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Unsurvivable Love Duet #1
The Emperor's Enemy
Not yet published
Expected 15 Sep 26Win a free print copy of this book!
8 days and 15:54:08
50 copies available
U.S. and Canada only
When the hunter is hunted… who becomes prey?
The Emperor’s Enemy is an addictive true enemies-to-lovers dark romantasy with a heroine who doesn’t need saving, an enemy she can’t escape, and a war neither of them plans to lose.
Welcome to the Unsurvivable Love Duet, the all-new series by Jasmine Mas, bestselling author of Blood of Hercules.
Zora Ravenal didn’t join the Crimson Army to be a hero. She joined to destroy the empire.
A skilled hunter hardened by loss with a concerning capacity for stubbornness, Zora claws her way into becoming a Knight Mage: the Commonwealth’s deadliest defense against the Empire’s storm magic and her people’s only hope.
It almost works.
Now she’s stuck in a war she can’t walk away from, hiding dangerous secrets, and shoved into very close quarters with the one man she should never be alone with.
He’s a Royal Mage with a body count, a temper, and an unsettling obsession… with her.
Now they’re partners.
Sort of.
If “partners” means being forced to train together, trust each other with their lives, and somehow not kill each other in the process.
But the Royal Mage isn’t just dangerous—he’s paying attention. And the longer they’re forced to remain in each other’s orbit, the more twisted everything becomes. Who’s hunting who?
Perfect if you love:
• True enemies-to-lovers
• Sarcastic banter
• A spicy slow burn
• Touch her and die
• Female rage
• A shocking twist you will NOT see coming
The Emperor’s Enemy is an addictive true enemies-to-lovers dark romantasy with a heroine who doesn’t need saving, an enemy she can’t escape, and a war neither of them plans to lose.
Welcome to the Unsurvivable Love Duet, the all-new series by Jasmine Mas, bestselling author of Blood of Hercules.
Zora Ravenal didn’t join the Crimson Army to be a hero. She joined to destroy the empire.
A skilled hunter hardened by loss with a concerning capacity for stubbornness, Zora claws her way into becoming a Knight Mage: the Commonwealth’s deadliest defense against the Empire’s storm magic and her people’s only hope.
It almost works.
Now she’s stuck in a war she can’t walk away from, hiding dangerous secrets, and shoved into very close quarters with the one man she should never be alone with.
He’s a Royal Mage with a body count, a temper, and an unsettling obsession… with her.
Now they’re partners.
Sort of.
If “partners” means being forced to train together, trust each other with their lives, and somehow not kill each other in the process.
But the Royal Mage isn’t just dangerous—he’s paying attention. And the longer they’re forced to remain in each other’s orbit, the more twisted everything becomes. Who’s hunting who?
Perfect if you love:
• True enemies-to-lovers
• Sarcastic banter
• A spicy slow burn
• Touch her and die
• Female rage
• A shocking twist you will NOT see coming
444 pages, Kindle Edition
Expected publication September 15, 2026
About the author
Jasmine Mas
13 books12.3k followersJASMINE MAS is a New York Times bestselling author of fantasy romance. Her books have been translated into over 20 languages. She has a degree in ancient Greco-Roman classical studies from Georgetown University who spends all her free time writing about strong women in magical worlds. She loves connecting with readers on TikTok and Instagram at @jasminemasbooks.
Join her newsletter at blog.jasminemasbooks.com for early access and perks. Her website is jasminemasbooks.com
Join her newsletter at blog.jasminemasbooks.com for early access and perks. Her website is jasminemasbooks.com
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 337 reviews
August 3, 2026
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ A wicked man, a lucky lucky girl, and an owl walk into a bar(rack)…
At the start I was a little nervous that this was just going to be Psycho Shifters/ Blood of Hercules in a different font, but I am very happy to report this is NOT the case.
We do get to see the author’s writing style shine though — which is why I loved her previous books. There is a very strong willed expressive FMC, and we also have a hilarious animal side kick with the best one liners. But the rest is unique.
We have TRUE enemies to lovers — a few fatal attempts actually. And YEARRRRRNING. Dear lorddd. It feels like the slowest slow burn because I couldn’t wait, the anticipation was intense. Each page I flipped I hoped they’d get sweaty if ya know what I mean.
The story had a perfect blend of mystery where the FMC (and the reader) are in the dark, and only discovering things in time. I didn’t expect any of the twists, but that may be due to the fact I was so focused on the attraction and interactions instead of the world building aspect.
The banter and hate flirting are *chef’s kiss*
It’s hard to say if I enjoyed the back and forth more, or Squire’s commentary (helpful)
I read an ARC from the publisher, but these are my honest thoughts and reactions. It’s definitely one of my top reads this year, and I’m already dreaming about the next book.
At the start I was a little nervous that this was just going to be Psycho Shifters/ Blood of Hercules in a different font, but I am very happy to report this is NOT the case.
We do get to see the author’s writing style shine though — which is why I loved her previous books. There is a very strong willed expressive FMC, and we also have a hilarious animal side kick with the best one liners. But the rest is unique.
We have TRUE enemies to lovers — a few fatal attempts actually. And YEARRRRRNING. Dear lorddd. It feels like the slowest slow burn because I couldn’t wait, the anticipation was intense. Each page I flipped I hoped they’d get sweaty if ya know what I mean.
The story had a perfect blend of mystery where the FMC (and the reader) are in the dark, and only discovering things in time. I didn’t expect any of the twists, but that may be due to the fact I was so focused on the attraction and interactions instead of the world building aspect.
The banter and hate flirting are *chef’s kiss*
It’s hard to say if I enjoyed the back and forth more, or Squire’s commentary (helpful)
I read an ARC from the publisher, but these are my honest thoughts and reactions. It’s definitely one of my top reads this year, and I’m already dreaming about the next book.
Want to Read
January 29, 2026I NEED THIS NOW
July 29, 2026
Huge thanks to MIRA, HTP Hive, Harper Collins UK, and of course, Jasmine Mas for the early copy. Thank you so much for taking a chance on me, I am so eternally grateful for it, and this shall be one of my deathbed books.
6. MOTHER. FCKN. STARS. ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ WAIT I NEED TO DO A RE-READ RN
"𝓨𝓮𝓼—𝓘 𝓪𝓶 𝓪 𝓯𝓸𝓸𝓵 𝓯𝓸𝓻 𝓽𝓱𝓮𝓮. 𝓘𝓯 𝓽𝓱𝓸𝓾 𝓷𝓮𝓮𝓭 𝔀𝓪𝓻𝓶𝓽𝓱, 𝓘 𝓼𝓱𝓪𝓵𝓵 𝓼𝓮𝓽 𝓶𝔂𝓼𝓮𝓵𝓯 𝓪𝓯𝓵𝓪𝓶𝓮... 𝓘𝓯 𝓽𝓱𝓸𝓾 𝓪𝓻𝓽 𝓲𝓷𝓳𝓾𝓻𝓮𝓭, 𝓘 𝓼𝓱𝓪𝓵𝓵 𝓸𝓹𝓮𝓷 𝓾𝓹 𝓶𝔂 𝓿𝓮𝓲𝓷... 𝓘𝓯 𝓽𝓱𝓸𝓾 𝓷𝓮𝓮𝓭 𝓽𝓸 𝓯𝓮𝓮𝓵 𝓹𝓸𝔀𝓮𝓻𝓯𝓾𝓵, 𝓘 𝓼𝓱𝓪𝓵𝓵 𝓵𝓮𝓽 𝓶𝔂𝓼𝓮𝓵𝓯 𝓫𝓮 𝓮𝓵𝓮𝓬𝓽𝓻𝓸𝓬𝓾𝓽𝓮𝓭 𝓪𝓷𝓭 𝓼𝓽𝓪𝓫𝓫𝓮𝓭 𝓯𝓸𝓻 𝓶𝓸𝓷𝓽𝓱𝓼 𝓸𝓷 𝓮𝓷𝓭. 𝓐𝓷𝔂𝓽𝓱𝓲𝓷𝓰 𝓪𝓷𝓭 𝓮𝓿𝓮𝓻𝔂𝓽𝓱𝓲𝓷𝓰, 𝓪𝓵𝓵 𝓸𝓯 𝓲𝓽, 𝓘 𝓭𝓸 𝓯𝓸𝓻 𝔂𝓸𝓾𝓻 𝓼𝓪𝓽𝓲𝓼𝓯𝓪𝓬𝓽𝓲𝓸𝓷."
"𝕿𝖍𝖊 𝖜𝖎𝖈𝖐𝖊𝖉 𝖑𝖎𝖛𝖊 𝖋𝖔𝖗𝖊𝖛𝖊𝖗"
Where do I even start......I thoroughly, completely, utterly enjoyed myself right from the moment I read the first 2 chapter preview, and IMMEDIATELY knew that this would be so far up my alley. Everything was p e r f e c t from start to the end. I'm not sure what I expected from this book, but clearly, I was so blown away, and this book surprised me in so so many ways I didn't see coming.
I really loved Blood of Hercules! Jasmine's writing has always struck the perfect balance of hilarious, smart, packed, and heartfelt. All of that goodness here, but an impossibly infinite levels evolved. I'm in love.
"Just so thou know… I will let thee do anything thou want to me, body or soul, for the rest of my life."
The writing was so beautiful and descriptive, relatable and everything flowed naturally. The world building/magic system, character development and humor all wove in together perfectly in tandem, and I literally have 0 complaints. In fact, my complaint is that I NEED MORE. HOW IS THIS ONLY A DUET 😭😭😭😭 I tried to prolong finishing for as long as I could, because I simply didn't want it to end. BUT IT WAS SO GOOD, I COULDN'T STOP READING OR THINKING ABOUT IT.
"No woman has ever been so lovely."
The chapter titles were also very wittingly named. F(ire) and Ice, T(error), Tyranny's Pr(ice), D(anger), Con(descension). My personal favourite is Manipul(ate) 🤭 > INTERPRET HOW YOU WILL. SO GOOD.
"Never make peace with evil."
MY THEORY WAS RIGHT BUT THE REVELATION JUST KEPT GETTING CRAZIER AND CRAZIER AND SUDDENLY EVERYTHING MADE SENSE. JASMINEEEEE YOUR MIND
"Thou art pathetic, Ravenal." *Zora spits onto his expensive boot*
He arched an eyebrow. "Do that again... I dare thee." *SHE OBEYS* His eyes hardened. "Lick it off."
The humor, the characters, the world-building & magic system, the plot - Jasmine just kept giving and GIVING. Everything was so unique, a blend of urban fantasy and military fantasy, with elemental magic, dragons, mages and landscapes. Wow. I need to shout about this from the snowy mountains - the world was absolutely immersive and a breath of fresh goodness, which absolutely delivered with no question marks. Amazing.
"Thou could not....handle.....my endowment."
"I was referring to my immense coffers. What were thou pondering?"
The humor was absolutely insane. Diabolical. Dark humour at its FINEST. I just kept laughing non stop, smiling to myself like I'm crazed (*warning: do not be like me, and attempt to read this in public*). Honestly so relatable because I have the exact same deprecating thoughts and reactions; I felt so seen.
“I wake up thinking about thee. I go to bed thinking about thee… I spend my days thinking about how I shall ruin your life. And yet thou beat me to it—thou ruined mine first.”
Tarantula...... this man has a genuine chokehold over me. He can rip me to pieces or set me on fire, and I'll thank him for it. He's so fiercely protective, possessive, loyal, hot, mysterious ugh I've never met an MMC quite like him, and I need more. The way that he speaks in archaic "thee thou art" just rubs the crevices of my brain (and other places) in the right ways. Oh, and he smells like dark cherry.
“𝙄 𝙟𝙪𝙨𝙩 𝙨𝙩𝙖𝙗𝙗𝙚𝙙 𝙝𝙞𝙢.” “𝙄 𝙩𝙝𝙞𝙣𝙠 𝙝𝙚 𝙡𝙞𝙠𝙚𝙙 𝙞𝙩.”
He's also unhinged and just deranged as hell. His obsession with making Zora his is sexy as hell. His real name is sexy as hell. He's sexy as hell. His butterfly tattoos??!?>!?>?!? bye. This man walked out of a dark romance book, and is living in my head rent free now.
"Go..." "What art thou trying to say? Art thou okay?" "...screw yourself."
"I think—" he sighed "—I shall screw thee instead, Revanal."
