The Forgotten and The Feared

The Dragon Queen #1

by E.C. Garrett, Reina Diaz (Illustrator)

The only way to survive is to win.
The only way to win is to slay a dragon.

In a realm where power determines life or death, two young women are thrust into a deadly tournament where the only path to survival is to slay a dragon. Forced to participate in the brutal Gauntlet, Amalia and Dyana enter the dangerous world of the Fae. But humans aren't the only ones being forced to fight...

Dragons, once revered as Gods, are on the brink of extinction. Enslaved by the Fae and forced to fight, they've given up hope of ever seeing the skies again. As the two women train for the battle of their lives, Amalia Roth grows closer to stony yet magnetic Gauntlet head trainer Os, while her adopted younger sister Dyana finds herself falling for enigmatic Mirielle, a Gauntlet candidate from the coastal Eastlands.

Driven by fear for herself and her sister, Amalia will have to decide whether to stay in the shadows or to accept her birthright... if she can survive the dragons. The first in an explosive new series brimming with magic, danger, romance, sapphic characters, and a morally gray antiheroine, The Forgotten and The Feared is perfect for fans of Sarah J. Maas, George RR. Martin, R.F. Kuang, John Gwynne, Samantha Shannon, and Carissa Broadbent.

Author's Note: This is an Adult Dark Epic Fantasy novel set in a Grimdark-style fantasy world. Grimdark is a subgenre of speculative fiction with a tone, style, or setting that is particularly dark and violent. The Forgotten and The Feared features very mature situations, graphic gore/violence, and more. This book has multiple TW/CWs and is recommended for those 18 and over. Please check the book's trigger warning page in the table of contents for more information.

Genres: Fantasy, Dragons, Romantasy, Fantasy Romance, Fae, Romance, Dark Romance

600 pages, Kindle Edition

Published December 12, 2023

About the author

EC Garrett is an Alaskan transplant now living in Kansas City, MO. She writes fantasy/sci-fi and romantic speculative fiction.

She has her B.A. in English Literature from the University of Nevada, Reno with a focus on Early Modern and Medieval Literature, and a minor in Medieval History with a focus on the Later Roman Empire.

In her spare time, she’s either reading or watching the latest fantasy releases, riding horses at the barn, spending time with her family, or playing with her very cute but extremely onrey dachshund mix, Frankie.

She dreams of becoming a dragon rider.

Reviews

[Sarah Ashenden · Rating 2 out of 5]

I wanted to love this book and was excited by the reviews. But it was such a disappointment. I kept waiting for it to get good and had to force myself to finish it.
-i like a fast moving book but the pacing was off and relationships with the MMC and FMC seemed to just happen out of nowhere
-not enough back story given to characters for me to care about them and too much info given at the very end after I just wanted the book to be over
-SO MANY editing errors (the same chapter showed up twice). Sentences starting with lower case letters, misspelled words, and other issues that made the book tough to read.
-other readers said there was 🌶️🌶️🌶️ and there is very very little. Totally fine but if you’re looking for a spicy fantasy romance, this is not it.

[Emmy Rosam · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.25 ⭐️ I’m actually really upset over the last 2 chapters/epilogue and I don’t know if I can continue because I feel physically sick thinking about Os

[Shelly · Rating 5 out of 5]

*Thank you to ME for being smart enough to kickstart this book (and ECG for writing it of course)... because Bytches love dragons.*

It's here! Now available 12/12/23

Reviewed 10/28/23
No spoilers:

I devoured all 600 pages in less than two days. This ambitious, impressive, highly addictive debut novel as a book one in a dark high-fantasy trilogy had me giggling with glee. There was one chapter that had real tears streaming down my face - I get why it had to happen but ugh, rip my heart out. Definitely no stupid, wilting flower FMCs here but solid use of some of my favorite fantasy tropes.

For a book 1, I was shocked how fast paced it was... at one point I thought, damn girl, you're going to run out of plot! But the layers just kept peeling back.

If you don't like books that require a trigger warning list, a map, a pronunciation key, a glossary, and two epilogues... first, um why not? And second, well, don't read this then. If that's your jam, well pick this up IMMEDIATELY.... then check on me because I am not ok waiting for book 2...

[Jaycee Bignold · Rating 2 out of 5]

Did anyone even proofread this book?? I actually don't understand how there are so many formatting and grammatical errors in it.

[Diellza Kaba · Rating 2 out of 5]

I wish I could continue this but I can’t withstand the lagging pace 🥲 perhaps I’ll revisit but until then I’ll give 2 stars for what I read so far

[Dara Miller · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved this story SO SO much. I was invested in the characters, waited on edge for each update. I cannot WAIT to see this published and realized in physical form. The moment it is, I’m ordering a physical copy because this series is going to be the next IT thing 🙌

[Leanna Streeter · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved this book so much. I was completely hooked from the start and couldn’t wait to keep reading. This story grabbed me and didn’t let go, and I honestly can’t recommend it highly enough.

The worldbuilding is rich and layered with dragons, fae, elves, direwolves, humans, and so much magic, it’s everything I love in a dark romantasy. The deadly trials were brutal but fascinating, and the pacing kept me on the edge of my seat the entire time. Every chapter seemed to peel back another layer, and just when I thought I had a handle on things, another twist would shock me all over again.

What stood out most to me were the characters. The bonds between them felt so real and powerful, from the heartbreaking portrayals of grief and trauma to the moments of loyalty, romance, and hope that made my heart soar. The relationships are messy, complicated, and achingly human (even when dragons are involved), and I adored them all.

This book has everything: tension, betrayal, romance, deadly magic, and so many gasp-out-loud moments. It’s the kind of story that lingers with you long after the last page. I cannot wait to dive into book two. This series has completely stolen my heart!!!!

[Nash Reads · Rating 5 out of 5]

You dont mess with dragons okay! This book hit me in my feels so much. I appreciate how the author tackles grief and loss. I also loved deadly tournament because they were dark and gruesome. The characters were amazing, and I genuinely loved the bond between Amalia and Dyana. The romance was a little lusty at the beginning but I enjoyed the fact that we still had to wait for the good stuff. The romance was good between all the characters honestly. I love how we get a lesbian side character and dragon 😝 This book had me screaming and about to through my damn kindle. I thought the magic and world building were done well. I think the jumps from past to present really helped give context to Amalia and Dyana. The plot was crazy, dark, and honestly kind of disturbing. It was so bingeable and I just couldnt stop thinking about it. This book has me flabbergasted because some of the stuff that happened 😳😨 The audiobook was performance was pretty good. I think the narrator did a good job of giving each character their own voice and personality. I cant wait to read book 2.

[Buktoktong · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book was AMAZING! Highly recommend. Immediately hooked me in after the first 50 pages. The characters were strong the world is strong the magic is strong. THE STORY IS STONG. Loved it.

The only reason I didn’t rate it 5 stars was because of small sections that felt emotionally repetitive. It’s only lasted a few pages though and was very sparse.

[meg · Rating 2 out of 5]

uh. wow. okay. this one was a doozy. 2.4 stars.

I wanted to love this. I was hoping and wishing it would be like fourth wing, a book I devoured multiple times, but it wasn’t. We get maybe 5 dragon fights.

First off, I want to say that I loved the plot. It was interesting, albeit kind of a rip off of other books. But it was engaging. I mean, a death contest where you literally have to kill a dragon to win? Hell yeah. But it wasn’t executed well.

I purchased this book from its Kickstarter campaign. While I enjoyed the last 30-40% of the book, I wish I had sprang for the ebook only. I also want to add that maybe romantasy just isn’t my genre, and that’s maybe why I didn’t care much for some of the more relevant plot points.

There were a lot of things that took me out of the story. I genuinely felt like I was reading an ARC and not a finished product. The editing would have benefited tremendously from another two or three go throughs. It desperately needed someone with a fine tooth comb to pick it apart. Little things like punctuation would have been understandable, but there were words misspelled, font size changes, going from italics to normal when it shouldn’t have, four separate POVS, etc etc.

The first 40% of this book was so slow. I had to force myself to keep going. While it set up the characters’ lives nicely and gave us a sense of the relationship between Amalia and Dyana, it was long winded. The middle 15-20% was mundane but clearly needed for the story, and the last bit felt so rushed and crammed in that it was a little hard to track what happened.

I’m going to be honest, the word choices made in this book made me want to stab my eyes out. Instead of saying ‘man’ or ‘guy’ or ‘dude’ or literally anything else, any male character was referred to as ‘the male’. It was so stupid. Also, the description calling their boobs “generous” pissed me off. I do not care who has big titties. I do not care who is curvy.

