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Daggermouth #1
Daggermouth
He Is Her Ruin. She Is His Rebellion.
The first thing you’ll learn in New Found Haven is mercy no longer exists. Showing mercy is a weakness, and weakness will get you killed.
The second thing is this—the Veyra are always watching. From the highest glass atrium in the Heart to the windowless slum dens of the Boundary, no movement goes unseen.
The last lesson is the hardest, but you must remember it.
Love outside of your ring is a death sentence.
The city is carved into rings of privilege and poverty, ruled by the masked elite who will do whatever it takes to hold onto power.
Obedience is demanded. Rebellion is crushed.
Greyson Serel has spent his life caught between two worlds. Publicly, he’s the flawless heir to the presidency. Privately, he’s entangled in secrets that could topple the regime. But when he’s forced into a political marriage meant to bind him tighter to the governments brutal laws, he finds himself shackled to a bride who is as lethal as she is unwilling.
Shadera is a mercenary raised to kill, not to wed. Yet when her bullet misses its mark, survival leaves her bound to the very man she was sent to eliminate. Trapped inside the corrupt heart of the city, she becomes both prisoner and wife, her every step watched, her every move tested.
Their union is no love story—It’s a battlefield. As secrets come to light and betrayals fester within the walls of power, Greyson and Shadera must decide between annihilating one another or burning the city to the ground together.
In a world where passion sparks rebellion and loyalty is paid for in blood, their forced bond may be the spark that ignites a revolution. Or the fire that consumes them both.
DAGGERMOUTH is an adult dystopian romance perfect for readers who love true enemies to lovers, The Hunger Games, marriage of inconvenience, The Handmaid's Tale, rise of the oppressed, and political intrigue that will keep you on the edge of your seat.
DAGGERMOUTH is book one of a duology.
The first thing you’ll learn in New Found Haven is mercy no longer exists. Showing mercy is a weakness, and weakness will get you killed.
The second thing is this—the Veyra are always watching. From the highest glass atrium in the Heart to the windowless slum dens of the Boundary, no movement goes unseen.
The last lesson is the hardest, but you must remember it.
Love outside of your ring is a death sentence.
The city is carved into rings of privilege and poverty, ruled by the masked elite who will do whatever it takes to hold onto power.
Obedience is demanded. Rebellion is crushed.
Greyson Serel has spent his life caught between two worlds. Publicly, he’s the flawless heir to the presidency. Privately, he’s entangled in secrets that could topple the regime. But when he’s forced into a political marriage meant to bind him tighter to the governments brutal laws, he finds himself shackled to a bride who is as lethal as she is unwilling.
Shadera is a mercenary raised to kill, not to wed. Yet when her bullet misses its mark, survival leaves her bound to the very man she was sent to eliminate. Trapped inside the corrupt heart of the city, she becomes both prisoner and wife, her every step watched, her every move tested.
Their union is no love story—It’s a battlefield. As secrets come to light and betrayals fester within the walls of power, Greyson and Shadera must decide between annihilating one another or burning the city to the ground together.
In a world where passion sparks rebellion and loyalty is paid for in blood, their forced bond may be the spark that ignites a revolution. Or the fire that consumes them both.
DAGGERMOUTH is an adult dystopian romance perfect for readers who love true enemies to lovers, The Hunger Games, marriage of inconvenience, The Handmaid's Tale, rise of the oppressed, and political intrigue that will keep you on the edge of your seat.
DAGGERMOUTH is book one of a duology.
564 pages, Paperback
First published December 5, 2025
1190 people are currently reading
11958 people want to read
About the author
H.M. Wolfe
4 books555 followersMy name is Hallah Mikaela Wolfe and I am a writer based in Central Florida.
I am excited to announce that my debut novel, The Book Of Cin, will be released on September 14th, 2024.
When I am not writing, I spend time with my amazing husband and our two furry babies.
All my life I have written stories.
Whether it's in the form of music, shorts or poetry, I have used writing as a way to express the things I never felt I could say. I have novel after unfinished novel tucked away in the corners of notebooks and hard drives that will never see the light of day.
But then, my sister reintroduced me to fantasy novels and something clicked. I was finally able to put my story onto the page in a way that I felt would do it justice.
My heart and soul are in the characters I write. They hurt, they grow and they heal with me.
My only hope is, when you close my books after that last word-you felt a little magic.
I am excited to announce that my debut novel, The Book Of Cin, will be released on September 14th, 2024.
When I am not writing, I spend time with my amazing husband and our two furry babies.
All my life I have written stories.
Whether it's in the form of music, shorts or poetry, I have used writing as a way to express the things I never felt I could say. I have novel after unfinished novel tucked away in the corners of notebooks and hard drives that will never see the light of day.
But then, my sister reintroduced me to fantasy novels and something clicked. I was finally able to put my story onto the page in a way that I felt would do it justice.
My heart and soul are in the characters I write. They hurt, they grow and they heal with me.
My only hope is, when you close my books after that last word-you felt a little magic.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 741 reviews
December 17, 2025
The comps say Handmaid’s Tale x V for Vendetta x Hunger Games with true enemies to lovers and a marriage of inconvenience. 🏃🏽♀️
This is how you do dystopian. Review coming soon.
This is how you do dystopian. Review coming soon.
December 19, 2025
’To the system that thought it could grind us down. That thought it could silence and erase us. We are the power. Our eyes are open.’
Okay yeah the hype is real because that was so good! AFTER THAT ENDING?! 4.5 ⭐️
This is dark dystopian romance with true enemies to lovers!! I had full body chills towards the end of this book, alongside every single plot twist throwing me into a spiral of ‘what the fucks’!
If you want to feel pure rage towards a system that has been setup to oppress and control anyone who doesn't fit into a 'ring of wealth' - to force women into submission, and in general want to feel nothing but loathing towards their ideals and the leaders at the head of it - you gotta pick this up!
Shadera & Greyson aren't a watered down version of enemies to lovers. They literally try to unalive each other on multiple occasions and have personal reasons to hate each other. Their dynamic was done so well with a forced marriage of inconvenience, slow burn, and a reluctance to form some sort of mutual ground. They are both morally grey and I LOVE that. Both layered with different forms of trauma and although they have different experiences from the world they live in, they still find themselves victims of the same harsh and cruel dictator.
Sahera is a strong FMC who isn't afraid to fight for a better world, for fairness and equality - a badass woman working her way through taking these trash ass men down, one by one. I support.
Greyson, oh my sweet, broody, grumpy and tortured man. A true morally grey mmc that you will fall for in an instant. I have emotional damage thinking about him.
The side characters are fleshed out so well and I LOVED the multi-pov. Each character is so well developed.
There is more than one romance plot to fall into and trust me when I say you’ll be weak. Friends to lovers, second chance my goddd, send help.
Callum Thane 😮💨 I am in love with this man.
Then Lira may be my favourite character. This woman has endured horrific things and still stands strong. I cried for her and I was in awe of her strength and resilience.
“I’m a woman in a system designed to grind us down into nothing, to strip us of our worth and dignity and rights. I’ve survived that system and it didn’t make me weak or submissive, it made me angry. So fucking angry that sometimes I can barely breathe through it.”
Overall this book not only screams feminine rage but as a reader you feel it too. I was beyond angry at the similarities this book showcases vs the real world we live in. The author did an incredible job on this front. I am literally ready to ride at dawn.
Welcome To The Revolution.
I will say there were times where I wasn't as invested - but never in a bad way. And as much as I loved Shadera and Greyson's relationship, I do wish we had a few more moments for them to develop together romantically, so we could have had a bit more depth. However I’m so confident we will get more from book 2!
These are my only reasons for not having that 5 star feeling but honestly, no complaints at all - just observations from my personal perspective. Honestly this was a solid 4 star read for me but the ending really ramped everything up! I had to bump my rating up.
So yeah, that ending HAS ME SPRIALING. THAT IS NOT WHAT I WAS EXPECTING AT ALL. This is a book where you turn to last page in shock and then see ‘acknowledgments’ - NO. I will stand firm on my choice to remain delulu until book 2. I must protect my peace from that emotional devastation I just endured.
“Beautiful things are often built on ugly foundations.”
______________
pre-read: the way everyone is screaming about this book… let me get in on that action 🕺🏼dark dystopian fantasy with feminine rage? Hell yah.
Okay yeah the hype is real because that was so good! AFTER THAT ENDING?! 4.5 ⭐️
This is dark dystopian romance with true enemies to lovers!! I had full body chills towards the end of this book, alongside every single plot twist throwing me into a spiral of ‘what the fucks’!
If you want to feel pure rage towards a system that has been setup to oppress and control anyone who doesn't fit into a 'ring of wealth' - to force women into submission, and in general want to feel nothing but loathing towards their ideals and the leaders at the head of it - you gotta pick this up!
