Of Soulbound Sacrifice: A Sapphic Siren Romantasy

by Scarlet Tempest

A sapphic love story sequel to the award-winning prequel, Of Hoarfrost and Blood

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It should be a straightforward kill for a Siren warrior. The only problem is she loves her target more than life itself.

Zaynab is finally free to find her way in the world. She thinks she is going to find Demerise, the girl she used to love, until she finds herself staring into the glowing green eyes of a blue-haired Siren on the eve of her execution. With a blade to her throat and a heart that begs for more, will Zaynab find a way to be with the woman she loves, or will she lose herself in the depths?

Brina is the fiercest warrior princess in Clan Brinneagh. She has spent her entire life training to lead her clan, which is going swimmingly. Perfectly, in fact, until she finds herself staring into the maple eyes of a land-dweller she is sent by her clan to kill. The choice for Brina is as simple as the age-old adage goes...kill or be killed.

Can love truly conquer all if “all” includes oceans of murderous Sirens?
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516 pages, Kindle Edition

Expected publication March 31, 2026

Reviews

[BOOK IT BISHES · Rating 5 out of 5]

Love is the heart of this story, it is shown in several ways and that's what makes this story so special.

Brina is a tough unapologetic bad ass siren who has done everything her clan expects from her. But when she rescues a land dweller, she makes a decision that will carve a new path to her destiny. Daring to defy everything for a chance of true happiness.

Zaynab is not in her ideal situation has her crossing the sea with the least desirable crew. When the ship is attacked, she is saved by a mysterious siren that has her taking a second look. But when it is revealed what it took to save her, she is frustrated and it doesn't help that she is attracted to her savior. Learning her new life path, she sets off on an adventure she will never forget.

I loved Scarlet's world that she created, she immerses the reader in the underwater realm life and land life. I absolutely adored seeing a character from her first book (OH&B) make an important appearance!

I applaud at the way she shows different types of love throughout her story. It is not just the tender and complex love between the the two sirens, but a love between a mother and daughter. Daring to defy generational expectations in the name of family. A story of courage and selflessness, finding that true love is worth fighting for.

{ARC REVIEW}

[Kayla · Rating 5 out of 5]

Of Soulbound Sacrifice was an intense emotional read that had everything I was missing in OR&P. I received this as an ARC for free. All opinions are my own. While I was expecting a sapphic dark fantasy romance, there was so much more to unpack here. It was an amazing read that I did not want to put down!

The character work is exquisite! I adored getting to see more of Brina's world, even if it has rough parts to it. She's still extremely relatable to me in her self-esteem struggles. I love that we got more of her headspace, and she really comes into her own through the course of this book. Zaynab was a really fun read and I liked getting to know her. She goes through so much in this book and I really liked seeing how she handles things.

The open door scenes were fun and didn't feel out of place. Though I feel like Zaynab should have reacted a little differently during one of them. Girl you are a healer! Why are you letting Brina put a pestle that's been used on who knows what substances into your sensitive parts?!? Is that even the safe herb mortar & pestle? I also would have liked to see a bit more discussion in the early book before some of the scenes. I really liked that about Brina's prior novella and think it would have been good here too.

This is so much more than a romance. There's a lot of focus on self-care, shadow work, and taming your personal demons. I loved all the work each character put into helping the others. Working through generational trauma, self-esteem, PTSD, among other spoilery things that I will not list here. There's a lot of good stuff in here for working through some of that and some sections had me all kinds of emotional.

The only complaint I have is a *me* thing so I'm not docking any points for it. I don't like the miscommunication trope and I was a little annoyed when it came up here. I can admit it makes perfect sense with Brina & Zaynab's circumstances and mindsets when it comes up. (It thankfully gets worked through early, and they actually communicate throughout the rest and show they are actually working on that instead of it being a third act issue). I just personally wish there could have been something else.

Overall, this was a 5 star read for me, and I highly recommend it for those who like a darker fantasy world with good character work and a focus on helping each other through the shadows.

[Mary · Rating 4 out of 5]

After reading the prequel Of Rifts and Promises I couldn’t wait to read Brina’s full story in Of Soulbound Sacrifice. This book is a standalone sapphic siren romantasy full of desire and life and death adventure. Brina is a Chieftess-in-training of Clan Brinneagh who is tasked with being a distraction on a human ship while her Clan attacks said ship. Brina does not agree with killing everyone on the ship especially not after she set eyes on the ship’s cook Zaynab.

There is an instalove trope here that actually pulled me out of the story a bit. I guess instalove is just not my thing although I do like the one night to forever trope. But in Of Soulbound Sacrifice the instalove is actually very dangerous. It leads Brina to sacrifice most (hundreds of years) of her life to save Zaynab’s life. She actually becomes Soulbound to Zaynab and turns her into a siren also. Admittedly I have not read a lot of books with sirens but I thought it was really unique that someone could be “turned” into a siren.

Brina’s Clan is furious that she has reduced her life to only last about 20 more years while becoming Soulbound to a land dweller. She is severely beaten as punishment and the Clan intends to kill Zaynab. This book was full of nonstop excitement with barely a moment to rest and breathe. Both characters were severely injured multiple times and I honestly feared for their lives.

I loved how well developed the characters were and the dual POV with Brina and Zaynab. There was also plenty of well written open door spice. While I have not read Of Hoarfrost and Blood yet I was intrigued by a character that appears in this book and am definitely going to go read her story next. 3.5 stars rounded up to 4. Thank you Scarlet Tempest for the ARC!

[Solely Sapphic Reads · Rating 5 out of 5]

ARC REVIEW
Duel 1st Person POV. 5🌟 4🌶️. 516 pages
5 Spicy Scenes

From the minute I started reading this book I instantly knew it would be a 5 star read. Who doesn’t love the lore of the siren, make them sapphic and you can bet your ass I’ll devour it!

Of Soulbound Sacrifice follows Brina the heir to the siren clan of Brinneagh as she navigates a blood feud between her clan and the land dwellers, when she becomes enamoured with a ships cook Zaynab. Brina must scarfice everything to save Zaynab from her fate and the two fight for their survival!

EVERYTHING about this book was spectacular and you cannot tell me otherwise. The character development was on point, I fell completely in love with both Brina and Zaynab from the beginning (although I may have screamed at my kindle during some of Brina’s questionable decisions 😅). Honestly everything from the world building, to the feud between sirens and humans, a whole new magical system and the most detailed mythical creatures I have ever encountered! This book is officially up there with one of my favourite reads so far this year!

Also round of applause for the author because, say it with me 👏 fat 👏 FMCs 👏 are 👏 HOT 👏 as 👏 HELL!

Of Soulbound Sacrifice will be released March 31st, add it to your TBR or I will come to your house and disorganise everything!

Things to LOVE:
📚Epic Fantasy
💔Forbidden Love
🧜‍♀️Siren Shifters
🧜Butch Siren Clan Princess
🧜‍♀️Femme Land Dweller
🩸Blood Feuds
🪢Soul Ties
🐉Mystical Creatures
⛓️‍💥Breaking The Cycle
😏Inappropriate use of a Pestle
😏Tail Play

[Andrea (looseleftlesbian) · Rating 3 out of 5]

Thank you to the author for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

I really loved the world building and aspects of the world that the author has created. It hooked me right away and I found myself wanting to know so much more. I know there is another book in this series and I will definitely be reading it to get more of this world!

I will say that the love is pretty insta-love. This usually isn’t for me, but it did make sense in this story with the “soulbound” aspect of it. I would’ve like a little more build up before that. It was a little hard to believe they felt that much in such a short time.

Without giving away spoilers, I do feel like a character was unfairly judged by both Brina and Zaynab, especially Zaynab knowing the trauma said person went through.

A lot happened in this story and it definitely keeps your attention. It’s why I think theending doesn’t necessarily fit. There was so much build up and then it was kind of just over. There were a lot of questions I still had by the end.

Overall, I enjoyed this and loved the world the author built. I would’ve liked more of a build up with the relationship in order for me to believe their love for each other. I will definitely be reading more of the author’s works in the future! 3.5 stars!

[Anna · Rating 3 out of 5]

I received this book as an ARC from the author.

I was very excited to read a sapphic siren tale, but unfortunately decided to DNF around 45% into the story. While I lived the world building and would really enjoy spending more time learning about the siren society that the author built, I had a few issues with other parts of the story, and found myself dragging my feet when it came to reading.

First, what I liked. As I said before, the world building was amazing. It felt very rich and vivid and real. Additionally, Zaynab was my favorite character. She's smart, resourceful and determined to do the right thing. I found her very relatable and realistic.

What I did not like, sadly, was mostly related to Brina. I did not even make it to halfway through the book and already Zaynab has risked her life three times saving Brina from something. Two of those times were entirely from Brina's own impulsiveness causing the problem in the first place. I liked their romance well enough, despite how awkwardly rushed it was, but Brina just struck me as so young and immature.

Overall, it's a very promising story and I genuinely hope others enjoy it. It unfortunately just wasnt for me.

[Katie Pritchett · Rating 5 out of 5]

After having read Brina's prequel novella, I was excited to read this book, and Of Soulbound Sacrifice did not disappoint.

Everything about this book, from the romance between Brina and Zaynab, to the political intrigue within Brina's clan was entirely well done. I'll admit, I had a very soft spot for Brina (and her impulsive decisions) after Of Rifts and Promises, and I found myself invested in her story from the beginning, and hoping for a happy ending for her. Brina might be a bit of a 'messy' character-- she definitely makes some questionable choices, but she's also very easy to love. Her romance with Zaynab was lovely, and I was satisfied by the ending.

It was also very interesting to see the characters interact with Demerise, the FMC of Scarlet's first book. I'm hoping we get to see more of her (I love seeing actually good autism representation in media), but I guess time will tell.

