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3.86 AVERAGE
3.86 AVERAGE
dark
emotional
mysterious
challenging
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Savage Blooms by S.T. Gibson ARC Review
🏰⛰️🍷🧚🏽♂️
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
This book was outside my comfort zone, but in a fantastic way. I mean, it was written by S.T. Gibson so, obviously 💁🏻♀️
Savage Bloom is set in Scotland after Adam and his BFF, Nicola, take on a quest to unearth the mysterious life of Adam’s grandfather and his magical bedtime stories set at Craigmar. Once they arrive, Adam and Nicola are greeted by a sulky groundskeeper named Finley and the unconventional lord of the house, Eileen.
Chaos ensues as Adam and Nicole realize they are in deep - with magic, fantasies, and with each other. This book is the first in a trilogy and that cliffhanger had me trying to turn the page for more 🤯
What can you expect?
- Gothic storytelling
- A magical setting
- M/f/m/f romance
- A long list of trigger warnings
- Forbidden love
- Centuries old faery bargains
- Did I mention a cliffhanger?
The only problem with getting this ARC? I have to wait even longer for book 2 😭 I am not a romance/erotica reader, but I do love a gothic, dark fantasy and I ate this book up in two days. When this book comes out on October 7th - get it!
Thank you to NetGalley, Orbit Books, and the incredible S.T. Gibson for the opportunity to review this book. Just like, let me know when book 2 is ready….please.
Spice level: 🌶️🌶️🌶️🌶️.5/5
Adam is traveling to a remote area of Scotland with best friend Nicola, in search of anything about his grandfather's time at Craigmar. They meet Finley in a pub in the small town near the estate, who leads them to Eileen and Craigmar. But it's not just an old sprawling estate they find, something ancient and not of this world resides below.
Wow, what did I just read? If you want a cut and dry read with firm answers, this is not it. If you are ready for a sexy kinky journey into a shadowy manor estate, this one is for you. Some things you ought to know going into this. First, it's described as folkloric queer gothic erotica. It has an extensive list for content warnings given the spice on the page. Finally, it's the first in a trilogy so, cliffhanger. If you have read Saint's other work (Evocation, A Dowry of Bloody, An Education in Malice), this is like those works and their themes cranked up to 11; please review the content warnings. Give this a read if you enjoy:
- gothic stories set in the Scottish Highlands
- fae (not the nice kind)
- a lot of spice, notably m/f/m/f messy polycule and any iteration in between
- save the family line or else
Thank you to Orbit Books for an ARC on NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own. This book will be published on 10/7/25.
Adam is traveling to a remote area of Scotland with best friend Nicola, in search of anything about his grandfather's time at Craigmar. They meet Finley in a pub in the small town near the estate, who leads them to Eileen and Craigmar. But it's not just an old sprawling estate they find, something ancient and not of this world resides below.
Wow, what did I just read? If you want a cut and dry read with firm answers, this is not it. If you are ready for a sexy kinky journey into a shadowy manor estate, this one is for you. Some things you ought to know going into this. First, it's described as folkloric queer gothic erotica. It has an extensive list for content warnings given the spice on the page. Finally, it's the first in a trilogy so, cliffhanger. If you have read Saint's other work (Evocation, A Dowry of Bloody, An Education in Malice), this is like those works and their themes cranked up to 11; please review the content warnings. Give this a read if you enjoy:
- gothic stories set in the Scottish Highlands
- fae (not the nice kind)
- a lot of spice, notably m/f/m/f messy polycule and any iteration in between
- save the family line or else
Thank you to Orbit Books for an ARC on NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own. This book will be published on 10/7/25.
dark
mysterious
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Savage Blooms is marketed as a gothic, erotic fantasy and y’all, it lived up to it. This was my first read by S.T. Gibson and I ate it up in two days. It was messy in all the best ways for me. Also, talk about horny. When the spice hits, it was SPICING. Desires are indulged, kink is explored, and there is no shying away from sharing and group activities. However, all the eroticism does not take away from the plot but is almost like a part of it, a part of Craigmar.
Now on to the fantasy side. While this book was light in fae magic, I found it to be the perfect amount for this book. Just like with Adam and Nicola, the reader is trying to figure out what is going on at Craigmar and that includes its magic. Is it real? Are the fae real? How dangerous is Craigmar? What’s real and what’s a lie?
This book is the first installment of a trilogy and I cannot wait for the next one to continue it because I need answers!!!
⚠️ Some elements may make readers uncomfortable, so please check the trigger warnings beforehand.
Thank you so much to Orbit for this arc!! 🖤
Now on to the fantasy side. While this book was light in fae magic, I found it to be the perfect amount for this book. Just like with Adam and Nicola, the reader is trying to figure out what is going on at Craigmar and that includes its magic. Is it real? Are the fae real? How dangerous is Craigmar? What’s real and what’s a lie?
This book is the first installment of a trilogy and I cannot wait for the next one to continue it because I need answers!!!
⚠️ Some elements may make readers uncomfortable, so please check the trigger warnings beforehand.
Thank you so much to Orbit for this arc!! 🖤
Content Warnings
Graphic: Chronic illness, Infertility, Sexual content, Toxic relationship
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
N/A
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
Savage Blooms is S.T. Gibson’s faerie erotica book set in a crumbling mansion in the Scotland woods featuring four main characters who explore their relationships with each other as well as family history and a dark secret.
