Honestly, I'm about a week or so out since I finished this and have forgotten almost everything about this except two things: 1. I enjoyed it and read it compulsively until I'd finished and 2. This has all the spice - a good 4-5 Chilli rating.

For story, character, and world-building it's a 3 for me - but by the time you add the spicy stuff into the mix, I'll give it a 4 for some pacy racy fun!

I was pleasantly surprised by King of Battle and Blood. It was fast-paced, for a fantasy romance, and was an interesting take on vampires.

I absolutely loved king of battle and blood. This book was decadent like a warm fresh out of the oven brownie. Rich and gooey and oh so delicious. It is a spicy vampire romance featuring a marriage of convenience. I fell head over heels in love with the fierce and independent thinker- Isolde and the passionate and possessive (and dare I say it sweet!) Adrian.

Isolde is the princess of one of the nine realms and Adrian is the feared vampire king. Isolde agrees to marry him to protect her father and his kingdom but never did she expect to feel as drawn to her enemy as she does. If you are a fan of forced marriages, possessive love interests, steamy romance and off the charts sexual chemistry then this book is one you do not want to miss! It was addictive and I couldn’t stop reading! I wish it was longer bc I was not ready for it to end. I loved this book so much!!

Really enjoyed this book! I found it more enjoyable than the A Touch of Darkness series. Can't wait for book 2!

King of Battle and Blood is intense, sexy and you won't be able to put it down. From vampires and witches to arranged marriages, enemies to lovers and political court intrigue this has become a new favourite.

I found this book a little faster paced than I would have liked but I really enjoyed it. It's a good read while I wait for A Touch of Chaos to come out! I will likely buy everything Scarlett St. Clair writes to have on my shelf and encourage customers who like fantasy romance books to do the same.

This is basically a vampire erotica novel. It may not be unique in concept or plot, but I could not get enough of this one. Can't wait for the rest of the series!

I really enjoyed this book, it had all of my favorite elements- enemies to lovers, marriage of convenience and fantasy elements. This book seems to be pretty divisive, some people really love it and others not so much for the same reasons but I enjoy really spicy fantasy and this one fit the bill.

This book was gripping from the start. The romance was wonderful. Looking forward to reading the next one!

Scarlett St. Clair has done it again. This was an absolutely amazing romance that had you on edge wondering how it would end. The characters were likeable, infuriating, and had you rooting for them to finally give in to their urges. 10/10 recommend!

Scarlett St. Clair is one of the most popular dark fantasy romance authors today and King of Battle and Blood proves once again why. A fun, sexy, dark, and action-packed romance that you will remember for a long time.

I loved this so much. I was hooked right away It's steamy and thrilling. So good. I cannot wait for the next one.

Scarlett St. Clair’s new vampire romance is action- and sex-packed
I have recently started dipping my toes into fantasy romance books—YA and chick-lit being my usual genres of choice—and it has opened the door to new exciting, imaginative, and limitless reading journeys. I was incredibly excited to read King of Battle and Blood because Scarlett St. Clair is known for dark, sexual romances, and I was in the mood for some darkness.

The Blood King

We meet our MC, Isolde, as she and her father, King Henri, are trying to decide how to respond to the imminent invasion of their lands. The vampire King of Revekka, Adrian, is determined to expand the Empire of the Vampire by conquering the nine houses of Cordova. Those who had fought him had not been successful, and now it was King Henri and Princess Isolde’s turn to face Adrian and his army.

Long story short, Adrian sees Isolde and decides she needs to be his queen. Isolde is combative and independent and won’t put with anybody’s ish. Adrian LOVES that. Their dynamic is interesting and, if you like the enemies-to-lovers trope, this is a good one. But, unfortunately, I could never let go of the fact that the only reason Adrian and Isolde marry is that he promises not to slaughter her people in exchange for her hand. So, can somebody explain how never-want-to-marry-warrior-princess Isolde is so burnt with desire for this captor that she has wild sex with him the night of their wedding a mere hours after spitting on his face and calling him a monster?

“I can be anything. Your jailor, your savior, your lover.” His mouth was closer to my ear as he added, “Your monster.”
I realize the point is that their intense sexual chemistry overpowers her reason, and I can accept that. I didn’t mind the almost barbaric nature of their relationship, but I was very bothered by how the story then shifts to preach the importance of consent. WTF?

How am I supposed to forget that these sexual encounters and this fated, developing love are born out of an impossible choice? She had to marry him, or he would invade her lands, killing her people. How is any decision she makes as a result of that hers? Are we saying imprisonment is okay as long as you are sexually attracted to your captor?

