Tempest and Tiger's Eye

Realms of Lurin

by Gabriella Batel

Prize-winning author Gabriella Batel brings a swoony, heart-stopping enemies-to-lovers romantasy novella. This Bridgerton x Jade City story is perfect for fans of Netflix's Arcane and Chloe Gong's These Violent Delights.

Thomasine Hollis is the Princess of Aquamarine, the heir apparent to the empire of the Tiger’s Eye gang, lady of the gargoyle race. So, naturally, her mortal enemy is Michael Asterius, the Warden of Gands, the heir to the Tempest gang on the other side of the river, where the thunderbirds reside. Never mind that they used to be best friends. He betrayed her, she betrayed him, and that is that.

But when Thomasine’s brother goes missing and Michael is mysteriously caught on the wrong side of the river with an indispensable piece of information, the two realize their only chance of survival is to call a truce. An alliance in the midst of a clan war.

Will they survive the blood feud? Will they survive each other? And will they come to realize that, together, they wield a magic grander than stone or lightning or hate?

For fans of adventurous fantasy with clean romance comes the 7th book in Realms of Lurin, a multi-author collection of standalone magical regency-inspired fantasy novellas that take place in the same world.

Genres: Fantasy

229 pages, Kindle Edition

Published July 20, 2026

About the author

Gabriella Batel is a vibrant young Catholic woman with an adrenaline craving and a passion for God, family, acting, movies, fanart, YA, and good food. She's the author of the acclaimed Don’t series, the upcoming epic fantasy thriller Ending (the first in the Essence Bane saga!), and the prize-winning post-apocalyptic fantasy story “Antivenom.” She’s also the fiery audio narrator of Mary Rose Kreger’s award-winning story “Fiona’s Choice.”

Reviews

[Lila'sbooks]

4.25⭐ ARC REVIEW (thoughts and content notes below)

Book #7 in Realms of Lurin


🪽⚡What This Book is About⚡🪽
"Thomasine Hollis is the princess of Aquamarine, the heir apparent to the empire of the Tiger's Eye gang, lady of the gargoyle race. So, naturally, her mortal enemy is Michael Asterius, the Warden of Gands, the heir to the Tempest gang on the other side of the river, where the Thunderbirds reside. Never mind that they used to be best friends. He betrayed her, she betrayed him, and that is it.

But when Thomasine's brother goes missing and Michael is mysteriously called on the wrong side of the river with an indispensable piece of information, the two realize their only chance of survival is to call a truce. An alliance in the midst of a clan war.

Will they survive the blood feud? Will they survive each other? And will they come to realize that, together, they wield a magic grander than stone or lightning or hate?"


🪽⚡My Thoughts⚡🪽
I enjoyed this book! The action and political intrigue was entertaining and the world building/magic system was unique. I haven't read a book quite like this one.
I wish it would have been a little bit longer so that we could see more of the aftermath of the climax of this book. I wanted to see more of the resolution and what the main characters lives would look like afterwards.
Other than that, this book was an enjoyable experience. It's quick, fun, and entertaining, and I recommend it if you want a unique enemies-to-lovers romantasy!


🪽⚡Content Notes⚡🪽

🤬 Language: No actual cussing. One use of "I don't give a fig."

🌶️ Spice/Sexual: a couple non-detailed kisses.

🏳️‍🌈 LGBT: none

💀 Violence: battles, fights, injuries (including cuts and broken bones), death during a fight, talk of past off-page death (from getting shot and throat slit), talk of planning to cut one's own finger off (they don't end up having to do that), off-page kidnapping, threats. All not overly graphic.

⚠️ Other Trigger Warnings: past off-page sibling death, past off-page parent death. The gargoyles take powders that come from crystals which give them special abilities; there are mentions of some becoming addicted/dependant on the powders when they "get on them" but they aren't actual drugs.

Age Rating: 12+


I received an Advanced Reader Copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions expressed in my review are my own.

