I read a preview (only a few chapters) and I found Leena to be a strong character that I want to meet and read about some more! I like how the author wrote this book and made the paranormal seem “real”. It isn’t Over the top, but a great descriptive journey into a world we do not know. I usually have to be in the mood for this type of book, but found the characters to be so believable, that I wasn’t bothered at all. I felt like I was taken into their world.
“I never imagined a life where I’d sell the very things that made my existence bearable. And yet here I was, doing exactly that. All because I’d trusted Wynn. Years of devotion and love, and for what? To become a scapegoat? My exile was his fault, and yet I had been the one to lose everything” I can’t wait to see what she does with Noc! ( )

Rating: ★★★★★ (5/5 Stars)
Title: Kingdom Of Exiles
Author(s): Maxym Martineau
Character(s):
― Leena Edenfrell: Brunette, Hazel Eyed
― Noc: Black, Brown/Black Eyed
Setting: ―
Tag(s): Romance, Fantasy, Paranormal
Content Rating: R
POV: Alternates between Heroine/Hero
Smexy Level: Hot
Favorite Quote(s):
― “You’re a puzzle piece that doesn’t fit, and I love a good puzzle.”
― “I wanted it to be me. But you can’t jam the wrong piece into the picture if it’s not meant to be there.”
― “It’s safer to love someone who’ll never have the opportunity to break your heart.”
Overall Opinion:
Hands down a phenomenal read from beginning to end! There just any enough words to express how immensely I've enjoyed this. The freshing concept that was filled with action-packed supernatural and paranormal elements almost left me to my knees with the author great writing style and should we also mention the characters? Needless to say that it became more than difficult to choose who was my favorite. Was it Noc, Calem, Kost, Leena or the other characters that left a good impression on me? I'm pretty sure there wasn't a character I didn't like and that includes Wynn and Winnow. Moreso each character, rather big or small, brought something to the story and that ultimately lead to the spectacular cliffhanger, if you want to call it that. This was definitely a series where Assassin’s Creed meets Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them, and it's worth the long read. During the course of this read, I seriously couldn't put this down and before I knew it I have made it to the epilogue but fortunately enough there is still much more to the story and I can't wait for the release of the of remainder parts of “The Beast Charmer Series”. Let's just say 2020 couldn't come fast enough!

( )

Thanks to Sourcebooks Casablanca and Goodreads for providing me an advance copy.

The blurb for Kingdom of Exiles was appealing, and I wasn’t disappointed. If you are looking for an action-packed story with an original concept, a strong female lead character, incredible beasties, an imaginatively and well-developed world, interesting and likable characters (even if you don’t want to like them), this book is for you. The writing is smart, and although it is a long book, the pacing was quick (for the most part).

Both the cover, the description, and the writing had the feel of a well-executed YA book, but this is definitely an adult fantasy romance. I think it would appeal to YA readers but there are a few racy bits that give pause.

The characters are well developed, but I particularly enjoyed the author’s development of the Cruor. One would expect them to be hard and soulless, but the author has taken an interesting approach with their characters. As they were all once regular people (before being raised from death to be Cruor) they retain their original personalities.

Noc has secrets from his past life, one of them tied to a curse he has been given. It causes him to go from hot to cold where his draw to Leena is concerned and definitely adds to the tension. Who he was before he was raised was hinted at and will hopefully be revealed in the sequel.

One of the underlying themes of the book is trust. Noc makes a deal with Leena, but he has ulterior motives – but can she trust him? Leena has her own motive for taking the deal but doesn’t know of the Cruor oath. Leena’s trust was broken once already when she was exiled, so trust does not come easily.

The beasts in this book are fantastic, imaginative and amazing, and come in all shapes and forms. (I would love to know the process that Martineau used in creating them.) There are different classes of beasts (which sounds a bit like Pokemon, to be honest). I look forward to discovering more beasts in future books in this series!

This book has plenty of action, and it all involves the use of beasts. (This surprised me as Charmers are protective of their creatures.)

The ending had a bit of a cliffhanger, with plenty of questions left to be resolved. I’m looking forward to seeing more beasts, more questions answered and more of all the players in the sequel.

Two niggling bits: This book is being described as Fantastic Beasts meets Assassin’s Creed, which, admittedly, is marketing genius, but not necessarily a fair comparison. There ARE beasts aplenty, it’s true (and they are fantastical) and yes, there are assassins, but for me, that’s where the resemblance ends. My other issue was the sex scenes, which ARE steamy (yay) but also graphic. In fairness, I genuinely thought this was YA until I reached the first sex scene, so it clearly caught me off guard. Neither of these would be enough to deter me from this book, though (and if it’s not your thing, you’re forewarned and you can skim).

This was a highly entertaining tale and an excellent start to a trilogy. ( )

I can't believe these words are about to come out of my mouth but I think the romance overshadowed the fantasy aspect of this story. I feel so dirty just saying that. I love romance. But I wanted more world-building (again, who am I) and more details about Leena and her backstory. I'm guessing that's coming in a later book. The writing is good and what world-building we got was fantastic, I just ended the book feeling like something was missing and I wanted more. But that's what book 2 is for and I will definitely be continuing this series.


*I received a copy of the book for free from NetGalley and the publisher in exchange for a review. Many many thanks. ( )

What sets this apart from most fantasy stories is the beast magic. It's unique as well as intriguing. Add in the mystery behind Nox former life and the plethora of action and you have a very difficult to set down read. I ordered the sequel as soon as I was finished. ( )