When Vengeance Bleeds Royal (Blood Descent #1)

Available at Amazon.com

When Vengeance Bleeds Royal
L.Z. Cathcart
Blood Descent, book one
ebook, 374 pages
Published November 12, 2025
ASIN B0FC2P62V4
ARC Review


She swore vengeance for her sister’s murder.

The gods demand a bloodier price.

Dark, addictive, and laced with forbidden desire, When Vengeance Bleeds Royal is the first book in the Blood Descent series—a brutal fantasy romance perfect for fans of Carissa Broadbent and Sarah J. Maas.

In the fractured land of Cyrathea, every territory hides a cursed artifact, relics forged by gods who were betrayed and imprisoned. The Brotherhood of Eternal Shadow hunts them all, weaving lies through court politics and blood-soaked bargains.

Lumira Kyrvayne has only one goal: kill the man who murdered her sister. But her vow of vengeance drags her into a deeper game—one where secrets rot beneath every oath, magic bleeds from forbidden relics, and a hooded Shadowspire guard keeps crossing her path with eyes she cannot forget.

Enemies close in. Allies shift like smoke. And the man who should be her enemy might also be the one person who can unravel her resolve.

When Vengeance Bleeds Royal is a dark fantasy romance brimming with:
A morally gray heroine who refuses to be tamed
An enigmatic, hooded antihero with secrets of his own
Forbidden attraction, brutal magic, and deadly politics
Cursed artifacts and imprisoned gods
A slow-burn obsession that cuts as deep as any blade

Please note: This series contains dark themes, twisted loyalty, and romance with sharp edges. Check content warnings before reading.

My curiosity may have gotten the better of me with this one. A slow burn tale with a morally grey heroine is certainly at the height of my list of beloved tropes. Written by an author that promotes dark twisted fantasy with no HEA... not so much.

But intrigued I was, and so in I dived.

Only to nearly drown in a sea of metaphors.

Every paragraph. Seemingly every other sentence.

Stifling.

Smothering.

This like that. That as this.

And I can't attest that they always made sense to me.

Then, like a candle snuffed mid-laughter, everything haults.

I desperately needed more dialogue.

Twenty-five percent in and no MMC in sight. Other than one single fleeting appearance that was the equivalent of a figment of Lumira's imagination. A few chapters later, he finally deigns to be perceived by the readers. And dips a few measly pages later.

Unfortunately, after four days and finding myself loath to pick it up, I had to admit defeat.

DNF at 34%. No rating.

Available in ebook

Siege to the Throne (Rellmira Duology #2)

Gods, how I wanted you to keep me...

Available at Amazon.com

Siege to the Throne
Leah Mara
Rellmira Duology, book two
ebook
Published November 13, 2025
ISBN 9781965527030
ASIN B0FB8N3DWP
ARC Review


Revenge never gives—it only takes.With broken hearts full of vengeance, Kiera and Aiden escape their burning city. But their war is just beginning.

Torn between saving her siblings and defeating the monster she helped unleash, Kiera is determined to right her wrongs. Even if it means becoming reluctant allies with the man she betrayed.

Together, Aiden and Kiera battle their feelings for each other as they fight for their kingdom. But their enemies have grown into an army that hunts them mercilessly.

And this time—there is no escape.

With epic battles, emotional damage, and a love worth fighting for, Siege to the Throne concludes Aiden and Kiera's harrowing journey. Perfect for fans of The Bridge Kingdom, Spark of the Everflame, and Blood & Steel.

For transparency's sake, I completely fell in love with Aiden and Kiera in book one of this series so my opinion may have some well deserved bias attached to it. That said... It was in this book that I fell for Mazkull. Not that he wasn't absolutely wonderful in Keys to the Crown, what with his coin throwing, but he took it to a whole other level in this sequel.

Siege to the Throne is a tale of horse riding, sailing, and battles galore, on the tail of Kiera's heart wrenching betrayal of Aiden and his rebel allies.

The hostility.

The guilt!

The torment.

Could somebody just give the failed assassin a hug? Maybe dole out a spanking to the successful spy? Can we just apologize and move on to happily ever after?

