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Springhaven
Nevia Malika just hardly evaded Death’s cold embrace. It’s a miracle she can’t quite accept.
The capital city of Ardura has long since been burned to ash, and as a young woman with no magic, she has bore the chains of suffering for far too long. Even when her guardian sneaks her off to an abandoned river-side village to escape the pain of her existence, she can’t consider it a blessing.
Because that’s not the only reason he brought her there.
At first she can accept new friendships, strength, and even a taste of love. Yet, as she trains for a pointless war against Ardura’s immortal tyrant, secrets are unveiled—again, and again, and again—until she’s left with one fight, or let the world suffer eternally.
Seeing as she’s the only one who stands a chance at survival.
The capital city of Ardura has long since been burned to ash, and as a young woman with no magic, she has bore the chains of suffering for far too long. Even when her guardian sneaks her off to an abandoned river-side village to escape the pain of her existence, she can’t consider it a blessing.
Because that’s not the only reason he brought her there.
At first she can accept new friendships, strength, and even a taste of love. Yet, as she trains for a pointless war against Ardura’s immortal tyrant, secrets are unveiled—again, and again, and again—until she’s left with one fight, or let the world suffer eternally.
Seeing as she’s the only one who stands a chance at survival.
362 pages, Paperback
Published May 1, 2024
3 people are currently reading
8 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews
January 28, 2026
I want to start off by saying, MY GOODNESS. THAT FIRST CHAPTER. Okay, now that that’s been done, I can calm back down. I won’t spoil it, but that was a marvelous way to kick off the story. It immediately piqued my interest and made me excited to see what was coming next. Now, full disclosure, I am not a romantasy reader. I know it’s very popular and respect it as a genre, but it’s not one I really read. That said, considering this from the standpoint of someone who reads, I think it does well! The romance is cute and you’ve got a love triangle trope. The two male leads in this, Hazen and Thorne, are both fun in their own way. They are figuratively, and in some ways literally, fire and water (since they have those powers). So, if you like the “gruff, seems mean but is actually kind” guy or the “bright-eyed, Golden retriever of a man,” they’re both here. The story is told with first-person POV, so it’s almost like you’re the one who gets to live through these crushes. Nevia has been very sheltered her whole life, making her like a teenager who’s experiencing her first crush, her first time being upset with a parental figure, and her first time feeling both competent and terrified of responsibility.
Something I really liked in this story was the way the world worked. It was intriguing. Nevia is canonically in her 50s but ages differently like everyone else. For example, a person who’s considered middle-aged is in their 500s. This was fascinating to me to see a place where everyone was just expected to have a long life. Aging slows down at 17 and then extends. The monsters (demons in this case) are as scary as you’d expect and want them to be. The way that magic works is also neat with a range of types such as Shadow Magic being the most powerful and most unpredictable. To the romantic interests’ credit, they were both really fun to me as well. I immediately thought Hazen was interesting and cool despite coming off so cold. Also, Thorne’s difficult to dislike since he’s so friendly and warm to everybody.
I don’t know the usual rules for romantasy, but I wish that some of the story veered away from Nevia’s attraction so that we could learn more about the other characters. She has a friend who I didn’t think was explored very much, but with this being the first in the series, there’s always time for that. My main critique is the dialogue. There were times when it felt a bit stilted.
Overall, I would certainly recommend this to anybody who likes romantasy. There are plenty of romantic moments and tender scenes with attraction, acting on that attraction, and wondering if you should. So, if you like your romance with a splash of action, this is the story for you!
Something I really liked in this story was the way the world worked. It was intriguing. Nevia is canonically in her 50s but ages differently like everyone else. For example, a person who’s considered middle-aged is in their 500s. This was fascinating to me to see a place where everyone was just expected to have a long life. Aging slows down at 17 and then extends. The monsters (demons in this case) are as scary as you’d expect and want them to be. The way that magic works is also neat with a range of types such as Shadow Magic being the most powerful and most unpredictable. To the romantic interests’ credit, they were both really fun to me as well. I immediately thought Hazen was interesting and cool despite coming off so cold. Also, Thorne’s difficult to dislike since he’s so friendly and warm to everybody.
I don’t know the usual rules for romantasy, but I wish that some of the story veered away from Nevia’s attraction so that we could learn more about the other characters. She has a friend who I didn’t think was explored very much, but with this being the first in the series, there’s always time for that. My main critique is the dialogue. There were times when it felt a bit stilted.
Overall, I would certainly recommend this to anybody who likes romantasy. There are plenty of romantic moments and tender scenes with attraction, acting on that attraction, and wondering if you should. So, if you like your romance with a splash of action, this is the story for you!
September 29, 2025
This was an excellent read! Definitely some twists I was not expecting and can't wait to read book 2!
Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews