In Darkness We Burn

by Mariah L. Stevens

It’s Valentine’s Day, and Caelum Grey has decided to kill Amaya Harris.

After Amaya testifies against his parents and gets them thrown into jail, he’s chosen his path, and that path leads to her death. Armed with an acidic tincture called Malady, he plans to take her on a date, get her to let her guard down, and when she least expects it, pour the tincture down her throat.

It's just too bad a pack of werewolves have decided tonight’s the night they’re going to kidnap them both.

Held captive together in a cell, Caelum and Amaya must navigate their toxic dynamic to survive, no matter what the wolf pack throws their way.

428 pages, Paperback

Published August 29, 2025

About the author

Mariah L. Stevens is a half-Black author and artist who lives in the PNW. She is diagnosed with Autism, BiPolar 1, and CPTSD. Mariah has been writing since she was 13 years old, and she plans to use her passion and life experience to help other survivors through the power of prose. She is a sex trafficking and Bulimia survivor that advocates for recovery and a life worth living. She encourages mental health awareness, as well as ED awareness in Black individuals, and weaves all of these elements into her work with the sole purpose of helping others seek recovery.

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Mariah is a very creative person. She loves to write, draw, design fabric, sew lolita-style dresses, design her own book covers, and do different types of crafting. She loves Japanese fashion, Kingdom Hearts, Disneyland, and her cat, Chiiyo.

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Mariah listens to metalcore and post-hardcore, has way too many pictures of MGK and Zendaya in her phone, and has 3 Kingdom Hearts tattoos.

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She also really loves Godzilla.

Reviews

[Disgusted Reader · Rating 3 out of 5]

Would yall hate me if I said I wish this book was a little longer 🌚 lol just because I would have liked to see how they continued the fight for werewolves rights in the end.

But this is truly a dark romance to me & I feel like dark romances are better when theres a paranormal/fantasy aspect.

[Alicia · Rating 1 out of 5]

1.5/5 stars (rounded down to 1 star)

Before I start, I want to say that YES I did read the TWs. I knew what I was getting myself into by how this book was marketed. These are my thoughts even with those things in mind.

I was an ARC reader for this book, but I wasn't able to get to it until just after it was published. As usual, no one had paid me for my rating or review.

TL;DR this is torture porn through and through. This is NOT a romance, despite how it was marketed.

Full thoughts:

I pride myself on having a very thick skin when it comes to fictional works. I love gore and horror and all things scary. I can watch Silence of the Lambs or Law and Order: SVU or listen to true crime podcasts and never flinch. But this? This got to me. And not in a "wow, that was awesome" kind of way. I felt truly sick to my stomach at some parts of this.

The TWs list "dubious consent via vampire blood drinking" and that is not true. There is zero consent. Amaya (our FMC) doesn't ever consent to any of the stuff that happens to her, including what happens when Caelum (our MMC) is drinking her blood. She never says yes. She never wants what happens. She regrets it and cries and is so upset every time it happens. She is sexually assaulted, full stop. Dubious consent does not include what is basically brainwashing or forced magic. That's just rape. She doesn't truly consent to anything sexual until 80-85% of the way through the book. Every sexual encounter before that is forced on her and that somehow culminated in her falling in love with the MMC. What? Seriously?

I was so nauseated when FMC told MMC that she loved him. This woman has been abused and assaulted and nearly killed by this man but she loves him why? Because he promised to take care of her? Caelum is such an unreliable narrator, this almost had a Lolita vibe. It was like he was seeing love from her when in reality, she was terrified of him. Hell, the book starts with him trying to melt the flesh from her body because he hated her so much. But she was naïve and thought he was just interested in her?

Aside from the literal rape that occurs in the middle of the book between Amaya and Caelum (and no, that was not "forced voyeurism" it was rape), the first 400 pages of this book are literal torture. And the torture is SO EXTREME that it was almost unbelievable. I understand that real people experience actual near-death torture, but this was beyond that. At one point, MMC is whipped with a spiked whip that tears strips of flesh from his back. This is done for an hour straight on two separate days. And he lives because... magic, I guess? And then he's just healed up in a few days with some kind of magical paste? There's a magic spell called "Scorch" that is supposed to make the victim feel like they are being burned alive. And the spell is used on them for minutes at a time and they don't pass out? They don't go into shock and have a heart attack? I can suspend my disbelief when it comes to magical worlds (which this is) but not to this extent.