Shadera & Greyson aren't a watered down version of enemies to lovers. They literally try to unalive each other on multiple occasions and have personal reasons to hate each other. Their dynamic was done so well with a forced marriage of inconvenience, slow burn, and a reluctance to form some sort of mutual ground. They are both morally grey and I LOVE that. Both layered with different forms of trauma and although they have different experiences from the world they live in, they still find themselves victims of the same harsh and cruel dictator.
Sahera is a strong FMC who isn't afraid to fight for a better world, for fairness and equality - a badass woman working her way through taking these trash ass men down, one by one. I support.
Greyson, oh my sweet, broody, grumpy and tortured man. A true morally grey mmc that you will fall for in an instant. I have emotional damage thinking about him.
The side characters are fleshed out so well and I LOVED the multi-pov. Each character is so well developed.
There is more than one romance plot to fall into and trust me when I say you’ll be weak. Friends to lovers, second chance my goddd, send help.
Callum Thane 😮💨 I am in love with this man.
Then Lira may be my favourite character. This woman has endured horrific things and still stands strong. I cried for her and I was in awe of her strength and resilience.
“I’m a woman in a system designed to grind us down into nothing, to strip us of our worth and dignity and rights. I’ve survived that system and it didn’t make me weak or submissive, it made me angry. So fucking angry that sometimes I can barely breathe through it.”
Overall this book not only screams feminine rage but as a reader you feel it too. I was beyond angry at the similarities this book showcases vs the real world we live in. The author did an incredible job on this front. I am literally ready to ride at dawn.
Welcome To The Revolution.
I will say there were times where I wasn't as invested - but never in a bad way. And as much as I loved Shadera and Greyson's relationship, I do wish we had a few more moments for them to develop together romantically, so we could have had a bit more depth. However I’m so confident we will get more from book 2!
These are my only reasons for not having that 5 star feeling but honestly, no complaints at all - just observations from my personal perspective. Honestly this was a solid 4 star read for me but the ending really ramped everything up! I had to bump my rating up.
So yeah, that ending HAS ME SPRIALING. THAT IS NOT WHAT I WAS EXPECTING AT ALL. This is a book where you turn to last page in shock and then see ‘acknowledgments’ - NO. I will stand firm on my choice to remain delulu until book 2. I must protect my peace from that emotional devastation I just endured.
“Beautiful things are often built on ugly foundations.”
______________
pre-read: the way everyone is screaming about this book… let me get in on that action 🕺🏼dark dystopian fantasy with feminine rage? Hell yah.
November 14, 2025
Have you ever read a book that felt less like escaping into another world and more like walking deeper into the one you already carry inside you?
That’s what Daggermouth was for me.
I wasn’t fully prepared for how much this story would sit with me. Wolfe didn’t just build a world. She built a system: layered, oppressive, meticulous in the way it shapes, limits, and erases. And the unsettling part? How familiar that architecture felt.
There’s a kind of harm that doesn’t shout. It whispers. It organizes itself into rules, into borders, into expectations about who is allowed to breathe freely and who must move through life in fragments. Reading this book felt like watching those invisible forces move — the ones that wound without ever raising their voice.
Yet within all of that, the characters became a kind of resistance.
I adored every single one of them — not because they were perfect, but because they were trying. Yearning in the dark. Holding loyalty like a lifeline. Choosing each other in a world designed to keep them apart. The Boundary wasn’t just a place; it was a family stitched together through defiance, through tenderness, through the kind of love that grows strongest under pressure.
And yes — there is love here.
Not loud, not sweeping, but present in gestures, in glances, in the ways the characters hold one another up. It blooms quietly amid the heaviness, a soft pulse that reminds you even the smallest tenderness can resist a crushing system.
Some scenes brushed against memories I didn’t expect to feel. Not because Daggermouth mirrors my reality exactly, but because certain forms of power — and the harm it enacts — speak a shared language. Borders, walls, surveillance, the myth of “order,” the cost of being seen as other… those echoes lingered. As a Palestinian reader, that resonance settles differently in me: personal, not universal. But it’s there, humming beneath the story like a second heartbeat.
Daggermouth is heavy, yes — but it’s also alive with warmth, connection, and the slow, quiet assertion of humanity in a place determined to suppress it. It reminded me that even under the shadow of systems that take and take and take, people still find ways to give to one another. And that is its own kind of rebellion.
Huge thank you to H.M. Wolfe for trusting me with this ARC.
For writing something so heavy and so honest.
For giving voice to characters who refuse to break quietly.
For crafting a world that feels imagined and familiar all at once.
If you made it this far in my word-vomit:
please, please, PLEASE read this book when it comes out on December 5th.
Let it sit with you.
Let it challenge you.
Let it remind you of the ways resistance, love, and survival intertwine.
I’ll be thinking about this story — and these characters — for a long time.
That’s what Daggermouth was for me.
I wasn’t fully prepared for how much this story would sit with me. Wolfe didn’t just build a world. She built a system: layered, oppressive, meticulous in the way it shapes, limits, and erases. And the unsettling part? How familiar that architecture felt.
There’s a kind of harm that doesn’t shout. It whispers. It organizes itself into rules, into borders, into expectations about who is allowed to breathe freely and who must move through life in fragments. Reading this book felt like watching those invisible forces move — the ones that wound without ever raising their voice.
Yet within all of that, the characters became a kind of resistance.
I adored every single one of them — not because they were perfect, but because they were trying. Yearning in the dark. Holding loyalty like a lifeline. Choosing each other in a world designed to keep them apart. The Boundary wasn’t just a place; it was a family stitched together through defiance, through tenderness, through the kind of love that grows strongest under pressure.
And yes — there is love here.
Not loud, not sweeping, but present in gestures, in glances, in the ways the characters hold one another up. It blooms quietly amid the heaviness, a soft pulse that reminds you even the smallest tenderness can resist a crushing system.
Some scenes brushed against memories I didn’t expect to feel. Not because Daggermouth mirrors my reality exactly, but because certain forms of power — and the harm it enacts — speak a shared language. Borders, walls, surveillance, the myth of “order,” the cost of being seen as other… those echoes lingered. As a Palestinian reader, that resonance settles differently in me: personal, not universal. But it’s there, humming beneath the story like a second heartbeat.
Daggermouth is heavy, yes — but it’s also alive with warmth, connection, and the slow, quiet assertion of humanity in a place determined to suppress it. It reminded me that even under the shadow of systems that take and take and take, people still find ways to give to one another. And that is its own kind of rebellion.
Huge thank you to H.M. Wolfe for trusting me with this ARC.
For writing something so heavy and so honest.
For giving voice to characters who refuse to break quietly.
For crafting a world that feels imagined and familiar all at once.
If you made it this far in my word-vomit:
please, please, PLEASE read this book when it comes out on December 5th.
Let it sit with you.
Let it challenge you.
Let it remind you of the ways resistance, love, and survival intertwine.
I’ll be thinking about this story — and these characters — for a long time.
Want to read
December 11, 2025Everything about this book sounds incredible and after seeing the reviews I need it in my hands IMMEDIATELY
December 30, 2025
This will be a movie one day!
Genre: Distopian Romance
⭐️ 5/5
🌶 2/5
🧠 5/10
Cliffhanger: 10/10
Noteworthy: Book 1 of an incomplete duology. Multi 3rd person limited POV (occasionally slips into omniscient). Check content warnings specifically for violence and DV. Available on KU. Recently picked up for trad publication.
This is instantly a top contender for book of the year for me. I had to let myself sit on this review to make sure I wasn't just reacting to the adrenaline in my system after the last act. That cliffy is crazy. H.M. Wolfe puts on a masterclass here with plot twists. We are also blessed/cursed with a top-tier villain in this book. Maximus will piss you off and have you paranoid as hell. He's perfectly written!
We get multiple POVs in 3rd person putting us deeper into the story. The weaving and gentle manipulation used by the author to set the stage for the last few chapters will make it so hard to put this book down after the 80% mark. Be prepared to sacrifice sleep and responsibilities. The characters range from morally gray to black and while most are clever, there are some standouts. As per usual in a distopian story, the caste system is brutal. This one does give The Hunger Games vibes with the main antagonist and protagonist. The manipulative oppressor vs the reluctant symbol for the rebellion, yeah it stands out here. But at no point does it feel like a copycat. Systematic oppression is a tale as old as time but the writing here gives it a fresh take. It's high tech with speak easy vibes.
Gah...I know I'm yapping but I typed all this out to say you have to read this book! Dystopian is back, baby and I, for one couldn't be happier about it.
Genre: Distopian Romance
⭐️ 5/5
🌶 2/5
🧠 5/10
Cliffhanger: 10/10
Noteworthy: Book 1 of an incomplete duology. Multi 3rd person limited POV (occasionally slips into omniscient). Check content warnings specifically for violence and DV. Available on KU. Recently picked up for trad publication.
This is instantly a top contender for book of the year for me. I had to let myself sit on this review to make sure I wasn't just reacting to the adrenaline in my system after the last act. That cliffy is crazy. H.M. Wolfe puts on a masterclass here with plot twists. We are also blessed/cursed with a top-tier villain in this book. Maximus will piss you off and have you paranoid as hell. He's perfectly written!