But no, the author does a marvelous job at catering to the realistic effort it takes to heal from betrayal and claw one's way back through the shards of shattered trust. More than once I had to put the book down to breathe through the heavy emotions stirred by both Aiden and Kiera. Other times, I was screaming at the entire clan to cast aside their pride and pick up the enemy's sunstone swords because it was just not the time, and they had not the luxury, to be dumping perfectly good weapons into the ocean.

The story unfolds at a leisurely pace. Into battle. Out. Then onto the next. The greater portion of the book revolves around traveling. So. Much. Travelling.

On separate horses no less.

But the second half, especially that last quarter, utterly vanquished whatever grumblings had spawned. I'm a goner for a good villain and Renwell did it for me.

And that ending? A true romantasy worthy ending!

"Keep your breath, Kiera. Keep it, so you can scream my name."

5 out of 5 stars.

Available in ebook 

Previously in the series:

2025/52

How the King of Elfhame Learned to Hate Stories (Folk of the Air #3.5)

Boys change... and so do stories.

Available at Amazon.com

How the King of Elfhame Learned to Hate Stories
Holly Black
Folk of the Air, book three point five
ebook, 200 pages
Published November 24, 2020
ASIN 031654082X


An irresistible return to the captivating world of Elfhame.

Once upon a time, there was a boy with a wicked tongue.

Before he was a cruel prince or a wicked king, he was a faerie child with a heart of stone . Revealing a deeper look into the dramatic life of Elfhame’s enigmatic high king, Cardan, his tale includes delicious details of life before The Cruel Prince, an adventure beyond The Queen of Nothing, and familiar moments from The Folk of the Air trilogy, told wholly from Cardan’s perspective.

This new installment in the Folk of the Air series is a return to the heart-racing romance, danger, humor, and drama that enchanted readers everywhere. Each chapter is paired with lavish and luminous full-color art, making this the perfect collector’s item to be enjoyed by both new audiences and old.

A collection of novellas that add on to the story of Cardan and Jude. It is a must read in the series for a full picture of the characters and their motivations.

1. Jude introduces Cardan to how she traveled to and from the mortal world. Cardan is just admiring her the whole way.

She wants to fight monsters, and she wants him for a lover, the same boy she fantasized about murdering. She likes nothing easy or safe or sure.

2. Nine year old Cardan is visited by a troll who tells him a story. This was probably my favorite of the book.

3. Tells the story of when Cardan first comes to live with Balekin and meets the door. I do love his door. Also, it's when he meets Nicasia for the first time.

4. Cardan takes one of Balekin's human slaves back to the mortal world.

5. The early stages of Cardan's obsession with Jude.

6. Cardan and Nicasia visit her realm. Spoiler: He's over it.

7. How Cardan obtained the book, Alice's Adventures in Wonderland & Through the Looking Glsss, and the return of the troll. This time she tells a new version of the old story.

8. The story of Nicasia's betrayal with Locke. In Cardan's own bedroom no less.

Tell me it means nothing, that it was just a bit of fun, he thought. Tell me and everything will be as it was before. Tell me and I will pretend along with you.

But she was silent.

Oof.

9. Cardan learns of Locke's interest in the Duarte sisters and what follows is a bit of the bullying from book one from his POV.

This one should have been longer.

10. Cardan dines with Jude, Oak, Vivi, and Heather in the mortal world before the tale continues on from the first in this book and comes full circle with the troll. Only this time, it is Cardan that tells a variation of the story.

4 out of 5 stars.

Available in ebook | hardcover | paperback | audiobook

Previously in the series:

2025/51

Goldfinch (Plated Prisoner #6)

I hatched out of a star.

Available at Amazon.com

Goldfinch
Raven Kennedy
Plasted Prisoner, book six
Paperback, 688 pages
Published September 24, 2024
ISBN 9781464224461


The seductive and thrilling dark fantasy romance series comes to an end in this powerful finale.

One king caged my body.

Another has caged my mind.

War has broken out between Annwyn and Orea, though that’s not the only battle being waged.

