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Callow
Not yet published
Expected 3 Nov 26An enchanting, sapphic fantasy adventure for fans of Rachel Gillig and Stephanie Garber.
Witchcraft is a death sentence in the Kingdom of Scheragen. The ancient art of sorcery has been rooted out, and the women who practiced it have been either executed or banished to a remote continent. Only one witch Ulyana, a prisoner of war kept alive for the sole purpose of aiding the King as his spymaster. An immortal temptress who, before the war, earned the nasty reputation of eating the hearts of men who had scorned her.
For twenty-three year old Evelynn Callow, a member of one of the wealthiest families in the Kingdom, cautionary tales of witches have long been the subject of her nightmares. So when Evelynn discovers that her younger sister has gone missing, she can't help but assume that she has been abducted by the Kingdom's enemies. But only Ulyana has the power to track down Evelynn's lost sister, a fact that leads Evelynn into a desperate and potentially lethal in exchange for the witch's magic, Ulyana will periodically feed on Evelynn's blood. As they travel together into the unknown, Evelynn begins to question the reality for which her illustrious life has depended, as well as whether or not Ulyana may actually desire the contents of Evelynn's heart rather than her veins.
"In a novel of witchcraft, heroism, and drop-dead romance, the real sorcery behind Callow is de Reeder's storytelling. Once you're under her spell, days melt, time blurs... de Reeder is a true enchantress of prose." - Jane Lockwood, Former Editor in Chief of Love & Squalor
Witchcraft is a death sentence in the Kingdom of Scheragen. The ancient art of sorcery has been rooted out, and the women who practiced it have been either executed or banished to a remote continent. Only one witch Ulyana, a prisoner of war kept alive for the sole purpose of aiding the King as his spymaster. An immortal temptress who, before the war, earned the nasty reputation of eating the hearts of men who had scorned her.
For twenty-three year old Evelynn Callow, a member of one of the wealthiest families in the Kingdom, cautionary tales of witches have long been the subject of her nightmares. So when Evelynn discovers that her younger sister has gone missing, she can't help but assume that she has been abducted by the Kingdom's enemies. But only Ulyana has the power to track down Evelynn's lost sister, a fact that leads Evelynn into a desperate and potentially lethal in exchange for the witch's magic, Ulyana will periodically feed on Evelynn's blood. As they travel together into the unknown, Evelynn begins to question the reality for which her illustrious life has depended, as well as whether or not Ulyana may actually desire the contents of Evelynn's heart rather than her veins.
"In a novel of witchcraft, heroism, and drop-dead romance, the real sorcery behind Callow is de Reeder's storytelling. Once you're under her spell, days melt, time blurs... de Reeder is a true enchantress of prose." - Jane Lockwood, Former Editor in Chief of Love & Squalor
364 pages, Paperback
Expected publication November 3, 2026
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Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews
September 16, 2026
A sapphic romantasy with a witch and a lady knight? Hell yeah!
When Evelynn discovers that her little sister was abducted, she disguises herself as a knight in order to find her. Her only hope is the infamous witch Ulyana, a prisoner kept alive, with a reputation of eating the hearts of men that wronged her.
Ulyana promises to use her magic to find her in exchange for Evelynn’s blood. Together they go on a journey into the unknown, the question is: can the witch keep her promise?
Characters:
The chapters alternate between Evelynn and her cousin Ainara. While Evelynn is the rebellious outcast of the family, Ainara is bound by duty to the family. She is set to marry an old, disgusting man in order to get her parents out of poverty.
Evelynn, Ainara and Ulyana are so different and unique but they are all strong and brave in their own way. It was truly beautiful to see them grow throughout the story.
World building:
There is quite a lot of lore drop and background information. This was sometimes overwhelming but it’s a good foundation for future books in this series.
Romance:
The chemistry between the love interests was so good, I was giggling and kicking my feet. I definitely need more of it!
This is a great book for anyone that loves a romantasy with strong FMC’s, adventures and a bit of whimsy.
Thank you to the Author for providing me with this ARC in exchange for an honest review
When Evelynn discovers that her little sister was abducted, she disguises herself as a knight in order to find her. Her only hope is the infamous witch Ulyana, a prisoner kept alive, with a reputation of eating the hearts of men that wronged her.
