Soul Sworn

Soul Sworn Saga #1

by Kate Dylan

The thrilling first book of a steamy duology from Sunday Times bestselling author, Kate Dylan.

Two ruthless assassins.
One deadly romance.

Talia Atwater is a reaper, an elite assassin who uses her looks, her charms, and her rare ability to sense lies to rid clients of their sworn enemy: the person destined to kill their soulmate. For Talia, love is just another way to die.
 
Cain Hawthorne was raised to be a weapon. Bound to a powerful religious order, he hunts rogue reapers in the name of the Gods. Duty is everything. Love is forbidden. All that matters is protecting their fated ties.
 
So when Talia takes a job that threatens fate, Cain is sent to stop her.
 
But in a world where every soul is marked—for love and death—the line between mission and desire begins to blur.
 
As secrets unravel and attraction ignites, Talia and Cain are pulled into a dangerous game of seduction, secrets, and lies. And the closer they get to the truth, the clearer it becomes:
 
They were never meant to fall in love.
They were meant to destroy each other.
 
SOUL SWORN is a dark, addictive romantasy filled with assassins, blood magic, and a sizzling enemies-to-lovers romance that will leave readers breathless.

Genres: Fantasy, Romantasy, Adult, Romance

Kindle Edition

Expected publication November 17, 2026

About the author

Kate is a Sunday Times Bestselling author of fantasy and dystopian sci-fi novels. Her love for creating new worlds is fuelled by a steady diet of coffee, books, and Marvel movies, and when she's not telling stories, you can find her haunting London cafes like an over-caffeinated ghost.

Reviews

[Bookishness]

~Pre-read~ Received this ARC copy! Im dying, this cover is stunning!!!
DARK romanticy, Assassins- enemies to lovers, blood magic! say no more~ RTC

[Liana Gold]

Two assassins, a reaper and a hunter, bound to kill each other but the line between mission and desire blurs. Where they were meant to destroy each other, a deadly romance begins.

This cover! So many thoughts!




Many thanks to NetGalley, Ballentine/Delacorte Press and the author, Kate Dylan for an early copy.

Publication date: November 17, 2026

[Seri ❤]

🖤Pre-Read:🖤
They were never meant to fall in love.
They were meant to destroy each other.

I got approved for this ARC today!!! Really excited to be starting an enemies-to-lovers dark romantasy about two ruthless assassins!

Shoutout to the lovely Bookishness for putting me onto this book, and we’re doing a buddy read! 💃

[Noi (in & out)]

I'm a simple girl, I see this cover - I want

[Page Turner · Rating 5 out of 5]

5⭐️ Loved it! A must own book.

Read this if you like complex bonds of fate with a badass FMC who eats lies and makes her living by destroying those magical bonds of destiny.

📖What’s inside:
Assassins 🗡️
Dual POV
💞 Mate bonds
On-page intimacy 🟡
Witches
🌈 Inclusive
Explicit language
FF scenes 👀
Only one bed

✨Vibes: Heartless Hunter meets Nocticadia’s eerie mystery + Mr. & Mrs. Smith but make it magic and mayhem

Book boyfriend meter: 🧡
Would consider. Would absolutely regret something.

💭Thoughts: Came for the cover, stayed for the insane soulmate-but-enemies premise. The dual POV tension was everything—and when they finally meet?? It’s… hot. 👀 True slow burn, but the angst, morally grey chaos, and twisty plot made it impossible to put down. Also—top tier representation and a story that feels genuinely fresh despite the tropes. And that ending??This one’s going to blow up the dark fantasy romance space—I can feel it.

➕Should you add this to your TBR? Omg YES. Actually—go ahead and pre-order it. Digital and physical. Start it immediately on release day, then display that gorgeous copy on your shelf like the trophy it is.

This one is worth it, babes. All the stars!!!!

Thank you to Ballantine books and Netgalley for an eARC copy of this book. Keeping it real with my honest thoughts as always. 🖤

For my full review + more fantasy book recs, check out my blog here → https://www.abookfortheendoftheworld.com

[Mandy · Rating 2 out of 5]

The magic system was very unique and interesting. But, not explained and flesh out very well. The soul mate concept was rather confusing and doesn’t make much sense. A red line on the finger tells you that you have a soul mate and that someone will kill them but that’s about it…no how’s and why’s.

The FMC isn’t very likeable and the MMC is rather soft and dumb to be honest. They are assassins, but have absolutely no skill.

He’s sent to kill her. She has no idea, but is sus of him the whole time and knows he’s lying. Yet, she just shrugs it all off.

A pet peeve of mine is modern/real world vernacular being is used in a made up fantasy world. Risqué is a French word. There is no France here. This is just one example.

I get spicy, but this was just horny. The very first scene of spice the MMC is being a creep and watching the FMC through a keyhole getting dildo’d (is this a word??). It’s also right after the FMC and MMC met for the first time. It was just weird and ruined the vibe for me. He’s also a virgin but all he can think about is sex.

This missed the mark for me. On paper this sounds great! But, the execution was done poorly.



Thank you delacorte and netgalley for an early copy.

[Kate Dylan · Rating 5 out of 5]

Welcome to my (spicy) adult fantasy era! Soul Sworn is the first book in a duology and I can't wait for you all to meet Talia and Cain!

Content Warning

While Soul Sworn was written to be a fun book you can fall in love with, it does touch on topics some readers may find difficult, these include: parental death, religious abuse, religious trauma, and childhood prostitution. It also features: violence, death, murder, mild gore, maiming, sex, mild kink, and strong language.

[tai ⋆☀︎.]

Just got quick approve on ARC, so time to drop everything to read

[Nya]

Not starting this for a while but can we just make some commotion for the COVER??? Hot damn

[Izzi · Rating 4 out of 5]

4.25 stars

i was so engrossed in this book that i didnt hear the approach of one of my teachers and unfortunately was asked the question of "what are you reading". i then froze and told the truth (fitting for this book) and i fear that she searched it up and is now aware of what i am reading in her class.

(worthy tradeoff though)

PLOT REMARKS:
This was fucking fast.
Like really, really you-have-to-keep-reading kind of fast.
Every scene immediately led to another without much rest in between, which could be both a good thing or a bad thing depending on the particular instant. Boredom will be a far fetched concept while reading this book, but so will the want to occasionally press the x0.25 setting that unfortunately does not exist ( a four day walk in the cursed forest became two pages ).
The romance was occasionally iffy but mostly understandable. I don't think they really understood each other or formed that large of a connection (whenever they talked cain just stared at talias collarbone or some shit which led to very unproductive conversations).
The entire book was building up to one specific scene, which does eventually happen in a very different way than we all imagined. But, instead of setting that as the final cliffhanger, the story then continues to progress into a manner that I honestly don't think many people cared about. I personally think the story should've ended when they kissed, as the whole concept of Lexi's character was similar to Katniss Everdeen's mother. It would make the ending quite a lot more shocking and climatic, which would then provide a nice bridge into book two. Still, I'm quite envious of those who are able to jump into book 2 immediately after book 1.
The magic system in this book was explained quite a lot, but I do think that the author should trust the readers a little more to puzzle out the meaning. I think the concept is quite self-explanatory and doesn't need pages and pages of context.

CHARACTERS:
TALIA: Yes.
She is a character worthy of a Aelin Galathynius-esque cult-y fanbase. She's truly morally grey, though there are some defined boundaries with the shading being between those.
CAIN: The whole concept of his temple was fascinating. I really appreciate how he didn't just immediately throw away his entire life's belief just because he met some hot girl, which is something that often happens in romantasy. Instead, it is the events of the story itself that lead to the shifting. He as a character isn't anything special, as the spotlight was definitely given to Talia.
(can we also just appreciate this character development??? like the things he learned, like feminism, werent the result of words but instead action.)

"id commit tax fraud to be able to read this book for the first time again"
unfortunately, i will not be saying that about this book, but i will say that i might undergo some morally incorrect activities to get my hands on the second book.

Thank you so much to NetGalley and the author for this eARC in exchange for an honest and unbiased review

[Kendra · Rating 4 out of 5]

Soul Sworn is a gripping adult fantasy filled with tension, assassins, magical bonds and it’s sexy! I also loved how fast paced this book felt keeping you invested right from the beginning! I devoured it in two days!

We have a religious reaper named Cain Hawthorne from Krezelle that is part of a brotherhood where they spent their time killing others around entanglements. They didn’t hunt down sworn enemies or soulmates but reapers they hunted. He did it for the Gods since this is what they were taught and sworn to.

What was interesting is that we learned that these reapers had these marks when they are born and this meant that both your soulmate and sworn enemy had preceded your birth. I did wish we got more details on the marks as it was a bit confusing to understand but maybe we will get that in the next book!

Then we have our lil baddie Talia Atwater, who is an assassin and reaper who had grown up poor and she felt for those who were in the same position. She is a sexy walking temptation, with a charm that lures men to assassinate but she could also sense lies. They call that a lie eater.

These two were never meant to fall for each other, but to destroy one another and you can feel the way Cain worshipped her by looking into her eyes and when it came to intimacy. However, I think their tension throughout this book could have been thought out in more detail. I wanted it to feel more raw and real in a sense believing yes, these two are for sure meant to be soulmates, so I’m hoping we will get that in the next book! Because I like my heart to ache and scream for a gooood slow burn tension moments 🤭

However, my jaw was on the floor for sure with that FF scene and when Cain finally saw Talia for the first time in that moment watching!! 🤯 talk about HOT!

I also can’t get over chapters 33 and 34!! 😭😅 talk about control and lessons in red! 🔥

I was not expecting that plot twists at the end! I mean I knew something was brewing with Talia’s sister but still! I’m intrigued to know more and what is going to happen into book 2! I also want to talk about the cover of this book because it is utterly beautiful and sexy and really shows Talia’s character 🔥 it brings the story alive!

Thank you so much Ballantine books, Delacorte Press and Kate for the early eARC! This was a highly anticipated read of mine this year and I cannot wait for more readers to discover this compelling addicting fantasy! This is one to talk about for sure! Especially for book clubs! 😍

[Abi (Southpark Meadows) · Rating 1 out of 5]

I usually try to give a book at least 50% before deciding to DNF, so I’m especially disappointed to be putting this one down so early. On paper, Soul Sworn has all the ingredients for a compelling romantasy: assassins, soulmates, magic, danger, and high emotional stakes. Unfortunately, the execution fell flat for me.

The writing is the book’s biggest weakness. It’s very obvious this is a debut novel, and the story desperately needed several more rounds of editing and revision. The worldbuilding is confusing to the point of distraction. The magic system is barely explained, leaving major concepts vague and underdeveloped. I never understood the logic behind the “soulmate” premise, particularly the idea that a finger somehow knows when the person destined to kill your soulmate will die. Instead of intriguing, it felt nonsensical.

The plot itself is extremely thin and seems largely constructed as a vehicle for explicit scenes, which unfortunately were some of the worst I’ve read in the genre. The dialogue and descriptions felt immature enough that I genuinely had to double-check the author’s age.

The FMC was another major issue for me. She constantly delivers long monologues about being an elite assassin despite repeatedly being described as malnourished, frail, and paper-thin. The characterization never matched the story’s insistence that she’s this deadly, legendary killer. The book relies heavily on telling rather than showing, which made her come across as more of a self-insert fantasy than a believable character. She felt deeply self-obsessed, narcissistic, and overwhelmingly Mary Sue-coded.

I was also uncomfortable with the book’s repeated fatphobic descriptions. Nearly every “good” character is portrayed as thin and attractive, while “bad” or undesirable characters are consistently described as fat, pudgy, or unattractive. After a while, the pattern became impossible to ignore and made the reading experience increasingly unpleasant.

Overall, this had a promising premise but lacked the polish, coherence, and characterization needed to make it work for me.

[Shannon · Rating 5 out of 5]

Thank you to Netgalley and Ballantine | Delacorte Press for the eARC!

I’m not normally into the whole fated mates/ soulmates thing, but the plot of this one was intriguing. And I’ve been on a dark fantasy romance kick this year, so I decided to give this one a whirl. No regrets. I devoured this one. And after that ending…I need book two so bad.

Talia is a reaper, someone who kills sworn enemies for a price. Cain is also a reaper, but instead of killing sworn enemies, he kills other reapers at the behest of his religious order. What follows is one of the slowest burns I’ve ever read. (Not a complaint, I love a super slow burn). Sure, the attraction is rather quick, but between his religious leanings and her distrust, they don’t get really into things until much later in the book. Then, that ending. Yeesh.

One of my favorite parts of this story was the world-building. There was so much attention to detail in regards to the magic and religious systems. They both felt genuine and unique. As someone who is not religious, I was not bothered by the clear questioning of Cain’s faith and the way religion is used to manipulate others. In fact, I agreed with Talia on quite a lot of her points. But someone who has either religious trauma or is into that thing might have some issues, so just a warning. If that doesn’t bother you, then I highly recommend this one if you’re looking for a dark, complex fantasy romance between two (very) morally grey characters.

Overall, I’m giving this one 4.5 stars rounded up to a 5. I loved reading it and can’t wait for the sequel. Thankfully, it's a duology, so here’s hoping the wait isn’t too unbearable.

[Sonica · Rating 5 out of 5]

This fantasy romance is dark, addictive and packed with tension. It contains deadly assassins, a forbidden attraction and dangerous love. The chemistry between Talia and Cain is explosive with emotional intensity and sharp banter.

This book is a must read for readers that enjoy soulmates and destiny.

[The Weaver · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was an okay read for me.

[diana · Rating 4 out of 5]

I AM SO OBSESSED WITH TALIA AND CAIN