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A review by kreela
Court of Claws by Briar Boleyn
4.0
“In Siabra culture, those of royal blood may designate a person who is not their official spouse as their... Well, as their...”
The blood drained from my face. “Your mistress?”
Waking up in a foreign land is bad enough; finding out that you are surrounded by people with unimagined powers who live in a volcano? I can almost imagine why Morgan is argumentative and surly. Draven is not the unassuming king’s guard, and he told everyone she is his mistress. Be his escort? She would rather join the temple.
For a story that began with elements of King Arthur’s myth, I am pleased that the story has diverged from there.
However, in book 2 Morgan has turned into a rebellious teen. While Draven stoically submits to her angry and confused ranting, I am flummoxed. She seemed so relatable in the first novel, yet she makes assumptions here that seem ghastly illogical!
Since she refuses to cooperate, Draven assigns two guards, Odessa and Crescent, and tells her not to exit the room. Of course she ignores that as soon as a young human boy finds her through the secret servant passages that we all love to imagine. Beks is great: I would love to have a know-it-all teen like him around.
Later Draven finds her outside the room, and upon her request, allows her to train with "the greatest fighter"...[spoiler alert] who turns out to be Odessa.
Honestly, for a book boyfriend, Draven is heroic and caring. “ I have no lust for endless slaughter between mortals or fae versus fae as my father and brother did. I wish for change. I wish for peace. Not only here in Myntra, but in Eskira," he wants to end discrimination and racism. And he loves an independent, stabby woman. What is not to love?
Does Morgan grow as a character? Yes, but she remains the dominant in the bedroom and threatens stabbing with a letter opener:
““Don’t make me stab you in your sleep tonight.”
A perennial favorite: there are a set of trials that Draven must pass to become the Emperor of his realm, upon which he promises to use his realm’s resources to bring Morgan to power. The second trial involves riddles which I think are too open-ended to have only one true answer, but I appreciate the attempt. The more Draven succeeds the more difficult it will be for their romance.
Trigger Warnings:
[] Morgan cusses too much, even when she doesn’t need to.
[] She is not likeable
[] Power sharing
[] Crown Trials
[] Betrayals and plot twists
[] Forced bond/marriage
I hope book 3 features a new character. This is not a standalone and ends in a spot where Arthur has conquered and created a harem from the captives...
The blood drained from my face. “Your mistress?”
Waking up in a foreign land is bad enough; finding out that you are surrounded by people with unimagined powers who live in a volcano? I can almost imagine why Morgan is argumentative and surly. Draven is not the unassuming king’s guard, and he told everyone she is his mistress. Be his escort? She would rather join the temple.
For a story that began with elements of King Arthur’s myth, I am pleased that the story has diverged from there.
However, in book 2 Morgan has turned into a rebellious teen. While Draven stoically submits to her angry and confused ranting, I am flummoxed. She seemed so relatable in the first novel, yet she makes assumptions here that seem ghastly illogical!
Since she refuses to cooperate, Draven assigns two guards, Odessa and Crescent, and tells her not to exit the room. Of course she ignores that as soon as a young human boy finds her through the secret servant passages that we all love to imagine. Beks is great: I would love to have a know-it-all teen like him around.
Later Draven finds her outside the room, and upon her request, allows her to train with "the greatest fighter"...[spoiler alert] who turns out to be Odessa.
Honestly, for a book boyfriend, Draven is heroic and caring. “ I have no lust for endless slaughter between mortals or fae versus fae as my father and brother did. I wish for change. I wish for peace. Not only here in Myntra, but in Eskira," he wants to end discrimination and racism. And he loves an independent, stabby woman. What is not to love?
Does Morgan grow as a character? Yes, but she remains the dominant in the bedroom and threatens stabbing with a letter opener:
““Don’t make me stab you in your sleep tonight.”
A perennial favorite: there are a set of trials that Draven must pass to become the Emperor of his realm, upon which he promises to use his realm’s resources to bring Morgan to power. The second trial involves riddles which I think are too open-ended to have only one true answer, but I appreciate the attempt. The more Draven succeeds the more difficult it will be for their romance.
Trigger Warnings:
[] Morgan cusses too much, even when she doesn’t need to.
[] She is not likeable
[] Power sharing
[] Crown Trials
[] Betrayals and plot twists
[] Forced bond/marriage
I hope book 3 features a new character. This is not a standalone and ends in a spot where Arthur has conquered and created a harem from the captives...