This book was too long. I know, I know, I complain about this a lot. But this could have done with some heavy editing to remove the repetitive aspects of the story. I get it, they're digging a hole, they're cold, they're arguing. I don't need 150 pages of them sitting in the silence in the cell with just Caelum's delusional internal monologue repeating over and over and over how he hates Amaya, but no wait, he actually likes her, but no he wants to kill her, but actually he would kill someone for her. It was so dull and I found myself skimming over paragraphs of the same stuff again and again.

They killed Pollard? The only semi-likable character in the whole book dies off-page and it's told to us in like 3 lines of dialogue. My jaw literally dropped because what the hell was that about. It was like he was a forgotten character and his story needed to be wrapped up in the third round of editing.

Everyone in this world is actually a sadist. There is not ONE redeemable character (besides Pollard, kinda) in this whole damn book. Everyone sucks. No one deserves to live. Hell, for 75% of the book, I genuinely wondered why Amaya didn't just off herself in the first 100 pages. She went through literal hell and only came out of it with a fucked up bonded mate that literally wanted to kill her 8 weeks earlier. MMC sucks, her abusers suck, the Alpha of the pack sucks, that guys mate sucks, their supposed "friends" at the end suck so hard. Honestly, the only time we see true kindness is at the very end when Caelum leaves Amaya's nearly dead body at a campsite and the dad of this family comes out and immediately takes care of her. That guy can live.

The plot armor... please. You expect me to believe Caelum, a spoiled rich boy who has never experienced any kind of combat before, can take down several long-time werewolves who are masters of torture and pain? One of which is a huge Alpha? Really? And he just got a few cuts that owwied for a while? No way.

The only thing that redeemed this for me and kept it from being a 1 star or just a DNF at 15% was the writing. Stevens has a way of writing some scenes that makes the horror seem beautiful. Even when the horror is unbelievable, it was still written in such a breathtaking way.

I have more to say about this book, but I think I'll keep those rants to myself for now. I just don't think I could recommend this book to someone. It was gruesome for the sake of being horrible. This is not a dark romance or a bully romance. This is a dark tragedy. Amaya is now stuck with this horrible rapist for the rest of her life and I hate that for her.

[Raych Reads · Rating 5 out of 5]

I Loved this! Please read the trigger warnings and take them seriously! This urban fantasy is a very dark and disturbing story about resiliency, survival, and finding strength in each other. I found the relationship between Amaya, our kind hearted witch FMC, and Caelum our morally grey hybrid Vampire/Witch MMC absolutely beautiful. These two went through so much together and stood together through it all! I found the 3rd person POV through His eyes to be very interesting and different, I do wish we could have been in Amaya's head sometimes but Mariah did a good job of making her speak her mind and be open about her feeling throughout the book. I would not consider this an enemies to lovers because at no point is there any true hate between them, but it is Definitely a slow burn! This book is a Standalone with a VERY Hard Fought HEA! - and can we just have a moment of apprectiation that she put Full Color Comic-esque pictures throughout the book!!! <3


~SPOILERS!!~
We begin the book with Caelum obsessing over how much he "Hates" Amaya and plotting her murder on Valentine's Day. But, it is clear to the reader (though not to him) that his obsession is not about hate. We slowly unpack their history together and how they both felt about each other in high school. After finding out how she's always felt about him our boy decides "hm maybe a shouldn't kill her" but everything goes wrong and they get taken by a truly evil batch of wearwolves. From the Beginning this man took care of her! Based on some other reviews I feel the need to clarify that everything that happened between Caelum and Amaya until about 80% through the book was Forced On them, not perpetrated By him. Caelum was In that situation because he was trying to protect her and she Asked him to protect her in that way. Yes some truly terrible things happened between them and Amaya did not consent to Anything that happened to her but neither did Caelum. In the end he Chose to stay in that situation when given a way out just to make sure she wasn't alone! This book was hard to read at times but I loved their strength and how they pushed through everything Together!
There was a very interesting underlying political plot that I really enjoyed. The bad guys were clearly the Bad guys, but they had a good cause, and even our MMC saw merit to their ultimate goal, though not their methods. It's hard to swallow that had they simply Asked Amaya to help them instead of kidnapping and torturing her, she would have.
All in all I thought this book had everything I was looking for! I absolutely Devoured this book and I can't wait to read whatever else Mariah comes up with!!

