Name: Ela's review of Kingdom of Exiles by Maxym Martineau
Item: Kingdom of Exiles
Rating: 2
Author: Ela

Maxym Martineau

Assassin's Creed meets Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them in this gripping, epic fantasy romance trilogy. My heart wasn't part of the deal when I bargained for my life, But assassins so rarely keep their word. Exiled Charmer Leena Edenfrell is running out of time. Empty pockets forced her to sell her beloved magical beasts-an offense punishable by death-and now there's a price on her head. With the realm's most talented murderer-for-hire nipping at her heels, Leena makes Noc an offer he can't refuse: powerful mythical creatures in exchange for her life. Plagued by a curse that kills everyone he loves, Noc agrees to Leena's terms in hopes of finding a cure. Never mind that the dark magic binding the assassin's oath will eventually force him to choose between Leena's continued survival...and his own. In a game of trust and half-lies, only one thing can be certain: traps capture more than beasts and ensnared hearts are impossible to untangle. The Beast Charmer Series: Kingdom of Exiles The Frozen Prince (coming early 2020) The Shattered Crown (coming late 2020)

Kingdom of Exiles

Antonia Reichenbach 

The ideas for this book were amazing, but the execution could have been better.

Leena is trying to survive and prove that she didn’t do what she was accused of doing by finding a specific beast. Noc is the leader of the assassins, and someone hires them to kill Leena. Since that wasn’t as easy as the assassins thought it would be, Leena and Noc make a deal which means that she has to tame four beasts for him.

I think Leena was fine, but Noc’s hot and cold attitude was annoying. I get that he was being cautious because of the curse, but then he should have stuck to a strategy instead of acting like he did.

There were some side characters, but they definitely should have been shown more. I liked Ozias and Calum, but they were only shown when convenient. I really wanted to find out what happened at the end with Calum – is he a beast now? Does he have new powers?

The ideas for the kinds of magic in this book were great, but there were no details when it came to anything. Leena finding and taming the beasts was so simple, as were Noc’s shadow powers. Also, since the characters got a beast each, they bonded so quickly with the beasts and were able to use their powers within a few pages.

This book was fine, but it lacked details in a lot of areas so I’m not going to continue with the series, despite the good ideas.

The ideas for this book were amazing, but the execution could have been better.

Leena is trying to survive and prove that she didn’t do what she was accused of doing by finding a specific beast. Noc is the leader of the assassins, and someone hires them to kill Leena. Since that wasn’t as easy as the assassins thought it would be, Leena and Noc make a deal which means that she has to tame four beasts for him.

I think Leena was fine, but Noc’s hot and cold attitude was annoying. I get that he was being cautious because of the curse, but then he should have stuck to a strategy instead of acting like he did.

There were some side characters, but they definitely should have been shown more. I liked Ozias and Calum, but they were only shown when convenient. I really wanted to find out what happened at the end with Calum – is he a beast now? Does he have new powers?

The ideas for the kinds of magic in this book were great, but there were no details when it came to anything. Leena finding and taming the beasts was so simple, as were Noc’s shadow powers. Also, since the characters got a beast each, they bonded so quickly with the beasts and were able to use their powers within a few pages.

This book was fine, but it lacked details in a lot of areas so I’m not going to continue with the series, despite the good ideas.

Shereen Evans

** spoiler alert **
           First off...there are 2 different prints of this book. There is a YA and an Adult one. I own both but read the adult version first. But it will probably read the YA one when it gets close to the second book being released.

This was a little slow in the beginning but after getting past the slow part I really enjoyed it and wanted to know more of the story. I was getting a bit frustrated with the relationship between Noc and Leena....I just wanted it to happen(I'm inpatient) But once you find out about his curse I let go of some of the frustration towards Noc for the way he would react towards Leena. 

When Wynn took Leena because Noc didnt think through his wish...I was hoping that Leena would forgive Noc and see that he wouldn't purposefully hurt her or return her to Wynn(who was the cause of her banishment and bounty). The ending was a little bit of cliff hanger and I cant wait to continue on the adventure with these characters.

