Lavender Refuge

by Ainsley Vale

She is my refuge in the dark, and I am her little flower.

Celeste
My time is running out, and nothing is what I’ve been told it is.

She tells me there are no heroes here, but being with her makes me feel free. But she’s not my savior. She’s my judge, my jury, and the one who holds my fate in her hands. Her touch is like fire, burning everything I thought I knew.

The real question Will I survive her, or will I lose myself completely?

Quinn
She’s just another assignment—a seven-day job, nothing more.

But as the clock winds down, I realize she’s spent her entire life locked away, blind to the truths of this dark world. The more we uncover, the more everything cracks around us. Her world, her beliefs, her identity. What happens when the lies crumble and the secrets threaten to destroy us both?

Will we find a way through the flames, or will we let everything burn?

Genres: Dark Romance, Enemies To Lovers, Lesbian, Romance, Crime, LGBT

360 pages, Kindle Edition

Published March 11, 2025

Reviews

[ablondieslibrary (Keirstyn’s Version) · Rating 4 out of 5]

ARE YOU KIDDING ME!?

What a debut from Ainsley Vale!!!

This story was fast paced, and highly addictive. I could not get enough of Quinn and Celeste! The banter, the push and pull dynamic, the spice - all were perfect and only added to the story. And the 𝗣𝗟𝗢𝗧 𝗧𝗪𝗜𝗦𝗧𝗦 - oh my gods!!!

Sometimes when I’m reading FF, I feel like the author tries too hard to force it, or the spicy scenes end up being too cringey for me to truly enjoy. Not this one though!!! It’s very evident that Ainsley did her research before writing this, and I truly appreciate it. Things felt very authentic between Quinn and Celeste, especially given the nature of how they meet. I honestly never wanted this story to end, and I’m still thinking about these ladies and what’s next for them after that ending!!!

Ainsley, I am honored to have had the opportunity to BETA for your debut, and I am so excited to watch you continue to grow from here! 💜

[manu · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5 stars

I loved so many different parts of the story and definitely was crushing on Quinn hard 🥵

Celeste wasn’t my favourite but that’s just me. The story wasn’t a full 5 stars because I felt like there were small gaps in the storyline that were just bridged together in a rushed manner. I see the resemblance in Rapunzel within the story but with the attempt at creat nuisances, small cringey moments happened

But god do I love women and I’m a sucker for a good sapphic dark romance ❤️‍🔥 great debut! Definitely will continue to read this author

[Ash-Maria Riddle · Rating 5 out of 5]

Trigger warnings are available in the contents of the book☺️

My review ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

I had the pleasure of being an arc reader for Lavender Refuge- a Dark Sapphic modern-Rapunzel retelling by Ainsley Vale 💜

And I LOVEDDD it! 😍

Spice 🌶️🌶️🌶️
On the edge of your seat 😩😩😩😩
The twists and turns 🤯🤯🤯🤯

Tropes:
-Captor//captee (is that the word? 🤣🤣)
-Grumpy//Sunshine
-Forced proximity
-THERE IS ONLY ONE BEDDDD 😏😏😏
-Touch her and 💀💀💀 (literally)
-Emotionally unavailable until she’s NOT
-Will fuck a bitch up for her (also including her)(it’s a bit toxic)(they get better I promise)
-Growth togetherrrrrr 🤤🤤🤤🤤
-3rd act break up (kind of, iykyk 👀👀👀👀)
-BAD BITCH ENERGY ALL ROUNDDDDD
-g*n play 🔫🤭
(I definitely missed some)


Celeste
- 💜☔️🏵️👸🏼🗡️💋🪞🗝️
-looks like a cinnamon roll, could kill you
-sass factor: 9/10
-damsel in distress? Hardly
-dramatic? 😬🤏🏻 (but we love her for it)

Quinn
-🖤🌧️🥀🏍️🗡️🚬🔒
-looks like she could kill you, will kill you
-sass factor: 10000/10 (in a hot way)
-puts the damsel in distress
-dramatic: when needed
-big heart, even bigger daddy energy 🥵

