Author: C.F.E. Black
Scepter and Crown, #1
Blade of Ash is actually the first spice-free fantasy romance I have picked up in a while. I wasn’t sure what I was getting into but certainly wanted to try this. Wow, it surpassed my expectations and was an amazing change of pace.
Read if you like:
✨Forced Proximity
✨Royal Intrigue
✨Forbidden Love
✨Bodyguard romance
✨Dual POV
My favorite aspect of this is that the FMC Aly is actually the bodyguard to the king. *fist pump*
So Prince Frederick or I would say King Frederick has inherited the throne through unfortunate circumstances. The day has come to get his own bodyguard sorcerer bonded to him. But the thing is, he never met the sorcerer before due to the fact it was a closely guarded secret from the previous king. King Frederick, AKA Red, didn’t know that the sorcerer was actually a woman.
Aly is a sorceress, even though unsure of herself at times, has great magical abilities. She is dealing with the guilt of not being able to save the previous king. But she presses forward to protect the new king.
There are a lot of different elements that make this book really good.
First:
The concept of truth and lies. If you lie, you quench the magic in you, if you tell the truth then your magic grows stronger.
The fact that bodyguard is a woman who is tasked to protect the king. The relationship between Red and Aly is unique at best. They didn’t click at first due to the circumstances of how Red ascended to the throne in the first place. They had to learn to trust one another and, over time, that trust became more.
The line “WHERE IS SHE!?” yeah, I am a sucker for those.
The magic system that is developed and the character obviously hasn’t “discovered” her powers. But she is actually gifted and is learning to gain confidence in her abilities that she is good at what she does.
The magical creatures and the conflict that they encounter against the main characters grab your attention quickly. You can really feel the danger and the conflict in this story.
All in all, I really think this book is worth the time to read.
