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The Hunter's Gambit
From the award nominated author of Bluebird comes a riveting, spicy fantasy, featuring malevolent vampires and a locked-room escape adventure, perfect for fans of Gideon the Ninth by Tamsyn Muir.
The city of Mavazem is plagued by aristocratic vampires who terrorise the human citizens. But Kazan Korvic refuses to cower. As an expert blacksmith with a sharp grifter’s eye, her specialty lies in crafting - and using - weapons designed to kill the vicious creatures.
But, it turns out, sword skills aren’t quite enough when a whole group of vampires attack her and steal her magical weapon. Kazan is captured and forced to attend the Vampire Court where she is forced to act as their ‘Queen’. For three days she will be waited and doted upon, until the lavish party where her reign will end in an extravagant feast… with Kazan as the main course!
Kazan plans to find her sword and get out except, with no allies in the castle, Kazan can feel the walls closing in. But she soon realises that she is not just trapped with these bloodthirsty bastards; they’re trapped with her too. And they’re not prepared for just how far she’s willing to go to survive.
The city of Mavazem is plagued by aristocratic vampires who terrorise the human citizens. But Kazan Korvic refuses to cower. As an expert blacksmith with a sharp grifter’s eye, her specialty lies in crafting - and using - weapons designed to kill the vicious creatures.
But, it turns out, sword skills aren’t quite enough when a whole group of vampires attack her and steal her magical weapon. Kazan is captured and forced to attend the Vampire Court where she is forced to act as their ‘Queen’. For three days she will be waited and doted upon, until the lavish party where her reign will end in an extravagant feast… with Kazan as the main course!
Kazan plans to find her sword and get out except, with no allies in the castle, Kazan can feel the walls closing in. But she soon realises that she is not just trapped with these bloodthirsty bastards; they’re trapped with her too. And they’re not prepared for just how far she’s willing to go to survive.
360 pages, Paperback
First published June 25, 2024
286 people are currently reading
17964 people want to read
About the author
Ciel Pierlot
4 books112 followersCiel Pierlot is a disaster bisexual from the San Francisco Bay Area. She’s also a giant nerd and no, you cannot stop her from bragging about her lightsaber collection. When she’s not writing SFF novels, she’s busy being a digital artist and a hardcore gay-mer. Bluebird is her debut novel.
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April 8, 2024Will read this for the dedication only
“Dedicated to everyone who read Twilight and thought: ‘Why are these vampires so Mormon?’”
“Dedicated to everyone who read Twilight and thought: ‘Why are these vampires so Mormon?’”
June 4, 2024
I'm a bit disappointed in myself for not having enjoyed this book as much as I wanted to.
I'm a sucker for vampires and this book had an interesting take on them. The FMC is an incredibly morally gray character, who lies her way through life to get the upper hand on the everyday life.
She's a talented blacksmith and her adventure in the book begins when she travels to another village to sell her vampire killing sword.
She then gets captured by vampires and becomes their queen for three days, when she's offered everything in terms of food, parties, clothes. But at the end of those three days she would have too die and be feasted upon.
The setting, the world building, and the plot is all very interesting, but it kinda fell flat for me, unfortunately. The dialogue was off, the plot at the end was rushed. There was not much interaction with the love interests and it would have been nice to see some more of it. I was disappointed with FMC at a certain point, she kept promising stuff to Reya and Adrius but then she just didn't keep her word, she lied to them of course even though she didn't realised it, destroying the plans these two have had for years.
The epilogue then was not what I expected and I did not like it.
Still, thank you NetGalley and angry robot for the opportunity to read this arc for an honest review.
I'm a sucker for vampires and this book had an interesting take on them. The FMC is an incredibly morally gray character, who lies her way through life to get the upper hand on the everyday life.
She's a talented blacksmith and her adventure in the book begins when she travels to another village to sell her vampire killing sword.
She then gets captured by vampires and becomes their queen for three days, when she's offered everything in terms of food, parties, clothes. But at the end of those three days she would have too die and be feasted upon.
The setting, the world building, and the plot is all very interesting, but it kinda fell flat for me, unfortunately. The dialogue was off, the plot at the end was rushed. There was not much interaction with the love interests and it would have been nice to see some more of it. I was disappointed with FMC at a certain point, she kept promising stuff to Reya and Adrius but then she just didn't keep her word, she lied to them of course even though she didn't realised it, destroying the plans these two have had for years.
The epilogue then was not what I expected and I did not like it.
Still, thank you NetGalley and angry robot for the opportunity to read this arc for an honest review.
Read
February 15, 2024comparing your vampire book to Jay Kristoff is not the flex nor the promotion you should want for yourself.
August 8, 2024
“The hunters gambit” is a fantasy book for those who enjoy the vampire genre.
We have a strong willed female lead, locked room attempted escape trope, vampiresque castles, lots of action, adventure, gore, fights, spice and more. There’s an amount of role reversal here with the FMC being morally grey and the MMC being the good guy.
The plot starts off slow in an interesting setting where the love interests meet. It is clear that this vampire is “not like the others” and has no intention of harming our FMC. When they go their separate ways and imminent danger is lurking in the woods, things begin to move at somewhat of a quicker pace.
I feel like there could have been a little more world building, however this book definitely focuses on the shock factor and there’s a lot of that which keeps the reader distracted on the events unfolding.
Read if you like empire of the vampire.
Thank you to Angry Robot, Ciel Pierrot and NetGalley for the EARC!
Publish date: June 25th
We have a strong willed female lead, locked room attempted escape trope, vampiresque castles, lots of action, adventure, gore, fights, spice and more. There’s an amount of role reversal here with the FMC being morally grey and the MMC being the good guy.
The plot starts off slow in an interesting setting where the love interests meet. It is clear that this vampire is “not like the others” and has no intention of harming our FMC. When they go their separate ways and imminent danger is lurking in the woods, things begin to move at somewhat of a quicker pace.
I feel like there could have been a little more world building, however this book definitely focuses on the shock factor and there’s a lot of that which keeps the reader distracted on the events unfolding.
Read if you like empire of the vampire.
Thank you to Angry Robot, Ciel Pierrot and NetGalley for the EARC!
Publish date: June 25th
October 13, 2024
I don't care about the rating because three (3) goodreads friends and my favorite bisexual booktuber liked it
edit: wellp.
edit: wellp.
