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Darkest Divine #1
The Anatomy of Magic
An unmissable new spicy romantasy series from Alexis L. Menard, bestselling author of TikTok sensation House of Bane and Blood.
Enter a world of crime, blood and forbidden magic, where falling in love could be the last mistake you ever make…
Packed with searing chemistry and razor-sharp banter, The Anatomy of Magic is perfect for fans of Quicksilver, Sarah J. Maas and Rachel Gillig.
Enter a world of crime, blood and forbidden magic, where falling in love could be the last mistake you ever make…
Packed with searing chemistry and razor-sharp banter, The Anatomy of Magic is perfect for fans of Quicksilver, Sarah J. Maas and Rachel Gillig.
479 pages, Kindle Edition
First published June 30, 2026
About the author
Alexis L. Menard
9 books1,383 followersAlexis is a registered nurse based out of Louisiana where she lives with her husband, toddler, and two oversized dogs. She enjoys long walks through the Renaissance Fair, reading smutty romance into the dark hours of the night, and wine nights with her "Finer Things Club." She hopes to enrich the lives of her readers with worlds they can both escape in and take with them long after the final chapter.
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Review of advance copy
⭐️ 3.5 ⭐️ I had to sit and think about this review for a little while. When I finished The Anatomy of Magic, I was very conflicted with how I felt about this book as there were parts I loved and a lot that I did not. I received the deluxe edition from Allurial and I'd like to say many thanks first and foremost to their team for always giving their readers such gorgeous books. However, as lovely as this book looks, the story unfortunately did not match the books lush and allure. I wasn't disappointed but not impressed either. This might be a long review so bear with me!
Little summary:
Set in the dark, industrial city of Valveron, Nina is an assistant to a surgeon and has powers that she can't explain. If ever found, she would be executed or worse. To survive, Nina stays in the shadows mainly relying on her smuggling of dead bodies through city's criminal underworld...until she steals from the wrong man--Max Antonin, takes something that belongs to him and sends him off on a cat and mouse chase after her. Max is a crime boss and one of the Cursed with a tragic past and mysterious powers. He wants what she took and is set on finding her, no matter the cost. But Nina is soon framed for murder and knowing that she can't trust him, she still sets up a deal with him that can guarantee her survival despite knowing it might be problematic. Along the way, Ninas sick mother is taken and they learn that something more dangerous is lurking in the shadows of Valveron and the secrets threaten the entire city's social order. As they try to navigate the unclear waters and investigate the series of murders, they are not only getting close to solving the issue, they are also getting close to each other, unable to stop what ever slow burning romance thats developing between them.
This is a steampunk sort of fantasy that predominantly shines in elements of magic, found family and rivalry and kind of a tortured type of MMC who has it bad with self-hate and 'I don't deserve you' vibes.
I'd like to talk about the very good parts first, which for me was magic that tethered on science. The blend felt very unique and well explored, which personally felt like the strongest part of the novel. It kept me engaged and following along with interest. The author went all out, above and beyond to show her creativity here and it really shined in all of its aspects.
In the City of Valveron, magic is tied to relics, bloodlines and hidden codes which determine who can yield power. The Academy sought to control all magic but the Cursed had their own kind of power and mortal code. The Cursed were a group of people (often looked at as abominations) that had stolen magic and carried it in their blood, relying to drink from those who come from bloodlines. They have to drink from a bloodline in order to maintain their power because while there is essence of magic in their blood, they don't have 'the code' to control it. One drink/bite and they are able to use the bloodlines' code to wield power.
Relics are artifacts that were given magical powers, crafted from residue of the essence (a powerful substance that the Architect (the creator who crafted the power) discovered centuries ago) in the Academy. The dice is one of the relics that holds strong magic. They are essentially weapons known as archetypes. Each archetype has six bloodlines, the same number of faces on a die.
—We have Vitalis, the Forge (air, time, gravity, water, metal and fire), the Glamour (illusion, charm, threading, impression, manipulation and aura). Dominion, the last archetype, was never given to a bloodline. Somehow the CURSED man came into possession of these dice and Nina is able to siphon from them.
While one element of the story was well polished, the book falls flat in character development, romantic attraction/tension and emotional depth. The dynamic between Max and Nina did not work well for me. I thought that their relationship was more tell vs show and their romantic tension and clash didn't land organically. The tension was there, but the author didn't know what to do with it or how to explore it (how to write it out well per se). Their feelings sprung up out of nowhere and proclamation of love felt unnatural. One moment they are avoiding each other, the next he tells her he is in love with her. To me, they had zero emotional depth. There is nothing in the story that emotionally pulled me in, no meaningful conversations, no openness. Max was closed off and Nina never prodded. I also didn't enjoy their steamy scenes--mehh. The author tries to torture the reader by making us wait all the way until past 70%, but where is the amazing banter to keep us sort of afloat? I really felt this book lacked yearning, tension, propulsion.
Max is our tortured type of MMC, full of scars that are both external and internal. He is a byproduct of The Architects human experimentation that left him with orange eyes and white hair and a lot of self-hate and 'I don't deserve anything' vibes. His character was not well explored and frustrated me a little bit because of how distant he appeared. In the story, a piece of information was given about who Max is or where he came from but it was quickly brushed under the rug and not explored until much later in the book and even then it was short and quick. This transition left a wide gap in storytelling that left me with many questions and answers that were not fully explored.
I was intrigued but not overly impressed. As an avid fantasy/romantasy ARC reader I try to look at the whole story as a whole and break it down by its elements and see if they check off my boxes. Unfortunately this book fell short despite the allure.
Publication: June 30th, 2026
Little summary:
Set in the dark, industrial city of Valveron, Nina is an assistant to a surgeon and has powers that she can't explain. If ever found, she would be executed or worse. To survive, Nina stays in the shadows mainly relying on her smuggling of dead bodies through city's criminal underworld...until she steals from the wrong man--Max Antonin, takes something that belongs to him and sends him off on a cat and mouse chase after her. Max is a crime boss and one of the Cursed with a tragic past and mysterious powers. He wants what she took and is set on finding her, no matter the cost. But Nina is soon framed for murder and knowing that she can't trust him, she still sets up a deal with him that can guarantee her survival despite knowing it might be problematic. Along the way, Ninas sick mother is taken and they learn that something more dangerous is lurking in the shadows of Valveron and the secrets threaten the entire city's social order. As they try to navigate the unclear waters and investigate the series of murders, they are not only getting close to solving the issue, they are also getting close to each other, unable to stop what ever slow burning romance thats developing between them.
This is a steampunk sort of fantasy that predominantly shines in elements of magic, found family and rivalry and kind of a tortured type of MMC who has it bad with self-hate and 'I don't deserve you' vibes.
I'd like to talk about the very good parts first, which for me was magic that tethered on science. The blend felt very unique and well explored, which personally felt like the strongest part of the novel. It kept me engaged and following along with interest. The author went all out, above and beyond to show her creativity here and it really shined in all of its aspects.
In the City of Valveron, magic is tied to relics, bloodlines and hidden codes which determine who can yield power. The Academy sought to control all magic but the Cursed had their own kind of power and mortal code. The Cursed were a group of people (often looked at as abominations) that had stolen magic and carried it in their blood, relying to drink from those who come from bloodlines. They have to drink from a bloodline in order to maintain their power because while there is essence of magic in their blood, they don't have 'the code' to control it. One drink/bite and they are able to use the bloodlines' code to wield power.
Relics are artifacts that were given magical powers, crafted from residue of the essence (a powerful substance that the Architect (the creator who crafted the power) discovered centuries ago) in the Academy. The dice is one of the relics that holds strong magic. They are essentially weapons known as archetypes. Each archetype has six bloodlines, the same number of faces on a die.
—We have Vitalis, the Forge (air, time, gravity, water, metal and fire), the Glamour (illusion, charm, threading, impression, manipulation and aura). Dominion, the last archetype, was never given to a bloodline. Somehow the CURSED man came into possession of these dice and Nina is able to siphon from them.
