I liked A Touch of Darkness but I LOVED this. King of Battle & Blood set a new bar for Romantasy. An easy 5 stars.

I received an ARC courtesy of Bonkers Romance and Source Books.

King of Battle and Blood is a fast-paced new adult paranormal romance novel featuring the “enemies to lovers” trope. The plot of this book reminded me of The Bridge Kingdom by Danielle L. Jensen and A Shadow in the Ember by Jennifer L. Armentrout. Additionally, the genre, vibe, “enemies to lovers” trope, and romance featured in King of Battle and Blood were reminiscent of A Court of Thorns and Roses by Sarah J. Maas and From Blood and Ash by Jennifer L. Armentrout. So, if you’re like me and you love spicy and action-packed new adult fantasy romance novels, then you should definitely check out King of Battle and Blood!

I loved how the plot/ action in King of Battle and Blood was fast-paced and I loved how Adrian and Isolde’s romance was the opposite of a slow burn; you get to dive right into the action and romance within the first couple of chapters which makes this book very intriguing and hard to put down! Similarly, I loved Adrian and Isolde’s instant chemistry and passion; King of Battle and Blood is filled with spice and romance throughout. King of Battle and Blood also has lots of unexpected twists and has an action-packed ending; it will keep you guessing and leave you wanting more.

Overall, I adored this book, especially Isolde and Adrian’s spicy romance, the fantasy elements, and the action-packed plot, and I found myself unwilling to put this book down! This was the first one of Scarlett St. Clair’s books that I’ve read, and it totally exceeded my expectations. If you enjoy new adult fantasy and romance, I highly recommend picking up a copy of King of Battle and Blood when it comes out on November 30th!

I cannot find the words to describe this book and how it made me feel! Completely entranced with the characters that were created for this cruel yet beautiful world that Scarlett St Clair has phenomenally built. The backstories and backgrounds of every last character intrigued me. And the plot itself kept me on the edge of my seat.
This was everything and more.
Scarlett St Clair never disappoints!

Wow, I don’t know where to begin. This book is a masterpiece!

Before I start with my review, I would like to thank Scarlett St.Clair and BloomBooks for providing me with an eARC and a physical ARC. Thank you very much!
And now to my review...

Scarlett St.Clair did it again! Writing a book that will grip you and keep you on reading until you’ve finished it. It’s okay to neglect everything else until you’ve read it. Before I go into details what is the book about?

Isolde de Lara is the princess of the kingdom Lara and does everything to save her people from the upcoming war. And everything means everything, also to marry their blood-sucking vampire-enemy, Adrian. Their first encounter goes way more different than she ever imagined. He triggers her curiosity, but also something deep inside her, something she can’t grasp even if she tried. While traveling to Revekka – Adrian's homeland – she learns more about vampires, their habits, and everything that happens in his lands. Even though she fears Adrian and the vampire antics, she soon learns there’s something far more dangerous out there than the hot vampire she married. And the question burning in her mind, again and again, why Adrian chose her to marry and not any other princess?

The setting for this book is not the same as the Hades x Persephone series. St. Clair manages to create a world totally different from the ones we know so far and through Isolde’s eyes we have the chance to look upon it and feel the very same things as the heroine. While she struggles to live in Revekka and listens to stories from Adrian's closest people we get to learn about it as well and can adapt to the new life we’re in (okay, it’s actually Isolde, but be honest, we all feel like we live in the book worlds). The writing style is easy to read but don’t mistake it for a boring style. The author can pack a sentence with much information but still keep it simple to understand. You will get hooked from the very start.

But let’s talk about the badass woman who doesn’t shy away from a fight and doesn’t mind saying the truth. Isolde is such a force to be reckoned with and will sweep you off your foot. The power she comes with… unlike any female MC I’ve read so far. I fell so hard for her, it still hurts. From the first page on I knew, I liked her and while reading further I loved her more and more until it got to a fully grown woman-crush! I would even say, she is/will be the woman-crush of the year! Adrian is hot and sweet and something out of your fantasies, true. But Isolde just tops him. It’s not every day where the female MC gets the hearts of the readers over the male MC. But exactly that’s the case here. Praise the author for creating such a queen and empowering all the women out there!

