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Blessed the Devoured
Not yet published
Expected 31 Jan 26Elden Ring X Berserk
Disgraced Knight Darl of Rugenmont searches for a new haven in a world where apostles with god-like powers sacrifice the young for immortality. Entangled in a snare of power plays between lords of a dying land, he will fight men and beasts to redeem himself.Sir Darl of Rougenmont sacrificed his humanity to save his kin and country. As a Deathless, he recovered from any mortal injury and served as a lynchpin on dire fronts. Generations later, Darl's country is gone, but he remains in a withering world sown with salt and blood. The servants of the Young Gods, who must consume flesh to maintain their immortality, have started hunting any godless mortal men and each other. Soon enough, they'll drive themselves to extinction.
At the end of the world, Darl stumbles into a final bastion of mortal humanity. The land is green and lush. The people pledge themselves to a mythical king. But something is rotting in their roots with the threat of usurpation and the Blight just around the corner. With nothing left to lose, not even his life, Darl throws himself into a world of violent betrayals and old magic that seeks to use him as a weapon for their own designs.
Disgraced Knight Darl of Rugenmont searches for a new haven in a world where apostles with god-like powers sacrifice the young for immortality. Entangled in a snare of power plays between lords of a dying land, he will fight men and beasts to redeem himself.Sir Darl of Rougenmont sacrificed his humanity to save his kin and country. As a Deathless, he recovered from any mortal injury and served as a lynchpin on dire fronts. Generations later, Darl's country is gone, but he remains in a withering world sown with salt and blood. The servants of the Young Gods, who must consume flesh to maintain their immortality, have started hunting any godless mortal men and each other. Soon enough, they'll drive themselves to extinction.
At the end of the world, Darl stumbles into a final bastion of mortal humanity. The land is green and lush. The people pledge themselves to a mythical king. But something is rotting in their roots with the threat of usurpation and the Blight just around the corner. With nothing left to lose, not even his life, Darl throws himself into a world of violent betrayals and old magic that seeks to use him as a weapon for their own designs.
399 pages, Kindle Edition
Expected publication January 31, 2026
68 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews
January 18, 2026
Blessed the Devoured by Frances. B. Corvo
I was given the opportunity to obtain an ARC of this grim-dark fantasy novel and read it early. This is the first time I’ve done this for an author and I could not be happier with the story I received. A huge thank you to our FashionableCrow for the chance at reading something special.
The hunt begins.
Sir Darl of Rugenmont, our immortal protagonist, suffers the blessing of an old, shadowy god. His journey through the Barrens takes place over hundreds of years, killing to satiate the hunger bestowed upon him by the King of Flies. This tired old man trudges through his
existence as a war dog, ready to tear at his opponents until his last breath. His charge reveals a grudge held for many decades while Darl hunts the infamous Lambskin to the ends of the land and time.
Through this quest, Darl faces despicable foes, terrible creatures, and inexplicable sorcery. His confrontations with grief, loss, longing, and the nihilistic urges of immortal existence were not only accomplished well by the author, but were enthralling from beginning
to end. It’s not often one stumbles upon a story that takes you into a chokehold and drags you through the beaten mind of a warrior who cannot die, but I’d like to do it again. I found myself flying through the pages of this novel unable to put it down with each reading
session. I had been following the author’s socials for quite some time due to their recommendations of books like videogames, specifically FromSoftware games, and they have created something that could be
slotted directly into the mix. With Bloodborne and Dark Souls 1 being my favorite games of all time, this novel sated the omnipresent force within me that longs for stories akin to these games. This is a story I will be recommending to everyone that I know, especially those who are fans of FromSoft or stories like Berserk. Blessed the Devoured is a (blood) gem that I hope many are able to spend the time appreciating and loving the way I did.
Thee or me, Morthia shall feast.
I was given the opportunity to obtain an ARC of this grim-dark fantasy novel and read it early. This is the first time I’ve done this for an author and I could not be happier with the story I received. A huge thank you to our FashionableCrow for the chance at reading something special.
The hunt begins.
Sir Darl of Rugenmont, our immortal protagonist, suffers the blessing of an old, shadowy god. His journey through the Barrens takes place over hundreds of years, killing to satiate the hunger bestowed upon him by the King of Flies. This tired old man trudges through his
existence as a war dog, ready to tear at his opponents until his last breath. His charge reveals a grudge held for many decades while Darl hunts the infamous Lambskin to the ends of the land and time.
