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Her Dark Grace
To save her people, she will become Her Dark Grace.
Northern law demands sacrifice.
For any shadow-marked born in the northern realm, this means death. No one knows that better than Eirlys, who escaped her own fate twenty-seven years ago. These nights she prowls the border between realms to rescue infants from cruel and fatal blades.
When an encounter with a northern priest goes awry, Eirlys is lucky to escape with her life. Only to find that very life upended. The priest has identified her as the lost northern heir who stands to inherit the crown. Seeking revenge for herself and every shadow-marked she couldn’t save, Eirlys chooses to take her place in the north and dismantle it from the inside.
But then, Eirlys is thrown under the protection of the same priest who ruined her life and worships the gods she needs to destroy. A dark secret held in his past threatens not only Eirlys’s own life, but the lives of Price, the priest she should hate, and August, the prince she left behind. Now, Eirlys must risk all she holds dear to confront the very gods who condemn her and their promise of a fate far crueler than death.
Northern law demands sacrifice.
For any shadow-marked born in the northern realm, this means death. No one knows that better than Eirlys, who escaped her own fate twenty-seven years ago. These nights she prowls the border between realms to rescue infants from cruel and fatal blades.
When an encounter with a northern priest goes awry, Eirlys is lucky to escape with her life. Only to find that very life upended. The priest has identified her as the lost northern heir who stands to inherit the crown. Seeking revenge for herself and every shadow-marked she couldn’t save, Eirlys chooses to take her place in the north and dismantle it from the inside.
But then, Eirlys is thrown under the protection of the same priest who ruined her life and worships the gods she needs to destroy. A dark secret held in his past threatens not only Eirlys’s own life, but the lives of Price, the priest she should hate, and August, the prince she left behind. Now, Eirlys must risk all she holds dear to confront the very gods who condemn her and their promise of a fate far crueler than death.
474 pages, Paperback
Published March 4, 2025
5 people are currently reading
3793 people want to read
About the author
Rae Valtera
2 books41 followersRae Valtera grew up in the 90’s playing way too much ‘pretend’ with her friends or her stuffed animals. She wrote her first book in the 2nd grade about Santa Claus and the Easter bunny switching their sacks on vacation and the chaos that ensued. As a teenager, she wrote a lot of fanfiction, some of it decent, most of it embarrassing.
Rae lives in colorful Colorado with her partners, three cats, and an ever-growing TBR pile. If she’s not writing about brutal, beautiful fantasy worlds, she is reading about them. Rae will never pass up the offer to pet a dog, listen to a Taylor Swift album, or enjoy a glass of whiskey.
Rae lives in colorful Colorado with her partners, three cats, and an ever-growing TBR pile. If she’s not writing about brutal, beautiful fantasy worlds, she is reading about them. Rae will never pass up the offer to pet a dog, listen to a Taylor Swift album, or enjoy a glass of whiskey.
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Displaying 1 - 17 of 17 reviews
March 6, 2025
A promising dark epic fantasy debut with a romantic sub-plot in a queernorm polyamorous world, first in a series.
I feel I went into this book with wrong expectations. I expected spicy MMF romantasy. I got mostly political intrigue and religious drama with a side serving of grimdark vibes.
Yes, there is romance here. Yes, it ends with HFN as it opens room for the next book in the series. The romance between Eirlys and Price felt very slow burn, and while I liked their dynamics, it felt like a lot of pining until the walls went down. There is an open door spice scene.
However, the relationship with August feels mostly absent in the first half of the book as he's separated from the rest of the protagonists and doesn't reappear until later. He's already in an established relationship with Eirlys when we meet them, so there isn't any development from that angle. There is a development between August and Price, but it comes very late into the story and there isn't a lot of it. (There is a spicy scene though, fear not.)
The majority of the plot centers around Eirlys' determination to become a queen of her country and reform it so she can stop the religious infanticide of babies with dark magic (Skath). And here's why this story read to me like grimdark fantasy: Eirlys has a lot of good intentions and will to act, but hits a brick wall of a country ruled by powerful immortals worshipped as gods, people who won't question them but will question her, mistrust, prejudice, assassination attempts, torture, blackmail,
The ending felt to me Have I known this is the tone of the book, I wouldn't have requested it.
