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A Horn of Onyx
Not yet published
Expected 31 Mar 26Sometimes the price of freedom is everything you love.
Imogen successfully won her freedom; escaping the Molnairian palace and rescuing Wells and his soldiers from annihilation. But even as her knoma grows stronger, Imogen learns raw power isn’t enough to win a war.
As Imogen grapples with the chaos of battle—and a bloodthirsty unicorn named Prism—the consequences from her palace escape continue to follow her. Drawn into the ruthless games of two opposing courts, she finds herself out of her depth, yearning only for a peaceful life with her mate. But if she can't curb her impulsivity and adapt to life in the army, she may find herself trapped between not one, but two warring kings.
Imogen successfully won her freedom; escaping the Molnairian palace and rescuing Wells and his soldiers from annihilation. But even as her knoma grows stronger, Imogen learns raw power isn’t enough to win a war.
As Imogen grapples with the chaos of battle—and a bloodthirsty unicorn named Prism—the consequences from her palace escape continue to follow her. Drawn into the ruthless games of two opposing courts, she finds herself out of her depth, yearning only for a peaceful life with her mate. But if she can't curb her impulsivity and adapt to life in the army, she may find herself trapped between not one, but two warring kings.
Hardcover
Expected publication March 31, 2026
1 person is currently reading
28 people want to read
About the author
Meredith R. Lyons
3 books236 followersMeredith grew up in New Orleans, collecting two degrees from Louisiana State University before running away to Chicago to be an actor. In between plays, she got her black belt and made martial arts and yoga her full-time day job. She fought in the Chicago Golden Gloves, ran the Chicago Marathon, and competed for team U.S.A. in the savate world championships in Paris. In spite of doing each of these things twice, she couldn’t stay warm and relocated to Nashville. She owns several swords, but lives a non-violent life, saving all swashbuckling for the page, knitting scarves, gardening, visiting coffee shops, and cuddling with her husband and two panther-sized cats. She is a member of International Thriller Writers and Sisters In Crime. Her first novel Ghost Tamer is an Amazon Editor's Pick, an IBPA Benjamin Franklin Award gold winner for Best SciFantasy, and an IPPY Award gold winner for Best First Book. A Dagger of Lighting releases April 1, 2025, both with CamCat Books.
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Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews
December 8, 2025
⚡💜🦄 A Horn of Onyx ARC Review 🦄💜⚡
⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
🌶️✨
If Arcane and The Witcher, had a book baby raised on storm magic, grief, identity, and the kind of power that changes you whether you want it to or not. The village helping raise the baby is compromised of Six of Crows, The Guardians of the Galaxy, and The Hunger Games. That king of gives you an idea what to expect with A Horn of Onyx (book 2 in The Sidhe Chronicles).
A Horn of Onyx is for readers who want fantasy with feeling, magic with meaning, and characters who bleed on the page—emotionally and, occasionally, literally. It's for fans of lyrical dark fantasy, mythic atmosphere, psychological depth, and power that always exacts a price.
🫵🏼 AHOH is for you if
• 🦄 battle unicorns and a middle aged FMC have your interest piqued
• you enjoy character-driven fantasy where emotions matter as much as magic
• you appreciate flawed characters—they make mistakes and poor choices, and face the consequences
• you enjoy magic with weight, rules, and consequences
• love intimate stakes set against sweeping, mystic forces
• you're a fan of fantasy with strong thematic layers
• you enjoy atmospheric, metaphor-rich writing
• enjoy reading about relationship dynamics under pressure
• you want immersive fantasy that isn't overwhelming in scope or length
⚠️ Potential spoilers A Dagger of Lightning ⬇️
📝 In the aftermath of the upheavals in ADOL, Imogen and Wells are still captives in the palace. As tensions ripple through the political landscape, the consequences of past choices are beginning to close in, and the threat of war simmers on the horizon.
Imogen and Wells find themselves caught between competing loyalties, uncertain allies, and the weight of responsibility—all of it threatening to pull them apart once and for all. Imogen's powers continue to grow stronger, but winning the brewing war will take more than raw power.
When Imogen is paired with the bloodthirsty unicorn version of Regina George, named Prism, consequences slam down on her. Imogen is way out of her depth in a fight that she's still too new to the planet to even fully understand. Her impulsive nature has caused quite the rift between her and Wells. Can she learn to curb her impulsivity and adapt to this new life while also dealing with such much external pressure and stress, or will she collapse under the weight of it all? Will she and Wells make it out the other side? Is their love strong enough to withstand the onslaught trying to tear them apart?
