Dearly Beloved

by Rae Werth

Veronica Beverly? Banished Indefinitely. An alias named Victoria Pierce? Law Abiding Citizen, well… sort of.

With an opportunity to return back to the palace, Veronica dives headfirst in as the new handmaid to the Prince of Hawthorn. Clearing her family name is at the forefront of her mind, as well as seeing the young boy she grew up with.

Sebastian Baros? The unfortunate Prince of Hawthorn.

A certified prick? Absolutely.

Politically arranged to an unbearable woman, Sebastian is just trying to get by one day at a time. He's managed to become the very person he feared turning into; his father. Not to mention his disinterest in the royal life he's meant to live.

Obsession meets devotion, their separate worlds colliding into one, and now it's time for them to find their way back to each other. This time for good.

246 pages, Kindle Edition

Published August 3, 2026

Reviews

[Katie]

This story hooked me from the very first few pages and refused to let go. A woman hiding behind a false identity, a deliciously terrible prince who just so happens to be someone she has a connection with from her past, and SO many “what the eff?!” moments had me completely enthralled.

The tension was tensioning, the chemistry was chemistrying, and let me tell you…some of those scenes had my eyes practically bulging out of my skull. And I was here for every single second of it.

I absolutely LOVE the way this author writes. The storytelling flows so effortlessly, and before you know it, you’re completely sucked in and held hostage by the story. I devoured this book, and now I desperately need more from this author!

[Holly Cole]

OH MY GOODNESS GRACIOUS! I inhaled this book in one sitting. SO. FREAKING. GOOD. I loveeeeed the modernized regency vibes. It was giving Bridgerton in the best way. I fell in love with the characters. 10/10 recommend this cutie pie!

[Alexandra]

“You killed her!” IYKYK 😂

I loved this book from start to finish! Absolutely loved and HATED characters, loved the story and how the secrets of the past emerged throughout. I finished this book and immediately clenched my heart. I wish there was more!

Definitely recommend, read this ASAP!

[Reader]

ADVANCED ARC COPY

No spoilers, you’re just going to have to go read it yourself.

I have been waiting for this book for a while, about a year. There had need talk about it and snippets. Just small little crumbs of this masterpiece. When I got my hands on this ARC copy I thought I knew what was getting into, boy was I wrong! This book exceeded my expectations and kept me on my toes. I felt the anxiety and anticipation that the characters felt. The raw emotions perfectly captured within the cover of this book by each of the characters, and I felt them all. Even Mary’s heartbreaking realization as I have felt that sort of loss. Still hate Mary…just a side note. I found myself hiding in the bathroom or putting my kids down for naps a little more urgently so I can read the next chapter. When my internet went out I wasn’t mad at all because I had this book. I WILL be getting a physical copy. This was beautifully written with the perfect spice and plot balance. There are parts that made me giggle and others made my jaw drop. If I could go back, erase my memory just to experience this book for the first time again I would.

[Book.lovin.Brandy]

From the very first chapter of this book I was completely hooked. So much though that I read the entire book in one day. I found myself falling in love with Sebastian and Veronica along with numerous other characters in this book. The characters felt very real and the emotional moments in the book hit exactly the way they were supposed to. The pacing of the story kept me turning pages and there was even a couple of moments where I was truly shocked at what happened. I found myself thinking about this story long after I had finished it.

Knowing the author Rae Werth makes me incredibly proud, but I would recommend this read even if I didn’t. All of her hard work, blood, sweat and tears that went into creating this first masterpiece shows in every chapter.