This book mainly explored the polyamorous relationship between the four characters, and especially the second half of it, was very heavily sexy scenes, but it is an erotica so like,,yeah, that’s what you’re here for. I would not go into this one expecting deep fantasy lore and a super fleshed out magic system or intricate world building, all that being said though, I think the setting was well described within the contained Kirkfoyle property, I loved Gibson’s writing in this and thought it set a great atmosphere for the story. She was able to nail the gothic vibes. The magical elements that were present were interesting and added more to the story. I appreciated how the faeries in this were depicted as mean rather than the more common love interest depictions we see lately.
Overall, I give this book 4/5 stars and will most likely pick up a copy on release. This is easily one of my favorite S.T. Gibson’s I’ve read so far. Thank you to NetGalley and Orbit for the early copy!
challenging
dark
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Thank you, NetGalley, for an ARC of this book!
This book is proof that S.T. Gibson is a leading voice in the gothic fantasy genre. Full of rich and lavish displays of world-building and character development, I felt like I was alive within the pages of a much older gothic tale. The depth and attention to scenery did make elements of the modern day setting feel a bit anachronistic, such as the scene that involved cell phone apps. S.T. did such a good job that I forgot that cellphones would even be apart of the world, so it felt a little jarring at times. Also, a fair warning to the reader- these characters are messy as hell, and the book is fairly loose on following a plot because there's so much dedication to the twisted undercurrent of Eileen, Finley, Adam, and Nicola. Also, follow S.T.'s advice- this book is a gothic EROTICA fantasy. A good portion of the book is spent describing adult activities amongst consensual partners. This book also doesn't shy away from on-page negotiations (and the messy lack thereof) of topics like power dynamics, polyamory, and specific kinks, such as consensual non-consent, breeding, and more. If that's not your vibe, you probably won't like this book. Overall, I believe that S.T. gives us a classically gothic tale of desire and the madness people can fall into if their desires are not quenched. And hey, a subplot about evil faeries may seem a little out of place, but there has to be some fantasy element to fit into the genre. I hope that in future sequels the faery element is explained in more detail, because there is a LOT going on in this book. I almost wish it was strictly gothic erotica instead of gothic erotic fantasy. I am interested to see what she does in the future!
This book is proof that S.T. Gibson is a leading voice in the gothic fantasy genre. Full of rich and lavish displays of world-building and character development, I felt like I was alive within the pages of a much older gothic tale. The depth and attention to scenery did make elements of the modern day setting feel a bit anachronistic, such as the scene that involved cell phone apps. S.T. did such a good job that I forgot that cellphones would even be apart of the world, so it felt a little jarring at times. Also, a fair warning to the reader- these characters are messy as hell, and the book is fairly loose on following a plot because there's so much dedication to the twisted undercurrent of Eileen, Finley, Adam, and Nicola. Also, follow S.T.'s advice- this book is a gothic EROTICA fantasy. A good portion of the book is spent describing adult activities amongst consensual partners. This book also doesn't shy away from on-page negotiations (and the messy lack thereof) of topics like power dynamics, polyamory, and specific kinks, such as consensual non-consent, breeding, and more. If that's not your vibe, you probably won't like this book. Overall, I believe that S.T. gives us a classically gothic tale of desire and the madness people can fall into if their desires are not quenched. And hey, a subplot about evil faeries may seem a little out of place, but there has to be some fantasy element to fit into the genre. I hope that in future sequels the faery element is explained in more detail, because there is a LOT going on in this book. I almost wish it was strictly gothic erotica instead of gothic erotic fantasy. I am interested to see what she does in the future!
adventurous
dark
emotional
mysterious
reflective
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Savage Blooms by S.T. Gibson is a gothic erotica. The story follows Adam, Nicola, Finley, and Eileen and how they navigate the interrelationship between the four of them with a touch of faerie fantasy. It’s heavily focused on the sexual tension between the four characters while the fantasy portion of the story takes place in the background. Each character gets to explore their sexuality with each other individually and at times in threes. There are MF, MFM, MM, and FF romances.
Overall, I enjoyed the story. Gibson did a great job of having the characters explore who they are sexually without hardly any boundaries or barriers. The story ended with a cliffhanger and I’m excited to find out what happens in the next book.
Thanks to NetGalley and Orbit Books for the ARC
Overall, I enjoyed the story. Gibson did a great job of having the characters explore who they are sexually without hardly any boundaries or barriers. The story ended with a cliffhanger and I’m excited to find out what happens in the next book.
Thanks to NetGalley and Orbit Books for the ARC
dark
emotional
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
It’s scorching, it’s MESSY, it’s gothic, it’s twisty (read the author’s content warnings) and OMG!! This was one of my most anticipated reads of 2025 and I’m thrilled I got an arc from NetGalley!! I was so excited that I couldn’t read it for a few days, but once I started it I devoured it! Finley, and Nicola, and Eileen, and Adam!!! I’m!!! This book feels like S.T. Gibson fully took off the breaks and it’s so fun!! Her prose is lush and I can’t wait for more! I’m also accidentally concurrently reading some books that inspired this one, and some books around Arthurian legend, so it hit at the perfect time for me.
This is a gothic erotic delight! It’s a character driven novel, with an engrossing overarching plot arc. We’re left on quite a cliffhanger with this one, so I can’t wait to see what this messy developing polycule gets up to!