Ulyana promises to use her magic to find her in exchange for Evelynn’s blood. Together they go on a journey into the unknown, the question is: can the witch keep her promise?
Characters:
The chapters alternate between Evelynn and her cousin Ainara. While Evelynn is the rebellious outcast of the family, Ainara is bound by duty to the family. She is set to marry an old, disgusting man in order to get her parents out of poverty.
Evelynn, Ainara and Ulyana are so different and unique but they are all strong and brave in their own way. It was truly beautiful to see them grow throughout the story.
World building:
There is quite a lot of lore drop and background information. This was sometimes overwhelming but it’s a good foundation for future books in this series.
Romance:
The chemistry between the love interests was so good, I was giggling and kicking my feet. I definitely need more of it!
This is a great book for anyone that loves a romantasy with strong FMC’s, adventures and a bit of whimsy.
Thank you to the Author for providing me with this ARC in exchange for an honest review
Review of advance copy received from Author
the callow family is met with a duty and a disappearance.
evelynn is tasked with going on a mission with knights and a witch to try and find her missing sister.
ainara has a duty to salvage her family from a state of penury and marry a man she does not love.
these cousins must navigate their own journeys to save the people they love. i enjoyed both povs a lot and the characters they introduced !!
i LOVED the lore in this book. any time lore is mentioned in one of my reviews, i must say i am a sucker for it. it is one of my favorite things about reading !! it was very interesting !
inside and outside of the castle walls, i ate up this story from front to back !
the dynamic of evelynn and ulyana was lovely to read. i always enjoy some banter and yearning. to find her sister, evelynn agrees to give up her blood to power the witch that is kept as a royal prisoner. so much more happens on the journey than evelynn originally anticipated and i was SAT.
ainara had so many complicated relationships on her side of things. the prince, her brother, and possibly some otherworldly beings she wasn’t expecting. most of all, she has to give her hand to an old, disgusting man in marriage to secure her family’s name. i found her character to be such an interesting one !! she uncovers most of the secrets while i was reading, so i found myself attached to her. she also found some other characters attached to her that she wasn’t expecting. i was a FAN.
the secrets of the castle had me wanting to tiptoe around there myself. it was so interesting !!! without giving anything away, the mysteries go deep ! a family spun by gold and tied to power was right up my alley.
the two povs merged the story perfectly !! i really enjoyed the pacing of the pov switches. i usually find myself wanting to get back to a certain character when i read multi pov, but not this one !
and THAT ENDING. for some reason, i was reading this as a standalone, so i was a little shocked by the ending !!! can’t wait to eventually get my hands on the second one whenever it is complete.
thank you to the author for letting me read this eARC in an exchange for a review !!
evelynn is tasked with going on a mission with knights and a witch to try and find her missing sister.
ainara has a duty to salvage her family from a state of penury and marry a man she does not love.
these cousins must navigate their own journeys to save the people they love. i enjoyed both povs a lot and the characters they introduced !!
i LOVED the lore in this book. any time lore is mentioned in one of my reviews, i must say i am a sucker for it. it is one of my favorite things about reading !! it was very interesting !
inside and outside of the castle walls, i ate up this story from front to back !
the dynamic of evelynn and ulyana was lovely to read. i always enjoy some banter and yearning. to find her sister, evelynn agrees to give up her blood to power the witch that is kept as a royal prisoner. so much more happens on the journey than evelynn originally anticipated and i was SAT.
ainara had so many complicated relationships on her side of things. the prince, her brother, and possibly some otherworldly beings she wasn’t expecting. most of all, she has to give her hand to an old, disgusting man in marriage to secure her family’s name. i found her character to be such an interesting one !! she uncovers most of the secrets while i was reading, so i found myself attached to her. she also found some other characters attached to her that she wasn’t expecting. i was a FAN.
the secrets of the castle had me wanting to tiptoe around there myself. it was so interesting !!! without giving anything away, the mysteries go deep ! a family spun by gold and tied to power was right up my alley.
the two povs merged the story perfectly !! i really enjoyed the pacing of the pov switches. i usually find myself wanting to get back to a certain character when i read multi pov, but not this one !
and THAT ENDING. for some reason, i was reading this as a standalone, so i was a little shocked by the ending !!! can’t wait to eventually get my hands on the second one whenever it is complete.
thank you to the author for letting me read this eARC in an exchange for a review !!
