Great new fantasy read! Scarlett St. Clair does an amazing job of creating a new world! It’s very descriptive and easy to follow. The main characters Adrain and Isolde have great chemistry- very steamy! Definitely read this book!

I enjoyed this story from beginning to end. I was captivated and emotionally involved with the main characters and even the sub characters. Only downside is I figured out the “twist” way before it was officially exposed in the story…don’t know if that was intentional or not but either way 5 star read.

✨ARC Review✨

“I’d survived an encounter with a vampire who had tasted my blood, and the worst part about it was that he’d been right. I did like it.”

“I had begun the day hating vampires with every fiber of my being and ended the day engaged to one.”

What I Loved:
-Adrian- the smoldering, loyal vampire king who can read your mind and make you beg for more
-Isolde- a strong female character, who demands respect and will settle for nothing less. She is also is learning to understand that what she was taught to believe about vampires and witches isn’t necessarily truth
-a sense of forging your own path and going against others for what you believe
-“Sparrow” (IYKYK)
-enemies to lovers/arranged marriage
-vampire romance with a flowing dynamic of love, hate, and insatiable lust
-a menagerie of mythical creatures

This is by far the steamiest vampire book I have read and I LOVED it! As with every book I get hooked on, it’s part of a series, and that means I have to wait for the next one. I know it will be well worth the wait, as I am ready for more Adrian and Isolde and the continuation of their story!

✨Rating✨
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️/5
Steam: 🔥🔥🔥/5

A special thank you to NetGalley and Bloom Books for this eARC!

Looooooooooooove. Complex heroes are my absolute favorite plus vampires, badass heroines, and spiiiiiice. Really entertaining!

I haven't read anything by Scarlett St. Clair before, but I'm definitely interested in reading more because this was fun! This is the first in a new series featuring Isolde and Adrian - an unlikely couple. Isolde is an independently minded princess of Lara, one of the nine houses of a nation called Cordova. Many of the other houses have fallen in combat to King Adrian of Revekka (known as the Blood King), a ruthless vampire who has ruled Revekka for at least 150 years. Isolde's father, the King of Lara, is willing to surrender to save his people. King Adrian has a different idea when he meets Isolde - he wants her hand in marriage to seal the deal with King Henri. Isolde agrees to protect her people, but realizes that they all expect her to try to kill him after the marriage. Not only can she not do that because of his vampiric qualities, but they share a really intense physical attraction that grows into something more. All the while, there's evidence of poorly cast magic spells being used against the people of Cordova and Revekka, though magic was meant to have been eradicated from the land by King Dragos, Adrian's predecessor, who burned a high coven of witches and then anyone else he believed to be a witch because he was afraid of their power. His personal pet witch escaped and is suspected to be the one casting terrible spells that are destroying entire villages. As Isolde gets to know Adrian better, she learns more about their strange connection, and more of Adrian's past is revealed. I would definitely recommend this to fans of Jennifer L. Armentrout,. as it reminded me a good bit of her Blood and Ash series.

Lately I’ve been jumping into books without even reading the synopsis after seeing friends rave about them. I was instantly sold after hearing this had vampires and an arranged marriage! I couldn’t help but binge this book in one go and now I’m left reeling over the fact that the sequel doesn’t release until a year from now. I’m in desperate need for more Adrian and Isolde!

Perfect for fans of:
- vampires (with a fun new twist)
- enemies to lovers + arranged marriage 🔥🔥
- angst
- badass plus size MC that can take care of herself
- touch her and die love interest who will pull on ALL of your heartstrings
- spice that will leave you feeling 🥵😮‍💨🔥🔥🔥
- an un-put-downable fast paced read

If I could give halfstars on here, it would be a 4.5 specifically. I LOVED this book. The world building was stunning. I could see the twist coming from a mile away, but !! It still had me yelling. I loved the dynamics between Adrian and Isolde (if someone knows how to pronounce this please…help a poor soul). I just wish there was a bit more enemies in the beginning? The beginning’s pace just felt so rushed. However the middle??? The end??? So good.

It felt like a mix of From Blood and Ash and A Fate of Wrath and Flame (which I would die for I loved it).

Thank you NetGalley for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

This is my first Scarlett St Clair book and it definitely won't be my last. I picked this up because I wanted something fast paced and immersive and I found the right book. I started on a Sunday afternoon and could not stop reading. I messaged my friend that I was certain it would end with a big cliffhanger and I was going to die. (I didn't. The ending leaves you wanting more, but not feeling abandoned)

Isolde agrees to marry the vampire king who threatens her country in order to save her country. She has been taught to hate and fear his people and their marriage feels like a betrayal to her family. The heat and love between Isolde and Adrien catches her completely off guard and the twists and turns that bring them together don't let you stop reading. If you are a fan of SJM or Jennifer Armentrout, this is a more concise read for you.

I would like to thank NetGalley and the publishers for giving me a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

The premise of the book and the whole enemies-lovers and arranged marriage trope really got me interested in picking this book up. Whilst I enjoyed aspects of the story such as our strong female MC and the action/ political aspects, many other matters let me down. I found that quite a few times I felt what was playing out between the MC’s to be cringey and whilst I enjoy a good erotica, this was a little bland and immature for my liking. I can definitely see why this would be a winner for those who enjoy a book that is all fire and spice, but this book had me at a bit of a love- hate relationship.

I loved the book. Enemies to lovers, steamy romance with vampires- what more could I ask for? I have read other books by this author, and she did not disappoint this time either. It has lovable characters and the female lead- Isolde is pretty strong. Adrian is hot. I love the stabbing-me-turns-me-on thing that Adrian has. I devoured this book in about 5 hours. I could not put it down. If you like morally-grey heroes, who are possessive and spicy, this book is for you. The plot was a little predictable but it did not really bother me a lot. Overall, it was a pretty great read. I honestly cannot wait for part two.

This was my first book by this author, and I’m sorry to say I’m DNF at 26%. I tried, but I could not get into it. The first encounter was predictable, there is no chemistry among the couple, the dialogue is bland and the sex scenes are abhorrently lacking in sizzle. Frankly, I just don’t care if they kill each other or not.
I gave it an extra star for the beautiful cover, which was what drew me in.

Thank you so much to Bloom Books and Scarlett St. Clair for this advanced copy via Netgalley! I adored this book, and I can't wait for you all to read it on November 30th!

Why you should read: King of Battle and Blood is everything I love in a fantasy romance novel. It has a strong and complicated female MC, a dashing morally grey male, an incredibly intricate plot, and l o t s of sexy times. Isolde's journey from her homeland to marry the Blood King is thrilling, and you'll love discovering the secrets of King Adrian's past at her side. You'll certainly be adding him to your book boyfriend list, I promise. St. Clair does an amazing job at putting a twist on the classic blood-drinking monsters we've come to know. I've never enjoyed a vampire novel more, honestly. The plot twists and character arcs will keep you turning the pages easily, hunting for answers at Isolde's side.

Do yourself a favor and grab this book as soon as it's available on November 30th! You won't be disappointed.

This book is a mix of Realm Breaker and vampire. This is one of the best fantasy books simply because it's not one thing or another, it's a mix of fantasy. I could call it the ultimate fantasy novel.

I devoured this book and it was everything I hoped it to be!

Enemies to lovers, steeeeeamy tension, deception to clarity, lovable characters and illustrative storyline.

Having recently read all of St. Clair’s Hades & Persephone books, this was such a treat to dive into another realm in her world building skills. I am typically not terribly keen on vampires, but she elegantly creates a narrative around loyalty, shift in morality via POV, love and trust. I was hooked by Chapter Three and was pleasantly surprised by how quickly I fell into the rhythm of the piece.

Appreciated the inclusion of diversity in skin tone and sexuality, as well as a super self-assured, bad ass, sex-positive female lead. Her candor was unapologetic and very reminiscent of Persephone.

I do give it a 4.5 because I think she could have dug a little deeper in exploring characters, POVs and the world we are navigating. However, I am very much looking forward to continuing the series, by which I am sure we will learn more. Sometimes we have difficulty seeing our own stories we tell from an outside POV, so I'm sure this feedback will make waves in future novels.

May we please have an Adrian POV? Adding him to the book boyfriend list!

This passed the 3am test and I woke up hungry to clear my schedule to finish the story.

Spicy fantasy with emphasis on female pleasure in true St. Clair fashion and I am all here for it! Brava!

Perfect read for fans of Maas and Armentrout.

Thank you Bloom Books and Netgalley! I had already pre-ordered it and am truly grateful for the ARC!

I wanted to read this book so badly, and let me tell you, exceed my (high) expectations! I could not put it down!
It has everything and more that you could ask from an adult fantasy book! We have a complex world building, not only with vampires (give me vamp books and I’m all for it!), but a lot of creatures and... wait for it...witches! Yes! And you never get to much information, we get the information as we read, and that makes it easier to absorb all the weird names of the creatures, city names, and others. Awesome!

