By the Order of the King

by Shelby Ann Harms

Twenty-four year old Aurora Blackwater lives a rather ordinary life. She spends her days helping her aunt run their village’s only apothecary, but there’s more to her than what meets the eye. She’s a a rare human who wields more than just one of the seven abilities. Which makes her someone, according to the law, who is to be collected for the King’s Army.

When her secret is discovered, she meets a fate some would consider an honor. But the abduction she endures is, to her and many others, one worse than death. As she struggles to cope with her newfound capture, she meets those of similar destinies along the way. Little does she know how much these people may influence the outcome of her story.

In training for the King’s Army, she discovers who she can trust, and who only abides by the orders of the king. When the heir to the throne, the one and only Prince of Orellia, enters her proximity, tensions rise, as do the stakes. While friendships are formed and secrets are revealed, Aurora learns the wicked King Kairos may be even worse than she thought. And she soon comes face to face with challenges that will not only test her, but possibly change the fate of the kingdom as she knows it.

478 pages, Kindle Edition

Expected publication June 2, 2026

Reviews

[EllieIsAFreeElf · Rating 3 out of 5]

First of all I would like to thank author Shelby Ann Harms for sending me an ARC of her book,and I truly wish her nothing but success with her debut release.
Writing romantic fantasy especially as a first novel is an incredibly ambitious thing to do and I respect that and also I can appreciate the effort that went into creating this world.

With that being said this one sadly didn’t fully work for me, the pacing was incredibly slow and repetitive and things didn’t pick up until 80% of the book and I still felt like nothing major happened plot wise until the very end.

I love a slow burn romance as much as the next person, but I still need tension, yearning, good banter and chemistry between the main characters to stay invested in the romance part of their relationship and I personally felt like it was missing here. It would have been awesome to have had the dual POV to know what Killian is thinking and what he is going through, I think that would have helped a ton allowing us to connect more with him and understand him.

There was a lot of internal monologue and not a lot of dialogue, which was a bit hard to get through, I would have loved to know more about the Bash, Asher, Piper, Jade and Rowan and to have explored more their dynamic as a group, hopefully in the second book we get to have more details about their lives before they were taken and dive deeper into their relationships as a unit in the present.

I enjoyed the diversity in the characters and the fact that the main character Aurora was a curvy girl 🫶🏼
Aurora was sweet but sassy, she had a lot of growth and I enjoyed seeing her confidence in herself and her powers grow.

Overall I can see the ambition and potential behind this debut and I’m hopeful the second book will tie the many loose ends that were left behind in this one.

Congratulations to Shelby!

[Lanae Knight · Rating 5 out of 5]

I received a copy of this book as an ARC reader and this is my honest review.

The story telling of this book was amazing! Kept me interested the whole time and I just couldn’t put it down. If you like slow-burn, enemies to lovers romantasy you must read this book.

The book focuses on the MFC and navigating her way through military training after being caught as a multiwielder. Forced to be part of the tyrant king’s army, she navigates training, building her new found family, and learning that not everything is as it seems, particularly her commander (aka the prince). The prince starts out acting like his father, but as the story progresses you find out he’s not as bad as he seems. There are no intimate scenes, but the end of this book, they acknowledge their feelings (with kisses) for each other after one of them is almost killed. The book ends here without a major cliffhanger but a good lead into the next book.

This book will definitely be one I re-read because it was that good and I can’t wait for the sequel!!!

[K C · Rating 4 out of 5]

I recieved this as an ARC from the author. I truly appreciate receiving this book but I am struggling to get into it right now. The author had me at enemies to lovers so I quickly filled out a form in hopes of receiving an ARC. Then i recieved an email with the book download and started reading immediately. However, it seems like I have just read this kind of story over and over again and I just can't get into this one. I wish nothing but the best for this debut fantasy! Thank you for the opportunity!

[Leah · Rating 5 out of 5]

I have always enjoyed an author who can make me forget where I am while reading their book, and Shelby Ann Harms' attention to detail is obvious throughout the story. Though it's sometimes heavy on the fighting description, it reads as a solid first installment in a great fantasy series with world building, believable characters, a good slow burn, and intentional details that hint at a well-thought-out series plot. Descriptions of the characters and environment are woven well into the story's events making for a smooth and satisfying read. I already look forward to the next book.

[Crystal · Rating 5 out of 5]

Really enjoyed this book 1 of the series!! We meet Aurora who is captured by the kings men to train and be one of his soldiers so to speak. She wields different powers and that is what causes her to be chosen. Along the way she meets great friends who make this journey so much better for her. But when she finds out Prince Killian is the one training them she just can’t stand him. We have banter, action, friendships , plot twist, slow burn and tension! Great romantasy with no spice so if you are into that it’s not for you but give it a chance! 4.5 stars!!!

[Kristina Deluise]

THIS book will be featured on the deluise book series ARC EXTRAVAGANZA 2 on May 10th. on you tube

[Sarah · Rating 4 out of 5]

Thank you for the ARC! I enjoyed this book.