While one element of the story was well polished, the book falls flat in character development, romantic attraction/tension and emotional depth. The dynamic between Max and Nina did not work well for me. I thought that their relationship was more tell vs show and their romantic tension and clash didn't land organically. The tension was there, but the author didn't know what to do with it or how to explore it (how to write it out well per se). Their feelings sprung up out of nowhere and proclamation of love felt unnatural. One moment they are avoiding each other, the next he tells her he is in love with her. To me, they had zero emotional depth. There is nothing in the story that emotionally pulled me in, no meaningful conversations, no openness. Max was closed off and Nina never prodded. I also didn't enjoy their steamy scenes--mehh. The author tries to torture the reader by making us wait all the way until past 70%, but where is the amazing banter to keep us sort of afloat? I really felt this book lacked yearning, tension, propulsion.
Max is our tortured type of MMC, full of scars that are both external and internal. He is a byproduct of The Architects human experimentation that left him with orange eyes and white hair and a lot of self-hate and 'I don't deserve anything' vibes. His character was not well explored and frustrated me a little bit because of how distant he appeared. In the story, a piece of information was given about who Max is or where he came from but it was quickly brushed under the rug and not explored until much later in the book and even then it was short and quick. This transition left a wide gap in storytelling that left me with many questions and answers that were not fully explored.
I was intrigued but not overly impressed. As an avid fantasy/romantasy ARC reader I try to look at the whole story as a whole and break it down by its elements and see if they check off my boxes. Unfortunately this book fell short despite the allure.
Publication: June 30th, 2026
August 12, 2026
Thank you Netgalley and Bookouture Audio for an ALC of The Anatomy of Magic by Alexis L Menard
This was a hit for me..The Anatomy of Magic has all the ingredients I tend to gravitate toward and love..magic, mystery, danger, and characters who clearly skipped the "make good decisions" seminar. Naturally, I was hooked.
One of my favorite things about this book was the atmosphere. It has that rich, immersive quality where the setting feels just as alive as the characters. The magic system is intriguing without feeling overwhelming, and I appreciated that the author trusted the reader to piece things together instead of spoon-feeding every detail. It's the literary equivalent of being handed a map with "good luck" scribbled across the top.
The characters aren't perfect.. but honestly thank goodness for that. They feel flawed, believable, and wonderfully complicated. Watching their relationships evolve, alliances shift, and secrets unravel hand me digesting this in one sitting
The pacing occasionally slowed enough that I noticed it a tad too much.. which is really the only reason this landed at four stars instead of five. But every time I felt the story easing off the gas, I was rewarded with another revelation, emotional moment, or twist that pulled me right back in.
If you're looking for a fantasy that blends mystery with immersive world-building, layered characters, and magic that feels both beautiful and dangerous, this one is absolutely worth picking up. This is definitely a world I'd happily get lost in again!
Until next time
Hades
🩵
This was a hit for me..The Anatomy of Magic has all the ingredients I tend to gravitate toward and love..magic, mystery, danger, and characters who clearly skipped the "make good decisions" seminar. Naturally, I was hooked.
One of my favorite things about this book was the atmosphere. It has that rich, immersive quality where the setting feels just as alive as the characters. The magic system is intriguing without feeling overwhelming, and I appreciated that the author trusted the reader to piece things together instead of spoon-feeding every detail. It's the literary equivalent of being handed a map with "good luck" scribbled across the top.
The characters aren't perfect.. but honestly thank goodness for that. They feel flawed, believable, and wonderfully complicated. Watching their relationships evolve, alliances shift, and secrets unravel hand me digesting this in one sitting
The pacing occasionally slowed enough that I noticed it a tad too much.. which is really the only reason this landed at four stars instead of five. But every time I felt the story easing off the gas, I was rewarded with another revelation, emotional moment, or twist that pulled me right back in.
If you're looking for a fantasy that blends mystery with immersive world-building, layered characters, and magic that feels both beautiful and dangerous, this one is absolutely worth picking up. This is definitely a world I'd happily get lost in again!
Until next time
Hades
🩵
July 1, 2026
4 - ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Don’t you dare bleed for anyone but me.
The Anatomy of Magic crackles with tension and danger as it draws us into a mesmerizing steampunk-inspired world where intricate magic and industrial innovation collide.
Within an enigmatic city riddled with dark secrets, a surgeon and a powerful crime boss cross paths under the most inconvenient of circumstances, and are now caught in a web of treacheries and corruption.
First and foremost, I would like to marvel at the intricately crafted magic system that seamlessly intertwines with science in such a brilliant way somehow. It is not mere raw magic that just exists, it can be tangible and tied to relics, bloodlines and codes. It took me a while to get the gist of it but I am so very fascinated by it.
Nina and Max's playful banter and sharp humor prevailed even as danger and treachery circled them like vultures. And as a reader, I need that quick cackle even when my nerves are about to be shredded.
“It’s called nerves, Max. You’d know about them if you had any feelings in your sorry excuse for a heart.”
Max's vulnerability and Nina's acceptance of him was precious knowing what he had endured during those traumatic experiments. That added a very dark layer to the story for me.
“Is my heartbeat the only one you hear?” I asked him, curious.
“It’s the only one I listen to.”
While it is a true slowburn, it felt organic knowing these characters but I know I'll be awarded with far more.
“Good girl.”
Oh, fuck it.
There are more questions and secrets I am eager to unravel, looking forward to the next installment of this duology.
Thank you NetGalley for gifting me an eARC in exchange of a review.
Don’t you dare bleed for anyone but me.
The Anatomy of Magic crackles with tension and danger as it draws us into a mesmerizing steampunk-inspired world where intricate magic and industrial innovation collide.
Within an enigmatic city riddled with dark secrets, a surgeon and a powerful crime boss cross paths under the most inconvenient of circumstances, and are now caught in a web of treacheries and corruption.
First and foremost, I would like to marvel at the intricately crafted magic system that seamlessly intertwines with science in such a brilliant way somehow. It is not mere raw magic that just exists, it can be tangible and tied to relics, bloodlines and codes. It took me a while to get the gist of it but I am so very fascinated by it.
Nina and Max's playful banter and sharp humor prevailed even as danger and treachery circled them like vultures. And as a reader, I need that quick cackle even when my nerves are about to be shredded.
“It’s called nerves, Max. You’d know about them if you had any feelings in your sorry excuse for a heart.”
Max's vulnerability and Nina's acceptance of him was precious knowing what he had endured during those traumatic experiments. That added a very dark layer to the story for me.
“Is my heartbeat the only one you hear?” I asked him, curious.
“It’s the only one I listen to.”
While it is a true slowburn, it felt organic knowing these characters but I know I'll be awarded with far more.
“Good girl.”
Oh, fuck it.
There are more questions and secrets I am eager to unravel, looking forward to the next installment of this duology.
Thank you NetGalley for gifting me an eARC in exchange of a review.
May 21, 2026
“Is my heartbeat the only one you hear?” I asked him, curious. “It’s the only one I listen to.”
🎲 Forbidden Magic
💜 Unique Magic System
🎲 The Cursed
💜 Surgeons Assistant
🎲 So many Secrets and Mysteries
💜 Early 18th Century Steampunk Fantasy
🎲 Frankenstein Elements/Vibe
💜 Found Family
“Careful, Ace. Where I’m from, we use threats like that as foreplay.”
Everything about this book grabbed me from the first page. From the world, imagine a dark early 18th century steampunk fantasy, the mystery and the tension filled romance, to the genuinely so unique magic system that is just so different to anything I have ever read before.
You have the original magic which is tied to Archetypes that is passed down through generations, the magic that is gifted in a ritual to only those who graduate from The Academy and then you have the Cursed who are forced to steal magic *cough* Blood *cough* in order to use it. And then separate from them all is Nina. She has the unique ability to siphon any magic. The way the magic is described, the rules and the costs… everything was just so interesting and so cleverly done.
“I didn’t always walk around with the finger bone of a dead patient in my pocket, but some remains were particularly useful—even beyond their lock-picking abilities.”
Nina is so relatable and cunning, I just love the way she approaches and overcomes all of the obstacles in her way. The way her character developed over this story was one of my favourite parts. She starts off her story as a Surgeons Assistant, keeping a low profile and she gets mixed up in smuggling dead bodies in order to provide for her sick mother. And then her world gets thrown on its axis and suddenly she’s on the run and having to make hard choices one after the other after the other. I loved her strength and how she didn’t shy away from embracing the darker side of this world. It made for such an intense read.
“The shift in my life, from blood and bone to gowns and gloves to tailored coats and handguns, had been swift and seamless. The person I had been was gone.”