Maxym M. Martineau

"Has all the lush world-building and intoxicating magic of the Harry Potter universe" — Entertainment Weekly "Lush and sweeping swords-and-sorcery romance" — The New York Times Assassin's Creed meets Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them in this gripping, epic fantasy romance trilogy. My heart wasn't part of the deal when I bargained for my life, But assassins so rarely keep their word. Exiled Charmer Leena Edenfrell is running out of time. Empty pockets forced her to sell her beloved magical beasts—an offense punishable by death—and now there's a price on her head. With the realm's most talented murderer-for-hire nipping at her heels, Leena makes Noc an offer he can't refuse: powerful mythical creatures in exchange for her life. Plagued by a curse that kills everyone he loves, Noc agrees to Leena's terms in hopes of finding a cure. Never mind that the dark magic binding the assassin's oath will eventually force him to choose between Leena's continued survival...and his own. The Beast Charmer Series: Kingdom of Exiles The Frozen Prince (coming early 2020) The Shattered Crown (coming late 2020)

Sheena

Rating: ★★★★★ (5/5 Stars)
Title: Kingdom Of Exiles
Author(s): Maxym Martineau
Character(s): 
― Leena Edenfrell: Brunette, Hazel Eyed
― Noc: Black, Brown/Black Eyed
Setting: ―
Tag(s): Romance, Fantasy, Paranormal
Content Rating: R
POV: Alternates between Heroine/Hero
Smexy Level: Hot
Favorite Quote(s): 
― “You’re a puzzle piece that doesn’t fit, and I love a good puzzle.”
― “I wanted it to be me. But you can’t jam the wrong piece into the picture if it’s not meant to be there.”
― “It’s safer to love someone who’ll never have the opportunity to break your heart.”
Overall Opinion:
Hands down a phenomenal read from beginning to end! There just any enough words to express how immensely I've enjoyed this. The freshing concept that was filled with action-packed supernatural and paranormal elements almost left me to my knees with the author great writing style and should we also mention the characters? Needless to say that it became more than difficult to choose who was my favorite. Was it Noc, Calem, Kost, Leena or the other characters that left a good impression on me? I'm pretty sure there wasn't a character I didn't like and that includes Wynn and Winnow. Moreso each character, rather big or small, brought something to the story and that ultimately lead to the spectacular cliffhanger, if you want to call it that. This was definitely a series where Assassin’s Creed meets Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them, and it's worth the long read. During the course of this read, I seriously couldn't put this down and before I knew it I have made it to the epilogue but fortunately enough there is still much more to the story and I can't wait for the release of the of remainder parts of “The Beast Charmer Series”. Let's just say 2020 couldn't come fast enough!

Sheila Goicea

Read this full review along with others at: Foals, Fiction & Filigree.

I received a copy of this book via BookishFirst in exchange for an honest review. Thank you! In no way does this affect my rating or review.



Content Warning: Abduction, Death, Torture, Adult Sexual Content, Battle scenes

I want to start off by saying that this book has an interesting idea. It was a “shot-in-the-dark” read for me, if I’m being honest. While I’ve read books that include some romance, I don’t typically read a lot of actual “romance” books besides the Classics. When I read the premise of this book, I hoped that Kingdom of Exiles would shed more light on the world building and fantasy aspects, and not get hung up on the relationship. Kingdom of Exiles crosses elements of Pokemon, Nevernight, and Fantastic Beasts. Sounds pretty interesting (and maybe a little weird), right? I found Kingdom of Exiles to be brimming with little purpose and lots of sexual tension--which for me, ruined possibilities for it to be something I could really appreciate.

The protagonist Leena Edenfrell shares the point-of-view with Noc, the lead hit-man of Cruor--an organization of assassins. Leena, a beast Charmer, has been estranged from her people due to a false accusation against her, and has had to rely on doing the illegal to survive. Selling her beasts as a beast charmer is one of the worst offenses, but Leena must survive somehow. When someone puts a price on her head, Noc’s gang of assassins is sent to complete the job by taking Leena out. With the help of her beasts, she is able to capture one of the assassins, and venture back to Cruor with the imprisoned Kost to negotiate her price. When an agreement is struck, and Leena agrees to procure beasts for the assassins of Cruor, Leena finds herself under their care instead of at the top of their hit list.