There’s a fight inside me, and it’s one I’m determined to win, no matter how much they try to strip me down and hollow me out.

Yet they’ve forgotten one thing. The ancient magic of the pair bond. One can never truly be lost when two souls are already bound.

Because Slade and I? We are connected by more than just fated magic, and we will always find each other.

In any life.

The fae king is trying to destroy me. My heritage. My memory. But what he hasn’t realized is this: gold bends, but stone breaks.

And a Goldfinch does not fall.

It flies.

Please note: This adult fantasy book includes dark elements that may be triggering. Full content list will be located inside the book, but it includes violence, death, adult language, and explicit romance. It is intended for ages 18 years and older. Read at your own discretion.

It's a book you're aching to pick up, can't put down, and yet, don't want to read: the final installment of the series.

Of spoilers there will be a few.

Chapter two. Kennedy is always going to get you with her chapter twos.

Slade has promised his brother he would give Orea a chance, give them a chance, because they need him, his power, against the onslaught of fae pouring over the bridge. And he'll do what he can. He'll warn Fifth Kingdom. He'll rot those whose paths he crosses. But Slade's focus is solely, completely, irrevocably, on Auren. And in his race to get to her, Slade is on the verge of death. His heart is rupturing. His body is failing. And it all comes to a head while atop Argo in the clouds.

He falls. Tethered by a single leather strap until that, too, snaps. Swiped from the air by Argo's talons and then dropped into a muddy bog. He takes what would be his last breath, despite fighting for more, when the bond abruptly flares and fuses. It burns and it heals and it mends. And Rip and Rot become one.

And, damn it, Kennedy, my nerves weren't made for your chapter twos!

Osrik. Os, my guy. I appreciate the enthusiasm. I really do. But I love you? Too soon! Far too soon.

That said, Os is likely the first man who ever wanted Rissa for more than a night. The first to offer her any kind of a loyal, romantic future. So, no, I don't fault her at all for grasping the chance with all her heart.

Chapter eight. My eyes bulged at the words. Commander RYATT. We finallyfinallyfinally get Ryatt's POV!

And Slade finally meets Malina. Who is definitely on his rot list. And I am kicking my feet when she drops to the ground in the dirt. And then Slade has his hands around Dommik's throat. The way they all yield to this man!

The man who manifests a dragon.

The man who commands, "Show me her cage."

And there I go reminding myself to breathe.

Chapter 32. They find each other in chapter thirty-two! And there's just enough holes in Auren's memory that she attacks him.

It's a brief scene. Just long enough to actually hurt. But then she's throwing herself into his arms and all is right in my world once again.

Then the payur bond demands a mating and the Lord God King of filthy mouths gets another chance to shine.

Can I get just one man in this series to tone it tf down? Ryatt, pleeease. Because when my eyes landed on Chapter 36: Emonie and my brain thought "We get Ryatt and Emonie?" ...to which my heart cried back Ryatt and Emonie... The way I need them together!

Because although I didn't care for Emonie's sunshine 'let's be friends' intro in Gold, it was here where I possessed the urge to claw myself back into pages of her POV every time the chapters left her. She became my favorite forager. Now if Ryatt can actually handle her? That, I do not know.

The second half of the book is overwhelmed with Slade's thoughts and speech of how proud he is of Auren. He's practically chanting it. I'm just so glad Slade found her in a moment of power and not another cage. Auren's character development is everything in this series.

There were deaths. Too many deaths.

4 out of 5 stars.

Available in ebook | hardcover | paperback | audiobook

Previously in the series:

2025/50

The Serpent & the Wolf (Dark Inheritance Trilogy #1)

Only because of the monsters.

Available at Amazon.com

The Serpent and the Wolf
Rebecca Robinson
Dark Inheritance Trilogy, book one
Hardcover, 352 pages
Published November 19, 2024
ISBN 9781668052488


Perfect for fans of Raven Kennedy and Thea Guanzon, Rebecca Robinson’s thrilling romantasy debut combines high-stakes political intrigue and a steamy, slow-burn, enemies-to-lovers romance.

All her life, Vaasa Kozár has been sharpened into a blade.

After losing her mother—her only remaining parent—to a mysterious dark magic that has since awakened within her, Vaasa is certain death looms. So is her merciless brother, who aims to eliminate Vaasa as a threat to his crown. In one last political scheme, he marries her off to Reid of Mireh, a ruthless foreign ruler, in hopes that he can use her death as a rallying cry to finally invade Reid’s nation. All Vaasa has to do is die.

But she is desperate to live. Vaasa enters her new marriage with every intent to escape it, wielding the hard-won political prowess and combat abilities her late father instilled in her. But to her surprise, Reid offers her a deal: help him win the votes to rise in power, and she can walk free. In exchange, he will share his knowledge about the dark magic running through her veins—and help keep it at bay.

This proposal may be too good to refuse, yet Vaasa and Reid’s undeniable attraction threatens to break the rules of their arrangement. As her brother’s lethal machinations take form, everything is at stake: Vaasa must learn to trust her new husband, but how can she, especially when their perfect political marriage begins to feel like the real thing?

"Perfect for fans of Raven Kennedy" has become my new instantly Add To Cart trigger. No other questions asked. Blurb? What blurb?

Add on "If you enjoyed Metal Slinger..." Put it in the cart. Ebook. Hardcover. Paperback. Put every edition in the cart.

It's been a minute since I've read an arranged marriage trope and was so pleasantly surprised (because what blurb?) to find this book open up on the wedding night of an arranged political marriage. With a bride primed to seduce, misdirect, and threaten her groom before escaping off the balcony and into the night.

Hot. damn.

Vaasa flees the marriage her family traded her into to spend the next three months hiding in the library of her new city-state. Seeking answers. Seeking insight to the shadows that slither from her skin. Seeking a way to save herself from the cruel death that had taken her mother's life mere months before.

Only to find that her husband held the path to those answers all along.

For Vaasa is a witch endowed with the power of Veragi magic. And if she doesn't learn to wield it, it will consume her. So her husband, Reid, makes her a bargain. Stay with him, play the part of a loving wife so that he can garner the support of their people, and in turn, she receives access to everything that position offers. Knowledge and training. For the term of three years. Then, he'll grant her a legal separation and leave her free to carve her own destiny.

If you love a man that surrounds himself with strong women and doesn't shy at his wife's blade but instead invades her personal space every chance he gets... then Reid is the MMC for you.

He falls first. And he falls hard.

Reid is fierce, but he's also a sweetheart. The way I find myself swooning over these leads that just want to dance with their lady. Rhysand. Malakai Azer. Now, Reid Cazden.

My heart was stuttering with his pining. With his fear and his heartbreak.

“Why did you leave the oarsbank?”

If he’d have stayed, he never would’ve been caught. Those men hadn’t breached it. But an awful thought sprang to life—perhaps it hadn’t been breached because they’d already found what they were searching for.

“Answer me.”

Lips pursed, he shrugged. “I was looking for you.”

“You shouldn’t have done that.”

“I will never not do that.”

It wasn’t up for debate, judging by the strong hold of his jaw and his unwavering gaze. Or perhaps it was the way he snuffed out the lantern and left her standing in the darkness that assured her he had no intention of admitting his own stupidity.

“You’re a fool,” she snapped, turning and trying not to stumble through the dark to get to the other side of the bed.

“Why am I the fool, Wild One?”

Chapter twenty-four was so heavy.

“She is my wife,” Reid finally said.

“And we will find her.”

“I am in love with her.”

His mother sighed softly, leaning back against the iron railing. “I know.”

“She’s going to leave anyway.”

“I know.”

His voice caught, but he forced out the traitorous words. “What if she already has?”

Silence.

Reid turned, a tear escaping the side of his eye as the lump in his throat tightened. “I want—” He stopped, swallowed. “I want what you and Father had.”

Rip my bleeding heart out why don't you.

The political scheming actually outweighs the romance in this book. It's very much Vaasa's story as she copes with her family trauma while learning to trust others and grasp control of the magic that she's inherited. She is a woman who has never known what it feels like to be safe.

