Of Blood and Crowns

this was a unique concept for a fantasy novel, I enjoyed the idea of something that you don't want to do as a duty of your role. It worked so well as a story and I was invested in the story that was going on this world. The characters were really well done and I enjoyed every part of this journey with them. Raven More wrote this well and I'm glad I got to read this.

"Shaking his head, he frowned. “How can you hold on? Even now…grown men would crumple from less.” He stroked my wet cheeks. I could see my pain reflected in his wide eyes. He pulled my palm close to his chin. His nose crinkled and he coughed."

I loved this! What a great fantasy romance, full of swoony kisses and wonderful intrigue, I wanted more from the ending though.

This gorgeous cover is just amazing!

Of Blood and Crowns by Raven More is a wonderful fantasy romance story.
So well written and the characters are just amazing.
The world building, character development, and interesting plot made this book so much fun!
I read this book very quickly. I didn't want it to end so soon.
This book will be perfect for fantasy lovers and I am definitely ready to see what she writes next!

"I received a complimentary copy of this book. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own."

Thank you to NetGalley and Author Collective 20 for my ARC in exchange for my honest review.

I’m surprised this is a debut novel!
The story progresses at a good pace, the characters are likeable and you end up wanting more.
I would have loved a little more worl building at the beginning of the book but overall this was a nice read.
Definetely going to pick up the next book!

Thank you to the author, netgalley and author collective 20 for providing me an e ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Good sci-fi futuristic story. The author did a great job with her character and world building. I look forward to reading book two and finding out what she has in store for this trio.

On my sixteenth birthday, I’ll become a murderer.

Not my usual read but I do want to branch out and expand not only my reading but others as well. The cover is gorgeous. I love a princess theme and this story looks super intriguing. Will be sharing a full review soon. Beautiful cover as well.



I don’t want to kill anyone but it’s my duty as princess.

To stop the threat of the Cursed. The ones who destroyed our planet and most life.

If I don’t participate in the ritual to seal my initiation into the ruling council and solidify my mother’s empire, everyone will figure out the truth.

My truth.

That I’m a Cursed.

It gets worse.

My only hope rests in the hands of Ryker, whose sister I sentenced to death.

A princess being forced into an arranged marriage and being abused by an evil queen; in a dystopian future where mutants and cyborgs exist.

This was a great read, original storyline, developed characters and so much going on it felt like reading an action movie. A touch of enemies to lovers and slow burn tropes, as well as the war between good and evil, freedom and tyranny.

I'm looking forward to the next installment.

*Thank you to NetGalley and Author Collective 20 for providing me this arc in exchange for an honest review*

When I saw that this book was a debut novel I was really impressed. This was a really good book. It reminded me Cinder and Empress of a thousand skies, two books I love. It has lot's of potential. The beginning was a little slow and some things aren't explained but overall is a 5 star read. At least for me.

If you are a fan of fantasy/dystopian novels you will enjoy this one. The story flowed well and was a fast read for me. The reason I gave this 4 stars instead of 5 is because there were a lot of things (especially at the beginning) that weren't explained. The characters are enjoyable even if I figured out a lot of the plot early on. This almost felt like a mash up of Cinder and Shadow and Bone.

Of Blood and Crowns is a very unique blend of a dystopian novel mixed with sci-fi and fantasy elements and it immediately grabbed my attention from the very first chapter. At the beginning of the story, we follow Valencia, who is a princess, on her 16th birthday. Valencia is being forced to participate in a ritual during her birthday to complete her initiation into the ruling council and solidify her mother's empire against the "Cursed."

The first part of this story was so exciting and I was totally invested in Valencia as a character. I also really liked the other characters that Valencia met along the way: Ryker and Emery. I thought the romance between Ryker and Valencia was excellent and I loved every scene of theirs together.

I also really enjoyed the setting of this book. It takes place in our world, but in the future and in a post-apocalyptic type environment. The characters are constantly scrounging for things and trying to survive and a harsh environment.

One of my favorite parts of the book, was the fantasy elements. I thought the magical powers that the characters had were very interesting and I hope that the author includes even more of this in the future books.

My only criticism is I felt like the pacing of the story was a little off. The characters were constantly on the brink of death and everything seemed to happen very quickly and chaotically. I would have liked some more quiet and peaceful moments with the characters along the way. I also felt like a lot of the plot was super convenient. Some important people would just show up when they needed to with no real explanation of how they got there at just the right time.

Overall though I really loved this book and would like to continue on with the series!

This book is a fast paced fantasy/sci-fi/dystopian blend following a 16 year old Princess as she fights to survive with the help of her friends-Ryker and Emery. I enjoyed the extensive world building in this book and found Princess Valencia to be a well rounded and believable character. While I enjoyed all the scenes of her and Ryker, I did hope to see more development of their affection for each other rather than it being as quick of an attachment as it was. Overall, I found the story interesting and enjoyable and I look forward to reading the next book when it is released.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for granting me an advance copy of this book in return for my honest opinions.

This book was fantastic. I had Scarlett st. Claire vibes. The plot, characters, stetting and everything else is flawless

I loved the romance story between Ryker and Valencia and felt myself rooting for Princess Valencia all the way.

Would love a prequel with some backstory as that was missing and it took a while to figure out what had happened.

I read the book from start to finish in one setting. I was up until the wee hours of the morning. I am going to do a reread and will be waiting in anticipation for the sequel.

This book is going to be a number one best seller for sure. I can see it including in every book club as a monthly highlighter!

A must read! Ready for the sequel

Highly recommend!!

My Review
My Ranking: 4 stars

I was hooked from the very first page with this one. **I received a digital copy from NetGalley ** The fact that this is Raven’s Debut book blew my mind! From a new Author, she knocked this out of the park! I seriously couldn’t put this book down. I loved the characters, the world-building, the story setup, and everything! I was constantly rooting for the 3 main characters. Also, Ryker…yes he’s been added to the book boyfriend list! There were a few things I did not like. Valencia and Emery are supposed to be the same age. Yes, Emery had a more traumatic backstory but I felt like they made Valencia seem years older than her which just made no sense. I can understand making her seem more fragile because of her past trauma but not to make her seem childlike. Emery saw and survived some major things. I can see her being cautious and checking out during intense things but not to be made more childlike or less than Valencia. It also felt like they were constantly in trouble. Again I understand storyline wise it needed to be this way but I just wish we would have some more time with the characters and their development not just while they were under attack. But, honestly even these things didn’t take away from the story. I still really enjoyed it. I can’t wait for the next in the series. I also can’t wait to get my hands on some paperbacks to add to my store!

A unique, futuristic, dystopian story. I loved this story from the first page. Princess Valencia is trapped between doing what is expected of her, and what she feels and knows is right. Enter Ryker, the boy she isn't supposed to want, and Emery, Ryker's sister who Valencia has wronged in the past. Secrets, magical powers, and spaceships abound. The three of them embark on a journey to save everyone from the Evil Queen and the "Cursed".

Great descriptions and character building. I felt immediately transported to their world. I actually finished this book in one day, and was surprised to see that this a debut novel! It ends with a cliffhanger, so I am looking forward to the next book!

Thank you #NetGalley and #authorcollective20 for this cARC in exchange for my honest review.

Excellent fantasy dystopian romance! The unique writing and plot development make this story so much fun and it was a pleasure to read!

This is a beautiful example of a dystopian fantasy novel, with visual storytelling that gives you both post-apocalypse and steampunk the things I saw in my mind reading this was fantastic.

Our characters face challenges, tragedy, and redemption in a tale that will take you through a roller coaster of emotion and leave you breathless at times.

The story itself has so much depth, there's good, evil, and literally everything in between, giving you an immersive experience while reading.

I don't normally read a lot of dystopian novels but this one looked intriguing and I'm so very glad I took a chance on this one.

Thank you to NetGalley and Author Collective 20 for providing an advance copy of this ebook, I have voluntarily read and reviewed it and all thoughts and opinions are my own.

Of Blood and Crowns by Raven More (Broken Bonds Series: Book 1)

I wasn’t sure what to think of this book when I first requested to read it, but I am glad that I did. Once I started reading it I couldn’t put it down! Of Blood and Crowns is a dystopian novel that hits the ground running right from the beginning and is action packed the entire rest of the book. It follows Princess Valencia and her quest for freedom from her mother, who happens to be an evil queen who hates a race of people with special powers. Valencia happens to have those very powers. Along the way she meets the girl she saved 4 years prior and her brother, who both have special powers like Valencia. Together they escape a mining town, survive the desert with giant sand creatures, end up at a city straight out of Mad Max: Fury Road, then head to the ruins of Chicago where they meet some mutant assassins, and finally reach their destination after a long road trip just to face their biggest obstacle yet! I thought the book was well written overall and was a quick read. The only slightly unbelievable part was the romance between the two leads. From the first kiss (which was not in a romantic way) they were drawn to each other like magnets. In a span of three days they went from strangers to inseparable. It was still a fun read and I definitely recommend this book for anyone who likes dystopian thrillers! Thank you NetGalley and Raven More for allowing me to read this advanced copy!

This is a post apocalyptic dystopian fantasy - we have the Tertians & the Queen that pretty much “rule” whatever is left of the planet, the cursed aka the mualites that have special powers & get killed / tortured by the Queen and her guards, and then just regular humans. Things go awry when Princess Valencia, daughter of the Queen, refuses to k*ll one of the mualites in order to seal her initiation into the council and solidify her mothers empire. She is then saved by Ryker and his sister Emery, who was sentenced to death four years ago when the girls were just twelve years old, but she miraculously survived. The three of them have to work together to find the rebellion and hopefully overthrow the Queen and her crew.

I don’t read a lot of dystopian fantasies, but I think this might be my sign to read MORE of them.. this book was absolutely amazing, page after page makes you want more. I loved every character (except for the murderous a-holes. seriously, screw them). And I cannot wait to see where these characters are when book 2 of this series, Of Blood & Betrayal, is set to come out!

Thank you NetGalley for the ARC

This book was good I really liked the plot line and the characters were well written I enjoyed it a lot.

Thank you to NetGalley, Author Collective 20, and Raven More for the opportunity to read Of Blood and Crowns (Broken Bonds Book 1) in exchange for an honest review.

Told from the first-person perspective of Princess Valencia, this is the first book in an exciting new science-fiction romance.

Valencia has an obligation. As Princess, her sixteenth birthday celebration is marked by sacrificing a Mualite (my understanding of which is someone seen as a lower class citizen who also has a special ability of sorts). When she refuses, the Queen and the torturous general she is betrothed to toss her heritage aside and seek her potential death.

With her escape, a Mualite Valencia left for dead nearly four years ago saves her. Between Emery and her brother, Ryker, Valencia is thrown into a world opposite of that which she knows. Exhibiting a power of her own, Valencia's mixed heritage is revealed.

With passionate feelings arising for Ryker and a quest to find the rebels and join their feat against her own mother, Valencia has a lot to tackle in a world so unlike that which she has known.

The worldbuilding is good, but a bit convoluted at times. There are some instances where I can picture events quite clearly, and other times where I struggle to figure out and picture what is going on. Many have said the pacing is a bit off in the beginning. I both agree and disagree. While starting off a romance so quickly does feel a bit off, it end up working well later on, making for an enticing romance aspect to the story. I like the quest aspect as the main characters set their goal and attempt to make something of themselves against Valencia's mother. The book has a lot of dialogue with not so much exposition, making for a very quick read.

Fast-paced and exciting, with the perfect amount of adventure and romance, Of Blood and Crowns makes for a great first novel in a young adult series that teen readers are certain to enjoy.

A cross between the Lunar Chronicles and Divergent, Of Blood and Crowns reels you in and doesn't let you go from page one. Futuristic dystopia mixed with magical powers, I spent the majority of the book with my heart in my throat, absolutely NEEDING to know what happened next.

Then I found out it was the start of a series.

I absolutely cannot wait for book 2, "Of Blood and Betrayal," to continue this journey in the hopes that my favorite character will triumph and get their little slice of happily ever after. A MUST READ for fans of everything from the Hunger Games to Three Dark Crowns.

Thanks to NetGalley, Author Collective 20, for the preview read!

Took me a bit to get into this one, but when I did I was hooked. The story follows Princess Valencia, who finds herself trapped between doing what is expected of her and what she feels is right. World building and character development were done well. Overall the book was quite the adventure for friends sibling Emory and Ryker and our heroine Valencia. I’m looking forward to seeing what happens to the trio!

Thank you NetGalley for sending me a ARC in exchange for a honest review.

I loved this story from the very first page. It was a fast paced read for me, the story flowed very seamlessly. It was a nice fantasy romance read.

If you like Aveyard's Red Queen-style dystopians books,then you will surely love this one: in fact right from the start you will not struggle to find yourself in a post-apocalyptic World in which you will immediately make yours his desolation and suffering. The characters are all so well delineated that you will find them easy to love and hate. I loved Valencia and her good, sensitive and brave soul behind which she hides her fears and frailties.
Riker, on the other hand, has entered my long list of Book - boyfriends: he is hot-headed, impulsive , full of flaws and prejudices that make him extremely human. And that is precisely why it was wonderful to see him on page after page understand that the world and people are not divided into black and white, but can also contain shades of gray in them.
My favorite character, however, was Emery who,despite having experienced some really traumatic events whose consequences she will forever bear, continues to face every challenge head-on without ever ceasing to see the good in people.
From the beginning,the book was able to keep me glued to its pages thanks to its fast pace and the fluent writing of the author. Until the end,Raven was able to bring me into a world with steampunk characteristics in which I was moved several times to see the protagonists face their demons and find their own path to redemption.