Against All Odds: a sapphic paranormal romance

by Dahlia Amy

Odds can be manipulated, but fate ultimately decides.

Raya
My whole life, I’ve been watched by entities that no one else appears to see.

But lately, there’s someone new. An angel on my shoulder who saves me every time I almost fall. There has to be, because otherwise, my life choices would’ve had me killed more than once.

But as the veil thins and I’m slipping further down a path of destruction, knowing she’s there is no longer enough.

I don’t care what it takes. I have to meet my guardian angel.


Seren
When a lifetime of questionable morals finally got me killed, I was offered a choice. Accept my fate and depart to hell, or get one chance to save my soul… by saving that of another questionable person as their ironic guardian angel.

As I’m terrified of fire, my choice was easy. Or so I thought.

Until I met my assignment. A college student who surrounds herself with bad influences, lies and manipulates her way through life, and numbs her pain with alcohol and drugs.

She’s a damn headache. But she’s my only chance.

I might’ve chosen hell if I knew she’d turn my life into one.

—
In this dark sapphic paranormal romance, two morally gray women must turn the impossible odds in their favor when a twist of fate ties their souls together. The reluctant alliance slowly burns into an obsessive, forbidden love as they struggle to forgive each other… and themselves.

Genres: Lesbian

265 pages, Kindle Edition

Expected publication October 9, 2026

Reviews

[Unpopmary]

I went into this book with VERY high expectations because I absolutely adored the author's In the Cold Light of Code. I'm not exaggerating when I say it was one of my few 5-star reads this year, so when I saw this one, I was beyond excited to pick it up. Sadly, this ended up being a very different experience for me, and I'm honestly heartbroken that it didn't give me what I was hoping for.

Against All Odds follows Soraya, a 21-year-old college student whose childhood was far from easy and whose adult life has become just as messy, with drugs, alcohol, and a constant battle against her own inner darkness. That brings us to Seren, whose recent death was the direct result of her own earthly mistakes. Now, she has one shot at redemption and a ticket to heaven...she just has to successfully guard Soraya. But she didn't count on her own emotions getting in the way.

My biggest struggle with this story was connecting with the characters. And it's not because they're morally gray. Actually, I love morally gray MCs because they're usually complicated, unpredictable, and full of promise. I enjoy peeling back their layers and figuring out what makes them tick. Regrettably, I never felt like Raya and Seren reached that same level of complexity for me, especially when it came to their character arcs.

I completely resonated with Raya the most. Hearing her say she wasn't meant for this world, that nobody would miss her, and that the people around her didn't care really struck a nerve. That kind of loneliness is painfully relatable because I think most of us have experienced some version of it at some point. And to be fair, that's where Dahlia's writing really shines. The way she portrays those feelings feels so raw and comforting all at once.

But here's where things started falling apart for me: that emotional interiority didn't translate into enough growth. Raya is clearly heading toward becoming a better version of herself, but by the end, it felt like the plot pushed her there rather than her making that journey through her own choices. I also really wish we had gotten more from her addiction arc. There was so much room to expand on how she dealt with that and what her relationship with those personal struggles actually looked like, but the story didn't give that part enough space to develop.

And the truth is, the more I think about it, the more I believe the biggest issue was simply the page count. This story is trying to do a lot. We have an afterlife bureaucracy, addiction, family trauma, a court trial, deaths, redemption, romance, and several other major emotional beats all competing for space. That's a lot to fit into such a short story. Because of that, some of the bigger moments didn't have enough time to breathe. The shift in the romance, Raya's death, and the reconciliation all happened so quickly that the ending ended up feeling a little anticlimactic and rushed. I kept wishing the story would slow down and let me actually sit with these moments instead of immediately moving on to the next major event.

It's a shame, but Seren didn't work much better for me. I felt like I knew even less about her emotionally than I did Raya. We get a brief glimpse into her past, but not enough information to really understand what shaped her into the person she became. And realistically, I just didn't like her personality very much. She often came across as judgmental toward Raya's life, almost as if she had somehow lived a better or more respectable life, despite having made equally questionable choices for completely different reasons. That really rubbed me the wrong way. It also made the romance difficult for me to buy because I never felt that Seren sincerely cared about Raya's well-being because she had fallen in love with her. Instead, it often felt like she was doing what she was supposed to do because Raya was her assignment, which made their relationship feel more like a responsibility than a genuine connection.

And the constant use of their age gap to keep Raya at a distance didn't help. Seren repeatedly treated her like a child, so when she eventually confessed her feelings, I was basically sitting there thinking... WHERE DID THIS COME FROM???

Their connection just wasn't earned enough for me.

Although, to be fair, Raya's side of the romance didn't completely convince me either. I don't think she necessarily loved Seren. I think she became deeply infatuated with her because she was lonely and didn't really have anyone else to hold onto. Her feelings gradually turned into an obsession, which made their relationship feel more complicated than romantic to me.

Ironically, the aspect I wanted to know more about was the afterlife system, and that's where the book really grabbed my attention. The concept was thematically fascinating, and I became deeply invested in understanding how everything worked. The guardian assignment process, the mirror and scale imagery used to judge souls, the different levels of "gray souls," the Court, the judges... GIVE ME MORE.