The ways that he literally goes FERAL if someone hurts her, much less even looks at her or talks to her - they're beyond dead. "I will Burn down the world for you" very literally. Like launching a whole avalanche onto them, or going on a massacre, tearing them apart with just a flick of his finger. The depth of his magic will never cease to amaze me, and we haven't even seen a minuscule fraction of what he's capable of yet. I REALLY HOPE WE WILL IN BOOK TWO.
"Thou keep telling me how I feel, Ravenal... 'Tis very unbecoming of a woman."
"So, loathe me." "I don't think I will anymore." "You must." "I shan't."
THE YEAAAARRRRNINNNNNGGGGGGGGGGG. The fact that he's so raw with his emotions and thoughts is such a stark contrast to his big bad evil spidey-man persona - this man genuinely wanted Zora, and just wanted her to be safe. HE DID NOT COME TO PLAY GAMES.
𝓗𝓲𝓼 𝓼𝔂𝔁𝔃𝓪𝓵, 𝓱𝓲𝓼 𝓿𝓪𝓼𝓼𝓪𝓵. He literally dotes on her so much, he's so cuddly, touchy, and he's constantly giving forehead kisses and peppering kisses all over her face 🥺🥺🥺 MY HEART it's so cute 🥺 if he had a tail, we'll see it wagging
"𝙃𝙚 𝙗𝙧𝙚𝙖𝙩𝙝𝙚𝙙 𝙧𝙤𝙪𝙜𝙝𝙡𝙮, 𝙚𝙮𝙚𝙨 𝙧𝙤𝙡𝙡𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙗𝙖𝙘𝙠 𝙞𝙣 𝙝𝙞𝙨 𝙝𝙚𝙖𝙙. "𝙄 𝙝𝙖𝙫𝙚 𝙣𝙚𝙫𝙚𝙧 𝙤𝙣𝙘𝙚 𝙗𝙚𝙚𝙣 𝙛𝙞𝙣𝙚 𝙞𝙣 𝙮𝙤𝙪𝙧 𝙥𝙧𝙚𝙨𝙚𝙣𝙘𝙚, 𝙍𝙖𝙫𝙚𝙣𝙖𝙡." "𝙉𝙤, '𝙏𝙞𝙨 𝙩𝙝𝙤𝙪... 𝙏𝙝𝙤𝙪 𝙨𝙩𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝙤𝙫𝙚𝙧 𝙢𝙚 𝙬𝙞𝙩𝙝 𝙖 𝙗𝙡𝙞𝙨𝙨𝙛𝙪𝙡 𝙚𝙭𝙥𝙧𝙚𝙨𝙨𝙞𝙤𝙣, 𝙚𝙭𝙘𝙞𝙩𝙚𝙙 𝙩𝙤 𝙩𝙤𝙧𝙩𝙪𝙧𝙚 𝙢𝙚. 𝙏𝙝𝙚𝙧𝙚 𝙝𝙖𝙨 𝙣𝙚𝙫𝙚𝙧 𝙗𝙚𝙚𝙣 𝙖 𝙬𝙤𝙢𝙖𝙣 𝙞𝙣 𝙖𝙡𝙡 𝘼𝙣𝙩𝙞𝙘𝙝𝙩𝙝𝙤𝙣 𝙖𝙨 𝙘𝙧𝙪𝙚𝙡 𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝙡𝙤𝙫𝙚𝙡𝙮."
His monstrous, animalistic character was also written so well, and DONT EVEN GET ME STARTED ON HIS FILTHY MOUTH. How is it possible that this big sexy man is a virgin AND YET. YET? But the way that he's so pure and proper is also REALLY ADORABLE, exposed ankles, wrists, shoulders, KNEECAPS all make him blush and turn red.......he's adorable.
Also, his propensity for his own torture and pain???>?????
I can't believe we got this beautiful man's POV at the very end TWICE . I LITERALLY S(CREAMED).
“Zora Ravenal might be the most consternating woman in all Antichthon, but she was my consternation. Mine.”
ZORA ZORA ZORA, this woman stood on TEN TOES FROM START TO THE END. FML. I WANT HER TOO. She was fantastic. One of my new favourite FMCs - she's capable, strong, stubborn, fiercely loyal, and has a heart for the people she cares about. There's so many layers to her that make me respect and love her every time we learn more about her. I loved her relationship with Aurora and her mom, the twins, and of course, her owl, SQUIRE THE CUTIE. Squire's comments really made lots of moments more lighthearted with his comments (helpful).
"𝘿𝙤 𝙩𝙝𝙖𝙩 𝙖𝙜𝙖𝙞𝙣, 𝙄 𝙙𝙖𝙧𝙚 𝙩𝙝𝙚𝙚." "𝙎𝙥𝙞𝙩 𝙤𝙣 𝙢𝙚." 𝙃𝙚 𝙡𝙖𝙪𝙜𝙝𝙚𝙙 𝙬𝙞𝙩𝙝 𝙩𝙝𝙖𝙩 𝙨𝙤𝙪𝙣𝙙𝙚𝙙 𝙡𝙞𝙠𝙚 𝙜𝙚𝙣𝙪𝙞𝙣𝙚 𝙢𝙞𝙧𝙩𝙝 𝙖𝙨 𝙄 𝙛𝙧𝙤𝙯𝙚. "𝘼𝙝, 𝙄 𝙨𝙚𝙚. 𝘿𝙤 𝙩𝙝𝙤𝙪 𝙬𝙞𝙨𝙝 𝙛𝙤𝙧 𝙢𝙚 𝙩𝙤 𝙙𝙤 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙨𝙥𝙞𝙩𝙩𝙞𝙣𝙜? 𝙄 𝙨𝙝𝙖𝙡𝙡 𝙤𝙗𝙡𝙞𝙜𝙚." "𝙎𝙩𝙞𝙘𝙠 𝙤𝙪𝙩 𝙮𝙤𝙪𝙧 𝙩𝙤𝙣𝙜𝙪𝙚, 𝙍𝙖𝙫𝙚𝙣𝙖𝙡."
The way that she has little to no hesitation to punch, stab, or even borderline kill Tarantula also shocks me in many ways, because it highlights that much more about what she stands for, and what she wants to achieve. Her cause is virtuous and you know Tarantula's..........world domination.
"Thou art not my enemy, syxzal. Thou art mine to worship."
Their chemistry was absolutely electrifying. Watching their relationship evolve from pure enemies to the in between and now...? I can say with my whole chest that this might be one of the best enemies setting I've ever read. Nobody holds a candle to their spitting hate towards each other.
Their banter was absolutely bombastic, I enjoyed every single interaction and inner monologue.
"Do thou know?’ he panted. ‘Thou art the ideal—the most perfect person to ever exist… No one is like thee, and no one could ever match your fire." "Thou art more precious than any jewel, my sweet Zora," "Nothing in all Antichthon holds a candle to thee."
"𝙄 𝙮𝙚𝙖𝙧𝙣 𝙛𝙤𝙧 𝙩𝙝𝙚𝙚 𝙩𝙤 𝙥𝙧𝙚𝙨𝙨 𝙩𝙝𝙖𝙩 𝙠𝙣𝙞𝙛𝙚 𝙖𝙜𝙖𝙞𝙣𝙨𝙩 𝙢𝙮 𝙛𝙡𝙚𝙨𝙝 𝙬𝙝𝙞𝙡𝙚 𝙩𝙝𝙤𝙪 𝙧𝙞𝙙𝙚 𝙢𝙮 𝙛𝙖𝙘𝙚 𝙛𝙤𝙧 𝙝𝙤𝙪𝙧𝙨." 𝙃𝙞𝙨 𝙘𝙝𝙚𝙨𝙩 𝙝𝙚𝙖𝙫𝙚𝙙. "𝙉𝙤 𝙤𝙣𝙚 𝙚𝙡𝙨𝙚 𝙬𝙞𝙡𝙡 𝙙𝙤. 𝙄 𝙚𝙭𝙞𝙨𝙩 𝙞𝙣 𝙖𝙜𝙤𝙣𝙮... 𝙈𝙮 𝙤𝙗𝙨𝙚𝙨𝙨𝙞𝙤𝙣 𝙞𝙨 𝙗𝙪𝙧𝙣𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙢𝙚 𝙖𝙡𝙞𝙫𝙚."
everything leading up to their ✨fornication✨ was absolutely worth it. The sexual tension was crackling alongside their spite, and I was just waiting to see if they will jump each other's bones every time they punch each other.
"𝙄 𝙬𝙤𝙪𝙡𝙙 𝙣𝙚𝙫𝙚𝙧 𝙚𝙖𝙩 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙡𝙞𝙠𝙚𝙨 𝙤𝙛 𝙝𝙞𝙢," "𝙄 𝙬𝙤𝙪𝙡𝙙 𝙚𝙖𝙩 𝙩𝙝𝙚𝙚 ..... 𝙤𝙪𝙩." "𝙏𝙝𝙤𝙪 𝙨𝙝𝙤𝙪𝙡𝙙 𝙗𝙚 𝙫𝙚𝙧𝙮 𝙖𝙛𝙧𝙖𝙞𝙙, 𝙍𝙖𝙫𝙚𝙣𝙖𝙡. 𝙏𝙝𝙚 𝙙𝙚𝙥𝙩𝙝 𝙤𝙛 𝙬𝙝𝙖𝙩 𝙄 𝙙𝙚𝙨𝙞𝙧𝙚 𝙞𝙨.... 𝙪𝙣𝙩𝙚𝙣𝙖𝙗𝙡𝙚."
THE CIGARETTE PLAY SCENE? THE HAZY DRUGGED SCENE? CHAPTER 25. 🥵🥵🥵🫦🫦🫦🥵🥵🥵🫦🫦🫦
He acts like a prude and innocent but HE'S ACTUALLY SO FREAKY FML. NO BECAUSE IF THERE ARE BONUS CHAPTERS I NEED THEM RN.
""𝓣𝓱𝓸𝓾 𝓼𝓮𝓮 𝓶𝓮 𝓯𝓸𝓻 𝔀𝓱𝓪𝓽 𝓘 𝓪𝓶." "𝓣𝓱𝓸𝓾 𝓬𝓸𝓶𝓹𝓻𝓮𝓱𝓮𝓷𝓭 𝓶𝓮. 𝓛𝓮𝓽 𝓶𝓮 𝓽𝓪𝓴𝓮 𝓬𝓪𝓻𝓮 𝓸𝓯 𝓽𝓱𝓮𝓮... 𝓛𝓮𝓽 𝓶𝓮 𝓫𝓮 𝔂𝓸𝓾𝓻𝓼, 𝓡𝓪𝓿𝓮𝓷𝓪𝓵." "𝓘 𝓫𝓮𝓰 𝓽𝓱𝓮𝓮, 𝓽𝓪𝓴𝓮 𝓶𝓮𝓻𝓬𝔂 𝓸𝓷 𝓪 𝔂𝓮𝓪𝓻𝓷𝓲𝓷𝓰 𝓶𝓪𝓷, 𝓹𝓻𝓲𝓷𝓬𝓮𝓼𝓼."
I literally cannot wait for the next book, and I need it now. THAT ENDING LEFT ME IN SHAMBLES AND I FEEL SO SICK TO MY STOMACH??????? OMFG
I can't wait to see where the story goes, and I'm so down for the carnage to come. I thought that it would her revenge arc, but I think it might be both of theirs. The book title makes so much sense to me now. Wow.
"My infatuation: immediate. Obsession at first sight."
I will be left thinking about this book, and Tarantula and Zora for a long long time, and they've truly made an imprint on my heart. One of my favourite reads of all time, and a spirit animal almost.
𑣲⋆ "Thou art my syxzal." "My woman..... in every way."
𑣲⋆ "Syxzal." "Vexation....damnation....duty....honor....fate."
𑣲⋆ "I realized, what I was willing... to risk." His fingers tightened around my throat, just enough to make me gasp. "And what I was not."
𑣲⋆ "Who is Sazha?" "You named him?"
𑣲⋆ "It was the only way to get close to her, and Ta do it again a billion times over.
The past few months with Zora were the best of my entire life. Nothing could compare to the sweetness of watching her scowl above me, turning her little shock device, feeling powerful. She'd slapped me like she wanted me. It had been glorious."
𑣲⋆ ‘There is no corner of Antichthon where thou could hide from me. I shall find thee every single time. Your fate is already decided.’ I’d tasted her fate—our fate—that day when I licked her blood off my lips.”
𑣲⋆ “She was my cult because I was born to worship Zora Ravenal… I was going to ruin the world so I could watch her try to save it.”