Feelings quickly bloom as Isolde struggles between the blooming love and her loyalty to her father and her people, but her future as queen starts demanding more than nightly sex sessions and her guilty feelings quickly become a weakness people around her are eager to exploit.


As problematic as Adrian and Isolde’s story can be, I couldn’t put King of Battle and Blood down. It was like a train going 100 miles per hour. Jumping off was just not an option. I enjoyed how the story is structured, leading with the intensity of war and sex, climaxing (no pun intended 😂) at love and betrayal.

King of Battle and Blood is the first book in Scarlett St. Clair’s new series and, even with all my passionate critique, I will give this story a second chance, and I’m eagerly awaiting Adrian and Isolde’s next chapter.

2.5 - King of Battle and Blood is the kind of easy reading, highly entertaining fantasy romance that is perfect for a lazy night in. While it toes the line of insta-love (insta-lust?), readers who don’t want to wait for steamy scenes will appreciate how quickly the book gets down to business. I wish we had gotten a little more plot, Adrian’s POV to flesh out the world and his character development, and a little more world building, but I still felt entertained and can see the strong appeal this series will have for fans of darker fantasy romance.

𝓦𝓱𝓪𝓽 𝓘 𝓓𝓲𝓭 𝓛𝓲𝓴𝓮:
• The story was addicting as hell. I was snowed in and found myself flying through this to pass the time
• I thought the spice was really good. I mean Adrian and the way he is with her and his lines is just perfection 👌
• The politics and conflicts the characters dove into
• The world that was built (I just wish it was flushed out a little more but I suspect that will come in the series)

𝓦𝓱𝓪𝓽 𝓘 𝓓𝓲𝓭𝓷'𝓽 𝓛𝓲𝓴𝓮:
• The pacing. I feel like 100 pages in and there wasn't really a developed plot. Then it was a little slow throughout until the end where it just went from 0-100 real quick where you finally got all the revelations and a ton of action. I just feel like that all happened so fast
• I have heard a lot of people compare this to FBAA and honestly I get it. The entirety of this plot did feel very comparable and similar to other popular fantasy reads
• I did feel like sometimes this was smut > plot

Overall, it was more romance over plot based and world building so just be aware of that when picking this up! I was a bit conflicted about this book but at the end of the day, I flew through it and didn't want to put it down so gave it a 4 ⭐

St. Clair does it again. Book knocked it out of the park and myself and my fellow bookworms can’t wait for the next in this series !

this book wasn’t what i expected! i loved the plot and the characters and what it was trying to do but i felt like it was just SO much smut. i really wanted a fantasy with lots of fighting and battles and creepy mythology things which the blurb indicated it was but it just seemed to be sex scenes every other chapter. the plot that was there was incredible and so good but it spoilt it a bit for me, though of course this is a personal preference and if you like sex scenes in fantasy this will definitely be for you! regardless i did really enjoy it i just really wanted some crazy fantasy scenes!

I was not able to finish this book, but my library did purchase it. If I get a chance to read this I will update my goodreads with my review.

As my first novel by Scarlett St. Clair, I can confidently say that the hype is SPOT ON!
So you'll be seeing me add all her work on my TBR now!

This book was easy to read while still gifting me with great fantasy world-building and monster, witch and vampire lore. I thought originally this was solely going to be vampires, and the fact that is more is a pleasant surprise! I devoured this book, and I loved how strong-willed and passionate Isolde is; she was not afraid to show herself as a royal or a warrior.

Usually, reincarnation tropes can be a hit or a miss for me, but this was a hit, mainly because it didn't shove it in our face that they were meant to be. Instead, it started on her end as being just attraction and grew into love and trust, and as that started THEN, she began to see her past life occur in a familiar surrounding. The story's pacing was well done, and I forget a little that it happened in like a week because it was written so well. The smut was fast-paced, but you won't hear any complaints from me... well, except a complaint that I HATE KILLIAN! He doesn't deserve to share the same name as my favourite OUAT character!

Am I nervous for the next book because I don't want any of the characters to be evil? Yes

Isolde is the princess of Lara that was raised to become queen. She meets Adrian in the woods after being injured. She feels a pull towards him but refuses to admit to it since he is a vampire and his nickname is the blood king. He makes an offer to Isolde’s father to marry her and he will protect Lara and not invade. The story follows Isolde’s introduction to her enemy’s kingdom and she realizes that all she knew about the vampires may be wrong. This book has it all, spice, spice and more spice! I did see one of the plot twists coming but was surprised by the ending. I can not wait until the next book is released!