Court of Claws
Riding the high of Book 1, I jumped right into book 2!
At this point in my reading career – yes, it is a career. An unpaid one. I was already prone to DNF’ing books. Don’t get scared, I didn’t DNF this book, but my reading definitely declined.
Now the story really becomes its own. The retelling of Camelot is just in reference to the names of cities and characters. A bit disappointing because I like the retelling trope so much but I understand dragging that out across multiple books can feel like you’re copying a story rather than retelling it.
Morgan is now a princess? She is wed to Draven, which she is pissed about, btdub.
Draven being back means the games can begin. And one of my other favorite non-romance tropes is trials!
So Draven’s step mother has been acting as Queen for the last 15 or so years. But law commands that since he is back from banishment the trials for the throne begin. I didn’t read too deep into it and was just there for vibes.
The trials are all physical. A maze, or climbing a cliff, a riddle that requires blood.
It’s housed in this viewing arena so all the royals can watch, including Morgan since she is the prince’s guest. No one knows they are married though.
Draven is tough and has claws and quick healing abilities. The other contestants are Fae as well so they range in abilities from flying to spitting acid.
Between the trials the contestants are treated like royal guests. There are banquets, and Morgan can even travel to the ‘upper city’.
The castle is under a volcano but the city is rich with life and beautiful.
We also learn about stitching which is a magical ability some people have. They can teleport basically by ‘stitching’ two pieces of the world together long enough to step through them. Pretty cool and definitely handy!
They also have large cat mounts Fae would ride into battle long ago. They are rare now, but Draven has one and of course, Morgan earns the trust of another.
Draven gets injured in the second trial and another law comes up that Morgan can take his place as his guest. So she completes in the third trial. She also learns she can pull from Draven’s magic and grow claws, which comes in handy as she scales the cliff to reach the crown.
She wins – surprise!
And everyone makes their way to the final banquet to celebrate the victor. There she sees Draven, in perfect health. She’s confused because he was just bed ridden this morning, that is why she competed on his behalf. But she is also relieved because now she can give him the crown.
But he refuses it and tells her she won and is the Empress of the Fae.
Morgan is pissed, again! She doesn’t want to be a ruler, she doesn’t even want her own crown in Camelot. But as the victor she is the winner.
The queen regent is also pissed. Morgan isn’t fae from their kingdom and she doesn’t want her on the throne. So she tries to kill her. She stitches Morgan away to a nearby roof top and tries to spit acid on her. Of course Draven appears and saves her and kills the queen.
At the same time dragons fill the sky, and Draven’s sister, a cute nerdy girl, gives them the golden chalice and leaves with them.
She is determined to save the zombie fae children that no one cares about. And she thinks the rival fae kingdom can help her do it. Basically committing treason.
A small battle breaks out and Morgan is pinned between a portal back to her own kingdom and death. So she jumps through the portal.
It collapses right behind her leaving Draven and his kingdom on the other side of the world.
I’m hoping to pick up some steam soon. I started a book club with some friends to add some kindling on the fire. I hope it pushes me to pick up books again and enjoy them.
For most of this year it felt like all the trope had been done. And not just once. I could see the strings or romance and conflict within the first few chapters and that was killing it for me.
But sometimes you just need a sabbatical.
Overall ⭐⭐⭐.5 | 📚 Glad I Read It | 🔥 MA – Mature Audiences (Ages 18+)
Worldbuilding🗺️🗺️
Ick Factor 😇 😐
Fangirl Moments 💖
Spice🌶️🌶️🌶️
Errors/Plot Holes
Tropes: Fantasy, Romance, Romatasy, Fae, Enemies to Lovers, Magic, Retelling, Trials
Title: Court of Claws
Author: Briar Boleyn
Genre: Romance / Fantasy
Series: Blood of a Fae Book 2
Format: Audiobook
Release Date: June 30th, 2023
Length: 409 pages