I devoured this 360 page book of beauty in one sitting, stayed up waaaaaay passed my bed time and then continued to lay awake because I was so GOBSMACKED and in love with what I just read.
It was a “one more chapter” until it was over kinda read, and I’m not even mad about it.
I am such a sucker for sapphic-retellings and boy did this one hit the nail on the head.
Their toxic-to-not relationship-kinda-situationship is just 😙🤌🏼🤌🏼🤌🏼

Although being Ainsley Vale’s Debut novel, she writes like a seasoned veteran- it’s only upward trajectory from here and I am so excited to see where it goes 😍😍😍

[Angel · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was amazing!! I’m so glad I was honored to be picked to arc read this.

Celeste and Quinn are just amazing. Not what you would ever expect but this was perfect

Quinn was chosen to kidnap Celeste and make it look like an accident. When the mission goes arway will these two get under each other skin or get under each other?


You guys are gonna love this sapphic rapunzel reimagining

[Heloise · Rating 4 out of 5]

4.5
"Don't mistake me for anything but the villain in your story, because thats what I am and always will be." wow this book I devoured her I loved it. The meeting, the way the story developed the twists that we encountered. This is a debut novel and it is for sure one of the top debuts I have read. Celeste got to be free and so did Quinn.

[•Tiff• · Rating 5 out of 5]

A Rapunzel retelling in a sapphic way was something I didn't even know I needed. The sass from Celeste and the badass energy from Quinn was such a good mix. The book took a turn that I was NOT prepared for and was surprised what happened. I'm looking forward to reading the second book when it comes.

[Lee · Rating 5 out of 5]

Huge thank you to Ainsley for the opportunity to read and review! 

𝕾𝖍𝖊 𝖎𝖘 𝖓𝖔 𝖘𝖆𝖎𝖓𝖙, 𝖓𝖔𝖙 𝖒𝖞 𝖘𝖆𝖛𝖎𝖔𝖚𝖗. 𝕾𝖍𝖊 𝖎𝖘 𝖏𝖚𝖉𝖌𝖊, 𝖏𝖚𝖗𝖞, 𝖆𝖓𝖉 𝖊𝖝𝖊𝖈𝖚𝖙𝖎𝖔𝖓𝖊𝖗 𝖆𝖑𝖑 𝖎𝖓 𝖔𝖓𝖊.

Lavender Refuge offers dark and twisted Rapunzel vibes, and I was not ready for it! I stayed wholeheartedly, though. This was dark and lovely, and I loved the way it unfurled. We follow Quinn, a seasoned assassin of sorts, forced to train from an early age. She's tough, will literally kill you, and is a wee bit complicated. After taking her next assignment, she is hired to kidnap and dispose of Celeste, a girl that has been alone and forced inside under the guise of being sickly. And as this mission unravels completely and complicates everything, Celeste and Quinn are faced with only having each other as both of their worlds collide and crumble under the pressure of secrets, truths, and the past that has haunted Quinn forever. 

“𝕲𝖔 𝖙𝖔 𝖍𝖊𝖑𝖑, 𝖞𝖔𝖚 𝖋𝖚𝖈𝖐𝖎𝖓𝖌 𝖕𝖘𝖞𝖈𝖍𝖔.”

“𝕴’𝖛𝖊 𝖇𝖊𝖊𝖓, 𝖞𝖔𝖚 𝖜𝖊𝖗𝖊𝖓’𝖙 𝖙𝖍𝖊𝖗𝖊 𝖘𝖔 𝕴 𝖈𝖗𝖆𝖜𝖑𝖊𝖉 𝖒𝖞 𝖜𝖆𝖞 𝖇𝖆𝖈𝖐.”

