Morgan Pendragon/Morgan Le Fay returns to Camelot to stop her brother Arthur and to rescue her brother Kaye. Meanwhile, her husband Kairos Draven travels to her country to join her as they cannot be apart. How will Morgan’s powers continue to grow? Will she be able to stop Arthur’s rule of terror and unjust war? Will Draven reach her in time to help? What has happened to Morgan’s friends and compatriots while she has been away? This is the exciting third instalment in the Blood of Fae series.

Briar Boleyn has again taken us on a roller coaster of emotion, action and adventure and further explored the competing forces of good and evil. It was heart-warming to see the connection between Morgan and Draven grow and strengthen throughout the book. I also enjoyed the ongoing stories and development of the other characters.

It has been a while since I read book two in the series and it would have been helpful to have a bit more of a recap at the beginning of this book. Overall, however, it was a great continuation of the series.
I received this ARC in return for my honest review.

another absolutely captivating sequel in the unique arthurian retelling series, blood of fae. with truths revealed about the fmc's past and the rising revolution, it was easy to lose myself in reading. the building connections between main and side characters made this my favorite in the series yet! while fmc still seems naive and quick to make some decisions, i can see clear character development from her and i am so so so looking forward to the next one (but also not because it's the end

“I’d rather be a villain by your side than play the hero for anyone else.”

I feel like this series gets better and better with every book! This one was a wild ride, and I can’t wait for the final installment.

Note: I received an ARC from NetGalley in exchange for honest feedback.

❤️ Strong FMC
❤️ Nicely done “Forced Separation” trope
❤️ Side characters and fluffy sidekicks
❌ Predictable “Betrayal/False Friend” trope

Make sure to read the trigger warnings, as there are many and things get pretty dark here and there.

Plot:
Morgan ran from the Court of Umbral Flames and her forced husband to return to Camelot. But the situation in her former home is worse than she thought as King Arthur will stop at nothing to control the magical sword Excalibur and eliminate any threat to his reign. To save her kingdom and her friends, Morgan needs to infiltrate the Court of Roses and survive long enough for the Siabra army to arrive.

The stakes are high: Morgan’s youngest brother is in mortal peril, her best friend is alive but drastically changed, people are dying on the streets, enemies are closing in from all sides, and she is sent to the viper’s nest to spy on Arthur and his court. There’s court intrigue, action, trauma healing, friendship, love, etc. The balance between plot and romance/spice was juuuust right, and I feel like Morgan and Draven’s time apart was a very good thing. In the previous book, there was too much arguing for the sake of the slow burn / hate to love tropes, and I’m more than happy that Morgan is out of her “I hate you” phase.

Characters:
Morgan is, finally, growing on me! She is coming into her own and embracing her power. She is still a little too naïve for my liking (she *should* have suspected who was the traitor right from the start), and I can’t forgive her actions toward Lancelet in this book, but I still liked her better than in the first two books. We didn’t see a lot of Draven in this one, but he was *chef’s kiss* every time he was there. As usual, the side characters are great. Hawl has my whole heart. Love Gawain. Guinevere was a great addition. And why do I love Orcades so much?!

Writing:
I love Boleyn’s writing. The descriptions are vivid and evocative, the dialogues feel natural, and the pace in this one was superior to the first two books. The only thing that annoys me a little is that some of the characters’ features are mentioned many times, and described exactly the same way each time. Instead of reading over and over that Draven’s skin is bronze-tinted and that Guinevere is curvy with brown hair, I’d like to know more about their other features, or even about how they talk or walk.

Arthur/Camelot retelling, still need to read the final book but I really enjoyed this series so far.