Queen of Roses

Blood of a Fae, Book 1

By: Briar Boleyn

Narrated by: Zara Hampton-Brown

Length: 14 hrs and 4 mins

Publisher's summary

A doomed love, a dangerous mission, and a kingdom on the brink of war...

A cast-off princess…

Born into a life of duty and sacrifice, Morgan Pendragon's destiny has never been her own. Rumored to carry the tainted blood of the fae in her veins, her birthright was stolen from her when she was a mere child. Growing up in the shadow of her brother, the king, she has been promised to the goddesses when she comes of age. So, when her brother commands that she seek out a fae weapon of legendary power, Morgan seizes the chance to break free from the chains of her fate.

A dangerous temptation…

As she travels, Morgan finds herself drawn into a strange group of outcasts led by a dark and enigmatic warrior whose sharp wit and fierce beauty set her heart ablaze. While Morgan struggles to reconcile her desires with her duty, she and her new comrades discover dangers that await them beyond anything in their wildest nightmares.

A slumbering kingdom awoken by blood…

Believed to have vanished generations ago, a fae kingdom dreaded by mortals is ascending once more, bound to reclaim what was lost by violence and bloodshed. As the fae world, with its intricate web of lies and mysteries, is slowly revealed to Morgan, she is led to the terrible realization that the secrets she carries in her blood make her a greater threat than she could ever have imagined.

The first in an action-packed new series brimming with magic, danger, morally gray characters, and spellbinding slow-burn romance, Queen of Roses is perfect for fans of Jennifer L. Armentrout, Raven Kennedy, Rebecca Yarros, Carissa Broadbent, and Sarah J. Maas. Intended for mature listeners.

©2023 Briar Boleyn (P)2024 Podium Audio

The LFM took away from the story

The story is great, the performance is wonderful, I love her voice. My issue is with the LFM. She is so so naive about what’s going on around her. For someone that’s supposed to be an amazing fighter she just crumples to the will of her brother. The fact that she took the “medicine” for as long as she did because her brother (who is horrible) told her do just drove me crazy. Hope she gets better in book 2.

I very good listen.

I like the how the story was written and the new out look on arthur story. the characters were well developed and I love twist at the end.

The narrator is why I DNF

I felt the way the narrator was reading it like a story to little children and I couldn’t stand it. I got maybe 4 chapters in and then had to stop. I switched to reading the book and loved it. The story is great. But this audio book was awful.

I'm Hooked

If you’re looking for your next romantasy adventure, Blood of a Fae series is a great choice! Books 1-4 are available now, and I’m making my way though all of them. A very clever reimagining of King Author/Camelot; it feels familiar and fresh at the same time. The audiobook didn’t mention trigger warnings - there are some. Be sure to check those as needed. I have some slight spoilers in this review. If you like to stay completely in the dark, know that I really liked this book and would absolutely suggest it for anyone who loves a solid slow burn romantasy adventure. Then stop reading. For everyone else, here we go.

Queen of Roses a true slow burn. I love to hate a slow burn, and I can’t get enough of it. Our FMC is taking her sweet time getting her emotions around to where we all know she’s headed. Spoiler - she doesn’t get there this book. Sllllloooooowwww burn. We don’t get POVs from the MMC this book. I think that changes eventually for book 3 (turns into a duel narration for the audiobook - Will M Watt joins Zara and to say I’m excited is an understatement). I’m so ready to see his brooding perspective. He has a way of supporting Morgan (FMC) in ways she doesn’t expect/realize until reflection later on. I know he’s thinking things. Smutty things. I do think the romance plot has been somewhat predictable BUT the details were surprising - I’m trying not to let too many spoilers drop. I also LOVE all of the fantasy creatures we’ve met so far on this journey. Battlecats, harpies, zombie kids, a mysterious water monster I assume we’ll get more of later, and the list goes on. There are diverse ideas occurring in this world, and we haven’t been introduced to so much at this point. I cannot wait to see where were we end up.

Narration of the audiobook: Zara Hampton-Brown was great. They gave a dynamic range of character voices that I found very entertaining.

Dark Arthurian Tale

What if all you knew of Authur, Merlin, Morgan and the sword in the stone was changed into a dark tale that involved the fae? This was an interesting take on the well known legend. Information was drawn out for a bit, but once the story got further into the quest, things picked up. Honestly the story had more colorful characters and after the ending it seems book two will be quite interesting.

Good

Enjoyed. Proformance wasn't bad. Would have preferred a male voice instead of the forced deep voice where needed.

Interesting Twist on an Old Tale

This was a pretty good book. It was well written, the characters and world building were nicely done. My only issue was the pacing of this book. it was definitely a bit slow, and tended to drag in many areas.

It was a good read though, and tells the tale of King Arthur and Camelot much differently. Though, I know remakes have been very popular as of late, and I've seen quite a few about the Camelot myths and lore, though this is the rirst I've read.

i will definitely start the second book soon.

Lack of character development and weak plot.

The FMC is immature, horrendously wishy washy and unbelievably naive for her age. Several supporting characters are not fleshed out enough or they are unnecessary to even bother with, to help move the story along at a reasonable pace for my taste. It is an interesting take on the Arthurian legends but that alone couldn’t save this book. I barely finished this audiobook and I will not be reading any more of this series.

Narrator is not for me

I tried, I really did. I got about 4 hours into the audiobook before I just couldn't deal with the narrator any more. I watch shows and listen to plenty of podcasts and audiobooks with British accents with no problem, but this one just hit me as whiny, or like she's reading to a child? Just not for me.

There are some things I think are interesting in this King Arthur retelling, like Merlin being the head priestess of a monastery, and the sibling relationship between Morgan and Arthur. However, it's four hours in and I don't feel like anything has happened plot-wise and I don't feel attached in any way to any of the characters. Maybe if I had more time to read rather than listen, I would read the book, but there's nothing so far that's pulling at me to finish.