𑣲⋆ "Thou art incorrect .... I only desire to bite, not bark. My teeth yearn to mar your arresting flesh."
𑣲⋆ "But what if a person hungers for a single individual... and no one else will do?" "What if I desire to... ruin the object of my attention?" "What if I yearn to consume her whole and I cannot ... avoid the dangerous inclinations? This hunger is devastating, a constant ache—the darkest of compulsions."
𑣲⋆ "Men loved to blame women for their evil, like it would absolve them. It didn't."
𑣲⋆ "The corner of his lips twitched as he fought a grin. "I call thee that because thou art my vassal — mine. " He spoke like I was a thing to be owned."
𑣲⋆ "Attempting to stay calm, I tried to appeal to her softer womanly sensibilities.
I quickly discovered she had none. Apparently the object of my affections preferred violent fisticuffs and cutting verbal swordplay. Another thing we had in common. Our courtship would be more volatile, more perfect, than I'd originally anticipated."
6. MOTHER. FCKN. STARS. ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ WAIT I NEED TO DO A RE-READ RN
"𝓨𝓮𝓼—𝓘 𝓪𝓶 𝓪 𝓯𝓸𝓸𝓵 𝓯𝓸𝓻 𝓽𝓱𝓮𝓮. 𝓘𝓯 𝓽𝓱𝓸𝓾 𝓷𝓮𝓮𝓭 𝔀𝓪𝓻𝓶𝓽𝓱, 𝓘 𝓼𝓱𝓪𝓵𝓵 𝓼𝓮𝓽 𝓶𝔂𝓼𝓮𝓵𝓯 𝓪𝓯𝓵𝓪𝓶𝓮... 𝓘𝓯 𝓽𝓱𝓸𝓾 𝓪𝓻𝓽 𝓲𝓷𝓳𝓾𝓻𝓮𝓭, 𝓘 𝓼𝓱𝓪𝓵𝓵 𝓸𝓹𝓮𝓷 𝓾𝓹 𝓶𝔂 𝓿𝓮𝓲𝓷... 𝓘𝓯 𝓽𝓱𝓸𝓾 𝓷𝓮𝓮𝓭 𝓽𝓸 𝓯𝓮𝓮𝓵 𝓹𝓸𝔀𝓮𝓻𝓯𝓾𝓵, 𝓘 𝓼𝓱𝓪𝓵𝓵 𝓵𝓮𝓽 𝓶𝔂𝓼𝓮𝓵𝓯 𝓫𝓮 𝓮𝓵𝓮𝓬𝓽𝓻𝓸𝓬𝓾𝓽𝓮𝓭 𝓪𝓷𝓭 𝓼𝓽𝓪𝓫𝓫𝓮𝓭 𝓯𝓸𝓻 𝓶𝓸𝓷𝓽𝓱𝓼 𝓸𝓷 𝓮𝓷𝓭. 𝓐𝓷𝔂𝓽𝓱𝓲𝓷𝓰 𝓪𝓷𝓭 𝓮𝓿𝓮𝓻𝔂𝓽𝓱𝓲𝓷𝓰, 𝓪𝓵𝓵 𝓸𝓯 𝓲𝓽, 𝓘 𝓭𝓸 𝓯𝓸𝓻 𝔂𝓸𝓾𝓻 𝓼𝓪𝓽𝓲𝓼𝓯𝓪𝓬𝓽𝓲𝓸𝓷."
"𝕿𝖍𝖊 𝖜𝖎𝖈𝖐𝖊𝖉 𝖑𝖎𝖛𝖊 𝖋𝖔𝖗𝖊𝖛𝖊𝖗"
Where do I even start......I thoroughly, completely, utterly enjoyed myself right from the moment I read the first 2 chapter preview, and IMMEDIATELY knew that this would be so far up my alley. Everything was p e r f e c t from start to the end. I'm not sure what I expected from this book, but clearly, I was so blown away, and this book surprised me in so so many ways I didn't see coming.
I really loved Blood of Hercules! Jasmine's writing has always struck the perfect balance of hilarious, smart, packed, and heartfelt. All of that goodness here, but an impossibly infinite levels evolved. I'm in love.
"Just so thou know… I will let thee do anything thou want to me, body or soul, for the rest of my life."
The writing was so beautiful and descriptive, relatable and everything flowed naturally. The world building/magic system, character development and humor all wove in together perfectly in tandem, and I literally have 0 complaints. In fact, my complaint is that I NEED MORE. HOW IS THIS ONLY A DUET 😭😭😭😭 I tried to prolong finishing for as long as I could, because I simply didn't want it to end. BUT IT WAS SO GOOD, I COULDN'T STOP READING OR THINKING ABOUT IT.
"No woman has ever been so lovely."
The chapter titles were also very wittingly named. F(ire) and Ice, T(error), Tyranny's Pr(ice), D(anger), Con(descension). My personal favourite is Manipul(ate) 🤭 > INTERPRET HOW YOU WILL. SO GOOD.
"Never make peace with evil."
MY THEORY WAS RIGHT BUT THE REVELATION JUST KEPT GETTING CRAZIER AND CRAZIER AND SUDDENLY EVERYTHING MADE SENSE. JASMINEEEEE YOUR MIND
"Thou art pathetic, Ravenal." *Zora spits onto his expensive boot*
He arched an eyebrow. "Do that again... I dare thee." *SHE OBEYS* His eyes hardened. "Lick it off."
The humor, the characters, the world-building & magic system, the plot - Jasmine just kept giving and GIVING. Everything was so unique, a blend of urban fantasy and military fantasy, with elemental magic, dragons, mages and landscapes. Wow. I need to shout about this from the snowy mountains - the world was absolutely immersive and a breath of fresh goodness, which absolutely delivered with no question marks. Amazing.
"Thou could not....handle.....my endowment."
"I was referring to my immense coffers. What were thou pondering?"
The humor was absolutely insane. Diabolical. Dark humour at its FINEST. I just kept laughing non stop, smiling to myself like I'm crazed (*warning: do not be like me, and attempt to read this in public*). Honestly so relatable because I have the exact same deprecating thoughts and reactions; I felt so seen.
“I wake up thinking about thee. I go to bed thinking about thee… I spend my days thinking about how I shall ruin your life. And yet thou beat me to it—thou ruined mine first.”
Tarantula...... this man has a genuine chokehold over me. He can rip me to pieces or set me on fire, and I'll thank him for it. He's so fiercely protective, possessive, loyal, hot, mysterious ugh I've never met an MMC quite like him, and I need more. The way that he speaks in archaic "thee thou art" just rubs the crevices of my brain (and other places) in the right ways. Oh, and he smells like dark cherry.
“𝙄 𝙟𝙪𝙨𝙩 𝙨𝙩𝙖𝙗𝙗𝙚𝙙 𝙝𝙞𝙢.” “𝙄 𝙩𝙝𝙞𝙣𝙠 𝙝𝙚 𝙡𝙞𝙠𝙚𝙙 𝙞𝙩.”
He's also unhinged and just deranged as hell. His obsession with making Zora his is sexy as hell. His real name is sexy as hell. He's sexy as hell. His butterfly tattoos??!?>!?>?!? bye. This man walked out of a dark romance book, and is living in my head rent free now.
"Go..." "What art thou trying to say? Art thou okay?" "...screw yourself."
"I think—" he sighed "—I shall screw thee instead, Revanal."
The ways that he literally goes FERAL if someone hurts her, much less even looks at her or talks to her - they're beyond dead. "I will Burn down the world for you" very literally. Like launching a whole avalanche onto them, or going on a massacre, tearing them apart with just a flick of his finger. The depth of his magic will never cease to amaze me, and we haven't even seen a minuscule fraction of what he's capable of yet. I REALLY HOPE WE WILL IN BOOK TWO.
"Thou keep telling me how I feel, Ravenal... 'Tis very unbecoming of a woman."
"So, loathe me." "I don't think I will anymore." "You must." "I shan't."
THE YEAAAARRRRNINNNNNGGGGGGGGGGG. The fact that he's so raw with his emotions and thoughts is such a stark contrast to his big bad evil spidey-man persona - this man genuinely wanted Zora, and just wanted her to be safe. HE DID NOT COME TO PLAY GAMES.
𝓗𝓲𝓼 𝓼𝔂𝔁𝔃𝓪𝓵, 𝓱𝓲𝓼 𝓿𝓪𝓼𝓼𝓪𝓵. He literally dotes on her so much, he's so cuddly, touchy, and he's constantly giving forehead kisses and peppering kisses all over her face 🥺🥺🥺 MY HEART it's so cute 🥺 if he had a tail, we'll see it wagging
"𝙃𝙚 𝙗𝙧𝙚𝙖𝙩𝙝𝙚𝙙 𝙧𝙤𝙪𝙜𝙝𝙡𝙮, 𝙚𝙮𝙚𝙨 𝙧𝙤𝙡𝙡𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙗𝙖𝙘𝙠 𝙞𝙣 𝙝𝙞𝙨 𝙝𝙚𝙖𝙙. "𝙄 𝙝𝙖𝙫𝙚 𝙣𝙚𝙫𝙚𝙧 𝙤𝙣𝙘𝙚 𝙗𝙚𝙚𝙣 𝙛𝙞𝙣𝙚 𝙞𝙣 𝙮𝙤𝙪𝙧 𝙥𝙧𝙚𝙨𝙚𝙣𝙘𝙚, 𝙍𝙖𝙫𝙚𝙣𝙖𝙡." "𝙉𝙤, '𝙏𝙞𝙨 𝙩𝙝𝙤𝙪... 𝙏𝙝𝙤𝙪 𝙨𝙩𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝙤𝙫𝙚𝙧 𝙢𝙚 𝙬𝙞𝙩𝙝 𝙖 𝙗𝙡𝙞𝙨𝙨𝙛𝙪𝙡 𝙚𝙭𝙥𝙧𝙚𝙨𝙨𝙞𝙤𝙣, 𝙚𝙭𝙘𝙞𝙩𝙚𝙙 𝙩𝙤 𝙩𝙤𝙧𝙩𝙪𝙧𝙚 𝙢𝙚. 𝙏𝙝𝙚𝙧𝙚 𝙝𝙖𝙨 𝙣𝙚𝙫𝙚𝙧 𝙗𝙚𝙚𝙣 𝙖 𝙬𝙤𝙢𝙖𝙣 𝙞𝙣 𝙖𝙡𝙡 𝘼𝙣𝙩𝙞𝙘𝙝𝙩𝙝𝙤𝙣 𝙖𝙨 𝙘𝙧𝙪𝙚𝙡 𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝙡𝙤𝙫𝙚𝙡𝙮."
His monstrous, animalistic character was also written so well, and DONT EVEN GET ME STARTED ON HIS FILTHY MOUTH. How is it possible that this big sexy man is a virgin AND YET. YET? But the way that he's so pure and proper is also REALLY ADORABLE, exposed ankles, wrists, shoulders, KNEECAPS all make him blush and turn red.......he's adorable.
Also, his propensity for his own torture and pain???>?????
I can't believe we got this beautiful man's POV at the very end TWICE . I LITERALLY S(CREAMED).
“Zora Ravenal might be the most consternating woman in all Antichthon, but she was my consternation. Mine.”
ZORA ZORA ZORA, this woman stood on TEN TOES FROM START TO THE END. FML. I WANT HER TOO. She was fantastic. One of my new favourite FMCs - she's capable, strong, stubborn, fiercely loyal, and has a heart for the people she cares about. There's so many layers to her that make me respect and love her every time we learn more about her. I loved her relationship with Aurora and her mom, the twins, and of course, her owl, SQUIRE THE CUTIE. Squire's comments really made lots of moments more lighthearted with his comments (helpful).
"𝘿𝙤 𝙩𝙝𝙖𝙩 𝙖𝙜𝙖𝙞𝙣, 𝙄 𝙙𝙖𝙧𝙚 𝙩𝙝𝙚𝙚." "𝙎𝙥𝙞𝙩 𝙤𝙣 𝙢𝙚." 𝙃𝙚 𝙡𝙖𝙪𝙜𝙝𝙚𝙙 𝙬𝙞𝙩𝙝 𝙩𝙝𝙖𝙩 𝙨𝙤𝙪𝙣𝙙𝙚𝙙 𝙡𝙞𝙠𝙚 𝙜𝙚𝙣𝙪𝙞𝙣𝙚 𝙢𝙞𝙧𝙩𝙝 𝙖𝙨 𝙄 𝙛𝙧𝙤𝙯𝙚. "𝘼𝙝, 𝙄 𝙨𝙚𝙚. 𝘿𝙤 𝙩𝙝𝙤𝙪 𝙬𝙞𝙨𝙝 𝙛𝙤𝙧 𝙢𝙚 𝙩𝙤 𝙙𝙤 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙨𝙥𝙞𝙩𝙩𝙞𝙣𝙜? 𝙄 𝙨𝙝𝙖𝙡𝙡 𝙤𝙗𝙡𝙞𝙜𝙚." "𝙎𝙩𝙞𝙘𝙠 𝙤𝙪𝙩 𝙮𝙤𝙪𝙧 𝙩𝙤𝙣𝙜𝙪𝙚, 𝙍𝙖𝙫𝙚𝙣𝙖𝙡."
The way that she has little to no hesitation to punch, stab, or even borderline kill Tarantula also shocks me in many ways, because it highlights that much more about what she stands for, and what she wants to achieve. Her cause is virtuous and you know Tarantula's..........world domination.
"Thou art not my enemy, syxzal. Thou art mine to worship."
Their chemistry was absolutely electrifying. Watching their relationship evolve from pure enemies to the in between and now...? I can say with my whole chest that this might be one of the best enemies setting I've ever read. Nobody holds a candle to their spitting hate towards each other.
Their banter was absolutely bombastic, I enjoyed every single interaction and inner monologue.
"Do thou know?’ he panted. ‘Thou art the ideal—the most perfect person to ever exist… No one is like thee, and no one could ever match your fire." "Thou art more precious than any jewel, my sweet Zora," "Nothing in all Antichthon holds a candle to thee."
"𝙄 𝙮𝙚𝙖𝙧𝙣 𝙛𝙤𝙧 𝙩𝙝𝙚𝙚 𝙩𝙤 𝙥𝙧𝙚𝙨𝙨 𝙩𝙝𝙖𝙩 𝙠𝙣𝙞𝙛𝙚 𝙖𝙜𝙖𝙞𝙣𝙨𝙩 𝙢𝙮 𝙛𝙡𝙚𝙨𝙝 𝙬𝙝𝙞𝙡𝙚 𝙩𝙝𝙤𝙪 𝙧𝙞𝙙𝙚 𝙢𝙮 𝙛𝙖𝙘𝙚 𝙛𝙤𝙧 𝙝𝙤𝙪𝙧𝙨." 𝙃𝙞𝙨 𝙘𝙝𝙚𝙨𝙩 𝙝𝙚𝙖𝙫𝙚𝙙. "𝙉𝙤 𝙤𝙣𝙚 𝙚𝙡𝙨𝙚 𝙬𝙞𝙡𝙡 𝙙𝙤. 𝙄 𝙚𝙭𝙞𝙨𝙩 𝙞𝙣 𝙖𝙜𝙤𝙣𝙮... 𝙈𝙮 𝙤𝙗𝙨𝙚𝙨𝙨𝙞𝙤𝙣 𝙞𝙨 𝙗𝙪𝙧𝙣𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙢𝙚 𝙖𝙡𝙞𝙫𝙚."
everything leading up to their ✨fornication✨ was absolutely worth it. The sexual tension was crackling alongside their spite, and I was just waiting to see if they will jump each other's bones every time they punch each other.
"𝙄 𝙬𝙤𝙪𝙡𝙙 𝙣𝙚𝙫𝙚𝙧 𝙚𝙖𝙩 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙡𝙞𝙠𝙚𝙨 𝙤𝙛 𝙝𝙞𝙢," "𝙄 𝙬𝙤𝙪𝙡𝙙 𝙚𝙖𝙩 𝙩𝙝𝙚𝙚 ..... 𝙤𝙪𝙩." "𝙏𝙝𝙤𝙪 𝙨𝙝𝙤𝙪𝙡𝙙 𝙗𝙚 𝙫𝙚𝙧𝙮 𝙖𝙛𝙧𝙖𝙞𝙙, 𝙍𝙖𝙫𝙚𝙣𝙖𝙡. 𝙏𝙝𝙚 𝙙𝙚𝙥𝙩𝙝 𝙤𝙛 𝙬𝙝𝙖𝙩 𝙄 𝙙𝙚𝙨𝙞𝙧𝙚 𝙞𝙨.... 𝙪𝙣𝙩𝙚𝙣𝙖𝙗𝙡𝙚."
THE CIGARETTE PLAY SCENE? THE HAZY DRUGGED SCENE? CHAPTER 25. 🥵🥵🥵🫦🫦🫦🥵🥵🥵🫦🫦🫦
He acts like a prude and innocent but HE'S ACTUALLY SO FREAKY FML. NO BECAUSE IF THERE ARE BONUS CHAPTERS I NEED THEM RN.
""𝓣𝓱𝓸𝓾 𝓼𝓮𝓮 𝓶𝓮 𝓯𝓸𝓻 𝔀𝓱𝓪𝓽 𝓘 𝓪𝓶." "𝓣𝓱𝓸𝓾 𝓬𝓸𝓶𝓹𝓻𝓮𝓱𝓮𝓷𝓭 𝓶𝓮. 𝓛𝓮𝓽 𝓶𝓮 𝓽𝓪𝓴𝓮 𝓬𝓪𝓻𝓮 𝓸𝓯 𝓽𝓱𝓮𝓮... 𝓛𝓮𝓽 𝓶𝓮 𝓫𝓮 𝔂𝓸𝓾𝓻𝓼, 𝓡𝓪𝓿𝓮𝓷𝓪𝓵." "𝓘 𝓫𝓮𝓰 𝓽𝓱𝓮𝓮, 𝓽𝓪𝓴𝓮 𝓶𝓮𝓻𝓬𝔂 𝓸𝓷 𝓪 𝔂𝓮𝓪𝓻𝓷𝓲𝓷𝓰 𝓶𝓪𝓷, 𝓹𝓻𝓲𝓷𝓬𝓮𝓼𝓼."
I literally cannot wait for the next book, and I need it now. THAT ENDING LEFT ME IN SHAMBLES AND I FEEL SO SICK TO MY STOMACH??????? OMFG
I can't wait to see where the story goes, and I'm so down for the carnage to come. I thought that it would her revenge arc, but I think it might be both of theirs. The book title makes so much sense to me now. Wow.
"My infatuation: immediate. Obsession at first sight."
I will be left thinking about this book, and Tarantula and Zora for a long long time, and they've truly made an imprint on my heart. One of my favourite reads of all time, and a spirit animal almost.
𑣲⋆ "Thou art my syxzal." "My woman..... in every way."
𑣲⋆ "Syxzal." "Vexation....damnation....duty....honor....fate."
𑣲⋆ "I realized, what I was willing... to risk." His fingers tightened around my throat, just enough to make me gasp. "And what I was not."
𑣲⋆ "Who is Sazha?" "You named him?"
𑣲⋆ "It was the only way to get close to her, and Ta do it again a billion times over.
The past few months with Zora were the best of my entire life. Nothing could compare to the sweetness of watching her scowl above me, turning her little shock device, feeling powerful. She'd slapped me like she wanted me. It had been glorious."
𑣲⋆ ‘There is no corner of Antichthon where thou could hide from me. I shall find thee every single time. Your fate is already decided.’ I’d tasted her fate—our fate—that day when I licked her blood off my lips.”
𑣲⋆ “She was my cult because I was born to worship Zora Ravenal… I was going to ruin the world so I could watch her try to save it.”
𑣲⋆ "Thou art incorrect .... I only desire to bite, not bark. My teeth yearn to mar your arresting flesh."
𑣲⋆ "But what if a person hungers for a single individual... and no one else will do?" "What if I desire to... ruin the object of my attention?" "What if I yearn to consume her whole and I cannot ... avoid the dangerous inclinations? This hunger is devastating, a constant ache—the darkest of compulsions."
𑣲⋆ "Men loved to blame women for their evil, like it would absolve them. It didn't."
𑣲⋆ "The corner of his lips twitched as he fought a grin. "I call thee that because thou art my vassal — mine. " He spoke like I was a thing to be owned."
𑣲⋆ "Attempting to stay calm, I tried to appeal to her softer womanly sensibilities.
I quickly discovered she had none. Apparently the object of my affections preferred violent fisticuffs and cutting verbal swordplay. Another thing we had in common. Our courtship would be more volatile, more perfect, than I'd originally anticipated."
remind-me-once-out
March 13, 2026Medusa? Is this thou?
July 6, 2026
Uhhh wow okay this was something. Definitely not the something I was expecting. I liked Villains of Lore so I was very excited for this.
This kind of gave me irresistible urge to fall for your enemy vibes. Even down to the chapter titles. Which I feel like it’s of those you books you either like it or you don’t. In this case I felt like this was trying too hard to hit all the tropes so I didn’t end up enjoying it. The characters recited things over in the dialogue in parentheses to reiterate their feelings which kind of took me out of the moment (not helpful). That as a reader we were reminded over and over how funny and angry and sarcastic (sarcastic see I was sarcastic) the characters were that the story became muddled. At times I felt like maybe I was missing something almost like I was reading a fan fiction without knowing the previous fandom at all.
I couldn’t get a good sense of the world building, magic system or why there was a war. There were helicopters, magic, snowboarding, old English phrases, swords and dragons. It was chaotic, there wasn’t really a plot but things were happening and we need to care. The archaic language felt jarring and weird to me. Im not sure why it was added but I personally didn’t think it add anything important to the story plot besides maybe helping you remember they were from a different area. See they are different, obviously they talk funny (haha they talk funny). I usually enjoy banter and internal monologue but this felt so internal that it felt like there were only two characters in the entire story. It was a very much tell you not show you story. Also the timeline felt super disjointed by the end I kind of understood everything but at the same time it just felt like I didn’t care because even the characters didn’t seem to care either. Everyone was as just like yeah sure that makes total sense yeahhh go for it, no questions asked I’ll just be here where you left me, in this plot hole for when you get back.
The characters were interesting. The chemistry and romance was okayish. I still don’t feel like we got to know them very well yet. It felt like mostly characteristics and bullet points. I was waiting for the walls to break down in this book so we could really get to know and see what each character was really about. Maybe in future books we will get to know them better but it was all kind of thrown at us at the very end. I liked Squire the best. Any time there is an animal companion they are usually my favorite.
Over all this book felt like it could have been condensed into the last 1/4 of the book. Or maybe started in a different direction. I will say the ending had a major twist but honestly after the ending I don’t see me wanting to read the next book. This is a real enemies to uhh enemies (lovers) story and I personally don’t care for a specific action that Zora committed at the end. So I can’t see myself wanting to read about her trying to reconcile and I don’t think the love interest should want to either. I think she made her self clear and the love interest should take the hint they are enemies and stay enemies forever.
Huge thank you to HTP Hive for the eARC
This kind of gave me irresistible urge to fall for your enemy vibes. Even down to the chapter titles. Which I feel like it’s of those you books you either like it or you don’t. In this case I felt like this was trying too hard to hit all the tropes so I didn’t end up enjoying it. The characters recited things over in the dialogue in parentheses to reiterate their feelings which kind of took me out of the moment (not helpful). That as a reader we were reminded over and over how funny and angry and sarcastic (sarcastic see I was sarcastic) the characters were that the story became muddled. At times I felt like maybe I was missing something almost like I was reading a fan fiction without knowing the previous fandom at all.
I couldn’t get a good sense of the world building, magic system or why there was a war. There were helicopters, magic, snowboarding, old English phrases, swords and dragons. It was chaotic, there wasn’t really a plot but things were happening and we need to care. The archaic language felt jarring and weird to me. Im not sure why it was added but I personally didn’t think it add anything important to the story plot besides maybe helping you remember they were from a different area. See they are different, obviously they talk funny (haha they talk funny). I usually enjoy banter and internal monologue but this felt so internal that it felt like there were only two characters in the entire story. It was a very much tell you not show you story. Also the timeline felt super disjointed by the end I kind of understood everything but at the same time it just felt like I didn’t care because even the characters didn’t seem to care either. Everyone was as just like yeah sure that makes total sense yeahhh go for it, no questions asked I’ll just be here where you left me, in this plot hole for when you get back.
The characters were interesting. The chemistry and romance was okayish. I still don’t feel like we got to know them very well yet. It felt like mostly characteristics and bullet points. I was waiting for the walls to break down in this book so we could really get to know and see what each character was really about. Maybe in future books we will get to know them better but it was all kind of thrown at us at the very end. I liked Squire the best. Any time there is an animal companion they are usually my favorite.
Over all this book felt like it could have been condensed into the last 1/4 of the book. Or maybe started in a different direction. I will say the ending had a major twist but honestly after the ending I don’t see me wanting to read the next book. This is a real enemies to uhh enemies (lovers) story and I personally don’t care for a specific action that Zora committed at the end. So I can’t see myself wanting to read about her trying to reconcile and I don’t think the love interest should want to either. I think she made her self clear and the love interest should take the hint they are enemies and stay enemies forever.
Huge thank you to HTP Hive for the eARC
Read
July 24, 2026I received a free review copy of this book in exchange for my honest review. Thank you HarperCollins for the eARC! I will post my full review shortly.
Edit 7/16/2026: I’m just so confused now….but I got an eARC and I’m reading it now so I guess I’ll see. One of the comments below made a good point about the assassin possibly secretly being the emperor 😭
Edit 3/10/2026: So she changed the blurb, and now it's clear that this will be a throuple romance. Thank god, if she was going to make this monogamous, I was going to cry a river of tears. Also, what kind of name for an assassin is Tarantula?
I'm confused about whether the romance in this book is a throuple (MFM, MMF), a reverse harem, or just monogamous.
I know its likely either monogamous or a throuple romance. Because the special edition and art inside the special edition only includes the emperor and the main character, but the blurb talks about the emperor guy sending an assassin called the tarantula to get her, and maybe she's also going to end up with the assassin as well?
All in all, we already have enough 2 people relationship books, and I'm begging for this to not be another.
Edit 7/16/2026: I’m just so confused now….but I got an eARC and I’m reading it now so I guess I’ll see. One of the comments below made a good point about the assassin possibly secretly being the emperor 😭
Edit 3/10/2026: So she changed the blurb, and now it's clear that this will be a throuple romance. Thank god, if she was going to make this monogamous, I was going to cry a river of tears. Also, what kind of name for an assassin is Tarantula?
I'm confused about whether the romance in this book is a throuple (MFM, MMF), a reverse harem, or just monogamous.
I know its likely either monogamous or a throuple romance. Because the special edition and art inside the special edition only includes the emperor and the main character, but the blurb talks about the emperor guy sending an assassin called the tarantula to get her, and maybe she's also going to end up with the assassin as well?
All in all, we already have enough 2 people relationship books, and I'm begging for this to not be another.
August 16, 2026
Jasmine Mas’ books are always fun as hell and I was in need of a good time, so I dove head first into my ARC of The Emperor's Enemy expecting dark humor, TRUE enemies to lovers, and unhinged characters. Solid 4 stars for the vibes!
🗓️ ARC Review. Pub Date: September 15, 2026 🗓️
🎁 ARC gifted to me by The Hive | Harlequin Trade Publishing | MIRA
🖤 Dark fantasy romance
🖤 1st person POV
🖤 Knight FMC
🖤 Unhinged villain MMC
🖤 TRUE enemies
🖤 Sassy owl
Spice: 🌶️🌶️
Jasmine Mas' books always have me thinking "what the hell did I just read" (in the best way) after finishing them. I can always count on her to write the most unhinged male main characters, and the MMC in The Emperor's Enemy is no exception.
At this point, I feel like all Jasmine Mas books are vibe reads—you either gobble them up or you're immediately out. I feel like the vibes of this book are very similar to her two other series when it comes to the world, development of the FMCs, and characterization of our MMCs. If you don't like Jasmine's other books, I don't think this will be for you. I, however, love her books because they feel like snack food.
Our FMC is a baddie, and I love that she remains true to herself the entirety of this book. Her characterization felt very consistent, which, at times, I would've expected her to deviate.
Our MMC is insane and obsessive. “wtf is he on”/“what is wrong with him” was my reaction pretty much every interaction he had with our FMC. I couldn't help but laugh thinking about how the hell Jasmine came up with these scenes and dialogue. I can just tell how much fun Jasmine has writing her books.
Overall, I rated this book 4 stars for the vibes. My biggest "issue" with this book was the shifting timeline/flash backs. While I understood why Jasmine Mas incorporated them because they allow the reader to experience important events first-hand, I found their placements disruptive to the story. It ultimately made the story's progression feel disjointed.
Nonetheless, I'm excited to continue this series!
🗓️ ARC Review. Pub Date: September 15, 2026 🗓️
🎁 ARC gifted to me by The Hive | Harlequin Trade Publishing | MIRA
🖤 Dark fantasy romance
🖤 1st person POV
🖤 Knight FMC
🖤 Unhinged villain MMC
🖤 TRUE enemies
🖤 Sassy owl
Spice: 🌶️🌶️
Jasmine Mas' books always have me thinking "what the hell did I just read" (in the best way) after finishing them. I can always count on her to write the most unhinged male main characters, and the MMC in The Emperor's Enemy is no exception.
At this point, I feel like all Jasmine Mas books are vibe reads—you either gobble them up or you're immediately out. I feel like the vibes of this book are very similar to her two other series when it comes to the world, development of the FMCs, and characterization of our MMCs. If you don't like Jasmine's other books, I don't think this will be for you. I, however, love her books because they feel like snack food.
Our FMC is a baddie, and I love that she remains true to herself the entirety of this book. Her characterization felt very consistent, which, at times, I would've expected her to deviate.
Our MMC is insane and obsessive. “wtf is he on”/“what is wrong with him” was my reaction pretty much every interaction he had with our FMC. I couldn't help but laugh thinking about how the hell Jasmine came up with these scenes and dialogue. I can just tell how much fun Jasmine has writing her books.
Overall, I rated this book 4 stars for the vibes. My biggest "issue" with this book was the shifting timeline/flash backs. While I understood why Jasmine Mas incorporated them because they allow the reader to experience important events first-hand, I found their placements disruptive to the story. It ultimately made the story's progression feel disjointed.
Nonetheless, I'm excited to continue this series!
July 16, 2026
Holy sh*t was this good.
Do you like your men bloody, slutty, and pathetic?
Do you support wrongs against men?
Do you live for men who are feral, who are deeply, ferociously obsessed?
Do you yearn for true, deep, passionate enemies to lovers?
Run, don’t walk, to get your hands on The Emperor’s Enemy.
I loved Blood of Hercules. Jasmine Mas’s writing has always struck the perfect balance of hilarious, campy, smart, and heartfelt. All of that is here, only somehow, impossibly, even better.
Zora is the epitome of a idealist out to save the world, someone with a true moral compass and deep-seeded sense of purpose. Skeptical of men, protective of her loved ones. Self-sacrificing but in a way that never feels foolish. Brilliant and bold and powerful and yet still, somehow, so human.
With Tarantula (yes, this spidery MMC is named Tarantula), she meets her match it someone who maybe likes her power over him a bit too much. I can not possibly stress enough how well the psycho simp archetype works here. If you have not read a pathetic, down bad, feral, slutty MMC before oh boy, are you in for a treat.
Also:
🦉 The absolute PERFECT animal familiar. Squire had some of the absolute best lines. Jasmine Mas’s animals are so elite
⛈️ A magic system and world that feels so original—it was giving the perfect bit of SciFi/Mad Max
💧 Old English dialogue from the MMC that may seem silly at first but omg the way it eventually hits—pure, perfect camp
⚔️ Friends that positively shine, in all their screen time
❄️ All the best tropes: forced proximity, only one bed/
horse, “mine,” “who did this to you?!”
🔥 Spice that trulyyyy feeds you
🍴 Fork based violence (somehow a sign of my favorite books, apparently)
🐎 Plot twists that WORK, even if you’ll see several of them coming
I could go on and on. There isn’t another book I can think of, quite like this one. Please preorder it, I fear you need it.
10/10, Jasmine Mas. I can not WAIT for the sequel.
Thank you, HTP / MIRA for the eARC!
Do you like your men bloody, slutty, and pathetic?
Do you support wrongs against men?
Do you live for men who are feral, who are deeply, ferociously obsessed?
Do you yearn for true, deep, passionate enemies to lovers?
Run, don’t walk, to get your hands on The Emperor’s Enemy.
I loved Blood of Hercules. Jasmine Mas’s writing has always struck the perfect balance of hilarious, campy, smart, and heartfelt. All of that is here, only somehow, impossibly, even better.
Zora is the epitome of a idealist out to save the world, someone with a true moral compass and deep-seeded sense of purpose. Skeptical of men, protective of her loved ones. Self-sacrificing but in a way that never feels foolish. Brilliant and bold and powerful and yet still, somehow, so human.
With Tarantula (yes, this spidery MMC is named Tarantula), she meets her match it someone who maybe likes her power over him a bit too much. I can not possibly stress enough how well the psycho simp archetype works here. If you have not read a pathetic, down bad, feral, slutty MMC before oh boy, are you in for a treat.
Also:
🦉 The absolute PERFECT animal familiar. Squire had some of the absolute best lines. Jasmine Mas’s animals are so elite
⛈️ A magic system and world that feels so original—it was giving the perfect bit of SciFi/Mad Max
💧 Old English dialogue from the MMC that may seem silly at first but omg the way it eventually hits—pure, perfect camp
⚔️ Friends that positively shine, in all their screen time
❄️ All the best tropes: forced proximity, only one bed/
horse, “mine,” “who did this to you?!”
🔥 Spice that trulyyyy feeds you
🍴 Fork based violence (somehow a sign of my favorite books, apparently)
🐎 Plot twists that WORK, even if you’ll see several of them coming
I could go on and on. There isn’t another book I can think of, quite like this one. Please preorder it, I fear you need it.
10/10, Jasmine Mas. I can not WAIT for the sequel.
Thank you, HTP / MIRA for the eARC!
July 8, 2026
Thank you HTP and The Hive for this glorious eARC!
I don’t know what Jasmine Mas puts in these books, but at this point I’d like it injected directly into my veins.
Every single time I tell myself I’ll pace myself. Every single time I fail spectacularly.
The Emperor’s Enemy had me in an absolute chokehold from page one. I have never highlighted a book this much in my life. I swear every other page has a highlight because the writing is just THAT good. The humor. The tension. The heartbreak. The dialogue. I wanted to underline basically the entire book.
And can we PLEASE talk about Squire??
The cutest freaking owl companion to ever exist. I would die for that tiny feathered menace. Jasmine, if you’re reading this… I am formally requesting a Squire novella. This is not a want. It’s a need.
The tension between Zora and her infuriatingly irresistible enemy had me absolutely LOSING MY MIND. Every interaction was electric. The banter? Off the charts. The chemistry? Painfully delicious. I spent the entire book internally screaming, “JUST GIVE IN ALREADY!”
Zora is exactly the kind of heroine I love—fierce, stubborn, capable, and absolutely unwilling to let anyone save her. Watching these two circle each other while trying not to kill each other (or kiss each other) was exquisite torture.
And then…
THAT. ENDING.
Excuse me???
Who do I send my therapy bill to? Because I have several emotional damages to report. I’m going to need approximately 3–5 business days to process what just happened, and even then I don’t think I’ll be okay.
Jasmine Mas has done it again. She somehow writes books that are hilarious, devastating, ridiculously romantic, and completely impossible to put down. I’m officially addicted.
Now if you’ll excuse me, I’ll be staring at a wall until book two arrives.
I don’t know what Jasmine Mas puts in these books, but at this point I’d like it injected directly into my veins.
Every single time I tell myself I’ll pace myself. Every single time I fail spectacularly.
The Emperor’s Enemy had me in an absolute chokehold from page one. I have never highlighted a book this much in my life. I swear every other page has a highlight because the writing is just THAT good. The humor. The tension. The heartbreak. The dialogue. I wanted to underline basically the entire book.
And can we PLEASE talk about Squire??
The cutest freaking owl companion to ever exist. I would die for that tiny feathered menace. Jasmine, if you’re reading this… I am formally requesting a Squire novella. This is not a want. It’s a need.
The tension between Zora and her infuriatingly irresistible enemy had me absolutely LOSING MY MIND. Every interaction was electric. The banter? Off the charts. The chemistry? Painfully delicious. I spent the entire book internally screaming, “JUST GIVE IN ALREADY!”
Zora is exactly the kind of heroine I love—fierce, stubborn, capable, and absolutely unwilling to let anyone save her. Watching these two circle each other while trying not to kill each other (or kiss each other) was exquisite torture.
And then…
THAT. ENDING.
Excuse me???
Who do I send my therapy bill to? Because I have several emotional damages to report. I’m going to need approximately 3–5 business days to process what just happened, and even then I don’t think I’ll be okay.
Jasmine Mas has done it again. She somehow writes books that are hilarious, devastating, ridiculously romantic, and completely impossible to put down. I’m officially addicted.
Now if you’ll excuse me, I’ll be staring at a wall until book two arrives.
Want to Read
July 18, 2026Y'all KNOW I'm a simp for Psychoshifters (Scorpius SPECIFICALLY!!), so I'm sooo excited I got this arc 🖤
Want to Read
January 28, 2026New dark and unhinged romantasy from Jasmine Mas? Yes, please!
July 15, 2026
i was really excited to pick this one up because i’ve heard so many great things about the author’s previous books. unfortunately, this one just wasn’t for me. as always, this is only my opinion, and just because i didn’t enjoy it doesn’t mean someone else won’t. i share all of my reviews, both positive and negative, so i wanted to be honest about my experience
the premise had so much potential, but i struggled to connect with both the story and the characters from the very beginning. the world-building felt underdeveloped, and i never felt like i had a solid understanding of the magic system, the war, or how everything fit together. there were so many different elements thrown together that it ended up feeling chaotic rather than immersive
zora was also a difficult protagonist for me to root for. she came across as incredibly naive and immature, and i never formed the emotional connection i needed to stay invested in her journey. because of that, i found myself wanting to finish the book as quickly as possible, which is a feeling i rarely have when reading
tarantula was where the book really lost me. i know he’s the yearning, falls-first love interest, but i just couldn’t warm to him. his archaic, medieval-style way of speaking constantly pulled me out of the story instead of drawing me in, and i never found myself invested in the romance between them
the one standout was squire. his relationship with zora was genuinely adorable, and every scene with the little owl companion brought a smile to my face. he was easily my favourite part of the entire book
overall, i kept waiting for the story to click, but it never did. despite an interesting premise and a cute animal companion, i never connected with the characters or felt immersed in the world, and by the end i wasn’t interested enough to continue with the series
the premise had so much potential, but i struggled to connect with both the story and the characters from the very beginning. the world-building felt underdeveloped, and i never felt like i had a solid understanding of the magic system, the war, or how everything fit together. there were so many different elements thrown together that it ended up feeling chaotic rather than immersive
zora was also a difficult protagonist for me to root for. she came across as incredibly naive and immature, and i never formed the emotional connection i needed to stay invested in her journey. because of that, i found myself wanting to finish the book as quickly as possible, which is a feeling i rarely have when reading
tarantula was where the book really lost me. i know he’s the yearning, falls-first love interest, but i just couldn’t warm to him. his archaic, medieval-style way of speaking constantly pulled me out of the story instead of drawing me in, and i never found myself invested in the romance between them
the one standout was squire. his relationship with zora was genuinely adorable, and every scene with the little owl companion brought a smile to my face. he was easily my favourite part of the entire book
overall, i kept waiting for the story to click, but it never did. despite an interesting premise and a cute animal companion, i never connected with the characters or felt immersed in the world, and by the end i wasn’t interested enough to continue with the series
Did Not Finish
August 7, 2026DNF at 15%
This is my first Jasmine Mas book... and honestly, I'm a little scared to try another one. I went into this expecting a good and fun story, but unfortunately, I just couldn't get into it.
From the 15% I read, all I got was confusing and chaotic writing, with thoughts jumping around so much that I struggled to follow what was actually happening. There were also a lot of repetitive descriptions of the same things, which made it even harder for me to stay engaged.
I can appreciate that the world-building and magic system might make more sense later in the story, but from what I read, I was mostly getting a lot of names for different territories and different types of magic users and soldiers without really understanding how everything fit together.
And then we have planes, missiles and snowboarding as a hobby, but also mages, magic, swords and horses that carry the fuel for the planes? I'm sorry, but I was so confused. Maybe all of this comes together later on, but at 15%, it just felt like a very random mishmash of elements.
The FMC also felt quite immature to me, and then there's the MMC... whose name is Tarantula??? And he speaks like he's in a Shakespeare play, which definitely wasn't helping my confusion.
I'm sad this wasn't for me because there are definitely some interesting ideas here, but I just couldn't get past the confusing mix of so many different elements that didn't seem to fit together, along with the repetitive and chaotic writing style.
Maybe this is a case of "it's not you, it's me," but unfortunately, I had to DNF this one.
This is my first Jasmine Mas book... and honestly, I'm a little scared to try another one. I went into this expecting a good and fun story, but unfortunately, I just couldn't get into it.
From the 15% I read, all I got was confusing and chaotic writing, with thoughts jumping around so much that I struggled to follow what was actually happening. There were also a lot of repetitive descriptions of the same things, which made it even harder for me to stay engaged.
I can appreciate that the world-building and magic system might make more sense later in the story, but from what I read, I was mostly getting a lot of names for different territories and different types of magic users and soldiers without really understanding how everything fit together.
And then we have planes, missiles and snowboarding as a hobby, but also mages, magic, swords and horses that carry the fuel for the planes? I'm sorry, but I was so confused. Maybe all of this comes together later on, but at 15%, it just felt like a very random mishmash of elements.
The FMC also felt quite immature to me, and then there's the MMC... whose name is Tarantula??? And he speaks like he's in a Shakespeare play, which definitely wasn't helping my confusion.
I'm sad this wasn't for me because there are definitely some interesting ideas here, but I just couldn't get past the confusing mix of so many different elements that didn't seem to fit together, along with the repetitive and chaotic writing style.
Maybe this is a case of "it's not you, it's me," but unfortunately, I had to DNF this one.
August 3, 2026
“I don’t want to be good.” I whispered the uncomfortable truth. “I want to be free.”
This was fun, I couldn’t stop laughing out loud.
This story was definitely unique, but I don’t think it was executed as well as it could be. The plot is super interesting and a unique one — a Knight takes a powerful Mage prisoner and must learn to use her magic, all while getting the information she needs.
Secrets, betrayal, the cutest little owl companion, an ENEMIES to lovers romance (except they’re still enemies) that had me giggling until the end— this has it ALL.
Tarantula and Zora could not be more different, literally two sides of the coin. Good and bad, righteous and deceitful, but somehow they seem to fit. The banter was top tier.
The pacing was actually sort of slow. The world building is minimal, I often found myself wondering what the heck was going on lol. One thing I can say is Jasmine Mas writes hilarious books, and this one was exactly that.
This was fun, I couldn’t stop laughing out loud.
This story was definitely unique, but I don’t think it was executed as well as it could be. The plot is super interesting and a unique one — a Knight takes a powerful Mage prisoner and must learn to use her magic, all while getting the information she needs.
Secrets, betrayal, the cutest little owl companion, an ENEMIES to lovers romance (except they’re still enemies) that had me giggling until the end— this has it ALL.
Tarantula and Zora could not be more different, literally two sides of the coin. Good and bad, righteous and deceitful, but somehow they seem to fit. The banter was top tier.
The pacing was actually sort of slow. The world building is minimal, I often found myself wondering what the heck was going on lol. One thing I can say is Jasmine Mas writes hilarious books, and this one was exactly that.
wishlist
March 6, 2026GIMME
August 5, 2026
I was so confused at the beginning that I was afraid it would be a DNF because I was lost on what the fuck was going on. There’s airplanes and modern shit but also not? We have shifters and dragons and all sorts of things combined in this storyline. But as I read farther into the story, I realized that we’re not supposed to know the entire plot line…..
It was the banter that had me hooked on reading this story! Oh my god the tension is thickkkkkkk.
“I, Zora Ravenal, am a Mage, a Keeper of the Barren Forest, the Bear of the North, a hunter, and a peasant, and I will complete my quest!”
Zora captured Tarantula. The deadliest of all Draconis Royal Mages, and now a prisoner. Chained. Collared. And she’s joined the Crimson Army to destroy the Draconis Empire. For her people.
For her best friend. For her mother.
For herself.
What she did not sign up for was having to work alongside her captive that she has personal beef with. He bit her once. He killed her best friend. And his kind want to annihilate her people. It’s been a war that has lasted far too long and it’s her mission to end it.
This book was absolutely captivating. I could not stop reading it. The banter, the tension, the angst… even down to a little owl with hilarious comic relief.
I found the writing style to be a little odd, but I learned to love it as I read on.
Is it a romance? I mean, it’s almost a spoiler….
And while this book is being advertised as having a twist that no one will see coming… I saw it immediately. And that’s coming from someone who usually has no idea what the hell is going on. 😂 So, well, I completely saw what the big twist was gonna be almost immediately, the book was still a fabulous read! This book hasn’t even released yet and I’m literally dying for book two!
It was the banter that had me hooked on reading this story! Oh my god the tension is thickkkkkkk.
“I, Zora Ravenal, am a Mage, a Keeper of the Barren Forest, the Bear of the North, a hunter, and a peasant, and I will complete my quest!”
Zora captured Tarantula. The deadliest of all Draconis Royal Mages, and now a prisoner. Chained. Collared. And she’s joined the Crimson Army to destroy the Draconis Empire. For her people.
For her best friend. For her mother.
For herself.
What she did not sign up for was having to work alongside her captive that she has personal beef with. He bit her once. He killed her best friend. And his kind want to annihilate her people. It’s been a war that has lasted far too long and it’s her mission to end it.
This book was absolutely captivating. I could not stop reading it. The banter, the tension, the angst… even down to a little owl with hilarious comic relief.
I found the writing style to be a little odd, but I learned to love it as I read on.
Is it a romance? I mean, it’s almost a spoiler….
And while this book is being advertised as having a twist that no one will see coming… I saw it immediately. And that’s coming from someone who usually has no idea what the hell is going on. 😂 So, well, I completely saw what the big twist was gonna be almost immediately, the book was still a fabulous read! This book hasn’t even released yet and I’m literally dying for book two!
August 17, 2026
this was so freaking good!! jasmine mas is for sure one of my favorite authors 😮💨❤️🔥
July 27, 2026
« I was going to ruin the world so I could watch her try to save it. »
The emperor’s enemy by Jasmine Mas is the first book of the unsurvivable love duet. To be published in September 2026.
Thank you @harpercollinsca for this advanced copy! This review reflects my honest opinion, given freely.
I jumped at the opportunity to get an ARC from Jasmine Mas because I loved Cruel Shifterverse sooo much.
This book follows Zora Ravenal, a fierce woman from the Barren forest, who joins the crimson army to fight against the Draconis empire in the Storm wars. Many years ago, she met the future emperor who got obsessed with her, trying to get her to follow him. She is strong and independent, and will let no man tell her what to do. She manages to capture Tarantula, the Emperor’s second in command. The Marshal gives her the mission to get close to him so she can hurt the Empire from within.
The FMC
Zora fits the FMC profile preferred by Mas. She is fearless, she bows to no one. She’s quite stabby, and really enjoys to torture Tarantula. While she’s good at heart, she definitely has a penchant for violence.
The MMC
Tarantula speaks in old English. That took some getting use to. He is very unhinged and obsessed. He reeks of world domination, he serves only himself. He has absolutely no issues destroying anything on his path if it allows him to get what he wants. He is relentless. He is a prude who has never touched another person. I love his dark soul with all my heart 🖤
The story
Ok so, that was harder. It wasn’t the author’s typical writing style. It took me about half the book to get into it. The world building is not explained enough in my opinion. We don’t really know much about the Storm wars or how the technological civilization was destroyed. The relationship between the main characters is front and center.
I am glad I persisted though. This is an actual enemies to lovers (and we are still more in the enemy zone by the end). Her inner monologue shows that she’s attracted to him when she describes him, but she’s not always lusting after him like too many FMC. She enjoys stabbing and electrocuting him. She will backstab and betray to get what she wants too.
Many many things happen near the end, giving us quite the setting for book 2!
The emperor’s enemy by Jasmine Mas is the first book of the unsurvivable love duet. To be published in September 2026.
Thank you @harpercollinsca for this advanced copy! This review reflects my honest opinion, given freely.
I jumped at the opportunity to get an ARC from Jasmine Mas because I loved Cruel Shifterverse sooo much.
This book follows Zora Ravenal, a fierce woman from the Barren forest, who joins the crimson army to fight against the Draconis empire in the Storm wars. Many years ago, she met the future emperor who got obsessed with her, trying to get her to follow him. She is strong and independent, and will let no man tell her what to do. She manages to capture Tarantula, the Emperor’s second in command. The Marshal gives her the mission to get close to him so she can hurt the Empire from within.
The FMC
Zora fits the FMC profile preferred by Mas. She is fearless, she bows to no one. She’s quite stabby, and really enjoys to torture Tarantula. While she’s good at heart, she definitely has a penchant for violence.
The MMC
Tarantula speaks in old English. That took some getting use to. He is very unhinged and obsessed. He reeks of world domination, he serves only himself. He has absolutely no issues destroying anything on his path if it allows him to get what he wants. He is relentless. He is a prude who has never touched another person. I love his dark soul with all my heart 🖤
The story
Ok so, that was harder. It wasn’t the author’s typical writing style. It took me about half the book to get into it. The world building is not explained enough in my opinion. We don’t really know much about the Storm wars or how the technological civilization was destroyed. The relationship between the main characters is front and center.
I am glad I persisted though. This is an actual enemies to lovers (and we are still more in the enemy zone by the end). Her inner monologue shows that she’s attracted to him when she describes him, but she’s not always lusting after him like too many FMC. She enjoys stabbing and electrocuting him. She will backstab and betray to get what she wants too.
Many many things happen near the end, giving us quite the setting for book 2!
July 15, 2026
Was lucky (😉) enough to get an ARC from HTP books and let me just say, Jasmine has absolutely done it again. I could NOT put this book down from the moment I started reading. This is a reallll enemies to lovers with plenty of death threats and acted upon violence, but if you’re Tarantula that just means that she wants you. Zora is someone you can’t help but root for given her backstory and her dogged personality that drives her, even if a certain prisoner wears you down over time. While this book is definitely a slow-burn there is no lack of yearning (or blushing) on the MMCs part. If you’re looking for an obsessive* fictional man, Tarantula is the one for you. He will do anythinggg to get his girl, even after multiple stab wounds (he likes it). I can’t not mention our comedic relief owl, Squire, who is always ready to deliver hysterical(helpful) one-liners in defense of our girl against the spider-slut. 🦉
This world has sooo much to offer in terms of lore and I absolutely cannot wait to see how the plot and characters evolve in the next book given the cliffhanger that this one ended on😫 All I have left to say is that if you think you know how this book ends, you’re probably wrong😀
This will easily be one of my top reads of the year and I will be impatiently waiting for any and all news about the second!
This world has sooo much to offer in terms of lore and I absolutely cannot wait to see how the plot and characters evolve in the next book given the cliffhanger that this one ended on😫 All I have left to say is that if you think you know how this book ends, you’re probably wrong😀
This will easily be one of my top reads of the year and I will be impatiently waiting for any and all news about the second!
July 13, 2026
I’m so happy Jasmine finally decided to write for us monogamous girls. 🤣 I’ve been hearing about her writing ever since Blood of Hercules came out, but I don’t read why choose books.
So when I saw The Emperor’s Enemy was an MF enemies to lovers, I ran to read it (shoutout to the Harper Collins for approving my eARC!).
And OMG, I absolutely LOVED EVERYTHING. I finished it last night, and I seriously can’t stop thinking about them. I loved the world building that mixes urban fantasy with a military setting. One minute she’s training magic, the next she’s jumping out of helicopters or thinking about going snowboarding.
And of course I fell for the MMC, even though he’s absolutely unhinged… but maybe that’s exactly what won me over? Guilty. 🤭 The YEARNING!!!!!
Argh, the book isn’t even officially out yet, and I’m already desperate for the next one. 😭😭
So when I saw The Emperor’s Enemy was an MF enemies to lovers, I ran to read it (shoutout to the Harper Collins for approving my eARC!).
And OMG, I absolutely LOVED EVERYTHING. I finished it last night, and I seriously can’t stop thinking about them. I loved the world building that mixes urban fantasy with a military setting. One minute she’s training magic, the next she’s jumping out of helicopters or thinking about going snowboarding.
And of course I fell for the MMC, even though he’s absolutely unhinged… but maybe that’s exactly what won me over? Guilty. 🤭 The YEARNING!!!!!
Argh, the book isn’t even officially out yet, and I’m already desperate for the next one. 😭😭
August 6, 2026
This book…this book has unraveled me in the absolute best way. Tarantula and Zora - the BURN, the fight, the absolute viciousness of their attraction is the stuff I yearn for and Jasmine Mas DELIVERED.
I cannot even properly articulate my thoughts right now but suffice it to say, it will be a deliciously agonizing wait for more installments of this story. I BEG OF THEE, if I show you my slooty little ankle and let you touch my shoulder, but just the one,(iykyk 😉) can I be an ARC reader for book two as well, pleaseeeeee, Jasmine and anyone listening from Harper Collins 🙏🏼
Thank you for giving me a chance to read this complimentary e-arc early!! I feel like it’s obvious but this is my honest review 🙃
I cannot even properly articulate my thoughts right now but suffice it to say, it will be a deliciously agonizing wait for more installments of this story. I BEG OF THEE, if I show you my slooty little ankle and let you touch my shoulder, but just the one,(iykyk 😉) can I be an ARC reader for book two as well, pleaseeeeee, Jasmine and anyone listening from Harper Collins 🙏🏼
Thank you for giving me a chance to read this complimentary e-arc early!! I feel like it’s obvious but this is my honest review 🙃
July 19, 2026
Thanks to Netgalley for letting me read the arc ahead of publication.
I was beyond excited to read this as Blood of Hercules was one of my highlights in 2025 and I have been chasing this high ever since. Also all the little snippets the author shared on social media sounded promising.
Unfortunately the story couldn’t deliver in my opinion. The world building was a bit confusing and felt almost lazy at times (e.g. having all the same animals as we have in the real world, just make them giant). While I appreciate being thrown right into a story, everything felt very chaotic and this feeling stayed with me till the end. I also couldn’t really get a grip of Zora. Out of all the characters I liked Tarantula the most, and could appreciate him falling first and hard and having that slow burn. His old-timey way of speaking was not for me though, it gave me the ick. We get an explanation for it, but it was too small of a reason for my liking.
While I didn’t see the twists at the end coming in all their details, they also were not surprising. As I had hoped for the final chapters to wow me and to rectify a better rating, I might have been more disappointed by the ending than the rest of the book. It really hurts me to say this, but I will not continue the series
I was beyond excited to read this as Blood of Hercules was one of my highlights in 2025 and I have been chasing this high ever since. Also all the little snippets the author shared on social media sounded promising.
Unfortunately the story couldn’t deliver in my opinion. The world building was a bit confusing and felt almost lazy at times (e.g. having all the same animals as we have in the real world, just make them giant). While I appreciate being thrown right into a story, everything felt very chaotic and this feeling stayed with me till the end. I also couldn’t really get a grip of Zora. Out of all the characters I liked Tarantula the most, and could appreciate him falling first and hard and having that slow burn. His old-timey way of speaking was not for me though, it gave me the ick. We get an explanation for it, but it was too small of a reason for my liking.
While I didn’t see the twists at the end coming in all their details, they also were not surprising. As I had hoped for the final chapters to wow me and to rectify a better rating, I might have been more disappointed by the ending than the rest of the book. It really hurts me to say this, but I will not continue the series
July 3, 2026
*Review after reading ARC from publisher*
This might be my favorite Mas book to date, the characters are SO emotionally complex that I truly never knew their next moves. The TWIST?!?! Excuse me?? And I’m sorry but Tarantula has been given the title #1 yearning male of all time, he has no boundaries and I loved it 🥹 our girl Zora will be added to the list of most badass FMCs to date, wicked smart and loyal to a fault. I had SUCH a good time and could not put this down. Recommend x a million and cannot wait for the next!!!! 🙌🏻🙌🏻
This might be my favorite Mas book to date, the characters are SO emotionally complex that I truly never knew their next moves. The TWIST?!?! Excuse me?? And I’m sorry but Tarantula has been given the title #1 yearning male of all time, he has no boundaries and I loved it 🥹 our girl Zora will be added to the list of most badass FMCs to date, wicked smart and loyal to a fault. I had SUCH a good time and could not put this down. Recommend x a million and cannot wait for the next!!!! 🙌🏻🙌🏻
July 6, 2026
“I beg thee, take mercy on a yearning man, princess.”
😭
😭
Want to Read
January 29, 2026Was I fan of the writing for Blood of Hercules? Nope. Did I read the last 200 pages in one sitting because I couldn't put it down? Also, yes. So, I bought Bonds of Hercules, but have yet to read it. But i SWORE that i wouldn't read anything else by Mas because I didn't enjoy the way she wrote.... but I saw this and read the blurb & I'M IMMEDIATELY FOAMING AT THE MOUTH FOR IT.
August 23, 2026
This review is for The Emperor’s Enemy by Jasmine Mas which releases in the UK on the 24th September! Thanks so much to Netgalley and HarperVoyager for giving me an eArc copy of this book in exchange for my honest review.
I was obsessed with Mas’s other series, especially Blood of Hercules, and I really enjoyed their writing style so as soon as I saw they had a new book coming out I knew I had to read it!! Did I have a great time?? Absolutely. Did I know what was going on for 80% of the book, apart from the sexual tension?? Absolutely not hahaha.
It was a super fun and unique story, and was like nothing I had read before. There were so many witty one liners that had me laughing at my Kindle, and the sexual tension was *chefs kiss*. However, the plot just felt a little lost and I had no idea where the story was going/what it was doing for like 70% of the book, as well as it being slow paced as well. Like I get she hated the emperor due to what he did to her as child (and for being a rampaging dictator) but i just felt really confused for most of it wondering wtf was happening. I think a lot of that comes down to world building though, and that did also feel a bit lacking in the story.
I actually really enjoyed the characters, as well as a true enemies to lovers trope. So much that I actually didn’t understand how she could like someone that she believed killed her best friend. She was witty and sarcastic and a little deranged, but it made her so interesting. Especially as she has a cute little owl sidekick as well, where they communicate in the sweetest way and she loves him like family. ‘Tarantula’ was also a super interesting character, his language choice was a struggle at first but once you get to now him, you realise how much it actually fits him. You don’t really find out much about him till later in the book, but what a ride lmao. I also love a man who’s feral, so… maybe that’s why I liked him so much.
The plot twists were a little predictable, however the way we find out about them and that ending??? So good. Overall, I had a good time and can’t wait to see what’s next in the story, but do hope the plot becomes a little more solid with a tad more world building and we find out what the fuck is going on.
I was obsessed with Mas’s other series, especially Blood of Hercules, and I really enjoyed their writing style so as soon as I saw they had a new book coming out I knew I had to read it!! Did I have a great time?? Absolutely. Did I know what was going on for 80% of the book, apart from the sexual tension?? Absolutely not hahaha.
It was a super fun and unique story, and was like nothing I had read before. There were so many witty one liners that had me laughing at my Kindle, and the sexual tension was *chefs kiss*. However, the plot just felt a little lost and I had no idea where the story was going/what it was doing for like 70% of the book, as well as it being slow paced as well. Like I get she hated the emperor due to what he did to her as child (and for being a rampaging dictator) but i just felt really confused for most of it wondering wtf was happening. I think a lot of that comes down to world building though, and that did also feel a bit lacking in the story.
I actually really enjoyed the characters, as well as a true enemies to lovers trope. So much that I actually didn’t understand how she could like someone that she believed killed her best friend. She was witty and sarcastic and a little deranged, but it made her so interesting. Especially as she has a cute little owl sidekick as well, where they communicate in the sweetest way and she loves him like family. ‘Tarantula’ was also a super interesting character, his language choice was a struggle at first but once you get to now him, you realise how much it actually fits him. You don’t really find out much about him till later in the book, but what a ride lmao. I also love a man who’s feral, so… maybe that’s why I liked him so much.
The plot twists were a little predictable, however the way we find out about them and that ending??? So good. Overall, I had a good time and can’t wait to see what’s next in the story, but do hope the plot becomes a little more solid with a tad more world building and we find out what the fuck is going on.