The main character Amalia seemed quite similar to other characters, namely Violet. Long grey hair, short, feisty, has daggers on her, etc. Amalia is pretty insufferable with the way she acts. She hates men, makes it clear that no “puny male” will humiliate her or whatever, hates people, will stab a bitch if they look at her wrong, hate men, only like animals and a select group of people, and oh yeah she hates men. But then she immediately doesn’t.

Os also seemed quite similar (namely to Xaden) with his tall, dark, and handsome, run of the mill hot man description. Not to mention he had very similar tattoos. (And is actually named Remus which is laughable)

I was very confused on some of the relationships happening, since many didn’t make a whole lot of sense. First off, in what context does the term “familiars” mean in this book. Why was Nyall friends with Mirielle? How did that even happen? Why did I have to wait until 80% of the way through to figure out Os was a fucking dragon? Why did Amalia act to jealous with Iryena and Os when she didn’t want him? Why was there a little bit of a weird love triangle with Os and Nyall and Amalia?

The sex parts…I’m just shocked. How is it that you met this guy TWO DAYS AGO and you’re “dripping” wet when he gets near you? Why did he have to do the tongue thing. Why did it have to be so weird. Why the fuck did he want her riding him covered in his blood???! Why did Dyana and Mirielle not fuck until the DAY before the last round. Why was Dyana so hot on Mirielle after so little time, irregardless of the fact that they’ll be fighting to the death.

Why is everyone a big fucking liar. More so, why did Mirielle ‘Queen liar I’ get so offended when Amalia lied? She could’ve avoided all the betrayal and whatnot by simply going “hey guys, I know we just met but I trust you and I need you to know something before we move forward.”

I’m not going to lie, the Taran scene made me cry. Some of the scenes were gory and made me cringe. So clearly the writing was good if it brought literal tears to my eyes, but I want to emphasize that this was not edited enough. More editing, some cleanup, and characters that are three dimensional and this book would have been at least 3+ stars.

[moi_myself_and_books · Rating 5 out of 5]

I received an arc from the author and I am so happy !
This story was wild , what a ride !
This story don’t let you breath one minute, between sisterhood , love , fights , politics , found family , surviving , dragons , magic , fae , and spice 😏 this book is one of my best discovery of this year ! This is a new author but I bet she will be in the game soon with the best authors !

The fights scenes were so well written that I could have pictured them in my mind , it was bloody but so good sometimes books promise fight scenes but it’s like one page and done but not in this book the descriptions are so well written .

The cliffhanger at the end was terrible in the right way, I am looking forward for book 2 !

[Luce · Rating 4 out of 5]

There’s a lot to unpack with this one.

Definitely check the trigger warnings before reading.

This is a really jam packed book filled with action, high stakes and DRAGONS 😍 but it is also a very dark fantasy.

I loved the diversity of the characters and really enjoyed EC’s writing style.

There were so many points throughout where I wanted to cover my eyes to shield from what was transpiring. I love a darker book but this aired on the extreme side for me in terms of violence, so just keep that in mind when reading. But overall I thought this was a great first book of the series.

[Alexis Bridgewater · Rating 5 out of 5]

This dark romantasy dragon queen ripped my heart out in the best way.

This debut novel by E.C. Garrett is a shining example of gritty dark romantasy which believably accounts for the impact of the deeply traumatic events of the story on well-written characters. Without being heavy-handed or acting as an armchair psychologist, Garrett depicts characters with deep flaws, coping mechanisms, and viscous internal (and sometimes external) monologues that only someone who has experienced intense mental health struggles can distill into writing.

Though some of the early exposition and ground rules surrounding magic felt rushed or underdeveloped at times, the salient moments of beautiful prose, punchy dialogue from impassioned characters, and gripping plot twists make this a page-turning read. Re: romance, there is something here for both the straight- and queer-romance seekers, though the queer romance is somewhat relegated to the sidekick rather than the female main character. Still, Garrett gives care and attention to developing each romantic subplot equally, and the queer-romance is enough to make even the straightest reader's heart soar. Garrett will also forever hold a place in my heart as one of the few fantasy book authors to masterfully get horse-girl culture developed on the page!

Readers seeking outstanding character development, intense dark romance, and ample dragon lore will find a new favorite in the first book of what promises to be a whirlwind debut series of adventures.