Of Soulbound Sacrifice definitely isn't a book for the faint of heart, but if you want a Romeo and Juliet retelling with sapphic sirens, this might just be the book for you!

[Emily M · Rating 5 out of 5]

I was given the opportunity to be an Arc reader and I could not put this book down at all. It constantly had me on edge and waiting to see what was going to happen next. This book has it alllll sapphic love, action, drama, betrayals, climaxes (lol more than one), the story was really captivating. I loved these two FMCs as well as their POVs, the personalities really come through. Seeing how these characters grew and dealt with the hardships they endured during their journey and how they had to adapt in more than one way. Will they make it? Will they be able to make the ultimate sacrifices? Will it be enough? You just got to read this book. The author also did amazing at the world building and gave a real feel and vision when writing. I cannot wait to see more from them and other stories they build from here!!

[SABRINA FINCH · Rating 4 out of 5]

ARC Reader Review. All opinions are those of my own and have been given freely.

This book is definitely a good read for those who enjoy the story of how love can find even the most unsuspecting people and fundamentally change that person, usually for the good. I enjoyed the plot, I found the setting and the characters endearing. The inner dialogue of the characters helped to give insight into the outward reactions of the characters. The love story, definitely one that will make you smile. I encountered some grammar errors, nothing tragic. I found a few confusing spots in the tense and timeline but again, not dealbreaker level. I highly recommend taking the time for this read. Now I’m going to check out the other works by this author to see if in fact lightening does strike twice. Hope you enjoy this book. I love Zaynal and Brina and I bet you will too.

[blueberrylilac · Rating 2 out of 5]

I want to start by saying thank you to the author for providing me an ARC of this book! I enjoyed the world-building, the fantasy elements, and the sapphic siren love story, and thought they were immersive and fun to read. I do wish the magic system, lore, and relationships between characters had been better developed though, since I found all of those topics interesting and wanted a deeper dive. I also struggled to connect to the characters; their reactions to events felt very juvenile at times and I wasn’t a fan of the insta-love between Brina and Zaynab, or the constant miscommunication trope, though I did find their devotion to one another really sweet. I’m grateful I had the chance to read this book, and while it ended up not being for me, I think other people will greatly enjoy it and connect with the characters!

[Leah McFadden · Rating 3 out of 5]

It was my honor to receive an ARC for Of Soulbound Sacrifice. I had a lot of fun reading this book! The writing was well done and the characters were very real and complicated. I loved the adventure and the different aspects of the magical world! I also thought the character you meet later in the book was really well formed, but I won’t reveal their name to keep this review spoiler free.

I did have a bit of a hard time with the relationship between Brina and Zaynab, I wanted them to have a little more relationship building before saying, “I love you.” And I understand that they are Soulbound, but I still felt the relationship felt a little rushed. Some of the conflicts were a little unnecessary or forced. And don’t get me started on miscommunication tropes. But overall, this was a fun read and I’ll def read more of Tempest’s books.

[Verity · Rating 4 out of 5]

An amazing fantasy world full of magic, danger, and enough self sacrifice to make you wonder if Zaynab and Brina could possibly come out in one piece. The characters are deep and show continual growth through their struggles to be true to themselves and each other. Even their poor choices kept me wanting more.

I read this in less than a night because I just couldn't imagine trying to sleep before I knew the ending.

[RA. Hunter · Rating 5 out of 5]

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Of Soulbound Sacrifice: A Sapphic Siren Romantasy completely swept me away. From the very first page, the story pulls you into a lush, dangerous world of sirens, magic, and impossible choices. The atmosphere is vivid and immersive, but what truly makes this book shine is the emotional depth of the characters and the beautifully written sapphic romance at its core.

The chemistry between the leads is electric—tender, intense, and full of longing. Their bond grows through moments of vulnerability, sacrifice, and fierce devotion, making every interaction feel meaningful. The stakes feel real, and the story balances romance, fantasy, and tension in a way that keeps you turning pages late into the night.

If you love romantasy with rich world-building, powerful themes of loyalty and sacrifice, and a compelling sapphic love story, this is an absolute must-read.

[Christine Reid · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wow what a phenomenal story I loved the main characters their journey was horrendous and brutal but underneath the love pored through and the way it was written in so much
depth keeping you hooked, I struggled to put it down read it in two sitting a must-read congratulations

[Kristy · Rating 5 out of 5]

ARC Review
I really enjoyed this story, so much to the characters. The journey of Brina and Zaynab was really good what they had to overcome to be where they were was really good. I enjoyed the writing, love the depth to the characters, it was done very well. The 🌶️ was well done.

[Kelly McNamee · Rating 4 out of 5]

Such a good sapphic romantasy! I loved the sirens and the story telling. They fell fast and they fell hard and they fought for it. I loved it

[Sadie Burns · Rating 5 out of 5]

Really enjoyed reading this had alot of fun with the story