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The Broken Accords #1
The Wolf and the Crown of Blood
Not yet published
Expected 27 Jan 26A thrilling and incredibly sexy new dark romantasy series from Sunday Times bestselling author Elizabeth May.
A princess and a war-weary god met in the ashes of a broken city, forging a pact in blood and sacrifice.
Now, centuries of fragile peace are on the brink of collapse…
Bryony Devaliant was born to die — again and again. In Vartena, royal blood is the currency of peace, with every monarch sacrificed and resurrected to appease the gods. But when rebellion stirs, the god-king sends his deadliest weapon to restore order: an immortal assassin known only as the Wolf.
Evander has perfected the art of killing over centuries — until his latest target becomes the one person he cannot destroy. When forbidden desire burns between the assassin and the sacrificial princess, their connection threatens the fragile boundary between gods and mortals. And when that boundary shatters, empires crumble. Because when gods fall in love with mortals, mortals are always the ones to break.
Inspired by Beauty and the Beast and Eros and Psyche, this dark, seductive tale is perfect for fans of Raven Kennedy's Plated Prisoner series, with the wit and spice of Callie Hart's Quicksilver. Packed with dark fairytale vibes, gothic romance, and tropes like enemies to lovers, forced proximity, death pacts, and villain-gets-the-girl, this is a story where love is as deadly as it is irresistible.
A princess and a war-weary god met in the ashes of a broken city, forging a pact in blood and sacrifice.
Now, centuries of fragile peace are on the brink of collapse…
Bryony Devaliant was born to die — again and again. In Vartena, royal blood is the currency of peace, with every monarch sacrificed and resurrected to appease the gods. But when rebellion stirs, the god-king sends his deadliest weapon to restore order: an immortal assassin known only as the Wolf.
Evander has perfected the art of killing over centuries — until his latest target becomes the one person he cannot destroy. When forbidden desire burns between the assassin and the sacrificial princess, their connection threatens the fragile boundary between gods and mortals. And when that boundary shatters, empires crumble. Because when gods fall in love with mortals, mortals are always the ones to break.
Inspired by Beauty and the Beast and Eros and Psyche, this dark, seductive tale is perfect for fans of Raven Kennedy's Plated Prisoner series, with the wit and spice of Callie Hart's Quicksilver. Packed with dark fairytale vibes, gothic romance, and tropes like enemies to lovers, forced proximity, death pacts, and villain-gets-the-girl, this is a story where love is as deadly as it is irresistible.
560 pages, Hardcover
Expected publication January 27, 2026
28 people are currently reading
23389 people want to read
About the author
Elizabeth May
14 books2,499 followersElizabeth May is the #1 Sunday Times bestselling author of The Wolf and the Crown of Blood, To Cage A God, the Seven Devils duology (co-written with Laura Lam), The Falconer series, and historical romance novels under the pen name Katrina Kendrick. She is Californian by birth and Scottish by choice, and holds a PhD from the University of St Andrews. She currently resides on an old farm in rural Scotland with her husband, three cats, and a lively hive of resident honey bees.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 138 reviews
October 6, 2025
I have the biggest book hangover after finishing this one, and I know I’m going to be thinking about it for ages. Didn’t want to leave this world—this one deserves to be the next big sensation. I hope everyone is just as obsessed as I am.
Want to read
September 18, 2025This author must have a lot of faith in her creative abilities to pitch her book as a "Beauty and the Beast" retelling with four jalapeños in the Spice-o-meter.
That, or leading a suicidal writerly charge.
The fairy tale doesn't need to be mixed with the myth of Eros and Psyche, because the latter already is a proto-Beauty & Beast story, and in my experience the combo doesn't go well, so I can't say I have high expectations about this. Mainly adding this to my TBR pile out of curiosity, always a weakness.
Oh, and the sentient roses! I don't think I've seen sentient roses in a B&B retelling before? Maybe in one, but they were kinda complicated. Reminded me of that joke about retelling Snow White from the apple's POV, and that's how I'm here.
That, or leading a suicidal writerly charge.
The fairy tale doesn't need to be mixed with the myth of Eros and Psyche, because the latter already is a proto-Beauty & Beast story, and in my experience the combo doesn't go well, so I can't say I have high expectations about this. Mainly adding this to my TBR pile out of curiosity, always a weakness.
Oh, and the sentient roses! I don't think I've seen sentient roses in a B&B retelling before? Maybe in one, but they were kinda complicated. Reminded me of that joke about retelling Snow White from the apple's POV, and that's how I'm here.
October 26, 2025
Content Warnings: blood play, knife play, breath play, fear, body punishment, S&M, filthy dirty talking that might offend some people, and many other sorts of deranged things.
All these triggers made the book delicious (if you’re messed up like that and I say this with respect for my fellow kinksters). We're talking about cruel, merciless gods and mortals meddling, it's supposed to be depraved and filthy (you don't believe me? have a go at any mythology–Greek, Roman, Norwegian, Celtic, Egyptian, etc.)
No, ‘The Wolf and the Crown of Blood’ is NOT like Quicksilver, don’t compare it to that disaster. The dialogue and dark themes of this book make Quicksilver look like a children's book. There's no puerile banter and foolish dialogue that causes me to roll my eyes in my head at every interaction, and no childish, annoying FMC, so by this simple standard this book is far superior. Not to mention I had to force myself to finish that book while this one held me in a death grip that I relished and finished it in 2 sittings. But enough of this, I digress.
This book was 5 stars until I reached half of it. Then it dropped to 4, and finished with 3 stars.
What was GOOD
The setting is quite original, and you're thrown into the action very quickly. The sort of mythological vibe and world building is just right and so original from anything I read before, and I suppose that's another reason why I enjoyed this romance fantasy book as opposed to any other.
The spiciness is crazy, it's insane, it's my ‘guilty’ pleasure, but I don't care what others will say because it feels too good. It's so sinful you don't care if you go meet the devil afterwards, hell, I doubt he'll judge you for your depravity.
Usually in these sorts of books I enjoy the bantering and teasing parts more than the actual sex scenes, but this book manages to instill in you the same level of interest and excitement even in the climax.
Some might say there is a slow burn in this, but I disagree, the tension between them builds up explosively, there's an obvious passion and fire in both of them, a volcano meeting a hurricane, none of them back down and both enjoy the disaster left behind. They thrive in chaos and darkness and I devoured that all up because it's absolutely finger licking good.
Narrative
We will witness a few different POVs, but primarily his and hers. And as we progress through the story we'll delve deeper into their minds and their conflicting feelings for one another. It was especially exciting to witness Evander’s warring mind as he used logic and duty for the way he thought about Bryony, pinning his wandering thoughts of her to his failed job. It wasn't necessarily beautiful to see this because we get to participate in Evander's emotional journey, but because he showed us that Gods are just as flawed as humans if not more, in the most wonderful way.
Characters
The characters are all entertaining and I'd love to read more about the other enforcers, perhaps we'll get more from them in the future books. Yes, they're flawed, they're foolish, they're weak and vulnerable and try to hide behind indifference, but their actions are honest because they come from that weak vulnerable place. Both MCs are possessive, lusting, craving for each other and they lie only to themselves, playing pretend games.
Evander is not really the brooding type as I'd expect (every single book overuses this trope it's almost disgusting), no, he's playful, he's charming, and a sadistic possessive bastard. What's not to like? Obviously he has a past that still haunts him and the only way to numb the pain is more pain. He begs for it and acts like the monster people made him into because it's easier.
Bryony’s character does actually have some development, she evolves under Evander’s guidance. We all know how in books like this, the FMC always says she hates the MMC but she really doesn't. Well, in this novel, I actually do believe she despises Evander (at least in the beginning) because he represents everything she never had– power, control, strength, resilience.
Story
When the sadistic ‘angel of death’ Evander is tasked to eliminate Princess Bryony for her transgression (betraying the very God who owned her life), he found the mission to be far more complicated than a simple assassination, though not for the reasons one might think.
As soon as Evander is robbed of his mission by a mortal, he decides to put back together Bry only so he can finish the task assigned to him by Alexios (the Gods king). Not only that, but he will build her up from the ashes into something far more interesting, far more dangerous and vicious, just to watch the havoc she'd leave in her wake. Of course, he does all that because his sadistic arse wants to see the pain and blood Bry will bring, right? Only that's not true, the truth is, she's his to claim, his to own, his to play with, his to kill. The power dynamic between them often shifts on many occasions; it's not particularly D/s dynamic.
The love between them is like a Greek tragic story honestly, especially because Evander betrays his kin for her and it literally breaks him to be torn between love and family loyalty.
That first scene when Evander comes after Bry is intense. The heat, the tension, the proximity and intimacy while toying around pain and her inevitable death give me this ‘Eros and Thanatos’ vibe. The two human drives that guide us, where we find beauty and pleasure in death's grip, it was so beautiful, yet esoterical.
What was WRONG/CONFLICTING
The interaction between the MCs does get repetitive after a while and yes this was one of the reasons I deducted one star, it felt like the story dragged on and on unnecessarily just because of these filler pages of the same push and pull interaction between them.
And the second stolen star is because I cannot stand the trope of ‘miracle baby’ which I'm sure will happen, otherwise there wouldn't be a mention of how rare a god and a mortal can procreate. Add in the following contradicting issues to this snatched star:
- ruthless gods would care about consent. Really? I get it, you write a book and don't want to offend the sensibilities of some, but the setting and the world we've been lulled into doesn't seem to have a place for this particular humane trait, now does it? It’s just unrealistic and unbelievable
- the climax of the story is rather predictable given the circumstances and honestly I can't say I've encountered any twists in the novel, I would've loved some
- gods forbid these novels ever offer ‘women going down on men’, no, no, it's always the other way around. Because gods forbid women would actually enjoy pleasing men, eh? We mustn't, it's degrading, right? I'm sorry I had to pick on this but this book screamed of decadent actions and yet we get the most vanilla stuff in bed
- contradicting and unrealistic behaviour in Evander’s character- a centuries old assasin who wipes off villages and bathes in the blood and entrails of his prey, gags and vomits when he witnesses his kin slaughtered; admits he doesn’t enjoy chasing his prey, but he asks Bry to run and give him a good fight
- and last but certainly not least, there is NO WOLF, but this is my misunderstanding I jumped into this believing this sick bastard (Evander) is a shapeshifter, an actual wolf, a god transforming into a wolf or werewolf creature. I kept waiting for him to shift, but nothing. I hoped that would happen during their ‘rut’ phase, but nope, opportunity wasted or perhaps too shy to write that level of perversion? I mean, it's already deranged in the most beautiful way, why not go full blown feral and paint us a wicked picture?
In the end, I do recommend this for the spiciness and original take on mythology, but for me personally some things could not be ignored.
Many, many thanks to Elizabeth May, Daphne Press, and NetGalley for the ARC. This is a voluntary review, reflecting solely my opinion.
All these triggers made the book delicious (if you’re messed up like that and I say this with respect for my fellow kinksters). We're talking about cruel, merciless gods and mortals meddling, it's supposed to be depraved and filthy (you don't believe me? have a go at any mythology–Greek, Roman, Norwegian, Celtic, Egyptian, etc.)
No, ‘The Wolf and the Crown of Blood’ is NOT like Quicksilver, don’t compare it to that disaster. The dialogue and dark themes of this book make Quicksilver look like a children's book. There's no puerile banter and foolish dialogue that causes me to roll my eyes in my head at every interaction, and no childish, annoying FMC, so by this simple standard this book is far superior. Not to mention I had to force myself to finish that book while this one held me in a death grip that I relished and finished it in 2 sittings. But enough of this, I digress.
This book was 5 stars until I reached half of it. Then it dropped to 4, and finished with 3 stars.
What was GOOD
The setting is quite original, and you're thrown into the action very quickly. The sort of mythological vibe and world building is just right and so original from anything I read before, and I suppose that's another reason why I enjoyed this romance fantasy book as opposed to any other.
The spiciness is crazy, it's insane, it's my ‘guilty’ pleasure, but I don't care what others will say because it feels too good. It's so sinful you don't care if you go meet the devil afterwards, hell, I doubt he'll judge you for your depravity.
Usually in these sorts of books I enjoy the bantering and teasing parts more than the actual sex scenes, but this book manages to instill in you the same level of interest and excitement even in the climax.
Some might say there is a slow burn in this, but I disagree, the tension between them builds up explosively, there's an obvious passion and fire in both of them, a volcano meeting a hurricane, none of them back down and both enjoy the disaster left behind. They thrive in chaos and darkness and I devoured that all up because it's absolutely finger licking good.
Narrative
We will witness a few different POVs, but primarily his and hers. And as we progress through the story we'll delve deeper into their minds and their conflicting feelings for one another. It was especially exciting to witness Evander’s warring mind as he used logic and duty for the way he thought about Bryony, pinning his wandering thoughts of her to his failed job. It wasn't necessarily beautiful to see this because we get to participate in Evander's emotional journey, but because he showed us that Gods are just as flawed as humans if not more, in the most wonderful way.
Characters
The characters are all entertaining and I'd love to read more about the other enforcers, perhaps we'll get more from them in the future books. Yes, they're flawed, they're foolish, they're weak and vulnerable and try to hide behind indifference, but their actions are honest because they come from that weak vulnerable place. Both MCs are possessive, lusting, craving for each other and they lie only to themselves, playing pretend games.
Evander is not really the brooding type as I'd expect (every single book overuses this trope it's almost disgusting), no, he's playful, he's charming, and a sadistic possessive bastard. What's not to like? Obviously he has a past that still haunts him and the only way to numb the pain is more pain. He begs for it and acts like the monster people made him into because it's easier.
Bryony’s character does actually have some development, she evolves under Evander’s guidance. We all know how in books like this, the FMC always says she hates the MMC but she really doesn't. Well, in this novel, I actually do believe she despises Evander (at least in the beginning) because he represents everything she never had– power, control, strength, resilience.
Story
When the sadistic ‘angel of death’ Evander is tasked to eliminate Princess Bryony for her transgression (betraying the very God who owned her life), he found the mission to be far more complicated than a simple assassination, though not for the reasons one might think.
As soon as Evander is robbed of his mission by a mortal, he decides to put back together Bry only so he can finish the task assigned to him by Alexios (the Gods king). Not only that, but he will build her up from the ashes into something far more interesting, far more dangerous and vicious, just to watch the havoc she'd leave in her wake. Of course, he does all that because his sadistic arse wants to see the pain and blood Bry will bring, right? Only that's not true, the truth is, she's his to claim, his to own, his to play with, his to kill. The power dynamic between them often shifts on many occasions; it's not particularly D/s dynamic.
The love between them is like a Greek tragic story honestly, especially because Evander betrays his kin for her and it literally breaks him to be torn between love and family loyalty.
That first scene when Evander comes after Bry is intense. The heat, the tension, the proximity and intimacy while toying around pain and her inevitable death give me this ‘Eros and Thanatos’ vibe. The two human drives that guide us, where we find beauty and pleasure in death's grip, it was so beautiful, yet esoterical.
What was WRONG/CONFLICTING
The interaction between the MCs does get repetitive after a while and yes this was one of the reasons I deducted one star, it felt like the story dragged on and on unnecessarily just because of these filler pages of the same push and pull interaction between them.
And the second stolen star is because I cannot stand the trope of ‘miracle baby’ which I'm sure will happen, otherwise there wouldn't be a mention of how rare a god and a mortal can procreate. Add in the following contradicting issues to this snatched star:
- ruthless gods would care about consent. Really? I get it, you write a book and don't want to offend the sensibilities of some, but the setting and the world we've been lulled into doesn't seem to have a place for this particular humane trait, now does it? It’s just unrealistic and unbelievable
- the climax of the story is rather predictable given the circumstances and honestly I can't say I've encountered any twists in the novel, I would've loved some
- gods forbid these novels ever offer ‘women going down on men’, no, no, it's always the other way around. Because gods forbid women would actually enjoy pleasing men, eh? We mustn't, it's degrading, right? I'm sorry I had to pick on this but this book screamed of decadent actions and yet we get the most vanilla stuff in bed
- contradicting and unrealistic behaviour in Evander’s character- a centuries old assasin who wipes off villages and bathes in the blood and entrails of his prey, gags and vomits when he witnesses his kin slaughtered; admits he doesn’t enjoy chasing his prey, but he asks Bry to run and give him a good fight
- and last but certainly not least, there is NO WOLF, but this is my misunderstanding I jumped into this believing this sick bastard (Evander) is a shapeshifter, an actual wolf, a god transforming into a wolf or werewolf creature. I kept waiting for him to shift, but nothing. I hoped that would happen during their ‘rut’ phase, but nope, opportunity wasted or perhaps too shy to write that level of perversion? I mean, it's already deranged in the most beautiful way, why not go full blown feral and paint us a wicked picture?
In the end, I do recommend this for the spiciness and original take on mythology, but for me personally some things could not be ignored.
Many, many thanks to Elizabeth May, Daphne Press, and NetGalley for the ARC. This is a voluntary review, reflecting solely my opinion.
November 5, 2025
Thanks to NetGalley & the publishers for a chance to review this ARC!
I haven’t had this type of read or reaction to a book for a long while. So buckle up, grab a popcorn and remind yourself that reading is subjective.
This story was a formula. It’s obviously a formula that works for other people… because it keeps being written ; over and over again. My problem with formulas like this one - is that the narrative never strays from the original idea. I’ve read this book a gazillion times.
I’ll start with the positive - I think the worldbuilding is definitely this book’s strong suit and I wish we got more about the previous war. A prequel novella would definitely be interesting. I also saw the trigger warning lists after getting the ARC and was afraid it’d ruin the read for me - surprisingly enough, they weren’t what hindered my reading experience… so I think there’s praise to give on that font.
Now, as a character driven reader - I wasn’t left satisfied with this. You get to know your characters by what they don’t normally do. Every scene in the beginning starts with something along the lines of : oh I don’t normally do this. I’m not like this usually. This isn’t me.
But what is your normalcy then? And what pushed you to act this way on this specific day? This didn’t work for me as it felt extremely convenient and it was off putting.
The characters were caricatures. I couldn’t take them seriously and I felt like I never knew what or who they were exactly. I think we were meant to believe the stakes were high but the interactions we saw between the MMC & the rest of his gang were so… stilted and awkward. The MMC was being painted as this big bad wolf but he was acting like a big shot and it kept snapping me out. Everyone is terrified of him but she wasn’t (for plot purposes). She even antagonized him on their first meeting… but what pushed her to behave like this? No explanation was ever given. We were just meant to accept it.
Because the characters were fickle - I couldn’t grasp what the stakes were and why they were behaving the way they were.
The main plot (if we can call it that) moved maybe 10% in this whole gigantic book (560 pages). And I’m being generous. It was slow, extremely repetitive, very convenient and made for a slog to get through. It was extremely too long and was hoggled down by unnecessary fillers.
The MCs banter was well done for the first 50% but it switched so fast after that mark. The relationships and conversations between the MCs and the rest of the characters were unnatural and cold.
And then… of course… she was a virgin 🤡 there’s such emphasis on sex in this book that I really wanted to give up when we learn she’s a virgin at 50%. This obsession about virginity is kind of perpetuating a sick mentality and I will not stand for it. We have this virgin FMC whose horniness is up in the roof and a manwhore MMC who probably had sex with half the population on this planet. Please. I will get myself out.
And let’s be for real for a second. You have this « sex goddess » but she’s a virgin… was this written by a man?
I sincerely could go on but I’m giving myself a headache. This wasn’t for me, and I think it needs some work - execution wise. It will find its public but it sadly wasn’t me.
I haven’t had this type of read or reaction to a book for a long while. So buckle up, grab a popcorn and remind yourself that reading is subjective.
This story was a formula. It’s obviously a formula that works for other people… because it keeps being written ; over and over again. My problem with formulas like this one - is that the narrative never strays from the original idea. I’ve read this book a gazillion times.
I’ll start with the positive - I think the worldbuilding is definitely this book’s strong suit and I wish we got more about the previous war. A prequel novella would definitely be interesting. I also saw the trigger warning lists after getting the ARC and was afraid it’d ruin the read for me - surprisingly enough, they weren’t what hindered my reading experience… so I think there’s praise to give on that font.
Now, as a character driven reader - I wasn’t left satisfied with this. You get to know your characters by what they don’t normally do. Every scene in the beginning starts with something along the lines of : oh I don’t normally do this. I’m not like this usually. This isn’t me.
But what is your normalcy then? And what pushed you to act this way on this specific day? This didn’t work for me as it felt extremely convenient and it was off putting.
The characters were caricatures. I couldn’t take them seriously and I felt like I never knew what or who they were exactly. I think we were meant to believe the stakes were high but the interactions we saw between the MMC & the rest of his gang were so… stilted and awkward. The MMC was being painted as this big bad wolf but he was acting like a big shot and it kept snapping me out. Everyone is terrified of him but she wasn’t (for plot purposes). She even antagonized him on their first meeting… but what pushed her to behave like this? No explanation was ever given. We were just meant to accept it.
Because the characters were fickle - I couldn’t grasp what the stakes were and why they were behaving the way they were.
The main plot (if we can call it that) moved maybe 10% in this whole gigantic book (560 pages). And I’m being generous. It was slow, extremely repetitive, very convenient and made for a slog to get through. It was extremely too long and was hoggled down by unnecessary fillers.
The MCs banter was well done for the first 50% but it switched so fast after that mark. The relationships and conversations between the MCs and the rest of the characters were unnatural and cold.
And then… of course… she was a virgin 🤡 there’s such emphasis on sex in this book that I really wanted to give up when we learn she’s a virgin at 50%. This obsession about virginity is kind of perpetuating a sick mentality and I will not stand for it. We have this virgin FMC whose horniness is up in the roof and a manwhore MMC who probably had sex with half the population on this planet. Please. I will get myself out.
And let’s be for real for a second. You have this « sex goddess » but she’s a virgin… was this written by a man?
I sincerely could go on but I’m giving myself a headache. This wasn’t for me, and I think it needs some work - execution wise. It will find its public but it sadly wasn’t me.
October 8, 2025
I really enjoyed the concept of this book: an enemies-to-lovers dark Romantasy between a god and a human whose sole purpose in life is to be continuously sacrificed and resurrected to keep the peace between their worlds. However, the story fell a bit flat for me in its execution.
Where I struggled the most was with the dialogue, which felt very modern and didn’t feel suited to the high-stakes fantasy setting. I enjoyed the characters, but their internal monologues became a bit tedious as they went back and forth between catching feelings and convincing themselves, and each other, that they can never be anything more than enemies. When our characters finally decided to embrace their feelings, it felt a bit anticlimactic.
The strongest element of this book, in my opinion, was the history and world-building. I’d absolutely love to read a book about the war that took place 300 years ago, when humans began to conquer the gods.
Overall, I think this is a solid, darker Romantasy, but it fell into a lot of the standard tropes and didn’t do enough to stand out from the pack for me.
Thank you NetGalley and Aria for the e-arc in exchange for my honest review.
Where I struggled the most was with the dialogue, which felt very modern and didn’t feel suited to the high-stakes fantasy setting. I enjoyed the characters, but their internal monologues became a bit tedious as they went back and forth between catching feelings and convincing themselves, and each other, that they can never be anything more than enemies. When our characters finally decided to embrace their feelings, it felt a bit anticlimactic.
The strongest element of this book, in my opinion, was the history and world-building. I’d absolutely love to read a book about the war that took place 300 years ago, when humans began to conquer the gods.
Overall, I think this is a solid, darker Romantasy, but it fell into a lot of the standard tropes and didn’t do enough to stand out from the pack for me.
Thank you NetGalley and Aria for the e-arc in exchange for my honest review.
November 29, 2025
Thank you NetGalley and Bloomsbury USA | ARIA for the ARC!! 🐺👑
I don’t really know how to rate this book yet (3 or 4⭐️), but one thing I’m certain of is that it leaves a mark, tracing the darkest intersections of trauma, sex, pain, self-destruction, grief, abuse, and suicide — and the brutal journey of a woman clawing her way back from being broken and used.
Behind the fantasy setting, this is a story about using sex to outrun trauma, to numb pain, or to pretend you’re not breaking apart on the inside. And somehow… it can be disturbing. Absolutely make sure to read the trigger warnings before diving in. Not because of the amount of sexual content, but because of the intensity and the way those scenes are described. It weaponizes intimacy in a way that feels both raw and unsettling.
I’m honestly torn on how to rate it because it’s a mix of brilliance and over-familiarity, yet it’s also beautifully written in certain moments that hit so hard they deserve 5 stars on their own. And some scenes stay lodged under your skin. The forbidden room scene, when you finally learn what really happened 300 years ago? That one shattered me.
So, yeah, full RTC
-------------------------------
Pre-read:
Let’s bullet-points my excitement:
I can’t wait to dive into this dark and chaotic romantasy and see where the story leads.
I’m hoping the editing and execution deliver on the promise of such an intriguing premise, and really wishing we don’t fall into the “spice-for-sell faking a plot” book trap.
I don’t really know how to rate this book yet (3 or 4⭐️), but one thing I’m certain of is that it leaves a mark, tracing the darkest intersections of trauma, sex, pain, self-destruction, grief, abuse, and suicide — and the brutal journey of a woman clawing her way back from being broken and used.
Behind the fantasy setting, this is a story about using sex to outrun trauma, to numb pain, or to pretend you’re not breaking apart on the inside. And somehow… it can be disturbing. Absolutely make sure to read the trigger warnings before diving in. Not because of the amount of sexual content, but because of the intensity and the way those scenes are described. It weaponizes intimacy in a way that feels both raw and unsettling.
I’m honestly torn on how to rate it because it’s a mix of brilliance and over-familiarity, yet it’s also beautifully written in certain moments that hit so hard they deserve 5 stars on their own. And some scenes stay lodged under your skin. The forbidden room scene, when you finally learn what really happened 300 years ago? That one shattered me.
So, yeah, full RTC
-------------------------------
Pre-read:
Let’s bullet-points my excitement:
📖 A dark fairytale retelling.
🌸 A resurrected princess.
🐺 An immortal assassin.
🩸 A blood pact between gods and mortals.
💔 Enemies-to-lovers.
I can’t wait to dive into this dark and chaotic romantasy and see where the story leads.
I’m hoping the editing and execution deliver on the promise of such an intriguing premise, and really wishing we don’t fall into the “spice-for-sell faking a plot” book trap.
September 19, 2025
This is a story about a god and a princess who hate each other. Violently.
Let's break down that blurb...
Back in the day, Bryony's ancestor basically brokered a peace treaty with another god, promising her descendants to be continued sacrifices to keep peace between their two worlds and to put an end to all that pesky death. Hooray right?
*buzzer noise*
Nope! It WOULD have been if years later all those pesky mortals didn't have short memories due to, you know, not living forever, and hadn't got fed up with the gods being all aloof. And murderous. Of course the gods very unhappy campers about all the oathbreaking.
What about our cast?
Bryony is our FMC, and is the darling of the mortal realm. The mortals, they like her more than the gods, and she accidentally becomes a bit of a symbol of rebellion. The gods don't really like that either. Poor girl gets sacked off from sacrifice duty with no severance money and a hit put on her. Rude. Enter our MMC Evander, sent by the aforementioned god to be Bryony's executioner. His body count is massive. And he's killed a lot of people too.
It really does promise to be a wonderfully unhinged meet cute.
*smug face*
Bryony basically does what she wants; I approve. She also has oodles of delicious feminine rage crammed inside of her, waiting for it to be unleashed. Evander is the recipient of this unleashing. This is an honour he seems overjoyed with and more than happy to indulge. Because he's got issues. Oh and because he hates her family. Like a lot.
*lol*
Evander is a bit of a dick. But he's a HOT dick. The kind of dick you hate but he's yours to hate and you can change him right?
*nervous chuckle*
Honestly, Evander is completely feral. This might be daddy issues talking, but he's not mindlessly evil and he's not cruel without motivation. Most of the time.
*bombastic side eye*
He doesn't do 'feelings' because you know, you can't be down bad, when you're the big bad, right? It's certainly does set the scene for some top tier banter though! Bryony and Evander are two freight trains meeting on the same track. Blunt force trauma.
Look getting serious for a second; effort has been made to cultivate this rich world, so there is a bit of work for the reader to be done with the world building, getting to know the cast and the terminology. I read this from NetGalley, and I'm not sure if there is a map in the final print versions but the glossary at the back was super helpful with terminology.
This is a DARK book. You need to pay attention to those content warnings before you dive in. Me personally, I read it like a shopping list and I wanted to be FED.
Addressing the elephant in the room. Yes. There is spice.
*cough*
Much like the wing spans in the book, the themes covered here are massive. There's a lot of themes to unpack around agency, trauma, grief, finding of one's self, to name a few. So yeah, in all seriousness, check those CWs and read responsibly.
The series is planned to revolve around separate couples, introduced throughout each instalment, I believe. Which is just as well, as the supporting cast are strong, and I want more.
The lines between good and bad are ambiguous as hell and ever shifting as you unpick the plot and context. I felt more and more intrigued by the chapter and honestly I hated putting it down each time I had to go do real life stuff in the stupid real world. I also enjoyed gobbling up those easter eggs and foreshadowing for future installments. I fell down a few rabbit holes trying to work out who might be the focus in the next book and I'll be there until the next one is out!
Join me.
*pats lap*
Let's break down that blurb...
Back in the day, Bryony's ancestor basically brokered a peace treaty with another god, promising her descendants to be continued sacrifices to keep peace between their two worlds and to put an end to all that pesky death. Hooray right?
*buzzer noise*
Nope! It WOULD have been if years later all those pesky mortals didn't have short memories due to, you know, not living forever, and hadn't got fed up with the gods being all aloof. And murderous. Of course the gods very unhappy campers about all the oathbreaking.
What about our cast?
Bryony is our FMC, and is the darling of the mortal realm. The mortals, they like her more than the gods, and she accidentally becomes a bit of a symbol of rebellion. The gods don't really like that either. Poor girl gets sacked off from sacrifice duty with no severance money and a hit put on her. Rude. Enter our MMC Evander, sent by the aforementioned god to be Bryony's executioner. His body count is massive. And he's killed a lot of people too.
It really does promise to be a wonderfully unhinged meet cute.
*smug face*
Bryony basically does what she wants; I approve. She also has oodles of delicious feminine rage crammed inside of her, waiting for it to be unleashed. Evander is the recipient of this unleashing. This is an honour he seems overjoyed with and more than happy to indulge. Because he's got issues. Oh and because he hates her family. Like a lot.
*lol*
Evander is a bit of a dick. But he's a HOT dick. The kind of dick you hate but he's yours to hate and you can change him right?
*nervous chuckle*
Honestly, Evander is completely feral. This might be daddy issues talking, but he's not mindlessly evil and he's not cruel without motivation. Most of the time.
*bombastic side eye*
He doesn't do 'feelings' because you know, you can't be down bad, when you're the big bad, right? It's certainly does set the scene for some top tier banter though! Bryony and Evander are two freight trains meeting on the same track. Blunt force trauma.
Look getting serious for a second; effort has been made to cultivate this rich world, so there is a bit of work for the reader to be done with the world building, getting to know the cast and the terminology. I read this from NetGalley, and I'm not sure if there is a map in the final print versions but the glossary at the back was super helpful with terminology.
This is a DARK book. You need to pay attention to those content warnings before you dive in. Me personally, I read it like a shopping list and I wanted to be FED.
Addressing the elephant in the room. Yes. There is spice.
*cough*
Much like the wing spans in the book, the themes covered here are massive. There's a lot of themes to unpack around agency, trauma, grief, finding of one's self, to name a few. So yeah, in all seriousness, check those CWs and read responsibly.
The series is planned to revolve around separate couples, introduced throughout each instalment, I believe. Which is just as well, as the supporting cast are strong, and I want more.
The lines between good and bad are ambiguous as hell and ever shifting as you unpick the plot and context. I felt more and more intrigued by the chapter and honestly I hated putting it down each time I had to go do real life stuff in the stupid real world. I also enjoyed gobbling up those easter eggs and foreshadowing for future installments. I fell down a few rabbit holes trying to work out who might be the focus in the next book and I'll be there until the next one is out!
Join me.
*pats lap*
October 25, 2025
Overview: As the last in the Devaliant bloodline, Bryony exists for one reason - to die as a sacrifice, over and over again. In Vartena, the rules of a centuries-old treaty are for royal blood to spill and appease the gods - but when the gods refuse to accept Bryon's offering any more, her life is forfeit.
Sent to capture the princess, Evander is a god and deadly assassin. Intrigued by the sacrificial princess, forbidden desire starts to burn, which could threaten their very empires. Because when gods fall in love with mortals, mortals are always the ones to break.
My thoughts: I will admit, when I read the trigger warnings at the start of this, I was primed to dislike this book. That's how you know it's a decent - you like it despite yourself.
The Wolf and the Crown of Blood really punched a hole in my chest and wouldn't let go - I devoured 64% in one night. The first half and a bit of this is so delicious, closing down my Kindle I was ready to rate this a 4-star read, but after that binge-session I felt it took its foot off the gas.
Firstly, Bryony and Evander are great characters. Have I read shades of them both before? Yes. But I will always come back for more. In fact, a lot of the plot points do feel like a colour-by-numbers of books I've read before but I do feel that May painted them in a unique enough way. I ate it up.
The world-building is strong in parts - the lore and history were established well. I was confused as to the setting - I thought I had this pegged as Ancient Rome/Greek-adjacent, but then there's talk of trains and a 'paint pen' that left me confused.
For me, the stars start to drop off after they get together. It all becomes a bit boring - spicy and delicious - but boring. Like eating a chilli - it's going to be damn hot and make your pulse race, but don't expect a range of flavour aside from 'burning'. Call me a sadist, but I needed more troughs to appreciate the peaks.
I do recommend you read this! It's definitely one of the better romance/romantasy's I've read lately.
Thanks to Netgalley, May and Daphne press for the ARC in exchange for my honest review.
Sent to capture the princess, Evander is a god and deadly assassin. Intrigued by the sacrificial princess, forbidden desire starts to burn, which could threaten their very empires. Because when gods fall in love with mortals, mortals are always the ones to break.
My thoughts: I will admit, when I read the trigger warnings at the start of this, I was primed to dislike this book. That's how you know it's a decent - you like it despite yourself.
The Wolf and the Crown of Blood really punched a hole in my chest and wouldn't let go - I devoured 64% in one night. The first half and a bit of this is so delicious, closing down my Kindle I was ready to rate this a 4-star read, but after that binge-session I felt it took its foot off the gas.
Firstly, Bryony and Evander are great characters. Have I read shades of them both before? Yes. But I will always come back for more. In fact, a lot of the plot points do feel like a colour-by-numbers of books I've read before but I do feel that May painted them in a unique enough way. I ate it up.
The world-building is strong in parts - the lore and history were established well. I was confused as to the setting - I thought I had this pegged as Ancient Rome/Greek-adjacent, but then there's talk of trains and a 'paint pen' that left me confused.
For me, the stars start to drop off after they get together. It all becomes a bit boring - spicy and delicious - but boring. Like eating a chilli - it's going to be damn hot and make your pulse race, but don't expect a range of flavour aside from 'burning'. Call me a sadist, but I needed more troughs to appreciate the peaks.
I do recommend you read this! It's definitely one of the better romance/romantasy's I've read lately.
Thanks to Netgalley, May and Daphne press for the ARC in exchange for my honest review.
December 25, 2025
Well that was not a book for me..
I’ll write a bit more when I find my laptop ;)
I’ll write a bit more when I find my laptop ;)
October 15, 2025
The Wolf and the Crown of Blood had plenty of spice and a solid enemies-to-lovers setup, but the MMC fell way too fast for me. One minute he’s killing everyone, and the next he’s completely smitten; it just didn’t feel earned. I liked the world and the tension, but I wish the ending had hinted more at the other characters’ stories to pull me into the next book. We leave three potential relationships very open-ended: one’s another enemies-to-lovers with an even darker MMC, another has all that yearning, forbidden energy, and the last is past lovers turned cold but clearly still drawn to each other from afar. It would’ve been nice to end on a bit of a cliffhanger to set those up. Still, it was a fun, steamy read overall.
Thank you Elizabeth May for the arc!
- Enjoyed the storyline
- Will I read it again? Prob not, but I will read the second.
- Spice: 4
It’s ARC time! Excited for a spicy one!
Thank you Elizabeth May for the arc!
- Enjoyed the storyline
- Will I read it again? Prob not, but I will read the second.
- Spice: 4
It’s ARC time! Excited for a spicy one!
December 20, 2025
➵ 4.5 ⭐️
fantastic dark fantasy romance to read especially when ovulating
Okay, right when I finished this book I got very sick and couldn't sit down and write this review for a while so let's see how this is gonna go now lol.
When I started TWatCoB I was definitely in the mood for something more romance driven and after seeing a few quotes from the book and the way the romance is hate-to-love I decided this is what I needed.
Publishers Weekly described this book as "a deliciously decadent erotic fantasy romance with over-the-top kinky sex" and that was actually something that sold me on it lmaooo. But PW, if you think this was "over the top kinky sex" . . .oh you sweet summer child 😂
This book is being sold and promoted as dark fantasy and dark romance but if you are a dark romance girlie I don't think that this is gonna be very dark or kinky to you. There are plenty of trigger warnings in the beginning of the book that I recommend checking out if you are more sensitive to darker themes but in my opinion Wolf wasn't as dark as I expected it to be. Just my opinion though, and I do primarily read dark fantasy so definitely take that with a grain of salt, I saw another reviewer say she had to DNF early on because it was too much for her sooooo yeah, make sure you check the TWs.
As some other readers have already pointed out, Wolf is pretty formulaic but it's a formula that definitely works for a lot of readers, me included. I was thoroughly entertained even though I suspected a lot of the twists and how the story was gonna go. There were plenty of interesting elements that made the world building feel unique, like the way the realm was communicating with its rulers and chose who deserves to be sitting on a throne. There was a lot about the history of world and the magic system that I found super interesting and I'm very excited to explore them more in the sequel. I definitely think that fans of ACOTAR will eat this up, what with the Beauty and the Beast vibes and Evander's tragic back story.
Speaking of Evander, I loved his character, so far I think he's my favorite. I don't know if I'd describe him exactly as morally black but he was leaning more towards it in the beginning and then eventually the more you got to know him and the more he fell for Bryony the more he moved into the morally grey area.
Loved Bryony, her viciousness, her rage, loved how she and Evander were the same bloodthirsty creatures. It's funny to me how Evander wanted to and thought he was going to ruin her but in the end all he did was give her the freedom to be herself and feel her feelings.
The romance was very I want you but I shouldn't want you and I hate myself for it so I'm gonna keep lying to myself that I'm just horny for you and nothing more 😂 loved it, that's exactly what I was in the mood for. I saw EM mention that the romance is not slow burn because the MCs want to jump each other's bones pretty early on but even though there's plenty horniness, the MCs didn't even kiss until like half way through and this was not a short book. So, there's a lot of sexual tension and sexually charged moments but that's all they were until much later on. The best way to describe it probably would be instant attraction with slow progression, does that make sense? Hope so.
Romance aside, I absolutely adored some of the side characters like Amara and Theo and wanted to throttle others like Alexios.
The twist about Amara and her Chosen was so shocking to me, I really don't know how I didn't put 2 and 2 together until it was revealed but I'm sooooooo curious about their relationship. I really hope we get to learn more in the future books. I'd even prefer a book about them but I'm assuming the 3rd book will be about Alexios.
I love the fact that this trilogy will comprise of interconnected standalones and each book will focus on a different couple.
I can't even explain how excited I am that the next book is about Theo and Bas (I did see a comment from the author confirming this), I'm positively vibrating with excitement 😂 Theo gave me Nesta vibes, and Bas with his past that's even more tragic than his brother's... The way both of them are prickly and scarred and have built walls around their minds and hearts—I literally cannot wait to watch Theo handle Bas, I know it's gonna be so good 😂 if their book is not my favorite in the series there will be no hope for the rest 😂
Counting down the minutes till I have the sequel in my hands.
eternal gratitude to Netgalley and the publisher for the ARC
all quotes are from an advance copy and may differ in the final publication
fantastic dark fantasy romance to read especially when ovulating
Okay, right when I finished this book I got very sick and couldn't sit down and write this review for a while so let's see how this is gonna go now lol.
When I started TWatCoB I was definitely in the mood for something more romance driven and after seeing a few quotes from the book and the way the romance is hate-to-love I decided this is what I needed.
Publishers Weekly described this book as "a deliciously decadent erotic fantasy romance with over-the-top kinky sex" and that was actually something that sold me on it lmaooo. But PW, if you think this was "over the top kinky sex" . . .oh you sweet summer child 😂
This book is being sold and promoted as dark fantasy and dark romance but if you are a dark romance girlie I don't think that this is gonna be very dark or kinky to you. There are plenty of trigger warnings in the beginning of the book that I recommend checking out if you are more sensitive to darker themes but in my opinion Wolf wasn't as dark as I expected it to be. Just my opinion though, and I do primarily read dark fantasy so definitely take that with a grain of salt, I saw another reviewer say she had to DNF early on because it was too much for her sooooo yeah, make sure you check the TWs.
As some other readers have already pointed out, Wolf is pretty formulaic but it's a formula that definitely works for a lot of readers, me included. I was thoroughly entertained even though I suspected a lot of the twists and how the story was gonna go. There were plenty of interesting elements that made the world building feel unique, like the way the realm was communicating with its rulers and chose who deserves to be sitting on a throne. There was a lot about the history of world and the magic system that I found super interesting and I'm very excited to explore them more in the sequel. I definitely think that fans of ACOTAR will eat this up, what with the Beauty and the Beast vibes and Evander's tragic back story.
"But I'll let you in on a secret. A bit of wisdom from a god who's seen more killing than most: we're all just walking corpses in different stages of decay, waiting for the end. The only difference is how much of the world we take with us when we finally lie down."
Speaking of Evander, I loved his character, so far I think he's my favorite. I don't know if I'd describe him exactly as morally black but he was leaning more towards it in the beginning and then eventually the more you got to know him and the more he fell for Bryony the more he moved into the morally grey area.
"And maybe it's madness—this desperate urge to offer myself up to his mouth and hands, to take in all his darkness. To let his edges cut me open until we both bleed."
Loved Bryony, her viciousness, her rage, loved how she and Evander were the same bloodthirsty creatures. It's funny to me how Evander wanted to and thought he was going to ruin her but in the end all he did was give her the freedom to be herself and feel her feelings.
"Fuck, I hate you," he growls.
I lean in close, lips brushing his ear. "Then hate me harder."
The romance was very I want you but I shouldn't want you and I hate myself for it so I'm gonna keep lying to myself that I'm just horny for you and nothing more 😂 loved it, that's exactly what I was in the mood for. I saw EM mention that the romance is not slow burn because the MCs want to jump each other's bones pretty early on but even though there's plenty horniness, the MCs didn't even kiss until like half way through and this was not a short book. So, there's a lot of sexual tension and sexually charged moments but that's all they were until much later on. The best way to describe it probably would be instant attraction with slow progression, does that make sense? Hope so.
"I hope he's worth it, your Wolf. It would be a shame for you to break for anything less than love."
Romance aside, I absolutely adored some of the side characters like Amara and Theo and wanted to throttle others like Alexios.
The twist about Amara and her Chosen was so shocking to me, I really don't know how I didn't put 2 and 2 together until it was revealed but I'm sooooooo curious about their relationship. I really hope we get to learn more in the future books. I'd even prefer a book about them but I'm assuming the 3rd book will be about Alexios.
I love the fact that this trilogy will comprise of interconnected standalones and each book will focus on a different couple.
"Love isn't pretty words and tender touches. It means standing in front of a blade meant for the one who holds your heart and bleeding so they don't have to."
I can't even explain how excited I am that the next book is about Theo and Bas (I did see a comment from the author confirming this), I'm positively vibrating with excitement 😂 Theo gave me Nesta vibes, and Bas with his past that's even more tragic than his brother's... The way both of them are prickly and scarred and have built walls around their minds and hearts—I literally cannot wait to watch Theo handle Bas, I know it's gonna be so good 😂 if their book is not my favorite in the series there will be no hope for the rest 😂
Counting down the minutes till I have the sequel in my hands.
eternal gratitude to Netgalley and the publisher for the ARC
all quotes are from an advance copy and may differ in the final publication
November 8, 2025
⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ 5 stars
🌶️🌶️🌶️ 3 spice
Thank you to the author and NetGalley for providing me with an ARC of this book. All opinions are my own and given honestly.
From the moment I started this book, I was in. The introduction into the world and characters was seamless no dragging, no confusion, just pure immersion. The world was dark and deep, only broken by bursts of humor and sass that pulled me straight into the story and didn’t let go.
I was swept into a realm of sacrifice and pain, full of twisted choices and heavy burdens, and instead of recoiling... I loved it. Even the darkest parts the moments you wish you could fix or erase made the book feel richer and more layered. I loved seeing the contrast between locations, between choices, and between what people believed was right or wrong.
That constant feeling of any second now it’ll all collapse had me frantically turning pages. I stayed up all night reading until my eyes burned like a desert and I have zero regrets.
The book plays beautifully in the gray area between good and evil. Nothing was simple or black and white. Just when I thought I understood what the story was doing, it surprised me with even more depth. Despite being a standard-length novel, it felt huge in terms of story, scope, and emotion.
The characters were rich and fully fleshed out, the alternating POVs added emotional depth, and the world was fully realized. Then the spice hit after the 50% mark and wow. You’ll need a glass of water and maybe someone to pick your jaw off the floor. It’s emotional, intense, and woven beautifully into the plot.
I often find that books trying to be “too many things” fall flat. But not this one. This book took every one of those elements and turned it into something deliciously devilish. It gave me laughter, tears, shocks, fear, and delight. And when I reached the end, I was left with a sense of perfection. It was worth every tear, every gasp, every lost hour of sleep.
What I liked:
The characters (Wolf and Bryony were brilliant, and I adored Amara)
The worldbuilding
The emotions this book wrung out of me
The politics and power struggles
The bold handling of dark themes
The ending! It was so good
What didn’t work for me:
Honestly, I’m picking at straws here. Early on, I got a bit lost with names and places, but once I found my footing, I was completely hooked.
Would I recommend this book?
OMG yes. I absolutely loved it.
Would I reread?
1000% yes.
How would I sum it up?
A dark and bloody story with layered emotion, unforgettable characters, and a plot that will have you laughing, crying, and blushing. You’ll get lost in the pages — and love every second of it.
https://bestbooks89.blogspot.com/2025...
🌶️🌶️🌶️ 3 spice
Thank you to the author and NetGalley for providing me with an ARC of this book. All opinions are my own and given honestly.
From the moment I started this book, I was in. The introduction into the world and characters was seamless no dragging, no confusion, just pure immersion. The world was dark and deep, only broken by bursts of humor and sass that pulled me straight into the story and didn’t let go.
I was swept into a realm of sacrifice and pain, full of twisted choices and heavy burdens, and instead of recoiling... I loved it. Even the darkest parts the moments you wish you could fix or erase made the book feel richer and more layered. I loved seeing the contrast between locations, between choices, and between what people believed was right or wrong.
That constant feeling of any second now it’ll all collapse had me frantically turning pages. I stayed up all night reading until my eyes burned like a desert and I have zero regrets.
The book plays beautifully in the gray area between good and evil. Nothing was simple or black and white. Just when I thought I understood what the story was doing, it surprised me with even more depth. Despite being a standard-length novel, it felt huge in terms of story, scope, and emotion.
The characters were rich and fully fleshed out, the alternating POVs added emotional depth, and the world was fully realized. Then the spice hit after the 50% mark and wow. You’ll need a glass of water and maybe someone to pick your jaw off the floor. It’s emotional, intense, and woven beautifully into the plot.
I often find that books trying to be “too many things” fall flat. But not this one. This book took every one of those elements and turned it into something deliciously devilish. It gave me laughter, tears, shocks, fear, and delight. And when I reached the end, I was left with a sense of perfection. It was worth every tear, every gasp, every lost hour of sleep.
What I liked:
The characters (Wolf and Bryony were brilliant, and I adored Amara)
The worldbuilding
The emotions this book wrung out of me
The politics and power struggles
The bold handling of dark themes
The ending! It was so good
What didn’t work for me:
Honestly, I’m picking at straws here. Early on, I got a bit lost with names and places, but once I found my footing, I was completely hooked.
Would I recommend this book?
OMG yes. I absolutely loved it.
Would I reread?
1000% yes.
How would I sum it up?
A dark and bloody story with layered emotion, unforgettable characters, and a plot that will have you laughing, crying, and blushing. You’ll get lost in the pages — and love every second of it.
https://bestbooks89.blogspot.com/2025...
October 20, 2025
The Wolf and the Crown of Blood was a proper romantasy with a morally grey love interest (and we are talking borderline villainous). Wolf and Bryony were real enemies to lovers, and the tension was off the roof. I liked the worldbuilding as well; it was well-planned, and I like how even the side characters were so complex (even Alexei, the villain, had his tragic past). The gods' history was so tragic, and I felt for them so much.
I was expecting a bit more female rage from Bryony, but I still liked her. I'm looking forward to seeing more of Theodora's story (if we get it). And the spice here will make you blush (at least if you're me) because it's spicing.
Anyways, it was super fun to read, some bits were a bit slower, but still. And I only now realised it's a Beauty and the Beast retelling oops.
One-sentence review: A good, proper romantasy with epic world-building and complex characters.
Thank you to NetGalley for the eARC!
I was expecting a bit more female rage from Bryony, but I still liked her. I'm looking forward to seeing more of Theodora's story (if we get it). And the spice here will make you blush (at least if you're me) because it's spicing.
Anyways, it was super fun to read, some bits were a bit slower, but still. And I only now realised it's a Beauty and the Beast retelling oops.
One-sentence review: A good, proper romantasy with epic world-building and complex characters.
Thank you to NetGalley for the eARC!
October 19, 2025
4.25 ⭐️
Add this to your TBR *immediately*.
Well what a breath of fresh air. This is unique. This is horrific. This is tragic. This is all consuming….and MY GOD WHAT A LOVE STORY!
Detailed RTC….
__________________________________
ARC Preread
This is advertised as “villain gets the girl”…so, naturally we HAVE to read and see…
Don’t let me down, Elizabeth May!
Add this to your TBR *immediately*.
Well what a breath of fresh air. This is unique. This is horrific. This is tragic. This is all consuming….and MY GOD WHAT A LOVE STORY!
Detailed RTC….
__________________________________
ARC Preread
This is advertised as “villain gets the girl”…so, naturally we HAVE to read and see…
Don’t let me down, Elizabeth May!
October 19, 2025
Such a fun read! I am so grateful I was able to receive the ARC through NetGalley. This is real enemies to lovers- I’m talking an assassin god sent to kill his mortal enemy princess with such a great slow burn. The magic system and world building is so unique with great character development. I can’t wait for the rest of the series!
October 1, 2025
I had the privilege of reading this early as an ARC through NetGalley, and wow!! Let me just say this book blew me away. It’s definitely a dark romance but I think this could be the next big romantasy hit. It has everything fans of the genre crave, high stakes, gripping tension, and a romance that makes your heart race. I’ll definitely be recommending this to dark romance and romantasy readers! The Wolf is now on my list of book boyfriends!
October 12, 2025
**Thank you NetGalley and Aria for the arc in exchange for my honest review.**
This dark romantasy is a loose retelling of Beauty and the Beast...very loose, like squint and it's there. The story is about an oracle princess (Bryony) who is used by the common people to advise them of the will of the god of storms, Alexios. These prophecies are given when Bryony is put to death over and over; I appreciate that Bryony's story explores her loss of agency, as she was not allowed any identity outside of her duty. Bryony is very loved by her people, which has caused immense jealousy from Alexios. Due to this, Alexios withdraws his favour on her (pretty much fired from her responsibilities), which is a death sentence (for real death). Alexios' attack dog, Wolf' or Evander, is sent after her to enact the death sentence, and thus our story ensues.
The first half of this book was really fun to read the tension in the enemies-to-lovers was really well structured however the dialogue was written with a very modern feel, so much so that I wouldn't have been surprised to read a 'LOL' or 'yeet'. The modern language with the fantasy setting made the read quite jarring. The cat and mouse, push and pull games that Evander and Bryony were playing were the majority of the book, which, while it started fun to read, by the end of the story - became a chore.
The tension of Evander's betrayal of his kind and loyalty to Alexios felt like it was shoved to the side, and then when the story had to progress...it was just shoe-horned in. Bryony was trained to fight and defend herself, but when it came to taking back her revenge, she was immediately captured. The final battle occurred in the final 10 pages, and Alexios pulled a 'ayo just kidding' felt very sloppy.
I did enjoy this read, and I may read the sequel book, which is between Bryony's sister and Evander's brother, which could be fun...but I also just might forget to, and that would be no real loss.
This dark romantasy is a loose retelling of Beauty and the Beast...very loose, like squint and it's there. The story is about an oracle princess (Bryony) who is used by the common people to advise them of the will of the god of storms, Alexios. These prophecies are given when Bryony is put to death over and over; I appreciate that Bryony's story explores her loss of agency, as she was not allowed any identity outside of her duty. Bryony is very loved by her people, which has caused immense jealousy from Alexios. Due to this, Alexios withdraws his favour on her (pretty much fired from her responsibilities), which is a death sentence (for real death). Alexios' attack dog, Wolf' or Evander, is sent after her to enact the death sentence, and thus our story ensues.
The first half of this book was really fun to read the tension in the enemies-to-lovers was really well structured however the dialogue was written with a very modern feel, so much so that I wouldn't have been surprised to read a 'LOL' or 'yeet'. The modern language with the fantasy setting made the read quite jarring. The cat and mouse, push and pull games that Evander and Bryony were playing were the majority of the book, which, while it started fun to read, by the end of the story - became a chore.
The tension of Evander's betrayal of his kind and loyalty to Alexios felt like it was shoved to the side, and then when the story had to progress...it was just shoe-horned in. Bryony was trained to fight and defend herself, but when it came to taking back her revenge, she was immediately captured. The final battle occurred in the final 10 pages, and Alexios pulled a 'ayo just kidding' felt very sloppy.
I did enjoy this read, and I may read the sequel book, which is between Bryony's sister and Evander's brother, which could be fun...but I also just might forget to, and that would be no real loss.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
October 6, 2025
The Wolf and the Crown of Blood follows a world of gods subjugating humans after years of a devastating war. Enter Bryony, a descendant of a human queen who struck a bargain with the god-king to end the war. Part of this bargain involves Bryony sacrificing herself over and over to maintain the stability of the realm. After years of subjugation, rebellion stirs and the god-king’s assassin is sent to kill Bryony.
The Wolf and Crown of Blood is described as a “thrilling and incredibly sexy new dark romantasy series” and I can confirm that this is an apt description. It’s a story full of angst, desperation, violence, and intensity. Bryony and Evander’s chemistry is fire hot and intense from the first page until the last. Their relationship is messy, aggressive, and even toxic at times. It’s overwhelming and delicious all at the same time.
The world of The Wolf and the Crown of Blood is brutal and violent. May does not shy away from the violence. There is so much generational trauma and unresolved anger between the gods and the humans that manifests as extreme violence.
Romance is entwined with violence as is everything else in this world. Their world is rotting from within. It was a once-glorious realm, but is now steeped in decay where divine machinations and ancient grudges fester beneath a façade of ritualistic obedience, and rebellion waits like a blade in the shadows.
The Wolf and the Crown of Blood is not just a story, it’s a descent into a world where love is a weapon, power is divine and cruel, and survival demands sacrifice. Bryony’s journey is one of pain, passion, and defiance, set against a backdrop of rotting divinity and simmering rebellion. May crafts a tale that is as seductive as it is savage, where every kiss might be a curse and every promise a blade. For readers drawn to dark romantasy that doesn’t flinch from the brutal or the beautiful, The Wolf and the Crown of Blood is a blood-soaked triumph.
*** I received an ARC via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.
The Wolf and Crown of Blood is described as a “thrilling and incredibly sexy new dark romantasy series” and I can confirm that this is an apt description. It’s a story full of angst, desperation, violence, and intensity. Bryony and Evander’s chemistry is fire hot and intense from the first page until the last. Their relationship is messy, aggressive, and even toxic at times. It’s overwhelming and delicious all at the same time.
The world of The Wolf and the Crown of Blood is brutal and violent. May does not shy away from the violence. There is so much generational trauma and unresolved anger between the gods and the humans that manifests as extreme violence.
Romance is entwined with violence as is everything else in this world. Their world is rotting from within. It was a once-glorious realm, but is now steeped in decay where divine machinations and ancient grudges fester beneath a façade of ritualistic obedience, and rebellion waits like a blade in the shadows.
The Wolf and the Crown of Blood is not just a story, it’s a descent into a world where love is a weapon, power is divine and cruel, and survival demands sacrifice. Bryony’s journey is one of pain, passion, and defiance, set against a backdrop of rotting divinity and simmering rebellion. May crafts a tale that is as seductive as it is savage, where every kiss might be a curse and every promise a blade. For readers drawn to dark romantasy that doesn’t flinch from the brutal or the beautiful, The Wolf and the Crown of Blood is a blood-soaked triumph.
*** I received an ARC via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.
December 8, 2025
To fall for the enemy is one thing. But to fall so hard and starve yourself of them, not allow yourself to love them, to hate the fact that you do when you shouldn’t, is enough to drive anyone mad. This one is heavy on the enemies to lovers trope and there’s plenty of occasions where you are left weak at the knees.
When the princess spends her life dying for gods only to be disregarded and defeated. She meets the one god known as the wolf and asks him to at least allow the dignity of choosing her final death. Little did he know that that one simple request will stir something inside him that through time, starts to crack and grow. The monsters inside them start to stir and the game begins. From that moment on they play back and forth in more ways than one. Since both of their worlds have been at war for centuries and they are both sworn enemies through being landed in the same house and being promised a death sentence isn’t exactly what you would call the best case scenario for either of them. Being allowed to train under the wolf’s watchful eyes is easier said than done and when there’s bargains upon bargains, bonds and claims being played with and the promise of spilled blood, things get messy, complicated and having a human as a toy becomes quite interesting for a god. You start to want things you shouldn’t, feel things that are ment to be forbidden and make promises you learn are going to be harder to keep than you think.
Sacrifices have to be made, even in the name of love and this book will seriously throw you off a cliff with it!
The spice is spicy and if you’re looking for something to consistently make you weak at the knees, burn with longing and with a promise for revenge then this book is for you!
When the princess spends her life dying for gods only to be disregarded and defeated. She meets the one god known as the wolf and asks him to at least allow the dignity of choosing her final death. Little did he know that that one simple request will stir something inside him that through time, starts to crack and grow. The monsters inside them start to stir and the game begins. From that moment on they play back and forth in more ways than one. Since both of their worlds have been at war for centuries and they are both sworn enemies through being landed in the same house and being promised a death sentence isn’t exactly what you would call the best case scenario for either of them. Being allowed to train under the wolf’s watchful eyes is easier said than done and when there’s bargains upon bargains, bonds and claims being played with and the promise of spilled blood, things get messy, complicated and having a human as a toy becomes quite interesting for a god. You start to want things you shouldn’t, feel things that are ment to be forbidden and make promises you learn are going to be harder to keep than you think.
Sacrifices have to be made, even in the name of love and this book will seriously throw you off a cliff with it!
The spice is spicy and if you’re looking for something to consistently make you weak at the knees, burn with longing and with a promise for revenge then this book is for you!
October 14, 2025
This book was extremely unique. It follows Bryony Devaliant, who is a princess required to be sacrificed and brought back to life every 14 days. This ritual was put in place by her ancestors and the God King, Alexios. It is required to maintain the Shroud: a magical barrier that separates the mortal and immortal realms, along with keeping their peoples safe. Bryony was the sacrifice, until the mortals started worshipping her more than the God King. In order to preserve the Shroud, Alexios sends the Wolf (who is also a god and Alexios personal assassin) to kill Bryony. Instead of killing her, the Wolf decides to keep her as he just can’t seem to kill her quite yet. Feelings get caught, lies are made, and people die in this epic romantasy about love, betrayal, and revenge.
This story is true enemies-to-lovers. The MMC is not morally grey, he’s morally black. He continues to be morally black throughout the book, but opens a little sweet spot (eventually) to our FMC. Our FMC has a lot of personal growth, mentally and physically throughout the series. I personally think that the author made her more badass than she should have been at the end, but I appreciate her growth all the same.
This book has A LOT of spice. I would say to definitely check your trigger warnings before reading this one. I would have liked a little more in-depth plot with this story, just because the fantasy aspects were so awesome & unique. But the romance was definitely there, and it did not disappoint.
Would recommend!
Thank you NetGalley and Bloomsbury USA for a copy of this eARC.
This story is true enemies-to-lovers. The MMC is not morally grey, he’s morally black. He continues to be morally black throughout the book, but opens a little sweet spot (eventually) to our FMC. Our FMC has a lot of personal growth, mentally and physically throughout the series. I personally think that the author made her more badass than she should have been at the end, but I appreciate her growth all the same.
This book has A LOT of spice. I would say to definitely check your trigger warnings before reading this one. I would have liked a little more in-depth plot with this story, just because the fantasy aspects were so awesome & unique. But the romance was definitely there, and it did not disappoint.
Would recommend!
Thank you NetGalley and Bloomsbury USA for a copy of this eARC.
December 22, 2025
“is that supposed to be a threat or a promise?”
“both. always both with us.”
every single line of this book damaged me in ways i didn’t even realize i could be damaged. bryony and evader are deeply fucked up. they’re angry, they’re vicious, they’re violent, they’re possessive. but there’s something so tender about the way they love. the way they bleed and eviscerate and destroy for each other. i actually can’t say enough how much i loved this.
“both. always both with us.”
every single line of this book damaged me in ways i didn’t even realize i could be damaged. bryony and evader are deeply fucked up. they’re angry, they’re vicious, they’re violent, they’re possessive. but there’s something so tender about the way they love. the way they bleed and eviscerate and destroy for each other. i actually can’t say enough how much i loved this.
October 6, 2025
“The gods were bored of mortals. Until one refused to die quietly.”
When I applied for this eARC, thanks to NetGalley and Daphne Press, I really wasn’t sure what I was letting myself in for. I read the trigger warnings, and for me they were like a shopping list. Please read them, as they include graphic violence, trauma, coercion, death, explicit sexual content, sacrifice, power imbalance, and emotional manipulation, to name a few. Then I saw the reference to Eros and Psyche, and as a die-hard Greek mythology fan, I was sold.
Well, what can I say? Elizabeth May’s The Wolf and the Crown of Blood is an exquisite collision of power, devotion, and defiance. It is a very dark romantasy that thrives in the space between worship and ruin.
Three centuries ago, mortals went to war with the Eternals. When the slaughter became unbearable, a Devaliant princess struck a desperate bargain with the god-king, Alexios. The agreement bound her bloodline to die and rise again, their blood sacrificed to maintain the Shroud that separates gods from mortals. Peace was bartered for, but it came at a terrible cost.
Fast forward to the present and we meet Princess Bryony Devaliant, the latest in that cursed line. A Princess of the Blood, she has lived and died countless times, once a fortnight to be exact, her existence spent appeasing gods who see her as little more than ritual. But mortals have grown restless seeing Bryony as someone to revere and the gods have now grown impatient. When rebellion stirs and the fragile balance falters, Alexios sends his most ruthless creation to restore order: the Wolf, an immortal assassin whose purpose is obedience, revenge and death.
He expects submission, a meek sacrificial lamb.
What he finds is defiance incarnate, a woman full of rage and fury at how she has been cast aside after all her sacrifice for the gods and the Shroud.
Bryony’s defiance is dangerous. She is beloved by mortals, despised by gods, and utterly unafraid of the monster sent to kill her. When their paths collide, the Wolf, a weapon forged from sheer cruelty, finds himself undone by the very girl he is meant to destroy. Bryony manages to entertain him enough to strike a bargain for her life, and the Wolf claims her fate as his own. She gains her continued existence in exchange for his right to end it, and when the time comes, he shall deliver it.
“No one takes what’s mine. Your life is mine to end, as promised.”
The Wolf is overjoyed at his chance to finish a Devaliant, Bryony’s family being the reason for all his pain and trauma. Evander loathes her bloodline, blames them for his own damnation, and yet can’t look away.
“Destruction has always been my love language, and Bryony Devaliant is a dark and hungry god shaped like a woman. I want to worship at her altar.”
Bryony is everything I want in a heroine: fierce, furious, and unwilling to play the role of willing sacrifice. The Wolf is violent, haunted, and beautifully tragic. He is no hero; he is morally black, flawed, often cruel, the god’s weapon who begins to crave freedom more than purpose. Beneath all that trauma and cruelty, a question lingers: are monsters born, or are they made? After all, "even monsters had mothers once."
Together, they are both catalyst and consequence, pulling at the seams of heaven until everything tears.
From that moment, devotion curdles into blasphemy. What begins as an execution ignites into a war between duty and desire, a love story written in blood and rebellion. Control erodes, obsession blooms, and hatred burns into worship. Their bond is feral, magnetic, and gloriously unhinged, charged with feminine rage and divine ruin.
“I wanted you, so I took you. I won’t apologise for that.”
“This is what worship should be. Not blood on altars. Not fear and genuflection.”
May’s prose is lush and deliberate, the kind of writing I couldn’t pull myself away from. I devoured the book in a day and a half, and every time I set it down, I found myself thinking about what had happened and what might come next. The world of Vartena is decadent and decaying, rich with history, divine politics, and rebellion simmering beneath ritual obedience.
This is a story of agency, trauma, and the ferocity of choosing yourself in a world built only to consume you. The tone is dark, the spice burns, and the moral lines blur beautifully. There are no heroes here and no clear good or evil, only choices, consequences and survivors. We watch as the force that is the Wolf begins to unravel and Bryony’s conflicted choices and emotions come to light.
“When gods fall in love with mortals, mortals are always the ones to break.”
The Wolf and the Crown of Blood is violent, sensual, and breathtakingly tragic, a story of what happens when a god’s weapon learns to feel and a mortal refuses to die quietly. I really loved this story and both the Wolf and Bryony have me as do the other side characters. May has set up some incredible foreshadowing and hints at the next story's main plotline and I eagerly await it. This was such a beautiful story I just couldn't look away.
When I applied for this eARC, thanks to NetGalley and Daphne Press, I really wasn’t sure what I was letting myself in for. I read the trigger warnings, and for me they were like a shopping list. Please read them, as they include graphic violence, trauma, coercion, death, explicit sexual content, sacrifice, power imbalance, and emotional manipulation, to name a few. Then I saw the reference to Eros and Psyche, and as a die-hard Greek mythology fan, I was sold.
Well, what can I say? Elizabeth May’s The Wolf and the Crown of Blood is an exquisite collision of power, devotion, and defiance. It is a very dark romantasy that thrives in the space between worship and ruin.
Three centuries ago, mortals went to war with the Eternals. When the slaughter became unbearable, a Devaliant princess struck a desperate bargain with the god-king, Alexios. The agreement bound her bloodline to die and rise again, their blood sacrificed to maintain the Shroud that separates gods from mortals. Peace was bartered for, but it came at a terrible cost.
Fast forward to the present and we meet Princess Bryony Devaliant, the latest in that cursed line. A Princess of the Blood, she has lived and died countless times, once a fortnight to be exact, her existence spent appeasing gods who see her as little more than ritual. But mortals have grown restless seeing Bryony as someone to revere and the gods have now grown impatient. When rebellion stirs and the fragile balance falters, Alexios sends his most ruthless creation to restore order: the Wolf, an immortal assassin whose purpose is obedience, revenge and death.
He expects submission, a meek sacrificial lamb.
What he finds is defiance incarnate, a woman full of rage and fury at how she has been cast aside after all her sacrifice for the gods and the Shroud.
Bryony’s defiance is dangerous. She is beloved by mortals, despised by gods, and utterly unafraid of the monster sent to kill her. When their paths collide, the Wolf, a weapon forged from sheer cruelty, finds himself undone by the very girl he is meant to destroy. Bryony manages to entertain him enough to strike a bargain for her life, and the Wolf claims her fate as his own. She gains her continued existence in exchange for his right to end it, and when the time comes, he shall deliver it.
“No one takes what’s mine. Your life is mine to end, as promised.”
The Wolf is overjoyed at his chance to finish a Devaliant, Bryony’s family being the reason for all his pain and trauma. Evander loathes her bloodline, blames them for his own damnation, and yet can’t look away.
“Destruction has always been my love language, and Bryony Devaliant is a dark and hungry god shaped like a woman. I want to worship at her altar.”
Bryony is everything I want in a heroine: fierce, furious, and unwilling to play the role of willing sacrifice. The Wolf is violent, haunted, and beautifully tragic. He is no hero; he is morally black, flawed, often cruel, the god’s weapon who begins to crave freedom more than purpose. Beneath all that trauma and cruelty, a question lingers: are monsters born, or are they made? After all, "even monsters had mothers once."
Together, they are both catalyst and consequence, pulling at the seams of heaven until everything tears.
From that moment, devotion curdles into blasphemy. What begins as an execution ignites into a war between duty and desire, a love story written in blood and rebellion. Control erodes, obsession blooms, and hatred burns into worship. Their bond is feral, magnetic, and gloriously unhinged, charged with feminine rage and divine ruin.
“I wanted you, so I took you. I won’t apologise for that.”
“This is what worship should be. Not blood on altars. Not fear and genuflection.”
May’s prose is lush and deliberate, the kind of writing I couldn’t pull myself away from. I devoured the book in a day and a half, and every time I set it down, I found myself thinking about what had happened and what might come next. The world of Vartena is decadent and decaying, rich with history, divine politics, and rebellion simmering beneath ritual obedience.
This is a story of agency, trauma, and the ferocity of choosing yourself in a world built only to consume you. The tone is dark, the spice burns, and the moral lines blur beautifully. There are no heroes here and no clear good or evil, only choices, consequences and survivors. We watch as the force that is the Wolf begins to unravel and Bryony’s conflicted choices and emotions come to light.
“When gods fall in love with mortals, mortals are always the ones to break.”
The Wolf and the Crown of Blood is violent, sensual, and breathtakingly tragic, a story of what happens when a god’s weapon learns to feel and a mortal refuses to die quietly. I really loved this story and both the Wolf and Bryony have me as do the other side characters. May has set up some incredible foreshadowing and hints at the next story's main plotline and I eagerly await it. This was such a beautiful story I just couldn't look away.
October 19, 2025
Thanks to NetGalley and Elizabeth May for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.
⸻
😈First impressions:
I don’t think I’ve ever opened a book to find a full page of trigger warnings before. Promising, I thought — if it claims to be dark, let’s see if it delivers. I usually roll my eyes at that kind of marketing, but to be fair, this one actually starts off pretty dark. I was intrigued right away.
Also: a bloke with a library of hundreds of thousands of books? Immediate interest. Sadly, the library doesn’t make a repeat appearance — a missed opportunity, in my opinion.
⸻
🕯️Beauty and the Beast… sort of:
It’s billed as a Beauty and the Beast retelling, and to some extent it is, though I’ve read others that stick more closely to the original. This one goes deeper in other directions. There’s complexity here — especially around whether our “Beauty” is truly sure she doesn’t want to be where she ends up. That tension works well.
⸻
🐺Characters and tone:
I’ve definitely read darker, but I enjoyed it overall. My main gripe: you can’t keep insisting your male lead is dark and evil once he’s effectively tamed. “Wolf” didn’t quite fit him for me — it grated a bit, and I preferred the name he went by before the war. Maybe it ties into the beast theme, but it didn’t land. (Then again, I’m firmly a vampire girl, so perhaps I’m biased.)
Bryony develops well, and the theme of sacrifice that runs through her story gives the book emotional depth. The ritual sacrifices she endures are fascinating in concept — but I wish more had been made of the terror and dread behind them. As written, they come across more like a grim obligation than something truly haunting or meaningful.
The pacing also wobbles a little during the trials — they start strong but lose some of the tension and urgency and there never seemed to be much peril in them or doubt Bryony would make it through.
The ending’s a little predictable — no shocking twists here. If there has been one my rating might have soared.
⸻
💗Romance and spice:
The spice level? Pretty high. It mostly fits the tone, though the love story itself felt a bit rushed — a touch of the “we hate each other passionately… until we don’t” trope. Not badly handled, but it could have used a bit more simmer before the boil.
⸻
🌍World-building and final thoughts:
The world-building is excellent — rich, atmospheric, and clearly setting up for more books in the series. I’m especially curious to see where Bastien’s story goes next, and how May expands on the mythology hinted at throughout. If the sequels dive deeper into that world, I’ll be first in line.
⭐️As for rating: solid four stars for the first half, dipped to three during the trials, and climbed back up to four by the end. So let’s call it a strong 3.75 — rounded up to four.
⸻
😈First impressions:
I don’t think I’ve ever opened a book to find a full page of trigger warnings before. Promising, I thought — if it claims to be dark, let’s see if it delivers. I usually roll my eyes at that kind of marketing, but to be fair, this one actually starts off pretty dark. I was intrigued right away.
Also: a bloke with a library of hundreds of thousands of books? Immediate interest. Sadly, the library doesn’t make a repeat appearance — a missed opportunity, in my opinion.
⸻
🕯️Beauty and the Beast… sort of:
It’s billed as a Beauty and the Beast retelling, and to some extent it is, though I’ve read others that stick more closely to the original. This one goes deeper in other directions. There’s complexity here — especially around whether our “Beauty” is truly sure she doesn’t want to be where she ends up. That tension works well.
⸻
🐺Characters and tone:
I’ve definitely read darker, but I enjoyed it overall. My main gripe: you can’t keep insisting your male lead is dark and evil once he’s effectively tamed. “Wolf” didn’t quite fit him for me — it grated a bit, and I preferred the name he went by before the war. Maybe it ties into the beast theme, but it didn’t land. (Then again, I’m firmly a vampire girl, so perhaps I’m biased.)
Bryony develops well, and the theme of sacrifice that runs through her story gives the book emotional depth. The ritual sacrifices she endures are fascinating in concept — but I wish more had been made of the terror and dread behind them. As written, they come across more like a grim obligation than something truly haunting or meaningful.
The pacing also wobbles a little during the trials — they start strong but lose some of the tension and urgency and there never seemed to be much peril in them or doubt Bryony would make it through.
The ending’s a little predictable — no shocking twists here. If there has been one my rating might have soared.
⸻
💗Romance and spice:
The spice level? Pretty high. It mostly fits the tone, though the love story itself felt a bit rushed — a touch of the “we hate each other passionately… until we don’t” trope. Not badly handled, but it could have used a bit more simmer before the boil.
⸻
🌍World-building and final thoughts:
The world-building is excellent — rich, atmospheric, and clearly setting up for more books in the series. I’m especially curious to see where Bastien’s story goes next, and how May expands on the mythology hinted at throughout. If the sequels dive deeper into that world, I’ll be first in line.
⭐️As for rating: solid four stars for the first half, dipped to three during the trials, and climbed back up to four by the end. So let’s call it a strong 3.75 — rounded up to four.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
October 8, 2025
4.5/5⭐️
~~~
First, i would like to thank NetGalley, Bloomsbury USA, and Elizabeth May for getting the chance to read and review this book early!
I think this book was a super fun spicy romantasy! Bryony Devaliant has been forced to die upon an alter time and time again as a blood sacrifice to the storm god Alexios in order to keep the Shroud intact. But when Bryony falls out of favor with Alexios, she is marked to be permanently killed by one of his Enforcer’s known as the Wolf. However, the Wolf decides he would like to play with his food before eating it…
Bryony and the Wolf go back and forth in a cruel game of entertainment and strong wills… but little do they know that love might be what destroys them after all
I think Bryony’s character development was the perfect amount of female rage mixed with the longing for someone to simply care about her for her🥺 I loved getting to see her become stronger so that no one else in her life could dictate what she could or couldn’t do
I also loved Evander! He was perfectly vicious as the Wolf, and beautifully tender when it came to Bryony😍 He’s (rightfully) hated Devaliant’s all his life, but Bryony gets under his skin until he can’t (and doesn’t want to) get her out. Their story was a beautiful one, and I hope they will play significant roles in the next book— I say this because it feels like Bryony’s sister Theodora might be the FMC of book two, but I could be wrong.
My only critique/complaint of this novel is the pacing. I feel like some parts dragged on for too long, and that the MCs fell in love fairly early into the book. However, it was still a gread read and I’m thankful to have had the chance to read it early.
~~~
First, i would like to thank NetGalley, Bloomsbury USA, and Elizabeth May for getting the chance to read and review this book early!
I think this book was a super fun spicy romantasy! Bryony Devaliant has been forced to die upon an alter time and time again as a blood sacrifice to the storm god Alexios in order to keep the Shroud intact. But when Bryony falls out of favor with Alexios, she is marked to be permanently killed by one of his Enforcer’s known as the Wolf. However, the Wolf decides he would like to play with his food before eating it…
Bryony and the Wolf go back and forth in a cruel game of entertainment and strong wills… but little do they know that love might be what destroys them after all
I think Bryony’s character development was the perfect amount of female rage mixed with the longing for someone to simply care about her for her🥺 I loved getting to see her become stronger so that no one else in her life could dictate what she could or couldn’t do
I also loved Evander! He was perfectly vicious as the Wolf, and beautifully tender when it came to Bryony😍 He’s (rightfully) hated Devaliant’s all his life, but Bryony gets under his skin until he can’t (and doesn’t want to) get her out. Their story was a beautiful one, and I hope they will play significant roles in the next book— I say this because it feels like Bryony’s sister Theodora might be the FMC of book two, but I could be wrong.
My only critique/complaint of this novel is the pacing. I feel like some parts dragged on for too long, and that the MCs fell in love fairly early into the book. However, it was still a gread read and I’m thankful to have had the chance to read it early.
December 1, 2025
For those of you that like their romantasys on the darker side !
A beauty and the beast retelling with a twist
Honestly this was such an incredible book the way I wanted to highlight so many pages with the quotes in this ! I honestly will be sharing a billion on release because there was so many good ones that hit me straight into the heart !
Bryony went through so much in this and still was stronger than ever ! I would definitely check trigger warnings before diving into this one because some of the things she does go through is horrific.
Evander or better know as the 🐺 honestly for someone you are meant to hate you end up loving he may be mean but he would also do ANYTHING for Bryony and the yearning🙂↔️ .
Another thing that this book does extremely well is the addition of POVs in points of the story that give further context on how other characters are doing at certain points of the story and that really helped the book flow and connect as a whole !
I definitely have a sneaky feeling on how book 2 may turn out and I cannot wait !
A massive thank you to both the author and Daphne press for this arc copy in exchange for a honest review
A beauty and the beast retelling with a twist
Honestly this was such an incredible book the way I wanted to highlight so many pages with the quotes in this ! I honestly will be sharing a billion on release because there was so many good ones that hit me straight into the heart !
Bryony went through so much in this and still was stronger than ever ! I would definitely check trigger warnings before diving into this one because some of the things she does go through is horrific.
Evander or better know as the 🐺 honestly for someone you are meant to hate you end up loving he may be mean but he would also do ANYTHING for Bryony and the yearning🙂↔️ .
Another thing that this book does extremely well is the addition of POVs in points of the story that give further context on how other characters are doing at certain points of the story and that really helped the book flow and connect as a whole !
I definitely have a sneaky feeling on how book 2 may turn out and I cannot wait !
A massive thank you to both the author and Daphne press for this arc copy in exchange for a honest review
November 11, 2025
"You make me feel a lot of things. Most of them vaguely homicidal."
Deliciously dark and romantic and so so hot!! This book was everything I hoped it would be. I was hooked from the first page. I absolutely loved the world building , Elizabeth May's writing keeps you fully immersed in the story and the descriptions are so vivid that I could physically feel like I was in the scenes. Bryony and Evander chemistry was off the charts, you could cut the tension with a knife ( no pun intended since they do really like knives ) . Evander was absolutely unhinged and so pathetically gone for Bryony. Bryony definitely matched his freak. A match made in heaven. I absolutely loved her, she was so fierce and she bited back.
There were also a lot go hints on the future couples, since it's a series of interconnected standalones books. I can't wait to read more.
Before reading be sure to check the TW since this is a dark romantasy!
Thank you netgalley and daphne press for the ARC!
Deliciously dark and romantic and so so hot!! This book was everything I hoped it would be. I was hooked from the first page. I absolutely loved the world building , Elizabeth May's writing keeps you fully immersed in the story and the descriptions are so vivid that I could physically feel like I was in the scenes. Bryony and Evander chemistry was off the charts, you could cut the tension with a knife ( no pun intended since they do really like knives ) . Evander was absolutely unhinged and so pathetically gone for Bryony. Bryony definitely matched his freak. A match made in heaven. I absolutely loved her, she was so fierce and she bited back.
There were also a lot go hints on the future couples, since it's a series of interconnected standalones books. I can't wait to read more.
Before reading be sure to check the TW since this is a dark romantasy!
Thank you netgalley and daphne press for the ARC!
November 20, 2025
Unfortunately, I had to Dnf this book. I’m trying to get into dark romances but this one was too much for me. The trigger warnings are at the beginning of this book so be mindful of them. The descriptions were detailed and gory. However, I did enjoy the world building, I thought it was well thought out. The devaliants have to sacrifice themselves, and brought back to life, as part of an accord with the gods to stop a devastating war. Bryony is a strong headed and determined character which I also enjoyed.
It was an interesting idea that I wish I could’ve known more about, but some darker elements of the story like knife and blood play are just not my vibe.
If you’re a fan of dark romances, you might enjoy this book!
Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for an arc of this book. Opinions are my own.
It was an interesting idea that I wish I could’ve known more about, but some darker elements of the story like knife and blood play are just not my vibe.
If you’re a fan of dark romances, you might enjoy this book!
Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for an arc of this book. Opinions are my own.
Review of advance copy received from Publisher
A broody angel and a human sacrifice go head to head until they take their clothes off.
Elizabeth May's writing is one of my favourites and this book is no different. I totally adored the set up of the world and importance of history and the way different sides of the war will share different stories.
The characters were so well built and interesting to be in their heads.
The relationship very much went from 0 to 100, it developed in the 5 weeks time jump we didn't read, which isnt an issue worse, you can fill in the gaps yourself for what happens as we get given the seeds and the finished fruit.
Elizabeth May's writing is one of my favourites and this book is no different. I totally adored the set up of the world and importance of history and the way different sides of the war will share different stories.
The characters were so well built and interesting to be in their heads.
The relationship very much went from 0 to 100, it developed in the 5 weeks time jump we didn't read, which isnt an issue worse, you can fill in the gaps yourself for what happens as we get given the seeds and the finished fruit.
December 8, 2025
Elizabeth May managed to write emotions and grief and the struggle for autonomy as a woman in the world. I found myself crying throughout the book at the perfect moments. The characters really hated each other/terrified of each other - and then when they came together *chef's kiss*
The main reason I took a star off is because I am not a fan of the interconnected standalones and I felt that she set up who the next couples were a little too clearly. Just not for me as a reader :)
The main reason I took a star off is because I am not a fan of the interconnected standalones and I felt that she set up who the next couples were a little too clearly. Just not for me as a reader :)
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