Through this quest, Darl faces despicable foes, terrible creatures, and inexplicable sorcery. His confrontations with grief, loss, longing, and the nihilistic urges of immortal existence were not only accomplished well by the author, but were enthralling from beginning
to end. It’s not often one stumbles upon a story that takes you into a chokehold and drags you through the beaten mind of a warrior who cannot die, but I’d like to do it again. I found myself flying through the pages of this novel unable to put it down with each reading
session. I had been following the author’s socials for quite some time due to their recommendations of books like videogames, specifically FromSoftware games, and they have created something that could be
slotted directly into the mix. With Bloodborne and Dark Souls 1 being my favorite games of all time, this novel sated the omnipresent force within me that longs for stories akin to these games. This is a story I will be recommending to everyone that I know, especially those who are fans of FromSoft or stories like Berserk. Blessed the Devoured is a (blood) gem that I hope many are able to spend the time appreciating and loving the way I did.
Thee or me, Morthia shall feast.
Review of advance copy received from Author
Great in-depth fantasy read with lots of detail. I found it a bit difficult initially to get my head around some of the themes of gods etc which I will not mention so as not to spoil the story, but once I got into it, the book was a captivating read and I didn't want to put it down to go to work.
The book includes some themes of cannibalism and other violence but it is done in a way that fits and suits the story well, however may be triggering for some people so ensure to read the disclaimer prior to reading.
The book includes some themes of cannibalism and other violence but it is done in a way that fits and suits the story well, however may be triggering for some people so ensure to read the disclaimer prior to reading.
Review of advance copy received from Author
Frances B. Corvo describes this book as a not quite grimdark cross of Elden Ring and Berserk. I’m not sure about how it compares to Berserk, but the influence of Fromsoft is quite clear when you consider what this story is about.
“The hunt begins. Thee or me, Morthia shall feast. I was only a man, and the shadow of Morthia crept close. If he did not have them, he would have me. I would not let him have me.”
Blessed the Devoured follows a man named Darl who is hunting a man he refers to as Lambskin. Darl is a Deathless. He is pledged to an Old God named Morthia and due to his pledge, every time he dies he is brought back. The only caveat that he is brought back in a way so that he functions enough to kill and earn his return. Lambskin is pledged to one of the new Young Gods. The Young gods work different than the Old God’s of Darl’s youth. The Old Gods will keep those pledged to them immortal and even heal minor wounds like new. They only require one thing in return: a sacrifice of flesh. In Lambskin’s case, any heart he can find and devour will patch him up. People pledging to these Young Gods has caused a great scourge across the world. There are no more cities, no more fields. The earth has all been salted. No more normal people. They have all taken their own pledges or have been cut up to serve those who have.
Darl’s chase leads him across a bridge to a corner of the world he had never visited before. A place that’s green. A place that has people. Perhaps Darl’s chase will come to end, and he can finally settle down in comfort. Or perhaps his fight is only just beginning.
This is Corvo’s debut novel. I can’t express how much that shocks me. Sure, this book isn’t perfect and has its own issues. But this was so well written and such a great story. I don’t even know where to begin.
Okay I’m going to start with what I didn’t like, since that list is relatively small. The first few pages were cheesy. Theres a point to it, building the atmosphere and letting us know that this is a dark world, but I was a little concerned that this book would be all edge and no point. Fortunately, shortly into the chapter it transitions into combat and I feel like the book found its rhythm. The only other thing I had issue with was that sometimes the conversations could be extremely stilted. Exposition-y. Again, it’s her first novel so the fact that I only had two issues, and honestly very minor issues, amazes me.
Now to what I liked and loved.
You would think the themes would be about the cruelness of the world, betrayal, or even hunts. But the big theme that I took from it was that we’re all lonely. We’re all seeking to fill a void. This can be seen in how easily Darl is swayed into traveling with someone. He never trusts, and he always expects a knife to slit his throat while he is sleeping but when he comes across someone, he doesn’t attack first. He might not initiate the conversation, but he’ll hear out the people he comes across.
I didn’t quite expect the cast of characters to be as big as it was, but I found I didn’t mind. They were all very well done. Even what you could consider villains or antagonists were just people who were struggling to survive in this world. There were several characters that I hated and grew to love, and several that I loved and grew to hate. There were minor characters that I cried over despite how small they were in the scheme of things and characters that I thought I’d spit on their graves but ended up sniffling when it was clear it was their time to go.
The magic was excellently simple. I love a good hard magic system, but sometimes simplicity is nice. Especially when theres so much going on. In this case it was as simple as all magic comes with a price. You want to heal that stab wound? Better take your communion. You want to come back from the dead but still have your sanity? Hope you got you allotment of kills before you died then.