That was easily the part where Dahlia's ideas felt the most fully realized. I found myself thinking about the mechanics of the system even after putting the book down, and some of those concepts truly made me question my own thoughts about morality, judgment, and redemption. I just wish the story had given itself enough room to explore them properly.

So, overall, this is definitely not a book without spark. In fact, that's probably what makes my experience with it so frustrating. I can SEE what this story was trying to do, and I think with more page time, many of its ideas could have been developed in a much more satisfying way. The ingredients were there. I just don't think there was enough room in the oven for everything to cook properly.

But Dahlia's writing? Still the cherry on top.

I know there’s totally an audience out there for this, especially among readers who enjoy unconventional romances and stories that don't follow the usual formula. There are some really interesting ideas here, and I would still encourage people to give it a chance because I think this is one of those books that could hit very differently depending on what you look for in a story.

Personally, though, I just wanted a stronger emotional hook and more fleshed-out character journeys, so I walked away wanting a bit more.

Huge thanks to Dahlia for giving me the chance to read an early copy of this one!

[Calling All Book Lovers]

3.75

This was an enjoyable read, and although the two main characters weren't necessarily the most lovable, I definitely found myself relating to them at times and feeling an emotional connection to their individual stories.

That being said, I do think the story struggled a little with balancing everything, especially for a book under 300 pages. I would have loved more time spent exploring Seren and Raya's pasts and getting a deeper understanding of the experiences that shaped who they are in the present. I also would have liked to see a stronger connection develop between them before they became lovers. Throughout much of the book, it felt like they spent more time communicating negatively with each other than actually getting the chance to bond, which made their romantic progression feel a little rushed for me.

On the other hand, there was a lot of detail put into the afterlife and the world-building, which I found interesting but also a little difficult to get through at times. Personally, I tend to prefer books that prioritise character development and emotional connection over extensive world-building, so this ultimately came down more to my personal reading preferences than an issue with the book itself.

Overall, if you enjoy paranormal romances with dark humour and detailed world-building surrounding the afterlife, I definitely think this is one you could give a try! Everyone's tastes are different, and what didn't completely work for me could easily be exactly what another reader loves.

Despite some of my reservations, I really enjoyed Dahlia Amy's writing style and will definitely be checking out more of her work, especially since I've heard great things about her other books.

[RiahsReading]

“Odds can be manipulated. But fate ultimately decides.”

I received an eARC of Against All Odds by Dahlia Amy in exchange for an honest review. Here are my thoughts!

🪽Seren is dead, her life ended brutally after a series of bad choices. Now in the afterlife she has one last choice - face Hell or try and save her soul by guiding another lost one on earth.

Raya keeps returning to a path of ruin, using any substance she can get her hands on to hide the pain. When a new presence seems to turn her luck around, can Raya do the same with her life? 🪽

I heard morally gray paranormal sapphic romance and did not need to hear anything else before agreeing to read Against All Odds. Now, let’s dig into what I thought of this particular book.

The strongest part of this book was absolutely the world building. The way the afterlife is set up was super compelling - I want to know more about it all! I also really appreciated that the guardian angels had an odds based magic that allows them to increase probability, but never make anything a concrete change. It seemed like a great way to allow agency for their charges and the people around them.

So the concept was amazing, but I’ll be honest - the characters felt pretty flat to me. The “romance” between Seren and Raya just felt lackluster, and I don’t feel like the age gap between them added anything to the story at all. Honestly, the relationships that Seren and Raya had with their supporting characters were far more compelling to me.

Then there is Raya’s journey with addiction. While I understand what the author was trying to convey with Raya’s continued return to substance abuse, in a story this short it just didn’t fully work. If this story had been a bit longer, I think this could have flowed a lot better and made for a more impactful read.

My last major complaint is that the end of Raya’s story felt like a cop out. I don’t want to go into spoiler territory, but I felt it cheapened a lot of growth that she’d had throughout the story prior.

While I did have complaints, I found this to be a satisfying read over all and gave it three stars. This was my first time reading a book by Dahlia Amy, but after looking at some of her earlier books it definitely won’t be my last! If you’re interested in checking this one out yourself it releases on October 9th!

[Tasha]

I have been a fan of Dahlia Amy’s work since I first read *Shadow Girl*. With every book since, I’ve watched her writing grow stronger, and now, with her fourth book, *Against All Odds*, I think her talent for character development really shines.

I’m not going to tell you what the story is about. Read it. It’s so good. Instead, I want to tell you how it made me feel.

Dahlia has a talent for making you care about characters who struggle. They struggle to be good. They struggle to be decent. They struggle with their choices, their pasts, and sometimes with the people they’ve become.

These aren’t perfect people. Honestly, they aren’t always particularly *good* people, and they know it. They make bad decisions. Their morals can get decidedly questionable. They hurt people, hurt themselves, make choices you desperately wish they wouldn’t make... and somewhere in the middle of all that mess, you start identifying with them.