And then we have Max. His character is complex and deep with a truly devastating backstory that will pull at your heartstrings, and have you begging the author to protect him at all costs. Every revelation had me gasping, his story has so many twists and turns you absolutely won’t be able to stop reading. I adored how Nina brought out his protective side, he never pretends to be good in the traditional sense but he is exactly what Nina needs and she for him. He and Nina are such a perfect match, the yearning and tension between them was unmatched.
“Max was something else entirely. Appealing in the way I found a devastating storm to be beautiful or a fire to be a simultaneous source of warmth and destruction. Both had the power to ruin my life, and yet I felt drawn to them—to him—despite the warnings.”
That ending?!?!? What do you mean there are no more pages left to turn?? I need book 2 like I need air.
~ Thank you NetGalley, Second Sky and Alexis L. Menard for this ARC
July 27, 2026
Obsessed
4.5⭐️
1.5/5🌶️
Single/first person POV
Book 1 in a duology
Format: paperback
Spoiler free
ALM is one of my favorite authors! I read her Vows of Vengeance duet back when it was indie & liked it. It’s exciting to get to read a fully trad book of hers. This series both feels similar to that world but also so completely fresh & unique to the romantasy genre overall. Her writing continues to just get better & better.
This author loves a gas lamp setting for sure🤣We’re in another sort of steampunk world with a super cool magic system. The setting here is a city that is basically on water. That’s the thing for me about this type of world: I enjoy all the modern touches as opposed to a typical romantasy world. There’s boats & cars for transportation & some sort of technology at the helm of the mystery (& even firearms compared to swords) & so on. Also, the medicine here is also a bit more modern with the surgery & tools & such. I could definitely tell all the medical aspects are her comfort zone with being so perfectly detailed since the author is a nurse. There’s also a bit of a different/new take on good old vampires.
I could tell how much work she truly put into crafting this book because it’s so vastly intricate & detailed with the city itself & the government & the politics & even the education system etc being so tightly interwoven into each other creating this world. Which I think lent itself also to my confusion at times. It was occasionally hard for me to follow/understand the magic system or political hierarchy. Even though by the end, I got into the flow of things.
It also sucked for me that there’s no map. I think when the setting itself is a whole ass main character/when the geography of a magical world is so heavily featured & more specifically relied upon, then in these cases, the book needs a map pronto.
The FMC is a good lead. She’s a hard working surgeon’s assistant that struggles with anxiety. Sometimes her nervousness is so intense, I could literally feel it in the erratic style to the writing of the scene. But, for someone who is supposedly brilliant, this girl made the dumbest choices. Which I fully get because then there’d be no book😂 perfect example of a book smart individual gaining street smarts by the end
& the MMC is basically a nut😅but he’s certainly a shiny nut😉I think what they have is a decent slow burn. The patience that she has with him is perfection. & that ending? Broke my heart for them.
Since this is trad, I expected it to be super polished but not always the case here. It’s as if scenes were copy & pasted but then not edited properly.
4.5⭐️
1.5/5🌶️
Single/first person POV
Book 1 in a duology
Format: paperback
Spoiler free
ALM is one of my favorite authors! I read her Vows of Vengeance duet back when it was indie & liked it. It’s exciting to get to read a fully trad book of hers. This series both feels similar to that world but also so completely fresh & unique to the romantasy genre overall. Her writing continues to just get better & better.
This author loves a gas lamp setting for sure🤣We’re in another sort of steampunk world with a super cool magic system. The setting here is a city that is basically on water. That’s the thing for me about this type of world: I enjoy all the modern touches as opposed to a typical romantasy world. There’s boats & cars for transportation & some sort of technology at the helm of the mystery (& even firearms compared to swords) & so on. Also, the medicine here is also a bit more modern with the surgery & tools & such. I could definitely tell all the medical aspects are her comfort zone with being so perfectly detailed since the author is a nurse. There’s also a bit of a different/new take on good old vampires.
I could tell how much work she truly put into crafting this book because it’s so vastly intricate & detailed with the city itself & the government & the politics & even the education system etc being so tightly interwoven into each other creating this world. Which I think lent itself also to my confusion at times. It was occasionally hard for me to follow/understand the magic system or political hierarchy. Even though by the end, I got into the flow of things.
It also sucked for me that there’s no map. I think when the setting itself is a whole ass main character/when the geography of a magical world is so heavily featured & more specifically relied upon, then in these cases, the book needs a map pronto.
The FMC is a good lead. She’s a hard working surgeon’s assistant that struggles with anxiety. Sometimes her nervousness is so intense, I could literally feel it in the erratic style to the writing of the scene. But, for someone who is supposedly brilliant, this girl made the dumbest choices. Which I fully get because then there’d be no book😂 perfect example of a book smart individual gaining street smarts by the end
& the MMC is basically a nut😅but he’s certainly a shiny nut😉I think what they have is a decent slow burn. The patience that she has with him is perfection. & that ending? Broke my heart for them.
Since this is trad, I expected it to be super polished but not always the case here. It’s as if scenes were copy & pasted but then not edited properly.
June 21, 2026
1.75 stars. This book is such a frustrating waste of an intricately crafted world that genuinely could have been incredible if the author had taken the time to make it so.
The world is built with so much care. Its geography, sociopolitical structure, and anatomy-based magic system all feel deeply connected, and the Cursed are one of the most plausible interpretations of vampires I have encountered. I wanted to understand the bloodlines, what had actually happened during the trials, what Nina’s father had discovered, and how all of those pieces fit together.
The problem is that the book makes those connections unnecessarily difficult to follow.
My first gripe: geography shapes nearly every part of the story, from politics, class, and culture to the relationships between different groups. Yet there is no map. The geographical aspects of the characters’ journey are essential to understanding the context of what is happening, but so much of their significance was lost on me because it was incredibly difficult to follow where anyone was at any given time.
The writing itself is not actually terrible. On a sentence-by-sentence level, much of it is not only readable but sometimes quite good. The problem is that the book is riddled with continuity errors, missing transitions, vague explanations, and emotional whiplash.
There are repeated physical continuity errors. Nina takes off her shirt in one scene, causing Max to look away in embarrassment when he enters the room. But the book never says she puts it back on as they continue their conversation and eventually leave, even though her being undressed was a central point at the beginning of the scene. At another point, she hides the dice down her bodice before entering the opium den, but soon afterward they are apparently stolen from her pocket when she never textually put them there. At Max’s casino, a suitcase and an entire collection of “her things” appear even though she fled without taking anything and never went back to retrieve it.
These details may sound small individually, but they happened often enough that I stopped trusting the text. Instead of staying immersed in the story, I was constantly trying to work out whether I had missed something or whether the book had simply forgotten what it had already established.
The larger continuity problem is Nina herself.
At the beginning, I liked her. She seemed capable, competent, cautious, and driven by survival. She was hiding a dangerous secret, protecting her mother, doing whatever she needed to do to stay alive, and clearly outsmarting the men in her world. But as the book continued, she became almost unrecognizable.
She swings from being obstinately independent to being completely at the mercy of the men around her. Her emotions jump from one extreme to another with very little development between them, and she repeatedly makes catastrophic decisions on a dime because her feelings get hurt and she chooses to react instead of asking a question, requesting clarification, or communicating with anyone.
She constantly acts to spite other people instead of making her own choices about who she is and what she actually wants. Then, once everything has gone to shit and she has (more often than not) needed to be saved, she acts as though nothing ever happened. The emotional whiplash is honestly borderline traumatizing for the reader.
That pattern happens over and over again. Nina misunderstands something, immediately assumes the worst, reacts at maximum intensity, and makes a decision that completely screws her. Then she learns nothing from it and does essentially the same thing again. There is no meaningful growth, self-awareness, or increasing understanding of herself or the people around her.
By the end, it felt less like Nina was a complicated or emotionally reactive character and more like the author changed her personality to create whatever conflict the current scene required. It genuinely felt as though the book did not know who its own main character was.
That also made the romance extremely difficult to believe.
I liked Max. His history of being experimented on as a child gives him darkness, trauma, and an interior conflict that made me want to understand him. His connection to the trials and the Cursed gives him an actual emotional and thematic relationship to the larger story. Granted, he was possessive, obsessive, and plenty of other things that many people would find questionable in a love interest, but I genuinely liked him.
What I never understood was why he thought Nina was such hot shit.
For roughly three quarters of the book, there is very little emotional intimacy or convincing development supporting their supposed connection. The book tells us that their bond is powerful and important, but it rarely shows us why. Nina’s reactions to Max shift from vaguely neutral to enormously positive or negative, yet there is no narrative progression building a foundation for either the relationship or the intensity of those reactions.
They fight, flirt, and then act as though nothing happened. In all honesty, it does not even qualify as a will-they-won’t-they. Their feelings seem to appear simply because the plot says it is time for them to appear.
The book also repeatedly mistakes vagueness for mystery. Nina keeps mentioning that people do not know “who she is,” and the story occasionally drops hints about her bloodline and abilities as though it is building toward some precise revelation. But the information is handled so unclearly that I often could not tell whether something was meant to be mysterious or was simply poorly explained.
Mystery should make me curious. This frequently just made me confused.
Even the action and character decisions often felt disconnected from the stakes the book itself had established. Max is preparing for a duel to the death with his brother, says he has no time to train, and then spends an hour teaching Nina a basic fighting stance so they can flirt in the ring.
After the fight, time is supposedly of the essence because they have to reach her mother before the experiment on the boat ends the next day, yet they take God knows how long to fuck in a slaughterhouse first—despite Nina constantly claiming that her mother is “the most important thing.”
Moments like that do not feel driven by character or survival logic. They feel like scenes the author wanted to include regardless of whether they made sense where they were placed.
That is what makes this so disappointing. There is a much better book inside this one.
The world has depth. The magic has consequences. The Cursed raise questions about personhood, exploitation, and who gets to decide what makes someone human. The trials suggest something brutal and institutional hidden beneath the mythology of the world. Nina’s father, the bloodlines, the Architect, and the experiments all point toward a story about inherited power and the way violence becomes buried inside systems people have accepted as normal.
I wanted answers about all of that.
But the continuity errors, unclear geography, underdeveloped romance, inconsistent characterization, and Nina’s complete lack of growth made the actual process of reaching those answers exhausting.
I normally finish books in one or two days. This took me well over a week, not because the ideas were too complex, but because the storytelling created so much friction. Curiosity about the world was doing all the work that character investment, romance, pacing, and narrative clarity should have been doing alongside it.
I finished wanting to learn more about almost everything in the world surrounding Nina while having absolutely no desire to spend another book inside her head.
That is a particularly frustrating place for the first installment of a series to leave me. Cannot recommend.
The world is built with so much care. Its geography, sociopolitical structure, and anatomy-based magic system all feel deeply connected, and the Cursed are one of the most plausible interpretations of vampires I have encountered. I wanted to understand the bloodlines, what had actually happened during the trials, what Nina’s father had discovered, and how all of those pieces fit together.
The problem is that the book makes those connections unnecessarily difficult to follow.
My first gripe: geography shapes nearly every part of the story, from politics, class, and culture to the relationships between different groups. Yet there is no map. The geographical aspects of the characters’ journey are essential to understanding the context of what is happening, but so much of their significance was lost on me because it was incredibly difficult to follow where anyone was at any given time.
The writing itself is not actually terrible. On a sentence-by-sentence level, much of it is not only readable but sometimes quite good. The problem is that the book is riddled with continuity errors, missing transitions, vague explanations, and emotional whiplash.
There are repeated physical continuity errors. Nina takes off her shirt in one scene, causing Max to look away in embarrassment when he enters the room. But the book never says she puts it back on as they continue their conversation and eventually leave, even though her being undressed was a central point at the beginning of the scene. At another point, she hides the dice down her bodice before entering the opium den, but soon afterward they are apparently stolen from her pocket when she never textually put them there. At Max’s casino, a suitcase and an entire collection of “her things” appear even though she fled without taking anything and never went back to retrieve it.
These details may sound small individually, but they happened often enough that I stopped trusting the text. Instead of staying immersed in the story, I was constantly trying to work out whether I had missed something or whether the book had simply forgotten what it had already established.
The larger continuity problem is Nina herself.
At the beginning, I liked her. She seemed capable, competent, cautious, and driven by survival. She was hiding a dangerous secret, protecting her mother, doing whatever she needed to do to stay alive, and clearly outsmarting the men in her world. But as the book continued, she became almost unrecognizable.
She swings from being obstinately independent to being completely at the mercy of the men around her. Her emotions jump from one extreme to another with very little development between them, and she repeatedly makes catastrophic decisions on a dime because her feelings get hurt and she chooses to react instead of asking a question, requesting clarification, or communicating with anyone.
She constantly acts to spite other people instead of making her own choices about who she is and what she actually wants. Then, once everything has gone to shit and she has (more often than not) needed to be saved, she acts as though nothing ever happened. The emotional whiplash is honestly borderline traumatizing for the reader.
That pattern happens over and over again. Nina misunderstands something, immediately assumes the worst, reacts at maximum intensity, and makes a decision that completely screws her. Then she learns nothing from it and does essentially the same thing again. There is no meaningful growth, self-awareness, or increasing understanding of herself or the people around her.
By the end, it felt less like Nina was a complicated or emotionally reactive character and more like the author changed her personality to create whatever conflict the current scene required. It genuinely felt as though the book did not know who its own main character was.
That also made the romance extremely difficult to believe.
I liked Max. His history of being experimented on as a child gives him darkness, trauma, and an interior conflict that made me want to understand him. His connection to the trials and the Cursed gives him an actual emotional and thematic relationship to the larger story. Granted, he was possessive, obsessive, and plenty of other things that many people would find questionable in a love interest, but I genuinely liked him.
What I never understood was why he thought Nina was such hot shit.
For roughly three quarters of the book, there is very little emotional intimacy or convincing development supporting their supposed connection. The book tells us that their bond is powerful and important, but it rarely shows us why. Nina’s reactions to Max shift from vaguely neutral to enormously positive or negative, yet there is no narrative progression building a foundation for either the relationship or the intensity of those reactions.
They fight, flirt, and then act as though nothing happened. In all honesty, it does not even qualify as a will-they-won’t-they. Their feelings seem to appear simply because the plot says it is time for them to appear.
The book also repeatedly mistakes vagueness for mystery. Nina keeps mentioning that people do not know “who she is,” and the story occasionally drops hints about her bloodline and abilities as though it is building toward some precise revelation. But the information is handled so unclearly that I often could not tell whether something was meant to be mysterious or was simply poorly explained.
Mystery should make me curious. This frequently just made me confused.
Even the action and character decisions often felt disconnected from the stakes the book itself had established. Max is preparing for a duel to the death with his brother, says he has no time to train, and then spends an hour teaching Nina a basic fighting stance so they can flirt in the ring.
After the fight, time is supposedly of the essence because they have to reach her mother before the experiment on the boat ends the next day, yet they take God knows how long to fuck in a slaughterhouse first—despite Nina constantly claiming that her mother is “the most important thing.”
Moments like that do not feel driven by character or survival logic. They feel like scenes the author wanted to include regardless of whether they made sense where they were placed.
That is what makes this so disappointing. There is a much better book inside this one.
The world has depth. The magic has consequences. The Cursed raise questions about personhood, exploitation, and who gets to decide what makes someone human. The trials suggest something brutal and institutional hidden beneath the mythology of the world. Nina’s father, the bloodlines, the Architect, and the experiments all point toward a story about inherited power and the way violence becomes buried inside systems people have accepted as normal.
I wanted answers about all of that.
But the continuity errors, unclear geography, underdeveloped romance, inconsistent characterization, and Nina’s complete lack of growth made the actual process of reaching those answers exhausting.
I normally finish books in one or two days. This took me well over a week, not because the ideas were too complex, but because the storytelling created so much friction. Curiosity about the world was doing all the work that character investment, romance, pacing, and narrative clarity should have been doing alongside it.
I finished wanting to learn more about almost everything in the world surrounding Nina while having absolutely no desire to spend another book inside her head.
That is a particularly frustrating place for the first installment of a series to leave me. Cannot recommend.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
July 9, 2026
I do not know what was wrong with me but this did not hook me at all. I made it about 25% in but might pick it up again in the future. I'm a bit disappointed because I loved her other series. Maybe the began is just slow?🤷♀️ 😟
July 16, 2026
This was super fun and unique!! Steampunk Romantasy I like itttt
July 16, 2026
I really enjoyed this one. Alexis Menard has such a way with banter and slow burn relationships. Unlike a lot of romances, this one actually felt slow burn. The tension was incredible and I loved watching them snipe. I do think the world and the dice, magic, and gaslamp setting was super cool. I definitely saw the Frankenstein vibes about halfway in. I do think it was doing a bit much at times and some of it could have been better expanded on in the beginning. I don't mind some info dumping, but while I wasn't confused in the beginning, everything felt really surface level. I think this did improve as the book went on but I was less invested in that side because of the start. Overall really enjoyed and I can't wait for book 2!
June 30, 2026
Thank you to NetGalley, Bookouture Audio, Second Sky Books, and Alexis L. Menard for the ALC of The Anatomy of Magic.
Narration: Duet narration by Savannah Thomas and Sean Masters.
This book needs to be on everyone's radar! The Anatomy of Magic is a dark fantasy romance that blends a magical academy, political corruption, and an underworld with mafia vibes into one addictive story.
Nina is a surgeon by day and an illegal smuggler of bodies and magical artifacts by night. She's managed to keep her forbidden magic hidden until Max stumbles into her office with a knife in his side. He's searching for a stolen artifact that Nina may have unknowingly taken herself. Their chance encounter quickly spirals into a deadly game of cat and mouse, leaving Nina framed for the murder of a political leader. Forced to work together, Max and Nina must uncover the truth, clear her name, and rescue her kidnapped mother.
The magic system was one of the most unique I've read. I loved learning about the archetypes, magical codes, different sources of magic, and the terrifyingly powerful Cursed with their vampire-like essence. It felt fresh, complex, and incredibly immersive.
And then there's the romance with my favorite progression of enemies to reluctant allies to lovers. Max is haunted by his past and convinced he's the monster everyone believes him to be, making him such a compelling and vulnerable hero. Nina is a morally gray, resourceful FMC who refuses to back down.
The chemistry between them was phenomenal. The banter and yearning had me hooked from their very first meeting. Max is literally bleeding out with a knife in his side and still shamelessly flirting with Nina. The slow burn, the tension, and the constant push and pull had me completely invested. By the time they finally gave in, I was absolutely obsessed.
I highly recommend the audiobook, the dual narration was perfection!
Narration: Duet narration by Savannah Thomas and Sean Masters.
This book needs to be on everyone's radar! The Anatomy of Magic is a dark fantasy romance that blends a magical academy, political corruption, and an underworld with mafia vibes into one addictive story.
Nina is a surgeon by day and an illegal smuggler of bodies and magical artifacts by night. She's managed to keep her forbidden magic hidden until Max stumbles into her office with a knife in his side. He's searching for a stolen artifact that Nina may have unknowingly taken herself. Their chance encounter quickly spirals into a deadly game of cat and mouse, leaving Nina framed for the murder of a political leader. Forced to work together, Max and Nina must uncover the truth, clear her name, and rescue her kidnapped mother.
The magic system was one of the most unique I've read. I loved learning about the archetypes, magical codes, different sources of magic, and the terrifyingly powerful Cursed with their vampire-like essence. It felt fresh, complex, and incredibly immersive.
And then there's the romance with my favorite progression of enemies to reluctant allies to lovers. Max is haunted by his past and convinced he's the monster everyone believes him to be, making him such a compelling and vulnerable hero. Nina is a morally gray, resourceful FMC who refuses to back down.
The chemistry between them was phenomenal. The banter and yearning had me hooked from their very first meeting. Max is literally bleeding out with a knife in his side and still shamelessly flirting with Nina. The slow burn, the tension, and the constant push and pull had me completely invested. By the time they finally gave in, I was absolutely obsessed.
I highly recommend the audiobook, the dual narration was perfection!
Read
June 22, 2026dnf at 27%
this actually pains me to write because of how much i loved house of bane and blood/city of mirth and malice, but this book really is just not working for me. the dialogue feels forced and incredibly cheesy, and the writing does not flow well. in my head it’s reading like a poorly done YA action/fantasy movie from the 2010s, and it’s giving me the ick. unfortunately for me, this magic system with relics and elemental bloodlines is SUPER intriguing, and as always, i love the steampunk aesthetic alexis favours for her book themes. on paper, this book should be for someone like me, but the execution is just not there. i also am beginning to get frustrated with how much telling instead of showing is going on, and while i understand that complex worlds have historical contexts the reader needs to know to understand the magnitude of the storyline, i just feel like there needs to be a more creative way to introduce them. i might pick this one back up in the future, but now is not the time.
this actually pains me to write because of how much i loved house of bane and blood/city of mirth and malice, but this book really is just not working for me. the dialogue feels forced and incredibly cheesy, and the writing does not flow well. in my head it’s reading like a poorly done YA action/fantasy movie from the 2010s, and it’s giving me the ick. unfortunately for me, this magic system with relics and elemental bloodlines is SUPER intriguing, and as always, i love the steampunk aesthetic alexis favours for her book themes. on paper, this book should be for someone like me, but the execution is just not there. i also am beginning to get frustrated with how much telling instead of showing is going on, and while i understand that complex worlds have historical contexts the reader needs to know to understand the magnitude of the storyline, i just feel like there needs to be a more creative way to introduce them. i might pick this one back up in the future, but now is not the time.
July 18, 2026
I'm torn on this one, honestly. I love Alexis Menard's worlds, her House of Bane and Blood duology was a great read and I was excited at the premise of this. At 3 percent when there was an exchange between the FMC and MMC as she was stitching him up that went like this:
"You’re doing great.”
"Do you always praise a man when you’re doing all the work?”
“I’m just impressed. Men like you don’t usually last long in my hands.”
...I **squealed**. The tension and chemistry between them was popping of the page and I thought for sure I was in for a new favourite read. As the book progressed though I found that my interest and excitement started to wane, and that was because of a convoluted magic system and an equally confusing romance.
There's a lot going on for the magic system, and by the end I still didn't have a grasp on how it all actually worked together. There's a person called the Architect, and a place called the Academy, and we have Archetypes which are powers and bloodlines, but there's also relics, and essence, and coding and the Cursed who feed on Archetypes and along with a bit of info-dumping, I honestly just lost interest with it all.
The romance developed out of nowhere too. It read like one minute they were begrudging allies who might have found each other attractive, the next they were head-over-heels, burn-the-world-down in love with each other. The progression felt so manufactured that I just couldn't believe in them as a couple.
And don't get me started on that spice scene! I already questioned them as a couple, but you're telling me i'm supposed to find it sexy when they they're about to sleep together for the first time and have to just cold-hose blood and actual SEWER off each other in a slaughterhouse and then go at it WITHOUT SO MUCH AS A BAR OF SOAP RUBBED BETWEEN THEM. NOPE.
The plot is interesting, and with the questions still to be answered and the way this ended I am intrigued with how the next book will unfold. I just didn't end up loving this one as much as I thought I would.
Thank you to Netgalley and Second Sky for the earc.
"You’re doing great.”
"Do you always praise a man when you’re doing all the work?”
“I’m just impressed. Men like you don’t usually last long in my hands.”
...I **squealed**. The tension and chemistry between them was popping of the page and I thought for sure I was in for a new favourite read. As the book progressed though I found that my interest and excitement started to wane, and that was because of a convoluted magic system and an equally confusing romance.
There's a lot going on for the magic system, and by the end I still didn't have a grasp on how it all actually worked together. There's a person called the Architect, and a place called the Academy, and we have Archetypes which are powers and bloodlines, but there's also relics, and essence, and coding and the Cursed who feed on Archetypes and along with a bit of info-dumping, I honestly just lost interest with it all.
The romance developed out of nowhere too. It read like one minute they were begrudging allies who might have found each other attractive, the next they were head-over-heels, burn-the-world-down in love with each other. The progression felt so manufactured that I just couldn't believe in them as a couple.
And don't get me started on that spice scene! I already questioned them as a couple, but you're telling me i'm supposed to find it sexy when they they're about to sleep together for the first time and have to just cold-hose blood and actual SEWER off each other in a slaughterhouse and then go at it WITHOUT SO MUCH AS A BAR OF SOAP RUBBED BETWEEN THEM. NOPE.
The plot is interesting, and with the questions still to be answered and the way this ended I am intrigued with how the next book will unfold. I just didn't end up loving this one as much as I thought I would.
Thank you to Netgalley and Second Sky for the earc.
