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natashareadsbooks's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Wow. I don't even know what to say about this book!
Oraya was a human. She was taken in by the vampire king, taught never to trust others because she wouldn't be safe. Never safe. Taught to fight so she could protect herself. She used those skills to hunt down vampires trying to harm the innocent humans in the human district. And was taught to protect her heart at all costs.
She threw herself into the Kejari- a tournament held every century, the winner granted just one wish from the goddess herself. And Oraya knew exactly what she wanted - she didn't want her human weaknesses anymore.
But in the tournament she needed to form an alliance. Everything about Raihn was dangerous. He was her greatest competition and rival. But she still found herself drawn to him. But there was no room for compassion. Raihn may have understood her more than anyone ever had before. And their attraction may end up being her downfall in a world where nothing was more deadly than love.
So, it took me a little longer to get into this book than I would have liked, I have been in a huge book slump for weeks. But it was intriguing and interesting and despite me taking awhile to get into the story, I wanted to know more.
I was drawn to the characters, and their stories, and wanted to know all I could about them. How strong Oraya was, and brave - not only living in a world that was designed to kill her but to over come that every day, and to fight back against the injustices every chance she could despite her not having vampire strength, or powers. She fought for what she could, and still had compassion despite the world trying to beat it out of her.
And I wanted to know more of Raihn. He was mysterious, and dangerous. He was ruthless and cunning. But he was also intriguing and curious.
The world may be on the precipice of war, offering up horrors despite the characters being in the Kejari- the trials spanning weeks. Truths coming to light.
I loved the dark fantasy world of magic. The depravity of the world but also the small glimpses of hope too.
If you are looking for a new fantasy world to dive into filled with blood and carnage then I recommend this book!
4 Asteris ⭐ out of 5⭐.
2🌶️ out of 5 🌶️. - a couple detailed scenes.
Tropes:
→ Enemies/Rivals to lovers
→ Trials/tournament
→ slow burn
→ romantasy
→ dark fantasy
→ vampires
→ dark magic
→ shadow daddy
Content Warnings
Moderate: Abandonment, Animal death, Hate crime, Sexual content, Child death, Fire/Fire injury, Medical content, Kidnapping, Death, Emotional abuse, Gore, Stalking, Genocide, Panic attacks/disorders, War, Grief, Injury/Injury detail, Murder, Torture, Violence, Blood, Confinement, Death of parent, Classism, and Gaslighting
cmobley4's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
mysterious
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Violence, Death, and Sexual violence
akcurtis's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
funny
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
While I am a bit tired of the trials trope, I couldn't put this down, and I can't wait to see what comes next.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Blood and Violence
Moderate: Sexual assault
bryleecookie's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
inspiring
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
This book was almost impossible to put down. With vampires, magic, enemies to lovers, slow burn and hunger games vibes, this book was an enjoyable and fun read.
The trials were deadly and intriguing, the world building wasn’t overly complicated but still interesting, the magic was dark and mysterious, with the reluctant alliance between Oraya & Raihn a captivating story to watch unfold.
The vampires in this weren’t your typical copy & paste vampires, they had human elements, variety, personality and the blood sucking wasn’t the main theme in this book, although it is definitely a reoccurring mention and subplot, it was not the main focus of the vampires which was refreshing.
There’s just something about deadly trials and games that reel me in as a reader and I loved that this plot has developed to grow up as I have and was written in an adult perspective, rather than the YA that it is typically used for.
Oraya is an odds-defying, badass FMC who is entertaining to read about, but I did feel that there was some contradiction to her character and some holes in her story which I’m hoping is explained more in depth in the next book.
Raihn is swoon worthy, a badass MMC with alpha energy and underdog vibes. I would have liked to have read his perspective though as some foreshadowing was definitely missed here considering the ending of this book. Although, I will say that because of this, I really felt the emotions the characters were experiencing along with them.
I rated this a 4.5. I thoroughly enjoyed reading it but was disappointed that the lovers portion was very short lived, aswell as the ending feeling rushed with little explanation and the characters needing some more depth. However, this did not take away from the overall fun of the book, it os an easy, action packed, exciting romantasy read.
The trials were deadly and intriguing, the world building wasn’t overly complicated but still interesting, the magic was dark and mysterious, with the reluctant alliance between Oraya & Raihn a captivating story to watch unfold.
The vampires in this weren’t your typical copy & paste vampires, they had human elements, variety, personality and the blood sucking wasn’t the main theme in this book, although it is definitely a reoccurring mention and subplot, it was not the main focus of the vampires which was refreshing.
There’s just something about deadly trials and games that reel me in as a reader and I loved that this plot has developed to grow up as I have and was written in an adult perspective, rather than the YA that it is typically used for.
Oraya is an odds-defying, badass FMC who is entertaining to read about, but I did feel that there was some contradiction to her character and some holes in her story which I’m hoping is explained more in depth in the next book.
Raihn is swoon worthy, a badass MMC with alpha energy and underdog vibes. I would have liked to have read his perspective though as some foreshadowing was definitely missed here considering the ending of this book. Although, I will say that because of this, I really felt the emotions the characters were experiencing along with them.
I rated this a 4.5. I thoroughly enjoyed reading it but was disappointed that the lovers portion was very short lived, aswell as the ending feeling rushed with little explanation and the characters needing some more depth. However, this did not take away from the overall fun of the book, it os an easy, action packed, exciting romantasy read.
Content Warnings
Minor: Blood, Sexual content, Violence, and War
Mention of sexual assault/rape (not detailed)lemontea's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
mysterious
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
Possibly the best book I’ve read so far in this year. Incredibly addicting, fast paced, and the growth/developments throughout the months are *chefs kiss*💋 perfect perfect perfect ✨
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death of parent, Blood, Death, Murder, and Violence
Moderate: Rape
kuro2091's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual content and Violence
Moderate: Sexual violence and Fire/Fire injury
Minor: Torture, War, and Confinement
scoto435's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
mysterious
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
- 🌶️1 ; there are a lot of tense moments and banter, but the book focuses on content not really spice.
- I loved the dynamic with the main characters and truly enjoyed the banter/ wit. I saw good character development and found the characters lovable and easy to hate at the same time.
- The story was slow to start but it picked up 1/3 of the way and the last 10% was wild 💯.
- The author had an easy to read writing style that was focused on 1 character.
- The reason I did not give this book above a 4 was the world building was “ok”. The content of the book focused on a multiple part game, so in all fairness world building wasn’t fully necessary. That being said I wanted more backstory about the gods, previous main character battles, humans, other vampires, etc. This may be rectified in book 2. What is currently in book one didn’t provide enough world breadcrumbs for me to care about it.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Violence, Death of parent, Sexual assault, Torture, War, Blood, and Death
katja98's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.25
What a cute little rom com. Dark, violent and raw. I could see the ending coming from miles away and it took Oraya way too long to do the maths but given her history it might be understandable. Nevertheless, the book has interesting characters, lots of blood, and a predictable story but that didn't make it any less captivating.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Rape, Grief, Slavery, Death, Violence, Murder, and Blood
skyfluff's review against another edition
adventurous
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.5
Content Warnings
Moderate: Self harm, Cursing, Fire/Fire injury, Gore, Injury/Injury detail, Sexual content, Murder, Rape, Blood, Body horror, Sexual violence, War, Torture, Death of parent, Death, and Violence
kammorgan's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
sad
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
4.0
Ummmm the first half of this book was for sure entertaining and I feel like I knew where it was going. WELP. The second half was crazy?! And like at the end of the book… I’m mad, confused, and hurt?! Like what just happened lol
Content Warnings
Graphic: Murder, Violence, and Death
Moderate: Sexual assault and Animal death
This was surprisingly super violent. Since they are vampires - like killing is so nonchalant, but wow some of the scenes were pretty gruesome.