I admit, at the end of the book I was left with some questions. I don’t know if I just didn’t get it or if it was not explained (intentional or not). Nevertheless, I am eager to learn if they will be answered in the second book.

So, I don’t want to spoiler anyone anymore.
This book is a must-read for every romance, fantasy, vampire lover! It’s not a TBR-list-book but a need-to-read-it-now-book! So run and pre-order and read it!

This was my first Scarlett St. Clair book but it definitely won't be my last.

I really enjoyed the story of Adrian and Isolde - I thought the world building in particular was excellent. I felt as though I was fully immersed, despite there not being pages of exposition. I'm hoping we haven't left their world and that there will be follow up books!

I love this book from start to finish! Scarlett St. Clair never disappoints! I must admit, Adrian has become a new favorite character of mine, and I can’t wait to read MORE! Will definitely be purchasing for my library.

Wow. Scarlett St. Clair has truly created a story so unexpected but so incredible. Isolde and Adrian are two morally grey characters that I've come to love so much! The line between hate and love is truly thin with these two and they are fire together. I've never been that into the morally grey, but Isolde is so strong and passionate. I love how she grows through this story and proves her strength to those around her and the reader. Adrian is the morally grey king that you just have to love. He'd do anything for Isolde, and I love how he proves that in everything he does. I look forward to seeing where Isolde and Adrian's story goes from here. Discover a whole new world with Isolde while she tries to uncover what is true in the King of Battle and Blood. It comes out November 30th. Preorder today!

This is the third book that I have read by Scarlett St. Clair and it stays very true to her writing style in the Hades x Persephone series.

This book follows Isolde, a princess, who is wed to a vampire king named Adrian in order to save the people of her kingdom.

Here's what I loved:
- The spicy scenes were generously spread out throughout the book. It drives me nuts when I pick up a fantasy romance and have to go hundreds of pages before we get any of the romance
- The length was great and made it easy to read in just a few sittings
- There were some twists that I wasn't expecting
- The stakes always felt high

The writing style was a bit awkward and the character development was not all there. We learned a little about the characters as we go on, but it's more learning rather than growth and change. It also hit the ground running. I could have used for a tiny bit more world building right in the beginning (I'm talking a tiny bit - like 2 chapters).

If you like FBAA, you will absolutely love this one! I definitely am planning on reading the next one in the series.

Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for the gifted eARC!

This was much better than I was expecting it to be. I know "A Touch of Darkness" has been super popular around social media, but I was still skeptical of this author. Well, I'm skeptical no more and I can see why she's so popular. This was a very good start for an enemies-to-lovers, vampire, new adult series. It definitely checked all the boxes, the two main characters had good chemistry, the spicy scenes were just right, and the world building felt thorough and complete.

I knocked it down one star though because of a twist involving our heroine, that I saw a mile away and should surprise no one when it's revealed. The other reason I didn't give it five stars was it reminded me a LOT of "From Blood and Ash" by Jennifer L. Armentrout. I could list all of the similarities, but some of them are spoilers for the books. At times it almost feels like FBAA fanfiction, I mean the book covers are practically the same! Luckily for "King of Battle & Blood" I love FBAA so I didn't mind the similarities so much.

Overall, this was a fun read and I'm looking forward to the rest of the series.

Vampires, witches, and monsters, oh my! Steamy sex scenes, engaging characters and a fast-paced story made for an enjoyable read. A little light on the world-building, and a the use of the word "clit" repetitively made me cringe a bit, but other than that I loved it!

This book is thoroughly entertaining as Scarlett St. Claire's books always are! I always enjoy her writing style as well as the worlds she builds! I really enjoyed her take on a vampire romance! It was steamy and fun! The only con I have for this book is how the end of the book felt rushed to read. I would have liked to feel that defeating Ravena wasn't too easy in the end. Other than the slightly unsatisfying ending to the book, I overall think this is set to be an excellent series! The plot has so much potentially and I cannot wait to see where Scarlett takes the next installment.