July 7, 2026
“𝙏𝙝𝙤𝙪 . . . 𝙙𝙞𝙙 𝙣𝙤𝙩 . . . 𝙩𝙝𝙧𝙤𝙬 𝙖 𝙗𝙤𝙤𝙠 𝙖𝙩 𝙢𝙚.” “𝘽𝙪𝙩 𝙄 𝙘𝙖𝙣’𝙩 𝙧𝙚𝙖𝙙. 𝙒𝙝𝙖𝙩 𝙚𝙡𝙨𝙚 𝙬𝙤𝙪𝙡𝙙 𝙄 𝙪𝙨𝙚 𝙞𝙩 𝙛𝙤𝙧? 𝙄𝙨 𝙞𝙩 𝙣𝙤𝙩 𝙖 𝙬𝙚𝙖𝙥𝙤𝙣?” 𝙃𝙚 𝙗𝙡𝙞𝙣𝙠𝙚𝙙 𝙨𝙡𝙤𝙬𝙡𝙮. “𝙄 𝙙𝙚𝙩𝙚𝙘𝙩 𝙨𝙖𝙧𝙘𝙖𝙨𝙢.” “𝙄 𝙙𝙚𝙩𝙚𝙘𝙩 𝙖𝙣 𝙚𝙜𝙤𝙩𝙞𝙨𝙩𝙞𝙘𝙖𝙡, 𝙥𝙤𝙢𝙥𝙤𝙪𝙨 𝙥𝙞𝙜.”
I will not stop thinking about this book ANYTIME soon!!! I am head over heels obsessed and this is why Jasmine Mas is an autobuy author for me.
The modern-medieval world is so unique and well built, I feel like that really sets this romantasy apart from other books. None of this felt repetitive or cookie cutter.
There were so many breadcrumbs with lots of theorizing opportunities which of course gives me life, and I can’t wait to highlight and tab the physical book!!
The quick witted humor will always be a favorite part of her stories. Zora is more serious than Alexis and Sadie were but she still comes out with fantastic banter and she has the best, funniest animal sidekick EVER!!
“𝙏𝙝𝙚 𝙨𝙠𝙖𝙣𝙠𝙮 𝙨𝙥𝙞𝙙𝙚𝙧,” 𝙎𝙦𝙪𝙞𝙧𝙚 𝙨𝙘𝙧𝙚𝙚𝙘𝙝𝙚𝙙 𝙖𝙩 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙩𝙤𝙥 𝙤𝙛 𝙝𝙞𝙨 𝙡𝙪𝙣𝙜𝙨 (𝙝𝙚𝙡𝙥𝙛𝙪𝙡?).
The banter between Zora and Tarantula is absolutely top tier, and this is true enemies to lovers and I ate.it.up. This may be the best I have ever read.
If you love possessive MMCs…you will LOVE Tarantula. He’s perfect and I love him, red flags and all. But unfortunately @kindleandmagic has dibs.
“𝙏𝙝𝙚𝙧𝙚 𝙞𝙨 𝙣𝙤 𝙘𝙤𝙧𝙣𝙚𝙧 𝙤𝙛 𝘼𝙣𝙩𝙞𝙘𝙝𝙩𝙝𝙤𝙣,” 𝙝𝙚 𝙨𝙖𝙞𝙙 𝙬𝙞𝙩𝙝 𝙜𝙧𝙖𝙫𝙞𝙩𝙖𝙨, “𝙬𝙝𝙚𝙧𝙚 𝙩𝙝𝙤𝙪 𝙘𝙤𝙪𝙡𝙙 𝙝𝙞𝙙𝙚 𝙛𝙧𝙤𝙢 𝙢𝙚. 𝙄 𝙨𝙝𝙖𝙡𝙡 𝙛𝙞𝙣𝙙 𝙩𝙝𝙚𝙚 𝙚𝙫𝙚𝙧𝙮 𝙨𝙞𝙣𝙜𝙡𝙚 𝙩𝙞𝙢𝙚. 𝙔𝙤𝙪𝙧 𝙛𝙖𝙩𝙚 𝙞𝙨 𝙖𝙡𝙧𝙚𝙖𝙙𝙮 𝙙𝙚𝙘𝙞𝙙𝙚𝙙.”
Thank you SO much to Jasmine Mas, The Hive, HTP Books, and Read Mira for the eARC! This book is just absolute perfection and it’s my favorite JM book yet! I must give Thee 6 stars.
I will not stop thinking about this book ANYTIME soon!!! I am head over heels obsessed and this is why Jasmine Mas is an autobuy author for me.
The modern-medieval world is so unique and well built, I feel like that really sets this romantasy apart from other books. None of this felt repetitive or cookie cutter.
There were so many breadcrumbs with lots of theorizing opportunities which of course gives me life, and I can’t wait to highlight and tab the physical book!!
The quick witted humor will always be a favorite part of her stories. Zora is more serious than Alexis and Sadie were but she still comes out with fantastic banter and she has the best, funniest animal sidekick EVER!!
“𝙏𝙝𝙚 𝙨𝙠𝙖𝙣𝙠𝙮 𝙨𝙥𝙞𝙙𝙚𝙧,” 𝙎𝙦𝙪𝙞𝙧𝙚 𝙨𝙘𝙧𝙚𝙚𝙘𝙝𝙚𝙙 𝙖𝙩 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙩𝙤𝙥 𝙤𝙛 𝙝𝙞𝙨 𝙡𝙪𝙣𝙜𝙨 (𝙝𝙚𝙡𝙥𝙛𝙪𝙡?).
The banter between Zora and Tarantula is absolutely top tier, and this is true enemies to lovers and I ate.it.up. This may be the best I have ever read.
If you love possessive MMCs…you will LOVE Tarantula. He’s perfect and I love him, red flags and all. But unfortunately @kindleandmagic has dibs.
“𝙏𝙝𝙚𝙧𝙚 𝙞𝙨 𝙣𝙤 𝙘𝙤𝙧𝙣𝙚𝙧 𝙤𝙛 𝘼𝙣𝙩𝙞𝙘𝙝𝙩𝙝𝙤𝙣,” 𝙝𝙚 𝙨𝙖𝙞𝙙 𝙬𝙞𝙩𝙝 𝙜𝙧𝙖𝙫𝙞𝙩𝙖𝙨, “𝙬𝙝𝙚𝙧𝙚 𝙩𝙝𝙤𝙪 𝙘𝙤𝙪𝙡𝙙 𝙝𝙞𝙙𝙚 𝙛𝙧𝙤𝙢 𝙢𝙚. 𝙄 𝙨𝙝𝙖𝙡𝙡 𝙛𝙞𝙣𝙙 𝙩𝙝𝙚𝙚 𝙚𝙫𝙚𝙧𝙮 𝙨𝙞𝙣𝙜𝙡𝙚 𝙩𝙞𝙢𝙚. 𝙔𝙤𝙪𝙧 𝙛𝙖𝙩𝙚 𝙞𝙨 𝙖𝙡𝙧𝙚𝙖𝙙𝙮 𝙙𝙚𝙘𝙞𝙙𝙚𝙙.”
Thank you SO much to Jasmine Mas, The Hive, HTP Books, and Read Mira for the eARC! This book is just absolute perfection and it’s my favorite JM book yet! I must give Thee 6 stars.
July 21, 2026
Thank you so much for the ARC, It was a lovely surprise!!
!SPOILER-ISH WARNING!
Overall, I really enjoyed this book! I will say, the world building and the reason behind the war confused me a little at times. I honestly don't know if that's just a me issue 😭 I definitely see the vision though, and I have a feeling a lot of my questions will get answered in the next book... so please, please, pleasee let me have book two soon!! (Even though this one isn't even out yet 🥸)
I loved the enemies-to-lovers aspect, even if it's more like enemies to even worse enemies right now 😭 The angst, the yearning, the betrayal... obsessedddd!
The plot twist actually caught me off guard because I had a completely different theory in mind. It honestly just made me even more excited to see where Jasmine takes the story and these characters in the next book.
One of my favorite things abt this book was the found family dynamic between Zora, Ella, and Axel. I know this is Zora and Sazha’s story, but I'd really love to learn more about Ella, Axel, and even Zora's mom. At times it felt like some of the side characters faded into the background, and I think it'd be really nice to see more of their stories and how important they are to the overall plot.
All in all, I had a great time reading this and I'll be, a tiny bit, impatiently waiting for the next book. Thank you, Jasmine and HTP Books, for the opportunity! 🤍⭐️
!SPOILER-ISH WARNING!
Overall, I really enjoyed this book! I will say, the world building and the reason behind the war confused me a little at times. I honestly don't know if that's just a me issue 😭 I definitely see the vision though, and I have a feeling a lot of my questions will get answered in the next book... so please, please, pleasee let me have book two soon!! (Even though this one isn't even out yet 🥸)
I loved the enemies-to-lovers aspect, even if it's more like enemies to even worse enemies right now 😭 The angst, the yearning, the betrayal... obsessedddd!
The plot twist actually caught me off guard because I had a completely different theory in mind. It honestly just made me even more excited to see where Jasmine takes the story and these characters in the next book.
One of my favorite things abt this book was the found family dynamic between Zora, Ella, and Axel. I know this is Zora and Sazha’s story, but I'd really love to learn more about Ella, Axel, and even Zora's mom. At times it felt like some of the side characters faded into the background, and I think it'd be really nice to see more of their stories and how important they are to the overall plot.
All in all, I had a great time reading this and I'll be, a tiny bit, impatiently waiting for the next book. Thank you, Jasmine and HTP Books, for the opportunity! 🤍⭐️
July 25, 2026
Jasmine Mas my queen you have done it again! Thank you HTP books for sending me an ARC! This was by far one of my best reads this year! This slow burn enemies to lovers is not like your regular story. Zora our MFC is just a bad ass all the way around. Between her backstory and her personality - what is there not to like honestly. She’s joined by her small owl, Squire who is the king of all one liners (helpful and unhelpful) and speaks his truth no matter what is going on around him. The banter between the 2 main character it’s hilarious and deliciously good. Tarantula our MMC is the crown holder to yearning and blushing. A man who stops at nothing for what is his (or so he believes) and will in fact burn the world down. Through the bickering, violence, yearning and stabbing a time is being had while the story grows more and more intense.
The lore, side characters, and world its self is one of a kind. I’m honestly so excited to see where this story and world goes because that cliff hanger has me by the throat! The details, the way it was spread out, the hidden details that make sense along the way to give you that ahh moment plus an unexpected plot twist brings this all together so well!
Thank you again HTP and Jasmine Mas for this opportunity and allowing me to indulge in this beauty!
The lore, side characters, and world its self is one of a kind. I’m honestly so excited to see where this story and world goes because that cliff hanger has me by the throat! The details, the way it was spread out, the hidden details that make sense along the way to give you that ahh moment plus an unexpected plot twist brings this all together so well!
Thank you again HTP and Jasmine Mas for this opportunity and allowing me to indulge in this beauty!
August 23, 2026
✨ARC Review✨
When the hunter is hunted… who becomes prey?
The Emperor’s Enemy is an addictive true enemies-to-lovers dark romantasy with a heroine who doesn’t need saving, an enemy she can’t escape, and a war neither of them plans to lose.
I am not going to lie, the moment I saw this book announced, it was part of my TBR immediately. Since reading Blood of Hercules, Jasmine Mas chaotic/sarcastic writing became a favorite. When I started this book, that’s exactly what I got. A chaotic tale that was unique and unexpected in every single way. However, I need to be honest, what became an excited story and one that had me hooked immediately became a “what am I reading?” one. It started to feel chaotically repetitive where I just needed to break and move on. We know Zora and Tarantula hate each other, we know the reasons why, but all of sudden it became a book where 85% of the time what we had was constant bickering between them and where nothing else was happening. Then at around 85% things started moving along and I am going to be honest, the twist at the end, was not surprising. In fact, I was suspecting it for a bit. Anyways, I am giving this a 4⭐️ but it may be a 3.5⭐️/4⭐️ for me. Furthermore, I won’t be continuing this series.
Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
When the hunter is hunted… who becomes prey?
The Emperor’s Enemy is an addictive true enemies-to-lovers dark romantasy with a heroine who doesn’t need saving, an enemy she can’t escape, and a war neither of them plans to lose.
I am not going to lie, the moment I saw this book announced, it was part of my TBR immediately. Since reading Blood of Hercules, Jasmine Mas chaotic/sarcastic writing became a favorite. When I started this book, that’s exactly what I got. A chaotic tale that was unique and unexpected in every single way. However, I need to be honest, what became an excited story and one that had me hooked immediately became a “what am I reading?” one. It started to feel chaotically repetitive where I just needed to break and move on. We know Zora and Tarantula hate each other, we know the reasons why, but all of sudden it became a book where 85% of the time what we had was constant bickering between them and where nothing else was happening. Then at around 85% things started moving along and I am going to be honest, the twist at the end, was not surprising. In fact, I was suspecting it for a bit. Anyways, I am giving this a 4⭐️ but it may be a 3.5⭐️/4⭐️ for me. Furthermore, I won’t be continuing this series.
Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
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