Review of advance copy received from Author
3.5/5⭐️
first, thank you to the author for sending me an eARC of this book!
the story was captivating. it follows two cousins -- first, Evelynn, a rebellious outsider turned lady knight who must join forces with an infamous witch in order to find her missing little sister. the other cousin, Ainara, must agree to be married off to a disgusting old man in order to get her disgraced parents out of poverty. there was a lot going on, but I will say, I really enjoyed the reveals toward the end of the book that tied things together.
I'm giving the book a 3.5/5 because, although I enjoyed the premise, the sapphic lady knight, and the secrets that unraveled within the castle, there was just SO much going on. the first few chapters felt a little bit info-dumpy (sometimes through dialogue, sometimes through a character reading a book). there were also occasional logistical things that didn't make sense to me (examples: how did Evelynn know what a Builgorian accent sounded like if she had never been outside of a city that banned Builgorians? how did Ulyana bite off ALL of the fingers of a Worship Leader if they were inside Evelynn's mouth? why did Ulyana need blood from a neck, when other magic users could use blood from anywhere? why were important books kept in a random guest suite? how did Death bring Ainara to his home without touching her? among other questions)
at first, I didn't understand the purpose of Ainara's chapters. they didn't seem related to the main storyline. eventually though, I started to really enjoy them! and they did all tie together. however, I think her last chapter could've been a lot shorter and should've given away less about her situation. that chapter felt like it should've been the beginning of book 2.
overall, the story was intriguing, and I flew through it in just a few days. I would recommend to anyone that enjoys romantasy.
first, thank you to the author for sending me an eARC of this book!
the story was captivating. it follows two cousins -- first, Evelynn, a rebellious outsider turned lady knight who must join forces with an infamous witch in order to find her missing little sister. the other cousin, Ainara, must agree to be married off to a disgusting old man in order to get her disgraced parents out of poverty. there was a lot going on, but I will say, I really enjoyed the reveals toward the end of the book that tied things together.
I'm giving the book a 3.5/5 because, although I enjoyed the premise, the sapphic lady knight, and the secrets that unraveled within the castle, there was just SO much going on. the first few chapters felt a little bit info-dumpy (sometimes through dialogue, sometimes through a character reading a book). there were also occasional logistical things that didn't make sense to me (examples: how did Evelynn know what a Builgorian accent sounded like if she had never been outside of a city that banned Builgorians? how did Ulyana bite off ALL of the fingers of a Worship Leader if they were inside Evelynn's mouth? why did Ulyana need blood from a neck, when other magic users could use blood from anywhere? why were important books kept in a random guest suite? how did Death bring Ainara to his home without touching her? among other questions)
at first, I didn't understand the purpose of Ainara's chapters. they didn't seem related to the main storyline. eventually though, I started to really enjoy them! and they did all tie together. however, I think her last chapter could've been a lot shorter and should've given away less about her situation. that chapter felt like it should've been the beginning of book 2.
overall, the story was intriguing, and I flew through it in just a few days. I would recommend to anyone that enjoys romantasy.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
October 24, 2026
received as an e-arc (thank you!)
this book overall was really cute and a refreshing take on sapphic fantasy! the atmosphere and world was really immersive and the lore felt really thought out. the feminine rage and yearning in the story was really lovely!
my only thing that i wasn’t huge on was ainara’s arc, though it showed how women can be brave in many different ways, i wish it was at least mentioned in the summary of the book that there would be more than one storyline. though it all connects in the end i wish the threads would’ve woven together a bit earlier on.
this book overall was really cute and a refreshing take on sapphic fantasy! the atmosphere and world was really immersive and the lore felt really thought out. the feminine rage and yearning in the story was really lovely!
my only thing that i wasn’t huge on was ainara’s arc, though it showed how women can be brave in many different ways, i wish it was at least mentioned in the summary of the book that there would be more than one storyline. though it all connects in the end i wish the threads would’ve woven together a bit earlier on.
August 19, 2026
A witch and a lady knight who hate each other go on an adventure (and maybe kiss a little). What more could you want??😍
Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews