A kingdom in turmoil or the love of her life. Which one will she save?Elemental mage Rielle hasn’t heard from her best friend in far too long. Yet no one at the Tower of Magic seems to care about Olivia’s silence, or the curtain of secrecy surrounding the distant capital. Before Rielle can investigate, she’s assigned a strange new mission: escort a knight named Jon across the kingdom.When … across the kingdom.
When whispers reveal mercenaries have killed the king, taken the capital, and that no one is coming to help, Rielle can’t leave Olivia in peril. But as infamous mages and deadly assassins hunt Jon, she can’t leave him unprotected either–especially as she finds herself falling for his strength, his passion, and his uncompromising goodness. Her past returns to haunt her, a werewolf stalks their steps, and an ancient evil is gathering, yet the restraints forbidding their love strain and snap one by one.
Saving Olivia and the kingdom means defying orders and sacrificing her every ambition, and could mean losing the man who’s become so much more to her than a mission. Which will she choose: her best friend and the kingdom, or the love of her life?
If you like the fantasy romance of A Court of Thorns and Roses*, the dark intrigue of the Black Jewels series, the epic adventure of* Game of Thrones*, and a heroine who never gives up, you’ll love this heart-wrenching romantic epic fantasy series.*
Buy Blade & Rose and dive into a medieval world sensual and dark, full of magic and greed, love and blades, where factions vie for influence and there are no easy choices…
(Note: This is an adult fantasy novel, and as such, there are adult situations depicted, including adult language, violence, romance, alcohol and/or drug use, etc. This is the first book in a projected six-book series, so although this book’s story is complete, it is not a standalone novel.)
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It’s been nearly ten years since I sat up in bed, long after my bedtime, to finish a book.
Reading Blade & Rose made me feel like a teenager again. As I sank into the story, the years rolled back and I was a high schooler again, utterly absorbed in a thick, romantic, and endlessly beautiful story in another world. Honfleur’s Emmauria is as vivid and memorable as any other fictional fantasy world of sword and sorcery I’ve ever encountered, and most importantly, she knows when to lay down the details and when to get on with the story. Not every fantasy author is so judicious.
I’m utterly awestruck by how well she has created characters. Rielle, Brennan, Jon, and Olivia (the POV characters) were distinct and so much fun to read. Rielle is an extraordinarily complex heroine, as capable as she is vulnerable. Her present is as interesting as her past, and I was rooting for her very early on. Jon is just…so attractive. His voice, his history, his character. I LOVE this man. Brennan, on the other hand, I love to hate. But isn’t that what makes it fun? I didn’t skim his parts; I sneered at the pages and hissed at him. I cared, even if I cared mostly that he’d jump off a bridge.
The plot was full of twists and turns, and I had no idea what was going to happen at the end of it all. Honfleur had me going along until–no lie–the last page. Dang, she’s good.
I’d ordered book two, By Dark Deeds (Blade and Rose, #2), before I was even done with book one.
Blade & Rose is the start to what is truly an epic fantasy series. There is a lot to unpack in this first book, but it certainly sets the stage for what can be expected throughout the series. Miranda Honfleur manages all the characters, histories, magics, politics, etc. with relative ease. Early on it took a little getting used to terminology but by the end of the book, I’d say any of the confusion had been quickly forgotten, and now I’m just ready to get on to the next book!
The description of this story was already intriguing; a world full of magic, knights, damsels in distress and the ones putting them there. Then, I saw it was narrated by Amanda Leigh Cobb and that sold me. I loved her narration of the Court of Thorns and Roses series and this book was just as good. It was wonderfully long and an enjoyable story. This was a surprisingly good book. The only reason I gave it four stars instead of five, was that the characters were too rational for all the peril and drama that they faced. They all had an amazing control of their emotions and verbalized them quite well. I can buy into the magic system. It had rules and mostly made sense. That amazing control made Jon the most wonderful book boyfriend in the world. Just not quite believable. No one is that amazing. All in all, a definite must read. (Or listen.). I can’t wait to find out what happens to everyone in the next book.
What can I say about the Blade & Rose? Most books a reader reads they can pretty much figure out the outcome or they can see the twists & turns before they happen. But not with Blade & Rose because everything was unpredictable. At times it felt like torture. Can torture be good? Because this was sweet torture, I enjoyed the journey. I was frustrated at times. I wanted to shake some sense into these characters. I wanted to scream, but ultimately, I wanted Jon and Rielle to overcome all the odds.
Blade & Rose is an epic romantic fantasy. It’s the kind of story in which the author doesn’t mind allowing her readers to suffer so that she can bring forth a great story with depth and passion, a story that will stay with you for minutes, hours, days, weeks, months and years. It’s a story that you would love to see become a movie, a story in which you wish you were one of the characters. Miranda Honfleur puts all of her heart and soul into this story.
The narration of the book is sublime, and the book is already magnificent. But the narration made me escape further and deeper into the fantasy world that Miranda Honfleur created. I didn’t want to leave. It was as if the narrator was peeling back the layers to reveal to us readers the treasure that the story was. It is a treasure worth having, a treasure worth being tortured for.
I really liked this epic fantasy romance. With a strong independent heroine and complex heroes, it was an action-packed page-turner. If you like romance in your epic adventures, you’ll love this one.