[Riella Cristobal]

4.5 stars rounded up
Oh my goodness! What a story and what a world! This was my first from Ms. Batel and such a introduction. I have been loving this series of standalone novellas and this was a great addition.
From the first chapter, you are thrown into the world of thunderbirds and gargoyles. Thomasine was such an interesting character. I loved her loyalty to her brother and her clear-eyed bravery. She realized her own abilities and weaknesses, but was still felt deeply. Thomasine’s POV showcased the strength she had, but also the turmoil that she felt looking for her brother and working with Michael again. There was a lot of history between not only them, but their people as well.
This story leans very fantasy heavy with a regency flair. There were definitely moments where I felt a little bit like I was thrown mid-series into a world. There was a lot of magic and world-building that I would love to understand better. However, the characters really got me involved in the story and I loved how Thomasina and Michael pushed each other. They played off of each other well and had to learn about themselves as well as reconnecting with each other. This fantasy novella has some fantasy violence and kisses.
I received an ARC.

[Simone Gremillion]

A friends to enemies to lovers, regency romantasy by Gabriella Batel that was a great addition to the Realms of Lurin series and can all be read as stand alone. I really enjoyed this one as it read more like an adult novel and not a YA and touched on hard subjects.

Thomasine is the princess of the Tiger’s Eye gang and a gargoyle. She is very headstrong and fights for her land and people well. When her brother goes missing, she will stop at nothing to get him back.

Michael is the heir to The Tempest, Warden of the Gands, and a Thunderbird who resides on the other side of the river. He is fighting a mental battle after his brother passes. Caught on the wrong side of the river, he realizes that to survive, he must work with her.

As children, they used to be the best of friends, now that he betrayed her and she retaliated, they are even. As a clan war is about to break out, they realize the only way for peace is to work together.

#arcread #realmsoflurin #regency-inspired #friendstomore #enemiestolovers

**I received an advanced copy of this book and am leaving this review voluntarily.

[Alura Heindel]

I was on the edge of my seat with this story. There is a lot of action and intense moments. But one of my favorite scenes is when they were dancing in the ballroom! And all the moments after! And especially the ending! I adore Thomasine and Michael, as well as their growing relationship! If you like Enemies-to-lovers, aerial combat and uncovering secrets. You’ll want to check out this book!

My favorite quote from this book:
“They stayed there, his mouth pressed to her head, her face buried in his neck, their hearts beating in tandem, as the drizzle and fog blossomed into a balmy summer shower, glittering in every color of the sunrise.”

I received an ARC from the Author. All opinions are my own.

[theenchantedalibi]

I really enjoyed this addition to the Relams of Lurin series! This slow burn enemies to lovers was so good, and the tension was very well written. I loved how as the reader you knew Michael and Thomasine were inevitable. The plot was really interesting, and full of betrayal and twists. The reason I rated this three stars is because I felt like it was too short to try and fit in such a complex plot. It was hard to follow at times just because so much background had to be crammed into only a few chapters. Overall, the book was really good, I just wish it was a little longer. I loved all of the characters and plot, and the way the magic worked was really cool. Thank you so much to Gabriella Batel for this arc! All opinions and thoughts are my own.

[Theplacesihavebeen]

Tempest and Tiger's Eye was quite an adventure! There are enemies who used to be friends, forced to work together. There two clans waring against each other, the loss of a father and brother. So much emotion and intrigue rolled into one story. It was well paced. There was no cussing, low spice and no gory violence. Although there is violence. I gave it 4 stars because some of the sentences were difficult for me to follow. However, overall, the book was enjoyable and worth the read! I did receive an advanced copy of this book. All opinions are my own.

[Meg]

This book had a good storyline, but it wasn’t for me. It has adventure and action with a political and emotional focus. Sadly, I found some sentences difficult to follow and it was a bit confusing what type of creatures the characters were. I found myself going back and rereading sections just to understand the magic system, what was going on and who was who.

* This is a closed-door romance
* No language
* Thanks the author for this E-ARC opportunity. All the opinions expressed are purely my own.