June 29, 2024
summary & overall impression:
i went into, ‘the hunter’s gambit,’ with high expectations but i was sorely disappointed. i don’t typically read vampire fantasy, but this did catch my eye on netgalley. it had a lot of potential with the introduction of blood magics combined with the ongoing vampire vs warden conflict. this novel centres around a blacksmith called kazan who gets her life entangled with a renowned bloodthirsty vampire seneschal, adrius de vere. after being kidnapped by the vampire king, dasar, and his hunting party, she is trapped in their citadel to serve as queen. this is part of a yearly tradition where one human is sacrificed at the end of a 3 day celebration to prevent the destruction of their home.
main characters:
kazan was a very hyperactive haphazard character. when she wasn’t being a pathological liar (which was 85%) of the time, she was busy running around dasar’s castle trying to escape. this situation can only be compared to going to the grocery 10x to buy eggs, when you already know there’s none. she’s also supposedly this mostly self taught fighter, but i still don’t know how she was able to defeat aged vampires with her skillset. this was just unrealistic. kazan is also very selfish and i didn’t fully understand her motives most of the time. for example, after she was accidentally turned into a vampire and her replacement was brought in for the sacrifice, she didn’t even care to find out if he was alive after ruining adrius & reya’s plans. her excuse being she’s a bad person?? her also eating the king’s heart when she didn’t want to be a vampire in the first place is also weird to me but pop off queen.
reya is a one of kazan’s love interests and a very one dimensional character. her most interesting aspect was being able to transform into a black cat. i feel she didn’t really do much except being described as pretty and being able to do some super powerful magic which wasn’t even described in depth.
adrius was most definitely the most well thought out character but there were still so many flaws in his actions. it didn’t seem very consistent of him to excuse kazan’s several lies so easily. his fight scenes were very cool though, i have to admit.
critques:
- none of the side plots were very well developed e.g when kazan teamed up with the geist, alphonse, who was adrius’ brother that he killed accidentally. those scenes just felt all over the place and predictable.
- there was definitely too much back and forth between the reya & adrius vs kazan, with the who trusts who and who’s lying to who. it just felt like that couple would always choose each other over her based on their dialogues. then they would spin around and always save her when she did something stupid. very contradictory.
- isadora, kazan’s lady in waiting was killed so brutally and quickly like she wasn’t even part of the book was just a bit unnecessary and dramatic.
- her decision to not go to glassdow at the end in order to live her life as a human felt rushed and like she didn’t really make that choice for herself. they just booted her out the carriage. this felt like she was being forced to follow the vampires’ plans once again with no real mind of her own. after that, kazan then randomly decided she’s trading her whole house for a horse to go find them. like please be for real.
1⭐️ & 0/5🌶️
i went into, ‘the hunter’s gambit,’ with high expectations but i was sorely disappointed. i don’t typically read vampire fantasy, but this did catch my eye on netgalley. it had a lot of potential with the introduction of blood magics combined with the ongoing vampire vs warden conflict. this novel centres around a blacksmith called kazan who gets her life entangled with a renowned bloodthirsty vampire seneschal, adrius de vere. after being kidnapped by the vampire king, dasar, and his hunting party, she is trapped in their citadel to serve as queen. this is part of a yearly tradition where one human is sacrificed at the end of a 3 day celebration to prevent the destruction of their home.
main characters:
kazan was a very hyperactive haphazard character. when she wasn’t being a pathological liar (which was 85%) of the time, she was busy running around dasar’s castle trying to escape. this situation can only be compared to going to the grocery 10x to buy eggs, when you already know there’s none. she’s also supposedly this mostly self taught fighter, but i still don’t know how she was able to defeat aged vampires with her skillset. this was just unrealistic. kazan is also very selfish and i didn’t fully understand her motives most of the time. for example, after she was accidentally turned into a vampire and her replacement was brought in for the sacrifice, she didn’t even care to find out if he was alive after ruining adrius & reya’s plans. her excuse being she’s a bad person?? her also eating the king’s heart when she didn’t want to be a vampire in the first place is also weird to me but pop off queen.
reya is a one of kazan’s love interests and a very one dimensional character. her most interesting aspect was being able to transform into a black cat. i feel she didn’t really do much except being described as pretty and being able to do some super powerful magic which wasn’t even described in depth.
adrius was most definitely the most well thought out character but there were still so many flaws in his actions. it didn’t seem very consistent of him to excuse kazan’s several lies so easily. his fight scenes were very cool though, i have to admit.
critques:
- none of the side plots were very well developed e.g when kazan teamed up with the geist, alphonse, who was adrius’ brother that he killed accidentally. those scenes just felt all over the place and predictable.
- there was definitely too much back and forth between the reya & adrius vs kazan, with the who trusts who and who’s lying to who. it just felt like that couple would always choose each other over her based on their dialogues. then they would spin around and always save her when she did something stupid. very contradictory.
- isadora, kazan’s lady in waiting was killed so brutally and quickly like she wasn’t even part of the book was just a bit unnecessary and dramatic.
- her decision to not go to glassdow at the end in order to live her life as a human felt rushed and like she didn’t really make that choice for herself. they just booted her out the carriage. this felt like she was being forced to follow the vampires’ plans once again with no real mind of her own. after that, kazan then randomly decided she’s trading her whole house for a horse to go find them. like please be for real.
1⭐️ & 0/5🌶️
August 25, 2025
2.5 stars we GET IT you're a pathological liar !! please don't tell us again !!
March 29, 2024
This book strikes the perfect balance of seductive yet dangerous vampires. It’s a really exciting read. The vampires are smart, capable and attractive, not just mindlessly violent or animalistic. Nor are they sanitised to the point there’s no tension in the book. These are powerful and cruel beings.
Our MC is a blacksmith who is travelling to sell a powerful sword she’s created that can kill vampires. While travelling they are attacked and she’s captured by vampires who take her to their fortress where she awakes at a lavish party to find she’s been crowned vampire queen. She has three days trapped at this party before they plan to kill her and use her blood to maintain the fortress through an old ritual. She’s in the middle of a sumptuous and debauched celebration desperately trying to find a way out and everyone there wants to drink her blood.
The setting was amazing, she has free reign of the fortress because there’s no way of escaping it. It’s a huge isolated building and she really is trapped at every corner. The juxtaposition of the lavish party with the constant danger worked so well too! With the MC encouraged to partake of the revelries and enjoy her last hours of life.
Our MC is strong and resilient and determined to survive and we watch as she attempts cautious alliances with those who may be willing to help her to fulfil their own agendas. Yet can she really trust them?
This was a fantastic vampire novel, tense, exciting. Would recommend!
I read an eARC of this book so thank you to the author, publisher and NetGalley.
Our MC is a blacksmith who is travelling to sell a powerful sword she’s created that can kill vampires. While travelling they are attacked and she’s captured by vampires who take her to their fortress where she awakes at a lavish party to find she’s been crowned vampire queen. She has three days trapped at this party before they plan to kill her and use her blood to maintain the fortress through an old ritual. She’s in the middle of a sumptuous and debauched celebration desperately trying to find a way out and everyone there wants to drink her blood.
