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4.26 AVERAGE
4.26 AVERAGE
adventurous
dark
emotional
mysterious
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
Thank you to the author for providing me with a copy of the book. I am excited to leave a review.
A Bargain So Bloody is the first book in the Kingdom of Dark Magic series and releases on 6/30/25. I thoroughly enjoyed this story as Samara learns about herself and the world that she lives in. Watching her grow throughout the book and gain confidence in herself and what she believes was truly beautiful. Raphael was wonderfully developed. He has a few twists and turns that I didn’t see coming but he keeps you guessing and wanting to see what comes next. While amazing on their own, the relationship between Samara and Raphael is entertaining with witty banter and a slow burn.
The world and the magic system are unique but easy to follow as you read and learn more about them. The side characters are interesting and provide color to the story and are just as entertaining (looking at you, Amalthea and Iademos). The twists and turns in the story are perfect and kept me guessing right up to the very end. I cannot wait for the next book.
adventurous
dark
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
adventurous
challenging
emotional
hopeful
mysterious
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
I am UNWELL (to say the least) because I have to wait for the next book. Stop what you’re doing and go read this book ffs.
adventurous
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
“Tell me, Samara. If I took you now, would you hate me? Regret me? Or would you crave me as ruthlessly as I crave you?”
“I was going to tear his kingdom apart one fanged monster at a time.”
This book gripped me from the start. Dark, gritty, and achingly slow burn delivers a brutal yet seductive tale of survival, vengeance, and dangerously entangled fates.
Samara has been wrongly imprisoned for 12 years, surviving day by day inside the infamous Greymere—a place no one leaves. Dirty, raw, and feral from years of isolation, she’s resigned to finishing her 15-year sentence… until a new prisoner arrives. He’s a vampire. And despite everything, she makes a desperate bargain with the very thing she hates.
The world-building is rich and moody: kings, witches, vampires, humans, and a dark magic system involving arcane cards. Vasilisa Drake’s writing is deliciously atmospheric and emotionally charged. This is the slowest of slow burns, but oh, when it burns—it scorches.
And that ending? I had to rewind it and listen twice. It completely floored me. Well played, Drake. I need book two now!!
The audiobook narration was excellent—emotive, immersive, and perfectly matched to the tone of the story.
I devoured this and can't wait for more!
Thank you to NetGalley for the ARC audiobook in exchange for an honest review.
“I was going to tear his kingdom apart one fanged monster at a time.”
This book gripped me from the start. Dark, gritty, and achingly slow burn delivers a brutal yet seductive tale of survival, vengeance, and dangerously entangled fates.
Samara has been wrongly imprisoned for 12 years, surviving day by day inside the infamous Greymere—a place no one leaves. Dirty, raw, and feral from years of isolation, she’s resigned to finishing her 15-year sentence… until a new prisoner arrives. He’s a vampire. And despite everything, she makes a desperate bargain with the very thing she hates.
The world-building is rich and moody: kings, witches, vampires, humans, and a dark magic system involving arcane cards. Vasilisa Drake’s writing is deliciously atmospheric and emotionally charged. This is the slowest of slow burns, but oh, when it burns—it scorches.
And that ending? I had to rewind it and listen twice. It completely floored me. Well played, Drake. I need book two now!!
The audiobook narration was excellent—emotive, immersive, and perfectly matched to the tone of the story.
I devoured this and can't wait for more!
Thank you to NetGalley for the ARC audiobook in exchange for an honest review.
dark
emotional
mysterious
sad
tense
slow-paced
⋆｡°✩ ᴀʀᴄ ʙᴏᴏᴋ ʀᴇᴠɪᴇᴡ ✩°｡⋆
ᴛɪᴛʟᴇ : A Bargain So Bloody
ᴀᴜᴛʜᴏʀ : Vasilisa Drake
ꜱᴇʀɪᴇꜱ : Book 1 in Kingdom of Dark Magic
ꜰᴏʀᴍᴀᴛ ʀᴇᴀᴅ: Paperback & Audiobook
Tropes:
⚬ Vampire, Witches, Voids
⚬ Forced Proximity
⚬ Only One Horse
⚬ Slow Burn
⚬ Court Politics
⚬ Unique Magic System.