[your typical book lover · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.75 - I really enjoyed this book. I have some complaints but overall it was very interesting. It was a pretty quick read, as in it was easy to read and follow. I also have no gripes with the length, I think it was very well balanced with the amount of information and writing needed with each different thing the characters were going through. I liked how it had aspects of the real world mixed with a magical world. The storyline was very interesting and it genuinely kept my interest the whole way through. Definitely read trigger warnings before going into it, but I think the author did fantastic at detailing the trigger warnings before the start of the book. The push and pull of him hating her and wanting to protect her was great, and I think the characters development for the MMC was amazing. His journey was riveting.

For what I didn’t love, I thought the FMC was irritating at times. I think her trauma and what she went through overshadowed what the MMC went through. I think they have pretty equal amounts of trauma just in different ways. I hate how she brushed him under the rug a lot acting like for half the time he wasn’t there just for her protection and her strength. I think I would have understood her more if I had a few chapters written in her POV, maybe I would have understood her more, but only having his POV made her seem irritating to me at times. I also felt like they were never true enemies. Even when he, in the beginning, was talking about killing her I felt like I already knew he liked her and was obsessed with her and had misguided feelings. The attraction was instant, and she wanted to jump his bones right away. This seemed weird especially because we know he bullied her throughout high school and that kind of all the interaction they had before everything happened. I was also a little confused at first about the setting of the book and how the characters jobs and lives were connected, but that confusion didn’t last too long.

Overall I would definitely recommend. The griped I had were minor and didn’t spoil or ruin it for me in any sense. I think a lot of people would enjoy it, and should read it.

[Athena, the goddess of books · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really disliked that the story is told in third person—it made it harder for me to connect with the characters. But I absolutely loved the illustrations; they added so much atmosphere and made the book feel special.

The story follows Caelum Grey, the bitter heir of a disgraced vampire-witch family, and Amaya Harris, the woman he once plotted to murder but ends up trapped with in a werewolf stronghold. What starts as a toxic, hate-filled bond evolves into a violent, reluctant alliance—and eventually a twisted, tender romance that somehow makes sense in the wreckage.

The beginning hooked me right away: Caelum is literally planning Amaya’s death with a modified acid, but fate intervenes, and instead of killing her, he and Amaya are kidnapped by a sadistic pack of werewolves who torture them relentlessly. Their shared captivity forces them into a fragile partnership. Watching them go from enemies to cellmates to desperate co-conspirators—and finally to lovers—was beautiful.

[Rhiannon Cheyenne · Rating 5 out of 5]

In Darkness We Burn - Mariah L. Stevens

I adore this authors writing. It’s so beautiful and it keeps you captivated until the very last page. Amaya and Caelum were very interesting to learn about and I liked that book was in his point of view. Caelum was such an interesting narrator. I just really enjoyed reading everything from his point of view. I really enjoyed how this author writes fantasy and supernatural elements. This books is dark and check the warnings but I really do recommend the book if it’s something you think you would like.


⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ / Out of 5 Stars ⭐️

🌶️/ Spice Rating ☀️

# of Pages 🌙 428 pages

Release Date 🌟 8/29/25

Format 💫 Gifted Digital Copy

Series 🌙 Unknown/Not Applicable

Genre/Tropes ✨ Paranormal romance, supernatural romance, vampire witch hybrid, tribrid, witches, councils, kidnapping, revenge plots

Favorite Character ☀️ Pollard

Favorite Line 🌟 ‘His parents are in prison because she decided to open her self-righteous mouth on the witness stand, and the Council decided to listen to her. Amaya had followed her heart and told the truth.’

[Sabrina Leonard · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wasn’t sure exactly what I was getting into when I started this book. This turned out to be a psychological thriller and dark romance rolled into one. A bit of paranormal, magic, shifters with a lot of political drama along with a “murderer” and a few totally psychotic werewolves and there’s one heck of a storyline.
There is a lot of torture scenes as both main characters are captured together. Also a bit hard to see the male main character so unable to protect or help like his instincts scream for him to do. Was almost as hard to read that as it was to read some of the torture scenes.
Definitely not an easy read but was very well written and the ending was worth it. This author has a very good understanding and ability to write trauma and surviving it really well.

[Lauren Head · Rating 5 out of 5]

I absolutely adored this book. It gripped me with fear, tension, and worry for Caelum and Amaya—I can’t express how much I love these two. Their story shattered me and yet somehow filled me with hope. When they finally escaped their personal hell, I found myself breathless and cheering them on. This is easily one of the best shapeshifter stories I’ve ever read. That said, it won’t be for everyone. Be sure to check the trigger warnings before diving in. But if you’re comfortable with them, I think you’ll be just as captivated as I was. The ending left me not only satisfied but genuinely overjoyed.

[Eljesa Ahm · Rating 5 out of 5]

I absolutely loved this book. It tore me apart with fear, tension, and worry for Caelum and Amaya. Oh, how much I adore these two. Their story broke me and at the same time filled me with hope. When they finally escaped from hell, I couldn’t stop holding my breath and rooting for them. This is truly one of the best shapeshifter books I’ve ever read.

That said, this book is definitely not for everyone. Please make sure to read the trigger warnings carefully. If you’re okay with them, you will devour this story just like I did. The happy ending left me beyond happy and so satisfied.

[Amriel (Harli) Bang · Rating 5 out of 5]

I don' want any of the things in this book to happen to me(barring Caellum, he can happen to me), but this was such a good book.

Craving a dark PNR with a unique world and a unique magic system? Look no further than this, my friends.

Lots of dark, dark, dark, so mind your triggers.

Caellum gates Amaya and wants her dead. At least, he thinks he does.
Plans are foiled, things go wrong, and both end up kidnapped by some twisted werewolves.

Their time together in captivity is traumatic and awful, but their growth together was beautiful.

Thank you, Mariah, for this amazing book!

[Anna ✨ · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was a fun read. I enjoyed Caelum’s story. His character growth 👏🏻 He was originally supposed to kill Amaya but circumstances changed. Their unlikely bond starts when they are trapped in a werewolf stronghold. The violent, reluctant alliance turns into a sweet romance. The book really hooked me from the beginning. He was coming up with reasons not to kill her. I loved seeing their relationship change and grow into something beautiful.

[C G · Rating 3 out of 5]

I was given this book as an Arc reader. My review is not paid for.

I am typically a quick reader and I had a very hard time getting into this book. The story was great but it dragged for me. I like how Caelum went from one extreme to the opposite and it shows how he had to adapt his life. His and Amaya's relationship is shown as an enemy to lovers but in all reality it's a love from afar that was shown as hate. Again a good read, just slow for me.

[The Book Ssirren · Rating 5 out of 5]

WOW! What a dark and twisted.Caleum hates Amaya for what she did to his parents, and he just wants her dead. on the night of his planned killing, things go every which way, except the way he'd planned. they're both captured by wolves, and now they either work together or they both die.
I love it when two people who can't stand each other end up relying on one another. it's do or die at that point.
I enjoyed this one. loved the story, loved the characters, loved the twists and turns.

[mace · Rating 4 out of 5]

Overall, I really enjoyed this story. It started off as a slow read for me and I thought I might have to DNF BUT then they got kidnapped together and I was hooked and finished in less than 24 hours.

I love me a good “touch her and die” trope and it was definitely delivered quite literally. The growth between each character was nice to read. It didn’t happen quickly, which I enjoyed.

[Jessica Crome · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was an interesting book. I enjoyed the conflict and seeing how it all unfolded. The fight between species was interesting. It was easy to follow. I felt like the ending wasn’t complete and needed something else. But overall it was a good book

[Jessica St Hilaire · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great read!! I love a good supernatural story. Thank you so much for the adventure.

[Andrea · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.75 stars... while I liked that caelum's journey saw him grow, I just feel like I didn't connect with the characters (probably me) I did enjoy the story line and its an easy read.

[Hadassah Smith · Rating 5 out of 5]

In Darkness We Burn is a roller coster of a story. It has its ups, and it has its downs. Even though Caelum and Amaya have their differences in the beginning, they soon realize that they're stronger together. This was truly an emotional and heartwarming masterpiece.

[Megan · Rating 4 out of 5]

I had a hard time connecting with the characters but that is probably just a me thing, otherwise I really enjoyed the story and the melding of the real world and the supernatural.

I really enjoyed Caelum's journey and growth through the story, it was really engaging.

It was a pretty fun read and easy to follow. I'd definitely recommend it.