The author's instagram is full of beautiful character art and the cover I personally called "the womanspreading pose" gave me the impression this will be
The pacing was fairly slow and while it reflected Eirlys' situation well, and the suffocating atmosphere, I had a hard time going through long passages of religious ceremonies and other worldbuilding elements.
The worldbuilding itself is very robust and intricate. We have 2 types of magic: Skath (dark) and Klara (bright) which iirc make no technical difference EXCEPT for religious reasons Skath are persecuted in one country. Said magic is divided into 4 elements: Ra (fire), Va (water), Ta (earth) and Sa (air). Then we have 12 gods / immortals in one country and... some amount of them in the other, I forgot. Also there's another kind of magic that allows people to teleport through the void and people who can do that are called Naevni. Also people with magic are very long lived. And obsidian nullifies magic. And between the 2 countries there's some cursed land that makes everyone who steps into it Devoid (infertile and taints / weakens their magic in unpredictable ways). But it doesn't affect sea travel between the countries, it seems. There's more like the 4 elements and 4 different metals associated with them, etc.
I felt the worldbuilding was nearly too ambitious for this novel. I appreciate the thought and effort put to flesh everything out, but it's also hard to grasp and remember all of it while reading. All that while also paying attention to laws, customs, religious rules, machinations of immortals, etc.
I still think the pacing could have been improved. Also the romance didn't really feel like true MMF because August was barely there.
Eirlys and Price were very likeable and their dilemmas understandable. The side characters esp. Brisa, Deryn and Emzelhal were interesting and added flavor to the interpersonal dynamics.
The interesting addition is this is a queernorm world where polyamory is widely accepted and while there is oppression based on the type of magic, there isn't one based on gender, sexuality or skin color.
However, I'm still upset that this book was supposed to heal religious trauma and instead it gave me depression. Maybe I just have a different definition of romantasy in my mind than everyone else does.
I would recommend this book for readers seeking epic fantasy with complex worldbuilding and magic systems who like darker takes on political stories where there are no easy wins, and bravery and strong will may not suffice against the powerful enemies and sociopolitical challenges.
3.5 stars rounded up.
Thank you Rae Valtera for the ARC.
I feel I went into this book with wrong expectations. I expected spicy MMF romantasy. I got mostly political intrigue and religious drama with a side serving of grimdark vibes.
Yes, there is romance here. Yes, it ends with HFN as it opens room for the next book in the series. The romance between Eirlys and Price felt very slow burn, and while I liked their dynamics, it felt like a lot of pining until the walls went down. There is an open door spice scene.
However, the relationship with August feels mostly absent in the first half of the book as he's separated from the rest of the protagonists and doesn't reappear until later. He's already in an established relationship with Eirlys when we meet them, so there isn't any development from that angle. There is a development between August and Price, but it comes very late into the story and there isn't a lot of it. (There is a spicy scene though, fear not.)
The majority of the plot centers around Eirlys' determination to become a queen of her country and reform it so she can stop the religious infanticide of babies with dark magic (Skath). And here's why this story read to me like grimdark fantasy: Eirlys has a lot of good intentions and will to act, but hits a brick wall of a country ruled by powerful immortals worshipped as gods, people who won't question them but will question her, mistrust, prejudice, assassination attempts, torture, blackmail,
The ending felt to me Have I known this is the tone of the book, I wouldn't have requested it.
The author's instagram is full of beautiful character art and the cover I personally called "the womanspreading pose" gave me the impression this will be
The pacing was fairly slow and while it reflected Eirlys' situation well, and the suffocating atmosphere, I had a hard time going through long passages of religious ceremonies and other worldbuilding elements.
The worldbuilding itself is very robust and intricate. We have 2 types of magic: Skath (dark) and Klara (bright) which iirc make no technical difference EXCEPT for religious reasons Skath are persecuted in one country. Said magic is divided into 4 elements: Ra (fire), Va (water), Ta (earth) and Sa (air). Then we have 12 gods / immortals in one country and... some amount of them in the other, I forgot. Also there's another kind of magic that allows people to teleport through the void and people who can do that are called Naevni. Also people with magic are very long lived. And obsidian nullifies magic. And between the 2 countries there's some cursed land that makes everyone who steps into it Devoid (infertile and taints / weakens their magic in unpredictable ways). But it doesn't affect sea travel between the countries, it seems. There's more like the 4 elements and 4 different metals associated with them, etc.
I felt the worldbuilding was nearly too ambitious for this novel. I appreciate the thought and effort put to flesh everything out, but it's also hard to grasp and remember all of it while reading. All that while also paying attention to laws, customs, religious rules, machinations of immortals, etc.
I still think the pacing could have been improved. Also the romance didn't really feel like true MMF because August was barely there.
Eirlys and Price were very likeable and their dilemmas understandable. The side characters esp. Brisa, Deryn and Emzelhal were interesting and added flavor to the interpersonal dynamics.
The interesting addition is this is a queernorm world where polyamory is widely accepted and while there is oppression based on the type of magic, there isn't one based on gender, sexuality or skin color.
However, I'm still upset that this book was supposed to heal religious trauma and instead it gave me depression. Maybe I just have a different definition of romantasy in my mind than everyone else does.
I would recommend this book for readers seeking epic fantasy with complex worldbuilding and magic systems who like darker takes on political stories where there are no easy wins, and bravery and strong will may not suffice against the powerful enemies and sociopolitical challenges.
3.5 stars rounded up.
Thank you Rae Valtera for the ARC.
March 6, 2025
I am giving this a 3.75. I think this was a really cool concept of a book and I liked the world the author built as it is different from the fantasy worlds I unusually read which are usually based on Celtic mythology, so I really enjoyed this change. I also enjoyed a lot of the representation I saw with Poly relationships, bi representation as well as hidden disability representation. I think that was all done very well.
I think what stopped it from being a 4 or high for me is that I just didn't connect to the FMC as much as I would like. The cover and tropes thought I was going to be reading a badass, snarky, take no shit, grumpy warrior woman who will be taking on this kingdom that is set out to kill people like her and is so deeply rooted in a religion where it is okay to kill babies and try to dismantle it from the inside. And for me that is just not what I got from the FMC. I just kept waiting for her to do something anything to step up and push back but for a lot of this book she is just waiting to be crowned which takes forever in this kingdom bc then as she sees it, she can make real change. But as she spends time in this kingdom, she sees that this religion and the gods are so deeply rooted that she may not be able to even do anything when she is crowned because everyone hates her and sees her as evil and wants her gone. So, she does nothing really after that. Being part of an elite guard and being around the other royal family and knowing there are some sympathizers within her new kingdom if she couldn't confront the issue head-on, I wish she had been covert and tried to start a rebellion or something but really, she had no plans for anything outside of getting crowned. She didn't even keep up her warrior training or exercises until like the middle/end of her time there where she admitted to being out of shape. I mean I know she was locked in her room for the most part but do some sit ups, run around in room something anything to stay in shape. I just wanted more from her especially with her being so qualified for overt or covert ways of building a rebellion to bring about change even if it was just laying the groundwork for a long-term operation as taking down gods and such a deeply rooted religion would take time. I will say there was a point at about 80% I think it was into the book where I finally saw all those qualities and I was like YES this is what I was waiting for where was this woman before.
Overall, I do think the concept and plot were interesting and I while I liked it, I think the last 20% was my favorite of the book because that is when I could connect to the FMC, and she was actually fighting back.
So, this book is about Eirlys who is shadow marked and what that means in her world is that as a baby her mother had to smuggle her to the southern realm as being born in the northern realm would have meant her death as their religion calls for all shadow born infants to killed. So now she spends her nights prowling the border between the realms to rescue as many babies as she can. But one night goes wrong when in trying to rescue a baby she is confronted by a northern priest but is able to escape with the baby and her life but there were consequences she will have to live with for the rest of her life. While dealing with the consequences of that night she comes to learn that the king and queen of the northern kingdom were assassinated, and they will be unable to crown who they thought was their next queen because the next in line of their succession is in fact... her. It turns out her mother who she knew was really her aunt was hiding that she was the queen's sister and had kidnapped her as a baby when it was revealed she was shadow born for her safety which means she is the true heir of the Northern Kingdom. Rather than abdicate she decides to take her rightful place in the northern kingdom to hopefully change and dismantle it from the inside to save future shadow born babies from being killed. But when on her journey home and when she arrives the attempts on her life prove this will not be an easy mission so in an "effort" to keep her safe the gods put her under their care of one of their priests who is none other than the one she recently confronted as he tried to carry out the law of the gods. But as they spend time together the hate that she has for him starts to be chipped away just like the faith he has for his gods especially as he has a dark secret that the gods plan to use to against her which may end up being a fate far crueler than death.
I received an ARC copy in exchange for an honest review.
I think what stopped it from being a 4 or high for me is that I just didn't connect to the FMC as much as I would like. The cover and tropes thought I was going to be reading a badass, snarky, take no shit, grumpy warrior woman who will be taking on this kingdom that is set out to kill people like her and is so deeply rooted in a religion where it is okay to kill babies and try to dismantle it from the inside. And for me that is just not what I got from the FMC. I just kept waiting for her to do something anything to step up and push back but for a lot of this book she is just waiting to be crowned which takes forever in this kingdom bc then as she sees it, she can make real change. But as she spends time in this kingdom, she sees that this religion and the gods are so deeply rooted that she may not be able to even do anything when she is crowned because everyone hates her and sees her as evil and wants her gone. So, she does nothing really after that. Being part of an elite guard and being around the other royal family and knowing there are some sympathizers within her new kingdom if she couldn't confront the issue head-on, I wish she had been covert and tried to start a rebellion or something but really, she had no plans for anything outside of getting crowned. She didn't even keep up her warrior training or exercises until like the middle/end of her time there where she admitted to being out of shape. I mean I know she was locked in her room for the most part but do some sit ups, run around in room something anything to stay in shape. I just wanted more from her especially with her being so qualified for overt or covert ways of building a rebellion to bring about change even if it was just laying the groundwork for a long-term operation as taking down gods and such a deeply rooted religion would take time. I will say there was a point at about 80% I think it was into the book where I finally saw all those qualities and I was like YES this is what I was waiting for where was this woman before.
Overall, I do think the concept and plot were interesting and I while I liked it, I think the last 20% was my favorite of the book because that is when I could connect to the FMC, and she was actually fighting back.
So, this book is about Eirlys who is shadow marked and what that means in her world is that as a baby her mother had to smuggle her to the southern realm as being born in the northern realm would have meant her death as their religion calls for all shadow born infants to killed. So now she spends her nights prowling the border between the realms to rescue as many babies as she can. But one night goes wrong when in trying to rescue a baby she is confronted by a northern priest but is able to escape with the baby and her life but there were consequences she will have to live with for the rest of her life. While dealing with the consequences of that night she comes to learn that the king and queen of the northern kingdom were assassinated, and they will be unable to crown who they thought was their next queen because the next in line of their succession is in fact... her. It turns out her mother who she knew was really her aunt was hiding that she was the queen's sister and had kidnapped her as a baby when it was revealed she was shadow born for her safety which means she is the true heir of the Northern Kingdom. Rather than abdicate she decides to take her rightful place in the northern kingdom to hopefully change and dismantle it from the inside to save future shadow born babies from being killed. But when on her journey home and when she arrives the attempts on her life prove this will not be an easy mission so in an "effort" to keep her safe the gods put her under their care of one of their priests who is none other than the one she recently confronted as he tried to carry out the law of the gods. But as they spend time together the hate that she has for him starts to be chipped away just like the faith he has for his gods especially as he has a dark secret that the gods plan to use to against her which may end up being a fate far crueler than death.