The setting was amazing, she has free reign of the fortress because there’s no way of escaping it. It’s a huge isolated building and she really is trapped at every corner. The juxtaposition of the lavish party with the constant danger worked so well too! With the MC encouraged to partake of the revelries and enjoy her last hours of life.
Our MC is strong and resilient and determined to survive and we watch as she attempts cautious alliances with those who may be willing to help her to fulfil their own agendas. Yet can she really trust them?
This was a fantastic vampire novel, tense, exciting. Would recommend!
I read an eARC of this book so thank you to the author, publisher and NetGalley.
July 1, 2024
This book was a mess. Main character was awfully bland and inconsistent and while for the plot you should not be able to predict everything, but at least something? The only way to describe the plot is as a chaotic zigzag that didn't connect to the "end game" or the resolution as not even the main character had substance or purpose. The dedication was what drew me in, but it was NOTHING as expected. I feel so bad but this book just was one of the worst reads I took the time for this year.
June 10, 2024
Thank you to the publisher and to NetGalley for the ARC.
This book was not for me. As an avid reader that eats up everything and anything vampire, I was disappointed. The story just did not make sense to me at all, kept getting more and more characters introduced and made it hard to keep up with was what happening, and ended up DNFing around 55%.
This book was not for me. As an avid reader that eats up everything and anything vampire, I was disappointed. The story just did not make sense to me at all, kept getting more and more characters introduced and made it hard to keep up with was what happening, and ended up DNFing around 55%.
June 21, 2024
Thank you, NetGalley and Angry Robot for providing the arc.
"– the truth gets you scraps and
vulnerability; lies get your needs met."
The plot was something dark fantasy with a little bit of romance. the setting of the Citadel and the whole vampire scene were lovely and the world-building was amazing. I loved all the descriptions of the knives and blades that the characters wielded. All of the action scenes were very dynamic. The fights were pictured perfectly and had fun reading all the action going on throughout the book.
"But now that she has broken that rigidity, even
slightly, she can’t stop breaking. Like glass shattering in on itself, sharp
pieces compacting and squeezing, filling her lungs and choking her. The glass
claws at her insides, shredding and tearing and crushing."
The cast of characters was outstanding, with our protagonist Kazan being a standout. Reya and Adrius as our love interests were great as well. Only wished that the romance was a bit lacking and would have loved more into that topic. With all the political maneuvering in vampire society, it was great to see the differences lined out in the personalities and actions of the characters. The development of the characters was at its best.
"A thousand shingles can form a roof, but it only takes
one sliding out of place to let the rain in."
I’m only sad this book wasn’t longer so the author could explore the vampire playground some more. Several vampire houses were given lip service but these worldbuilding fangs failed to break the reader’s skin. There’s so much more I wanted to read about how the vampire houses differ and interact that wasn’t included here. The importance of the Citadel and the need to keep it intact was understandable enough but the vampires’ motivations and underhand politics left me a little thirsting for more.
"No one has loved Kazan since her father, and she can barely remember
what that felt like. She doesn’t need love. She doesn’t."
"– the truth gets you scraps and
vulnerability; lies get your needs met."
The plot was something dark fantasy with a little bit of romance. the setting of the Citadel and the whole vampire scene were lovely and the world-building was amazing. I loved all the descriptions of the knives and blades that the characters wielded. All of the action scenes were very dynamic. The fights were pictured perfectly and had fun reading all the action going on throughout the book.
"But now that she has broken that rigidity, even
slightly, she can’t stop breaking. Like glass shattering in on itself, sharp
pieces compacting and squeezing, filling her lungs and choking her. The glass
claws at her insides, shredding and tearing and crushing."
The cast of characters was outstanding, with our protagonist Kazan being a standout. Reya and Adrius as our love interests were great as well. Only wished that the romance was a bit lacking and would have loved more into that topic. With all the political maneuvering in vampire society, it was great to see the differences lined out in the personalities and actions of the characters. The development of the characters was at its best.
"A thousand shingles can form a roof, but it only takes
one sliding out of place to let the rain in."
I’m only sad this book wasn’t longer so the author could explore the vampire playground some more. Several vampire houses were given lip service but these worldbuilding fangs failed to break the reader’s skin. There’s so much more I wanted to read about how the vampire houses differ and interact that wasn’t included here. The importance of the Citadel and the need to keep it intact was understandable enough but the vampires’ motivations and underhand politics left me a little thirsting for more.
"No one has loved Kazan since her father, and she can barely remember
what that felt like. She doesn’t need love. She doesn’t."
November 14, 2024
Huh. Definitely could use a once-over (or two), but didn’t think it was nearly as terrible as the ratings indicate? But maybe I just find decapitations more fun than the average person does.
June 15, 2024
I am quite saddened to give this 2⭐️ to be honest, considering I was really excited and looking forward to this vampire novel.
Honestly, the start was good, I did like it. Everything just went downhill after Kazan became the so-called vampire queen and the poor executive storyline of the vampire characters.
I would say the plot development and characters were lacking. It lacked that vampire feel to it, the mysteriousness of the character and the intrigued of the vampire content as well as the background or supporting details to make it convincing.
I would say I'm disappointed in how the 60% of the novel went. The potential was wasted. Kazan was disappointing, I was expecting more of her the same with Adrius. I could also say the same with Dasar and Ezelind.
Overall, it was honestly disappointing.
Honestly, the start was good, I did like it. Everything just went downhill after Kazan became the so-called vampire queen and the poor executive storyline of the vampire characters.
I would say the plot development and characters were lacking. It lacked that vampire feel to it, the mysteriousness of the character and the intrigued of the vampire content as well as the background or supporting details to make it convincing.
I would say I'm disappointed in how the 60% of the novel went. The potential was wasted. Kazan was disappointing, I was expecting more of her the same with Adrius. I could also say the same with Dasar and Ezelind.
Overall, it was honestly disappointing.
May 20, 2024
Thank you so much to NetGalley and the Publisher for allowing me to read this book!
Looking for something with a female protagonist that throws together the Strahd campaign from D&D with Castlevania? You have this book.
This story is a quick read, but a good one in terms of vampires and escaping fate. Our female lead is a blacksmith, she has past dealings with vampires. She seeks out a woman who she wishes to sell one of her swords to, a sword for killing vampires. While waiting to see this female (think of her like a broker), she meets a vampire. This vampire is undercover and is actually a pretty nice guy. They strike up a bit of a friendship and soon after they both get their respective visit with the broker, they part ways. The broker tells our female lead she should try selling the sword out of town, and that she should leave with a caravan of vampire hunters. She leaves with the caravan, it gets attacked, she escapes, and ends up in a party of vampires who fight her, and sic their skilled vampire fighter on her - the vampire she just struck a friendship with, She is overtaken and ends up as a 'queen' in their castle. There she discovers for three days she has to put up with their revelry and debauchery until midnight of the third day. That's when they kill her.
This book is pretty gruesome, and involves a lot of fighting, swearing, blood, gore, and fucking. Vampires are regal, yes, but they do have needs and desires and urges which make them feral. Our female lead is alone, and she has to figure out how to escape, how to get her sword back, and how to kill these vampires or die trying.
95% of the story takes place in this castle, and I liked that our female never strayed for her goal. She was out for business, out to protect herself, and in return she got to know herself more than she ever did before. I liked that the author made her a flawed human (saving / savior / what constitutes as a death and sparing a life, etc.) and how decisions she makes either doom or give strength to her. I also liked that the vampires and how one becomes a vampire has other alternatives (people that die without being turned are spirits that roam the halls, and can possess you too).
The reason I ranked it down a star is that the world building was kind of bare outside of the vampires, and that I felt like I was missing something. Is there other stories to be had in this world, or other stories that came before this?
Otherwise, if you're looking for the above in a story you'll want to read this.
Looking for something with a female protagonist that throws together the Strahd campaign from D&D with Castlevania? You have this book.
This story is a quick read, but a good one in terms of vampires and escaping fate. Our female lead is a blacksmith, she has past dealings with vampires. She seeks out a woman who she wishes to sell one of her swords to, a sword for killing vampires. While waiting to see this female (think of her like a broker), she meets a vampire. This vampire is undercover and is actually a pretty nice guy. They strike up a bit of a friendship and soon after they both get their respective visit with the broker, they part ways. The broker tells our female lead she should try selling the sword out of town, and that she should leave with a caravan of vampire hunters. She leaves with the caravan, it gets attacked, she escapes, and ends up in a party of vampires who fight her, and sic their skilled vampire fighter on her - the vampire she just struck a friendship with, She is overtaken and ends up as a 'queen' in their castle. There she discovers for three days she has to put up with their revelry and debauchery until midnight of the third day. That's when they kill her.
This book is pretty gruesome, and involves a lot of fighting, swearing, blood, gore, and fucking. Vampires are regal, yes, but they do have needs and desires and urges which make them feral. Our female lead is alone, and she has to figure out how to escape, how to get her sword back, and how to kill these vampires or die trying.
95% of the story takes place in this castle, and I liked that our female never strayed for her goal. She was out for business, out to protect herself, and in return she got to know herself more than she ever did before. I liked that the author made her a flawed human (saving / savior / what constitutes as a death and sparing a life, etc.) and how decisions she makes either doom or give strength to her. I also liked that the vampires and how one becomes a vampire has other alternatives (people that die without being turned are spirits that roam the halls, and can possess you too).
The reason I ranked it down a star is that the world building was kind of bare outside of the vampires, and that I felt like I was missing something. Is there other stories to be had in this world, or other stories that came before this?
Otherwise, if you're looking for the above in a story you'll want to read this.
May 12, 2024
⭐️⭐️⭐️.75
First of all the dedication had me won over already.
This story follows Kazan a human woman just trying to make a name for herself by forging weapons to use against vampires who reign supreme in this fantasy world. With a turn of bad luck and trickery she ends up trapped in a web of schemes and plotting right in the heart of the vampire stronghold.
The world building in this novel is great, the description of people and places was delightful and it has been a long time since I’ve enjoyed a gritty vampire story. The novel is prosed in third person format and is only from the POV of Kazan herself, however I think it would have been great to get other POVs throughout the novel, just to give more insight into other characters and their backgrounds and dive into the mcs relationships throughout.
If you’re a fan of more plot based than romance based novels then this would be for you, even though there is romance and superbly slow-burn, the main premise of the novel is based around the MCs endeavours!
This was a really enjoyable read and I’m looking forward to see where Kazan’s future goes in further editions.
✨ Thank you so much for this ARC copy for my honest review ✨
First of all the dedication had me won over already.
This story follows Kazan a human woman just trying to make a name for herself by forging weapons to use against vampires who reign supreme in this fantasy world. With a turn of bad luck and trickery she ends up trapped in a web of schemes and plotting right in the heart of the vampire stronghold.
The world building in this novel is great, the description of people and places was delightful and it has been a long time since I’ve enjoyed a gritty vampire story. The novel is prosed in third person format and is only from the POV of Kazan herself, however I think it would have been great to get other POVs throughout the novel, just to give more insight into other characters and their backgrounds and dive into the mcs relationships throughout.
If you’re a fan of more plot based than romance based novels then this would be for you, even though there is romance and superbly slow-burn, the main premise of the novel is based around the MCs endeavours!
This was a really enjoyable read and I’m looking forward to see where Kazan’s future goes in further editions.
✨ Thank you so much for this ARC copy for my honest review ✨
September 15, 2024
A perfect balance of seduction and danger make Pierlots locked room fantasy book a veritable feast of power, violence and survival. Very much plot driven this was pacy and kept me engaged throughout, returning to the classic bloodthirsty hedonistic vampire archetype allows Pierlot to spill plenty of blood, and that she does, theres a plethora of brutal battle scenes, while the romance aspect fell short of my initial expectations based on the description it was still a throughly enjoyable read. I did find myself wanting more, more exploration of the world and characters as I feel she only just scratched the surface, this would make a fantastic series *hint hint* thankyou to angry robot books for the early copy!
April 7, 2025
The Hunter’s Gambit had all the right ingredients to be a thrilling, dark fantasy: polyamorous vampires, an extravagant palace, political intrigue, and secret rituals. So, when I saw the beautiful cover and read the premise, I was immediately intrigued and had high hopes for this book. Unfortunately, despite its promising setup, I found myself disappointed by the execution.
The main character, Kazan, was perhaps the biggest obstacle to fully enjoying the story. While she’s portrayed as a smart, self-taught fighter, her character felt incredibly one-dimensional. Her defining traits seemed to be her pathological lying and her obsession with the large scar on her face, which people repeatedly point out, making her feel “ugly” and “unattractive.” This constant focus on her physical appearance and her dishonesty started to feel repetitive and drained the excitement from the narrative. By the time I was 300 pages in, I found it increasingly difficult to stay invested in her journey, which mostly involved running around the vampire palace trying to locate a magical sword that can kill vampires (and, in the process, making very questionable decisions).
