The Wolf and the Crown of Blood

The Broken Accords #1

by Elizabeth May

A thrilling and incredibly sexy new dark romantasy series from Sunday Times-bestselling author Elizabeth May, perfect for fans of Phantasma, Gild, and Quicksilver.

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 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.

Genres: Fantasy, Romantasy, Romance, Fantasy Romance, Dark Romance, Adult, Dark

573 pages, Kindle Edition

First published January 27, 2026

About the author

Elizabeth 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.

Reviews

[Esta · Rating 4 out of 5]

Monsters aren’t born, they’re made and apparently, also quite horny at least in this allegory of what it means to be a “beast” in this loosely inspired Beauty and the Beast retelling, where the roses are sentient and the libido is high.

So, if it is scorching hot spice you seek, then you may wanna give this one a peek. Although… you may not wanna be reading/listening to this on public transport or in front of your family. That could get awkward.

Conversely, I wouldn’t recommend The Wolf and the Crown of Blood if you don’t like spice. Because it’s abundant and frequent.

Just to set expectations, while this is technically enemies to lovers, it’s also very much instant lust combined with ideological hatred. A bit of “I despise your entire bloodline and totally wanna kill you in revenge… but you’re very hot and I’m DTF.” So yes, this vibe to me was excellent because I loved how it elevated the tension with that push pull dynamic.

In regards to the Beauty & the Beast vibes, what I really appreciated about this aesthetic was the fact that Evander, the wolf (the “beast”), wasn’t Bryony’s jailer. Bryony is free to leave if she pleases, but she chooses to stay with her future executioner for safety reasons, which adds a layer of agency which the OG B&B doesn’t have.

I think many readers are going to recognise a lot of familiar tropes in this, which is of course an entirely subjective preference. Personally, some tropes I love, some of them aren’t for me, but even the ones I’m not a huge fan of I thought were executed decently.

We're talking enemies to something, forbidden love, touch her and die, who did this to you with a splash of deadly trials. There are a lot more but naming them would be spoiling the fun.

The first half to me was stronger than the second half, but I still had fun. I suspect seasoned romantasy readers may find certain scenes reminiscent of another very popular series. Some will love it, some won’t.

Here are some aspects that did not quite check my boxes, though they may check yours, because reading preferences and art is subjective: a 21-year-old FMC, ~thousand year age gap and the virginal FMC trope. Personally, I'm bone-deep tired of it. However, I appreciated that Bryony's sister, Theo, doesn't play into the doe-eyed virgin archetype and I'm sure I'd be much more interested in her story.

What I DID love were the themes of sisterhood, grief, choice and agency, female rage and mental health representation.

Fwiw, pretty sure this can be read as a standalone!

Definitely check the content warnings before going in because this is quite a dark and bloody and stabby book.

Thanks so much to NetGalley and Daphne Press for the ARC.

TWs: Blood, ritualistic suicide, stabbing, death, violence, gore, torture, confinement, fantasy drugs, trafficking, off-page child death/resurrection, PTSD, panic attacks, war, blood play, blood drinking, genocide

﹏﹏﹏﹏﹏﹏

Beauty and the Beast but stuck in an endless death & resurrection loop... FMC: This is fine. 🔥

[Kaila.Books · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a romance (SPICY) fantasy with a heavy emphasis on spice… did I mention spice? The FMC had to sacrifice herself over and over again her entire life because she comes from a cursed bloodline… she’s made an example of by a God and marked for death.. so of course his HOt ASSASSIN, WOLF, comes to get her. But don’t you think he actually kills her????? Now we follow the same formula we all know and love. Will they? Won’t they? Oh.. they will… a lot.

Check yo triggers there stuff like blood play and a list of other things.

Filing under fun spicy standalone!

[Marquise]

50% frustration
+
50% promise
________
100% Marquise pulling her hair out

I . . . let's say the life of a Beauty & Beast reviewer isn't an enviable one after all. Review coming someday!

[Tricia Levenseller · Rating 5 out of 5]

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.

[jenny reads a lot · Rating 5 out of 5]

The TENSION?! The YEARNING?! 300ish pages of SLOW BURN edging?! ABSOLUTE GOLD!

Not to mention gorgeous writing that is brimming with emotional depth.

I was invested in the non-romantic plot but the romance?!!!!?? R U KIDDING ME?! IT WAS SO GOOD!

The Wolf and the Crown of Blood is the best dark romantasy I have ever read.

I need to read everything Elizabeth May has ever written immediately.

Romance is the main plot here, and this is definitely what I would consider a true romantasy. That said… the non-romantic plot was easy to be invested in! The world building feels fully fleshed out but is presented in a way that never feels overwhelming! It also executed ::omitting bc I think it is a spoiler::, one of my least favorite tropes in a way that I loved and that felt so purposeful (once you get to the final reveal, trust the process when this starts). There is an element of mystery that compels you forward (not that you need it bc the romance does that all on its own).

The easy to consume world and romance as the overarching plot makes this book a great read for a romance lover that wants to dip their toes into fantasy!

Now lets discuss the romance a little more…

I hear we want men who yearn and boy do I have amazing news for you…

NO ONE YEARNS LIKE EVANDER. This man can’t decide if he wants to f- her or k- her and he is absolutely TORTURED by that choice. Being in his head (first person multi pov) is an absolute TREAT! I’m pretty sure I highlighted enough quotes to fill a 5 subject notebook.

Never have I read better spice…

This book should be the blueprint for others hoping to write spice that is intentional and meaningful. The emotional development and character growth that happens during the spice is unmatched. Every single tiny hint of spice is laced with intimacy and intention. Even the little snippets we get during side character POVs feels so real, raw, and relevant to the character. It is also really f-ing hot. So much tension and longing! The slow burn is exquisite and breaks at the exact moment when you don’t think you can possibly handle anymore tension!

Ok, last thought… I NEED THE NEXT BOOK NOW! This is set to be a series of interconnected romances with a new couple in each book and the hints that get dropped as to WHO the next couple is… I am feral. I need them.

I crashed out while reading this book and messaged no less than 6 people to convince them to request this ARC just to have people to talk about this book with. Now I’m here on Goodreads, humbly requesting that you go read this absolute masterpiece of a romantasy! Feel free to crash out in my DMs once you do!

SERIOUSLY STOP READING THIS REVIEW AND GO READ THIS BOOK!

🌶️- this whole book is horny. spice sprinkled throughout.

5⭐️| IG | TikTok |

Thank you to the publisher for the gifted book. All opinions are my own.

[Rhea · Rating 3 out of 5]

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.

[Liana Gold]

Got this special edition from Allurial, it’s gorgeous! This is a forbidden love story between a princess and a God who met in the ashes of a broken city.

She is of royal blood set to be sacrificed, he is the immortal assassin, a God. She becomes his latest target but she’s the only person he cannot destroy.

What can possibly happen when a God falls in love with a mortal?

[Maeghan 🦋 · Rating 2 out of 5]

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.

[Books_and_Crafts · Rating 4 out of 5]

If this was 150 pages shorter and had 1/2 of the spice it would have been a 5 star read.

For me, this lost a star because the plot and story was dragged out by unnecessary spice that didn't bring anything to the table but themselves.

The premise is great! FMC is a descendant of a human who wronged the Gods and was responsible for a near collapse of realms. Through a bargain, that human's bloodline would serve to hold the barrier together. For centuries, that bloodline bleed to keep the barrier intact. Until one day, a God set out to teach our FMCs kingdom a lesson.

He branded her a traitor and marked for death... and sent his Wolf to collect.

It has a 'f**k it I'm going to die anyway may as well take what I want while I can' vibe and I'm here for it.

It could have honestly been 2 books with how much was poured into the last 80-100 pages and been great.

[✨⚡ Kelcey (felinebooktrovert) ✨ · Rating 3 out of 5]

Happy Release Day!!

An interesting concept that would have worked more if this wasn't almost exactly the same as ACOTAR.

At first, this was a little slow for me to get into. It didn't feel like a lot was really happening, and the characters were interesting but not enough to have me picking this book up again and again.

Things finally started to get more interesting but within that I really started to see the similarities to ACOTAR. This version is just if Rhys was the MMC to begin and he was a little (a lot) more ruthless and the relationship was fast tracked for one book instead of over two.

Sees him as a predator, stuck at his place for an undetermined amount of time, go through a magical holiday that causes rut, sprinkle in a little starfall, MMC gets himself in trouble/captured, FMC goes to save him and has to make it through three trials, FMC dies, FMC comes back as a higher being, etc.

Now other storylines were going on that were interesting and there were a lot of good side characters that have me pretty interesting the the next installment, but the meat of this story was ACOTAR and so where does that leave us?

I liked Elizabeth's Falconer series, and I still liked the writing here, but I think too much of this story was taken from an existing source...

Thank you NetGalley and Bloomsbury for this arc in exchange for an honest review!

[Lina · Rating 3 out of 5]

2.5 / 5 Stars
Boy, oh boy, this book was not for me. I swear, I would read for hours and then look down at my kindle and there would still be HUNDREDS of pages left.

Here is what I liked: the world building and lore were detailed and built out. I liked the side quest where they were trying to figure out who was killing the gods and selling their wings in an underground market. I like Theodora.

I think the main problem is that dark romance is just not doing it from me. If I read this 18 months ago when all I wanted to read was dark romances then this might have been perfect. But dark romance just isn’t hitting the same way for me right now. Maybe it’s because the violence and chaos of the real world is too much and dark romance just doesn’t feel like an escape. Though, I can 100% see how it would be an escape for someone else - a safe place to explore these themes.

And because I couldn't buy into the dark romance of it all, the spice wasn't spicing. The motives weren't satisfying. The declarations started to feel like tell not show. The fact that we started a deadly trial 75% into the book made me infuriated. And everything just dragged on and on. And heaven forbid a man who is THOUSANDS of years old find a woman who is in her 30s attractive (or at least someone older than 21). How about a 40 year old woman who goes on a dark romance adventure? Why not? If you are 21, it is not a statement about you -- just a statement about the patriarchy valuing younger women more than "older" women and that being reflected in our books. It is tiring to me.

This probably should have been a DNF (2026 is the year of DNFs) but I read a spoiler in another review and I wanted to see how it happened and then it didn't even happen! Did I dream the spoiler? Did I misunderstand it? Petty is what petty does and I got hoodwinked on this one.

BUT if you like dark romances and like fantasy then you might really enjoy this. See the tropes below.

You will probably like this book if you like:
🌹 Dark romantic fantasy
🐺 Magic system based on gods, tithing, and war
🌹 Enemies to lovers
🐺 Forbidden romance
🌹 Unhinged MMC X FMC who doesn’t put with up shit
🐺 Touch her and die (because she is mine to kill)
🌹 Virgin FMC
🐺 Lots of spice (check content warnings)

Thank you Bloomsbury USA | Aria and NetGalley for providing this eARC! All opinions are my own.
Publication Date: January 27, 2026
_______________
Pre-Read Thoughts: I am on a romantasy kick. I have heard people ravening about this one so LTG.

[Nicole is Reading Fantasy · Rating 3 out of 5]

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.

[Dani (Daniiireads) · Rating 5 out of 5]

I haven’t been hooked by a book from the prologue in such a long time, and honestly loved everything about The Wolf and the Crown of Blood.

Plus I’m a sucker for a forbidden romance, and what’s better than a princess cursed to die and resurrect again and again to appease the gods falling for the very god who is set out to kill her???

𝗪𝗛𝗔𝗧 𝗧𝗢 𝗘𝗫𝗣𝗘𝗖𝗧:
- mortal + god
- forbidden romance
- enemies to lovers
- villain meets his match
- forced proximity
- banter + tension
- feminine rage 🔥

[Berry ⋆ ˚｡⋆୨୧˚ (Updating Reviews!)]

♡ pre-read ♡

RAAAH im so excited to start this one, it's been sitting on my shelf staring at me for a month hehe. Can't wait to see what the hype is aboutttt

[The Chapter Chaser · Rating 3 out of 5]

⭐️⭐️⭐️✨ 3.5 stars "Unsettling and trauma-soaked, this story weaponizes intimacy to explore grief and self-destruction, delivering a brutal, haunting journey that might have been unforgettable if its overwhelming ACOTAR influence hadn’t overshadowed the story’s originality."

I’m still unsure how to rate The Crown and the Wolf (hovering between 3 and 4⭐️), but one thing is certain: this book leaves a mark—even months after finishing it.

Beneath its fantasy setting, it dives headfirst into the darkest intersections of trauma, sex, pain, self-destruction, grief, abuse, and suicide, following the brutal journey of a woman clawing her way back after being broken and used. And what a fight it is. “Bleed, die, bleed, die… and shut your mouth” just to survive is a powerful concept—especially as we follow the FMC through it—and the world built around this idea is strikingly effective.

This is a story about using sex to outrun trauma—to numb pain, to pretend you’re not splintering on the inside. At times, it’s deeply disturbing. Please read the trigger warnings before starting—not because of the amount of sexual content, but because of its intensity and the way intimacy is portrayed. Sex becomes a weapon here, and the result is raw, uncomfortable, and unsettling in a way that lingers.

I’m torn on the rating because the book walks a fine line between brilliance and over-familiarity. We love ACOTAR for its originality, and personally, I don’t want to see those elements reused in other books —especially when those stories already have the full potential to be brilliant on their own. I struggled with how closely this one mirrors it. The references are hard to ignore: a clear blend of Calanmai and Starfall, the blue dress, renamed rituals, reused beats—rebranded as the Aethertide Festival. It isn’t subtle, and I doubt I’ll be the only reader who experiences that sense of déjà vu.

Which makes it all the more frustrating, because the storyline itself is excellent, and there are moments of genuinely beautiful writing—scenes so emotionally sharp they deserve five stars on their own. Some passages burrow under your skin and refuse to leave. The Beauty and the Beast–inspired forbidden room scene, in particular, is more subtle here but heavy with emotion. That moment completely shattered me—and I don’t cry easily over books.

Still, despite my reservations, this is a book that demands to be felt rather than simply read. Flawed, haunting, occasionally brilliant—and undeniably memorable. I’ll be waiting for the next one, especially because I want to know more about the other sister. I truly hope book two focuses on her.

-------------------------------
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.

[sam · Rating 4 out of 5]

— 4

i haven’t had this much fun reading a romantasy book in a while. do with that information what you will.


thank you to the publisher and netgalley for the early review copy

[Patrycja · Rating 3 out of 5]

"The Wolf and the Crown of Blood" is a first instalment in a very dark and atmospheric fantasy series written by Elizabeth May. It shows the world full of violence and devious politics. We meet Bryony, a girl destined to die again and again, sacrificed at the altar of her gods. However, one day the god-king turns away from her and order his assassin to end her life, this time forever. Will she be able to escape him or will she die trying?

On paper "The Wolf and the Crown of Blood" had everything I love about dark romantasy novels. In reality I wasn't engaged in this book as much as I wished. The world building was in fact very intriguing but it was basically the only thing that kept my interest.

My main problem was that I didn't like the characters not understood their relation. It was too much insta love (or maybe insta lust) for my taste. I didn't like the sexual context at all and didn't get all the characters motifs. For me it got very repetitive very fast. I also felt like the pacing was a bit off.

I think it just wasn't a book for me, as I don't enjoy this much erotic context in romantasy novels.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC in exchange for my honest review.

[Shannon Farley · Rating 2 out of 5]

Unfortunately this book was just not for me.

DNF at 90 pages

Nothing was grabbing my interest in this and the Gore was a lot! Very graphic. The trigger warnings were not kidding.

[Joy Metzger · Rating 3 out of 5]

I actually enjoyed the last 100 pages. I wish there was more plot and less banging, tbh.

[Hannah (The Book Snek) · Rating 5 out of 5]

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*

[ObscureVi · Rating 5 out of 5]

Thank you to NetGalley for an eARC in exchange for an honest review!

I. Have. No. Words.

You know the feeling when you just finished the book and the first thing that cames to your mind is simply: holy shit, as you still process everything you just read?

At first, I wanted to say that I can't remember the last time either romantasy or paranormal romance made me feel like The Wolf and the Crown of Blood just did but in fact I'm aware that it's been four long years since any romance made me feel like that... not to mention that it did it even better than the dark paranormal romance that still haunts me.

I absolutely loved the "Beauty and the Beast" vibes here. I think that, so far it was the best one I have ever read in a book, if I'm being honest. Not to mention, that it was one of the best dark paranormal/fantasy romances I ever read, if not risking saying, that at the moment it takes the podium.

It was one of those books for me, that you just sit with and inhale it, reading for as long as you can before taking a break, just to return at the first chance you have and dive straight back.

I loved every single POV that we got in the book and that does say something, since in most of the books we get POVs that doesn't really bring anything to the story, but here... oh boy.

I need the next book, like right now, this very second. I seen that The Broken Acords are planned as a series of interconnected standalones and I already have a hunch who will be the next couple and let me tell you... I NEED IT AND YES, I KNOW I'M REPEATING MYSELF.