If you are looking for:
Hot Prickish Price 🌶️
Best friends to lovers
Royal family drama
Lots of 🌶️🌶️🌶️🌶️🌶️
Forced Arranged Marriage (I Hate Mary ugh!!)
Handmaids Tale
Little 🕊️ (IYKYK)
True Love

Then this is Definitely for you!! Enjoy!! 😉

[Kelly Young]

Dearly Beloved was an emotional and captivating read that pulled me in from the very beginning. Veronica and Sebastian are complex characters, and I enjoyed watching their story unfold as they faced difficult choices, unexpected emotions, and life-changing moments.
The author did a wonderful job creating a story filled with romance, drama, and heartfelt moments. The characters felt real, and I found myself invested in their struggles, growth, and relationships. The writing kept me engaged, and I wanted to keep turning the pages to see what would happen next.
If you enjoy emotional romance with strong characters and a story that makes you feel, Dearly Beloved is definitely worth reading. It was a memorable book that stayed with me even after I finished it.
I

[Ashley Messersmith]

Slow burner

This book was such a slow burn, but oh my goodness, was it worth it. ❤️ At first, I wasn’t sure where the story was taking me, but little by little, I became completely invested. The characters, the emotions, the tension… it all built up until I couldn’t stop reading.

By the time I was fully hooked, I genuinely didn’t want to put this book down. I found myself thinking about it when I wasn’t reading, wanting to get back to the story every chance I had. There were moments that made my heart ache, moments that made me smile, and moments where I just sat there feeling EVERYTHING.

Sometimes the books that take their time getting under your skin are the ones you end up feeling the deepest. This was absolutely amazing, and I’m so glad I stuck with it. 💕📖

[Gaby Storck]

Oh. My. God. I don’t even know where to start with this book. Is it spicy, hell yes. Is it suspenseful, absolutely. Did it catch my attention within the first couple of pages, you best believe it did! This was the PERFECT book to get me out of my reading slump. This book was amazing, adorable, the perfect amount of fuck that one bitch. I don’t think I’ve ever wanted to yeet a character so bad in my life… and don’t worry you’ll figure out who quite quickly 😂 this is absolutely getting added to the reread pile! Rae you did such an amazing job with this book and I will be telling all my friends about it! Can’t wait for what comes next!!!

[Kylie Homan]

Great read! Will absolutely be recommending!

Never have I ever been so glad to just randomly find a writer on an app. Not only is Rae fun and expressive when she write, her words are somehow both hilarious and you find yourself infuriated at characters! Other characters you'll love and some will.. well they will be both. It took me all of two days to fit this in around my busy life and im glad i did! If you enjoy a character who can be a bit of a jerk Sebastian is a great one and plenty of others will make up for his attitude!

Thank you for a great read I look forward to the next book you write!

[Claire]

I just finished reading this incredible book by Rae Werth, and I honestly could not put it down! From the very first page to the satisfying, emotional conclusion, the writing was absolutely captivating. The author has a true gift for crafting relatable characters, weaving engaging dialogue, and building worlds that completely pull you in. If you are looking for a story that is beautifully paced and full of memorable moments, I highly recommend picking this up. It is a stellar read that will stay with you long after the final chapter.

[Oopsiboughtbooksagain✨]

ARC🖤
I absolutely LOVED this book! There were so many emotions that I experienced from each character. There were moments my jaw went to the FLOOR! I was like no wayyy! Mary is the worst, period. I don’t want to spoil anything but eww. I didn’t want to put this book down, I was so consumed with their story. I swear I wanted to cry at times, laugh, smiled, all the feels. It doesn’t keep you dragging along, the pacing is perfect and to the point. I was so happy to get to be an ARC for this author. I highly recommend this book.

[Mark Martin]

Rae Werth, the lovely human being you are. I am going to need another book that follows their relationship even further. I was so involved in this book that I started crying multiple times and boy do I barely cry on books. The emotions put into this book give the characters such great depth and allow the reader to connect with them. Thank you so much for bringing Veronica and Sebastian into my life and now I can't wait to see what else you write.

5/5 Stars
5/5 Characters
5/5 Plot
5/5 Writing

[Audury Davis]

5 ⭐️ across the board. The book was amazing! I had a hard time even putting it down to adult. 🤣 There was spots I laughed, spots I got mad, and even wondered if I was gonna be heartbroken and cry… I didn’t but those spots were emotional and could possibly be hard for some people but overall it was sweet, a little suspenseful, and so well written. This is a must read for me and I can’t wait for more from this author!!!

[Emily Derek]

absolutely loved this!

[Ariel Johnson]

This romance sub genre is def not one i read a lot of so i tried to go into with an open mind and let me tell yall it did NOT disappoint!!!! Kicking , giggling, screaming, to literally bawling my eyes 🤪 The tension and banter between the fmc and mmc i was foaming from my mouth 😀 i loved how as the story progressed we got bits of the past woven in genuinely just made me yearn for their happiness - and when the mmc had to leave yes real tears were shed, and when he came back yes even more tears were shed- I think the only reason it wasn’t a 5/5 ⭐️ was that I selfishly wanted 100–200 more pages.

[Samuel McKallan]

i finished reading this book in two sittings.

this book changed me. since i read When the Moon Hatched back in December 2025, no book has made me feel this way, like i can never go back to who i was before i read it.

this book ripped out my heart, chewed it up, spat it out, then returned it to me wrapped up in a pretty bow, and i, on my knees, completely emotionally devastated, said, "thank you."

Veronica was fun to live inside. Sebastian was a fuck and then i loved him. i didn't care for Mary at first, was kind of indifferent, and then i ABSOLUTELY DESPISED HER.

Gareth was cool. i kind of wish he got more page time.

all in all, i LOVED this book. read it.

[N.B. McCall]

Dearly Beloved is 10/10 a 5 star read for me! Sebastian's unbridled disgust for his wife Mary from the very jump, all the way through to the end, had me locked in. Enjoyed that he kept that energy all the way through and appreciated how he took charge of things at the end. The spice was just right. I HIGHLY encourage getting one of the gorgeous physical copies as a shelf trophy and listening to the audiobook as a companion read! You won't be disappointed. Can't wait for more from this author!

[Sara Elizabeth]

ARC advanced reader:

Great first book by this author. I have been waiting patiently to read this book, and when I got my advanced copy I couldn’t put it down. The characters are relatable, even though they are living in a royal setting. The relationships Sebastian has with the other characters had me feeling so many different emotions. One minute I was happy, then sad, and mostly so angry, especially with Mary! If you get a chance to pick this book up, do it. You won’t regret it!

[Ainsley]

Minimal to no spoilers below.

A great read if you’re trying to dry up your pussy in 200 pages or less.

I don’t think the plot of this is really for me but it is also just poorly written. I almost didn’t finish it several times but I don’t like leaving books half-read so I pushed through.

There’s a lot of grammatical errors, frequently enough that it takes me out of the moment. One or two, I can understand, but this amount wasn’t acceptable for a published story. The book needed more polishing. And for the author to cut back on their over-use of italics.

Onto the story itself…

It’s unoriginal, firstly. You could argue anything is unoriginal these days but it just feels like the many recycled elements we see come up again and again in various romantasy, high fantasy, dark romance, historic romance, and other spicy books that are so popular right now.

The time period is wildly unclear. It seems to exist in a ‘real world’ setting (judging by mention of elements relating to Christianity) but it’s all over the place in terms of era and it’s extremely distracting. They travel by horse and cart, yet they also have espresso, ice cubes, and use American currency, among other things. It feels completely nonsensical and if this was a purposeful choice from the author, it is a bad one.

There’s not much diversity in the cast of characters, unfortunately. (And the mention of the 'incompetent gardener' rubbed me up the wrong way... felt like a microaggression).

There are also two minor characters named Thomas which I found a bit strange… why not just give one of them a different name? There doesn’t seem to be any reason for this.

The FMC doesn’t seem to know what sort of personality to settle on.

It’s the MMC that is completely insufferable, however. The summary calls him a certified prick but it’s far beyond this and he never *stops* being a prick at any point, ever. Even his 'good' moments are manipulative and icky. The character is just unlikable in every possible way. He is a cross between Really Annoying Dom You Met On Fetlife and actual sociopath, and he truly has no redeeming qualities. He could at least have the courtesy of being funny, but any (assumed) attempt at comedy failed to make me even crack a smile.

Mary seems to be the intended villain of the story but she’s so one-dimensional. It feels as though we are to hate her immediately upon introduction when, at this point, she hasn’t done anything other than be a victim of Sebastian’s awful treatment of her. Her only crime to begin with is being married to the worst man alive. She’s a flat character and it’s hard for me to enjoy a villain like that.