Let me just tell you about how much I loved Quinn. She's a complicated character, obviously, but my, my, my.. I loved her. I don't know if I want her to kiss me or kill me, and honestly the same could be said for Celeste, too. Celeste had this more innocent vibe to her, but we all know that innocence crashes and burns at one point or another. She ended up being just as badass as Quinn, and I love them both for it. I also loved that I could feel for both of the characters. There was also a point in this that I gasped so hard. Definitely had some twists and turns! All in all, these characters were SOLID. I loved them. 

“𝕭𝖑𝖊𝖊𝖉 𝖋𝖔𝖗 𝖒𝖊 𝖙𝖍𝖊 𝖜𝖆𝖞 𝕴 𝖉𝖎𝖉 𝖋𝖔𝖗 𝖞𝖔𝖚. 𝕾𝖍𝖔𝖜 𝖒𝖊 𝖙𝖍𝖆𝖙 𝖞𝖔𝖚 𝖇𝖑𝖊𝖊𝖉 𝖙𝖍𝖊 𝖘𝖆𝖒𝖊 𝖈𝖔𝖑𝖔𝖚𝖗 𝕴 𝖉𝖔.”

5 ⭐️ 3 🌶️

[Nina · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.8 rounded up⭐️

I’m thankful for the opportunity to ARC Read, and it was truly an entertaining experience!

This was a dark, sapphic Rapunzel re-telling that had twists, turns, and interesting character development that’ll have you on the edge of your seat!

Quinn and Celeste were two opposites of a spectrum that mesh beautifully together with their unique character designs. I was super interested in Quinn; she was a robust creation of her environment that draws you in by her sharpness yet vulnerability. Celeste was a darkness in bloom, trapped in cages created by others yet still of her own self. It was interesting to watch them interact and collide. Even in the beginning, the darkness each character carries becomes an intriguing element that draws you into the story.

The only thing that I found difficult in getting into was there were moments where the dialogue felt unbalanced in a sense that there were moments that felt rushed or felt it needed more time to build up to. Like certain details with characters felt rushed over or left to assumption, or the progression of certain scenes felt it needed more time in seeing the characters react in the moment.

Other than that, I found this a really cool plot, attractive and interesting characters, with an enjoyable plot progression. Overall, a really great debut!

Please be mindful of the triggers going into the read. This book is a Sapphic captive/captor Romance featuring themes of self-harm, violence, unaliving, ideations and other themes that could be triggering.

[Jax · Rating 5 out of 5]

Quinn has been trained to be a deadly assassin for hire since she was a kid. But when her new assignment is the locked away “Princess” Celeste, that all changes fast. Celeste has been raised confined indoors and told she’s sick. Quinn must kidnap her and keep her alive for 7 days. But the two have a bounty on their heads that leads to fiery revenge, a slow fall into love, and many twists they didn’t expect. Can they both get what they wish for in the end?

What a book!! I was curious about a sapphic dark romance but wow. I couldn’t put this one down one bit and it CONSUMED my thoughts every moment not reading it. Quinn and Celeste are such perfectly created characters and so many of the side characters add depth too. I adore the damaged but protective aspect of Quinn in all this and how Celeste learns to find her own strength even at the cost of what she loves, just to get so much that she wished for in the end. Wow.

[Joanne Love · Rating 3 out of 5]

I was intrigued by a dark sapphic Rapunzel retelling. There were several plot twists that kept me engaged, but I found that some areas of the story didn’t feel fully fleshed out. The assassin school never really got fully explained. I didn’t feel like Balor was fully formed as a character, even though he ended up being a major part of the action. His relationship with Quinn also felt forced and unrealised.

The premise was very interesting and that was what really kept me reading. E was my favourite character and I don’t think we got enough of her. One of the reasons I wanted to read this book was that I want to read more sapphic fiction. This was definitely satisfied by this book.

If you enjoyed Hooked by Emily McIntyre then you will enjoy this book. I liked that this story was somewhat different from other books I have ready but I felt that some areas were under developed.

