CW/TW: Self-harm and torture

Kingdom of Exiles is the first book in a brand new fantasy romance series. The cool-as-heck, magical beast premise delivers and though there is definitely a romance, I will warn it’s a slow, slow burn.

Leena Edenfrell is an exiled beast charmer, but she hopes to return home after taming a Myad. A Myad is a big ol’ winged cat that requires the blood of a murderer to be tamed. It also assesses your heart and must deem you worthy before it’ll allow itself to be tamed. If she’s able to tame this beast, Leena believes the Charmer Council will have to hear her out and appeal her exile.

Unfortunately, there’s a bounty on her head. I hate it when that happens.

The Cruor, a guild of undead assassins, have been contracted to kill Leena. When Leena bests one of their assassins, she seeks to make a deal. Remove the bounty and she’ll gift them four beasts of their choosing. Noc, the guild leader, agrees to this, but still has plans to doublecross her because not fulfilling the bounty means his death. Noc and his band of merry men accompany Leena on her beast-taming quest, mostly to keep an eye on her.

And we all know how road trips often give way to pants feelings.

In promotional materials, Kingdom of Exiles has been compared to Assassin’s Creed, Fantastic Beasts, and Pokemon. In terms of comparison, I’d say Pokemon is the most accurate. Charmers tame beasts and keep them in a locket that houses a magical plane. They form lasting and loving bonds with their beasts and can use them in a fight. They also have a magical bestiary that updates when they encounter new beast, like a Pokedex.

As a Poke-kid growing up, I ate this up with the biggest spoon. A ladle, if you will.

I liked Leena a whole bunch. She just feels so earnest in wanting to return home and in loving her tamed beasts. She’s had to make sacrifices–emotionally, physically, morally–to stay alive, and doing so really eats at her. There’s a complexity to her characterization I found admirable and I don’t think there was a single thing I didn’t like.

She’s also sexually confident, if you love those types of heroines, which I do. With a life like hers, Leena doesn’t have the opportunity to form lasting relationships nor does she want to. That doesn’t mean she can’t find a bit of comfort in the arms of a partner and she does, though she prefers to keep things casual.

Noc was an interesting character, though I didn’t like him as much as Leena. He was cursed before becoming an undead assassin. If he becomes attached to anyone and begins to show any sort of fond emotion toward them, they begin to die. Their eyes become bruised. Their lips start to crack. They develop a bloody cough. It pains him to keep those he loves at arm’s length because if he doesn’t, they will die a slow, painful death.

The reason why he agrees to Leena’s deal of giving him a beast is that he hopes to find a beast able to reverse his curse. He has a mysterious past that is somewhat revealed, though book two in this series will have a bigger focus on that story. However, I didn’t find his background and baggage as compelling as Leena’s. Maybe more will be explained in the next book, but he had elements of “sad, little rich boy.”

Aside from that, he is definitely a bisexual dreamboat who wears nicely fitted trousers.

Leena likens him to a cat, which I think is an apt description for how Noc treats the people around him and how he’s often conflicted with remaining stony and cold in the face of warm, genuine moments:

His sharp stare contrasted with the lazy dance of his fingers across the rim of his glass, and it ushered my pulse into erratic territory. He was almost catlike in the way he approached our conversations. Aloof and distant, but when the right thing struck his interest, he was suddenly warm, if not a bit mischievous.

Calling him a beast would be too high a compliment, but he was close.

The glaring differences between Leena and Noc are their experiences with family. Noc has created this amazing support system with the Cruor. He sees his fellow assassins as brothers and sisters, and his actions in regards to his curse and how he rules as the Cruor’s leader are motivated by protecting those he cares for.

Leena is the opposite. Her family died trying to tame a dangerous beast. The only man she truly loved betrayed her and she was exiled from her home. Her life as an exiled charmer is one of isolation, as she avoids forming any sort of attachments. As she spends more time with Noc and the other assassins, Leena is conflicted about enjoying their company, knowing that their time together is temporary. After she fulfills her end of the bargain, she’ll leave and continue her quest to expose her former lover and be allowed to return home.

Seeing Leena gradually welcomed into a found family was the highlight of the book. Her relationships with Noc and his crew all happen at different paces. Some find it easier to trust her than others and I loved seeing those dynamics change and grow.

Leena travels with Noc and three of his assassins. Oz is a hulking man, but adorable shy. Calem is the charmer of the group, always finding a reason to flirt. He also carries this interesting bloodlust when fighting that feels at odds with his day-to-day personality. I think he was my favorite; I so want him to get his own book. (Something happens at the end and I’m getting a faint whiff of a romance that I hope comes true.) Kost is smart and serious with impeccable fashion sense. It’s a lively central cast, with even more interesting side background characters.

My one complaint with the characters is that I wish there were more women helping move the action along as well. Though I never read Leena as a heroine who is “not like other girls,” I would have loved to see a woman amidst the assassins Noc brought with him. Maybe I’m just greedy for more badass women on the page.

Of course, we have to talk about the beasts. There is a helpful bestiary in the back of the book, with some illustrations. It’s awesome and if the publisher ever wanted to create a companion bestiary book, I would buy it in a heartbeat.

The beasts range in class, from E-Class (the lowest) to A-Class (the highest). There are fearsome giant cats who assess your worth and little rabbits who can detect lies. I enjoyed learning about them so much!

My favorite was a Groober named Poof. What’s a Groober, you ask? He’s a round ball of fluffy with stubby legs. He also loves to cuddle. When you snuggle with him, he’ll emit a scent mixture of lavender and valerian to help you sleep. I love my cat, but I’d consider trading him for a Groober.

As I said initially, this book is…slow. Though it’s a fantasy romance, this installment leans more toward the former than the latter for most of the action. It takes time to explain the world in an organic manner and I’m usually more forgiving with first books in a science fiction or fantasy series. However, much to my disappointment, this series looks to follow Leena and Noc’s relationship. My reading preferences skew more to one couple per book in an established setting. I tend to lack the attention span to follow the same couple across multiple books, but that’s a personal preference.

There’s no cliffhanger, but it’s obvious there are lingering issues that need to be addressed. Kingdom of Exiles is more focused on Leena’s plot thread, while the second book will address Noc’s past. I have a feeling that the secondary characters will have their own romances going on in the background, but they’re all such dynamic people that I would rather them get dedicated books.Once again, totally personal preference.

Though I feel I’m being nitpicky with regards to my reading tastes, this was a promising start to an incredibly interesting fantasy world. A lot can be done with the bones we’re given and I’m eager to see how Martineau develops everything. If you’re a patient reader and get excited at having a coterie of magical animals, you’ll have a ton of fun with Kingdom of Exiles.