The new “crew” embark on a journey together, an inevitable attraction between Leena and the mysterious leader of Cruor sparks to life. It is from this point that the plot loses its progression, and gets stuck on the relationship aspect instead of venturing further into world-building, and overall explanation of Beast Charmers and their interesting beasts that never really get much recognition or real purpose. There are definitely some explicit adult scenes throughout the second half of the book, so beware of that while reading. 

Overall, while I found aspects of the premise of this book interesting, it really didn't offer enough detail to keep me engaged. The character building was lackluster, and I really disliked how the characters interacted with one another. Their dynamics were unrealistic, rushed, and tried too hard to mimic a crew-like trope. 

Vulgarity: Quite a bit.
Sexual content: There are a few scenes with explicit sexual content.
Violence: Moderate.

My Rating: ★★1/2

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Judy Hudgins

I really enjoyed the world created and would like to see more of their adventures.

Celia Adams

3.5 Stars. I want to rank this book higher because to me it was compelling and I absolutely loved the fantasy world that was built and the magic within, AND all the characters. It's just... well the romance I feel developed way too quickly, especially for an enemies-to-lovers scenario, and I thought the extra POVs was kind of distracting and not all that relevant to the plot. Actually as much as I liked the plot it kind of confused me because like 3/5 of this book felt like a side quest while the very beginning and end contained the actual expected mission. But still a very good read and I definitely will be continuing this series.

Jolie

Leena was exiled from her Charmer home. Leena needed to make ends meet and to do so; she started selling off her animals on the black market. That is an offense punishable by death. So she wasn’t surprised when an assassin showed up. After beating the assassin, Leena forces him to take her to the guildhouse. It is there, Leena makes a deal with the guild master of the Cruor, Noc. 4 magical beasts in exchange for her life. What Leena doesn’t know is that there is no way for a Cruor assassin to back out of a contract. While Noc says yes, he knows that in the end, he will have to kill Leena and collect the bounty. But, it soon becomes hard for Noc to consider killing Leena. Enough doubt has been raised about the contract and if it is justified. Will Noc be able to do the unthinkable and break the contract? Or will everything end with Leena being killed?

What drew me to Kingdom of Exiles was the blurb. As soon as I caught sight of the words Fantastic Beasts and Assassin’s Creed. I knew that I needed to read this book. I am a huge Harry Potter and Assassin’s Creed fan, and I was interested in seeing how the author was going to combine those them together. I wasn’t let down. I do want to add in that I also caught glimpses of Pokemon in this novel too. Not in how the beasts were caught but in the battle scenes.

There are three major and several secondary plotlines in Kingdom of Exiles. The first plotline focuses on Leena, her beasts and the reason why she was exiled from the Charmers. The second plot line focuses on Noc, the Cruors, and Leena’s contract. The third plotline focuses on Leena, Noc, and their relationship.

I liked all the main storylines. They were all well written. When the author did chose to bring them together, she was able to do it without interrupting any of the storylines. There were also no dropped storylines.

The secondary storylines were well written. I did think that there was a dropped storyline towards the end of the book. It made me a little aggravated because I wanted to know what happened to a particular character. But, it was brought back up at the end of the book. Which makes me wonder if that is going to be the main storyline for the next book.

Like the plotlines, I thought that the main characters were well written. Now, I will say that both characters a little off put me at the beginning of the book. They both came off as cold people. But as the book went on and I got to know both characters, my opinion of them changed. Their character development featured in my change of opinion.

Like I mentioned above, I didn’t like Leena when I started reading Kingdom of Exiles. She came across as aloof and uncaring. The scene with the buyer of the Gyss is an excellent example. But, then something remarkable happened. That first impression got turned around. My disinterest and disdain for her got turned around into me being invested and admiring her. I can count on one hand how many times that has happened.

Leena was also one of the strongest female characters that I have read to date. She went through a lot in the book, and she didn’t let it beat her down. She learned from those experiences. I loved it!!

Again, as I mentioned above, I didn’t like Noc when I started reading the book. He was cold and aloof. Take any of his scenes at the beginning of the book. Then, as the book went on, the explanations began. By the middle of the book, I understood why Noc had those walls up. He was afraid of his curse. He couldn’t show emotion or his curse would start up. But, like Leena, my first impression got turned around. By the end of the book, I loved him.

Speaking of Noc’s curse, I would have loved to know why the high priestess cursed him. Also, I would have loved to have known who he was before he was resurrected. There were hints but nothing confirmed. Drove me nuts because I have a few ideas of who he was, but nothing confirmed it.

The secondary characters were as well written as the main characters. I loved it. I felt that I got to know Kost, Ozias, and Calem as well as Noc and Leena. I can’t wait to see what book two holds for the secondary characters. I am hoping that the book focuses on either Calem or Oz. They were my two favorites in the book.

The bad guys in the book had my attention from the get-go. Wynn gave me chills. He believed what he was doing was the right, and that was frightening to me. What he subjected Leena to when he held her captive was heartbreaking. Ravenwas an enigma. I had questions that weren’t answered in this book. The most important issue was why? Why did she set those events in motion? I was frustrated by the lack of answers, but I have a feeling that they will be answered in the next book.

Kingdom of Exiles was a great fit in the fantasy genre. Leena’s Charmer abilities alone could have fueled a book. As well as Noc’s curse and his powers. I did find it creepy that he could make daggers out of the shadows.

Kingdom of Exiles was also a great fit in the romance genre. Noc and Leena’s instant attraction had my pulse racing. The back and forth dance that they did was hot. By the time they had sex, it was earth-shattering. I had to put my Kindle down and fan myself; it was that hot. My only complaint about the sex scenes was the use of crease of Leena’s vagina. Once, yes. But every single time, no. It got to the point where I started laughing when Noc was fingerbanging/eating her out, and crease was used.

There was also the point of the Kost/Noc/Leena semi-love triangle. I use semi because Noc didn’t reciprocate Kost’s feelings. But it was set up that way. I loved that the author had an LGBT representation in the book. I do wish that Kost’s sexual preference was made more clear towards the beginning. Because up until that scene with Leena, he came across as kind of a douche canoe. I also loved how Noc handled finding out about Kost’s feelings for him. It was done in such a classy way that I couldn’t help but say to myself “This is how it should be done in real life!!!” I am also eager to see Kost find love. There was a hint of something at the end of the book. Something that I can’t wait to see if the author explores or not.

The end of Kingdom of Exiles was excellent. I also had so many questions about what was going to happen and no answers. The epilogue held the most questions for me. Because of what happened to Noc at the end. What will that mean for him and Leena? I can’t wait to find out.

I would give Kingdom of Exiles an Adult rating. There is explicit sex. There is violence. There is language. I would recommend that no one under the age of 21 read this book.

I would reread Kingdom of Exiles. I would also recommend this book to family and friends.

I would like to thank the author for allowing me to read and review Kingdom of Exiles.

Book Disclaimer

**I chose to leave this review after reading an advance reader copy**

Have you read Kingdom of Exiles?

What are your thoughts?

Let me know!!

Jess Ostrander

I read this for my book club, and I loved it! I instantly was attracted to the premise, and the world building was well done! The beast charmer magic is so interesting! Also, I really want some of the beasts! I loved how well developed they were. I loved Leena. Her storyline was interesting, and she felt so real. She was a total badass, but still so soft and loving with her beasts! I love that she was so protective of them. Also loved Loc. At first he kind of annoyed me, but he grew on me quickly! And I am always a sucker for a good enemies to lovers story! Also really loved the other assassins, and hope we get more from them in the next books.

Antonia Reichenbach &
Kingdom of Exiles by Maxym Martineau

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