I’d be interested to know if this book passes the Bechdel test… I don’t think it does but I didn’t personally keep track.

And as for the smut scenes…

I don’t consider myself picky about sex scenes in books but I do not think the smut here was well-written. It often felt like the author should have went into more detail but didn’t, leaving the scene feeling unfinished. Orgasms seem to just continuously *happen* without much build-up. I did not enjoy several of the descriptors used. Not to mention, the context of the smut scenes themselves… trying to make The Handmaid’s Tale something horny and it’s just not working. Also, why are we reading a pornographic scene and then suddenly cutting to a flashback of them as children? It’s extremely weird and throws off the entire vibe.

The ‘little dove’ nickname was really not my thing either. Too ‘condescending daddy dom’ for my taste.

The constant descriptors about eyes felt very ‘early teens Wattpad author’ which is fine… if you are an early teens Wattpad author. The line, “His honey coated irises are a dark caramel,” sticks in my head especially. These are all completely different colours!

The FMC finding other women ‘too whiny’ and ‘too dramatic’ was such an eye-roll moment for me. Way to immediately alienate the majority of your readership with an ‘I’m not like other girls’ moment. It’s 2026, we need to get past this cringeworthy way of writing female characters.

There’s a lot more I could add. The MMC growling all the time, the many descriptions of scents and smells that feel really random and out of place…

Ultimately, the ending was really unfulfilling. The characters do not feel as though there’s actually anything between them; I wasn’t rooting for them to be together at all. It all feels like toxic obsession and not love, and I just deeply did not enjoy this story in the way I hoped I would. I wouldn’t personally recommend it.

Much of the book felt unfinished—characters not fleshed out enough, sex scenes leaving much to be desired, any hint of character development for the MMC...

The author says in the acknowledgements to ‘The Cult’ that they will, “forever make sure your smut is top tier.” I am not sure how author plans to achieve this when their own smut is far from it.

I fear the Mr. Barry mentioned in the acknowledgements may have had a point about author's writing skills.

If this author continues to publish books as she says she will, I hope she takes the time to really polish them up as they should be, at the very least. Perhaps the storytelling will improve, but I won’t know, because I won’t be reading anything further from her.

[Victoria Brinius]

This was an interesting read. The setting was one of my favorites, a castle. There was also a mean king, stupid queen and a wife, Mary, that was completely ignorant of what she was doing. There was a handmaid in this book, but not the kind that we have been used to reading lately. Veronica, the handmaid, was a character to like. She wanted to be reunited with her childhood sweetheart. Her childhood sweetheart was the son of the king, and the future heir. The stupid queen did awful things, but she thought she was doing them for the right reasons. There was sex and adult language/ scenes in the book. This is an adult book. There was also a question of infertility. Thus, the handmaid. Veronica is a spitfire! She is snarky and not afraid to voice her opinions. Sebastian is stubborn and not a great guy. He does some pretty shady things. I liked the other characters like Georgina and especially the cat!!!!! All this character development and world building is added to the main plot of the book. Veronica's secret. I was surprised that it took so long for Sebastian and the others to catch on. The character banter, spice, vengefulness and true lifelike characters made for a fast read. I could see these characters in a series. I really liked this book and only wished that the end had more information. I wanted to know more about how these characters ended up. I hope that there is a sequel. I am giving this book a 5/5. I was given a copy, all opinions are my own.

[Autumn]

Arc Advanced Read.
✨️SPOILERS✨️

Dearly Beloved was a great read and I enjoyed learning the characters and the storyline. The overall idea involved throughout was intriguing and had a great set idea. Both Sebastian and Veronica had an adorable and spicy relationship. ❤️‍🔥🥰 Veronica was fun and I loved her sassy personality. Sebastian was definitely a bit of a Jerk at times but I loved him equally. Tomato the cat. My absolute favorite 🥰🥰 Just the cutest little thing. Feisty and Adorable 10/10 haha. ❤️

A few things that had bothered me though were how even if the story was amazing, the way it was more fast paced and less explained was a little problem. Although the story does say that Sebastian left for war it doesn't go fully into detail of how both characters felt emotionally minus the letters for it. I feel the story was not fully told to its absolute extent.