I received an ARC copy in exchange for an honest review.
February 17, 2025
Valtera does something I often am envious of with fantasy writers: she creates a solid world with history and an entirely detailed religious system. I am always so impressed with fantasy novels that portray this type of detail and Valtera does that to a degree that there were few questions I had left unanswered about the world that HDG's characters are involved in. Having a strong basis of world building is so essential in fantasy and considering the subject matter of this book with waring kingdoms and royalty being replaced, important people being murdered, and sides being selected and supporters few, this is so necessary for this book and it's a solid support structure to host the plot. I'm excited to see what other worlds can be created by Valtera in the future!
January 12, 2025
I was gifted this ARC as an e-reader copy in exchange for my honest review. Thank you to Rae for the opportunity to get to read before publication!
I want to start off by stating that if I had this as a physical copy, it would’ve have pushed the star rating to 4. As a high fantasy book with a lot of things to remember- the Affinity glossary, unusual names, religions, species (shifters etc.) places- it would be easier to be able to either tab, annotate or flip back and forth with a physical copy of a book that you can’t do as easy on a kindle. This is a personal preference as I do love to annotate especially as a fantasy / high fantasy reader. I just want that known to anyone purchasing this on kindle , and if that’s not something you do (annotate or flip back) then you’d enjoy the book more!
As far as the story line, it is very refreshing to read about bi representation as we don’t get many! We tend to be overlooked which makes it more special when you receive that rep! You get MMF which is also rare and (hot hello love that) we get the perspective of HER doing the touch him and d*e as well as deep rooted religious traumas that you’re able to feel even if you’ve never experienced it.
I think that there was strong representation of a bad ass FMC who from the very beginning was shown to have a heart of gold and willing to do whatever she could to protect and show WHY it is she’s the bad ass FMC to even begin with.
This book does have an epilogue which I highly encourage you to read as it ties the story together (I’m stressing this because people tend to gloss over the prologue and epilogues and I never understand why.)
There will be another book after this one, and I look forward to reading it when it’s out.
All in all, if you enjoy high fantasy, queer rep, badass FMC - I’d recommend it!
I want to start off by stating that if I had this as a physical copy, it would’ve have pushed the star rating to 4. As a high fantasy book with a lot of things to remember- the Affinity glossary, unusual names, religions, species (shifters etc.) places- it would be easier to be able to either tab, annotate or flip back and forth with a physical copy of a book that you can’t do as easy on a kindle. This is a personal preference as I do love to annotate especially as a fantasy / high fantasy reader. I just want that known to anyone purchasing this on kindle , and if that’s not something you do (annotate or flip back) then you’d enjoy the book more!
As far as the story line, it is very refreshing to read about bi representation as we don’t get many! We tend to be overlooked which makes it more special when you receive that rep! You get MMF which is also rare and (hot hello love that) we get the perspective of HER doing the touch him and d*e as well as deep rooted religious traumas that you’re able to feel even if you’ve never experienced it.
I think that there was strong representation of a bad ass FMC who from the very beginning was shown to have a heart of gold and willing to do whatever she could to protect and show WHY it is she’s the bad ass FMC to even begin with.
This book does have an epilogue which I highly encourage you to read as it ties the story together (I’m stressing this because people tend to gloss over the prologue and epilogues and I never understand why.)
There will be another book after this one, and I look forward to reading it when it’s out.
All in all, if you enjoy high fantasy, queer rep, badass FMC - I’d recommend it!
February 25, 2025
Her Dark Grace is not exactly what I was expecting when I started this book, but in a positive way; I was thinking it would be more of a grimdark Romantasy (which I also enjoy!), but I would say this book is instead a dark epic fantasy with romantic subplots. Well-written epic fantasy is so hard to do, but this debut author pulled it off; Her Dark Grace is filled with detailed world-building, intense political intrigue, and complex characters who have complex relationships with each other. The magic and religious systems are detailed without being confusing, which is also difficult to do. If you enjoy dark epic fantasy and political intrigue, I think you should read Her Dark Grace. I really enjoyed this book, and I’m excited to continue the story once the next book comes out!
Thank you to the author for the arc! All thoughts & opinions in the review are my own.
Thank you to the author for the arc! All thoughts & opinions in the review are my own.
July 18, 2025
Wonderful book! loved the characters! August is my absolute favorite, but Price comes at a close second. The majority of the characters are easy to enjoy. The world building is just fantastic. Love this adventure.
I gasped. I giggled and kicked my feet. I cried a bit. My mouth was just agape at times!
Definitely recommend!
Can't wait for the next one!
I gasped. I giggled and kicked my feet. I cried a bit. My mouth was just agape at times!
Definitely recommend!
Can't wait for the next one!
February 1, 2025
Enjoyed this story. Girls is wondedul and badass. I love love love August. He is my favorite character and I cant wait for book 2.
March 1, 2025
Review to come during release week
December 25, 2025
DNF AT CH 14
the premise was so good I thought it would make me believe in published books again and yet all I saw was flat characters, a world I can't understand and a story that could have been so good if it was better executed. love Eirlys but tell me how am I supposed to remember that name? the only redeeming thing about the book was her, her motivations and dedications and questioning the laws and centuries old dogma and oaving her own path. and then all of it gets thrown out the moment child kller Price shows up. by the fking way she believes he's a child killer but wants to make him understand how she is not a bad person ie. fix him. like girl???? you legit met him for the first time cause he was about to kill a child and you tried to save said child. i don't care that from his pov we get to know he didn't personally kill any child before that said child, he was a grown ass adult who still believed in that curropt system and not only stood by as people killed children but also held prejudiced beliefs about literal children. her immediately trying to stand with him was so stupid. i read someone hating on the book saying its slow burn so I picked up cause that's what I like but tbh she's an idiot cause if its anything its insta love/soulmate stuff cause he touches her first time and bro is goner. ew. and wow don't even get me started on how stupid I find Lita's character like ok she loves fmc as a mother but bro u really set urself up as a hostage so they could blackmail ur daughter. and tell me why two kingdoms are so uninformed about each others royal freaking families like fmc even has the same name as the dead princess whose name is so complicated i will not be typing again, like how was this a major reveal to everyone including the queen, cause ure telling me a woman who has the same name as the sister of ur rival kingdoms queen and with her a child of the same age and name as a dead princess said kingdom and ure surprised they are the lost/dead royals? oh and I loved august for like 2 secs knowing he killed the royal family but so funny that the love of his life had no idea? also bros mom is a boy kom of epic proportions and her romance with august and rory fell so flat, furthermore her leaving them behind had no emotional impact whatsoever cause rory was name dropped like once? august sounds like a 19 year old boy king in a 30 year old adults body, everyone is immortal but sound like they are 17 and naive? what is devoid? what is the strip of land she crossed? bro what are these plot holes of the whole crossing land stuff? if she is originally from that land how does the whole devoid stuff work? also major aydra hater the best scene was when fmc hit aydra and bitch slapped her. loved it. standing ovation. also her monologue about the whole child killing thing to price. rest I don't know what to say. maybe ill pick it again. till then I am not a liked of the flatness of the book.
