Of Blood & Roses

Warring Hearts #0

by Georgiana Kent

Perfect for fans of A Court of Thorns and Roses , this fantasy romance retelling of Hades and Persephone about a human girl and her forced marriage to the cold yet striking 'King of the Undead' is impossible to put down!

In exchange for protection, Emperor Amias de Marc has two requests of the people of a willing supply of blood sacrifices, and a wife...

Every hundred years, the vampire Emperor opens the gates to his Eternal Palace to select a human bride. In 'The Picking', unmarried maidens turning twenty in the winter are requested to attend, and, from them, the one to make the flowers bloom becomes his betrothed. Refusal means certain death.

Lamia Fontaine is a girl hell-bent on revenge. And her target is the Emperor. Lucky for her, she's part of The Picking, and has an invitation to attend the Palace. Now, all she needs is a chance to get close enough to strike...

Of Blood & Roses is a complete *standalone, enemy-to-lovers novel* inspired by the myth of Hades and Persephone . With magic, spice and a guaranteed happily ever after - it's perfect for fantasy romance fans looking for their next hot, ship-worthy couple!

Warring Hearts is a series of SHORT retellings, perfect for readers looking for a couple of hours of fantastic escapism whilst also helping them meet their Goodreads Reading Challenge Goal.

This book is for you if you
*Contains mature content. DEFINITELY recommended for 18+

Genres: Fantasy, Romance, Paranormal, Vampires, Romantasy, Mythology, Retellings

204 pages, Paperback

First published October 27, 2023

About the author

Fantasy to die for. Characters to ship.

Georgiana Kent is a writer of fantasy romance and urban fantasy. She has always been creative and loves telling stories of enchanting worlds brimming with magic, mystery, and romance. Her novels are richly detailed fantasies on an epic scale marked by unique world-building, and a host of strong, diverse characters waiting for you to fall in love with.

Georgiana writes profound emotional journeys that delve into the intricate interplay of love, loss, and personal growth.

For fans of contemporary fantasies featuring mystery, shifters, time travel, and slow-burn romance, the Soul Dominion series is a must-read. But if you prefer steamy fantasy romances with 'who did this to you' morally grey characters, you'll love her Warring Hearts series of standalone retellings.

You can follow Georgiana on Facebook, TikTok and Instagram @authorgeorgianakent

FOLLOW me on BookBub! https://bit.ly/BookBubGeorgianaKent

All other socials, ARCs and newsletter signups: https://beacons.ai/georgianakentbooks

Reviews

[Sam · Rating 1 out of 5]

This book is marketed as a Hades x Persephone retelling and that's not what this novella is at all. If anything it leans more towards a Beauty and the Beast retelling and even that is kind of generous.

This book fit some readathon prompts so I took the plunge since I got it during Stuff Your Kindle Day in 2023!

I would recommend this book if you have friends on hand you can live react to.

If you like,
- Not knowing the main character's motivations or intentions for 70% of the book
- The whole book is a miscommunication trope, and also then has another miscommunication trope within it in the last chapter.
- Paper-thin emotions and reasonings for any actions or feelings that occur in the book
- Misunderstood "villain"
- The "Who Hurt You?" trope
- Wading through world-building (not good) in a novella
- Awkwardly written smut (that also happens on top of your twin brother's grave?)
- Your husband (Emperor Amais de Marc, Night Lord and King of Forever) mentions his dozen former wives all the time (and no explanation on why he needs the wives or the children he has with them - other than the kids become... "The Knights of Eternal Darkness" that patrol the castle and protect... future wives).
- Your husband saying he's going to mourn you so much when you eventually die! (He will most likely marry another woman when you do die).
- The way to get pregnant by your vampire ex-fae husband is period sex


Then pick this one up!

[Elle David · Rating 2 out of 5]

Wanted to DNF at 20%, carried on and got to 43% before giving up.
This was so chaotically written. I feel this could be a wonderfully detailed and fleshed out world if time had been taken to introduce things in a patient way, rather than blowing by them with the barest of explanation.
I felt the characters were quite two dimensional and the FMC changed her mind like the weather.
Over all, I found this very hard to track with how chaotically it was written, and found myself not caring enough to try and understand it.

[courtney ˚ʚ♡ɞ˚ · Rating 3 out of 5]

this book is by no means a masterpiece and i wasn’t at all blown away with it but for a standalone short book it was a super fun read and i couldn’t really put it down it was so addictive for me ! i rly enjoyed the way the author described certain things it felt so pretty but parts of it were just a bit weird (having sex on your brothers grave???? having to get pregnant on period sex????) and tbh i didnt really know what lamia wanted from half the book she was quite confusing but i didnt mind it and i really enjoyed amias’ character like he had actual emotions and was interesting :D lady visha was such an unnecessary part btw and the whole part with lamia being shot was poorly executed like it was rushed through so quickly… honestly a fine book if you don’t expect it to be magnificent

[Em · Rating 1 out of 5]

How many times did the Felidaeon nip playfully at someone’s heels should be a drinking game

[Hannah · Rating 2 out of 5]

Has promise but needs editing because the pacing was off, there was repetitive phrases and words and just a general lack of romantic tension. I thought this woman hated him

[Charlotte · Rating 3 out of 5]

Listen. It was certainly no literary masterpiece. If ‘trashy’, easy to watch TV was a book, this is it. But it’s ok because it was exactly what I fancied at the time and it helped me be a little more motivated to read again. One issue though.. the graveyard????? Really????

[Kez Marie · Rating 5 out of 5]

A delightful slow burn enemy to lover romantasy with spice. This has a beauty and beast/Hades and Persephone vibe, a Vampire King, and a strong Heroine set on getting revenge.
When Lamia is chosen as a potential bride for Vampire King Amias in the traditional century event 'The Picking' she only has revenge on her mind, she just needs to act the part and get close enough to kill him.
What she didn't expect was to be chosen and forced to wed her enemy, a fate set by destiny.
With lots of drama, sexual tension, angst and mystery, this was a nice standalone HEA romance read.
(Book 1 of a short Romantasy retellings series)

[Bella_beans_reads · Rating 2 out of 5]

Meh
Not long enough to feel the love blossom and change between the characters, it just didn't feel like they had that chemistry

Also doing it for the first time on her brother's grave was just wrong to me, especially considering who the character was I don't feel like she would give on to that in such a place

But truly if it was longer I feel like there would be more times to develop the characters and their relationships

[Emmi Rebecca · Rating 4 out of 5]

Actual rating: 3,75 ✨️

[Aleksandra · Rating 3 out of 5]

Ee taka okej, ale nic poza tym. Neutralnie, czyli takie 2.5, nie była ani zła ani dobra

[Emma · Rating 5 out of 5]

A lovely short read, perfect for the Goodreads Challenge.

If you're looking for a direct retelling, you're going to be disappointed. If you're looking for a clever fantasy romance inspired by the myth of Hades and Persephone, you're in for a treat! Full of mystery, intrigue and sexual tension, I couldn't put it down! I loved Amias and Lamia. For a short story there was plenty of background given to make them believable and likeable. This is no insta love and the MCs battle with their mixed feelings for one another until bam! I was so thrilled when they finally got over their differences and realised their feelings for one another. Sexy AF!! Definitely worth the wait! Can't wait to read more Georgiana has to offer!

Forced marriage
Morally grey heroes
Who did this to you?
Forced proximity
No dub con

I received an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

[Paizli · Rating 3 out of 5]

I feel like this book could have used a second round of editing as well as some beta readers. 
It was a weird combination of wanting to DNF and finish because the plot was actually decent, but there were so many other issues. 

The plot was the main thing holding my interest in this book. Lamia is turning 20 in the coming winter and is to go through a once in a century trial to become the Eternal Emperor's bride. She, of course, passes the trial and is now his wife. She obviously has some beef with him, but you won't know about what that is until much later. Although it is suggested to be a Hades and Persephone retelling, I can't tell you where that fits into the plot and would state it's more a marriage of inconvenience plot.