A Bargain So Bloody is about Samara, who was sentenced to serve the prisoners of Greymere for 15 years. She was only a child when she entered but now she's older, wiser and so close to the end of her sentence. Or so she thought, after finding out her freedom is a lie she makes a deal with the newest Prisoner of Greymere, a Vampire. They both escape the prsion mountain and venture out into the world. All they need to do now is not get caught. Can she trust the vampire? is he hiding more secrets than she is? Read to find out!!!
I did and immersive read for this book, i listened to the Audiobook along side reading the Paperback. This was gifted to me for an honest review. I am so so thankful because OMG i adored this book! Anything with Vampires i just adore, I think its coded into me from my Twilight Obsession days!
Samara is so strong, she grew up in prison and that took away her childhood. She had to be an adult before she should of been and this broke my heart. You can see her character gradually get braver and becoming more sure of herself towards the end of the book, i cannot wait to see what she will blossom into in book 2. Raphael is morally grey and dangerous. But equally protective and caring in his own way to Samara. He understands how the world can be so cruel and i love how he cant pull himself away from Samara! PLUS he turns into a BAT!!!!! This is the first book ive read (that i remember) where the vampire turns into a bat and omg its COOL!!!
The Author did a really good job at telling the story, and did a great job at withholding all the secrets without making them blatantly obvious! I love trying to guess the secrets in a book. The world building was really good as well, not too much information that your overwhelmed but enough that you get an idea of the world they are in. The ending on this book omfg!!! I cant cope! I need book 2 immediately!!
ᴛɪᴛʟᴇ : A Bargain So Bloody
ᴀᴜᴛʜᴏʀ : Vasilisa Drake
ꜱᴇʀɪᴇꜱ : Book 1 in Kingdom of Dark Magic
ꜰᴏʀᴍᴀᴛ ʀᴇᴀᴅ: Paperback & Audiobook
Tropes:
⚬ Vampire, Witches, Voids
⚬ Forced Proximity
⚬ Only One Horse
⚬ Slow Burn
⚬ Court Politics
⚬ Unique Magic System.
A Bargain So Bloody is about Samara, who was sentenced to serve the prisoners of Greymere for 15 years. She was only a child when she entered but now she's older, wiser and so close to the end of her sentence. Or so she thought, after finding out her freedom is a lie she makes a deal with the newest Prisoner of Greymere, a Vampire. They both escape the prsion mountain and venture out into the world. All they need to do now is not get caught. Can she trust the vampire? is he hiding more secrets than she is? Read to find out!!!
I did and immersive read for this book, i listened to the Audiobook along side reading the Paperback. This was gifted to me for an honest review. I am so so thankful because OMG i adored this book! Anything with Vampires i just adore, I think its coded into me from my Twilight Obsession days!
Samara is so strong, she grew up in prison and that took away her childhood. She had to be an adult before she should of been and this broke my heart. You can see her character gradually get braver and becoming more sure of herself towards the end of the book, i cannot wait to see what she will blossom into in book 2. Raphael is morally grey and dangerous. But equally protective and caring in his own way to Samara. He understands how the world can be so cruel and i love how he cant pull himself away from Samara! PLUS he turns into a BAT!!!!! This is the first book ive read (that i remember) where the vampire turns into a bat and omg its COOL!!!
The Author did a really good job at telling the story, and did a great job at withholding all the secrets without making them blatantly obvious! I love trying to guess the secrets in a book. The world building was really good as well, not too much information that your overwhelmed but enough that you get an idea of the world they are in. The ending on this book omfg!!! I cant cope! I need book 2 immediately!!
adventurous
dark
tense
medium-paced
Thank you to the author for a gifted copy of the ebook and audiobook. These are my opinions alone.
I loved this. I have always loved vampires stories so I'm easy to please lol We get an FMC who has been treated like absolute dog dirt for so long that she is willing to ally with the ultimate enemy, a vampire, who was also captured. They escape together and don't part right away because they can still help each other, her for safe travels and him for a question he needs answered.
I love a good magic system and this has that! I also love good worldbuilding and we see that here too.
I look forward to the next part in the series!
The narrator also did a really good job with matching the emotions so they came alive from the page. I like to listen to the audio while I read so the experience is fuller.
I loved this. I have always loved vampires stories so I'm easy to please lol We get an FMC who has been treated like absolute dog dirt for so long that she is willing to ally with the ultimate enemy, a vampire, who was also captured. They escape together and don't part right away because they can still help each other, her for safe travels and him for a question he needs answered.
I love a good magic system and this has that! I also love good worldbuilding and we see that here too.
I look forward to the next part in the series!
The narrator also did a really good job with matching the emotions so they came alive from the page. I like to listen to the audio while I read so the experience is fuller.
funny
lighthearted
mysterious
tense
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Thank you to Vasilisa Drake and NetGalley for the chance to rate and review this Advanced Listeners Copy (ALC)! All thoughts and opinions are entirely my own—though I wish I could blame someone else for how unhinged I feel after that cliffhanger.
This was my first book by [a:Vasilisa Drake|29839241|Vasilisa Drake|https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1744901568p2/29839241.jpg], and I was genuinely impressed. I usually have a pretty good sense of where a story is going, but this one kept me on my toes. The plot took turns I didn’t expect, and I loved that!
Now let me take a moment to talk about Samara. The audacity. The way she judged the vampires—especially Raphael—was maddening. This girl got tossed into prison as a child by her own people for a crime she didn’t even commit, and yet she’s out here looking down her nose at the very ones who are helping her? Ma’am. Be serious. I’m crossing all my fingers for some real growth from her in book two, because right now she’s testing my patience.
That said, Raphael’s feelings for Samara kind of came out of nowhere. One minute he’s cold and distant, the next he’s ready to go full protector mode? I’m not mad about it, but I definitely have questions. There’s a lot about their connection that still needs to be explored, and I’m hoping the next book dives deeper into their dynamic.
Narration-wise, Cecily Foster crushed it! She brought every character to life with nuance and emotion, and made the tense moments feel extra intense. A perfect voice for this story.
And yes—it ends on a cliffhanger. A shocking one. I'm pacing the room waiting for the sequel. If you're into morally gray vampires, political intrigue, and heroines with some learning to do (hopefully), this is one to watch.
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Cliffhanger? yes
Audiobook
This was my first book by [a:Vasilisa Drake|29839241|Vasilisa Drake|https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1744901568p2/29839241.jpg], and I was genuinely impressed. I usually have a pretty good sense of where a story is going, but this one kept me on my toes. The plot took turns I didn’t expect, and I loved that!
Now let me take a moment to talk about Samara. The audacity. The way she judged the vampires—especially Raphael—was maddening. This girl got tossed into prison as a child by her own people for a crime she didn’t even commit, and yet she’s out here looking down her nose at the very ones who are helping her? Ma’am. Be serious. I’m crossing all my fingers for some real growth from her in book two, because right now she’s testing my patience.
That said, Raphael’s feelings for Samara kind of came out of nowhere. One minute he’s cold and distant, the next he’s ready to go full protector mode? I’m not mad about it, but I definitely have questions. There’s a lot about their connection that still needs to be explored, and I’m hoping the next book dives deeper into their dynamic.
Narration-wise, Cecily Foster crushed it! She brought every character to life with nuance and emotion, and made the tense moments feel extra intense. A perfect voice for this story.
And yes—it ends on a cliffhanger. A shocking one. I'm pacing the room waiting for the sequel. If you're into morally gray vampires, political intrigue, and heroines with some learning to do (hopefully), this is one to watch.
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Cliffhanger? yes
Audiobook