We get multiple POVs in 3rd person putting us deeper into the story. The weaving and gentle manipulation used by the author to set the stage for the last few chapters will make it so hard to put this book down after the 80% mark. Be prepared to sacrifice sleep and responsibilities. The characters range from morally gray to black and while most are clever, there are some standouts. As per usual in a distopian story, the caste system is brutal. This one does give The Hunger Games vibes with the main antagonist and protagonist. The manipulative oppressor vs the reluctant symbol for the rebellion, yeah it stands out here. But at no point does it feel like a copycat. Systematic oppression is a tale as old as time but the writing here gives it a fresh take. It's high tech with speak easy vibes.
Gah...I know I'm yapping but I typed all this out to say you have to read this book! Dystopian is back, baby and I, for one couldn't be happier about it.
November 25, 2025
Well fuck me sideways. This is one of those reads that provides 🚨emotional damage🚨 in an alluring arrangement. You won’t see all of these twists coming and if you do, you’re lying.
The duality between the city limits-based rings in focus (The Boundary and The Heart), where one is inhabited by the lower class and the other by the elite social class, is devastating in and of itself. It’s a hauntingly apt projection of Amerikkka’s current state between the majority and the 1%.
These characters are so well written that even I, a critical Virgo who can find fault in anything, was unable to find any irritating aspects. They all ✨make sense✨ in their behavioral tendencies; all of their responses and decisions add up when weighed against their backgrounds and temperaments. If you’re someone who head-tilts when a character acts out-of-character like I am, you’ll be safe from a lack of logic in this book. Everything/everyone makes sense and adds up beautifully.
Alexa: define “witty banter”.
Their dialogue is top tier and punchy, while always moving the story or character development and their evolving dynamics forward.
Lastly, I wish I could say I wasn’t surprised, but the H. M. Wolfe-notorious *shit is hitting the fan* last few chapters still got my ass. Had me staring off into blurry space, actively trying to suck the tears back up by the end of this. I get emotional from stories where women acknowledge their power and choose to weaponize it—Daggermouth and its characters had me sobbing for this (and another, classified) reason.
10/10
The duality between the city limits-based rings in focus (The Boundary and The Heart), where one is inhabited by the lower class and the other by the elite social class, is devastating in and of itself. It’s a hauntingly apt projection of Amerikkka’s current state between the majority and the 1%.
These characters are so well written that even I, a critical Virgo who can find fault in anything, was unable to find any irritating aspects. They all ✨make sense✨ in their behavioral tendencies; all of their responses and decisions add up when weighed against their backgrounds and temperaments. If you’re someone who head-tilts when a character acts out-of-character like I am, you’ll be safe from a lack of logic in this book. Everything/everyone makes sense and adds up beautifully.
Alexa: define “witty banter”.
Their dialogue is top tier and punchy, while always moving the story or character development and their evolving dynamics forward.
Lastly, I wish I could say I wasn’t surprised, but the H. M. Wolfe-notorious *shit is hitting the fan* last few chapters still got my ass. Had me staring off into blurry space, actively trying to suck the tears back up by the end of this. I get emotional from stories where women acknowledge their power and choose to weaponize it—Daggermouth and its characters had me sobbing for this (and another, classified) reason.
10/10
did-not-finish
December 13, 2025DNF’d at 44%.
While the concept of Daggermouth intrigued me so much, the execution simply was not my favorite. I think H. M. Wolfe’s writing style might not be for me after all. I read her debut and it was just okay to me, but a lot of issues I had with it I also have with Daggermouth. I maintain the unique position that I haven’t read the comp titles that this book is compared to in the same way I hadn’t read the comp titles for her debut, so I feel like I was able to engage with an open mind and a palette ready to be filled with colors. I think if you’re a fan of The Hunger Games and The Handmaid’s Tale you might enjoy this quite a bit; from what I’ve seen in other reviews, a lot people who’ve read and/or watched both really love Daggermouth!
The heavy leaning on similes as well as the stilted dialogue took me out of the story so many times. I feel like there’s a fine line between prose for prose’s sake and prose that serves the narrative; this fell on the side of purple prose for me. I’m not someone who shies away from purple prose to be honest, but a number of things also didn’t work for me, so I started feeling detached and frankly bored.
Shadera, the FMC, was basically that SpongeBob character Fred who’s all battered and bandaged with how many beatings she took, but there wasn’t much in the way of treating the wounds or addressing the high likelihood of head trauma. I get that she’s a badass—and this is a dystopian book so maybe things like blunt force trauma can’t keep a bad bitch down—but the world building didn’t support a lack of medical care. The way the characters engaged with one another didn’t feel natural, and I couldn’t connect with Shadera, Greyson, or the other side characters that also had POVs throughout the story. I didn’t even get to the good stuff as it pertains to the love stories, but I didn’t feel drawn in enough to wait around for things to get there. Ultimately there were too many things that didn’t gel with me as a reader that I wish I was able to overlook because I so badly wanted to be on the Daggermouth train with everyone else—it just didn’t work for me!
Speaking of world building, the concept was very fascinating: an inner “heart” of elite people controlling the outer rings—humming with rebellion—via public executions for ultimately minor infractions. The world is completely under control of one egomaniac—sound familiar? I *loved* that aspect of this! The parallel to modern day politics in America and the potential of what can happen if power remains unchecked is a very important tale to tell. The family dynamic of this powerful man was also executed well in that each member of the family had their own ambitions but they were also engaging in silent rebellion against the president.
Overall, I wish more had gone into fleshing out some of the more interesting aspects, such as the origination of the executions and the escalating violence by the heart (perhaps these questions are answered in parts of the book I didn’t get to, or will be resolved in the conclusion of this duology). Since the reader does get to journey with Shadera, I wish that I was able to see her vulnerability beyond her reluctant attraction to Greyson so that I could connect with her better. I accept that if I had just kept reading I might have had resolutions for many of my issues, but it’s December, I’ve had a so-so reading month so far, and I couldn’t force it for a book of this length.
Thank you to the author for sending me an ARC!
While the concept of Daggermouth intrigued me so much, the execution simply was not my favorite. I think H. M. Wolfe’s writing style might not be for me after all. I read her debut and it was just okay to me, but a lot of issues I had with it I also have with Daggermouth. I maintain the unique position that I haven’t read the comp titles that this book is compared to in the same way I hadn’t read the comp titles for her debut, so I feel like I was able to engage with an open mind and a palette ready to be filled with colors. I think if you’re a fan of The Hunger Games and The Handmaid’s Tale you might enjoy this quite a bit; from what I’ve seen in other reviews, a lot people who’ve read and/or watched both really love Daggermouth!
The heavy leaning on similes as well as the stilted dialogue took me out of the story so many times. I feel like there’s a fine line between prose for prose’s sake and prose that serves the narrative; this fell on the side of purple prose for me. I’m not someone who shies away from purple prose to be honest, but a number of things also didn’t work for me, so I started feeling detached and frankly bored.
Shadera, the FMC, was basically that SpongeBob character Fred who’s all battered and bandaged with how many beatings she took, but there wasn’t much in the way of treating the wounds or addressing the high likelihood of head trauma. I get that she’s a badass—and this is a dystopian book so maybe things like blunt force trauma can’t keep a bad bitch down—but the world building didn’t support a lack of medical care. The way the characters engaged with one another didn’t feel natural, and I couldn’t connect with Shadera, Greyson, or the other side characters that also had POVs throughout the story. I didn’t even get to the good stuff as it pertains to the love stories, but I didn’t feel drawn in enough to wait around for things to get there. Ultimately there were too many things that didn’t gel with me as a reader that I wish I was able to overlook because I so badly wanted to be on the Daggermouth train with everyone else—it just didn’t work for me!
Speaking of world building, the concept was very fascinating: an inner “heart” of elite people controlling the outer rings—humming with rebellion—via public executions for ultimately minor infractions. The world is completely under control of one egomaniac—sound familiar? I *loved* that aspect of this! The parallel to modern day politics in America and the potential of what can happen if power remains unchecked is a very important tale to tell. The family dynamic of this powerful man was also executed well in that each member of the family had their own ambitions but they were also engaging in silent rebellion against the president.
Overall, I wish more had gone into fleshing out some of the more interesting aspects, such as the origination of the executions and the escalating violence by the heart (perhaps these questions are answered in parts of the book I didn’t get to, or will be resolved in the conclusion of this duology). Since the reader does get to journey with Shadera, I wish that I was able to see her vulnerability beyond her reluctant attraction to Greyson so that I could connect with her better. I accept that if I had just kept reading I might have had resolutions for many of my issues, but it’s December, I’ve had a so-so reading month so far, and I couldn’t force it for a book of this length.
Thank you to the author for sending me an ARC!
December 28, 2025
Reading DAGGERMOUTH made me feel like it was 2010 again and I was clutching my little statement necklace while reading THE HUNGER GAMES for the first time. This book is a master class in character building and complex Machiavellian type politics in dystopian structures that serve as chilling allegories for modern-day oppressions.
I loved Shadera and Greyson. She's a cold-blooded mercenary and he's the scion of a brutal tyrant. The central conflict of this book is that they are forced to marry to save the dictatorship's face and cement its optics of power, but oops, they actually both want to kill each other even though they're both hot and have the same kinks so they also want to bang each other, as well. The relationship is slow-burn and done so, so well. I never really found myself questioning any of their decisions or reactions because they both felt so real.
And unlike some romances, where the focus is totally on the main couple (which is okay!), Wolfe spent just as much time developing her side characters in interesting ways, including a secondary romance between the hero's sister, Lira, and a gambling den owner named Callum. And yes, I was just as invested in this relationship as I was in the main relationship, and yes, it did put me in my feelings.
I can see why this book has so much hype circling around it. The hype was what sold me on the book but the execution was what kept me reading (literally and figuratively). There's too many people to thank for recommending this to me, but I DO think you should all have to do a crowd-sourced Venmo to pay me for the therapy bills I'm going to rack up after that ending.
4.5 stars
I loved Shadera and Greyson. She's a cold-blooded mercenary and he's the scion of a brutal tyrant. The central conflict of this book is that they are forced to marry to save the dictatorship's face and cement its optics of power, but oops, they actually both want to kill each other even though they're both hot and have the same kinks so they also want to bang each other, as well. The relationship is slow-burn and done so, so well. I never really found myself questioning any of their decisions or reactions because they both felt so real.
And unlike some romances, where the focus is totally on the main couple (which is okay!), Wolfe spent just as much time developing her side characters in interesting ways, including a secondary romance between the hero's sister, Lira, and a gambling den owner named Callum. And yes, I was just as invested in this relationship as I was in the main relationship, and yes, it did put me in my feelings.
I can see why this book has so much hype circling around it. The hype was what sold me on the book but the execution was what kept me reading (literally and figuratively). There's too many people to thank for recommending this to me, but I DO think you should all have to do a crowd-sourced Venmo to pay me for the therapy bills I'm going to rack up after that ending.
4.5 stars
December 4, 2025
4.5 ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️✨ hi so I am UPSET. & I would thank the author for the ARC but I’m currently mad at her for that soooo where do I go now? 😆😭 okay but for real let’s get into this
PLOT
Shadera is the top assassin in the guild & she has accepted a contract to take down the President’s Executioner. She despises them both, the president & the Executioner, his son turned weapon because they built & maintain a world where only the masked elite prosper in the inter rings of society. The poor barely scrape by under the immeasurable weight of constant surveillance, resource hoarding, & criminalization of every little thing in the outer rings, & Shadera wants to end it. But when she takes the job, something goes wrong & she discovers the players on the board aren’t all as she once thought. This book has:
- dystopian setting
- themes of patriarchy, class warfare, rebellion, propaganda
- multi POV, 3rd person
- multiple romances & slow burns & a potential love triangle??
- med spice (reallllly good)
- check your triggers
PROS
- I reaaaaaally liked all the perspectives we got. I am a huge fan of multi-POV & think it made so much sense here.
- The author writes the shit out of these characters. I loved every one of them (except the ones I was supposed to hate which I FUCKING DID). Like, I love everyone which makes some plots hard?? Shade & Grey are our mains but Lira!? Callum?! Ghost?! GAHHHHH!
- I didn’t go into this knowing there were multiple romances & honestly while the main one is solid the side one? Omg I love them.
- I am always so pleased when a strong, badass, traumatized af FMC isn’t written in a way where her stubbornness isn’t half the conflict. & our girl Shade is written really well & I love her. She seems mean & heartless, especially to start, but she’s careful. She’s cold & calculating but not blind to the circumstances around her & absorbs stuff like a sponge & I really appreciated that about her over time. Is she perfect? No, she def made her mistakes. But they made sense & weren’t, for the most part, just plot fodder.
- Greyson was also so well explored. He was so nuanced & I really appreciated the time taken with him. I really really love him.
- I fucking HATE the president. Like holy shit. He’s evil, & how he enacts his evil was horrific. & when you can make me loathe someone so entirely, kudos to you author.
- This was just solid dystopia. The brutality of this world was extremely well explored & how it looks different thought different eyes in different rings.
- Some SOLID twists! I love being surprised!
- SOMETHING REALLY HURT MY FEELINGS & I AM VERY UPSET ABOUT IT.
CONS
- There were just a couple things that to me didn’t make overall sense given what we know about story/characters. One of them being sort of a really big *thing* that maybe wasn’t explored enough. That’s what took half a star in the rating. More details in spoilers.
I NEED BOOK 2 STAT. Can’t wait for it!
⚠️ SPOILERS ⚠️
K BYEEEE
PLOT
Shadera is the top assassin in the guild & she has accepted a contract to take down the President’s Executioner. She despises them both, the president & the Executioner, his son turned weapon because they built & maintain a world where only the masked elite prosper in the inter rings of society. The poor barely scrape by under the immeasurable weight of constant surveillance, resource hoarding, & criminalization of every little thing in the outer rings, & Shadera wants to end it. But when she takes the job, something goes wrong & she discovers the players on the board aren’t all as she once thought. This book has:
- dystopian setting
- themes of patriarchy, class warfare, rebellion, propaganda
- multi POV, 3rd person
- multiple romances & slow burns & a potential love triangle??
- med spice (reallllly good)
- check your triggers
PROS
- I reaaaaaally liked all the perspectives we got. I am a huge fan of multi-POV & think it made so much sense here.
- The author writes the shit out of these characters. I loved every one of them (except the ones I was supposed to hate which I FUCKING DID). Like, I love everyone which makes some plots hard?? Shade & Grey are our mains but Lira!? Callum?! Ghost?! GAHHHHH!
- I didn’t go into this knowing there were multiple romances & honestly while the main one is solid the side one? Omg I love them.
- I am always so pleased when a strong, badass, traumatized af FMC isn’t written in a way where her stubbornness isn’t half the conflict. & our girl Shade is written really well & I love her. She seems mean & heartless, especially to start, but she’s careful. She’s cold & calculating but not blind to the circumstances around her & absorbs stuff like a sponge & I really appreciated that about her over time. Is she perfect? No, she def made her mistakes. But they made sense & weren’t, for the most part, just plot fodder.
- Greyson was also so well explored. He was so nuanced & I really appreciated the time taken with him. I really really love him.
- I fucking HATE the president. Like holy shit. He’s evil, & how he enacts his evil was horrific. & when you can make me loathe someone so entirely, kudos to you author.
- This was just solid dystopia. The brutality of this world was extremely well explored & how it looks different thought different eyes in different rings.
- Some SOLID twists! I love being surprised!
- SOMETHING REALLY HURT MY FEELINGS & I AM VERY UPSET ABOUT IT.
CONS
- There were just a couple things that to me didn’t make overall sense given what we know about story/characters. One of them being sort of a really big *thing* that maybe wasn’t explored enough. That’s what took half a star in the rating. More details in spoilers.
I NEED BOOK 2 STAT. Can’t wait for it!
⚠️ SPOILERS ⚠️
K BYEEEE
December 24, 2025
(4.5/5) H.M. Wolfe never disappoints. The early reader hype around this book was insane and had me super excited to dive in, and I gobbled it up.
🗡️ Dark dystopian romance
🗡️ 3rd person, multi POV
🗡️ TRUE enemies to lovers
🗡️ Arranged marriage
🗡️ Corrupt government
🗡️ Female rage
Spice rating: 🌶🌶
The dystopia in this book is highly disturbing, which is when you know it's done well because it's believable. There are a lot of layers to this world H.M. Wolfe has crafted, and I was sucked in from page 1.
Shadera is THAT girl and embodies feminine rage. I like the complexities of her character; given her trauamtic past and circumstances, I would've expected her to have been more steadfast in her ways and beliefs, but I love how she remained open minded. Her humanity really bleeds through at the right moments, which had me rooting for her character the entire book.
I didn't expect to love Greyson as much as I did given that he's the executioner. It took me a while to warm up to him, but seeing his trauma and upbringing made me better understand him. I appreciate the way H.M. Wolfe chose to develop his character and mirror it with Shadera.
Reason I didn't give this the full 5 stars is there were some moments I didn't feel were entireeellyyy believable, especially at the end. I want to avoid spoilers, but ultimately I wouldn't have expected those events to unfold the way they did. So much was hinged on certain characters behaving a certain way that I didn't feel would've been the choice given that the characters are so calculated.
This book had me sobbing at multiple moments, so I'm going to need book 2 right now. Please.
🗡️ Dark dystopian romance
🗡️ 3rd person, multi POV
🗡️ TRUE enemies to lovers
🗡️ Arranged marriage
🗡️ Corrupt government
🗡️ Female rage
Spice rating: 🌶🌶
The dystopia in this book is highly disturbing, which is when you know it's done well because it's believable. There are a lot of layers to this world H.M. Wolfe has crafted, and I was sucked in from page 1.
Shadera is THAT girl and embodies feminine rage. I like the complexities of her character; given her trauamtic past and circumstances, I would've expected her to have been more steadfast in her ways and beliefs, but I love how she remained open minded. Her humanity really bleeds through at the right moments, which had me rooting for her character the entire book.
I didn't expect to love Greyson as much as I did given that he's the executioner. It took me a while to warm up to him, but seeing his trauma and upbringing made me better understand him. I appreciate the way H.M. Wolfe chose to develop his character and mirror it with Shadera.
Reason I didn't give this the full 5 stars is there were some moments I didn't feel were entireeellyyy believable, especially at the end. I want to avoid spoilers, but ultimately I wouldn't have expected those events to unfold the way they did. So much was hinged on certain characters behaving a certain way that I didn't feel would've been the choice given that the characters are so calculated.
This book had me sobbing at multiple moments, so I'm going to need book 2 right now. Please.
December 10, 2025
ABSOLUTELY FUCKING FLOORED.
I’M GOING TO NEED EVERYONE TO DROP THEIR TBR AND PICK THIS UP. IMMEDIATELY.
This book? THIS FUCKING BOOK. It’s the last month of the year and this is the best book I’ve read all year. This is undoubtably my top read of 2025 - this is god tier to me.
I went into Daggermouth completely blind and have never read anything from this author before. I did not expect to be completely ruined by this book, AT ALL. And I was. This ruined me SO BAD.
I haven’t been this captivated or sucked into a world like this in ages. This is dark and gritty as hell, and it’s one of the things I appreciated most about it. Nothing is shied away from or dulled down, and I’m so glad it wasn’t. The worst part is how much this mirrors the world we live in today…This is a story that needed to be told exactly as it was.
This cast of characters is so nuanced, flawed, and morally gray - I loved every single one to death. I truly didn’t know who to love or trust or hate, and I absolutely adored that. I don’t want to say anything specific about anyone because it’s best to go into this knowing as little as possible. The plot twists gave me whiplash in the best way, and I swear I didn’t breathe while reading - I was on the edge of my seat throughout this entire book from start to finish.
I cannot think about the ending without crying. The last 25% of this book????? I was literally shaking the entire time. I SCREAMED when I read the last page (IYKYK). I’ll be thinking about this book constantly and cannot wait to reread.
I know book 2 is coming out in late 2026, but it physically PAINS ME that there’s no official release date yet 😩😩😩😩 I will be desperately counting down the seconds until I get it in my hands.
I’M GOING TO NEED EVERYONE TO DROP THEIR TBR AND PICK THIS UP. IMMEDIATELY.
This book? THIS FUCKING BOOK. It’s the last month of the year and this is the best book I’ve read all year. This is undoubtably my top read of 2025 - this is god tier to me.
I went into Daggermouth completely blind and have never read anything from this author before. I did not expect to be completely ruined by this book, AT ALL. And I was. This ruined me SO BAD.
I haven’t been this captivated or sucked into a world like this in ages. This is dark and gritty as hell, and it’s one of the things I appreciated most about it. Nothing is shied away from or dulled down, and I’m so glad it wasn’t. The worst part is how much this mirrors the world we live in today…This is a story that needed to be told exactly as it was.
This cast of characters is so nuanced, flawed, and morally gray - I loved every single one to death. I truly didn’t know who to love or trust or hate, and I absolutely adored that. I don’t want to say anything specific about anyone because it’s best to go into this knowing as little as possible. The plot twists gave me whiplash in the best way, and I swear I didn’t breathe while reading - I was on the edge of my seat throughout this entire book from start to finish.
I cannot think about the ending without crying. The last 25% of this book????? I was literally shaking the entire time. I SCREAMED when I read the last page (IYKYK). I’ll be thinking about this book constantly and cannot wait to reread.
I know book 2 is coming out in late 2026, but it physically PAINS ME that there’s no official release date yet 😩😩😩😩 I will be desperately counting down the seconds until I get it in my hands.
December 14, 2025
THIS BOOK HAD ME GAGGED WTF
I’ll compile actual thoughts soon but wHAT
I’ll compile actual thoughts soon but wHAT
December 16, 2025
HOLY SHIT!!!!! this is what you call a dark dystopian romance!!!! I don’t even have the words to describe the rollercoaster of a journey i’ve just been on reading this book I couldn’t put it down I was hooked from the first page.
please read the trigger warnings for this one as the violence in it is very graphic.
we have our assassin fmc shadera who’s contracted to kill grayson, the president’s son who is also known as the executioner. this doesn’t go to plan which ends up in a forced political marriage and they begin to realise that the real enemies are not each other. ALSO both mmc and fmc are in their 30s?! YES!!!!!
the writing in this was incredible, it genuinely felt like I was reading a movie in my brain because of how descriptive it was I could picture everything. the pacing was absolutely perfect too.
we get multi povs which I loved as it allowed us to see what’s happening from everyone’s perspective.
I absolutely love the side characters, actually no they deserve more than being called side characters because they are all vital to the story.
I am so down bad for callum thane it’s actually not normal. he is BOOK HUSBAND. jameson vine also? 10/10. ladies we’re being fed with broody, tortured, protective male characters in this one!!! which is just what we need when we’re faced with the worst kind of males in this book (i’m looking at you maximus you deserve to rot in hell)
lira is also a force to be reckoned with what a bad b!!!!! this book screams feminine rage and I loved every single second. awful men getting what they deserve yes pls 🙂↕️🙂↕️🙂↕️🙂↕️
I don’t think I even breathed for the last 10%. there was a plot twist that I saw coming but then somehow more plot twists came that I didn’t see coming so yep I got whiplash. AND THE ENDING?! h.m wolfe im sending you my therapy bill!!!!!
READ THIS NOW.
please read the trigger warnings for this one as the violence in it is very graphic.
we have our assassin fmc shadera who’s contracted to kill grayson, the president’s son who is also known as the executioner. this doesn’t go to plan which ends up in a forced political marriage and they begin to realise that the real enemies are not each other. ALSO both mmc and fmc are in their 30s?! YES!!!!!
the writing in this was incredible, it genuinely felt like I was reading a movie in my brain because of how descriptive it was I could picture everything. the pacing was absolutely perfect too.
we get multi povs which I loved as it allowed us to see what’s happening from everyone’s perspective.
I absolutely love the side characters, actually no they deserve more than being called side characters because they are all vital to the story.
I am so down bad for callum thane it’s actually not normal. he is BOOK HUSBAND. jameson vine also? 10/10. ladies we’re being fed with broody, tortured, protective male characters in this one!!! which is just what we need when we’re faced with the worst kind of males in this book (i’m looking at you maximus you deserve to rot in hell)
lira is also a force to be reckoned with what a bad b!!!!! this book screams feminine rage and I loved every single second. awful men getting what they deserve yes pls 🙂↕️🙂↕️🙂↕️🙂↕️
I don’t think I even breathed for the last 10%. there was a plot twist that I saw coming but then somehow more plot twists came that I didn’t see coming so yep I got whiplash. AND THE ENDING?! h.m wolfe im sending you my therapy bill!!!!!
READ THIS NOW.
December 12, 2025
O M G ❤️🔥🔥😮💨 WOW, dieses Buch hat einfach alles was ich in einem guten Buch brauche. Richtiges Enemies to Lovers, mehrere POVs, Rebellion, Systemsturz, starke FMCs, morally grey characters und grandioses ✨ female rage✨. Könnte ewig so weitermachen. Einfach unfassbar gut, werde noch lange daran denken und könnte bisschen weinen, dass es bestimmt noch ewig dauert bis Teil 2 rauskommt. Die letzten 150 Seiten waren miiieeees!! Hab mich mehrmals richtig erschrocken, es sind Sachen passiert mit denen ich 0 gerechnet habe und das Buch ist auch echt heavy Leute, nichts für schwache Nerven. Krass. Am Ende des Jahres noch so ein Highlight, ich liebs doch! Perfekt für alle Fans von Silver Elite, Tribute von Panem, Powerless, …. 🖤 Mein einziger Kritikpunkt wäre, dass ich mir doch ein bisschen mehr World Building gewünscht hätte. Man muss vieles einfach so hinnehmen und kriegt nicht wirklich erklärt wieso das System so ist, wie es ist.
December 29, 2025
5 ⭐️ - This review was difficult to write because nothing I say will truly capture everything I felt reading Daggermouth. It’s so much more than just good characters, a great romance, and an action-packed plot. It’s a story of how resistance, grit, hope, and love can exist in unexpected places. It’s the type of book that will stick with me for a long, long time.
Before I get too far into this review, this book features graphic scenes and plenty of triggers. Definitely check the content warnings before reading.
Gosh, I could go on and on because there were so many standout parts to this book, but I’ll focus on my two favorite things: the characters and the romance.
The characters were really well-developed and nuanced. In addition to our two main characters, we had a handful of side characters from different social statuses and classes. The diverse cast of characters show how harm caused by systems of oppression cuts across wealth and status. In a lot of stories, the relationship between power and wealth or class gets often flattened into rich equals evil, while the poor and working class are victims. The author used the characters to show that everyone is suffering under one despicable despot, and what keeps him in power is them fighting each other instead of him. It's an especially powerful lesson for today's world.
This same dynamic plays out in the romance as well. At its core, Shadera and Greyson's story is about finding love in a world that is doing everything to pit them against each other. Greyson’s father executed Shadera’s parents and Greyson now plays the role of executioner. Shadera’s Daggermouths killed Greyson’s brother. Throughout the story, they realize they were both just another cog in the machine that keeps Greyson’s father in power. Their relationship often feels like two steps forward, one step back because they are slowly discovering they are more similar than they are different. It's probably the most believable enemies-to-(maybe) lovers I’ve seen and one of my new favorite slow burn romances.
This is the dystopian romance I’ve been waiting for, and perhaps my favorite book of the year. Consider putting this on your TBR if you want a real slow-burn enemies-to-lovers or an unputdownable dystopian story that will leave you guessing the entire time. Highly recommend!
✧ ✧ ✧ ✧ ✧ ✧
Burner Kindle Book Blog
Before I get too far into this review, this book features graphic scenes and plenty of triggers. Definitely check the content warnings before reading.
Gosh, I could go on and on because there were so many standout parts to this book, but I’ll focus on my two favorite things: the characters and the romance.
The characters were really well-developed and nuanced. In addition to our two main characters, we had a handful of side characters from different social statuses and classes. The diverse cast of characters show how harm caused by systems of oppression cuts across wealth and status. In a lot of stories, the relationship between power and wealth or class gets often flattened into rich equals evil, while the poor and working class are victims. The author used the characters to show that everyone is suffering under one despicable despot, and what keeps him in power is them fighting each other instead of him. It's an especially powerful lesson for today's world.
This same dynamic plays out in the romance as well. At its core, Shadera and Greyson's story is about finding love in a world that is doing everything to pit them against each other. Greyson’s father executed Shadera’s parents and Greyson now plays the role of executioner. Shadera’s Daggermouths killed Greyson’s brother. Throughout the story, they realize they were both just another cog in the machine that keeps Greyson’s father in power. Their relationship often feels like two steps forward, one step back because they are slowly discovering they are more similar than they are different. It's probably the most believable enemies-to-(maybe) lovers I’ve seen and one of my new favorite slow burn romances.
This is the dystopian romance I’ve been waiting for, and perhaps my favorite book of the year. Consider putting this on your TBR if you want a real slow-burn enemies-to-lovers or an unputdownable dystopian story that will leave you guessing the entire time. Highly recommend!
✧ ✧ ✧ ✧ ✧ ✧
Burner Kindle Book Blog
December 7, 2025
This was okay. A lot was there to make it amazing but it just didn’t land for me. Not sure if it was the writing or the lack of connection with the main characters. This is the second book I’ve read by this author and neither could grab me.
September 21, 2025
Simply put: I took this book so fucking personally. More so than perhaps any book I’ve ever read before it. Let me try to articulate why:
The characters are so emotionally complex. For a duet/duology I typically expect to know the MMC and FMC intimately and the side characters add banter, drama, wrenches in plans and so on. Wolfe packed so much rage, pain, love, hate, growth and evolution in to each of the people you meet in this book and it was so well done I am honestly speechless about it. I was THERE with them. I felt their pain. I hurt when they hurt. Wolfe writes and it’s like a movie reel in your head. You get lost. You are consumed by her craft and where it takes you. I was desperate to know what happened next. To know how a character would react, how a sword would fall, how a betrayal would play out. And let me tell you I always guessed wrong.
There are several moments that made every single hair on my body stand on end. Multiple times. Think of the moments in books when you literally feel MOVED and changed by what’s happening. This is that. More than once. In the most irrevocable ways. Wolfe writes such a deeply emotional plot and sub plot in addition to her complex characters but she NEVER forgets her reader. The delivery of every heart break herein is so intentional and meaningful and I am truly undone by it.
This is a journey of some of the deepest hurt I have read and felt in my own life. It healed me to read about someone who struggled through a similar path with anger and empathy. Hear me when I say that if you are a reader you are an emotional being, we all are. And if you are here reading this you probably enjoy the same kind of books I do - we thrive on the pain when it’s painted as the price or sacrifice we endured for happiness. You owe it to yourself to read this book.
I cried. I raged. I died a thousand deaths. I literally came unglued but I would do it a thousand times more. This book is a gift.
Thank you so much to H.M Wolfe for the Alpha Read. It was my honor and privilege. I’m yours forever.
The characters are so emotionally complex. For a duet/duology I typically expect to know the MMC and FMC intimately and the side characters add banter, drama, wrenches in plans and so on. Wolfe packed so much rage, pain, love, hate, growth and evolution in to each of the people you meet in this book and it was so well done I am honestly speechless about it. I was THERE with them. I felt their pain. I hurt when they hurt. Wolfe writes and it’s like a movie reel in your head. You get lost. You are consumed by her craft and where it takes you. I was desperate to know what happened next. To know how a character would react, how a sword would fall, how a betrayal would play out. And let me tell you I always guessed wrong.
There are several moments that made every single hair on my body stand on end. Multiple times. Think of the moments in books when you literally feel MOVED and changed by what’s happening. This is that. More than once. In the most irrevocable ways. Wolfe writes such a deeply emotional plot and sub plot in addition to her complex characters but she NEVER forgets her reader. The delivery of every heart break herein is so intentional and meaningful and I am truly undone by it.
This is a journey of some of the deepest hurt I have read and felt in my own life. It healed me to read about someone who struggled through a similar path with anger and empathy. Hear me when I say that if you are a reader you are an emotional being, we all are. And if you are here reading this you probably enjoy the same kind of books I do - we thrive on the pain when it’s painted as the price or sacrifice we endured for happiness. You owe it to yourself to read this book.
I cried. I raged. I died a thousand deaths. I literally came unglued but I would do it a thousand times more. This book is a gift.
Thank you so much to H.M Wolfe for the Alpha Read. It was my honor and privilege. I’m yours forever.
December 18, 2025
ARC Review
✨A Must Read✨
💭 This was an easy 5⭐️ read and I think it’s going to be the next big book. I was immediately hooked and loved it from beginning to end! The dystopian element is fantastic and the government is very corrupt with an elitist mentality (think President Snow from hunger games x handmaid’s tale). The romance was top notch. This is TRUE enemies to lovers and I ate it up. The political intrigue and scheming were 👌. The characters are all morally grey and I loved how everyone (upper class, the rebel militia, the assassins) had both overlapping and competing goals. This definitely kept me on my toes and I could not put it down! I need the final book in this duology immediately!
Thank you H.M Wolfe for the e-arc 🫶
✨A Must Read✨
💭 This was an easy 5⭐️ read and I think it’s going to be the next big book. I was immediately hooked and loved it from beginning to end! The dystopian element is fantastic and the government is very corrupt with an elitist mentality (think President Snow from hunger games x handmaid’s tale). The romance was top notch. This is TRUE enemies to lovers and I ate it up. The political intrigue and scheming were 👌. The characters are all morally grey and I loved how everyone (upper class, the rebel militia, the assassins) had both overlapping and competing goals. This definitely kept me on my toes and I could not put it down! I need the final book in this duology immediately!
Thank you H.M Wolfe for the e-arc 🫶
December 22, 2025
Someone has to say it: the masks do not make sense. 🙃
December 12, 2025
Holy shit this book is incredible, top read of the year, no one speak to me for 14 business days while I process
October 27, 2025
This book is fantastic. Full stop.
It’s been a long while since I’ve read a dystopian and what an introduction back into the genre. H.M. Wolfe does an amazing job at crafting a society that is horrifying and all too realistic, while still keeping elements of fiction that keep the story enjoyable. When I say I was TRANSFIXED… I could not put this book down.
The deeper we go into the story and the more we learn and see of each character, the more it is impossible to stop reading. This world, these characters, they suck the reader in with their pain and their flaws and their hope that is nonexistent in the beginning but slowly forms into a seed that begins to sprout. The society is devastating, and again pulls those threads of realism in such a way that makes it clear that the author wrote this story from a place of real heart.
The pacing was perfect, quick enough to keep you hooked but not too fast as to become unrealistic. Every character in this book has their story told through bits and pieces revealed to the reader as they are to the other characters, so we experience the confusion, the betrayals, and the anguish right along side them. And every character had me hooked.
Now, the romance elements. I’m going to refer to my previous point of pacing here, because it was done so well. Often times pacing is something that I struggle with in forced proximity enemy situations, but H.M. Wolfe handled it perfectly. The anger, pain, sorrow, and all-consuming rage between the characters that slowly breaks way for tender moments as they see the trauma that the other has endured is heart-wrenching.
And the feminine rage entrenched deep in the bones of this story. If you know me, you know that is something I search for in the books I love, and Daggermouth has made itself a home in that category.
*Disclaimer: I was generously provided with an advance copy from the author. All viewpoints expressed above are my own!
It’s been a long while since I’ve read a dystopian and what an introduction back into the genre. H.M. Wolfe does an amazing job at crafting a society that is horrifying and all too realistic, while still keeping elements of fiction that keep the story enjoyable. When I say I was TRANSFIXED… I could not put this book down.
The deeper we go into the story and the more we learn and see of each character, the more it is impossible to stop reading. This world, these characters, they suck the reader in with their pain and their flaws and their hope that is nonexistent in the beginning but slowly forms into a seed that begins to sprout. The society is devastating, and again pulls those threads of realism in such a way that makes it clear that the author wrote this story from a place of real heart.
The pacing was perfect, quick enough to keep you hooked but not too fast as to become unrealistic. Every character in this book has their story told through bits and pieces revealed to the reader as they are to the other characters, so we experience the confusion, the betrayals, and the anguish right along side them. And every character had me hooked.
Now, the romance elements. I’m going to refer to my previous point of pacing here, because it was done so well. Often times pacing is something that I struggle with in forced proximity enemy situations, but H.M. Wolfe handled it perfectly. The anger, pain, sorrow, and all-consuming rage between the characters that slowly breaks way for tender moments as they see the trauma that the other has endured is heart-wrenching.
And the feminine rage entrenched deep in the bones of this story. If you know me, you know that is something I search for in the books I love, and Daggermouth has made itself a home in that category.
*Disclaimer: I was generously provided with an advance copy from the author. All viewpoints expressed above are my own!
December 16, 2025
WTF….. that ENDING. TWIST AFTER TWIST. The last 20% DESTROYED ME I NEED A BOOK 2 NEOOOOWWWWW
December 8, 2025
INCREDIBLE
I was so honored to receive an ARC of Daggermouth. I don’t think I’ve read something this raw, this moving, this incredible in a long time. People who say reading isn’t political aren’t paying attention. Yes this is fantasy, but wow is it an incredible reflection of current events. H.M. is going to be a staple in modern distopian fantasy, right up there with Suzanne Collins and Octavia Butler.
Everyone should read this, everyone who’s ever felt rage at the state of the world, everyone who’s ever needed to see justice served at the hands of powerful women.
I was so honored to receive an ARC of Daggermouth. I don’t think I’ve read something this raw, this moving, this incredible in a long time. People who say reading isn’t political aren’t paying attention. Yes this is fantasy, but wow is it an incredible reflection of current events. H.M. is going to be a staple in modern distopian fantasy, right up there with Suzanne Collins and Octavia Butler.
Everyone should read this, everyone who’s ever felt rage at the state of the world, everyone who’s ever needed to see justice served at the hands of powerful women.
December 29, 2025
Nobody talk to me rn this shit is so peak I'm crying
Mind blowing story. Psychologically rich characters, set in a dystopian world, mirrors the struggle of the current real world, has sweethearts for men and EXPLOSIVE feminine rage.
And oh boy that ending.
It ended me, actually.
I'm so in love with these characters I made an edit for all of them. 🤣 Even the villains are GOOD QUALITEAAA. The characters are so real I felt raw grief for all of them, because a lot of people actually live this reality. 💔
This is for the people who are political and love vengeance. And want to see all kinds of women sick of oppression, take control.
I CANNOT wait for the second book, I'm so sad that I've to wait for a year to know what happened. 😭
Thankyou to Erika & H.M Wolfe for the E-ARC 🫶🏻
Mind blowing story. Psychologically rich characters, set in a dystopian world, mirrors the struggle of the current real world, has sweethearts for men and EXPLOSIVE feminine rage.
And oh boy that ending.
It ended me, actually.
I'm so in love with these characters I made an edit for all of them. 🤣 Even the villains are GOOD QUALITEAAA. The characters are so real I felt raw grief for all of them, because a lot of people actually live this reality. 💔
This is for the people who are political and love vengeance. And want to see all kinds of women sick of oppression, take control.
I CANNOT wait for the second book, I'm so sad that I've to wait for a year to know what happened. 😭
Thankyou to Erika & H.M Wolfe for the E-ARC 🫶🏻
October 24, 2025
✨Daggermouth✨
I sit here after closing this read and I am just in shock. Dystopians are not my typical genre, but if they were always written by authors like Wolfe, then I’d rarely stray. The first in her new duology, Daggermouth is dark, legendary, and has the makings to incite a revolution. It is one of those books you take your time in. You take your time because every moment, every character, every decision MATTERS. There are no throw away characters; there is no moment where deception isn’t thriving; there are scenes where you will want to cry, stand up in hope and power, and sing. Intention is woven throughout just as is deception, real life grief and heartache, and romances that hurt and heal.
Daggermouth is set in a dystopian world where there are three tiers: Heart, Cardinal, and Boundary. Our MMC, Greyson, is from Heart. The Elite. The masked. The executioner. The heir who does whatever he can to defy a father and Dictator that is a TRUE villain. Our FMC, Shade, is from Boundary and an assassin with her sights set on her next kill: the heir. But when their murder meet-cute ends badly, Grey and Shade are suddenly engaged and imprisoned in an even deadlier game for power and over rebellion than they thought. A real enemies to lovers, we see two caged and tortured people forced to see the truth about one another. And the found family within this- the other POVs- are equal PERFECTION and I found I didn’t love anyone more than the other. I knew Wolfe wrote multi-romance amazingly already from her other series and this story DID NOT DISAPPOINT in any way.
Daggermouth is dark, full of violence and torture, and riddled with political intrigue. Yet the message is clear and beautiful and SO MOVING. The singing! Those bath scenes! 😭😭 THAT ENDING!! I’m shook and hooked.
Tropes you may find in Daggermouth are forced proximity, multi POVs and romance, found family, plot twists, hidden identities, morally grey everyone, he falls first, slow burn to medium spice, banter and tension, forced political marriage, mental health rep, corrupt government, masked elitism, rise of the oppressed, and feminine rage.
It has been a pleasure to be an arc reader for all your books, Wolfe, and this one once again hits so hard! Thank you for this opportunity.
I sit here after closing this read and I am just in shock. Dystopians are not my typical genre, but if they were always written by authors like Wolfe, then I’d rarely stray. The first in her new duology, Daggermouth is dark, legendary, and has the makings to incite a revolution. It is one of those books you take your time in. You take your time because every moment, every character, every decision MATTERS. There are no throw away characters; there is no moment where deception isn’t thriving; there are scenes where you will want to cry, stand up in hope and power, and sing. Intention is woven throughout just as is deception, real life grief and heartache, and romances that hurt and heal.
Daggermouth is set in a dystopian world where there are three tiers: Heart, Cardinal, and Boundary. Our MMC, Greyson, is from Heart. The Elite. The masked. The executioner. The heir who does whatever he can to defy a father and Dictator that is a TRUE villain. Our FMC, Shade, is from Boundary and an assassin with her sights set on her next kill: the heir. But when their murder meet-cute ends badly, Grey and Shade are suddenly engaged and imprisoned in an even deadlier game for power and over rebellion than they thought. A real enemies to lovers, we see two caged and tortured people forced to see the truth about one another. And the found family within this- the other POVs- are equal PERFECTION and I found I didn’t love anyone more than the other. I knew Wolfe wrote multi-romance amazingly already from her other series and this story DID NOT DISAPPOINT in any way.
Daggermouth is dark, full of violence and torture, and riddled with political intrigue. Yet the message is clear and beautiful and SO MOVING. The singing! Those bath scenes! 😭😭 THAT ENDING!! I’m shook and hooked.
Tropes you may find in Daggermouth are forced proximity, multi POVs and romance, found family, plot twists, hidden identities, morally grey everyone, he falls first, slow burn to medium spice, banter and tension, forced political marriage, mental health rep, corrupt government, masked elitism, rise of the oppressed, and feminine rage.
It has been a pleasure to be an arc reader for all your books, Wolfe, and this one once again hits so hard! Thank you for this opportunity.
November 15, 2025
Fuck me this book. Goosebumps upon goosebumps upon goosebumps the whole time. Every character in this book has depth, and every one of them has secrets.
This book will make you feel rage, it will make you feel uncomfortable at times, it will remind you there’s so much more to people than meets the eye, and it will make you feel like burning things to the ground.
There really are lines in here that shook me to my core, and make me want to devour more of Wolfe’s past and future work. I had a couple of gripes that took me out of the story several times - some sets of dialogue that felt inconsistent, as well as substantial characters being introduced and then never brought up again. But this is all far outweighed by the strong world Wolfe built, the tense plot (complimentary), and the depth we get into a large cast of characters.
I’m already itching to do a reread, and I can’t wait to see where this goes in the second book.
Oh, did I mention it’s also hot? But bro, it’s so much more than that 😭.
4.75⭐️
[Thank you for the ARC copy. This review is entirely my own honest opinion.]
This book will make you feel rage, it will make you feel uncomfortable at times, it will remind you there’s so much more to people than meets the eye, and it will make you feel like burning things to the ground.
There really are lines in here that shook me to my core, and make me want to devour more of Wolfe’s past and future work. I had a couple of gripes that took me out of the story several times - some sets of dialogue that felt inconsistent, as well as substantial characters being introduced and then never brought up again. But this is all far outweighed by the strong world Wolfe built, the tense plot (complimentary), and the depth we get into a large cast of characters.
I’m already itching to do a reread, and I can’t wait to see where this goes in the second book.
Oh, did I mention it’s also hot? But bro, it’s so much more than that 😭.
4.75⭐️
[Thank you for the ARC copy. This review is entirely my own honest opinion.]
December 26, 2025
Würde so 4-4,5 ⭐️ geben! 😍
Es hat mich mega gut unterhalten!! Hab die protas geliebt und hatte ne wirklich mega gute Zeit damit 🙏🏼
Mit ein paar Twists hab ich nicht so gerechnet und es hat mich gekriegt!! Aber für 5 Sterne nicht gereicht weil mir einfach für die Tiefe Hintergrundinfos gefehlt haben. Man wusste über die Beweggründe der protas Bescheid aber iwie auch nicht wirklich mehr. Und ich hätte schon gern gewusst was sie zu den Menschen gemacht hat. Auch zum System an sich gab’s mir zu wenig Infos um so richtig invested zu sein. Aber trotzdem würd ich es empfehlen wenn ihr zb The Hunger Games mochtet. 🙏🏼 hat ähnliche Elemente mit drin.
Es hat mich mega gut unterhalten!! Hab die protas geliebt und hatte ne wirklich mega gute Zeit damit 🙏🏼
Mit ein paar Twists hab ich nicht so gerechnet und es hat mich gekriegt!! Aber für 5 Sterne nicht gereicht weil mir einfach für die Tiefe Hintergrundinfos gefehlt haben. Man wusste über die Beweggründe der protas Bescheid aber iwie auch nicht wirklich mehr. Und ich hätte schon gern gewusst was sie zu den Menschen gemacht hat. Auch zum System an sich gab’s mir zu wenig Infos um so richtig invested zu sein. Aber trotzdem würd ich es empfehlen wenn ihr zb The Hunger Games mochtet. 🙏🏼 hat ähnliche Elemente mit drin.
December 4, 2025
ARC Review
This was a very strange read to me tbh. I love the premise and at times it gave me “Hunger games for adults” vibes. However. The writing was just NOT for me. It often felt stilted and weirdly phrased, especially in the beginning (maybe I just got used to the writing). This made me want to DNF, but since it was an ARC and I really did find the story intriguing I decided to power through.
LIKES:
- the overall story!!
- Enemies to lovers done right(!)
- Callum and Lira
- amazing female rage
DISLIKES:
- the writing
- Shadera. Her character frustrated me so fucking much. Hypocrite and unsympathetic, I did not jam with her at all. She had her moments but generally she was not my girl.
- Jameson was kind of annoying and I didn’t really care about Greyson.
- speaking of the boys?? I did NOT get what Shade felt for Jameson, because at first he was introduced as a fuck Buddy who was in love with her (but not her with him) but then they were basically in love and slept together every night? Idk I got a whiplash reading it
- also did not get any chemistry between Shadera and Greyson
I really appreciate getting this ARC and I can see why a lot of people really love this book - at times I felt like I could too. I just don’t think the writing and characters are for me.
This was a very strange read to me tbh. I love the premise and at times it gave me “Hunger games for adults” vibes. However. The writing was just NOT for me. It often felt stilted and weirdly phrased, especially in the beginning (maybe I just got used to the writing). This made me want to DNF, but since it was an ARC and I really did find the story intriguing I decided to power through.
LIKES:
- the overall story!!
- Enemies to lovers done right(!)
- Callum and Lira
- amazing female rage
DISLIKES:
- the writing
- Shadera. Her character frustrated me so fucking much. Hypocrite and unsympathetic, I did not jam with her at all. She had her moments but generally she was not my girl.
- Jameson was kind of annoying and I didn’t really care about Greyson.
- speaking of the boys?? I did NOT get what Shade felt for Jameson, because at first he was introduced as a fuck Buddy who was in love with her (but not her with him) but then they were basically in love and slept together every night? Idk I got a whiplash reading it
- also did not get any chemistry between Shadera and Greyson
I really appreciate getting this ARC and I can see why a lot of people really love this book - at times I felt like I could too. I just don’t think the writing and characters are for me.
November 25, 2025
I was one of the lucky ones to receive an ARC of DAGGERMOUTH. I knew this book was going to ruin me in the best way and it did.
The Book of Cin was my intro to H.M. Wolfe and I still wasn’t prepared for this.
DAGGERMOUTH exceeded my expectations! I have not been able to stop thinking about this story and these characters since finishing it. I love that the MC’s are 30+ and the FMC is a Black woman. Being able to see yourself represented in a woman who is smart, fierce, female rage, soft yet strong just does something to you.
The dialogue, character depth, and world building in this book is insane! It is dark, sexy, heartbreaking, and funny 👏🏾♥️🤯
Wolfe is a master wordsmith. Chapter 35 is THE MOST BEAUTIFUL chapter I’ve ever read in any book.
The depth of emotion is so well written—you can feel it jumping off the page and that healed something in me.
EVERYONE should read this book.
That is all ❤️🔥
The Book of Cin was my intro to H.M. Wolfe and I still wasn’t prepared for this.
DAGGERMOUTH exceeded my expectations! I have not been able to stop thinking about this story and these characters since finishing it. I love that the MC’s are 30+ and the FMC is a Black woman. Being able to see yourself represented in a woman who is smart, fierce, female rage, soft yet strong just does something to you.
The dialogue, character depth, and world building in this book is insane! It is dark, sexy, heartbreaking, and funny 👏🏾♥️🤯
Wolfe is a master wordsmith. Chapter 35 is THE MOST BEAUTIFUL chapter I’ve ever read in any book.
The depth of emotion is so well written—you can feel it jumping off the page and that healed something in me.
EVERYONE should read this book.
That is all ❤️🔥
December 5, 2025
Infinity stars
Rtc once I’m done being shook
HM Wolfe, I need therapy after this book.
Seriously, if this isn’t on your TBR you need to add it!
But also PLEASE check the TWs, because this book is intense.
HM truly writes the best fmcs, Shadera is a badass, intelligent, but still soft by caring for others. Lira was raised opposite of Shadera and yet they both showcased how strong and resilient they are.
Greyson and Shadera were similar in their defense for others, their stubbornness, and when they gave someone their all they really gave it.
Callum, I’m sorry, but he stole the show. Greyson ily but Callum is BOOK HUSBAND material. My god. That man literally would set the world on fire for Lira and he knew he was not one to be fucked with.
This is a dystopian novel, and damn did it hit close to home at certain parts. You’ll definitely be rooting for the underdogs because we all can relate.
This was filled with twists and turns, truth bombs that actually had my jaw on the floor, and I literally can’t say more positive things about how well this was written. I’ve literally thought about this book every day since finishing it (or did it finish me?).
Dear Hallah,
You really had to kill *redacted*
And *redacted* fooled us all?!
I loved this book so much and will be with everyone else begging for book two.
Thank you SO much for the arc, so grateful to be on your ST 🖤
Rtc once I’m done being shook
HM Wolfe, I need therapy after this book.
Seriously, if this isn’t on your TBR you need to add it!
But also PLEASE check the TWs, because this book is intense.
HM truly writes the best fmcs, Shadera is a badass, intelligent, but still soft by caring for others. Lira was raised opposite of Shadera and yet they both showcased how strong and resilient they are.
Greyson and Shadera were similar in their defense for others, their stubbornness, and when they gave someone their all they really gave it.
Callum, I’m sorry, but he stole the show. Greyson ily but Callum is BOOK HUSBAND material. My god. That man literally would set the world on fire for Lira and he knew he was not one to be fucked with.
This is a dystopian novel, and damn did it hit close to home at certain parts. You’ll definitely be rooting for the underdogs because we all can relate.
This was filled with twists and turns, truth bombs that actually had my jaw on the floor, and I literally can’t say more positive things about how well this was written. I’ve literally thought about this book every day since finishing it (or did it finish me?).
Dear Hallah,
You really had to kill *redacted*
And *redacted* fooled us all?!
I loved this book so much and will be with everyone else begging for book two.
Thank you SO much for the arc, so grateful to be on your ST 🖤
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