“I’m not scared of you.”He meets my gaze. “You should be.”All of England knows his name.Saxon Priest.Savage. Ruthless.A man bent on all-out destruction.His target? The royal family.I’m not looking for a knight in shining armor when I approach him for a job—but I never anticipated how my heart might quicken when faced with London’s most notorious killer.His eyes are cold.His mouth scarred and … notorious killer.
His eyes are cold.
His mouth scarred and sneering when he dismisses me as fragile, weak.
He couldn’t be more wrong.
I have blood on my hands and hate in my heart—just like him.
But with England on the brink of war, Saxon is my last hope. And when he risks everything to save me, I succumb to the ice in his veins and the blistering heat that tethers us together.
He may be the devil in disguise but I’m Isla Quinn, and I killed the king.
Road To Fire is the first book in the Broken Crown series. Intrigue. Grit. Soul-wrenching love. This is not your average royal romance. Enter if you dare.
more
What just happened is what I was constantly saying to myself whilst reading this book!
This review has taken me so long to write because I was processing…. I am blown away by this story.
It was so exciting! I was on the edge of my seat the whole time thinking she can’t possibly throw something else at me….she did…she threw everything, leaving me questioning my life it broke me how do I go on after reading this…
This book has absolutely everything you need in a good romantic suspense and when I say everything it’s here in this book… murder, betrayal, hate, love, sex oh man was there the angsty sex *fans self* so good.
Now it does end in a cliffhanger but ahh it is such good cliffhanger!
You need to read this book!
So,so good.
I didn’t think Maria Luis could write anything more compelling than Lincoln and Avery’s story, but she did.
What I loved:
The writing style
The characters
Saxon
Dual POVs
Knowing what motivates the characters
The twists and turns
Part of a series: Broken Crown Trilogy
Standalone
I can hardly wait for the next book.
I voluntarily read and reviewed an ARC.
Maria wastes no time in this book! It starts with a bang, and DOES. NOT. STOP. I love that Maria flips the script with Isla and Saxon! There are so many twists and turns in this book that you don’t see coming! The world Maria sets up is absolutely incredible, and the characters she’s created are so complex and broken, yet you can’t help but fall in love with them! This book is dark, it’s gritty and it’s EVERYTHING. Saxon and Isla….words just can’t describe the love I have for them! I’m already dying for book 2! Maria’s best work to date!
WOW, I mean, WOW! Can you say intense! Two of the most unlikely couples that were meant to be. They might not have realized it consciously but their subconscious sure did! Between all of the twists and turns, wasn’t sure how a HEA would be achieved but, as usual, Maria was able to pull it off. Can’t wait to see how Maria pulls off Damian and Guy’s stories! (Especially Guy’s, it’s going to take an extra special woman to get into his heart).
Holy wowzers!!! This book… this incredible book….AMAZING!!! I was not ready for this book. It has left me completely speechless. It has to be said that I absolutely love everything Maria Luis writes, and I never could have prepared myself for the unadulterated emotional rollercoaster and the pure visceral feelings this story and its characters brought out in me. Maria crafts such an amazing tale full of murder, lies, mystery and intrigue. And her genius and brilliance shines like no other in this book. Hands down her BEST BOOK YET!! She vividly paints this beautifully eerie, this dark and twisted story, in such painfully exquisite detail that you are not merely just reading a book. You are right there in the story, that the world around you just ceases to exist.
This universe that Maria has stunningly created is unlike anything I’ve ever read before, and it sucked me in from the very start. She sets up a political landscape so treacherous and so fragile. Against the backdrop of an England torn apart never seen before and on the verge of a civil war, a romance between two unlikely souls blossoms. Saxon and Isla are both compelling and memorable that I couldn’t help but love them. Both on opposite sides yet fate somehow brings them together. Both equally complex and layered characters with secrets and lies between them. Their chemistry burns from the moment they meet and reading their inevitable surrender to their feelings for one an other was truly utterly riveting and enthralling.
Maria Luis shocks over and over again with endless twists and turns. Just when I thought I had something figured out, something else completely unexpected took place. And the blindsides were unreal. Undoubtedly this story will suck you into its web of lies and deception. Road To Fire is a true MASTERPIECE…an extraordinary and gut wrenching tale of lies, deception, darkness, and red hot passion. This book deserves all the stars and has landed in my favorite books of 2020. Prepare for one wild, glorious ride. A MUST READ!!!
Holy….Wow!
Maria Luis has been busy! Holy…wow! I’m not exactly sure what I expected but she surpassed it all. Road To Fire is a whirlwind of intrigue, mystery, suspense, and even a crazy little thing called love.
It starts with a secret society and goes out with a bang. The fast paced story is littered with minefields, broken glass, and trip wires. Everything seems like a bomb about to go off, nothing more than Saxon Priest.
Loyalty, honor, and primal need do jot go hand in hand. Saxon learns at a high cost just what he would be willing to do for the crown and what he wouldn’t.
Road To Fire is a physical and very real splitting of a person right down the middle. A visceral wrenching of bones, sinew, and muscle being torn from itself. You will hope to survive, long for death, and fight for what you believe in.
I am both horrified and desperately longing for book 2. I can’t believe Maria Luis left us there! That cliffhanger is going to drive me batty or should I say daft!?!
4.5 STARS
As a long time fan of stories involving spies and subterfuge, this reader was thoroughly captivated by Road to Fire. Being the first book in story revolving around spies and royal families, I was a little worried that I’d be overwhelmed with information. I’m happy to say that was not the case at all. Details were shared in such a way that my interest was always peaked. The building suspense kept me turning pages well past my bedtime, while the words on the page left me mumbling to myself. Anticipation, disbelief, despair, and reassurance. I felt all of this and more while reading along as Isla and Saxon struggled to overcome everything against them. Allegiances played out, building to an ending that left me gasping. I want more of the Priest brothers and the secret society, and cannot wait to read the next book in the series!
*Note: While there is a cliffhanger, it is in relation to an overarching plot, and not relative to the HEA of this particular couple.
Wow! What an incredible world Maria Luis introduced me to! Road to Fire is about Saxon and his brothers and their fight to protect the queen. Then Isla comes along with her secret. She barrels into Saxon’s life and I love her feisty attitude and the way these two interact. As much as Saxon is a brute you can’t help but love him. There are so many twists and turns and just when you think you know where it is leading this book takes you somewhere else. It kept me turning pages to find out what happens. Also the ending is major and I cannot wait for book 2!
This. Book. You need to read, it’s like your mandatory stop in the best books of 2020 road! Be aware, I couldn’t stop reading until I reached the end, and that means I couldn’t sleep.
This is the first book in the Broken Crown Trilogy. It’s starts and ends with a bang, it’s fast paced, action packed, filled with suspense, romance, intrigue, family and betrayal! There’s never a dull moment.
Saxon and Isla has their own demons to overcome. Saxon only knew one way to live, for generations his family has a duty to protected the crown, he and his two brothers Guy and Damien, never had an out. From the age of 8, he lost his soul at the hands of the King and become cold, callous, cruel… savage. Isla had a good life with her parents and two siblings. Until five years ago her parents were killed during a riot against the Crown. Since then, she sought revenge for, her parents for her country.
They were opposites in a war. He was the devil in disguise. She was a fallen angel with broken wings. Both broken. They were willing to burn together. She made his heart starting beaten again and he made her live!
I loved them so much, both strong, their banter and chemistry was off charts! Steamy and sexiness all over. Their road wasn’t easy, it’s was dark, dangerous and reckless, and I adore them for how they fought for their lives, for each other and for their love. They were willing to risk it all. The twists were thrown one after the other, and I wasn’t expecting some developments and utterly shocked at other moments. So good.
I’m SO looking forward books 2 and 3, if I had them now I would devour! Based on the ending of this book (OMG!!!!!), Damien and Guy’s stories will definitely steal my breathe and I. Can’t. Wait. This was not a royal story I expected, but it was so much more and amazing! Everything I didn’t know I needed. Saxon and Isla rule the world and we are only living in it.
.
“I would rather burn in the pits of hell for all eternity than see you die.”
I had to take a few days after reading this to actually write down my review. It was intense; but in a good way. This took me on a wild ride of emotions and I fell in love with not only Saxon, but Isla too. They’re both strong in their own ways and with perfect for each other. This is a whole new world. It’s a slow burn with how everything is explained and it works. I could see and feel everything going on. I am hooked and now super anxious for the next story in this trilogy.
How in the world do I move on from this book. From Saxon and Isla, characters that have embedded this deep into my heart? Well, I’m not sure that I can, but my hope, my saving grace for my poor heart, is that we hopefully get glimpses of them again in books two and three, Saxon’s brothers stories.
So, prepare yourself my friends, Saxon Priest and Isla Quinn’s story is going to gut you, it will rock you to your core, it will torture you, and I assure you, you will love every.single.word of it!
Road to Fire is book one in the Broken Crown Trilogy and while it is not a standalone and does end on a storyline cliffhanger, our couple Saxon and Isla get a HEA in this book.
I love Saxon Priest, I really, really do. He’s gruff, and gritty and harsh and hides behind that exterior. He is so complex, there are layers upon tragic layers to this man. For those and many more reasons he doesn’t do relationships or attachments.
Then you have the gorgeous Isla Quinn. She is sweet, yet feisty and fearless. Like a real booty kickin chick y’all! She hides many secrets and lies behind her eyes and quick witted sarcasm. There are so many reasons they should never fit together. Saxon is dominant and alpha and she’s strong and independent. Those things alone would make them a challenge for each other. She has no problems standing up to him. She’s got grit and a spine of steel. But like two magnets drawn to one another, it was inevitable they would come together. I for one could not wait! This would be an epic throw down when temptation won out, of that I was sure!
“You couldn’t handle a man like me and I would never fuck a girl like you.”
These two are dynamic. They are off the charts hot.
Everything about these two managed to take my emotions on a trip through the tumble dryer and I came out a bit of a mess. They made me laugh, cry, swoon, scream in frustration, fan myself cause they are oh so HAWT!! Then I cheered, I cried again, fist bumped the air and then gave a big ol’ southern “hell yeah” ‘ holler and was breathless again by the end!
Maria Luis crafted such an amazing tale full of murder, lies, darkness and intrigue. But y’all, her brilliance shines more than ever in this book. I would definitely say it’s her BEST BOOK YET!! She vividly painted this beautifully eerie, and twisted story, with rainy and smoggy settings, sounds , smells, sights, in such exquisite details that if I closed my eyes I could almost visualize this playing out like a movie in my head. I’m telling you my friends.YOU MUST READ THIS!!
Maria Luis will shock you over and over again. This story will suck you into its web of lies and deception. When secrets are revealed and choices must be made, will Saxon and Isla overcome all the obstacles mounting against them, can their love conquer all?
*I voluntarily reviewed an advanced complimentary copy of this book!
Cr8zysockbookblock blog wrap up for this book!
– MY HEART!! This book O-M-G!! Action, secrets , suspense, angst, hot sex, so much heart, banter, blood and sweat, tears, fight scenes, forgiveness, revenge, and frustration, lies on top of lies! The 180 * change in the H, twists and turns around every corner. These characters are LIFE!!
-Holy Hell Y’all!!Saxon and Isla are pure fire and ice perfection! Melted panties and kindles all across the world because of this book. (Maria’s not even sorry either y’all)
Cliffhanger Warning-Holy Cliffhanger Batman! There is a storyline cliffy, but our beautiful couple get a perfect Happy!
Trigger Warning-This book is a Dark romance feel and does have violent scenes that could be considered triggers for some. If you have concerns you can PM for more information.
Hot, Suspenseful Romance at it’s best!
This book is one of my favorite suspense novels of the year. Hot! Hot! suspenseful romance and it’s best. Road to Fire was one action packed book, that had my heart racing.
Saxton Priest is a dark, stubborn, secretive and bound by tradition to serve the Queen and country. Ilsa Quinn is just as stubborn and will do anything to protect Her family at all cost. Together they can make the world burn with fire!
I loved Maria Luis’ description of London, it made me want to travel and see it for myself. Maria hit the mark on this one! Sexy? Check. Suspenseful? Check. Filled with action? Check, check, check. Grab your copy and don’t miss out on this sizzling hot book!
I am a proud Maria Luis addict and Road To Fire only furthers my addiction.
Ilsa and Saxon burn off the page in enemies-to-lovers sexual tension perfection only Maria is able to weave with a slow burn.
The intrigue and the theories I have are already brewing and just off this book I know this is going to be one of the top series for me for 2020.
You need this book in your life. All the down stars and crowns for it!!