[Carrera Bradley]

Dearly beloved went above and beyond my expectations. Tackling court arrangements, childhood reunions, and secret identities this book kept me hooked to the point of fixation.

There was no moment where I was waiting for the next beat— no frustration yearning for action. Just two-hundred eighty-one pages of raw tension, toe-curling smut, and love rooted in invisible string-like friendship. I spent the whole read bouncing from emotion to emotion— giggling and kicking my feet one moment, to clutching my heart the next— this author really kept me on my toes.

All in all, Dearly Beloved is a fantastical whirlwind of duty-bound royals and foreign relations in a way that somehow feels rooted in real, deep relationships and feelings. It was a roller coaster that I am truly grateful I had the opportunity to go on.

[Kennedy Page]

Dearly Beloved by Rae Werth completely pulled me in. This story was gut-wrenching at times, and there were moments where I genuinely had to put the book down and just sit with everything I was feeling. It’s emotional, raw, and beautifully written in a way that really makes you feel connected to the story.
What stood out to me most, though, were the characters. They felt so real and layered, and somehow Rae makes you fall completely in love with them. I found myself caring about their happiness, hurting when they hurt, and rooting for them long after I put the book down.
This was definitely an emotional read, but in the best way. If you love stories that make you feel deeply and characters that stay with you, Dearly Beloved is absolutely worth picking up.

[Alex]

This book honestly got me way more interested in the adult romance genre- as someone who never really gravitated towards this type of novel, I admit my mind wasn’t AS open as it could have been… but this story isn’t smut. Not only do the characters have substance, but the author does a great job of appealing to multiple emotions- sad, happy, enthralled, angry, shocked, and… etc. Rarely does an author release a book that makes me want MORE to the point of reviewing it to encourage others to read it… But I HIGHLY recommend giving this a read. For a debut novel ESPECIALLY… I’ll say that I’m already looking forward to future works from her!

[Danyal Watkins]

Be prepared to be thrown into the thick of it in the best way possible. You love to hate some characters, you want to choke slam others, and melt all within a few sentences. The humor slips in just at the right time to break up the spice and tension. Speaking of the spice, we spicy but not obscene. It gives a nice and raw view of royalty and the desperate unfeeling need to produce an heir. Do you want to shake Veronica and Sebastian? Absolutely but you also cheer the whole way. Good read with just the right amount of everything.

[Mirandalikestoread]

This royal romance tells the story of Veronica AKA Victoria who returns to the castle she was banished from as a child. She has returned to be a handmaid for the prince Sebastian. He is recently married and also happens to be her childhood best friend. When it is revealed that his wife cannot get pregnant, Sebastian then asks Veronica/Victoria to carry his heir. This story was twisty, spicy, engaging and had great characters that you wanted to root for and that you also wanted to hate. It has everything you could want in a romance novel.

[Sophia Zane]

I saw a post about Dearly Beloved on TikTok and decided to give it a try. And I’m so glad I did. I loved it! I was completely drawn in from the beginning. I loved Veronica and Sebastian, and even Gareth grew on me. I was able to predict a couple of things, but that didn’t take away from the story at all. I still couldn’t read fast enough to see what happened next.
Highly recommend, you won’t be disappointed!

[Morgan Garmon]

Yes. YES! Just, yes. This book made me laugh and cry in equal measure. It is beautifully written and the story is a new favorite of mine. I honestly can’t believe this is her first book! I won’t list any spoilers, but I will say that justice is served in the end and Sebastian has made the book boyfriend list!

[Ashley Lee]

I read an arc copy and absolutely loved this book. From the first page to the last page I was hooked and wanting to know how what happened next. The twists and turns were like woah where's this going? The author did a great job of keeping me want more.

[Lindz Deaver]

ARC Review: OMG Sabastian and Veronica!! This book had me screaming from start to finish! The tension, banter and the mutual hate for Mary-this book had it all. This author is amazing and I cannot wait to see what she comes up with next.