[Sheree Birchall · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is my first FF dark romance read and I loved it. A Rapunzel retelling that I didn’t know I NEEDED. This book gave me whiplash! I loved the story, it was wild! And the twist in this blindsided me! Had to pause to remind myself to breathe haha I adore Quinn, scratch that, I love Quinn! This character had me obsessed with her from the start! An absolute badass, I wouldn’t be scared of nothing with her around but she has her sweet moments with Celeste! Oh and E. I love that little feisty pixie! So many lovable characters, would love to read more about them and the secret society.
Celeste’s development was pretty wild, she was so timid and afraid, thinking she was so sick that she couldn’t go out in the sun. Poor Celeste really goes through it. The trust issues send her down a wild path! Such a good read. I will be getting the physical book to add to my collection 🥰

[Jane Sinclair-Crowley · Rating 3 out of 5]

Lavender Refuge by Ainsley Vale. I don't believe it's advertised as a Rapunzel retelling, but it very much gives me those vibes, but with a sapphic and dark twist.

I absolutely loved Quinn and the side characters — they all felt real and had their own depth, which really added to the story. Celeste, on the other hand often got on my nerves, but honestly, given everything she’s been through, I couldn’t really blame her. Even if I didn’t always like her, the author wrote her character in a way that made her flaws feel understandable. The action and gore in this book were so exciting and it was nearly impossible to put the book down until I visually consumed every word. The spicy scenes were also well done — something I don’t see often enough in sapphic books.

[Harleaux Amelie · Rating 5 out of 5]

I got a little inundated with a few arcs all coming out at the same time so I’m a week past the release day for this one, sorrrrrry 😅

BUT! I finished Lavender Refuge by Ainsley Vale today and loooooved it!

The story was engaging and kept me on my toes for sure. The story actually blindsided me a couple of times, which is usually hard to do to me because I can see a plot twist coming a mile away. It’s hard to fathom that this was a debut novel because it was so solid. The story felt fully flushed out and I wasn’t left with more questions at the end of it. The spice was also nice (🌶️🌶️.5) without being overly repetitive. The character arcs were also well done and they didn’t feel stagnant.

[bec · Rating 5 out of 5]

Ugh I loved this book, the push and pull romance between Quinn and Celeste, the twists and turns that left me speechless, the short yet comprehensive chapters is all I could have asked for in a wlw dark romance. I loved the way the characters were written, I loved watching their relationship blossom and I loved the ending. I always thought dark romances were cringe, until I read a sapphic one hahaha.

Spoiler Alert

When I rest Celeste shot Quinn towards the 75% mark I literally gasped out loud, put my kindle down and took a lap around the apartment. Every single plot twist was just so so so good.

[Spencer Lee · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book had me hooked from beginning to end. This was amazing! Quinn's character growth was so natural, the way she truly began to care for Celeste despite the nature of how they met. And the things she did to keep Celeste safe. It was beautiful. And Celeste... The way she went from being afraid and lonely to confident not only in herself but in the ones she'd grown to love.. it was beautiful. The book was very dark, but there was plenty of humor to even it out. I laughed, cried.. all in all, definitely recommend.

[Celena Wood · Rating 4 out of 5]

I’m so lucky to have received an arc of Ainsley’s debut novel!

This dark, sapphic Rapunzel retelling was the perfect blend of spice and action packed plot. 💜 I loved how different Quinn and Celeste are and how Celeste transforms from damsel to boss bitch-CEO.

I absolutely LOVED the visualization of Celeste’s mental illness. 10/10

My only complaint is that i wish it were longer! Some parts felt a little rushed/ or like they needed more development.

Overall I loved this book and can’t wait to read more from Ainsley 💜💜💜

[Jazmyne Kubly · Rating 4 out of 5]

A Rapunzel retelling in a sapphic way was something I didn't even know I needed. The innocent sass from Celeste and the badass dom energy from Quinn was such a good mix. Took a turn that I was NOT prepared for and was pleasantly surprised what happened. I really enjoyed the best friend side characters E and Seb too! I loved the progression of their relationship and all it's craziness!! I'm looking forward to reading the second book when it comes.