By the end though, Vaasa is a formiddable force that finally gives shape to her magic in a worthwhile, albeit gory, finish. It's one hell of an ending that sets a glorious stage for book two.

4 out of 5 stars.

Available in ebook | hardcover | paperback | audiobook

2025/49

Lightlark (Lightlark #1)

Remember us, Heart. Remember it all.

Available at Amazon.com

Lightlark
Alex Aster
Lightlark, book one
ebook, 384 pages
Published August 23, 2022
ASIN B09S6JGRMH
ISBN 9781647006310


Welcome to the Centennial.

Every hundred years, the island of Lightlark appears for only 100 days to host a deadly game, where the rulers of six realms fight to break their curses and win unparalleled power. Each ruler has something to hide. Each curse is uniquely wicked. To break them—and save themselves and their realms—one ruler must die.

To survive, Isla Crown must lie, cheat, and betray. Even as love complicates everything…

When she fell in love with two enemies, in different times… she just doesn’t remember…

Those were the words that inevitably made me decide to pick up this book. Triangles and throuples are not my thing. I've seen the Team Grim/Team Oro posts so I have some idea of what I'm in for. As far as the love interest is concerned that is.

I was not, however, prepared for intricacies of the plot. Less than ten percent in and I'd had so much information thrown at me that it felt like I was about to fail a test. Six cursed realms. Six cursed rulers. Thousands of years and five Centennials of failures.

Were they even trying?

Turns out, deciding which realm to end was just too hard.

Isla is a Wildling. Her kind is cursed to kill anyone they fall in love with and to survive on eating human hearts. She, however, is not. No curse, but also, no power. Also, she portals to other realma using her Starstick, a magical, ancient relic.

Grimshaw: a Nightshade. He is all that stands between the realms and a threat far greater than their curses.

Oro: a Sunling and king of Lightlark. Possesses the powers of all the realms but the sun will kill him.

Celesta: a Starling and Isla's secret ally. Cursed to a short lifespan of twenty-five years.

Azul: a Skyling. Their curse took their ability to fly.

Cleo: a Moonling and eldest of the rulers. They're cursed to be lured to drown in the ocean every full moon.

'Have we met?'

"If we had... it wouldn't have been just once."

What is it you know, Grim? Who are you? More importantly, who are you to her?

Escorts her shopping. Feeds her chocolates. Tips her off to the necessity of a sword. Well he certainly hit the ground running.

For most of this book... it's quite dull. I had to shift to audiobook because my eyes kept wandering from the words on the page.

Isla and Celeste, bless their hearts, have their own plan for breaking the curses on their realms. The youngest of the rulers, first time participates in the Centennial, think they have it all figured out and a good chunk of the book revolves around that doomed to fail plot line.

Did that stop me from ordering Grim and Oro's Dual Crowns book that released while I was working my way through this book? No. It did not.

Because, to absolutely no one's surprise, the leading males are the gravity to this book. Grim is delicious. Dark, brooding, and shrouded in mystery, he's everything I'm attracted to in an MMC. Oro...

Oh, Oro.

He is not so different than Grim. There's a play on enemies-to-lovers in his relationship to Isla. They clash while Isla and Grim seem to blend. Oro is not above using Isla to further his own gain. A fact that urged me to slap Isla upside her crowned head when she deigned to assert that Oro "hadn't really betrayed" her. Tf he didn't! She divulges her most concealed secret, that which has reduced her to a prisoner of her own realm, and not twenty-four later, Oro is announcing it to those that have the most to gain by exploiting it. But he's never lied to her and to Oro, and oddly to Isla as well, that apparently makes up for his transgression against her.

Mister... the way I want to drag you into the sun.

Isla is a terrible judge of whom to trust. Which is why the epic betrayal at the end shouldn't have surprised me. Because I expected that person to die anyway. Somehow it did. Maybe because that person wasn't the person we'd been led to believe they were. It was the how of it, and not the who of it. It was a nice twist; I do love a good female villain.

