Court of Claws (Blood of Fae 2) by Briar Boleyn | A Review

The previous book ended on a massive cliffhanger. This book continued from there so let's start with the brief introduction to the plot. (Spoiler Alert!!!!)

Morgan had a near-death experience in the last book and was saved by a certain obnoxious captain of guard turned assassin turned fae prince. She wakes up in a castle under the earth with Volcanoes erupting all around the castle giving a major Underworld kind of vibes. She throws a fit when she finds out the prince has taken her to his palace and they are sharing a room and the prince has introduced her as his paramour in the court and to his mother. But her fit doesn't have any effect on Draven. Like before he stays calm and cool and just pays no heed to Morgan's fits. Also, there is one other fact from the last book it is now confirmed that Lancelot is dead because Draven with his team went back to look for her but came empty-handed. There was no trace of her body or anything in the caves. Now Morgan is living in the court of Umbral Flames.

This book basically explores the Court of Siabra and how these Fae operate. There is some hate-love relationship going on between Morgan and Draven. because now Draven has returned and he is the heir to the throne by default. But queen mother or queen regent has other plans because there are other candidates for the position. So, the Queen regent enacts a deadly competition to select the future heir or to find out who is worthy to sit on the throne. So there is deadly Court politics. Draven asks Morgan to help him and she does whatever she can in her own way.

Amidst the unfolding events, secrets about Draven's history and the reasons behind his departure from the court come to light. Briar also introduced some cool and amazing characters in the book. In short, This book intricately weaves a tale of political intrigue, unveiling the complexities of the fae realm and the challenges faced by its characters

My Rating

Overall: ★★★★ | 4 Stars

Plot: ★★★★ | 4 Stars

Characters: ★★★★ |4 Stars

Writing: ★★★★ | 4 Stars

Ending: ★★★★ | 4 Stars

Fun: ★★★★ | 4 Stars

Spice Level: 🌶 🌶 🌶 | 3/5 (Hot)

Best Character: Morgan, Draven, Rychel, Hawl, Lyrastra

Worst Character: Avriel, Sephone, Master of Menagerie

My Review

The book started as good. You can find all of the cool arcs in there; enemies to lovers, a fake relationship that leads to the real one, the hero falls first, deadly games, and the heroine feels betrayed all the effing time. I mean I cannot blame her; she grew up in the cutthroat Court of Roses where everybody is out scheming against other people. I guess all courts are the same in this matter.

So, Morgan acts stubbornly repetitively which was kind of boring, there should be little dynamic in her character I feel. And she is angry with Draven now she finds out he is a literal fae prince and powerful at that one. She finds out the backstory of Draven and sympathizes with him one moment and then something else happens and she becomes angry again.

What do I love in this book?

1. The amazing in-depth Characters: In this book, we also get to meet new cool characters. Hawl (my favorite) is a grumpy bear who cooks specially for the prince (awesome right!!!!. Draven's sister-in-law is a hardcore fighter and is also competing in the game of throne (lol!!). Draven's sister is an enigmatic scientist or should I say inventor because she just stays in her rooms experimenting on things and Morgan has forged an amazing bond with her.

2. The dynamic between Draven and Morgan is just hot eff. slow burn from the previous book has turned into a love-hate relationship. where both are falling in love with each other and Morgan refuses to accept it. I mean can they be more cute and annoying at the same time. He fell first tbh. But he showed remarkable strain and self-control. Morgan was mostly angry at him.

3. Exmoor; the battle cat Morgan found in the castle bonds with her and their dynamic is cheeky and beautiful...now I want my own battle cat.....and (spoiler ahead) they can fly!!!!! omg...

4. The book's best part was the games held for the next emperor. Three trials and they were deadly and ruthless totally giving the Hunger Games vibes. It was awesome😂

Annoying things in the book

1. Morgan's stubborn and sometimes stupid attitude. Even in a perilous situation, she does not stop reminding Draven that she has been wronged. Draven manipulated her and used her. And blah blah. I mean one moment she is reasoning and the next moment she starts making accusations. It was annoying as hell tbh.

2. The reveals of secrets. There are so many secrets that I couldn't wrap my head around....it was kind of amazing but it was annoying too.... Every chapter had some kind of reveal and I was connecting the dots throughout the whole book.