A Dawn of Onyx: The Sacred Stones Book 1

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And I can’t mention my favourites without speaking of Mari! Her friendship with Arwen was so fun and precious, I adored her. She may have encouraged (or initiated) those iffy choices, but I loved her nonetheless. I don’t usually accept unsolicited copies but from time to time, a blurb catches my attention and I accept. Arwen Valondale never expected to be the brave one, offering her life to save her brother’s. Now she’s been taken prisoner by the most dangerous kingdom on the continent, and made to use her rare magical abilities to heal the soldiers of the vicious Onyx King. One of my favorite parts of this book is that even though there's a mystery… I never felt like I wasn’t being given enough information! The absolute audacity of some authors to keep us in suspenseful purgatory for too many installments in a series is truly appalling. Kate Golden does an incredible job at dropping tidbits along the way to keep readers interested.

Sometimes writers get so involved in the plot they can't see the wood for the trees. Hang on a sec'--that's a cliche and it's better to remove it. I was provided a copy of the book by the author in exchange for an honest review. All thoughts and opinions are my own. This was a fantastic beginning to what looks to be a very engaging and well written fantasy romance. The world building with this one was beyond excellent and was very well done add in the fact that this is a debut author well I’m excited now to see how this author evolves further. Looking ahead, I have some definite expectations for the sequel. I especially hope the author carefully works to differentiate the cultures and buildup of each court, so that they aren’t all basically the same with just a different gem color scheme *cough pathetic don't do it*This said, I can’t wait to read book two and I hope Arwen as well as Kane will grow even more and have great character arcs. They already started to change and I’m convinced they’ll continue to do so in the sequel. Moreover, there is a lot of potential in this story and I’m so curious what Kate will do with it. Considering the ending everything is possible and I really like this! So many ways and possibilities in which the story and its characters could go and develop! ;-) All told, I had a blast reading “A Dawn of Onyx” and if you like a smug alpha male that is soft for his love interest and a strong heroine that fights him tooth-and-nail before she allows herself to fall for him, this book definitely will be for you. ;-) I really liked the beginning, I could see myself falling in love with the world and I was prepared to give this book at least 4 stars, but the author dropped the ball pretty fast. Arwen and Kane were such a fun pairing with a delicious banter and steamy slowburn that had me curling my toes and crave for more. There were instances I was annoyed by Kane mostly for how cryptic he turned sometimes and thought the attraction between was a bit rushed but it was Arwen's easiness and Kane's naughtiness I found entertaining.

We aren’t thrusted into the world, but we’re immersed gently although steadily into the kingdoms and the main character's mind. It doesn’t feel as if we’re mere expectations, watching outside of the story, but essential elements living in it at the same time. We totally get the atmosphere and the crucial info with a few words. I definitely recommend this for any fantasy romance reader who are looking for an entertaining and immersive fantasy romance with a sprinkle of spice. Kane Ravenwood. Kane motherfreaking Ravenwood. How to describe this hothead manipulative powerful man with a good sense of humor and a killer crooked grin? By the end of the story, we will have an emboldened Arwen, trusting in her abilities. She’s been put to the test and came victorious. I do appreciate a good character growth. From mouse to warrior.Well I liked her at least. She is a healer and that means that she is selfless with an inner strength. Owning a strange healing power that she never could explain, Arwen finds joy and relief in healing others and preparing potions. Arwen is also curious, willing to learn about medicine, plants and history. In any case, when it comes to debuts, I tend to give them another go before I say definitively whether they are good or not. Therefore, I plan on continuing the series for now. I'm curious to see how it progresses both in terms of the storyline and the quality. Hopefully it will improve as it goes. I was fortunate enough to receive an ARC of "A Dawn of Onyx" and was a little disappointed. I am going to explain why this book received two stars and start off by saying that it was extremely hard to get into this book after a certain point.