The romance was another aspect of the story that left much to be desired. Kazan’s relationships with her love interests—Adrius and Reya—felt underdeveloped and lacked the depth I had hoped for. Reya, one of Kazan's love interests, was particularly flat, with her only interesting trait being her ability to transform into a black cat. While Adrius had more personality and was the most well-rounded character in the book, his actions seemed inconsistent at times, particularly when it came to forgiving Kazan for her many lies. Despite these flaws, I have to admit that his fight scenes were exciting and added some intensity to the plot.
The plot itself, while rich with potential, ultimately fell flat. There were numerous side plots, like Kazan's brief alliance with Alphonse, Adrius’ brother, but they felt rushed and lacked proper development. The constant back-and-forth between the characters—who’s lying, who’s trusting who—became repetitive and predictable. And, as if to reinforce the chaotic pacing, some pivotal moments felt needlessly dramatic, like the brutal and sudden death of Kazan’s lady-in-waiting, Isadora. The lack of any real consequences from such events only further diminished the emotional weight of the story.
Another issue I had was with the ending, which felt rushed and left me questioning Kazan’s motivations. Her decision to leave Glassdow didn’t feel like a choice made by the character, but more like she was being pushed along by the narrative. After a sudden change of heart, she trades her house for a horse to pursue a journey that felt more contrived than organic. The plot's pacing became increasingly erratic toward the end, which left me feeling unsatisfied and frustrated with how the story wrapped up.
The Hunter’s Gambit shows flashes of potential, especially with its introduction of vampire politics, blood magic, and the intriguing world of the vampiric citadel. However, the underdeveloped characters, uneven pacing, and lack of payoff in some of the story’s more interesting elements make it difficult to fully recommend. While the cover art and premise may draw you in, the execution leaves much to be desired.
Rating: 2.5/5 – A book with a lot of promise, but ultimately falters due to its unremarkable main character, inconsistent romance, and rushed pacing.
Thank you NetGalley and Angry Robot Publishing for my DRC.
The main character, Kazan, was perhaps the biggest obstacle to fully enjoying the story. While she’s portrayed as a smart, self-taught fighter, her character felt incredibly one-dimensional. Her defining traits seemed to be her pathological lying and her obsession with the large scar on her face, which people repeatedly point out, making her feel “ugly” and “unattractive.” This constant focus on her physical appearance and her dishonesty started to feel repetitive and drained the excitement from the narrative. By the time I was 300 pages in, I found it increasingly difficult to stay invested in her journey, which mostly involved running around the vampire palace trying to locate a magical sword that can kill vampires (and, in the process, making very questionable decisions).
The romance was another aspect of the story that left much to be desired. Kazan’s relationships with her love interests—Adrius and Reya—felt underdeveloped and lacked the depth I had hoped for. Reya, one of Kazan's love interests, was particularly flat, with her only interesting trait being her ability to transform into a black cat. While Adrius had more personality and was the most well-rounded character in the book, his actions seemed inconsistent at times, particularly when it came to forgiving Kazan for her many lies. Despite these flaws, I have to admit that his fight scenes were exciting and added some intensity to the plot.
The plot itself, while rich with potential, ultimately fell flat. There were numerous side plots, like Kazan's brief alliance with Alphonse, Adrius’ brother, but they felt rushed and lacked proper development. The constant back-and-forth between the characters—who’s lying, who’s trusting who—became repetitive and predictable. And, as if to reinforce the chaotic pacing, some pivotal moments felt needlessly dramatic, like the brutal and sudden death of Kazan’s lady-in-waiting, Isadora. The lack of any real consequences from such events only further diminished the emotional weight of the story.
Another issue I had was with the ending, which felt rushed and left me questioning Kazan’s motivations. Her decision to leave Glassdow didn’t feel like a choice made by the character, but more like she was being pushed along by the narrative. After a sudden change of heart, she trades her house for a horse to pursue a journey that felt more contrived than organic. The plot's pacing became increasingly erratic toward the end, which left me feeling unsatisfied and frustrated with how the story wrapped up.
The Hunter’s Gambit shows flashes of potential, especially with its introduction of vampire politics, blood magic, and the intriguing world of the vampiric citadel. However, the underdeveloped characters, uneven pacing, and lack of payoff in some of the story’s more interesting elements make it difficult to fully recommend. While the cover art and premise may draw you in, the execution leaves much to be desired.
Rating: 2.5/5 – A book with a lot of promise, but ultimately falters due to its unremarkable main character, inconsistent romance, and rushed pacing.
Thank you NetGalley and Angry Robot Publishing for my DRC.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
June 26, 2024
Review originally on JamReads
The Hunter's Gambit is a standalone dark fantasy novel written by Ciel Pierlot, and published by Angry Robot Books. A highly atmospheric locked room escape adventure that explores how far our main character Kazan will have to go to survive among the hedonistic vampires of the citadel, and that gifts us excellent and brutal action scenes and a more classic focus into these creatures.
Kazan Korvic's past is marked by vampires; orphaned after a vampire raid, she became a blacksmith with a special attention on creating weapons that can kill them. However, all that skill won't be enough when she's attacked and captured by a group of vampires; without her new weapon, she's forced to assist to their Citadel and their feast, being revered as their Queen. Doted and revered, the Queen of vampires is killed at the end of the celebrations to renew the Citadel strength, the main course of the feast.
Alone on her own, Kazan plans to find her weapon and get out; no allies, but soon she will find that not everybody is dancing to the music, and desperate situations make strange friends. She's ready to do anything in order to survive, and establishing dubious relationships is just the tip of the iceberg.
With Kazan, Pierlot gives us a morally grey character, ready to lie and with more than enough reasons to hate vampires; being trapped in the Citadel is just the situation that pushes her towards her limit, and even further. She's been hardened by life, and it's a prime example of somebody that has nothing to lose.
In comparison, I would say that ironically Adrius and Reya are more human in that sense that Kazan. Their target is to change vampire's hierarch; their unlikely bond with Kazan ends gifting us some steamy scenes that fitted perfectly with the whole setting. Ambitious, but also caring for others.
I absolutely loved the setting, and the "return" to a more classical vampire archetype, bloodthirsty but also hedonistic; pleasure and enjoyment are a substantial part of what makes the feast at the Citadel special. Humans are no more than disposable animals for them, a fun thing to hunt; and the Queen is just the piece needed to keep the Citadel for another year.
With Kazan's situation, Pierlot takes the opportunity to write an action-packed story, full of violent scenes, a great example of the motto "you are trapped with me". Not only that, but we see how to survive, Kazan will renounce to what makes her human; the time running out perspective only reinforces the desperation she's suffering. The pacing is absolutely amazing, with a great prose that fits perfectly with our story.
I absolutely loved The Hunter's Gambit, as it was all I was expecting from this kind of book; a dark fantasy that returns to classical vampires with a main character that is far from being a heroine, with blood and some steam. Fans of EotV, you want to pick this excellent novel by Ciel Pierlot.
The Hunter's Gambit is a standalone dark fantasy novel written by Ciel Pierlot, and published by Angry Robot Books. A highly atmospheric locked room escape adventure that explores how far our main character Kazan will have to go to survive among the hedonistic vampires of the citadel, and that gifts us excellent and brutal action scenes and a more classic focus into these creatures.
Kazan Korvic's past is marked by vampires; orphaned after a vampire raid, she became a blacksmith with a special attention on creating weapons that can kill them. However, all that skill won't be enough when she's attacked and captured by a group of vampires; without her new weapon, she's forced to assist to their Citadel and their feast, being revered as their Queen. Doted and revered, the Queen of vampires is killed at the end of the celebrations to renew the Citadel strength, the main course of the feast.
Alone on her own, Kazan plans to find her weapon and get out; no allies, but soon she will find that not everybody is dancing to the music, and desperate situations make strange friends. She's ready to do anything in order to survive, and establishing dubious relationships is just the tip of the iceberg.
With Kazan, Pierlot gives us a morally grey character, ready to lie and with more than enough reasons to hate vampires; being trapped in the Citadel is just the situation that pushes her towards her limit, and even further. She's been hardened by life, and it's a prime example of somebody that has nothing to lose.
In comparison, I would say that ironically Adrius and Reya are more human in that sense that Kazan. Their target is to change vampire's hierarch; their unlikely bond with Kazan ends gifting us some steamy scenes that fitted perfectly with the whole setting. Ambitious, but also caring for others.
I absolutely loved the setting, and the "return" to a more classical vampire archetype, bloodthirsty but also hedonistic; pleasure and enjoyment are a substantial part of what makes the feast at the Citadel special. Humans are no more than disposable animals for them, a fun thing to hunt; and the Queen is just the piece needed to keep the Citadel for another year.
With Kazan's situation, Pierlot takes the opportunity to write an action-packed story, full of violent scenes, a great example of the motto "you are trapped with me". Not only that, but we see how to survive, Kazan will renounce to what makes her human; the time running out perspective only reinforces the desperation she's suffering. The pacing is absolutely amazing, with a great prose that fits perfectly with our story.
I absolutely loved The Hunter's Gambit, as it was all I was expecting from this kind of book; a dark fantasy that returns to classical vampires with a main character that is far from being a heroine, with blood and some steam. Fans of EotV, you want to pick this excellent novel by Ciel Pierlot.
June 4, 2024
Thank you to netgalley and angry robot for the arc of this book, the cover is beautiful and really caught my eye. I do want to start off by saying I loved the dedication in this book and the first chapter and premise definitely had me intrigued. I liked the fact that Kazan was a blacksmith and I really wish the plot allowed for us to see that more as I found it a unique quality in a main character.
Unfortunately this book did fall flat for me, at times I found the dialogue to be awkward and the plot felt rushed toward the end but slow throughout. I would of liked to have more interaction with the love interests and had one or two more intimate scenes with them. I also think fleshing out the vampire vs human world would of been good as well as at times I felt the plot was a bit repetitive. I think more fear factor of vampires would of been beneficial in the beginning, and having more dangerous situations with the vampires to really solidify how dangerous they could be despite the circumstances of the situation. The stakes unfortunately didn’t seem very high to me for any of the characters.
I liked the fantastical elements of vampires and geists, it would of been interesting to explore them more and have our main character interact with them more as a plot point. I would recommend this book for anyone wanting to get into vampire books and romance as I do think it would be a great entryway into those genres and that it is still an enjoyable read.
Unfortunately this book did fall flat for me, at times I found the dialogue to be awkward and the plot felt rushed toward the end but slow throughout. I would of liked to have more interaction with the love interests and had one or two more intimate scenes with them. I also think fleshing out the vampire vs human world would of been good as well as at times I felt the plot was a bit repetitive. I think more fear factor of vampires would of been beneficial in the beginning, and having more dangerous situations with the vampires to really solidify how dangerous they could be despite the circumstances of the situation. The stakes unfortunately didn’t seem very high to me for any of the characters.
I liked the fantastical elements of vampires and geists, it would of been interesting to explore them more and have our main character interact with them more as a plot point. I would recommend this book for anyone wanting to get into vampire books and romance as I do think it would be a great entryway into those genres and that it is still an enjoyable read.
June 16, 2024
Thank you to Netgalley and Angry Robot for the eARC! The Hunter’s Gambit was a pretty fun and wild read overall. I finished the majority of it in one day because there were so many twists and turns and I needed to know what happened!
That said, the reason I’m not rating this book higher is because I felt that the overall plot was underdeveloped. There was also a lot of convenience with the main character Kazan eavesdropping and two of the vampires taking such an interest in her so quickly. Plus, I feel like the beginning of the book to the bulk of it were two completely different stories rather than exposition setting us up for rising action. The ending also felt very convoluted and that the book should have finished up much sooner than it did.
This did have some badass and frightening vampires. Some of them felt like caricatures, but I was also okay with that. It gave charm to a really dreary premise haha. I also appreciated Kazan and her two love interests being openly bisexual and exploring that with one another, though the romance did happen quite quickly.
Overall, I’d definitely read another book by this author, and this book is a refreshing one in the world of vampire literature.
That said, the reason I’m not rating this book higher is because I felt that the overall plot was underdeveloped. There was also a lot of convenience with the main character Kazan eavesdropping and two of the vampires taking such an interest in her so quickly. Plus, I feel like the beginning of the book to the bulk of it were two completely different stories rather than exposition setting us up for rising action. The ending also felt very convoluted and that the book should have finished up much sooner than it did.
This did have some badass and frightening vampires. Some of them felt like caricatures, but I was also okay with that. It gave charm to a really dreary premise haha. I also appreciated Kazan and her two love interests being openly bisexual and exploring that with one another, though the romance did happen quite quickly.
Overall, I’d definitely read another book by this author, and this book is a refreshing one in the world of vampire literature.
September 21, 2024
Nahhh. I think I added this when there were less ratings, so it was rated higher. I should’ve checked again before reading. This was disappointing, really. It started out good, and I was very interested. I’m a sucker for a good vampire fantasy. Good plot and premise initially, but it just fell apart. The decisions the FMC made just made no sense. The characters were not developed well at all. I still don’t know the motivation for their decisions. Also, trying not to spoil this here so I’ll be vague, but two of the vampires were helping this human FMC as if they needed her, but what ended up happening I felt like could’ve happened without her at all 🫠 Like why were they waiting decades to do this only to feel like now they could because they had her? This weak human who somehow could fight vampires even though she was never really trained? The last half just fell apart for me, and it ended up feeling like a fairly pointless book.
June 29, 2024
I really enjoyed this gory, violent book. as soon as someone's head got lopped off I knew it'd be the book for me. the only thing I didn't quite like was the ending and the romance is lacking. but everything else....love. I was definitely feeling the "ready or not" mivie vibes and all the action scenes were so satiafying.
I received an ARC copy through netgalley but all thoughts are my own.
I received an ARC copy through netgalley but all thoughts are my own.
July 12, 2024
Kazan Korvic - a blacksmith with a talent - has made a sword purely to kill vampires.
While on a journey to sell this weapon, the group is attacked.
Kazan fights for her life but is soon overwhelmed and knocked unconscious. When she comes to, she is a prisoner in the vampire citadel.
She's the guest of honour and has been crowned Queen of the Vampires. She will rule for three days, and then there will be a big feast. Unfortunately for Kazan she is the main course.
This wasn't what I was expecting when I picked this up, but I really enjoyed it. If you're a fan of hedonistic vampires, give this a go.
Thank you, Angry Robot, for the ARC
While on a journey to sell this weapon, the group is attacked.
Kazan fights for her life but is soon overwhelmed and knocked unconscious. When she comes to, she is a prisoner in the vampire citadel.
She's the guest of honour and has been crowned Queen of the Vampires. She will rule for three days, and then there will be a big feast. Unfortunately for Kazan she is the main course.
This wasn't what I was expecting when I picked this up, but I really enjoyed it. If you're a fan of hedonistic vampires, give this a go.
Thank you, Angry Robot, for the ARC
May 13, 2024
4.75/5
This was brutal and I honestly loved it.
The dedication was right, these vampires definitely aren't Mormon.
The human main character ends up trapped as a play thing for vampires in a big fancy citadel, knowing that at the end of three days of parties, she'll be eaten by them.
But she's pretty badass herself and is determined to find a way out.
There's definitely a "locked room" kind of vibe to the story and you feel the desperation of being trapped in this situation surrounded by these violent beings who are smugly careless of human life.
There's lots of political intrigue, it kind of reminds me a bit of Cruel Prince, if it was written by Jay Kristoff. Everyone's morally grey at best, including the main character. If you need at leastsomeone in your read to be a nice person, you won't find that here. But if you don't mind something a bit angry and wicked, you might find this a guilty pleasure.
The climax is pretty graphic but disturbingly satisfying. Oh and speaking of - there's a vampire threesome, if that's your jam.
The very finish of the story is quite open ended, which does feel a little unsatisfying as reader, but at the same time, I think it suits the story. I don't think anything else would have fit very well, and it's not really "tied in a neat bow" kind of tale.
I smashed through this in a couple of days, after taking weeks to drag myself through my last read. It was dark, propulsive and addictive, and I genuinely enjoyed it very much.
This was brutal and I honestly loved it.
The dedication was right, these vampires definitely aren't Mormon.
The human main character ends up trapped as a play thing for vampires in a big fancy citadel, knowing that at the end of three days of parties, she'll be eaten by them.
But she's pretty badass herself and is determined to find a way out.
There's definitely a "locked room" kind of vibe to the story and you feel the desperation of being trapped in this situation surrounded by these violent beings who are smugly careless of human life.
There's lots of political intrigue, it kind of reminds me a bit of Cruel Prince, if it was written by Jay Kristoff. Everyone's morally grey at best, including the main character. If you need at leastsomeone in your read to be a nice person, you won't find that here. But if you don't mind something a bit angry and wicked, you might find this a guilty pleasure.
The climax is pretty graphic but disturbingly satisfying. Oh and speaking of - there's a vampire threesome, if that's your jam.
The very finish of the story is quite open ended, which does feel a little unsatisfying as reader, but at the same time, I think it suits the story. I don't think anything else would have fit very well, and it's not really "tied in a neat bow" kind of tale.
I smashed through this in a couple of days, after taking weeks to drag myself through my last read. It was dark, propulsive and addictive, and I genuinely enjoyed it very much.
July 16, 2024
I read this mainly because of the dedication. I love vampires, love smut, and loved twilight so figured it had to be good. It fell short :( a couple good moments but only finished it because it was a short quick read.
Read
January 20, 2026I gave it 50 pages and I just cant do it. it didnt grab me im done. 3rd time trying to read it its going to my bestie lol
August 19, 2024
This book felt like it was written because someone had some really cool scenes they wanted to write and then just stoped there. I read the first chapter as a preview on Libby and was genuinely interested in reading more because the intro to the world, the FMC, the male love interest and their inherent conflict as human v vampire was great. I should've known when chapter 2 and 3 were garbage this book would whiplash like that and continue to underdeliver.
This whole "story" felt like someone saw some action movies and then was like, yes I need to write that scene but have it not make any sense for my characters to behave that way or be there when scene happens. Won't it be cool to murder someone while lightening is striking tho?!?! Imagine someone eating a heart, how cool?!?! THREESOME!!!
Kazan is boring and none of her actions/choices make sense. We're also told she's a liar and she does lie, but her lies don't actually help her accomplish anything. We're told she lies because it serves her own ends but it comes off more like she has a poor memory and has never interacted with anyone ever. Also the ending where "she's so good at lying she didn't realize she was lying" is the dumbest thing I have ever read.
The love interests are also idiots. They let Kazan run amuck and she continues to ruin all of their plans. Their very smart and logical plans that I actually would've liked to see come to fruition because it seemed way more crafty and interesting than reading about Kazan fumbling through wherever the book demanded she be next so we could be part of cool scene. Isn't it great, she's stabbing a man's hand to pin him to a table even though earlier she was warned not to be violent by the baddies or else they'll be violent with her. And then the love interests kept taking her back...? After she ruined everything because "story" demanded they have conflict.
The baddies also fell flat. They're generic mean to her and intend to sacrifice her in 3 days. That's it, no torture scenes, no manual labor, no toying with her during a fight, no violations of the Geneva Convention. They pet her hair, they hold her hand, they make her sit at a table while they insult her. We get a few "if you don't behave we'll have to hurt you" and then they just make her drink wine until she's drunk and leave her alone. They also imply she's being tracked by a magic garter (that love interest takes off her, oooh scandalous scene!) so the main baddie can find her and that's removed Day 1 of 3 and then never mentioned again. You would think a baddie would notice if he couldn't track her in his giant escape rooms mansion, but alas we must have cool scene instead where Kazan talks to a ghost.
TL;DR everyone is idiots but ooooh look at this cool scene because isn't this idea cool?!
This whole "story" felt like someone saw some action movies and then was like, yes I need to write that scene but have it not make any sense for my characters to behave that way or be there when scene happens. Won't it be cool to murder someone while lightening is striking tho?!?! Imagine someone eating a heart, how cool?!?! THREESOME!!!
Kazan is boring and none of her actions/choices make sense. We're also told she's a liar and she does lie, but her lies don't actually help her accomplish anything. We're told she lies because it serves her own ends but it comes off more like she has a poor memory and has never interacted with anyone ever. Also the ending where "she's so good at lying she didn't realize she was lying" is the dumbest thing I have ever read.
The love interests are also idiots. They let Kazan run amuck and she continues to ruin all of their plans. Their very smart and logical plans that I actually would've liked to see come to fruition because it seemed way more crafty and interesting than reading about Kazan fumbling through wherever the book demanded she be next so we could be part of cool scene. Isn't it great, she's stabbing a man's hand to pin him to a table even though earlier she was warned not to be violent by the baddies or else they'll be violent with her. And then the love interests kept taking her back...? After she ruined everything because "story" demanded they have conflict.
The baddies also fell flat. They're generic mean to her and intend to sacrifice her in 3 days. That's it, no torture scenes, no manual labor, no toying with her during a fight, no violations of the Geneva Convention. They pet her hair, they hold her hand, they make her sit at a table while they insult her. We get a few "if you don't behave we'll have to hurt you" and then they just make her drink wine until she's drunk and leave her alone. They also imply she's being tracked by a magic garter (that love interest takes off her, oooh scandalous scene!) so the main baddie can find her and that's removed Day 1 of 3 and then never mentioned again. You would think a baddie would notice if he couldn't track her in his giant escape rooms mansion, but alas we must have cool scene instead where Kazan talks to a ghost.
TL;DR everyone is idiots but ooooh look at this cool scene because isn't this idea cool?!
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
Read
June 21, 2024The MC is a blacksmith who in a desire to sell her vampire slaying sword, is attacked whilst travelling. She is snatched up by the vampires and taken back to their citadel to serve as their ‘Queen’ in a yearly ritual.
Stuck in their castle forced to participate in a three day party, on a countdown until her death, Kazan has three days to find a way out. I liked that she’s stuck in the castle and we have the tension of time ticking away. It’s fraught with escapes, deals, secrets and blood. It delivers us vampires drowning in excess and decadence, violent as they are seductive.
She’s trapped with these vampires and quickly starts to parse out their politics. She tumbles and fights and navigates her way through the citadel. It’s fast paced and chaotic. Our MC will do anything for her own survival and fights every second of this charade. I like the contrast of the lavish party and the high stakes danger Kazan faces. I also appreciate the ending and the that she gets the I make the choice.
However the romance was so quick, it takes place over three days so I’m not even sure I would say it is romance. There is a connection and lust and potential and it explores that but it doesn’t claim to be love. This story isn’t a romantasy in the classic sense, it’s a whirlwind of fighting and vampires, the story doesn’t go further than that and we get as much development of the characters as you might imagine over 3 days.
Thank you to the publisher for gifting me a copy. Thoughts are my own.
Stuck in their castle forced to participate in a three day party, on a countdown until her death, Kazan has three days to find a way out. I liked that she’s stuck in the castle and we have the tension of time ticking away. It’s fraught with escapes, deals, secrets and blood. It delivers us vampires drowning in excess and decadence, violent as they are seductive.
She’s trapped with these vampires and quickly starts to parse out their politics. She tumbles and fights and navigates her way through the citadel. It’s fast paced and chaotic. Our MC will do anything for her own survival and fights every second of this charade. I like the contrast of the lavish party and the high stakes danger Kazan faces. I also appreciate the ending and the that she gets the I make the choice.
However the romance was so quick, it takes place over three days so I’m not even sure I would say it is romance. There is a connection and lust and potential and it explores that but it doesn’t claim to be love. This story isn’t a romantasy in the classic sense, it’s a whirlwind of fighting and vampires, the story doesn’t go further than that and we get as much development of the characters as you might imagine over 3 days.
Thank you to the publisher for gifting me a copy. Thoughts are my own.
March 26, 2024
Thank you so much to NetGalley and Angry Robot for the eARC!!
I loved this book! The writing flowed easily and even with all of the different threads of storylines, the book flowed well and all threads wove intricately together. You can feel the love and passion that Ciel Pierlot poured into this book from page one.
Kazan is a blacksmith, who has vowed to fight vampires as they torment humans in this magical world. Kazan gets captured and locked in the castle full of bloodthirsty vampires. She feels trapped, stuck, and scared...until she realizes that the vampires are, in fact, stuck in the castle with her. Can she fight her way out...?
The anger, the power, the fighting, all of it was a great adventure. It was also a breath of fresh air to read about court intrigue and politics in a new way, and Ciel Pierlot did this amazingly! Between all the vampire clans and unique character plots, his world sucks you right in and you have no choice but to hold on as the roller coaster twists up and down and side to side.
AND THAT ENDING??? HOLD ON TIGHT!!
I think my favorite part of this book was the character development of Kazan...it was great to read about a strong woman character bursting out of her shell, letting herself feel the anger, and destroy her shell. To learn that it's okay to go after what you deserve and want...as long as you're ready to face what comes after... *cue evil laugh*
I would recommend this book to anyone who loves vampires, rioting adventure, epic battle scenes, court politics, and a fantasy adventure with a dash of romance!!
I loved this book! The writing flowed easily and even with all of the different threads of storylines, the book flowed well and all threads wove intricately together. You can feel the love and passion that Ciel Pierlot poured into this book from page one.
Kazan is a blacksmith, who has vowed to fight vampires as they torment humans in this magical world. Kazan gets captured and locked in the castle full of bloodthirsty vampires. She feels trapped, stuck, and scared...until she realizes that the vampires are, in fact, stuck in the castle with her. Can she fight her way out...?
The anger, the power, the fighting, all of it was a great adventure. It was also a breath of fresh air to read about court intrigue and politics in a new way, and Ciel Pierlot did this amazingly! Between all the vampire clans and unique character plots, his world sucks you right in and you have no choice but to hold on as the roller coaster twists up and down and side to side.
AND THAT ENDING??? HOLD ON TIGHT!!
I think my favorite part of this book was the character development of Kazan...it was great to read about a strong woman character bursting out of her shell, letting herself feel the anger, and destroy her shell. To learn that it's okay to go after what you deserve and want...as long as you're ready to face what comes after... *cue evil laugh*
I would recommend this book to anyone who loves vampires, rioting adventure, epic battle scenes, court politics, and a fantasy adventure with a dash of romance!!
July 5, 2024
ridiculous
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