Overall, I think I just found my new favourite author and I will gladly check everything else that was written by Elizabeth May, especially since I already have my eyes set on two specific books.

[Sam · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5 stars

Picked this up because I loved the sound of the synopsis and the emphasis on the dark romance. I haven't read many dark fantasy romances but enjoyed this. The world building was great and I liked the magic system but the plot didn't move very far over the course of the book. If you're in it for the romance aspect I think you'll have a great time but at times did this feel like it was dragging its feet a bit.

I went between loving the writing style and thinking it was convoluted at times and felt repetitive. Overall I liked it but if 100 pages were cut I don't think it would affect the story.

I'm intrigued enough by what's to come to pick up book 2 and the spicy scenes were spicyyyyyyyy, though check trigger warnings before you go into this one as it is dark.

The main character in this one is wrestling with PTSD after being sacrificed over and over and brought back to life every time. Through her relationship with Evander which pushes the boundaries of how she thinks about herself and the world, she starts to grapple that she is more than how much she can give to the world.

[fromthestudyof · Rating 5 out of 5]

okay how on earth do I begin to explain this book

World where it’s mortals versus gods. She’s a princess that is required to spill blood (to put it lightly) as a sacrifice as part of a treaty to protect her realm. When I say blood - I mean some creepy priestesses stab her in the heart on an alter and then bring her back to life. Every TWO WEEKS!

Our MMC is essentially an enforcer god that murders the humans that don’t give their tithe (a pinprick of blood). No morally grey here - morally black. Morally no light to be seen for a thousand miles.

things to know:
- dark romantasy
- murder-spree MMC
- he’s sent to kill her
- forced proximity
- these gods (PLURAL) need therapy
- interconnected standalone
- read trigger warnings this is dark

So much happens in this book and I don’t want to give anything away so I’ll let it at that. Really enjoyed this one. Felt like I went on a deadly journey by the end of it

4.25-4.5 stars (somewhere in that ballpark)

[Chad ✨️ (chadreadsrom) · Rating 5 out of 5]

One of the books I really wanted to read was The Wolf and the Crown of Blood. I was desperate to read it, especially to read it early to know if I wanted to preorder the pretty US edition 😍

It turns out I was right because this book was amazing, this was the ultimate forbidden romance story and had me gripped from the start.

I've personally never read a book by the author before, this one has convinced me to change that as the writing really immersed me and at times felt like I wasn't even reading at all but watching 👀

Evander is the ultimate man, I have so many highlights of thing he said in this book that tickled my pickle honestly. I swooned and fanned myself and so did some of my friends who also got advanced reader copies 📚

Evander has not only a filthy mouth, but he takes "touch her and die" to another level 🔥

God I want to share my highlights, okay maybe one 👀

"I love her, I love her, and it's the most idiotic, suicidal thing I've ever done in the entire thousand years of my existence. And I would rather let the world burn that lose her." 🫠

Thank you to the author and the publisher Daphne Press for sending me the arc copy of this one. I absolutely need need need all of the books in this series in my hands right now please hehe 🤭

[Alice ☆ Manicures and Manuscripts · Rating 3 out of 5]

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.

[Mackenzie W · Rating 2 out of 5]

The Wolf and the Crown of Blood is the first installment in a new dark romantasy series that, while not for me, is very likely to take BookTok by storm.

The premise: Centuries after a war between gods and mortals, Princess Bryony Devaliant lives in a cycle of ritualistic trauma. She’s sacrificed every 14 days and resurrected to maintain the barrier between realms; she is the blood-currency for peace.

When the public begins to worship Bryony instead of the gods, the Storm God Alexios marks her for permanent death. Enter Evander: the “tall, dark and broody” immortal assassin sent to end her life, who—predictably—finds himself drawn to her instead.

If you enjoyed Powerless, Quicksilver, or ACOTAR, you’ll find familiar ground here. In fact, it often felt too familiar, with multiple plot points feeling extremely similar to these popular comps.

While the exposition hooked me, the momentum stalled afterward. At 560 pages, the story felt bloated with unnecessary interactions included solely for the sake of tropes and spice. Unfortunately, the character development and world-building took a backseat to the steam. For me, it lacked the depth to justify its length.

Thank you to the publisher for providing an early copy for review. All opinions are my own.

