Only because of the monsters.
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?”
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.”
“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.
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