Among the Beasts & Briars by Ashley Poston

Among the Beasts & Briars

by Ashley Poston

Ashley Poston, acclaimed author of Heart of Iron, returns with a dark, lush fairy tale–inspired fantasy for fans of Sara Raasch and Susan Dennard.

Cerys is safe in the Kingdom of Aloriya. Here there are no droughts, disease, or famine, and peace is everlasting. It has been this way for hundreds of years, since the first king made a bargain with the Lady who ruled the forest that borders the kingdom. But as Aloriya prospered, the woods grew dark, cursed, and forbidden.

Cerys knows this all too well: When she was young, she barely escaped as the woods killed her friends and her mother. Now Cerys carries a small bit of the curse—the magic—in her blood, a reminder of the day she lost everything.

As a new queen is crowned, however, things long hidden in the woods descend on the kingdom itself. Cerys is forced on the run, her only companions a small and irritating fox from the royal garden and the magic in her veins. It’s up to her to find the legendary Lady of the Wilds and beg for a way to save her home.

But the road is darker and more dangerous than she knows, and as secrets from the past are uncovered amid the teeth and roots of the forest, it’s going to take everything she has just to survive.

Reviewed by alindstadtcorbeax on

5 of 5 stars

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Star Rating: —> 4.5 Stars rounded up?

[ BUDDY READ with my OTP BR bestie, DARCE! ]

Okay friends, TO THE REVIEW WE GOOOO!

OKAY; WTF WAS THAT ENDING?!? HOW COULD POSTON DO THIS TO US?! PLEASE tell me we'll get MOREEEEEEEE! Literally there is SO MUCH WORLD to explore! So many characters to elaborate on! So many opportunities for stories!

Anyway, regardless of all that... I loved this lush, vivid, whimsical, yet dark, fairytale SOVERYMUCH.

My goodness... SO much here to love! I loved the slow burn romance, & the creepy ancients & horrifying bone-eaters, & the dark whimsy...
and MAN did I love F O X!

This was 100% a SFF fairytale-quest type of story. I always just so happen to say that when you open up a book, and are greeted with a map, the story has already begun, it is basically a guarantee that you're about to read something incredible & unforgettable.

I was right
again.

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Reading updates

  • Started reading
  • 28 October, 2020: Finished reading
  • 28 October, 2020: Reviewed