Destined to become king, but cursed to die before he even gets the crown.
Red and Aly race against the clock to save Red from the same curse that killed his father. However, as their adventure unfolds, they realize the curse was only the beginning.
***Please Note***
In this post, you’ll find reviews for the series as a whole, plus each book individually. I do my best not to give away spoilers, but some details are necessary for subsequent reviews.
Before we dive in to the review on the book, here is a reminder of how I rate what I read (these will be on a scale of 1-10, 1 being low, 10 being high):
- Plot Structure: How well the story was put together.
- Character Development: Level of growth a character achieves and how well the author makes them feel “real.”
- Language: Level of swearing, innuendos, verbal abuse, and other triggers.
- Violence: Level of fight scenes and gore.
- Sexual Content: Level of physical intimacy.
Disclaimer: The more I write, the more I critique books harder on plot structure and how the various elements work together. Thus my reviews reflect this. However, if you see a book appear on the blog, it’s because I enjoyed reading and thought you, as a fellow bookie, would enjoy it as well. As always, reading is subjective and what resonates with me may not resonate with you. And that’s OK! We’re in this to discover new books that are family appropriate and worth taking the time to read.
Book Descriptions:
Blade of Ash
Crown of Dust
A cursed king. A hunted sorceress. A mad plan for survival.
Newly crowned, Red blames one person for his father’s murder: the secret sorceress sworn to protect the king.
Alyana Barron, Royal Sorcerer to the throne of Tandera, has been hiding from a dangerous enemy bent on destroying her magic–and Red’s rash behavior has just told her enemy where to find her.
When Red activates a hidden curse, he must rely on Aly for survival, but Aly’s magic is tied directly to his wellbeing. As the curse drains his life, it weakens her magic as well.
Fighting for survival, their lives entwine in ways neither of them expected. To find a cure, they must put aside their mutual distrust and work together, but the closer they get to a solution, the nearer they step toward death, for the path to the cure is as dangerous as the curse itself.
Packed full of royal intrigue, slow-burn romance, and plenty of ballgowns, Blade of Ash is the first in a new, YA epic fantasy series perfect for fans of Tricia Levenseller, Margaret Rogerson, and Sarah K. L. Wilson. If you like enemies-to-loversromance, female bodyguards, and forced proximity with life-and-death stakes, dive into Blade of Ash today!.
The enemy is dead. The battle has only just begun.
Red and Aly thought they had eliminated the greatest to their lives, but as they return from their trip north, a new enemy rises from within their own ranks, threatening to rip Red and Aly apart.
Lord Benedict Alexander has a distant claim to the throne, and he will do everything in his power to usurp Red’s rule before the official coronation at summer’s end. Convinced Red was corrupted by his trip into the Canyon, Lord Alexander fights to destroy Red’s kingship, and with it, Red’s Binding to Aly.
Now Red must earn the trust of his countrymen, not only to retain his throne and continue his fight against Kassia and the Canyon, but to keep Aly as well, for Aly is bound to serve the crown, no matter who wears it.
Fight for the crown. Fight for love. Or lose them both.
Scepter of Fire
A world in darkness. A love that cannot be.
Shocked by the revelation that followed the official coronation, Aly and Red march toward dangers they never saw coming and away from the things they both want most. Each must face their deepest fears and darkest secrets, finding strength when all hope is lost.
Death follows them. Evil hunts them. As a battle looms and a shadow rises, there remains only one path forward, and it will bring them toward their most difficult decision yet. To succeed is to lose something dear, but to fail is to watch the world fade into an eternal night.
Will the Beacon and Beholder fulfill their destiny—and will it be what they all hoped?
Enjoy the final installment of this swoony, high-stakes epic fantasy series today!
My Reviews:
To start off, the covers on these books are gorgeous. They hit the genre well and have enough hints at the romance and magic you’ll be enjoying throughout the novel. Inside, you will find a nice map to help you stay oriented in the story as well.
Now for the inside.
First things first. This book is a no-spice read, but has plenty of the swooney kind of romance. Plus, the author does a decent job of keeping a mix of action sprinkled into the romance so that things don’t get stale.
Blade of Ash:
Red and Aly start off in the enemies category. Though they must work alongside each other, they do not work together. Aly tries to protect Red from the death curse he received shortly after becoming king, but Red is so full of hurt over his father’s death that he can’t see past the fact that she was his father’s protector and she failed.
This relationship goes from enemies to friends by the end of the book and ties things up fairly well. The characters are likable and have enough the dangers of the Canyon make for a genuine threat to the kingdom.
One way this book could have improved would be to give our main characters greater depth. I felt like they were only surface level personalities and not enough to their motives. We also get little detail on the purpose of “The Beacon and the Beholder,” It is inferred that the people who fill those roles will end up saving everyone, but we get no lore or history as to the significance of that event, leaving me confused about its importance to the story.
Crown of Dust:
This book was a real struggle for me. I became invested in Aly and Red in book one, but in book two, things were getting stale. Red and Aly were so passive in their decision making that they spend most of the book hiding out somewhere just keeping tabs on what’s happening in the city.
They connect up with Lord Weston Grey’s spy network, but even that wasn’t as played out as I think it should have been. We get drips about this spy network and the characters involved there, but this is where the real action lies.
I even felt like Red’s efforts to help his kingdom were not complex enough and again too much waiting around, hoping things will change.
I also disliked Elise’s turn Grey’s spy network in this novel as it felt contrived and not in congruence with her character. Again, more details about the actions and movements of the spy network would have made this a much stronger read.
Scepter of Fire:
Black hits her stride with this story. We start strong with Red losing his crown and his connection to Aly. This jumps us right into the story and creates nice tension about whether they will fail or finally win the day.
With Red off to the edge of the Canyon, a place most people don’t survive, we have impending trouble that Aly can’t just bail him out of. With the increase in danger, Red and Aly cannot be passive characters like they were in book two.
Things to appreciate here are the character growth. Aly, Red, Weston, and many other characters get a boost and really start to develop. Characters become more complex and tangible.
We also get to see more of the side characters and their relationships. Elise gets greater depth in this novel and makes a surprising turn that finally allows her character arc to align with who she truly is.
This book had a lot more action in it as well, with dark creatures escaping the canyon often and attacking anyone they meet. The threats from the canyon grow and the characters rise to meet it.
All in all, my favorite book in this series.
How I rated this series:
- Plot Structure: 7/10; Overall, the plot of this series was good. The romance aspect was the heavyweight for this novel, and could have been better balanced out if there was more action and intrigue. I would have also liked to see greater consequences for the the sorcerers using their magical abilities. Aly ran off of an almost limitless well of power throughout the series and it really meant there was little that could stand in her way and made her power seem weaker in a way.
- Character Development: 7/10; I really wanted to see greater growth from the main characters in this series.
- Language: 1/10; No swearing
- Violence: 4/10; The violence doesn’t get gory, but there are battle scenes that can be quite descriptive. these may not be suited for young readers.
- Sexual Content: 2/10; Most of the intimacy of this novel comes in the form of simple touches such as hand holds and hugs. Others are from a few kissing scenes, but nothing beyond these things.
Conclusion:
This series is worth reading if you enjoy a heavier romance in your fantasy novels. All C.F.E Black’s books are spice-free and have plenty to pull on your heartstrings without entering any spice ranges.
She also has started into writing stand alone romantasy books and I will be reviewing The Starlit Prince in a future post.
You can find out more about the author at https://cfeblack.com.