📓 A Horn of Onyx, book two in this epic space opera, expands and elevates everything from A Dagger of Lightning—the world, the stakes, the politics, the romance, the emotional intensity, and especially the moral ambiguity. Lyons sharpens her character arcs and deepens the metaphysical underpinnings of the magic system, creating a sequel that feels both more intimate and more explosive. 💥
This installment leans heavily into identity, consequence, and the cost of power, using its mythology not just as plot machinery but as an emotional and symbolic language. Characters wrestle with the tension between who they've been shaped to be and who they choose to become. The narrative explores selfhood that's been fractured by trauma, obligation, and magical influence.
📖 "No one enjoys the consequences of their own actions."
In book one, we see Imogen making impulsive choices that sometimes work out ok, but other times not quite as ok. Her impulsive nature is a source of tension and strife in her life, both before and after become sidhe. I debated and ended up not mentioning it in my previous review, as I was reserving judgement on her character for later. I'm glad I did because here we see her facing the consequences of her impulsive actions, to varying degrees.
I'm a bit surprised that Wells didn't figure out what was going on sooner. But I think he just wasn't ready to see and acknowledge... Things (vague so I don't spoil). The implications of him acknowledging said things, particularly if he acknowledged them beyond internally, would be vast, plus the fallout. He's in a place where fallout of that magnitude could not just end his life as he knows it but many others in the realm. Especially with how the book ends, I can understand why he wasn't in a rush to openly come to terms with... Things.
✍🏼 Lyons has a knack for writing accessibly, especially as this mix of genres can be, at times, dense to read (and write, I'd guess). With clear, tight sentences that often bloom into nearly poetic imagery—particularly when describing magic, storms, emotions, or internal conflict. Her writing almost feels charged, which serves well to really amp up the tension.
⏳ This moves at a quicker pace than A Dagger of Lightning, without feeling rushed. This one is more action-packed than the previous book and I quite enjoyed that aspect.
🗺️ Being the second book in the series, the bulk of the worldbuilding was in book 1. Book 2 expands and enriches the world nicely. We get additional info on the world as a whole and introduced to new. We go deeper into lore and politics.
🔮 Like worldbuilding, the bulk is in ADOL, with this serving nicely to expand and enrich the magic system. I love that Lyons takes things we've seen before, light lightning magic, but puts a unique spin on them.
"Of course I had to get the Regina George of unicorns..."
🦄 BATTLE UNICORNS!!! This and a 45-year-old FMCs were the things that made me need to read these books asap. And I'm so very glad I did. Violently vicious and oozing glittery rainbows, Prism (Imogen's unicorn) is a full on vibe and I'm 100% here for it. The unicorn's powers/skills have limits and constraints that further elevate the action and tension. Prism's personality had me cackling. I'm a sucker for non-humanoid characters who are able to communicate. Prism is up there in my top 3 (Gary, another unicorn, in The Lightning-Struck Heart and Mephi from The Bone Shard Daughter are my other two favorites).
👥 The characters are the driving force for my enjoyment of this book. They're emotionally deep, nuanced, dimensional, and the arcs are interesting and real. If you're a character-driven reader, like me, I think you'll have a good time reading this.
ADOL left me feeling just a smidge irritated with Imogen's impulsivity, her reckless disregard for her own safety. She really grew and changed in AHOO and I loved being along for the ride.
The found family in AHOO gets put through the ringer. Relationships are strained, broken, and/or reforged.
💖 I love that this romance isn't all sunshine and roses, all the time. They have growing pains, misunderstandings, etc - just like relationships have in the real world. This adds a lot of nuance, relatability, and raw realness that I love. They disagree/agrue, talk it out and truly listen to one another, apologize if they hurt one another
🌶️ Slightly spicier than book 1 - this isn't a book to read for the spice. It's well written, placed, and timed, and serves the plot/characters.
📚 If you enjoyed: The Bone Shard Daughter (Andrea Stewart), The Magicians (Lev Grossman), Spinning Silver (Naomi Novik), She Who Became the Sun (Shelley Parker-Chan), The City of Brass (SA Chakraborty), The Sword of Kaigen (ML Wang), or The Witch King (HE Edgmon), then I think you'd enjoy this.
Thank you to @meredithrlyons for the opportunity to read this eARC. All thoughts and opinions expressed are my own.
⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
🌶️✨
If Arcane and The Witcher, had a book baby raised on storm magic, grief, identity, and the kind of power that changes you whether you want it to or not. The village helping raise the baby is compromised of Six of Crows, The Guardians of the Galaxy, and The Hunger Games. That king of gives you an idea what to expect with A Horn of Onyx (book 2 in The Sidhe Chronicles).
A Horn of Onyx is for readers who want fantasy with feeling, magic with meaning, and characters who bleed on the page—emotionally and, occasionally, literally. It's for fans of lyrical dark fantasy, mythic atmosphere, psychological depth, and power that always exacts a price.
