it, she just might be able to escape with her life—and hopefully, her heart.

©2022 Kate Golden (P)2023 Penguin Audio

Critic reviews

"A Dawn of Onyx is such an enthralling read, with a top tier enemies-to-lovers storyline that absolutely sparkles. There's so much delicious romantic tension and fun banter, as well as an intriguing fantasy world and magic galore, it's truly a feast for a reader's heart. Fans of Sarah J. Mass and Tahereh Mafi will love it. I loved it, and I can't wait to delve into the next book in the series. Kate Golden has taken her place on my list of must-read authors."—India Holton, international bestselling author of The Secret Service of Tea and Treason

“A Dawn of Onyx is an electrifying start to a thrilling new romantasy series that is magical, filled with delicious tension, and left me desperate for the next installment!”—Lana Ferguson, national bestselling author of The Nanny

“A Dawn of Onyx is fun romantasy deliciousness, complete with magic, Fae, dragons, empire-shaking secrets, and a sulty, wicked king. Arwen is an appealing heroine—determined, optimistic, and empathetic, she struggles between her longing for home and the desire to spread her wings and learn more about the world. Her interactions with Kane are spiced with tension and banter, and I can't wait to see more of this combustible pairing in the next books.”—Sarah Hawley, author of A Witch's Guide to Fake Dating a Demon

Quite good!

I will be reading this series moving forward, this first book was awesome! It was a slow-burn, enemies-to-lovers-to-enemies-again-kind-of, morally grey male love interest, a young girl trying her best and not knowing her own power (literally and figuratively), funny and charming side characters- it’s got it all! I wish the male narrator had been the voice of Kane all along, though. The bonus piece at the end with the male voice really made his character come alive. Very nice pacing and world building as well. And of course- there’s a dragon so I’m already in! Looking forward to the next book!

Cured my ACOTAR starvation

MMC: "You know nothing of the world"
FMC: *Asks questions and tries to understand what's going on*
MMC: *proceeds to not tell FMC NOTHING*
Besides that, I really liked the story! It cured my starvation after reading the 'A Court of Thorns & Roses' series. Story is interesting, pacing is well done (I don't get bored and fall asleep), FMC is kind & has a career of being a medic which is nice, romance is not rushed, and the foreshadowing are tastefully planted.
I don't understand the power of the gems, even after my second listen. Also, FMC needs to be more firm with setting boundaries and strangle MMC when he deserves it.
My socks aren't blown completely off, but I am super entertained and happy.

The pace was good.

I feel like I was carried through every moment. I really enjoyed it. I am curious about where we go from here?

Tyson!!! So glad his story revealed!

Each book in this series is addicting. Love the plot twists, hot 🔥🔥 sex, complicated dark souls that enmesh in this series.

Definitely lives up to the hype

Thrilling, great dialogue and banter btw characters, delicious slow burn and oh you just LOVE KANE!!!

Perfect… until Joe Arden was replaced.

New male narrator sounds like an old grandpa. I miss Joe Arden’s narration. Has been wary on the next book.

Loved this!

I have had a thing for romantasy books lately and I’m here for it. 4.5 ⭐️
Arwen basically gives her life to save her brother. That part is a little annoying because I hate when people do that. I instantly hate her brother for that happening lol She becomes a healer for the Onyx king- known for being a truly horrible king. We have enemies to lovers, one horse, basically kidnapping, a good girl and a bad boy, dragons, shifters, so much in here.
So the first ‘twist’ is pretty obvious, but the rest of the story isn’t so much. We get to see Arwen grow being alone for the first time in her life. We get to see the Onyx king
In actions. And speaking of action, we get that too.
This book really kept me engaged the whole time. I have already gotten book 2 and I’m sad I’ll have to wait for the third.

Good Enough

I have had a run in of starting series that I was bored of and didn't care to continue or was so bad I am never looking back.

This one was fine. It had some interesting plot points and a character who had some complexity and was mostly reasonable.

It's definitely worth a listen if you go into it just wanting something light. I am going to listen to the next book, which after my last few series attempts is high praise.

Fantastic story!

Amazing story! Lived for it and couldn’t stop or put it down! Definitely obsessed with the series so far plus the tension!!!! 🫡🔥

A promising start

This story was thoroughly enjoyable with a quick pace from the beginning. There were several turns and surprises that kept my attention and pulled the story along.