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A review by illstoptheworldandreadwithyou
The Serpent and the Wolf by Rebecca Robinson
4.25
A political marriage of convenience, a dark magic that threatens to consume the wife and everything around her, and a scheming brother that would like nothing more than to see her and her new husband dead—this is the stage set in Rebecca Robinson’s romantasy debut: The Serpent and the Wolf.
Vaasa never intends to stay with her new husband, Reid of Mireh, until he offers her a deal, three years as his wife on the political stage in exchange for help training the dark magic she fears will consume her. And so begins this enemies-to-lovers, slow burn, fantasy romance.
Reid is fantastic; the tension between him and Vaasa is scorching; and I loved watching them become a team.
Lines like “people, much like homes, would always be taken away and she had no clue how to let someone close enough for that to hurt” and “‘You have grown my capacity for hope.’” pulled on my heartstrings.
I enjoyed seeing Vaasa’s growth, her vulnerability, and how she warms to the idea of having a sense of home and community.
What kept this from being a 5⭐️ read for me:
- I'm still a little fuzzy on some of the details surrounding Vaasa's magic.
- The sudden switch to dual POV near the end of the book (for which I understand the reasoning but which was initially jarring to me)
- Battle scenes can feel chaotic in fantasy books (especially on audio) for me, and that is the case here
- This is a slow burn, not just in a romantic sense, so there’s a slow buildup of everything and then BAM: it’s all happening at once.
In the grand scheme of things, those are minor complaints, and I'm invested in seeing what comes next for these characters. I look forward to reading the next two books in this trilogy!
Jesse Vilinsky does a fantastic job with the narration. This is the difference between a narrator reading an audiobook and performing. I could feel the emotion. There were a couple of moments when I caught tears tracking down my cheeks.
4.25⭐️
I received an advance copy of the audiobook from Simon and Schuster Audio. All review opinions are my own.
Vaasa never intends to stay with her new husband, Reid of Mireh, until he offers her a deal, three years as his wife on the political stage in exchange for help training the dark magic she fears will consume her. And so begins this enemies-to-lovers, slow burn, fantasy romance.
Reid is fantastic; the tension between him and Vaasa is scorching; and I loved watching them become a team.
Lines like “people, much like homes, would always be taken away and she had no clue how to let someone close enough for that to hurt” and “‘You have grown my capacity for hope.’” pulled on my heartstrings.
I enjoyed seeing Vaasa’s growth, her vulnerability, and how she warms to the idea of having a sense of home and community.
What kept this from being a 5⭐️ read for me:
- I'm still a little fuzzy on some of the details surrounding Vaasa's magic.
- The sudden switch to dual POV near the end of the book (for which I understand the reasoning but which was initially jarring to me)
- Battle scenes can feel chaotic in fantasy books (especially on audio) for me, and that is the case here
- This is a slow burn, not just in a romantic sense, so there’s a slow buildup of everything and then BAM: it’s all happening at once.
In the grand scheme of things, those are minor complaints, and I'm invested in seeing what comes next for these characters. I look forward to reading the next two books in this trilogy!
Jesse Vilinsky does a fantastic job with the narration. This is the difference between a narrator reading an audiobook and performing. I could feel the emotion. There were a couple of moments when I caught tears tracking down my cheeks.
4.25⭐️
I received an advance copy of the audiobook from Simon and Schuster Audio. All review opinions are my own.