[Katie Murphy · Rating 5 out of 5]

✨Arc Review✨

4.5⭐️

Firstly this is a message for the author and the author alone… so when will I have book two in my hands???👀

I was sold on this book because of the dragons if I’m honest 🐉 But none the less this book had me sucked in from the first chapter.. I mean I couldn’t put it down (other than when I actually had to adult but yeah that’s the joys of being a 24 year old woman with a stressing job😂)

I was surprisingly shocked how fast paced this book was especially since it is first in a trilogy! This book is the definition of a rollercoaster and will definitely keep you intrigued till the very last page, I mean there’s trials/training/tension/spicy/betrayal you name it. I mean what more could you want???

I also adore how the author portrays mental health and grief in this book, these are serious topics that are experienced by many in life.

As a game of thrones/house of dragon girlie this book definitely hit the spot and I’m so excited to see the path the author will take with this story in the next book. This is a spoiler free review so all I need to say is you need to sink your teeth into this book ASAP.

Thank you so much to the author for providing this e-arc for my honest thoughts✨

[Angelique · Rating 5 out of 5]

"I think maybe this is what hope feels like. It's fleeting and brief, but for a single moment, it's there."

I first need to apologize for sleeping on this book. And Secondly I need to ask why I don't see it hyped up more?

It's a work of absolute art.

We meet Amalia Roth, friend to animals and humans the ones lost and found. She has been living in a small town up north taking care of the horses and spending time with her bonded sister, Dyana.
Trying to stay in the shadows, they somehow find themselves chosen to partake in the Gauntlet, a brutal fight to the death that happens every 25 years.

Upon reaching Castael Laryn, where the High Council, made up of powerful, evil fae who cares about nothing but themselves and getting as powerful as possible, they realize the truth is even scarier than the rumors of what is happening at the hands of these power hungry martyrs.

Dragons are being kept, tortured and used in experiments and are only useful if they can be scared or forcefully controlled.

But underneath it all there's something very wrong, and as the days and fights leading up to the final battle in the Gauntlet gets bloodier, more terrifying and eve more heartbreaking, something needs to be done.

With alliances and finally a kernel of hope, she gets ready to fight,
for what is right,
for the dragons,
for friendship,
for love and
for everything she lost.

But will it be enough?

Filled with Magick, Action, Easy to understand world building and everything that makes a fantasy book ✨SPECTACULAR✨, I cannot wait to fully submerge myself in the next one.

[Jaja]

Bon je met aucune note, aucune vrai review parce ce que je le dnf au bout de 10 chapitres. Les fautes d’orthographe je suis désolée ce n’est pas possible. Utiliser du présent et du passé pour le récit en passant de l’un à l’autre d’une phrase à une autre c’est non. Ça me gêne je suis interrompue dans ma lecture je vois que ça. Y’a des fautes de frappes, des passages bizarres. Et là une des protagonistes qui fait genre de détester les hommes a le cœur qui bat au premier mec musclé qui débarque. Je voulais trop lire ça à cause des dragons mais je refuse de me forcer. Ça dégage

[Handelikesunday · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5⭐️ Pacing was a bit off, the last chapter felt a little rushed. I needed a bit more information about the characters, their backstories and their motivations. But overall it was fun. Promising story. I’m excited to see more of EC Garrett’s work.
Ps. Very dark themes, especially about animal cruelty. Do read the trigger warnings.

[Nainika Gupta · Rating 4 out of 5]

The plot was solid other stuff needed work.

[Bondedtobooks · Rating 4 out of 5]

I gave this 4 ⭐️ and really enjoyed it but after reading 1.5 and knowing Os backstory, I dislike him now..

Spoilers for 1.5-



He's in love/ was in love with the prince and does not inform his mate.. that is cheating to me, emotional cheating is still not ok..

[amandathebookworm 📚🪱 · Rating 5 out of 5]

Going with 4.5 stars & rounding up because this had me on the EDGE of my goddamn seat & I loved how the story unfolded BUT it isn’t without its flaws. I loved reading this but just know it’s actually a rather BRUTAL read. So check those trigger warnings. Plot, pros, cons, & spoilers below 👇🏼


PLOT
Humans & dragons lived together peacefully until the Fae brutally defeated them in a war hundreds of years ago. They killed all the dragons except some, who they bred, enslaved, & tortured for sport. & their punishment for the humans was a deadly trial every quarter century went dozens of humans are selected to participate. This year, best friends with a shit ton of history & baggage get selected, but they’re not going down without a fight. This book has 👇🏼
- Triggers galore plz check them
- elves, fae, humans, dragons, direwolves… idk I could keep listing but I feel like you get the point that there’s a shit ton
- queer + het romances
- deadly trials
- imperialism, fascism, horrible evil in charge, multiple religions, rebellion
- SPICE SPICE BABY — omg there’s not a lot of it but we get fed
- multiple FMCs & they’re each v unique


PROS
- This is my favorite series of book to read, where breadcrumbs are slowly & deliberately dropped. Where you go in & you just don’t know anything & aren’t spoonfed context or info dumps. Where you are putting the puzzle together as you go & you don’t know who or what to trust. You know you don’t have all the information & it’s deliciously unraveled.
- The female MCs in this are great. Distinctly different & all easy to root for, almost *because* of their flaws vs. in spite of them.
- Dyana is admittedly my favorite. She’s just got this feistiness coupled with how lovable she is that makes for my favorite type of character of FMC.
- Amalia & Mirielle are fucking BADASSES.
- I really like the politics of this world. The fae, elves, magicka, dragons, humans, etc. & what they all have represented in the civilization throughout history.
- I also quite dig the gods. Who believes what & who is right?
- The spice spiced. It was QUITE memorable & I shall be hoping for more of THAT PLEASE.
- Hell of a cliffhanger & EXTREMELY excited for book 2.
- While brutality is a huge trigger for a lot of people, I appreciated the brutality showcasing just how horrible the bad guys were. It really got you in our FMCs’ headspaces & you understood their motives so clearly. I really really want all the bad guys to expire painfully & without mercy. But please for the love of anything read the triggers for this.


MIDS
- I predicted most of the big twists (this isn’t a con because I do that with most books) but there are 2 in the end that have me super excited for book 2. So this wasn’t something that consistently proved me wrong in my guesses (which I love to be wrong) but it still got me a couple times. So neither a pro nor a con. Just kind of a note for those like me who be predicting shit.


CONS
- The depth of the relationships in this developed almost alarmingly fast. 1 makes more sense given the context of the relationship but the other was SO quick it almost felt like a stereotype. I understand why the author felt the need to do that with how the story was unfolding, but it felt a tad unbelievable just HOW much feeling there was so fast for 1 of the relationships. I wish it had been a slower burn there.
- There was something that a lead DIDN’T do that would have helped out everyone, by prevented some bad shit happening, & seemingly caused no real harm & I do not understand why it wasn’t done. I feel like that was never really explained but I kept being like “k so NOT doing this will bite us in the end & for what???” None of our characters were really stubborn just ‘cause so honestly this didn’t make a lot of sense. More details in spoilers.


⚠️ SPOILERS ⚠️
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No really
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- I spent the whole book nervous R was gonna die & then was mad the bond didn’t get completed because I knew this would happen so I’m just like you lil dummies.
- Truly don’t understand why A & R didn’t bond. No reasons made sense other than A just… not wanting to at first? Because sure, you don’t know him yet. But with how their relationship developed & what they did for each other & how they felt… like… why? Based on how R & A’s mom explained it there was 0 negative? BUT… part of me wonders if they did bond already somehow because shouldn’t they only be able to heal in their species except to their bonded? Idk this particular thing is a lil unclear/murky to me.
- Hell yeah Dyana don’t let anyone talk down to you.
- Super interested with Ireyna’s POV at the end.
- I kinda don’t want a romance between A & N with what happened to R but I fear I sense one coming. But I would love a proper love triangle. BUT I’M NERVY.
- Pumped for dragon politics in book 2 & a baby dragon!!!!

[N. O'Ciardhubhain · Rating 2 out of 5]

From the extreme hype on IG and Booktok I preordered this book and got quite 'hyped' myself.

Feels written in a YA tone with adult content
The descriptions are quite basic and excessively covered which makes you want the story to move a bit smoother and give us some reason to even like or understand the protagonist.
It's no secret that I'm not a fan of overwritten females that obnoxious female trope that they are too strong and overly desired and faultless and assholes most of the time.
I was a bit disappointed to find that these flavours described Amalia. As well as the physical traits that we are all familiar with from other popular fantasy books- grey hair, small statures, the usual Violet Sorrengail mimics...

The different spelling if magic as 'magyk' reminds me if several indie books I read in the early 2000s when different spellings were a fad, I'm not a big fan of that and taking regular names and changing the spelling to be 'more fantasy" like victor becomes Vyktor, Diana becomes Dyana. There were also
Amelia gets beat up a lot, im not sure its realistic as a weak small female gets punched several times by soldier elves and doesn't seem phased.
Would the elves let them take a horse?
There is no growth between the love interests, it has a flavour that I can only recognise as cheap or vulgar with over described sexual tension that just comes across as ridiculous in the given situations.
The constant POV shift felt like lazy writing, there didn't seem to be much worth to it and made the characters appear washed out as we had over descriptions of each from the other.