[Ahana M Rao (Heart’s Content) · Rating 5 out of 5]

You can find this review of The Wolf and the Crown of Blood on my blog, Heart's Content!

A big shout out and thank you to the publisher, Daphne Press, for gifting me a complimentary copy of The Wolf and the Crown of Blood in exchange for an honest review!

Some reviews are written in appreciation, some are constructive. Some are a gushing abandonment of coherence and some are simple, straightforward and short. What generally defines the style of a review is often the experience the reader has had with the product.

As a homage to my experience with The Wolf and the Crown of Blood, I will be writing a love letter to the author.

Dear Elizabeth May,

I’ve often found that the best pieces of art are those that are brave. Those that buck rules not because they wish to, but because they were never meant to adhere to them. I think it’s these books that are remembered in time; the ones that followed their heart and thus, paved a new path in their respective genre.

The Wolf and the Crown of Blood is nothing if not brave—for all the right reasons. The writing itself is bold and exacts a price from the reader. But it is a price that we are both willing and able to pay. The book is drenched in pain; so much so, that it drips blood that coats the hands of every single character in this story. I’ve read books with fairly similar themes, but it was never this … raw. Usually, authors (from my experience) attempt to tame this theme by entwining golden threads of humour into it to balance out the darkness. But May does no such thing. You either take the pain as it is, or you may leave. But, the thing is, you can’t leave; once you start, the only place you can get to, is the final page of this book.

While I’ve been extremely fond of, and constantly in search of, books that are written in single POVs, I’ve come to understand the merit and value of alternating perspectives. This book, has multiple perspectives and I’ve only very rarely found myself enjoying reading every single perspective—if I ever venture into such a read that is, which in itself is rare. But the storytelling in The Wolf and the Crown of Blood was so beautiful that every single perspective was one I needed, one I came to crave and one that offered so much insight that it became a necessity that I enjoyed beyond what I ever thought I possibly could. This is fantastic writing. This is really good storytelling. This, is glory.

The best authors make you forget your preferences and surrender your ideologies of what you think you want and say, “Here, come with me,” and proceed to take your hand and draw you into an experience that remains tattooed into your soul in a way that you can never forget, nor want to. This is good storytelling. This is good writing. (Did I already say that?)

The method in which this book is built, this world is built, is rather similar to the way I would guess nets are woven. Except the threads of this net is wrought with thorns, cruelty and deep rooted pain. We join the author in weaving this tale into life with our bare hands and the pain that is wrought from this is glorious, painful, tragic and just … everything. The foundation of the world is built upon by the FMC and MMC of this story, in alternative perspectives. As soon as the world has been firmly established in the minds of the readers, it begins to expand by including the perspectives of other characters. There was no question in my mind about the necessity of including them, because their significance was nearly immediately evident. The way the narrative flips with every new perspective that is added is pure art. This is not a book of heroes, this is a book of anti-heroes. Of blood drenched history, of leaning into cruelty and pain and the sliver thin strand of hope that reveals and conceals itself in alternating turns that, if followed, could bring a future of healing and peace.

The unique theme in this story captures your heart and enraptures your mind like a slow poison—but one that purges rather than hurts. It takes root and spreads slowly but surely, both in the reader’s mind and through the story. The ideology behind this story is unique but at the same time, follows some recognisable concepts that make it both interesting and familiar; which I’ve found, to be the best way to create a world. The author has used every (metaphorical) arrow in her quiver to create and ensure the world, characters and story in The Wolf and the Crown of Blood have been crafted to absolute perfection. Every bit of herself the author bled onto the pages of her book, is evident in every word.

The plot of this story is also the aspect that has stayed in my head the longest. My favourite series are those that build as interconnected standalones—much as Nalini Singh is often known to do—where there is one, primary plot thread that spans the entire expanse of the series, with individual sub-plots and purpose woven into each book that adds detail, complexities and creates and establishes a foundation for a solution to the overall plot with every book that’s added to the series. I love series like this! There is so much to see, so much to learn, so so much to explore from the eyes of so many characters who get to share their own stories, experience their own happy endings and my God, the amount of set-up this single book did for its successors is mind boggling. I’m excited to read at least 700 pages about each and every single hint the author shared about a possible future that will be explored in the coming books. (That being said, I would not recommend reading this series out of order, from what I’ve come to understand about the plot in this book, but I can be wrong.)