Gracias Netgalley por darme la oportunidad de leer y reseñar el libro!

Primero siento que tengo que explicar que el libro me llamó la tención por la autora. La reconocí porque hace poco leí su libro A touch of Darkness, y aunque no me encantó, me entretuvo. Asique obviamente no iba con las expectativas muy altas para A King Of Battle and Blood, pero de todas formas me decepcionó.

Seguimos la historia de Isolde, princesa de Lara, cuando el rey de los vampiros pide su mano en matrimonio a cambio de paz.

No es la historia más original que van a encontrar, está llena de clichés. Pero no es eso lo que me molestó de la historia. Lo que me sacaba de onda al leer es el insta-lust, que normalmente no me molesta, pero en este caso ella lo veía a él como un monstruo, asique en mi cabeza no cabía la idea de que estuviera tan atraído a él. (Aunque al final sí que le dan una explicación).

Aparte de eso la trama fue muy predecible así que cuando llegué a la parte del "plot twist" no me sorprendí, para nada. Me confirmaron lo que yo llevaba sospechando desde el inicio.

Y por último: Los vampiros no parecen vampiros, obviamente beben sangre y todo ese rollo, pero no se sienten como vampiros al leer. Para explicarlo mejor voy a comparar a los vampiros de éste libro con los del libro "Un Descubrimiento de Brujas y el clásico ¨Crepúsculo¨.
En esos libros los vampiros son evidentemente rápidos y fuertes, viven y piensan de otra forma debido a su larga vida y se recalca una y otra vez su sed de sangre como algo casi insaciable y difícil de controlar. Es decir, claramente son vampiros. En cambio, en A King of Battle and Blood, los vampiros se sienten como humanos normales, solo que necesitan tomar sangre y son más fuertes de lo normal.

De todas formas el libro me tuvo atrapada hasta el 60%, después de esa marca me costó seguir leyendo.


Thanks, Netgalley for giving me the opportunity to read and review the book!

First I feel like I have to explain that the book caught my eye for the author. I recognized her because I recently read her book A Touch of Darkness, and although I didn't love it, it entertained me. So obviously I wasn't going with high expectations for A King Of Battle and Blood, but I was disappointed anyway.

We follow the story of Isolde, the princess of Lara, when the king of vampires asks for her hand in marriage in exchange for peace between their kingdoms.

It's not very original and is full of clichés. But that's not what bothered me about the story. What bothered me while reading was the insta-lust, which normally doesn't bother me, but in this case, she saw him as a monster, so for me, the fact that she was so attracted to him felt really weird. (Although in the end, it has an explanation).

Other than that, the plot was very predictable so when I got to the "plot twist" part I wasn't surprised at all. They confirmed what I had suspected from the beginning.

And lastly: Vampires don't seem like vampires, they obviously drink blood and all that stuff, but they don't feel like vampires when reading. To explain it better I am going to compare the vampires in this book with the ones in the books "A Discovery of Witches" and the classic " Twilight ".
In these books vampires are super fast and strong, they live and think differently due to their long life, and their thirst for blood is emphasized over and over again as something almost insatiable and difficult to control. I mean, they are clearly vampires. Instead, in A King of Battle and Blood, vampires feel like normal humans, only they need to drink blood and are stronger than normal.

In any case, the book had me trapped up to 60%, after that mark I had lost almost all my interest in the story.

Thank you to NetGalley, Sourcebooks, and Bloom Books for the opportunity to read this early! This book is definitely a favorite of the year. It is a five star read. In this fantasy romance we are following Isolde through her journey of getting betrothed to the leader of the enemies of her people who have been conquering their neighbor countries. She is a strong willed and determined heroine who is willing to do anything to help her people. This book is filled with great world building that immediately had me immersed in the story. I also really loved the romance, political intrigue, characters, monsters, and background mystery of what is the actual truth to how the monsters came to be. Isolde and Adrian were a fascinating couple to watch clash and come together throughout the story. I also loved how gritty and dark parts of the story got. This is a world with very serious and scary things happening and I was on the edge of my seat several times. I am very much looking forward to more from this world and to see what is going to happen to Isolde and Adrian.

It has a lot of elements that you get from other books and has an expected plot, nonetheless as a reader you want to keep reading to know what it will happen, I think that's the point of a book.

I loved this! I really enjoyed the relationship between Adrian and Isolde. It was steamy but also super amusing. It was a quick read and I can't wait for the next one. If you're a fan of St. Clair books or the from blood and ash series...I feel like you would like this! Definitely check it out!

a fun read! very sexy adult content but the development of the relationship is interesting. enemies to lovers while also having hate sex.
the magic system is very cool and I wish it was fleshed out more; a few things were still kinda confusing but I assume they will be explained in her sequel.
the main character is AWESOME she fights she stabs she doesn't take anyone's shit, I love her. I do think it would have been slightly more interesting if she had already been a queen when she meets Adrian and her retired father had to act as regent for her. as it stands it kinda gave me rhysand/feyre vibes which isn't bad it's just not as interesting as it could have been.
overall I enjoyed it!

What excited me in reading this book is that enemies to lovers trope as well as the arranged marriage and of course, vampires!

I must say that I enjoyed reading this book. I adored the main characters, Isolde and Adrian, and their banter and connection. More than the two of them, we also get to meet other characters that I wish we get to see more in the next books.

In terms of the story, it’s what you’ve come to expect in a romantic fantasy and to be honest, one can probably guess early on what the twist might be but the storytelling until we get to the reveal was still fun and enjoyable! Moreover, given that this is the first book in a series, I was actually pretty satisfied with the ending. It builds up excitement for the next book, but it wasn’t such a big cliffhanger that I know I could survive the wait for the next one.

This is certainly not a YA book given the heavy romance content but it’s certainly a nice break from reading YA books.

Thank you NetGalley, Sourcebooks, and Bloom Books for an arc of King of Battle and Blood in exchange for an honest review! I enjoyed Scarlett St. Clair’s “A Touch of Darkness” series and was super excited to dive into this one.

This book was much better than i expected it to be! I loved the premise and the different elements included - vampires, witches, arranged marriage, romance, with a unique world that made it hard for me to put down. I think this book is better than her Hades x Persephone series personally, but one of my complaints would be that I wish that there was more world-building, but I’m sure that will come in the later books.

I enjoyed the characters in this one a lot and found Isolde to be an excellent main character. Her relationship with Adrian was super fun to read about and I personally loved the plot twist at the end, even though it’s super controversial haha.

This book is definitely an adult book and focuses more on romance than fantasy in my opinion, so keep that in mind when deciding whether or not to read it! However, it was a good read and i’m giving it 3.75 stars. I’ll definitely be reading the next one!

3.5 stars

Scarlett St. Clair does it again by providing an entertaining and page turning fantasy romance. This book sucked me in immediately! I read it so fast and needed to know how it happened. But I will say at times it was very predictable. I don't want to fault St. Clair too much for this - I think it is because I read a book really similar to this one right before it. I loved the steam, the story, and Adrian was lovely. I can't wait to see how the rest of the series turns out, and I do believe it will keep me on my toes later.

4.25 stars

Wow, I am honestly blown away by how obsessed I was with this book. It is very fast paced, steamy, and so addicting. I enjoyed how fierce and unapologetic the female MC was. The chemistry between the two MCs was palpable, and I was eating it up!! Both Adrian and Isolde are morally grey which made them all the more interesting. The only reason I did not give it 5 stars was because I would have loved a little more world building and angst throughout the story. However, it is a very easy and enjoyable read that I think most readers will devour.

This is definitely a book I am going to want a physical copy of. I 100% will be reading the next books in this series. As someone who was not the biggest fan of A Touch of Darkness, let me assure you that this book delivered. If you love action, vampires, and spice, then this is the book for you.