Splintered Kingdom — Book Review and Content Warnings

Author: Gretchen Powell Fox

Genre: Romantasy

Series: Shattered Crown, Book 2

Age Rating: Adult

Synopsis

Splintered Kingdom picks up where Smoke and Scar left off—twin victors of the Crucible, Elyria and Cedric, soon learn there are many roles they must play in the pursuit of a new Arcanis. With enemies lurking in plain sight, they will have to fight with a whole new array of weapons, all the while trying to understand the bond that thrums between them: reforged, rekindled, renewed.

Content Warnings

General Rating: Adult (18A / R / TV-MA)

• Spice Rating: Severe—open door scenes in chapters 25, 27, 28, 42, 43, 44, and 55; explicit descriptions.

• Violence Rating: Severe—blood magic, sword and dagger violence

• Profanity Rating: Severe—150+ uses of f*ck

• Other Trigger Warnings: flashbacks to death of parent, fire and fire injury, racism, classism, blood

Overall Rating: 2/5

I'll be honest... I struggled hard with this one. I wanted so badly to like it, because I loved Smoke and Scar! Splintered Kingdom is incredibly slow-moving for the first 75% and then explodes into twist reveals and climactic action. It explores themes of loyalty and friendship, while challenging class disparity and racism between the factions of Arcania. Unfortunately, it was a miss for me, and I am sorely disappointed about it.

What I Liked

• Sid the shadowcat: Every fantasy novel needs a sentient animal who reflects or at least engages with the protagonist’s emotional state. The other side characters were mostly strong with the addition of Kit’s POV, the recurrence of Thraigg and Nox as trusty members of the Fellowship, and the increased presence of Tristan, Cedric’s humorous friend.

• Twisty reveals: Once the twists begin, they roll fast and furiously! It was quite enjoyable.

What I Didn’t Like

• Slow pace: Unfortunately, I felt like nothing happened for the first 75% of the book. There was more slow burn between Cedric and Elyria (lots of that in book one) and more waiting for the villain to be revealed to the protagonists (the reader was privy to this information at the end of book one).

• Romance over fantasy: This is a preference; I prefer fantasy over romance, especially when it gets hot and spicy. World building and fantasy elements were bogged down in favour of Elyria and Cedric’s romance.

Themes and Reflections

• Exploration of classism: Gretchen takes time to explore the class disparity of Kingshelm, juxtaposing the glamorous wealth of the nobility with the squalor of the peasantry… always relevant in every major city in our world, whether we live under a constitutional monarchy, democratic republic, or totalitarian rule.

  “The citizens of Kingshelm live in squalor, yet the crown drowns in excess.” (46)

• Implicit racism: Gretchen also addresses racist tendencies in the humans’ manners and speech toward the Arcanians. At one point, Cedric corrects Lord Church’s address of a sylvan as a “creature” to “he’s a person.” Races are obviously different in Arcania, and Gretchen uses the elements of fantasy to explore the racist tendency to view one’s own race as superior to others and to hold other races in contempt.

• Loyalty and friendship: The ‘Fellowship’ of Smoke and Scar largely stays intact during Splintered Kingdom. I loved Thraigg’s dwarvish exuberance, Kit’s enthusiasm, Nox’s wry humour, and Zephyr’s quiet timidity.

Writing Style

Fast-paced with high emotional tension, Gretchen writes in such a way as to pull the reader in and then sucker punch you in the gut with emotional intensity and fast action... once the action starts. Until then, there is a lot of angst and yearning.

Tropes

• Fated mates

• Slow burn

• Miscommunication

• Hidden secrets

Books Like This

• Shield of Sparrows by Devney Perry

• A Fate Inked in Blood by Danielle L. Jensen

Publisher Info

• Publisher: Hopewell Media

• Release Date: November 11, 2025

• Received as an eARC from Gretchen Powell Fox—with thanks!

  Splintered Kingdom is available on November 11, 2025. Reader discretion is advised due to adult themes and on-page intimacy.

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