And why the hell are you spitting at Grim? He maneuvered you like a pawn to save both of your realms but you, Isla, would have sacrificed yourself to save everyone? That's one hell of a twisted outlook. Someone *has* to die but not once did Isla ever offer the Wildling realm as the sacrifice.

She trusts no one but Oro now.

The love of the FMC is a fickle thing.

She's doomed.

The author is a liar and a deceiver. Trust nothing she says and no character she writes.

3 out of 5 stars

Available in ebook | hardcover | paperback | audiobook

2025/48

The Keeper’s Codex: World Guide & Dark Fae Novella

We were two halves of something broken,
bleeding out for each other's wounds.

Available from the Author

The Keeper's Codex
Celeanne Dorrington (Author's Website)
Heirs of the Shattered Veil, world guide
ebook, 253 pages
Upcoming Release: October 16, 2025
ARC Review


In the upcoming trilogy The Heirs of the Shattered Veil, our heroes race to heal a catastrophic tear in the Veil. Their only clue is a forbidden legend—the story of two lovers from warring factions whose bond may have caused the very fracture they’re fighting to mend.

This is that story.

A tragic myth from the final days before the world broke, a time before soulmarks and castes decided one’s fate. It tells of a bond that balanced on a knife’s edge between saving the world and shattering it. One choice would reveal their true nature. Were they fated lovers, or fated enemies whose only destiny was to be each other’s ruin?

This is a mature (18+) dark romantasy. Expect explicit sexual content, graphic violence/gore, adult language, and themes of war.

The Keeper’s Codex is a world guide for the upcoming trilogy, The Heirs of the Shattered Veil. It features a litany of character dossiers and creature descriptions that read more like a journal than an encyclopedia. The art is beautiful and there's so much personality woven throughout the logs that I couldn't help but feel like I was selecting my own character on release day of a long anticipated video game as I read through the pages. Also included is the novella, The Mirrored Pair, and a two chapter preview of The Heirs of the Shattered Veil.

The Novella: The Mirrored Pair

The wit. The charm. The banter that was laced with threats. From the very first page, I was enthralled.

Three years ago, the covenant between the Light and Shadow factions of the fae was broken and the Veil thus began to unravel without their joint efforts to secure it. Peace between the two sides has been a precarious illusion fueled by obscure threats and fake smiles ever since. And none execute the game so well as Lyra, princess of Light, and Malakor, the Shadow prince. Each a weapon, born and molded within those two opposing factions.

She, his perfect match.

He, her most egregious inconvenience.

Malakor is gleeful in his taunts of the princess while she firmly and repeatedly warns that the game he's playing at has already been decided by her hand. It's a battle of wills and solely of words... until he drops from the shadows beside her on a balcony and the event unfolds that will irrevocably shatter the peace between their people. Blow for blow, cut for cut, they go at each other with passion and with malice.

Until their spilled blood mingles and begins to sing.

Cue the explosion and flying shards of glass. The two are ripped apart by a force that leaves them shaking, in fear and outrage. Then the delegates and other royals storm the ground and allegations start flying and slicing as furiously as their weapons, Voidbringer and Dawnrender, had. And I'm sinking lower in my seat trying to dodge the strays.

Lyra is left corrupted by Malakor's darkness while he is tortured by the taint of her Light.

From there, it's a race to the Unweaver with each looking to promise a piece of the other's soul as payment for a cure and dissolution to the bond that links them. If they don't kill themselves while trying to inflict pain on the other first.

Lyra is a downright vicious opponent and I loved her for it. They are so beautifully reflected by one another. But though Lyra is dominant in battle, she is quite submissive as far as the spice is concerned. Poor Malakor was doing all the work. With, admittedly, a bit of help from his shadows.

I wanted desperately for more time with them but as the blurb forewarns—this is tale of tragedy. It is an action packed, true enemies-to-lovers story that features fated mates, morally grey leads with a dual pov, and graphic spice.

"You were the only one who fought for me," I said, the truth of it hollow and strange.

"You were the only one left worth fighting for," he answered, and it wasn't a comfort—it was a claim.

5 out of 5 stars.

Available in ebook

2025/47