Also, we have an arrange marriage (don't judge me, but I’m all for it when chemistry is involved, and OH BOY they have a lot of that!), between Adrian, sexy as heel king of vampires who just happens to care (a lot!) for our protagonist Isolde. But not in a suffocating way, like in most of the book with a strong male character! Oh no! He likes that she is strong, determined, impulsive, a bad ass warrior, and actually encourages it. I’m all for power couples and males who encourage and defend women power!

So yeh! This book has the ultimate power characters, we have Isolde, smart, strong, funny, promiscuous (in a very good way btw) and she is willing to get her hands dirty when need be. Oh and Adrian! Oh he is the perfect anti-hero, because he’s just not simply evil, he actually can be more human that most human character, with the good and bad that he has in him.

I’m not even going into the chemistry between this two! So freaking gooood! Those hot scenes! Fire I tell you! Fire! Scarlett St. Clair just writes such good adult fantasy! I’m addicted and Isolde is now one of my favorite bad ass fantasy characters ever.

If you love vampires, spice and fantasy this is the book for you!

“I can be anything. Your jailor, your savior, your lover.” His mouth was closer to my ear as he added, “Your monster.”


Thanks to NetGalley & SOURCEBOOKS Bloom Books for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Thank you to NetGalley & Sourcebooks for an ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review!

“I do not pray,” he said, “but I begged for you.”

I DEVOURED this book in less than 12 hours, and Im sure I’ll be rereading it again in the near future. I’m a big vampire fan, and I really enjoyed the lore built up and connected to all different types of vampire mythology, making the creatures unique but still true to the genre. This is Scarlett’s best book yet, and you can see a huge growth in the her writing and style since her last books - I can’t wait to read the next one.

The plot was a little bit predictable at times but I didn’t mind. However, at a few of the bigger plot twists, (the curse, the OTHER big one, etc) I wish we had gotten way more depth & details as to how that all came to be, and what it means. I felt like these could have been really fascinating parts of the story, hopefully this will be explored much more in the next book. I also hope we see more of the side characters in the next books, as they were very interesting but at times felt a little two dimensional.

It was so refreshing to see a slightly older MC compared to so many ‘adult’ & ’new adult’ books still with teenage protagonists. She might come off as unlikeable to some, but Issa is a brash, badass queen who won’t take any man’s shit, and I absolutely loved it. Adrian was such a great character and I really hope we get more of his POV later on, either in the next books or in a spin off like the Touch of Darkness series.

If you love vampires, enemies to lovers, morally grey anti-heroes, and LOTS of spice, this is the perfect book for you

“I can be anything. Your jailor, your savior, your lover.” His mouth was closer to my ear as he added, “Your monster.”

*automatically starts singing..."I'm a sucker for you..."* This book was SO hot and addictive! I couldn't get enough of this arranged marriage, vampire romance! It had everything I love! I've only read one other book by this author but I'm excited to read more!!!!

The characters in this were so good and the chemistry between them was HOT!

“You are my light,” he said. “And you are my darkness,” I replied"

What you'll find:
•Vampires 😍
•Arranged marriage
•enemies to lovers
•Badass Heroine
•HEART THROB- I will murder anyone who touches you type guy! 🙌 I'm a goner for King Adrian!!!•EPIC love
•And all the 🔥 🔥🔥🔥🥵

This HOT, fierce love story is one you'll need on your TBR! It has so many good quotes too! I can't wait for more Adrian and Isolde!

This is my first book by this author, and it was not a favorite for me. The writing was lacking in so many ways, plus the storyline did not flow well. The story could have been fine enough in theory, but the actual book was just ridiculous. And don't get me started on the characters, they had no depth or personality, it was lacking in so many ways it was not an enjoyable read. For example, if you're going to talk vampires and how powerful they are and no single person can defeat one, yet you're going to have a mortal get so upset and try to take one on in a jealous rage, and nothing happens...just bad writing all the way around. There was no consistency, just a vampire book trying too hard. The cover art was good and that's about all I can give you there. The rest of the book was just a complete eye roll. I may not have the popular opinion but this book was not well done. Would not recommend.

Thanks to NetGalley for the ARC!

This is definitely a step up from her previous book, a touch of darkness. The writing is much better and I loved the world building and the plot. The heroine is badass which I also love. The enemies to lovers was also done well and the spice just hit different.

The plot is a little predictable but honestly it didn’t bother me much cause I don’t really judge books that hard especially since it was enjoyable and fast paced and I finished it in one day.

Would give this a 4.5⭐️

Very good storyline, well-paced. I enjoyed all the characters except the ones we aren’t supposed to like and seeing some of them get theirs was nice. Also great to see a sex-positive female protagonist instead of the usual “oh no sex felt good and now I feel bad.” The cliffhanger was still a satisfying ending.

Thank you to NetGalley for the review copy.