This was chaotically written. The timeline was inconsistent, details would change page to page for no reason and the characters felt very flat. An example of this is within the first or second chapter when the Picking occurs. The chapter starts off by stating that no one knows what the task is for the Picking, but then there's a chapter break and suddenly Lamia is wondering if she can do it herself. At the end of the chapter Amais says "as you know" when describing the tasks. This was just the first instance of inconsistency I found when reading. 

Two other things that I found unnecessary were the sex scene happening on her brothers grave and the "villain". Neither added anything to the plot really, and it could have been so much better with an antagonist rather than a straight up villain 

I feel that if this book had been edited and expanded I would have rated it higher, but as it stands I can't justify giving it higher than a 2.75

[Tabitha · Rating 2 out of 5]

I would like to arrest this author for crimes against literature, fashion, history and linguistics, including but not limited to the following:

1. Using the æ ligature on the word “fae”
2. Front-loading the book with backstory and then cutting away to the current plot instead of beginning where the story actually begins
3. A grammatical error in the very first sentence of Chapter One
4. Using “stay” as a singular noun when referring to a pair of stays
5. Thinking that medieval gowns can be commissioned in the morning and completed by that evening
6. Men wearing jerkins without shirts underneath
7. Thinking that garters are singular and optional in a world without elastic
8. Reinventing running water for medieval settings just because
9. A Queen of the realm having nothing on the schedule for her first full day as queen, to the point that her spouse has to hand her off to random courtiers to babysit her so she doesn’t get in trouble
10. Forgetting when the FMC had last seen her parents, making for an odd reunion where the parents act like they had not seen her since before they found out she was chosen even though they definitely have, and the emperor invites them to stay at the palace as though they hadn’t already stayed there the night before

The FMC is decidedly TSTL; her plan to assassinate her Emperor did not involve learning the layout of the palace nor having foreknowledge of the man’s appearance nor planning ahead to circumvent the man’s vampiric strength and speed by some means. She tried to stab him, he took the knife away easily, and there’s no plan B, so she starts obnoxiously insulting him, calling him a despot, and then running around trying to escape without knowing where to go, making herself look like an utter fool.

Even more foolish is that her entire raison d’être is avenging her brother, whom the MMC did not kill, and he could’ve told her that on Day One if she had just said something, but she refused to. Communication? Not in my romance novel!

Nevertheless, the “touch her and die” energy is strong with this MMC, even though FMC literally wants him dead. He threatens people way too much to be taken seriously; I mean, why do you have to tell your loyal palace guards TWICE not to lay hands on your queen?!

The “jealous witch who wants the MMC for herself” stock character is over-the-top psychotic and her betrayal could not have been less surprising.

Also, more proof authors cannot do math: One of the kingdoms in the realm is ruled by the MMC’s great-nephew by his late elder brother. We meet him and his two Fae sons a couple times in the novel. A joke is made that they have “forgotten” exactly how many “greats” implying many generations between the 1100 year old vampire/fae MMC and his late brother. However, in the epilogue it’s casually mentioned that one of the king’s sons is eighty and therefore of an age to settle down—I take this to mean his human-age equivalent would be 20-30, which means the fae’s expected lifespan must be around 300 years, so the MMC’s extended vampiric life still amounts to less than 4 normal fae lifespans. MMC’s brother, then his nephew, then his first great-nephew make three generations, spanning probably 600 years of time, and then the king is already an adult with grown children of age 80, so that’s at least another 160 years accounted for. There couldn’t have been that many more generations in the other 340 years. MMC is probably his 3x great-uncle or 4x, tops.

[DeeTurtleReads · Rating 3 out of 5]

I had a good time with it BUT I can’t help but notice all the glaringly obvious editing errors! From something as small as Lamia’s name being misspelled as Lamis once, to entire scenes repeating (meeting her parents) or not making sense at all beside other scenes in the book which show the opposite of what is currently on page.

The writing was actually good and the plot holds a lot of potential, it wasn’t bad by any means so my conclusion is that this book would’ve been better off as a fully fleshed-out novel because mixing fantasy with worldbuilding in a novella of just under 200pg simply doesn’t work. I actually want and need to understand more about the background to fully connect with these characters. Maybe even a series?

Also, the “bad guy” situation was pretty anticlimactic and solved way too quickly, which again, I blame on it being a novella.

The smut was pretty hot!

I will say, however, that this book more than used the ACOTAR books as inspo, to the point where I found myself thinking “Is this…legal”? Your first clue being A Court of Thorns and Roses = Of Blood and Roses (Book 1) and then Book 2 being named Of Wings and Fury = A Court of Mist and Fury / A Court of Wings and Ruin.
Many, MANY other hints throughout the novella which point directly to ACOTAR. Our male main character here is fae with black hair and violet eyes, and rules Noxterra = Land of Night aka Night Court? OKAY…

I’m torn because the book wasn’t bad but it was controversial due to all the things mentioned above + I couldn’t help but feel like the author was playing Trope Bingo. Trying to incorporate as many tropes as possible into the novella thanks to trends on TikTok.

And I’m sorry but the pregnancy trope at the end of a NOVELLA is a federal crime. :(

[Adeyemo Isreal · Rating 5 out of 5]

Of Blood and Roses by Georgiana Kent is a stunning, immersive fantasy that captivated me from start to finish! Kent weaves a beautifully complex world filled with rich mythology, unique characters, and an intense emotional depth that will leave readers longing for more. From the first page, I was transported to a realm where magic, danger, and romance collide in the most unexpected ways.

The characters in this book are wonderfully developed, with layers of strength, vulnerability, and intrigue. I especially appreciated how Kent portrayed the relationships not just the romance, but the deep bonds of friendship, loyalty, and sacrifice. The dynamics between the characters felt genuine and kept me invested in their journey.

What really sets Of Blood and Roses apart, though, is Kent's world-building. Every detail feels carefully crafted, from the magical systems to the political intricacies of this fantastical realm. I was constantly in awe of the depth and complexity of the world, which is a true testament to Kent’s talent as a writer.

The pacing was perfect, with plenty of twists and turns to keep me on the edge of my seat. The slow burn romance adds an emotional layer to the story, and the action scenes are heart pounding and well choreographed. It’s a book that combines all the elements I love about fantasy magic, mystery, romance, and strong, diverse characters into one unforgettable story.

If you're a fan of epic fantasy with beautifully intricate world building and rich character development, Of Blood and Roses is a must read. Georgiana Kent is an author to watch, and I cannot wait for the next book in the series!

[Mya ☽ · Rating 2 out of 5]

This was honestly, a difficult one to rate. There were definitely things I enjoyed, particularly the characters. I found both Amias and Lamia compelling in their own ways, and I really liked watching their relationship develop throughout the story. The chemistry between them was strong, and the sexual tension and spice were definite highlights. I also really enjoyed Lamia’s lady-in-waiting, she brought some much-needed sass and warmth to the story, with a great balance of maternal energy and sharp wit.

That said, there were some aspects that didn’t quite work for me. The book is marketed as a Hades and Persephone retelling, but aside from Lamia’s love of gardening, I didn’t really see that connection at all. It also advertised itself as one for fans of A Court of Thorns and Roses, and unfortunately, it didn’t quite live up to that comparison. It felt like a very different kind of book, and the tone and execution didn’t match the expectation set.

The writing style was also a bit rough in places. I noticed a lot of repetition. Certain actions and descriptions were used again and again, which disrupted the pacing and made parts feel drawn out or redundant. The plot itself felt somewhat rushed, and there were a few inconsistencies that pulled me out of the story (like Amias seemingly meeting Lamia’s parents more than once). Additionally, Lamia’s motives, especially her intense hatred of the prince, took far too long to be revealed, which made it hard to fully connect with her early on.

Overall, Of Blood and Roses wasn’t a bad read by any means. It had moments of real potential, some great tension, and characters I wanted to root for. But the execution didn’t quite land for me, and I was left hoping for a bit more depth and polish. If you're going in with the right expectations, it could still be an enjoyable fantasy romance, but it might not be the dark, sweeping retelling it's marketed as.

[amelie_books · Rating 2 out of 5]

3/5 (kind of detail, plot>spice)

I don't know where to start with this one.

First I want to say it was a fine book and I had a good time, but I couldn't help but see the problems and wrong marketing. It was insta-lust and no romance.

MIGHT BE SOME SPOILERS UNDER

It's not HadesxPersephone, it's a forced marriage, the emperor marries someone every 100 years. He didn't kidnap her either and she live in the castle with her family. I bet she could even go out if she wanted to because he just wants her happy. He wasn't really a villain either, except he conquered the territory 900 years ago. But he treats everybody with respect and well even the villagers.

Enemies to Lovers? I guess? She did try to kill him a couple of times, but it was just based on her made-up tale... It took so long to understand why she hated him just to realize there was actually no reason because it was all in her head and not the truth that her parent could confirm. Her parents didn't even know she hated him... If she did, she would have said it at some point, but they had no idea.

There is no romance, it's inta-lust, which there is nothing wrong with that but not what I was looking for when I expected an enemies to lovers. The first time they had sex was so funny to me and not a good place for it. But it was her first time and it was mentioned multiple times that he had a big D and it didn't hurt or feel a little bit of discomfort? Weird.

The "touch her and die" trope was just thrown in, it didn't make me giggle or anything.

[GeminiMoon · Rating 2 out of 5]

Easy read but a little clunky? I definitely re-read quite a bit to understand what was happening.
It is a quick, good story but left me with questions and need for backstories or further explanation at multiple spots. Some side plots could've been explored more or been left out completely because it didn't add anything to the story.

Spicy: 🌶🌶🌶/5 because I had to stop and figure out what was where and "how is that possible" quite a few times.

It's an one-sided enemies to lovers, forced marriage. Definitely reminds me more of Beauty and the Beast like others mentioned.

I did love the main character's handmaid. She was my favorite character and the best of the bunch.

STOP READING HERE FOR NO SPOILERS!
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I see in the reviews I'm not the only one extremely confused as to WHY on her twins grave?! I went back at least three times wondering if I missed a location change because surely they were NOT in the cemetery by her brother's grave!

I also would have loved more with Lady Visha. There was a lot of build up for seemingly nothing of a short lived conflict.

I needed more on the tree. Is it the only one left anywhere?

Does everyone know that the sick are being helped and not just sacrificed? Is it just that she's young and didn't know?

What's up with the roses coming back to life? Is it only for figuring out that they can have his children? Is there more purpose to the blood being "magical"?

Why are the wives not turned into vampires? Can they not be turned? Why does he need a new wife every 100 years?

[Marisa · Rating 2 out of 5]

I don’t have much to say other than there was zero motivation for anything that happens in this book.

The FMC’s motive wasn’t outlined clearly, there was zero information on why a female secondary character was an absolute wenchbag to the FMC, you have to have period sex to get pregnant with vampire babies???, and the book ends with her getting knocked up on like their fourth time having sex.

Not to mention this immortal king chooses 20 year olds to wed every century and makes contact references to his previous wives, but there’s no explaining on where the wives go (I’m assuming they die? But if they’re 20 when they wed and they’re human… how long do they live? Does he go years without a wife in-between? Why didn’t we get more back story on anything formative, but we get a full paragraph food description every time the FMC eats?).

I guess I had more to say than I thought.

I mean, I guess a positive was that it wasn’t the worst book I’ve ever read, and since it’s short it was easy to get through. I developed zero attachment to any of the characters, we didn’t know enough about any of them to form opinions. The POV switching was odd, too.

Only 2 ⭐️ because it could have been worse I guess, at least there weren’t any spelling or glaring grammatical errors that I saw, and honestly them fucking in the graveyard was pretty hot.

[Natalie · Rating 3 out of 5]

Let me preface this by saying that this is in no way a ‘bad read,’ I just think it could have been better developed.

This is a loosely influenced by Hades x Persephone.
The characters could have been better developed, there wasn’t a huge deal of progression of them through the story. That being said, I liked the characters, and they didn’t ’alienate’ me.

Lamia’s ‘change of heart’ happened too quickly for my tastes, I think it could have been drawn out further with more plot progression. I’m aware that this is a shorter read, though, so perhaps that’s one of the reasons for this.

The middle of this book didn’t have an awful lot going on, Lamia spent most of her time bathing and prepping for balls with not much else happening.
I also didn’t really understand the female antagonists motives for her hatred toward Lamia. It was briefly mentioned that she harbours feelings for the MMC, however it doesn’t seem like enough of a motive (personal opinion).

Overall, this is an easy read, I just think it could have been better ‘fleshed-out’ to give richer description.
I’d still recommend this as a fun novella.

[Marjorie · Rating 4 out of 5]

More inspired by Hades and Persephone than a true retelling, it has vibes of that story with King Amias an immortal vampire ruling over the land, and particularly the hospice and Lamia, a gardener who was chosen as bride for the life magic in her veins. He's sworn never to love again and she's sworn to kill him to avenge another. Which you know there twists and turns and spice and it obviously doesn't go the way either planned. OK, so I am finding this hard to talk about without spoilers!

This is a shorter read so quick and satisfying, but I really wish it were longer in parts because parts felt rushed and there was a lot more potential depth to the story I would have loved to see explored. Primarily Lamia's POV, but you do get a little of Amias' as well which is nice. The magic was well thought out and that worked well - especially with the reveals and a couple huge dramatic twists. A bit more of the world is introduced with teasers for the next book too.

[Piros OlaSz · Rating 4 out of 5]

3,5 rounded to 4

Most probably catched me the right time this book as I really enjoyed its simplicity and clishés with all the perfect ingreadients. Woman with beliefs and knives. Hundred years vamp guy (with no facial and chest hair) but broad sholders and appetite for destruction and being hungry like a wolf if you understand what I mean. So has a steamy element but its not exclusively and you need to read into the book well to get there so no insta luv here at least until a few sabbing occurences :D

Many emotions but still has an easy air so while not just happy moments its still lightens up a cloudy and gloomy day.

So air of flair and whatnot. Not too complex but gives you utter vampromcom (as it is funny too) calm especially being a standalone with HEA!

Im absolutely gonna do book 2 ;)

I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.

[Maude Faubert-Turgeon (ms_reading_nook) · Rating 4 out of 5]

Review

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️/5
🌶️🌶️🌶️/5

I want to start by saying that the writting style of this book is absolutely phenomenal. It's my first book of the year that is written so perfectly for the setting, it was worth mentionning.

Onto the story, which I loved so much! I am a big fan of enemies to lovers and boy, I was not disappointed with this book! I never read an Hades and Persephone retelling and it was so good.

Lamia and Amias are loveable characters, they have a beautiful chemistry, the tension between them is palpable and the touch her or ☠️ vibe is really present. Although, I would lie if I didn't say that my favorite character was Theodora!

Even though I absolutely loved this book, I felt like the ending was quite abrupt and leaving more questionning than anything, which is why I decided to give the 4 starts rating.

I would still recommend this story to everyone who loves a good enemies to lovers romance with a little spice! 🤍

[Reads_Must · Rating 4 out of 5]

Of Blood And Roses
Warring Hearts #1
Fantasy
Georgiana Kent
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

• ᴅᴜᴛʏ • ᴅᴜᴀʟ ᴘᴏᴠꜱ • ᴇɴᴇᴍɪᴇꜱ ᴛᴏ ʟᴏᴠᴇʀꜱ •

The beginning of this book focused heavily on world building and by 10% the timeline had gone from 900 years ago, to the present day and then to two months later.

The pacing was good and I was eager to find out Lamia's motives and why she wanted revenge.

The chemistry between Amias and Lamia was great. I loved how much Amias teased her and how, even though she tried to hate him, Lamia couldn't resit his charm 😂.

Some of the characters names were too similar so I did get them confused a few times.

I'm glad Visha got what she deserved. There weren't many scenes between her and Lamia though and one of them seemed really sudden and ended just as quickly as it began and it was never mentioned again.

I really liked the ending. It was the kind of HEA I was hoping for.

[A Story Explorer · Rating 1 out of 5]

DNF @ 30%

Unfortunately, I don't think this book is for me. The writing style doesn't work for me and I found myself skimming sentences to get to the story. It's better than the previous book I attempted to read but I still think the writing and story craft could be improved. Even when skimming ahead to see if the story gets more interesting, I didn't feel like I missed much so I feel like the story could use more revising or editing so that it only includes relevant information to the story. It's also kind of annoying how often the FMC tries and fails to kill the Emperor and weird that he allows it so often without any repercussions. Ultimately, while I gave it a good try, I decided this book wasn't for me so I DNF.

1.2 out of 5 rating for me!

(An ARC was provided for an honest review. I leave this review voluntarily.)

[Isabella McNicol · Rating 5 out of 5]

Every 100 years the mysterious vampire King of Forever, Amais de Marc, chooses a human bride. No longer believing he deserves love, he seeks a companion & bearer of heirs.That all changes when he meets Lamia Fontaine, a fiesty young woman hell bent on revenge.

I loved this quick read that had the perfect balance of sweet and spicy. The main characters made my heart ache and rejoice throughout the book and the world building was surprisingly rich for such a short book.

Give it a read if you like

🧛‍♂️ Hot vampire men (and various other fantasy creatures)
🗡 A tough leading lady who shouldn't be trusted with sharp objects
❤️‍🔥 Two people meant to be together
🌶 Spice
😏 Witty banter
🪷 Growth in both main characters and a deep love for nature

[Michelle Engel · Rating 3 out of 5]

I was looking for a quick, spicy read for a cold winter's night. It definitely fit the bill. I sincerely enjoyed it and found some passages emotionally touching. Still, it felt like something was missing.

Maybe I wanted a bit more in the way of story, or for the enemies to lovers tension to ratchet up a few more notches before resolving. It is a shorter piece. Would I have liked it better longer? Perhaps. Haiku can pack a powerful punch with great economy of language, though, so the word count might not be the issue.

That said, the description of the setting is lush and gorgeous. I loved imagining the vampire Emperor in his black castle, the stone of it threaded with gold and hiding purple and blue undertones only visible in certain light. The twin moons were a great touch, as well.

[Jodi_xo✨ · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.75 ⭐ Overall, I enjoyed this book. It definitely needs some editing as some parts were repeated and that left it feeling a little muddled. There also needed to be more build up romantically between the main characters, the FMC went from hate to love a little too quickly. Making the book longer would have helped with that and the story telling. Overall, the extra detail would only add to the wonderful fantasy the book was creating.

I enjoyed this short read, it was a wonderful take on a Hades and Persephone retelling. One of the better ones that I have read so far and I found the characters to be lovable. My favourite character has to be Theodora.

I look forward to reading more work from this author 🥰

[Nina · Rating 2 out of 5]

A Hades x Persephone retelling. Vampire and Fae. Now this book is marked as a Romantasy retelling of HxP. I would loosely call this one. It influences it.

Oh boy, this was an absolute mess. The writing was chaotic and the choice of words was questionable at best. The character development was close to nothing. The scenes with Amias and Lamia were excruciating to get through because of how awkward it was written out.

AND THE SEX SCENE ON HER BROTHERS GRAVE??? HELLO????? I'm traumatized.

Besides those points, it was a short read. Originally I would've given this book one star, but the spice bumped it up to two lol.

[Marie Fawcett · Rating 1 out of 5]

One word gave this 1 star

Menses

This story had so much promise until this word was said by the 1100yr old vampire. I nearly threw my phone at a wall. Throughout the book the way people spoke were of a different era more of the regency era and this guy comes out with the word 'menses,'

He says it twice in the book. I stopped reading after the second time. It was pretty much the last page. I won't be reading anything from this author again if the characters talk like a 13yr old girl. I don't know anyone in the world who says this word apart from Amy farrar fowler on the big bang theory.

This would have been 3stars as there's not much of a plot but it was an easy read.