Horse muzzle, not snout, horse coat, not fur btw...if you want to describe horses and riding, please be competent in doing so. As with anything else.

'You've been teaching me to throw a punch for 18 years and I still can't do that right.' Was one of the many lines I cringed at like seriously? Is the teacher or the student incapable of following or giving simple tips?

Tired of constant telling of how the elves are, maybe show us beyond them being a bit rude?
I found the 'conversations' or 'communication' with the horse stinted and cringe, horses don't think like humans I'm pretty darn sure.
Another phrase as an example of the poor proofreading, like what foes that even mean?
'Tuck my head into the nook of Ama's shoulder ' what?

Nothing feels fresh or new, a lot of cliché sayings, sentences and familiar conversation uses.
'I say jump, you say how high'

I felt the characters were rough and half baked and the world was foggy and all over the place. The conversations and interactions were quite jumbled with emotions often going from one extreme to another.

Typos and editing mistakes were another unfortunate mark against this book. I have NO IDEA how this book got so many high reviews but I'm seriously suspicious and disappointed at the same time.

[Randinicole_reads · Rating 5 out of 5]

you MUST read this on audio.

the special extra content will completely enhance the story for you & get you excited for the next book! & the narrators performance is so damn good.

fantasy
grim dark fantasy
romantasy
enemies to lovers
sapphic characters


it’s not super spicy but the spice that is there is very good & i can see the potential for more moving forward!

[Nora Sz · Rating 3 out of 5]

I really wanted to like this book, I pre-ordered it and was excited about the publishing date.
The premise of the story is great and there is queer representation, dragons, magic (magyk.. why??), lot of animals to care for and it seems that is everything one might wish for.
Unfortunately, I found that there were a lot of cases where it was really difficult to tell who is speaking. The chapters are from different perspectives, and in each chapter the person who's POV we're reading should be talking in first-person singular. That is often not followed and the POV jumps from character to character.
When Os' real name is revealed, Amalia is asked to only call him Remus privately, as no one else should know this name. She calls him almost immediately in the next chapter Remus out loud, also Achan calls him Remus in one of the latter chapters?
While I'm on Amalia's and Os' relationship... I just don't care for them as much as I want to! The enemies to lovers trope starts off nicely then it is just rushed. They have a few scenes together, practising magyk (again whyyy) but it does not feel like they know each other. Sure there are spicy scenes, but I am just not invested. I care more about Dyana's and Amalia's relationship, or even Dyana's and Mirielle's relationship (even though it feels the writer just abandoned that one around the midway point in the book) because there was more time to develop them.
There are plenty of word repetitions, even grammatical mistakes (hair-brained?!). I paid for the e-book and there are chapters repeating themselves, so I have to skip forward all the pages.
Some of the reactions of the characters are so out of context. One line Amalia asks something calmly, in the next line she SCREAMS. Or the scene where Mirielle and Amalia is invited to the dinner with Achan; general vibe of the scene is tense and all characters are on the edge, tired, afraid, angry etc. and then in one line Mirielle is holding back a laugh.
Also, what is the point of the chapter when Kydis is brought to the lab to be tortured and questioned about the group's plans? It is out of character how quickly she gives in and it doesn't change the fact they bring her in under the compulsion at the last trial.
There are some alienating effects, like the time referred to as oh eight hundred hour or Amalia not knowing what showers are etc... and I did not want to think of Bertolt Brecht in the middle of this book.

All in all I'd say I think the book has a potential but I won't be pre-ordering the second one. I'll wait for the reviews.

Ps. Why does the horse speak... I was feeling super emotional and invested in the scene and then Taran started speaking. It was so cringe-worthy I had to take a break.

[Kirsten · Rating 4 out of 5]

"Any man that can shift his tongue while going south has my vote."
Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐
Spice: 🌶️🌶️.5
Series: Dragon Queen queen #1
Series Type: Series
Genre: Fantasy
Sub Genre: Dark Fantasy, Epic Fantasy, Romantic Fantasy


💥Synopsis
Amalia has spent her whole life trying to appear merely human to the Fae. But when the imperial fay, accompanied by their dragons, arrive to conduct the reaping for the deadly trials in the capital, Amalia and her sister are caught off guard. Shoved into these games, they uncover the dark fae secrets woven into this world. Now, together with others, they must figure out how to save their world from both the Fae and the menacing creatures within it

Tropes:
- Bad ass FMC
- Check trigger warnings
- Foreshadowing
- Found family
- Hidden identity
- Past trauma
- Rivals to lovers
- Strong willed FMC
- Tension
- Trials

Other:
- Fantasy Species: Demi fae, Dragon, Fae, Humans
- Kindle Unlimited
- Plot/Character Driven: Both
- Pacing: Medium
- POV: Multiple POVS
- Narration type: 1st person
- Magic Type: Alchemical magic, Blood Magic, Glyph Magic (symbols), Healing Magic, Magitech, Random

Comparison titles: Hunger games x When the moon hatched x Game of thrones


👨‍👧Characters
Amalia, our badass female protagonist, stole the show. Her wit, protectiveness, and strength made her stand out. Plus, the fact that she’s a bit older? Refreshing! Her dynamic with Dy was a highlight, and I appreciated the multiple perspectives—especially Day’s—shedding light on everyone’s motivations.

🌎World building & Magic for fantasy
The worldbuilding had a Game of Thrones meets Hunger Games vibe—grungy, dark, and vicious. Not a copycat, but it felt authentic. The magic system, especially empath magic, was complex and promising. Can’t wait to see it evolve!

♥️What I loved
he diverse cast of characters kept me hooked. The world’s brutality, though stomach-churning, set the perfect scene. Easter eggs? Yes, please! The guessing game was just right. And Oz? His shape-shifting abilities were scorching hot. Spice made rare appearances, but when they did, it I was SWEATING!
This book’s focus on friendship and trials, with romance as a subplot, was a refreshing change of pace.

💔What I didn’t like
Sometimes information was repeated a tad that and that was a little bit of a gripe at times, but I can look past i! I KNOWW they added to the plot but I wasn’t the biggest fan of the POV of the dragons. I loved the dragons and them talking to Amalia but the actual POV kind of felt a bit off at times.

📝Over all thoughts
Kudos to EC Garrett! She skillfully took inspiration and made it her own—a challenging feat. As for the cliffhangers? Agonizing, but at least we won’t have to wait too long for the next installment! 

[Cheyanne Vinson · Rating 5 out of 5]

All I can say is WOW. I am stunned by this book. It truly is everything I want from a book and more. It has adventure, romance, action, mystery, and badass characters. It checked every box all in one book and its just the beginning of the series! I had no idea what to expect from this book but it is a piece of art and one of the best books I have ever read in my life. I will read this again and again, and never stop suggesting others to read this book! I am forever a supporter of EC Garrett books!

This book will make you fall in love with reading and just take you to a new magical place. Its just ridiculous how great this book was. It just kept you guessing and at the edge of your seat the entire time keeping you interested and just waiting for it all to explode, and when it did… MAGIC! The equal amounts of mystery, love, and despair just leave you reeling in the best way! This book takes you to another world and you won’t want to leave! I cannot wait for the second book to come out!

READ THIS BOOK!

If you are a fan of LOTR, Hunger Games, Game of Thrones, ACOTAR this is the book for you!

Dragons use to fill the sky, casting large shadows upon the ground. But that was 500 years ago. Now they are but slaves to the evil Fae who plague our world killing everything they deem more powerful than themselves. Every 25 years the Fae host the Gauntlet, where two humans from every city must compete in a gruesome battle in a gladiatorial stadium where only one will make it out alive. Amalia and Dynana are thrust into this wicked game but who will make it out alive? What secrets do these sisters have? Do they have what it takes to survive?

[Kristi Torres · Rating 5 out of 5]

I received an ARC of ✨The Forgotten & The Feared✨.
This book releases on 12/12/23.

I ABSOLUTELY LOVED IT!

This book had my attention from the start and I couldn’t put it down. The world building was not overwhelming or super complex which was nice. The story line flowed well and stayed at a really good pace throughout the book. The characters….Oh my goodness the characters each had great back stories. They make you FEEL all of the emotions!! I laughed….I cried….I got mad….

This book has everything!
-multiple POVs
-antihero
-DRAGONS!!, evil Fae, evil Elves, demis, and humans
-magyk (magic)
-slow burn romance - 🌶️🌶️

**Check your triggers**
This book was GRAPHIC! I could visualize the violence - think of Game of Thrones and any fight that involved The Mountain. It was awesome!

I am sad to be finished reading it but I can’t wait for book 2! You will want to read this book!!! Don’t forget to get a copy - preorder now or wait until the release date 12/12. Do not miss out on this amazing story!

I am so happy to have received an ARC. THANK YOU SO MUCH EC Garrett!!

[Cynthia Williams · Rating 5 out of 5]

⭐️4.5⭐️
🌶️2.5🌶️

This was such a good read. I feel like the first 100 or so pages are kind of slow but it definitely picks up from there. There’s world building, magic, dragons, secrets, and betrayal. There’s a lot of mental health and LGTQ+ in this book which I loved. Amalia has so many secrets and I still don’t think we know everything at the end of the book. Regardless I loved all of the characters, even Taran the horse. This book had me sobbing in public. And the ending destroyed me. I need book 2 because I really need to know what’s going to happen next.
Please check the trigger warnings

"We are not forgotten, we are feared." Vesimyr booms.

I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.

[ajpc · Rating 2 out of 5]

2.5 stars

This story has a lot of potential, but it did not seem like a book that was ready to be published. There were *so* many editing errors that this felt like it had to be a rough draft.

There were a lot of inconsistencies and other things with the writing that felt cringy and that I didn’t enjoy, but that may be personal preference on writing style.

Will I continue this series? TBD, but probably not

[Tori Jorgensen · Rating 5 out of 5]

5⭐️/1.5🌶️ I simply was not prepared to read a book this good. OMFG. So many plot twists. I’m completely emotional devastated and need book 2 asap.

[Hayley · Rating 2 out of 5]

Book: ⭐️⭐️
Audio performance: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Sadly this book was a miss for me. While I thought the book lived up to the grimdark setting and feminine rage, overall I thought the book was underdeveloped in the world building, plot structure, and especially in the characters that left me frustrated. (Also apologies in advance for any misspellings. I listened on audio therefore have no idea how most names/terms are spelt 😅).

World Building
The fae have conquered the land disrupted the balance by putting imperial fae at the top of the hierarchy by killing the archanians and subjugating dragons. And we’re set up for lots of different types of magical beings with the mention of dire wolves, elves, shifters, other magikana and then humans. And while this is the first of a series, the world building largely stops there. We do get more lore with the dragons & archanians vs the fae and elves but we don’t really learn anything about how the world works now - how the oppressive hierarchy affects daily lives more globally or the threat of the gauntlet. This book is hyperfocused on individual stories so we don’t get any sense of the capital as a place or even the towns where the other candidates are from. Because of the lack of development, it led to more telling rather than showing and also made the fae and imperial fae flat and one-dimensional villains.

Plot Structure
I generally like trials, especially in Book 1s. They gather characters together, have built-in forward momentum, and a familiar structural arc so more time can be dedicated to world and character development. However the trials felt like window dressing. The characters are brought together for the Gauntlet and have 4 weeks of training before they start facing dragons/each other. But it’s really an afterthought. The fmcs are able to be primarily individually trained by one of the mmcs so an fmc can develop her magic (and spicy feelings) and no one seems to care. For being told how oppressive the fae are, they don’t show up in the story except to have their cruelty on display and have seemingly no oversight of the training which felt like a convenient plot device. The gauntlet trials themselves also are just marking time for the MCs to finish preparation for their plan and again showing the cruelty of the fae. Overall the structure ended up detracting from my reading experience because it felt like a nuisance more than anything integral. Like, ok, we have to pause our planning and magic training to go do a trial.

Characters
I thought Amalia and Oz and the dragons were generally well developed. They also were the main focuses of the story. If I decide to keep reading, I’m most interested in Amalia, Oz and Niall’s development and from some of the other magical beings we heard about but didn’t really encounter. Dianna and Mirielle were the least developed. Their relationship in particular was told, not shown so declarations of love came out of left field. Dianna’s character also felt a lot younger and I personally didn’t think her connections to any of the other characters were well-developed.

Misc
Sapphic sex isn’t a trigger warning and I was disappointed to hear that as a TW. The 1.5 novella also has MM as a trigger warning and that is ick. The book wasn’t heavy or super graphic with the spice but I did notice that the one sapphic sex scene was super short. That alone isn’t a big deal but with the MF scenes being more developed and the inappropriate trigger warning, it doesn’t feel great.