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adventurous
challenging
dark
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
SPICE: 🌶🌶🌶, RATING: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️.25, VIBES: ⚔️🔥 Forbidden love, fierce heroine, broody commander, political drama, magic on the edge
This was one of my most anticipated reads of 2025 — and I’ll admit, some of the reviews floating around online had me sweating a little. But when my library had a cooy ready, I decided to see for myself… and honestly? I’m glad I did!
Yes, on paper this sounds like: “Roman commander owns enslaved woman” — but that barely scratches the surface. Julian (our MMC) rescues Malina (our fierce FMC) from a brutal situation and makes her his slave only as a way to protect her and keep her powers hidden. Not once is he cruel or degrading — in fact, this man worships her. He adores her sharp tongue, her defiance, and the way she shakes up his worldview.
Meanwhile, Malina is everything: beautiful, powerful, unafraid to challenge the status quo, and determined to protect those she cares about. Girl’s got brains, backbone, and magic — and I was cheering her on every step of the way.
The world itself? Messy. We’ve got kings, commanders, politics, and some absolute villains who are more than happy to steal wives and wield power with zero conscience (shudder). Julian, thankfully, has both a conscience and the capacity for growth.
Final verdict? This book gave me spice, heart, political intrigue, and two leads I genuinely rooted for. Book two can’t get here fast enough!
TL;DR: Come for the forbidden romance, stay for the badass heroine and the Roman commander getting emotionally wrecked.
⚔️🔥❤️🔥✨👀💥💬👑
This was one of my most anticipated reads of 2025 — and I’ll admit, some of the reviews floating around online had me sweating a little. But when my library had a cooy ready, I decided to see for myself… and honestly? I’m glad I did!
Yes, on paper this sounds like: “Roman commander owns enslaved woman” — but that barely scratches the surface. Julian (our MMC) rescues Malina (our fierce FMC) from a brutal situation and makes her his slave only as a way to protect her and keep her powers hidden. Not once is he cruel or degrading — in fact, this man worships her. He adores her sharp tongue, her defiance, and the way she shakes up his worldview.
Meanwhile, Malina is everything: beautiful, powerful, unafraid to challenge the status quo, and determined to protect those she cares about. Girl’s got brains, backbone, and magic — and I was cheering her on every step of the way.
The world itself? Messy. We’ve got kings, commanders, politics, and some absolute villains who are more than happy to steal wives and wield power with zero conscience (shudder). Julian, thankfully, has both a conscience and the capacity for growth.
Final verdict? This book gave me spice, heart, political intrigue, and two leads I genuinely rooted for. Book two can’t get here fast enough!
TL;DR: Come for the forbidden romance, stay for the badass heroine and the Roman commander getting emotionally wrecked.
⚔️🔥❤️🔥✨👀💥💬👑
Content Warnings
Moderate: Death, Sexual content, Slavery, Violence, War