A Dawn of Onyx

The Sacred Stones, Book 1

By: Kate Golden

Narrated by: Ruby Cherise, Will Damron

Length: 12 hrs and 27 mins

Publisher's summary

A 2023 Romantasy Goodreads Choice Award Nominee!

The breakout TikTok fantasy romance, now with special bonus material!

Captured by the king of darkness, she was forced to find the light within.

Arwen Valondale never expected to be the brave one, offering her life to save her brother’s. Now she’s been taken prisoner by the most dangerous kingdom on the continent, and made to use her rare magical abilities to heal the soldiers of the vicious Onyx King.

Arwen knows better than to face the ancient, wicked woods that surround the castle on her own, which means working with a fellow prisoner might be her only path to freedom. Unfortunately, he’s as infuriating as he is cunning—and seems to take twisted pleasure in playing on Arwen’s deepest fears.

But here in Onyx Kingdom, trust is a luxury she can’t afford.

To make it out of enemy territory, she'll have to navigate back-stabbing royals, dark magic, and deadly beasts. But untold power lies inside Arwen, dormant and waiting for a spark. If she can harness it, she just might be able to escape with her life—and hopefully, her heart.

©2022 Kate Golden (P)2023 Penguin Audio

Critic reviews

"A Dawn of Onyx is such an enthralling read, with a top tier enemies-to-lovers storyline that absolutely sparkles. There's so much delicious romantic tension and fun banter, as well as an intriguing fantasy world and magic galore, it's truly a feast for a reader's heart. Fans of Sarah J. Mass and Tahereh Mafi will love it. I loved it, and I can't wait to delve into the next book in the series. Kate Golden has taken her place on my list of must-read authors."—India Holton, international bestselling author of The Secret Service of Tea and Treason

“A Dawn of Onyx is an electrifying start to a thrilling new romantasy series that is magical, filled with delicious tension, and left me desperate for the next installment!”—Lana Ferguson, national bestselling author of The Nanny

“A Dawn of Onyx is fun romantasy deliciousness, complete with magic, Fae, dragons, empire-shaking secrets, and a sulty, wicked king. Arwen is an appealing heroine—determined, optimistic, and empathetic, she struggles between her longing for home and the desire to spread her wings and learn more about the world. Her interactions with Kane are spiced with tension and banter, and I can't wait to see more of this combustible pairing in the next books.”—Sarah Hawley, author of A Witch's Guide to Fake Dating a Demon

Great pacing

The pacing of the story was great albeit a bit slow just before the action packed end. Great character development and loved seeing the family element.

Perfect… until Joe Arden was replaced.

New male narrator sounds like an old grandpa. I miss Joe Arden’s narration. Has been wary on the next book.

Loved this!

I have had a thing for romantasy books lately and I’m here for it. 4.5 ⭐️
Arwen basically gives her life to save her brother. That part is a little annoying because I hate when people do that. I instantly hate her brother for that happening lol She becomes a healer for the Onyx king- known for being a truly horrible king. We have enemies to lovers, one horse, basically kidnapping, a good girl and a bad boy, dragons, shifters, so much in here.
So the first ‘twist’ is pretty obvious, but the rest of the story isn’t so much. We get to see Arwen grow being alone for the first time in her life. We get to see the Onyx king
In actions. And speaking of action, we get that too.
This book really kept me engaged the whole time. I have already gotten book 2 and I’m sad I’ll have to wait for the third.

a favorite romantic fantasy

the performance is excellent and there isn't a lull or dull moment to be found. thoroughly enjoyable.

captivating

had me absolutely hooked! I also loved the narrator. I was a bit disappointed that Joe didn't make an appearance till the bonus material but I very much enjoyed the narration as a whole.
this was just the thing to get me out of a small reading slump too and I will definitely be recommending it to everyone.

One of the best books I have read

I came across this authors tiktok and saw her book A Dawn of Onyx it caught my eye. However, I got on here and I was hesitant to start listening to this book due to its low reviews. I kept going back and forth as whether to read it or not, something told me to give it a chance. THANK GOD I DID. If you are someone who is like me unsure as to use a credit for this book due to its low amount of reviews let my review speak for you, please do it!! If you liked the ACOTR this is definitely for you. And remember its only got a low amount of reviews because it just came out on audible and this is the first of the series. Man oh man I cant wair for the second book to come out. The book was wirtten so well with a great plot. There is a small amount of spice, but I can see that progressing into more in later books. You don’t get left on a complete cliffhanger, more like it ended at a place where they was room to continue the series. It’s a definite slow burn with unexpected plots and subplots. This is fantasy at its best!

Plot✅ Performace✅ Romance✅

Awesome story with a great performance. Plot keeps you on the edge of your seat.

I got fourth winged

So i liked the story well enough but honestly i only picked it up because Joe was listed as a narrator. Well, just like with Fourth Wing, Joe only makes an appearance at the very end which makes no sense. At this point books should be done with duet narration or not bother to have 2 narrators at all. Anyway, the story was decent nothing any different then any other romantasy out right now. I will say i really appreciate that this book was more plot then smut which I’m so sick of atp.

Loved It

If you like enemies to lovers fantasy romances with some twists and turns, this book is for you. Spice: 2.5/5. Looking forward to book 2!

Thoroughly enjoyed this book!

It was great! 🙌🏻 Well written, and awesome story! The narrator was perfect for this. I’m very picky when it comes to who is reading the book and how they sound. The narrator was great and understood how the world in this book needed to sound, like the characters and how to describe things. Great job! Beautiful voice! (No I don’t have a crush 😅😂)