the premise was so good I thought it would make me believe in published books again and yet all I saw was flat characters, a world I can't understand and a story that could have been so good if it was better executed. love Eirlys but tell me how am I supposed to remember that name? the only redeeming thing about the book was her, her motivations and dedications and questioning the laws and centuries old dogma and oaving her own path. and then all of it gets thrown out the moment child kller Price shows up. by the fking way she believes he's a child killer but wants to make him understand how she is not a bad person ie. fix him. like girl???? you legit met him for the first time cause he was about to kill a child and you tried to save said child. i don't care that from his pov we get to know he didn't personally kill any child before that said child, he was a grown ass adult who still believed in that curropt system and not only stood by as people killed children but also held prejudiced beliefs about literal children. her immediately trying to stand with him was so stupid. i read someone hating on the book saying its slow burn so I picked up cause that's what I like but tbh she's an idiot cause if its anything its insta love/soulmate stuff cause he touches her first time and bro is goner. ew. and wow don't even get me started on how stupid I find Lita's character like ok she loves fmc as a mother but bro u really set urself up as a hostage so they could blackmail ur daughter. and tell me why two kingdoms are so uninformed about each others royal freaking families like fmc even has the same name as the dead princess whose name is so complicated i will not be typing again, like how was this a major reveal to everyone including the queen, cause ure telling me a woman who has the same name as the sister of ur rival kingdoms queen and with her a child of the same age and name as a dead princess said kingdom and ure surprised they are the lost/dead royals? oh and I loved august for like 2 secs knowing he killed the royal family but so funny that the love of his life had no idea? also bros mom is a boy kom of epic proportions and her romance with august and rory fell so flat, furthermore her leaving them behind had no emotional impact whatsoever cause rory was name dropped like once? august sounds like a 19 year old boy king in a 30 year old adults body, everyone is immortal but sound like they are 17 and naive? what is devoid? what is the strip of land she crossed? bro what are these plot holes of the whole crossing land stuff? if she is originally from that land how does the whole devoid stuff work? also major aydra hater the best scene was when fmc hit aydra and bitch slapped her. loved it. standing ovation. also her monologue about the whole child killing thing to price. rest I don't know what to say. maybe ill pick it again. till then I am not a liked of the flatness of the book.
March 12, 2025
When I saw the cover to this book, I was immediately drawn in. When I read the blurb, I was HOOKED.
The strengths of Valtera's writing are apparent from the first page. She grants us luscious descriptions and astronomical world building to the tune of nations divided by religion and perception, yet united in other—delicious—ways. Not only does Valtera give us a pantheon. She gives us a capital P Pantheon. I am endlessly impressed with a religious build-out as intricate as the one in this book!
I also sincerely appreciated the polynormative representation, which was equally satisfying in spice quality after a salacious sloooow buuuurn. I'm fanning myself just thinking about it.
If you appreciate epic fantasy, complex magic, world-building with complex politics and religion, pick this book up!!
February 6, 2025
This story has almost I everything
Great story
Great fight scenes
Love (spice)
Great side characters
Characters you love then hate
Characters you hate then love
Higher recommend with one of my favourite FMC
Great story
Great fight scenes
Love (spice)
Great side characters
Characters you love then hate
Characters you hate then love
Higher recommend with one of my favourite FMC
Read
October 3, 2025This was a DNF for me. I started it and got 230 pages in but got busy and it just wasn’t fully holding my attention. I will possibly try starting it again at some point but it’s just not for me at the moment.
April 24, 2025
Thank you, Goodreads. ⭐⭐⭐
December 17, 2025
The plot took a bit to really start but I liked the concept. Also, shoutout to the polyamory rep
March 4, 2025
Darkly captivating from the first page and I was entranced onward. Her Dark Grace is rich with world building including a deep pantheon rooted in religious trauma. A complex weaving of magic, history and religion paired with memorable characters. I loved how deeply protective the FMC was.
For fans of dark fantasy, MMF spice, and stories of fighting systems of oppression and prejudice. This is a story that lingers in your thoughts long after the final page is turned. I like forward to the next book.
Want to read
August 2, 2024Her Dark Grace is a haunting tale in which a woman battles gods who despise having a shadow-marked rule their realm, and in order to survive the gods' wrath, she must find allies among those who sanctioned the killing of her kind.
Set in a queer-normative world of magic where we follow a woman's battle for her crown, featuring bi and polyam rep 👀💖
Set in a queer-normative world of magic where we follow a woman's battle for her crown, featuring bi and polyam rep 👀💖
August 27, 2023
Review to come, but this book is incredible and you should add it to your TBR NOW!
Displaying 1 - 17 of 17 reviews