July 18, 2026
My favorite part of The Anatomy of Magic was the world building. Alexis Menard created a fantasy world that was interesting, easy to picture, and made me want to learn more about how everything worked. The magic system and overall concept were what kept me reading. I also liked the main storyline and thought it had a lot of potential.
Unfortunately, the characters didn't work as well for me.
The biggest issue was the romance. I never felt much romantic tension between the main characters, so I had a hard time caring about their relationship. The lack of chemistry gave insta love vibes that didn't hook me. I wanted more chemistry and more moments that made me excited to see them together, but I never got there.
I also wanted stronger character development. I didn't feel like the main characters changed very much or became people I was emotionally invested in. Because of that, it was difficult for me to connect with their decisions or care as much about what happened to them.
Even with those issues, I still enjoyed the overall story because the world and plot kept my attention. If you're someone who values unique fantasy settings over romance or character-driven stories, I think you'll probably enjoy this one more than I did.
Overall, this was a solid read with a great foundation, but I needed stronger characters and a more compelling romance for it to be a standout. That's why it lands at 3 stars for me.
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Advance Review Copy generously provided through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
Unfortunately, the characters didn't work as well for me.
The biggest issue was the romance. I never felt much romantic tension between the main characters, so I had a hard time caring about their relationship. The lack of chemistry gave insta love vibes that didn't hook me. I wanted more chemistry and more moments that made me excited to see them together, but I never got there.
I also wanted stronger character development. I didn't feel like the main characters changed very much or became people I was emotionally invested in. Because of that, it was difficult for me to connect with their decisions or care as much about what happened to them.
Even with those issues, I still enjoyed the overall story because the world and plot kept my attention. If you're someone who values unique fantasy settings over romance or character-driven stories, I think you'll probably enjoy this one more than I did.
Overall, this was a solid read with a great foundation, but I needed stronger characters and a more compelling romance for it to be a standout. That's why it lands at 3 stars for me.
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Advance Review Copy generously provided through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
June 2, 2026
"If his threat was a storm, I wanted to linger in the lightning, no matter the risk of the damage it might cause."
Thank you Netgalley and Second Sky/Forever for this ARC.
Publication date: June 30, 2026
✨ Enemies (he literally shoots at her 3 times + gets her framed for murder & thrown in jail) to reluctant allies to lovers
✨ Vampire-ish broody MMC with tragic backstory
✨ Forbidden magic
✨ Forced proximity
✨ Touch her and 💀
Spice: 1.5🌶️
It took me a bit to adjust to the world building/magic system as I found it confusing at times, but once everything started making sense I could not stop reading. The mystery, the action sequences, the banter, the tension, the yearning, the plot twists. I had such a great time!
The story is pretty fast paced with a short timeline. Though the main characters knew each other for a short period their feelings for one another felt genuine and built on mutual trust, respect and admiration.
I loved Nina. She was feisty, resourceful, selfless and brave. Although she would make some dumb decisions/choices that got her into more trouble, I knew she had good intentions and was just trying to help the people she cared for. And Max, my beautiful broken man. My heart ached for all the horrors he had gone through and how he doesn't think he deserves anything good in life as a result of it. It was so easy to root for him after learning his backstory.
And that cliffhanger?! What a way to break my heart 😭 I am on the edge of my seat waiting for the sequel!!
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
"Is my heartbeat the only one you hear?"
"It's the only one I listen to."
"Don't look at me like that."
"Like what?"
"Like you see me. Really see me."
"You're worth the fight, Max. You're worthy of love and happiness and every good thing in this life."
"I finally figured out why you terrify me so much. Because now that I have you, I don't know what I'd do without you. I'd be so lost without the sound of your heart and the peace it brings to my chaos."
Thank you Netgalley and Second Sky/Forever for this ARC.
Publication date: June 30, 2026
✨ Enemies (he literally shoots at her 3 times + gets her framed for murder & thrown in jail) to reluctant allies to lovers
✨ Vampire-ish broody MMC with tragic backstory
✨ Forbidden magic
✨ Forced proximity
✨ Touch her and 💀
Spice: 1.5🌶️
It took me a bit to adjust to the world building/magic system as I found it confusing at times, but once everything started making sense I could not stop reading. The mystery, the action sequences, the banter, the tension, the yearning, the plot twists. I had such a great time!
The story is pretty fast paced with a short timeline. Though the main characters knew each other for a short period their feelings for one another felt genuine and built on mutual trust, respect and admiration.
I loved Nina. She was feisty, resourceful, selfless and brave. Although she would make some dumb decisions/choices that got her into more trouble, I knew she had good intentions and was just trying to help the people she cared for. And Max, my beautiful broken man. My heart ached for all the horrors he had gone through and how he doesn't think he deserves anything good in life as a result of it. It was so easy to root for him after learning his backstory.
And that cliffhanger?! What a way to break my heart 😭 I am on the edge of my seat waiting for the sequel!!
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
"Is my heartbeat the only one you hear?"
"It's the only one I listen to."
"Don't look at me like that."
"Like what?"
"Like you see me. Really see me."
"You're worth the fight, Max. You're worthy of love and happiness and every good thing in this life."
"I finally figured out why you terrify me so much. Because now that I have you, I don't know what I'd do without you. I'd be so lost without the sound of your heart and the peace it brings to my chaos."
April 26, 2026
fated x enemies to lovers x mind to mind speak
I’ve never read anything like this romantasy. I love the concept of relics and writing the code to magic. I love how she got sucked into the world through small betrayals/secrets and didn’t realize how it was impacting the entire system. I love the sloooow burn and why it had to be that way.
Oh and also - they speak mind to mind.
AND he’s an MMC with a tortured past.
I would recommend!
I’ve never read anything like this romantasy. I love the concept of relics and writing the code to magic. I love how she got sucked into the world through small betrayals/secrets and didn’t realize how it was impacting the entire system. I love the sloooow burn and why it had to be that way.
Oh and also - they speak mind to mind.
AND he’s an MMC with a tortured past.
I would recommend!
Review of advance copy received from NetGalley
Once again, Alexis hits it out of the park with another banger. This might be her best work yet! I absolutely loved Nina and Max and their journey together. Nina's character was a breath of fresh air and I appreciate how Menard wrote about Nina's anxiety. She was competent and willing to do anything for those she loves. Max was also a great male lead, and I liked getting a glimpse into his head with his few POVs. As always, Alexis delivered great banter between the two and I can't wait to see how this story ends in the next installment.
Also, Alexis, I will be billing you for that ending because WHAT.
I highly recommend this one to those who like romantasy with an engaging plot!
Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for the eARC in exchange for an honest review!
Also, Alexis, I will be billing you for that ending because WHAT.
I highly recommend this one to those who like romantasy with an engaging plot!
Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for the eARC in exchange for an honest review!
August 5, 2026
You know what? This might not be everyone’s 5⭐️ read but it was definitely my 5⭐️ good time.
This one’s for all the overstimulated moms out there just trying to survive the last of summer break and holding on by a proverbial thread. The moms that want a solid plot but don’t have an ounce of mental energy left to take on tedious world building. Someone who’s just looking for an effortless good time with a hot, silver haired, blood sucker.
I was gifted an ALC of The Anatomy of Magic from the publisher (thank you, Bookouture Audio) so audio reading it was. I was pleasantly surprised at how easy it was to slip into this story through audio. The production was a 10, duet narration with great voices. The story grabs you at the very start and the pacing carries you along at a steady flow. The plot was intriguing and I loved the dynamic between the FMC and MMC. At first it was coming off a little insta-lovey but it wasn’t long after that he was also shooting bullets at her head so I guess you could say things evened themselves out. 😂
Max… my man Max. Boy’s got some game. The one liners he was pulling out had me 😍😍😍😍.
“If I ran… would you chase me?”
“I would chase you to the edges of the map and beyond.”
“You can hear my heartbeat?”
“Since the first time I heard it, I haven’t been able to stop.”
“Is my heartbeat the only one you hear?” I asked him, curious.
“It’s the only one I listen to.”
I soaked up every moment of this book and the end has me NEEDING book 2!!!
This one’s for all the overstimulated moms out there just trying to survive the last of summer break and holding on by a proverbial thread. The moms that want a solid plot but don’t have an ounce of mental energy left to take on tedious world building. Someone who’s just looking for an effortless good time with a hot, silver haired, blood sucker.
I was gifted an ALC of The Anatomy of Magic from the publisher (thank you, Bookouture Audio) so audio reading it was. I was pleasantly surprised at how easy it was to slip into this story through audio. The production was a 10, duet narration with great voices. The story grabs you at the very start and the pacing carries you along at a steady flow. The plot was intriguing and I loved the dynamic between the FMC and MMC. At first it was coming off a little insta-lovey but it wasn’t long after that he was also shooting bullets at her head so I guess you could say things evened themselves out. 😂
Max… my man Max. Boy’s got some game. The one liners he was pulling out had me 😍😍😍😍.
“If I ran… would you chase me?”
“I would chase you to the edges of the map and beyond.”
“You can hear my heartbeat?”
“Since the first time I heard it, I haven’t been able to stop.”
“Is my heartbeat the only one you hear?” I asked him, curious.
“It’s the only one I listen to.”
I soaked up every moment of this book and the end has me NEEDING book 2!!!
June 30, 2026
I was so excited to dive into this ARC filled with mysteries & forbidden magic and while I definitely enjoyed some parts of the story (mostly when Damien or Maurice were on the page), I unfortunately found it pretty hard to connect with the main characters and overall it just felt like something was missing from the story.
I think the action scenes were done well ~ they felt very high stakes at times and I enjoyed learning about the unique magic system. The ending was good, it really sets the stage for book two and although I won't be continuing with the series, I would still recommend this story! I know a lot of people who will absolutely love this one.
Always remember, someone's 5 star read could be your 1 star and vice versa, so definitely give it a go & see what you think yourself🥰
Huge thank you to Second Sky & Netgalley for my e-ARC🫶
I think the action scenes were done well ~ they felt very high stakes at times and I enjoyed learning about the unique magic system. The ending was good, it really sets the stage for book two and although I won't be continuing with the series, I would still recommend this story! I know a lot of people who will absolutely love this one.
Always remember, someone's 5 star read could be your 1 star and vice versa, so definitely give it a go & see what you think yourself🥰
Huge thank you to Second Sky & Netgalley for my e-ARC🫶
July 30, 2026
this had BIIIIIG shoes to fill... after camilla and Nico have my ENTIRE soul wrapped up in their story... and it did not disappoint.
Menard out did herself with another very unique secondary world urban setting. You could see the inspiration from Italy for sure, but it didn't take away how truly unique this felt. Especially in romantasy, I have never read anything in a setting like this.
I really loved how instant this starts, and the pace just continues from there. You are given small moments to breathe in a very fast paced story but it 100% works. You're on the edge of your seat racing through the city and then you're squished into a lil apartment with Nina and Max, feeling the yearning and the tension. Then your back into the action learning about the magic, and new characters.
The thing that kept it from a five star was the romance, I just think it burned a little too quick. I found we went from a nothing for a long time, to a burning candle TO a burning house, and I wish we had a middle step. I want them to sit in the yeaaaaarrrrnnn a little longer.
But I still loved this can't wait for book two!
Menard out did herself with another very unique secondary world urban setting. You could see the inspiration from Italy for sure, but it didn't take away how truly unique this felt. Especially in romantasy, I have never read anything in a setting like this.
I really loved how instant this starts, and the pace just continues from there. You are given small moments to breathe in a very fast paced story but it 100% works. You're on the edge of your seat racing through the city and then you're squished into a lil apartment with Nina and Max, feeling the yearning and the tension. Then your back into the action learning about the magic, and new characters.
The thing that kept it from a five star was the romance, I just think it burned a little too quick. I found we went from a nothing for a long time, to a burning candle TO a burning house, and I wish we had a middle step. I want them to sit in the yeaaaaarrrrnnn a little longer.
But I still loved this can't wait for book two!
May 24, 2026
As always, Alexis paints the industrials vibes perfectly- but now add in some Frankenstein with magic, witty banter and spice. That ending left me simply unwell.
June 19, 2026
"But know without a doubt, beyond every day that passes, that I love you. I could never stop loving you. I loved you as much as a man like me could love someone."
3☆
Okay I had such a fun time with this!!! If you're looking for a steamy, gripping and fun romantasy read... this is the book for you!!!
One of the most unique things about this book was the magic system. It was a relic based system which I found so intriguing. Magic stems from bloodlines and hidden codes which determines who is able to wield it. I found this so interesting and creative! The author developed it in such an amazing way where it was very clearly explained and easy to grasp.
Max, he is such a tortured MMC, I loved him!!! I feel like Sean Masters did such an incredible job narrating his role! His voice matched the vibes of the book and the part of a tortured MMC SO SO WELL!!! I would without a doubt listen to more audiobooks narrated by him! Sean also did an amazing job at narrating different male character vibes!! Making them all sound a little different. Max himself was such a well written character! He deals with a lot of self hate and feels like he doesn't deserve anything good. I do hope we get more of him in the next book!!
Nina our FMC was such a strong and feisty character in herself. She was so sure of herself and I loved that she wasn't afraid of Max and cowered in front of him. Now this is largely a matter of personal preference, however the female narrators voice didn't align with the fantasy vibes of this book to me. I loved her voice in general though! The banter between Max and Nina was SO FUNNY!!! I loved it so much!
I do wish their emotional depth was a little more explored through the book. I also hope that in the next book we get more of a backstory on both of our MCs to help connect with them a little more. I felt like there was also a lack of world building which made it difficult to paint a picture in my head while I was listening to it.
The ending of this book was so emotional and did make me want to cry and need the next book IMMEDIATELY!!!
Thank you so much to Alexis L. Menard, second sky books, Bookouture audios and Netgalley for this ALC!!🩷
3☆
Okay I had such a fun time with this!!! If you're looking for a steamy, gripping and fun romantasy read... this is the book for you!!!
One of the most unique things about this book was the magic system. It was a relic based system which I found so intriguing. Magic stems from bloodlines and hidden codes which determines who is able to wield it. I found this so interesting and creative! The author developed it in such an amazing way where it was very clearly explained and easy to grasp.
Max, he is such a tortured MMC, I loved him!!! I feel like Sean Masters did such an incredible job narrating his role! His voice matched the vibes of the book and the part of a tortured MMC SO SO WELL!!! I would without a doubt listen to more audiobooks narrated by him! Sean also did an amazing job at narrating different male character vibes!! Making them all sound a little different. Max himself was such a well written character! He deals with a lot of self hate and feels like he doesn't deserve anything good. I do hope we get more of him in the next book!!
Nina our FMC was such a strong and feisty character in herself. She was so sure of herself and I loved that she wasn't afraid of Max and cowered in front of him. Now this is largely a matter of personal preference, however the female narrators voice didn't align with the fantasy vibes of this book to me. I loved her voice in general though! The banter between Max and Nina was SO FUNNY!!! I loved it so much!
I do wish their emotional depth was a little more explored through the book. I also hope that in the next book we get more of a backstory on both of our MCs to help connect with them a little more. I felt like there was also a lack of world building which made it difficult to paint a picture in my head while I was listening to it.
The ending of this book was so emotional and did make me want to cry and need the next book IMMEDIATELY!!!
Thank you so much to Alexis L. Menard, second sky books, Bookouture audios and Netgalley for this ALC!!🩷
July 3, 2026
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️✨ (4.5/5)
The Anatomy of Magic by Alexis L. Menard completely pulled me into its world, and I loved every minute of it.
The back-and-forth between Nina and Max was everything I wanted. Their enemies-to-lovers dynamic is packed with delicious tension, and when they're forced to work together (very begrudgingly), the chemistry is undeniable. Watching those walls slowly come down and seeing them finally give in? I was obsessed.
I switched between reading the physical book and the audiobook, and I cannot recommend the audio enough. It's performed in duet narration, and Max's voice actor absolutely nailed his character.
One thing Alexis L. Menard does so well is creating worlds that feel completely unique. This one has such a gritty, modern steampunk vibe, and the magic system is fascinating. I especially loved learning more about Max and the other cursed characters—their backstories added so much depth to the story.
And that ending... excuse me?! I need the next book immediately because I refuse to be left heartbroken like this for long.
Overall, this was a 4.5-star read for me, and I'll be picking up book two the second it's in my hands.
Thank you so much to Second Sky and Alexis L. Menard for the early proof. It's every bit as stunning on the inside as it is on the outside. 💜
The Anatomy of Magic by Alexis L. Menard completely pulled me into its world, and I loved every minute of it.
The back-and-forth between Nina and Max was everything I wanted. Their enemies-to-lovers dynamic is packed with delicious tension, and when they're forced to work together (very begrudgingly), the chemistry is undeniable. Watching those walls slowly come down and seeing them finally give in? I was obsessed.
I switched between reading the physical book and the audiobook, and I cannot recommend the audio enough. It's performed in duet narration, and Max's voice actor absolutely nailed his character.
One thing Alexis L. Menard does so well is creating worlds that feel completely unique. This one has such a gritty, modern steampunk vibe, and the magic system is fascinating. I especially loved learning more about Max and the other cursed characters—their backstories added so much depth to the story.
And that ending... excuse me?! I need the next book immediately because I refuse to be left heartbroken like this for long.
Overall, this was a 4.5-star read for me, and I'll be picking up book two the second it's in my hands.
Thank you so much to Second Sky and Alexis L. Menard for the early proof. It's every bit as stunning on the inside as it is on the outside. 💜
July 6, 2026
Thank you NetGalley for my ALC and thank you Allurial for my special edition of The Anatomy of Magic!
3.5 rounded down to 3.
I wanted to love this story. The edition from Allurial was stunning and I loved the female narrator (Savannah Thomas) so much! The magic was enchanting and the first five or so chapters had me absolutely hooked! Unfortunately it feel apart for me from there. I loved learning about the surgeries and the body sales, the magic and the artifacts. I loved that it was science and code based magic! But I didn't love the character development. The characters felt pretty flat with singular motivations that remained unchanging... until all of a sudden they had changed? Like the main characters avoiding each other to suddenly professing their love. It just felt inorganic and the banter felt forced.
That being said, with the writing that Savannah Thomas had to work with, she knocked it out of the park! Sean Masters had a pretty good range of voices, but I just didn't love the voice for Max. It felt like a stereotypical brooding manly voice with the occasional growl. His abilities showed way more in side characters.
3.5 rounded down to 3.
I wanted to love this story. The edition from Allurial was stunning and I loved the female narrator (Savannah Thomas) so much! The magic was enchanting and the first five or so chapters had me absolutely hooked! Unfortunately it feel apart for me from there. I loved learning about the surgeries and the body sales, the magic and the artifacts. I loved that it was science and code based magic! But I didn't love the character development. The characters felt pretty flat with singular motivations that remained unchanging... until all of a sudden they had changed? Like the main characters avoiding each other to suddenly professing their love. It just felt inorganic and the banter felt forced.
That being said, with the writing that Savannah Thomas had to work with, she knocked it out of the park! Sean Masters had a pretty good range of voices, but I just didn't love the voice for Max. It felt like a stereotypical brooding manly voice with the occasional growl. His abilities showed way more in side characters.
August 7, 2026
One thing about Alexis’s books? They always feel like a breath of fresh air in the romantasy genre, they’re truly unique!
The first thing that struck me about this book was its intriguing premise. Our FMC Nina is a surgeon’s assistant who participates in a mysterious smuggling operation and occasionally steals enchanted relics from deceased patients. Nina secretly harbors a form of powerful, unknown magic, which she keeps hidden in order to keep a low profile. But when she is framed for a high-profile murder, Nina has no choice but to accept help from the city’s most notorious crime boss - the very man she recently stole a very powerful relic from.
Right off the bat, this book dives into a unique magic system based on bloodlines, the codes within those bloodlines, and imbued relics. The dark, gritty industrial setting coupled with the steampunk elements and underworld crime made this read so atmospheric. The plot was full of action and just enough mystery to keep you in suspense. The pacing was seamless and the reluctant allies to lovers dynamic lended itself to all the witty banter and tension. And if you love tortured characters, our MMC Max is the very definition of a tortured soul.
Overall I enjoyed this one SO MUCH and I definitely recommend, especially if you’re looking for something dark and eerie. There was an aspect of the plot that was very reminiscent of a famous gothic, horror story, but I won’t say which to avoid spoilers. Just go read it!!
Thank you so much to the author & publisher for an ARC of this one!
The first thing that struck me about this book was its intriguing premise. Our FMC Nina is a surgeon’s assistant who participates in a mysterious smuggling operation and occasionally steals enchanted relics from deceased patients. Nina secretly harbors a form of powerful, unknown magic, which she keeps hidden in order to keep a low profile. But when she is framed for a high-profile murder, Nina has no choice but to accept help from the city’s most notorious crime boss - the very man she recently stole a very powerful relic from.
Right off the bat, this book dives into a unique magic system based on bloodlines, the codes within those bloodlines, and imbued relics. The dark, gritty industrial setting coupled with the steampunk elements and underworld crime made this read so atmospheric. The plot was full of action and just enough mystery to keep you in suspense. The pacing was seamless and the reluctant allies to lovers dynamic lended itself to all the witty banter and tension. And if you love tortured characters, our MMC Max is the very definition of a tortured soul.
Overall I enjoyed this one SO MUCH and I definitely recommend, especially if you’re looking for something dark and eerie. There was an aspect of the plot that was very reminiscent of a famous gothic, horror story, but I won’t say which to avoid spoilers. Just go read it!!
Thank you so much to the author & publisher for an ARC of this one!
July 28, 2026
I had such a fun time with this one oh my god. A surgeon who also sells cadavers illicitly and has some unknown magical ability??? With a mysterious man who may or may not be in some sort of mafia situation??? OKAYYYYYYY
The pacing was great, the turns were exciting and the endinnnngggg?? GOD bring me a man who yearns I swear to god.
Alexis Menard can do no wrong and is officially an auto buy author for me.
Thank you so much to the publisher for the advance copy! This is out now!
The pacing was great, the turns were exciting and the endinnnngggg?? GOD bring me a man who yearns I swear to god.
Alexis Menard can do no wrong and is officially an auto buy author for me.
Thank you so much to the publisher for the advance copy! This is out now!
July 6, 2026
O M G ALEXIS L. MENARD - you did it again?!?! 6 stars!! Ok listen everyone, this is impeccably good romantasy AND it is absolutely unique - I’ve never read something like it and I adored every second of it! The gasps, the laughter, the shock, the anguish, the giggling - all there. Highly recommend this and am inconsolable that I have to wait for the sequel.
August 3, 2026
THE ENDING???? EXCUSE ME??? I need the next book.
I really liked the world building and magic system in this one. The connection to science and biology made it feel very unique to me! The plot kept me intrigued even during the slower parts of the story and the ending kept my jaw on the floor with all those twists and reveals. While I’m obsessed with the MMC (he gave off Xaden vibes), I didn’t love how the romance developed. There was a lot of potential there with how the two first meet but I was a little disappointed, I wanted more tension! Overall still a really great read.
Thank you to NetGalley, Second Sky/Forever, and Alexis Menard for an eARC of this book.
I really liked the world building and magic system in this one. The connection to science and biology made it feel very unique to me! The plot kept me intrigued even during the slower parts of the story and the ending kept my jaw on the floor with all those twists and reveals. While I’m obsessed with the MMC (he gave off Xaden vibes), I didn’t love how the romance developed. There was a lot of potential there with how the two first meet but I was a little disappointed, I wanted more tension! Overall still a really great read.
Thank you to NetGalley, Second Sky/Forever, and Alexis Menard for an eARC of this book.
July 6, 2026
4.25
April 2027??????
April 2027??????
July 13, 2026
Solid vibe read.
Read
July 3, 2026💫🔮 The Anatomy of Magic 🔮💫
📖 Bookish Thoughts
Full ARC Review to come!
🖤What to Expect
• Romantasy
• Forbidden Magic
• Slow Burn Romance
• Touch Her and Die
• Found Family
• Magic Academy
_ _ _ _
📅 Pub Date: June 30, 2026
Thank you to Bookouture Audio, Second Sky Books, and NetGalley for the advanced listening copy.
📖 Bookish Thoughts
Full ARC Review to come!
🖤What to Expect
• Romantasy
• Forbidden Magic
• Slow Burn Romance
• Touch Her and Die
• Found Family
• Magic Academy
_ _ _ _
📅 Pub Date: June 30, 2026
Thank you to Bookouture Audio, Second Sky Books, and NetGalley for the advanced listening copy.
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