🫵🏼 AHOH is for you if
• 🦄 battle unicorns and a middle aged FMC have your interest piqued
• you enjoy character-driven fantasy where emotions matter as much as magic
• you appreciate flawed characters—they make mistakes and poor choices, and face the consequences
• you enjoy magic with weight, rules, and consequences
• love intimate stakes set against sweeping, mystic forces
• you're a fan of fantasy with strong thematic layers
• you enjoy atmospheric, metaphor-rich writing
• enjoy reading about relationship dynamics under pressure
• you want immersive fantasy that isn't overwhelming in scope or length
⚠️ Potential spoilers A Dagger of Lightning ⬇️
📝 In the aftermath of the upheavals in ADOL, Imogen and Wells are still captives in the palace. As tensions ripple through the political landscape, the consequences of past choices are beginning to close in, and the threat of war simmers on the horizon.
Imogen and Wells find themselves caught between competing loyalties, uncertain allies, and the weight of responsibility—all of it threatening to pull them apart once and for all. Imogen's powers continue to grow stronger, but winning the brewing war will take more than raw power.
When Imogen is paired with the bloodthirsty unicorn version of Regina George, named Prism, consequences slam down on her. Imogen is way out of her depth in a fight that she's still too new to the planet to even fully understand. Her impulsive nature has caused quite the rift between her and Wells. Can she learn to curb her impulsivity and adapt to this new life while also dealing with such much external pressure and stress, or will she collapse under the weight of it all? Will she and Wells make it out the other side? Is their love strong enough to withstand the onslaught trying to tear them apart?
📓 A Horn of Onyx, book two in this epic space opera, expands and elevates everything from A Dagger of Lightning—the world, the stakes, the politics, the romance, the emotional intensity, and especially the moral ambiguity. Lyons sharpens her character arcs and deepens the metaphysical underpinnings of the magic system, creating a sequel that feels both more intimate and more explosive. 💥
This installment leans heavily into identity, consequence, and the cost of power, using its mythology not just as plot machinery but as an emotional and symbolic language. Characters wrestle with the tension between who they've been shaped to be and who they choose to become. The narrative explores selfhood that's been fractured by trauma, obligation, and magical influence.
📖 "No one enjoys the consequences of their own actions."
In book one, we see Imogen making impulsive choices that sometimes work out ok, but other times not quite as ok. Her impulsive nature is a source of tension and strife in her life, both before and after become sidhe. I debated and ended up not mentioning it in my previous review, as I was reserving judgement on her character for later. I'm glad I did because here we see her facing the consequences of her impulsive actions, to varying degrees.
I'm a bit surprised that Wells didn't figure out what was going on sooner. But I think he just wasn't ready to see and acknowledge... Things (vague so I don't spoil). The implications of him acknowledging said things, particularly if he acknowledged them beyond internally, would be vast, plus the fallout. He's in a place where fallout of that magnitude could not just end his life as he knows it but many others in the realm. Especially with how the book ends, I can understand why he wasn't in a rush to openly come to terms with... Things.
✍🏼 Lyons has a knack for writing accessibly, especially as this mix of genres can be, at times, dense to read (and write, I'd guess). With clear, tight sentences that often bloom into nearly poetic imagery—particularly when describing magic, storms, emotions, or internal conflict. Her writing almost feels charged, which serves well to really amp up the tension.
⏳ This moves at a quicker pace than A Dagger of Lightning, without feeling rushed. This one is more action-packed than the previous book and I quite enjoyed that aspect.
🗺️ Being the second book in the series, the bulk of the worldbuilding was in book 1. Book 2 expands and enriches the world nicely. We get additional info on the world as a whole and introduced to new. We go deeper into lore and politics.
🔮 Like worldbuilding, the bulk is in ADOL, with this serving nicely to expand and enrich the magic system. I love that Lyons takes things we've seen before, light lightning magic, but puts a unique spin on them.
"Of course I had to get the Regina George of unicorns..."
🦄 BATTLE UNICORNS!!! This and a 45-year-old FMCs were the things that made me need to read these books asap. And I'm so very glad I did. Violently vicious and oozing glittery rainbows, Prism (Imogen's unicorn) is a full on vibe and I'm 100% here for it. The unicorn's powers/skills have limits and constraints that further elevate the action and tension. Prism's personality had me cackling. I'm a sucker for non-humanoid characters who are able to communicate. Prism is up there in my top 3 (Gary, another unicorn, in The Lightning-Struck Heart and Mephi from The Bone Shard Daughter are my other two favorites).
👥 The characters are the driving force for my enjoyment of this book. They're emotionally deep, nuanced, dimensional, and the arcs are interesting and real. If you're a character-driven reader, like me, I think you'll have a good time reading this.
ADOL left me feeling just a smidge irritated with Imogen's impulsivity, her reckless disregard for her own safety. She really grew and changed in AHOO and I loved being along for the ride.
The found family in AHOO gets put through the ringer. Relationships are strained, broken, and/or reforged.
💖 I love that this romance isn't all sunshine and roses, all the time. They have growing pains, misunderstandings, etc - just like relationships have in the real world. This adds a lot of nuance, relatability, and raw realness that I love. They disagree/agrue, talk it out and truly listen to one another, apologize if they hurt one another
🌶️ Slightly spicier than book 1 - this isn't a book to read for the spice. It's well written, placed, and timed, and serves the plot/characters.
📚 If you enjoyed: The Bone Shard Daughter (Andrea Stewart), The Magicians (Lev Grossman), Spinning Silver (Naomi Novik), She Who Became the Sun (Shelley Parker-Chan), The City of Brass (SA Chakraborty), The Sword of Kaigen (ML Wang), or The Witch King (HE Edgmon), then I think you'd enjoy this.
Thank you to @meredithrlyons for the opportunity to read this eARC. All thoughts and opinions expressed are my own.
December 5, 2025
The hero wins it all… or does she?
I am so impressed with the world-building in this series. Sometimes the second book is a filler, but the new characters, and insights into old characters, keep it fresh.
The development of the magic system continues, the reader discovering new powers along with the hero.
I loved the twist at the end, I was expecting something, but the major battles were a surprise - and written so well.
Content warning for gore, skip the first major battle and the torture scene if that's not your thing.
(The author gave me an advanced review copy, in exchange for an honest review.)
I am so impressed with the world-building in this series. Sometimes the second book is a filler, but the new characters, and insights into old characters, keep it fresh.
The development of the magic system continues, the reader discovering new powers along with the hero.
I loved the twist at the end, I was expecting something, but the major battles were a surprise - and written so well.
Content warning for gore, skip the first major battle and the torture scene if that's not your thing.
(The author gave me an advanced review copy, in exchange for an honest review.)
Review of advance copy received from Publisher
How am I crying over a book that features unicorns and genuinely silly moments?? I don’t know, but here we are. I loved the first book, truly, but this sequel absolutely blew it out of the water for me. It’s one of those follow-ups that deepens everything without losing the charm that made the start so fun. This book firmly cemented my oddly specific love for fantasy that’s humorous yet emotionally brutal underneath. Especially when paired with a modern-era protagonist who is an actual adult. The only other book in this genre is Fires of the Forsaken by Stephanie E. Donohue.
Imogen’s struggle this go around hit HARD. Watching her try so desperately to live up to impossible expectations of her power, her role, her people, and her mate felt painfully real. Her insecurities, frustration, and exhaustion all rang true, and I loved that the story let her be imperfect without punishing her for it. And the romance continues to be such a strong element. The relationship feels refreshingly healthy in the way it handles conflict. Problems arise, emotions flare, and then (wild concept), they talk it out. Like adults. No needless miscommunication drama, just two people trying to figure out how to exist together under extraordinary pressure. I adored that.
Yes, Imogen is wildly overpowered at this point, and yes, the antagonists could still use more nuance. But honestly? I care less and less because the story is fully aware that her power doesn’t equal safety or happiness. Her strength puts a massive target on her back, and she’s not reveling in it; she’s terrified, exhausted, and grieving the simplicity she can’t have anymore. That tension works so well and is so unique!
Between the darker tone, the emotional gut punches, the humor (Prism, my beloved menace), and the deeply adult relationships, this book completely won my heart. I love these characters, I love this world, and I am beyond ready for whatever comes next.
Thanks so much to Black Phoenix Book Tours and the author for the complimentary copy. This review is voluntary and all opinions are my own.
Imogen’s struggle this go around hit HARD. Watching her try so desperately to live up to impossible expectations of her power, her role, her people, and her mate felt painfully real. Her insecurities, frustration, and exhaustion all rang true, and I loved that the story let her be imperfect without punishing her for it. And the romance continues to be such a strong element. The relationship feels refreshingly healthy in the way it handles conflict. Problems arise, emotions flare, and then (wild concept), they talk it out. Like adults. No needless miscommunication drama, just two people trying to figure out how to exist together under extraordinary pressure. I adored that.
Yes, Imogen is wildly overpowered at this point, and yes, the antagonists could still use more nuance. But honestly? I care less and less because the story is fully aware that her power doesn’t equal safety or happiness. Her strength puts a massive target on her back, and she’s not reveling in it; she’s terrified, exhausted, and grieving the simplicity she can’t have anymore. That tension works so well and is so unique!
Between the darker tone, the emotional gut punches, the humor (Prism, my beloved menace), and the deeply adult relationships, this book completely won my heart. I love these characters, I love this world, and I am beyond ready for whatever comes next.
Thanks so much to Black Phoenix Book Tours and the author for the complimentary copy. This review is voluntary and all opinions are my own.
Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews