A Dawn of Onyx: The Sacred Stones Book 1

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i would say this was an extremely tropey read, but i'm not complaining bc it was exactly right for me atm and i. ATE IT ALL UP. i mean, just look at all these tropes: Thank you so much Kate Golden for an arc of your debut! I can’t wait to continue reading Arwen’s story. This book is out now!

This is sole POV Arwen’s and when we initially join her she’s still in her small town in the kingdom of Amber residing there with her younger sister and mother whilst her brother is currently away having been drafted into the Amber kings army. This book was mostly about Arwen trying to survive the predicament she found herself in and trying to thrive in her new environment, but the next book will clearly be more about her taking her destiny into her own hands, and even being in charge of what happens to a certain extent, and I am very curious to see how her relationship with Kane will progress. There was a lot of flirting and sexual tension between them in this book, but not a lot of smut (I am not complaining), so it built up even more sexual tension and now I am eager for them to do something about it too, but with the way things were left between the two of them at the end of this book, I am not sure love will be in the air at the beginning of the second book (and the angst-lover in me is overjoyed). Moving on…. I wanted to make a point to really speak on the originality here. Yes, it’s true that this is an enemies-to-lovers, and yes it’s a “chosen one” fantasy story, and sure, some of the twists were arguably a little predictable. But Kate knew what her readers were looking for, and she gave it to them. This is not the type of originality I’m talking about. Instead, I wanted to talk about the settings and the mythology/lore of the story. For one, I found the idea of kingdoms named off of, and based upon, gems and stones to be really interesting. I was especially intrigued by the way that the kingdoms seemed to reflect the traits and even physical descriptions of the stones (gems? idk) in question. It was a great take on world building in my opinion. And then the mythology of the world. I found it really interesting that there was a unique blend of human versus fantastical. Unlike some stories where there may be two worlds or a veil of some sort, in this case, the humans learned about fae and creatures and such, but were so far removed from them, that they were taught about almost the way we are mythology. Like it was believed to exist, but there was not really concrete evidence to prove it. Idk, something about it really brought in my attention, and I found myself curious to learn more as the world was built up. This said, I can’t wait to read book two and I hope Arwen as well as Kane will grow even more and have great character arcs. They already started to change and I’m convinced they’ll continue to do so in the sequel. Moreover, there is a lot of potential in this story and I’m so curious what Kate will do with it. Considering the ending everything is possible and I really like this! So many ways and possibilities in which the story and its characters could go and develop! ;-) All told, I had a blast reading “A Dawn of Onyx” and if you like a smug alpha male that is soft for his love interest and a strong heroine that fights him tooth-and-nail before she allows herself to fall for him, this book definitely will be for you. ;-)I loved the world-building in this book! Arwen is fairly sheltered, so as she spends more time in Onyx, we learn about the world Kate Golden has created as Arwen does. We meet a great cast of characters, who all played their own parts in the story. Arwen is initially portrayed as a sheltered and somewhat naive character and I think the reason for this is due to her upbringing in a small village, but her deep love for her family and her determination to find ways to help them, even while in captivity, showcases her strength of character. Throughout the story, she undergoes significant character development as she confronts new challenges and learns more about herself and the world around her. I think the realm we are presented was so interesting, and I hope we get to see more of the other kingdoms in the next installment! Yes the Fae aren't a new concept, but I really liked how they were adapted into this story. I did have a few issues in the first couple of chapters, mostly because I think Ryder is a little bit of an asshole, despite his sister thinking he's incredible and always comparing herself to him. But since we leave him behind for most of the book I could ignore him for the most part. the banter is what initially sold me with this book, bc honestly it is SOO good ngl. and the way i loved the dynamics between Arwen and Kane - i really did. i wouldn't say i loved Arwen in most part of the book - in truth, i found her to be extremely naive and stupid sometimes (no offence, little bird). but, i had to excuse that fact bc she hadn't truly been exposed to the real world all that much. i do think she's gonna become a lot more vengeful and badass in the next book and I SIMPLY CANNOT WAIT for her to take revenge and kill people (or maybe i just want more killing people to happen in general). I love to listen to you explain medicinal practices,” he purred. “And I’d love to listen to you fall off a cliff.”

Do I think everything was perfect? No. I do think that some parts were predictable (but there's nothing wrong with that and I appreciated the fast paced read), and Kane, despite being a great love interest, isn't my favorite, but I'm excited to see how he gets out of the mess he made in this book. I definitely really liked Griffin (the King's General), but I did want a little more from Mari (Arwen's new friend in Onyx).A Dawn of Onyx is another amazing debut fantasy romance that I devoured. Arwen is a human living a kingdom at war with Onyx, a dark and violent kingdom. When her brother escapes battle with stolen Onyx coin, Arwen is caught in the crosshairs and offers herself to the Onyx kingdom in exchange for her family’s lives. When thrown in the dungeon next to a handsome af stranger, she knows he’s the only one who can help her escape.

First and foremost, I want to make clear that I received an ARC in exchange for an honest review. I wanted to have this review sooner, but better late than never, am I right? (and yes, I just added subrattings because why not) I couldn’t avoid obsessing over Arwen. She’s sweet and funny with a golden heart, but fierce and intelligent at the same time. Being inside her mind and seeing things through her pov was enthralling, intense and even poetic at times, while never getting repetitive or dull. We aren’t thrusted into the world, but we’re immersed gently although steadily into the kingdoms and the main character's mind. It doesn’t feel as if we’re mere expectations, watching outside of the story, but essential elements living in it at the same time. We totally get the atmosphere and the crucial info with a few words. I have no military training. I’m not nobility and I’ve only seen two maps of our contingent in my entire life”I absolutely loved this story. With lies, betrayal, political intrigue, magic, and more, it is a brilliant epic romantasy and one I would highly recommend. Special thanks to the author for sending me a copy of the book. I loved it so much, I plan to buy a physical copy for my bookshelf.