This was an epic epic! Really! 🙂 The scope of this novel was very reminiscent of Tamora Pierce. The world building and magical rules were well thought out. I’m a little annoyed at how complicated Rielle’s life is though. As a writer, I understand that you have to have enough content to get you through a series, but why are you picking on my girl Miranda? So props for making me care about your main character! I am looking forward to the next mess Rielle is going to try and get herself out of!
I went back and forth on if I enjoyed this book or not. Yes it’s a long story and it continues in more books. That makes for quite the world building and detail. With magic involved you can get hurt to the point of near death, then heal from it almost without consequence. Written from the three main characters POV.
This is the first Miranda Honfleur book I have read & I am so happy I did. This story is full of fantasy, magic, adventure, romance, betrayal, politics, sacrifice, & enduring love.
The characters are complex & imperfect but ever striving forward, full of strong resolve, will, & love. They feel real & relatable. You experience their pain, their love, their struggle, & their joy. They all go through trials and are forever changed by them.
There are twists & turns & mysteries through out. This book never gets boring. It is a lengthy enough book but there is a cliffhanger ending. You have to read all the books in the series to get complete satisfaction but I feel it is worth it. Especially now that the whole series is out & you can binge read to your heart’s content!
Miranda Honfleur
One of my favorite fantasy reads of all time. Miranda Honfleur is truly an artist!
This is my first book by this author and I was completely enthralled. I really enjoyed this book and look forward to more books by the author. Completely kept me hooked from beginning to end
This is such a great story with great characters. Rielle is an interesting main characters and her story is full of twists and turns. Mix in magic, mages and her fiend Oliva and you are in for an adventure and I can’t wait to see what’s next.
I love this entire series it’s wonderful! Great characters and plot! Definitely a favorite!
This was a book that I kept seeing but never picked up until now. I’m so glad I gave it a chance. The world that Rielle lives in is masterfully crafted and unique. The tale has multi-layered plots with many twists. I loved the character growth and development through out the story. They were continually changing and growing with each new discovery they made along their journey. I could easily relate to them. Rielle and Jon’s tale is one that will stay with me. I’m eager to see how the rest of their story will play out.
Honfleur knocks it out of the park with Blade & Rose. Her characters have fantastic chemistry, the world building and magic is built with familiar concepts but delivered in a fresh presentation. If you are a lover of fantasy with a strong romantic side plot, definitely put this book on your list.
I received a copy of this audio book from the author and this is my voluntary review. I enjoyed this book and I look forward to listening to the next book in the series.
What a spectacular book! I was taken on an adventure and still feel the residue of adrenaline! Spectacular treat for all the senses. The way Rielle had to deal with horrific circumstances of her childhood and the immense power she inherited was humbling. I loved the fact that she was not perfect by any means but she ended up perfect to me. Talk about being pursued by not one fiance a werewolf at that, an elemental beautiful mage and mentor but to stumble into a love of her life in a simple yet mysterious paladin was a making of an epic love story and this is exactly what I got.
Beautifully written, amazing world building and so incredibly detailed you could smell the burning flesh as she goes into furor at the mention of someone she loves could be hurt.
Love Miranda’s beautiful writing. This is one of those books that you want to read slower because you don’t want it to end…but you’re also racing to find out what happens! Completely immersive and, thankfully, this is just the first book in a long series. Off to book two now…
After reading some of the MANY Amazon reviews, you don’t need another book report. I do suggest you start with the prequel, so you’ll know the story when Rielle recognizes Jon as the paladin she healed years ago at Signy, as told in Winter Wren (Blade and Rose).
This is an exceptionally well-written book. I read it as part of Blade and Rose Books 1 to 3 Boxed Set, so I’m ready to continue after the cliff-hanger ending of Book 1. It’s nice to have Book 2 ready to read.
Rielle, Jon and Brennan’s journey to Monas Amar and on to the besieged capital, is fraught with danger: emotional upheavals, romantic yearnings, sexual tension, and repeated threats from known and unknown enemies. Facing one crisis after another, they somehow survive. There are some pretty intense romantic and sexual episodes. Rielle and Brennan have worrisome secrets they try to keep. Throughout the book, there is a lot of archaic and uncommon vocabulary used, so keep a dictionary nearby (I kept a tab open in Chrome for word searches).
I just finished the third book, no spoilers here, all I can say is you will love it. It starts out with a strong heroine mage, a paladin and intrigue. I love Miranda’s style of writing and her story telling. If you have read a few of the reviews then you know where the story is going. I pick this book up for the magic and fantasy but soon found romance thrown in. Now, I’m not a big romance fan so heads up, it has a large part in her series. I love how she has developed the character interaction and her world building, I can’t stop reading. I have to find out what’s gonna happen next.
Loved, loved, loved this book and can not wait for the next in the series!! Wow, what can I say? I was gifted an audiobook of this story and am voluntarily leaving my honest review because it is SO good! The narrator, Amanda Cobb, was the perfect choice! Ms. Honfleur’s story is so diverse and well developed, it reminds me of the character complexity and world building of authors like Jordan, Sanderson, Tolkien and McCaffrey. It is long, but so are the best stories out there. I can’t recommend this enough to anyone. Get it in any format and you’ll love it. Get it in audio and sit back for one of the best story telling’s I can remember.