You can imagine an author like this, who’s likely planned at least four books ahead, will take us step by step through the process of solving every single complexity in her story in the most seemingly simple, yet profound ways. It all feels like it’s staring us in the face, but at the same time we’re busy looking everywhere but at what is right under our nose. Bravo! Bravo!

While the pace in this book is actually quite even, I personally found myself thinking, reading and exploring this book at interesting intervals. I came to it like the waves of the sea; and I think for this book, that was a good thing. There is lots to think about in this book, there is lots to consider and I personally had such a moment of resonance with one of the main themes of this story that I needed a bit to think about it. I found writing this review followed a similar journey. I write, think, step closer, step away and repeat, as I process.

I love books that do this to me. This is why I read. This is why I’m here.

Thought provoking, emotionally gruelling, heart wrenchingly addicting and drenched in a complex theme that is wrought with pain, duty and betrayal, The Wolf and the Crown of Blood is a series that is going to stay in my head for a long, long time.

Five stars. I’m already thinking, five years from now, how much more I would know about this world, how many more doors of truth, sacrifice and healing would have been ventured through and how much more love this series would’ve gotten—very deservingly so.

Please, please, check trigger warnings. There are themes in this book that can be very difficult for some. Happy reading, my friends.

[Edel · Rating 3 out of 5]

You don’t need me to tell you this book is a dark story. It is graphic. Very graphic. The blood and gore and killing is extremely detailed, and not for the faint of heart. We are reminded at every one of Evander’s POV chapters that he exists to kill.

I was very grateful for the extensive content warnings at the start of the book which told me what I was getting into if I chose to keep reading. None of it felt like it was gratuitous, violence for violence’s sake. There was a reason Evander and his brother were so bloodthirsty, and it made them empathetic characters. If anything, the fact that Evander is so bloodthirsty and yet capable of such gentleness with Bryony made him all the more endearing to me. There were times I felt he was too gentle.

The pacing however confused me somewhat. The book is divided into 4 parts with part 2 being the longest, as it is where Evander and Bryony’s love story begins. But, this part of the story dragged for me, and felt very self contained. I sometimes felt like I was reading two books in one. There were moments where I felt like the story was almost at an end because the bubble these two were in would burst, and it didn’t. When the bubble did eventually burst, at about the 60% mark, I expected the story to pick up the pace. I was surprised with how slow the story felt at this point.

Pacing aside, this is a beautiful story. This is not the kind of story where the FMC and MMC get a happy ending a fly off into the sunset. They do get their happy ending, but it was hard won and they bled very step of the way.

Despite me giving the book 3 stars, I would recommend this book for any lovers of dark romance. Evander is a very good shadow daddy.

[Amelia · Rating 4 out of 5]

The Wolf and the Crown of Blood has a super interesting set up and world. May's worldbuilding was incredibly thorough and sets up for what I think is going to be an amazing series of interconnected standalone romantic fantasies. I loved learning more about the lore, magic and dynamics between the humans, demigods, and Eternals. The characterization of Bryony was another aspect I enjoyed, witnessing her grow from a soft FMC into a true revenge arc was a ton of fun and something, that shockingly, we don't get enough in books! I'm not the biggest fan of romances where the love interest is cruel for an extended period of time, but Evander grew on me once he acknowledged his feelings and their relationship started to develop beyond denial and fake hate. Both Bryony and Evander are compelling main characters that will have you rooting for them during times of strife and conflict. I'm super excited to continue this author's journey regarding this series and can't wait to see what's next!

Thank you to Aria, NetGalley, and the author for sending me an early copy!

[beereadsxo · Rating 5 out of 5]

Easily one of the best romantasys I’ve ever read. Absolutely sensational. The mmcs were brooding and angsty and the fmcs were full of feminine rage. Bryony is an absolute force of nature and she shall not be reckoned with. I love her so much and would full go to war for her. She is such a fully developed richly woven figure I forgot I was reading about a fictional character quite a few times.

I loved her relationship with Evander. They absolutely DETEST each other and they don’t sugar coat their words or their actions towards each other.

All of the eternals are SUPER hot. Morally grey to the core they were all individually absolutely essential to the plot and it simply could not have existed without any of them.

And huge props to the TRUE enemies to lovers trope that was woven into this plot line because it was DELICIOUS and done so bloody well 😭😭😭