This was my first read by this author I love Paranormal romances so when I seen this was a enemies to lovers vampire arranged marriage romance I jumped all over it! I thought it was sexy exciting and steamy I loved the characters the writing was good overall 4 stars from me!

❤️❤️❤️❤️ out of 5
I love, love, love fantasy romance (and no YA doesn’t count) so I’m always keen to try new to me authors in this genre because I want to read more! Fantasy romance with vampires? Sign me up!

Our heroine is a princess (an independent, headstrong and lethal princess) who makes the ultimate sacrifice for her people- she agrees to wed the Vampire king who is slowly conquering all the lands, and in exchange for her hand in marriage he will leave her people alone. However enemies come from all sides and there is a mysterious illness sweeping the lands that everyone wants to blame the evil vampires for….. but are they really behind it?

The connection between the main characters was 🔥🔥🔥 (although almost to the point where it didn’t make sense?) and there are a lot of sex scenes (not complaining) but I would have liked to see a little more growth in their relationship and personal development- although that might be forthcoming in the next book? Now I have to admit that the ending was predictable (at least to me), although I’m still looking forward to the next in the series which will continue the same couple’s journey.

‘The Blood King wasn’t just beyond our borders; he was within them. He would rule us from this day forward.’

King of Battle and Blood is a vampire romance that features the favoured tropes of enemies-to-lovers through an arranged marriage - a mortal princess with a ruthless vampire/blood king. If this is the style of writing you like you are sure to enjoy this book.

My problem came through expecting a solid fantasy read, not vampire smutty erotica. Some story would have been a bonus rather than just sex. The mythology and politics were pretty weak in comparison. I am never really a fan of insta-attraction even though I don’t mind the arranged marriage trope, however, this just did not work for me. The writing style with a lack of plot and stereotypical characterisation were rather ordinary.

Based on other reviews, I think this book will be a hit with its target audience but this smutty fantasy romance was not for me.

“You know nothing of my sacrifice.” My voice was visceral, my hurt and anger so acute, I felt like my skin was on fire. I’d done this to protect them. I’d done this so that they could have some kind of life beyond yesterday’s surrender, and here they were, squandering it all.



This review is based on a complimentary copy from the publisher in exchange for an honest review. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own. The quoted material may have changed in the final release.

Scarlett St Clair is a new author for me so I went into this unknowing that she is well known for a good sex scene, I thought this was YA so I got a bit of a surprise. The sex scenes are plentiful, almost one a chapter. Which don’t get me wrong I’m totally here for but with sooooo many sex scenes it did mean that the two protagonists had all of their important conversations whilst having sex and there was very little character development (maybe quality over quantity might have worked better?).
There are also a few plot holes, if Isolde was a seer in her previous life what prevented her from foreseeing that the Book of DIs would be stolen and used for evil? If Isolde's father was prepared to go to war to save her from marrying Adrian, then why would he then try and kill her "for his people"?
My other main criticism is that there is a lot of jealousy in this book, particularly from Isolde. I just think we’ve moved past women hating other women and it made Isolde petty and unlikeable. Saying that, I loved that Isolde wasn’t written as a slender, lithe, small woman. I do love a woman with thick thighs and thin patience. All in all this book is full of smut, tropes and is very predictable; however, it was unputdownable and I will be reading the rest of the series.

I will preface this review with I was not a fan of the writing style in a touch of darkness. But I decided to give this new title/series a chance because of the popularity of the book. This book was just wasn't for for me. It was fast paced and left little to your imagination. So snaps for that, but I will not be purchasing it though to reread.

King of Battle & Blood tells the story of a tumultuous affair with a cacophony of emotions. And also vampires. It features high smut content from the start, throwing human Isolde into a diplomatic marriage with vampire overlord Adrian come to conquer her father's kingdom. It relies on common vampire paranormal tropes (violence, possessiveness, jealousy & angst), so if you like that feel or if you enjoy fantasy romance that keeps things approachable with only light world-building, you'll get what you're after here.

For me, this one was a miss. In terms of romance, I thrive on stories with a growing emotional connection and a slow build of tension. Without that, the (to me, not as a generalizable fact) abrupt and early arrival of smut on the scene left me sort of disconnected and uninterested in the proceedings. The generic plot elements also kept me at a distance. We have a woman who's been so sheltered that she hates all vampires and doesn't understand their history or humanity. She's forced to marry a vampiric hottie who she's attracted to on a nearly alarming level but who she also views as the root of all evil and would like to murder. The reader knows through it all that Isolde's weak understanding of the world will be overturned, and the entire story is building up to an obvious revelation that took too long to arrive given its predictability.

