Title: KINGDOM OF EXILES
Series: The Beast Charmer #1
Author: Maxym M. Martineau
Genre: Fantasy Romance
Format: ebook/mass market paperback, 400 pages
Published: June 25th, 2019 by Sourcebooks Casablanca
Source: publisher / netgalley
Fantastic Beasts meets Assassin's Creed in this epic, gripping fantasy romance from debut author Maxym M. Martineau.
Exiled beast charmer Leena Edenfrell is in deep trouble. Empty pockets forced her to sell her beloved magical beasts on the black market—an offense punishable by death—and now there's a price on her head. With the realm's most talented murderer-for-hire nipping at her heels, Leena makes him an offer he can't refuse: powerful mythical creatures in exchange for her life.
If only it were that simple. Unbeknownst to Leena, the undying ones are bound by magic to complete their contracts, and Noc cannot risk his brotherhood of assassins...not even to save the woman he can no longer live without.
Lexi's Thoughts:
Pokemon + a fantasy romance = KINGDOM OF EXILES, and it’s fantastic. Martineau gives us what we’ve been missing for years, a debut Urban Fantasy with a strong magic system, great world building, and a fantastic romance.
Dear readers, we know you remember the great UF series of ten-or-so years ago, and like us you’ve wondered where they all went. Well, here, this book is where it’s at with Leena, the exiled beast charmer with a bounty on her head and Noc, the guild master hired to take her out.
Noc, the cold-hearted leader of the assassins, has his own issues and sees a last, desperate chance with Leena. All he has to get her to do is give him a beast, not just any beast, but a Gyss, a powerful being able to grant wishes.
Leena knows how dangerous a Gyss can be, and there’s no way she’s going to give Noc one. But she is stuck working with him, in exchange for her life she must give him and his men four beasts. And so their adventure begins.
Their small group travels through some amazing country as they slowly accumulate the beasts. And when they’re nearly done, Leena’s past catches up to her and they’re all pulled into a steaming, messy, political pile.
KINGDOM OF EXILES is fun, filled with fantastical creatures, and has a great romance. Oh how I’ve missed reading this type of paranormal romance and I’m so glad Sourcebooks Casablanca found Martineau and brought her book to the world!
Dear readers, we know you remember the great UF series of ten-or-so years ago, and like us you’ve wondered where they all went. Well, here, this book is where it’s at with Leena, the exiled beast charmer with a bounty on her head and Noc, the guild master hired to take her out.
Noc, the cold-hearted leader of the assassins, has his own issues and sees a last, desperate chance with Leena. All he has to get her to do is give him a beast, not just any beast, but a Gyss, a powerful being able to grant wishes.
Leena knows how dangerous a Gyss can be, and there’s no way she’s going to give Noc one. But she is stuck working with him, in exchange for her life she must give him and his men four beasts. And so their adventure begins.
Their small group travels through some amazing country as they slowly accumulate the beasts. And when they’re nearly done, Leena’s past catches up to her and they’re all pulled into a steaming, messy, political pile.
KINGDOM OF EXILES is fun, filled with fantastical creatures, and has a great romance. Oh how I’ve missed reading this type of paranormal romance and I’m so glad Sourcebooks Casablanca found Martineau and brought her book to the world!
Rating: 4 out of 5 Wine Glass
Crystal's Thoughts:
Author Maxym M. Martineau delivers THE must-read fantasy romance of the summer with her darkly seductive and uniquely magical tale, Kingdom of Exiles.Leena Edenfrell is a beast charmer, a person with the ability to enthrall legendary creatures with extraordinary abilities. These creatures dwell in a magical realm and are cataloged in a small, charm-like book until called upon by their charmers. After being betrayed by the man she loved and cast out of the charmer community, Leena must do anything that she can to survive. Even if that means selling her precious beasts for coin. But there is one beast that she can capture that might be able to clear her name and allow her to return home. Just when she's on it's trail though, Leena is set upon by assassins and makes a bargain she may very well come to regret for her freedom. Find beast's for the assassins master's top men and himself. However, she must also find out who put a price on her head. Because an assassins oath can only be broken by death, his or hers...
The one and only problem with reading an ARC of a series book is that you have a longer wait then most between releases. This is the case with Kingdom of Exiles, I am so ready for the next book in the series and this one hasn't even been released yet! With alternating point-of-views readers are introduced to Leena; a tough-talking, independent, and determined young woman with a wall around her heart. Leena trusted the wrong man once before, is she willing to chance repeating that mistake again? I simply adored Leena's spirit and her fight to carry on - no matter what. She come's across at the beginning as a bit corrupt, but as we delve more into her past, and the quest she is on, we learn that she has many layers to her character. And then Noc. Noc is the head of the assassins guild and a complete enigma, even at the end of the book there was still so much to figure out about him. What secrets is he hiding? How can he get out of the oath that he made to end Leena's life? The anticipation for answers is killing me! But Noc and Leena are only two characters in this vibrant world that Martineau has created, and even the side-characters jump out of the pages at you with their larger-then-life personalities and intriguing tones. Each character is wonderfully fleshed out and captivating.
A readers imagination can take flight with the delightful world of magic and creatures that the author has spun to life with each new page. While your mind will spin, unraveling the many secrets and betrayals woven into the plot. But don't worry, there is also redemption... for some... With a complex story-line filled with action and balanced beautifuly with romance, you won't want to put Kingdom of Exiles down. Leena and Noc's chemistry was potent, and my heart twists with the trials these two have navigated...and those yet to come. I am very much looking forward to the next book in The Beast Charmer series, it can't come soon enough, so that I can delve more into this fantastical world and it's alluring characters.
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