Because most of us know what it’s like to look back at a decision and wish we’d made a different one. We know what it’s like to want to be better than we were yesterday and not always quite manage it.

That, for me, is where *Against All Odds* works so beautifully.

Dahlia doesn’t ask you to excuse her characters. She lets you understand them. There’s a huge difference between the two. And once you understand them, once you see the fears, hopes, mistakes and contradictions underneath their choices, it becomes very difficult not to care what happens to them.

By the end, I wasn’t thinking about whether these were good people or bad people.

I was just rooting for them.

And I think that might be Dahlia Amy’s superpower.

[Rowan Womble]

Kay. Gonna be thinking about this one for the rest of my natural life. And maybe after, if the afterlife exists.

Speaking of, what a fascinating take on afterlives. The sort of "everyone has a piece of the puzzle, but no one's fully right" thing is really interesting to me. Add to that all of the wild things that happen... just read it if you want to find out about those, though.

I think there's nothing wrong with falling for your guardian angel, or vice versa. Two imperfect people doing their absolute best to be absolved of their sins is a beautiful concept, and even if they struggle, they're doing something right by each other.

This is definitely a really dark read—if you aren't a maniac like me, read the TWs and think very carefully about whether you can handle it right now. Dahlia Amy has proven unafraid to dive into some deep, soul-scathing territory with this one, and though it's beautiful, it won't be for everyone.

Take care of yourself. Know you're loved, even if it doesn't always feel like it. Maybe someone's watching out for you—try not to make them miserable about it ;)

[Mara Heath]

Against All Odds is my favorite so far of Dahlia Amy's books. There are moments in the story that are so utterly beautiful and romantic, and gave me all the feels. While Raya and Seren make some questionable choices, I found them both relatable. They reveal those sides of ourselves we don't want others to see, even ourselves. Raya, in particular, shone for me because of her vulnerability. She knows she's ruining her life, but she doesn't know how to get off the train, so to speak. And that's where Seren comes in, on a high-speed train of her own, to be Raya's guardian angel and steer her back on a straight path. As you can imagine with a setup like this, it's one disaster after another, but the consequences draw the two of them together.

The "magic" system is original and interesting, using probability of all things, which was such a nice touch for a Seren's character who used to be a swindler. The "afterlife" and Jurrian are fascinating and raise so many questions about death, eternity, and accountability. Like in all her other books, Dahlia has me mulling over the nature of humanity and society. Brilliant!

[Lizzy]

"Because the moment I'm alone with my thoughts, all I feel is that everything is an illusion, and that none of it matters."

☆.｡.:*･ﾟ☆.｡.:*･ﾟ☆.｡.:*･ﾟ☆.｡.:*･ﾟ☆.｡.:*･ﾟ☆.｡.:*･ﾟ☆.｡.:*･ﾟ☆

To be honest, I started this book for the romance part. I saw guardian angel and jumped into it. But it turned out that, to me, the romance was just a minor reason why this book will stuck with me. This is a story about growing up feeling broken, about redemption, about addiction, and loneliness and your own thoughts being your worst enemy. It also happens to have a great sapphic romance between a human and her guardian angel and this was very cool. Beside, I loved the system of probabilities and the take on the afterlife, I found it so interesting, and I found myself getting into old questioning again (which was unsettling but in a good way).

If you're looking for a book that will stuck with you forever, you should pick this one. I know I will think about it every day from now on. Actually I finished it two days before writing this review, and I cannot stop thinking about it. It will make you cry, just so you know.

It was a perfect book for Yellow September. Remember that you are loved, you matter, and the world is brighter when you're in it ♡

[Pauline Walters]

Against All Odds has officially won the contest for my favorite book by Dahlia Amy!
This book is as dark as her previous ones; her characters are, as usual, filled with feelings, uncertainty, trauma...and that's why we love it!
I haven't read a book with a guardian angel before (especially not a reluctant one like in this one), and it's going straight onto one of my favourite tropes.
As usual, everyone is kind of morally grey but so, so, so human; and it's a nice difference compared to the usual FMC in romances.
This is the perfect book if you are looking for your next dark paranormal romance. Beware, this is a slooooow burn, so if you're expecting crazy smut and love declarations, you won't find it in there. Instead, you will find characters you'll want to shake. (Seren and especially Raya LOVE making questionable decisions.)

[AJ Robertson]

This was beautiful yet daunting. This story follows Seren and Raya. Seren made some bad choices that led to her...demise? Guardianship? Who knows how to correctly word it. Raya though...she's been through so much and continues down a self depreciating cycle of life. Seren needs to help Raya save herself, but once Raya has decided her life is forfeit, everything changes.

One moment turns the entire story into one of yearning and needing to be understood. It's written where you can't help but form a bonding and understanding to both main characters and wishing for an HEA even when it seems utterly impossible.

There are also secrets exposed and heartbreak within this story. These things only build on the background of the characters and the story unfolding. It is truly a beautiful read.

[Skye DeWet]

I enjoyed this book. It is different from my usual reads but it drew me in and held my attention right upto the end. I almost wish it didn't end but I love the ending as well