[Maria Magdalena · Rating 5 out of 5]

My Goddess, what a roller coaster ride. First it took me ages to find this e-book ( I don't do Amazon) - then once I started reading, I could not put it down. Both Quinn and Celeste are amazing characters. I loved Celeste's sassiness, and adore Quinn being a bad-ass. Then the twists and turns in the story! It was brilliantly written. WHO IS Ainsley Vale??? I cannot believe this is her first novel. Surely she must have written under a different pen name before? If not, please give us more.

[Parker parkers_bookshelves · Rating 5 out of 5]

I go in and out of my dark romance phases but when I heard this was a dark Rapunzel retelling NOTHING could’ve made me stay away. Its fast paced, spicy, intense, everything is set up to get you hooked and keep you there. It truly was written so very well I’m excited to see what else comes from Ainsley. The two main characters are classic enemies, she kidnaps her but then realizes she’s got this hot girl and it all escalates from there. The plot twists are ALWAYS coming at you, theres always something new around the corner and the final one, my jaw was on the floor. It was truly AMAZING. If you’re a fan of dark romances this should be the top of your TBR its one of the best I’ve read in a WHILE. It was such a pleasure to work with Ainsley, I really hope I get to do it again and watch her books grow.

[Shelbie Wise · Rating 5 out of 5]

This ARC was my first-ever FF, and I loved it so much! I instantly fell in love with Quinn and her attitude 🤣😅. So much happened, and I was constantly thinking, "Omg, what is going on? Is it this person? Who is this person? Omg, are they dead or alive?" You have to check out this book!

[Vicky Chapman · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a fun read, with a nice mix of action and sapphic spice. A dark tale (check triggers) that I felt really found it's pace in the second half of the book.
With huge thanks to the author for having me as part of their arc team.

[Zureena · Rating 3 out of 5]

Gripping and powerful.

The book captured all powerful emotions and actions. A 5🌟 for a mindblowing story that left me spellbound and on edge, even after the last page. Book 2 is in the making and cant wait. Don't miss out ppl, it will rock your world 😊

[Crystal Velez · Rating 4 out of 5]

For my first ever FF romance Quinn and Celeste were a perfect starter to the world. I will definitely recommend for anyone wanting to read a good sapphic romance.


-ARC Review

[Natalie Zitha · Rating 2 out of 5]

loved the plot but it just read very choppily to me

[V · Rating 1 out of 5]

dnf personaggi che mi hanno fatto venire l'orticaria, soprattutto Q, pessima e pure noiosissima

[Grace · Rating 3 out of 5]

this book is okay. i didn’t really like it but i also didn’t dislike it either.

[Samantha Garner · Rating 5 out of 5]

Check the trigger warnings before diving in - kidnap, torture, gun/blood play, death. It’s sexy, fast paced & has a few twists & turns. I love a sapphic awakening story!

[Cal D · Rating 4 out of 5]

Unhinged, dark, sapphic, captivity romance - who knew I needed this in my life?!

THOUGHTS 💭
🔪 Quinn (“Q”) has been raised as an assassin and taught to disregard any and all feelings. She’s sassy and sarcastic and an absolute boss.
🔥 Celeste has been locked in a tower her whole life; she is naive of the world and people and relationships and is looking for connection to anyone.
🔪 The bits of French scattered throughout this book are seductive and intriguing.
🔥 I’ve not read a sapphic captivity romance before and P H E W was I here for it! I love an unhinged MMC, but I REALLY loved an unhinged FMC. 😍
🔪 Books make me question everything and where I trust no one are some of my faves - who is the “good guy” and who is the “bad guy?”
🔥 Watching our FMCs get under each others skins and affect each other in ways they haven’t felt before was perfection.
🔪 Revenge plot? Yes, please!

[Megan Henry · Rating 4 out of 5]

What a debut?! Fast paced and gripping story that I couldn’t wait to see how it would unfold!