Overall, I highly recommend this book. As a matter of fact, if you are even thinking of giving this book a try, I would recommend you head over to Frances B Corvo’s tiktok, @fashionablecrow. Her book will be available on Amazon January 31st, but she has stated that she’d prefer it if you didn’t give your money to them. She is giving away free copies of her book; the only thing she asks is that you donate to a charity of your choice or that you do an act of volunteering. I’m not sure if this is a forever thing, but it is an incredible act of service to encourage kindness in the world so I urge you to check her out.
I want to say thank you, France B Corvo, for the ARC and I look forward to many more of your books to come.
“The hunt begins. Thee or me, Morthia shall feast. I was only a man, and the shadow of Morthia crept close. If he did not have them, he would have me. I would not let him have me.”
Blessed the Devoured follows a man named Darl who is hunting a man he refers to as Lambskin. Darl is a Deathless. He is pledged to an Old God named Morthia and due to his pledge, every time he dies he is brought back. The only caveat that he is brought back in a way so that he functions enough to kill and earn his return. Lambskin is pledged to one of the new Young Gods. The Young gods work different than the Old God’s of Darl’s youth. The Old Gods will keep those pledged to them immortal and even heal minor wounds like new. They only require one thing in return: a sacrifice of flesh. In Lambskin’s case, any heart he can find and devour will patch him up. People pledging to these Young Gods has caused a great scourge across the world. There are no more cities, no more fields. The earth has all been salted. No more normal people. They have all taken their own pledges or have been cut up to serve those who have.
Darl’s chase leads him across a bridge to a corner of the world he had never visited before. A place that’s green. A place that has people. Perhaps Darl’s chase will come to end, and he can finally settle down in comfort. Or perhaps his fight is only just beginning.
This is Corvo’s debut novel. I can’t express how much that shocks me. Sure, this book isn’t perfect and has its own issues. But this was so well written and such a great story. I don’t even know where to begin.
Okay I’m going to start with what I didn’t like, since that list is relatively small. The first few pages were cheesy. Theres a point to it, building the atmosphere and letting us know that this is a dark world, but I was a little concerned that this book would be all edge and no point. Fortunately, shortly into the chapter it transitions into combat and I feel like the book found its rhythm. The only other thing I had issue with was that sometimes the conversations could be extremely stilted. Exposition-y. Again, it’s her first novel so the fact that I only had two issues, and honestly very minor issues, amazes me.
Now to what I liked and loved.
You would think the themes would be about the cruelness of the world, betrayal, or even hunts. But the big theme that I took from it was that we’re all lonely. We’re all seeking to fill a void. This can be seen in how easily Darl is swayed into traveling with someone. He never trusts, and he always expects a knife to slit his throat while he is sleeping but when he comes across someone, he doesn’t attack first. He might not initiate the conversation, but he’ll hear out the people he comes across.
I didn’t quite expect the cast of characters to be as big as it was, but I found I didn’t mind. They were all very well done. Even what you could consider villains or antagonists were just people who were struggling to survive in this world. There were several characters that I hated and grew to love, and several that I loved and grew to hate. There were minor characters that I cried over despite how small they were in the scheme of things and characters that I thought I’d spit on their graves but ended up sniffling when it was clear it was their time to go.
The magic was excellently simple. I love a good hard magic system, but sometimes simplicity is nice. Especially when theres so much going on. In this case it was as simple as all magic comes with a price. You want to heal that stab wound? Better take your communion. You want to come back from the dead but still have your sanity? Hope you got you allotment of kills before you died then.
Overall, I highly recommend this book. As a matter of fact, if you are even thinking of giving this book a try, I would recommend you head over to Frances B Corvo’s tiktok, @fashionablecrow. Her book will be available on Amazon January 31st, but she has stated that she’d prefer it if you didn’t give your money to them. She is giving away free copies of her book; the only thing she asks is that you donate to a charity of your choice or that you do an act of volunteering. I’m not sure if this is a forever thing, but it is an incredible act of service to encourage kindness in the world so I urge you to check her out.
I want to say thank you, France B Corvo, for the ARC and I look forward to many more of your books to come.
Review of advance copy received from Author
I received an ARC from the author in exchange for an honest review.
The first chapter felt cheesy, like something I'd read before, and I was not super excited about continuing. But boy am I glad I did. The characters are fantastic, the themes are well thought out, and the story evolves in really fascinating ways. It's hard to believe this is a debut novel! A little tropey at times, and I wish it was longer and had more time to sit, but overall I really enjoyed this.
The first chapter felt cheesy, like something I'd read before, and I was not super excited about continuing. But boy am I glad I did. The characters are fantastic, the themes are well thought out, and the story evolves in really fascinating ways. It's hard to believe this is a debut novel! A little tropey at times, and I wish it was longer and had more time to sit, but overall I really enjoyed this.
Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews