Briar Boleyn

He will drown kingdoms in blood for her sake.


Bound to a man she hates more than she ever thought possible...


Everything Morgan Pendragon knows and loves is gone as she wakes in the dangerous court of the Siabra. The man she was falling in love with is dead, and in his place is a man she barely knows. Surrounded by liars and knives in the dark, all Morgan wants to do is run the other way but Kairos Draven is determined to keep her by his side.

As Morgan and Draven's lives become even more irrevocably entwined, little do they know the sins of the past are coming for them both…
Author's Note: This upper YA/NA series features mature situations, adult language, and plenty of steam. Court of Claws is Book 2 in an interconnected series. This book has multiple TW/CWs. Please check the book's trigger warning page in the table of contents for more information. 

Blood of a Fae #2

Court of Claws

kenzie

❤︎ NETGALLEY REVIEW ❤︎

thank you again to netgalley, briar boleyn, and starwater press for sending me this arc for free in exchange for an honest review! please check trigger warnings before you read! 

court of claws picks up where queen of roses left off. i loved this book a little more than the first one! this book was a slow burn book, i don’t usually like slow burns but this was worth it. there was more romance, drama, and action as you read more. this book did keep me on the edge of my seat because of so many twists and turns. 

the only thing that made me a little upset was that there was so much miscommunication and secrets between kairos and morgan’s relationship, but after reading why i understood a lot better. 

also it ended on a freaking cliffhanger! definitely recommend and a must read for fantasy lovers.

Thank you to the author, Briar Boleyn, and Netgalley for providing me with an ARC of this title in exchange for my honest review. 

This book certainly didn’t suffer from second book syndrome - I’m so invested that I don’t even want to be writing this review. I could be using this time to start the third book! 

“But I see you, Morgan Pendragon. I see you truly for everything you are and everything you will be and I claim you as mine.”

Author provided trigger warnings: “Abduction,Abuse, Alcohol Consumption, Amputation, Animal Abuse, Animal Death, Cannibalism, Child Abuse, Child Death, Decapitation, Deceased Family Member, Domestic Violence, Drug Use, Homophobia, Infant Loss / Death, Infertility, Murder, Physical Abuse, Poisoning, Slut Shaming, Violence / Gore”

Do NOT read past this point if you want to avoid spoilers

Morgan wakes up seemingly paralysed with two highly unpleasant Fae standing over her after the cliffhanger from Queen of Roses. After Draven sends them away, Morgan learns that he has brought her to his court under the guise of being his Paramour. Oh yeah - he is Fae. He’s also the Prince of the Siabra and the rightful heir returning after a period of banishment during which his mother acted as Queen Regent. No biggie right? Morgan is rightfully angry at being forced into this position without any consent but, he states that he saw this as the only way to protect her. Her anger funnily enough does not dissipate when he has her warded into their suite (hello one bed trope).

A few days later and she has a surprise visitor from the walls in the form of an endearing magically inclined human orphan boy. He guides her through the tunnels in order to show her around and spy on the contestants, Draven included, training for the upcoming trials to compete for the crown of the Umbra throne. 

This book takes the world building that the first book started on and deepens it really well whilst also moving the plot along at a good pace (after the first 1/4th of the book). I really enjoyed the side characters that are in Draven’s circle of trust - they weren’t all thrown in your face at once in an overwhelming manner and there was also time given to allow friendships to form. I love character development that shows a transition from when they first meet to later on having friendships or an understanding of each other. I live for it - found family tropes done well are top tier.

The only thing I couldn’t really get on board with was the overly defiant part of Morgan’s personality. I understand - she did not consent to a lot of what happened or what she had to do. But, it went past the point of “This happened/is happening and I did not agree to it. I’m super not okay with it and you need to be upfront with me” to acting in a way that only added to some issues and came off as very immature. That said - characters are allowed to have flaws and parts that readers may not like. 

The jaw dropping cliffhanger was so  good! It was one half a bit predictable for the plot and was in line with Morgan’s personality but, the OTHER half of the ending. Well done Briar! I cannot WAIT to delve into it.

Victoria Sutton

4.5 stars ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Thank you to the author, Briar Boleyn, and Netgalley for providing me with an ARC of this title in exchange for my honest review. 

This book certainly didn’t suffer from second book syndrome - I’m so invested that I don’t even want to be writing this review. I could be using this time to start the third book! 

“But I see you, Morgan Pendragon. I see you truly for everything you are and everything you will be and I claim you as mine.”

What to expect:

Book 2 of Blood of a Fae series 

Fae court politics 

Trials trope

Fake relationship trope

Queer representation 

Spicy scenes 🌶️🌶️

Found family

Self discovery

Author provided trigger warnings: “Abduction,Abuse, Alcohol Consumption, Amputation, Animal Abuse, Animal Death, Cannibalism, Child Abuse, Child Death, Decapitation, Deceased Family Member, Domestic Violence, Drug Use, Homophobia, Infant Loss / Death, Infertility, Murder, Physical Abuse, Poisoning, Slut Shaming, Violence / Gore”

Do NOT read past this point if you want to avoid spoilers

 

Morgan wakes up seemingly paralysed with two highly unpleasant Fae standing over her after the cliffhanger from Queen of Roses. After Draven sends them away, Morgan learns that he has brought her to his court under the guise of being his Paramour. Oh yeah - he is Fae. He’s also the Prince of the Siabra and the rightful heir returning after a period of banishment during which his mother acted as Queen Regent. No biggie right? Morgan is rightfully angry at being forced into this position without any consent but, he states that he saw this as the only way to protect her. Her anger funnily enough does not dissipate when he has her warded into their suite (hello one bed trope).

A few days later and she has a surprise visitor from the walls in the form of an endearing magically inclined human orphan boy. He guides her through the tunnels in order to show her around and spy on the contestants, Draven included, training for the upcoming trials to compete for the crown of the Umbra throne. 

This book takes the world building that the first book started on and deepens it really well whilst also moving the plot along at a good pace (after the first 1/4th of the book). I really enjoyed the side characters that are in Draven’s circle of trust - they weren’t all thrown in your face at once in an overwhelming manner and there was also time given to allow friendships to form. I love character development that shows a transition from when they first meet to later on having friendships or an understanding of each other. I live for it - found family tropes done well are top tier.

The only thing I couldn’t really get on board with was the overly defiant part of Morgan’s personality. I understand - she did not consent to a lot of what happened or what she had to do. But, it went past the point of “This happened/is happening and I did not agree to it. I’m super not okay with it and you need to be upfront with me” to acting in a way that only added to some issues and came off as very immature. That said - characters are allowed to have flaws and parts that readers may not like. 

The jaw dropping cliffhanger was so  good! It was one half a bit predictable for the plot and was in line with Morgan’s personality but, the OTHER half of the ending. Well done Briar! I cannot WAIT to delve into it.

Well!  If you thought Morgan had a lot on her plate in book 1 - get ready for a bigger plate in book 2!

She's lost one of her best friends, she's having weird, extremely vivid dreams and she's pretty sure she died at one point.  But here she is awake and somehow hundreds of miles and cross the ocean from where she last was!

Morgan was taken to the Court of Umbral Flames by Draven as a last gasp measure to save her.  But now he's got politics and his very own tricky family to navigate.  His step-mother is right of a fairytale, his sister in law hates him for saving her and his people seem to be split in whether they are happy he has returned or not!

Morgan's reeling from a lot of new information about Draven, the Siabra, Valtain and her place within all this.  Oh and the slight matter that Draven told everyone she is his mistress!  He says it's to keep her safe but what is his real agenda?

The pacing in book 2 is a bit quicker but no less detailed.  The romance is NOT lacking either.  Draven is on a mission to cement Morgan to his side, whether to his advantage of hers.  He's still not very straight forward with her but you can see that his motivation isn't about control and possession but more about protection and love.  He is the epitome of "touch her and die" vibes, lol.

Morgan's walls go up again and again.  But as her history unfolds, we can see how some of these walls were not of her own making.  She really does have a problem about trusting the wrong people and just when I despaired things were going to go pear shaped she does a truly noble thing.  As much as she matures in this book you can still see slices of her naivety and you have to remember that she's not quite 21 yet and dealing with A LOT.

I'm super intrigued to see how book 3 is going to tie up all these loose ends in my head.  I mean that last chapter or so - WTH!  Now I have to wait to see Merlin and Co fit into the finale.

Nicola Sarah Brooks

Well!  If you thought Morgan had a lot on her plate in book 1 - get ready for a bigger plate in book 2!

She's lost one of her best friends, she's having weird, extremely vivid dreams and she's pretty sure she died at one point.  But here she is awake and somehow hundreds of miles and cross the ocean from where she last was!

Morgan was taken to the Court of Umbral Flames by Draven as a last gasp measure to save her.  But now he's got politics and his very own tricky family to navigate.  His step-mother is right of a fairytale, his sister in law hates him for saving her and his people seem to be split in whether they are happy he has returned or not!

Morgan's reeling from a lot of new information about Draven, the Siabra, Valtain and her place within all this.  Oh and the slight matter that Draven told everyone she is his mistress!  He says it's to keep her safe but what is his real agenda?

The pacing in book 2 is a bit quicker but no less detailed.  The romance is NOT lacking either.  Draven is on a mission to cement Morgan to his side, whether to his advantage of hers.  He's still not very straight forward with her but you can see that his motivation isn't about control and possession but more about protection and love.  He is the epitome of "touch her and die" vibes, lol.

Morgan's walls go up again and again.  But as her history unfolds, we can see how some of these walls were not of her own making.  She really does have a problem about trusting the wrong people and just when I despaired things were going to go pear shaped she does a truly noble thing.  As much as she matures in this book you can still see slices of her naivety and you have to remember that she's not quite 21 yet and dealing with A LOT.

I'm super intrigued to see how book 3 is going to tie up all these loose ends in my head.  I mean that last chapter or so - WTH!  Now I have to wait to see Merlin and Co fit into the finale.

Court of Claws Blood of a Fae #2

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