[Abigail]

This almost reminded me of a Romeo and Juliet retelling (though the story doesn't end with death). It can definitely get dark at times especially since it involves two groups of people feuding over something that has been long forgotten. I enjoyed how the past between the female and male main characters was built piece by piece, revealing to the readers why their friendship ended the way it did. The world-building for each of the stories in this collection has been fantastic, and I love seeing how they all connect while standing on their own.

[Sarah Brake]

While I've liked all the books in this series, I had trouble with this one. The writing was well done, but I could not connect with the story and characters. I'm sure other people would like this book, it just wasn't for me. I don't think I've ever read a book about gargoyles, and I really didn't understand/like some of the weapons or descriptions of the characters. I will go look at this authors other works though!

[Ami Jacobs]

This fantasy reminded me a bit of Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet. The romance was clean… only a few kisses, and even then the focus was on the political and emotional tension that was such an integral part of this story. The story was very fast paced and had quite a bit of violence (too much for my taste), but the ending was triumphant, unexpected in parts, and a bit of a relief. I received an ARC copy and this is my review.

[S. King]

This is the third book that I've read in the Realms of Lurin series. These multi-author series (MAS) are great ways to introduce yourself to new authors that you may never know about otherwise. After reading this book, I will be reading more books by Gabriella Batel. I really enjoyed this story about two warring races - gargoyles and thunderbirds. I highly recommend it if you're wanting to read a different and imaginative fantasy.

[Lj]

This book failled to grab my attention at the start and never managed to acquire it. While many technical details may have been present, it felt a little too far from the Regency feel and theme it was supposed to have. While it does have some good points, it just wasn't for me.

I received an ARC and voluntarily leave an honest review.

[emeraldragonlady (Maddie)]

This is a book with good writing and a good story line. The characters were likeable but I just couldn’t connect with them. The beginning is a bit confusing for me on what the creatures are. I think they are hawks or hawk like creatures and gargoyle like creatures. Which sounds cool but the beginning of the book does not make that clear and so I was partially lost and trying to figure out who’s who the whole book. It’s very rarely that I don’t vibe with a book and I’m sad this one ended up being one because so far I’m loving the other books in this series. I could follow the storyline but since I couldn’t place the characters in the storyline it left something to be desired. But just because I didn’t vibe with the book doesn’t mean that you wont.

[Haylee Rae]

I found the gargoyles fascinating but struggled to fully understand the world and the different creatures during the first portion of this book. I did enjoy the dynamics between Micheal and Thomasine.


No spice
No language
Lots of action scenes, violence and multiple deaths.

I received an advanced copy and am willingly leaving an honest review.

[Kailey]

This is my least favorite book in this series. I just couldn’t get into it. While it was well written, I just didn’t connect with it. To me, it didn’t feel like a good fit for this series. I wouldn’t read it again.

[Gabriella Batel]

the outlet for all of my snark

[Angela The page princess]

Super swoon worthy I absolutely loved it!

[Jess H]

Okay, for whatever reason kinda struggled through it.

[Tegan Brady]

Tempest and Tiger's Eye is a fast-paced action packed book. I didn't notice much of a regency feel to it, more fantasy. Childhood friends to enemies to love is one of my favorite tropes. The book confused me for a bout the first 1/3 or so. I just didn't understand what was going on in the world or the races in it. BUT after that it got much better. I was on the edge of my seat and rooting for them both to get past all of the chaos and pain to be together. The betrayals, mistakes, and casualties of a horrible race-based war were difficult to watch. The author pulls it all together in the end. I cried for them and loved how the characters fought for those they loved no matter the race.

[Raven Mykal]

5 stars!

Gargoyles. Thunderbirds (aka lightening wielding bird shifters). Enemies to lovers.

Sign me up.

This was an AMAZING novella!!!!!

The relationship between Thomasine and Micheal was a chef's kiss!!!

The ending had me. When his wings are around her...eekk!!! The kisses between the two, felt perfect.

Not explicit at all and no spice!

THIS IS A MUST READ!!!!