Meanwhile, the author works very hard to convince us that vampire god-among-men Adrian is the epitome of respect and attentiveness. He's certainly the king of instalove, which is explained away through a fantasy plot device. There's also a lot of energy put into convincing us that this is a balanced, consenting relationship. Adrian listens to being told no, Isolde is enthusiastic, and her past lover provides the foil as the needy, controlling human man on offer. However, Adrian's ability to read minds made me a bit uncomfortable. While he assures us it's outside his control, I wasn't happy with the choice to include it. Also, the jealous, obsessed, antagonistic way the two leaned into each other stressed me out.

On either the romance or fantasy front, I was not overly involved in this story. However, I can see why it would be engaging to readers with different interests and priorities, so I've tried to be specific here to help others decide for themselves. I need to stop trying vampire series, basically (but we all know I can't stay away).

I was fortunate enough to receive and ARC of this book and I absolutely loved it! The premise, the characters, the plot, the twists and turns, and the love story! I enjoyed seeing Adrian and Isolde develop both by inches and by miles, individually and together. The vampire and magic combination was fascinating, too. Highly recommend! Can’t wait for book 2!

King of Battle & Blood was such an entertaining read, I really enjoyed getting lost in this new world that Scarlett St. Clair has crafted so beautifully!

It was full of stabby moments, lore and some spicy scenes! It has something for everyone and I think a lot of people will love it!

Our main character, Isolde, really spoke to me and I adored her. I love that she is fierce and specifically that she is described as curvy because that kind of representation is so important! I devoured this book, could not stop until I was done. It left me screaming and I cannot wait for the next book in the series!

King of Battle and Blood is the first book I have ever read by Scarlett St. Clair, but I know for sure it will not be my last. I had an absolute blast reading this steamy vampire romance- so much so I read it in one sitting and knew I needed to order a physical copy for my personal bookshelf. I need a sequel now!

I loved Scarlett St. Clair’s A Touch of Darkness series and was super excited to dive into this one. Arranged vampire marriage? ☑️ Enemies-to-lovers? ☑️ Hot vampire king who’s besotted with the feisty female lead? ☑️

This is a fantasy romance (with more emphasis on the romance) about Adrian x Isolde, with Isolde forced to marry King Adrian of the conquering vampire nation to save her people. If you love vampires, spice, and romance, you’ll want to read this.

I really loved this one and it’s a fast, steamy read with a twist that I ADORED. I was left with some plot questions and there were some sections I would have liked to see fleshed out more, but I’m hoping these will be addressed in the final published version or the sequel.

Scarlett St. Clair’s new fantasy is a sexy new addition to the legion of vampire romances. Isolde de Lara isn’t thrilled to be a bargaining chip between her country and the invading vampire forces, led by vampire king Adrian Vasilev but she is committed to protection of her people, and she can always do her best to murder her new husband. Assassinating Adrian doesn’t work out quite how Isolde was hoping however and that means she gets to be queen of his vampire court…and share her bed with a merciless, if dead sexy, king. St. Clair’s world building is well plotted, the fantasy elements an interesting blend of horror and realism, and the romance steamy as could be. A solid choice for most collections, this will be a hit for fans of Bec McMaster’s Dark Court Rising books and Jennifer L. Armentrout.

I gave this book 3/5 stars because while I enjoyed the plot of the book, the writing felt surface-level and the characters never fully gained depth. I enjoyed the world that the author built, but I never felt sold on the characters' emotions and motivations. Every time Adrian called Isolde "my sparrow," I wanted to puke. I really liked the story, the setting, the magic, and the idea of a fearless female lead. However, I don't know that the author was able to follow through to fully flesh out her characters. It fell flat to me, and I'm not sure I will continue with the series. I want to know what happens, but I believe there are better quality stories out there.

I would potentially recommend this book to patrons who really enjoy fantasy romances.

This was my first venture into the supernatural romance genre and I had a great time! I liked Isolde a lot and thought she made a great main character and love interest. I feel like this could have been edited a little harder and the plot was alright (lets be honest though, I was not here for the plot I was here for the romance) but I still would recommend this to my friends. The romance was fun and the spice was very good. Overall I really had a fun time with this.

Fans of Scarlett St. Clair will likely enjoy her expansion into vampires with "King of Battle and Blood." The relationship between the two characters is a little chaotic in its progression, and some of the word choice could have gone through a few more rounds of editing. All in all, fans of the author and the genre will probably enjoy it, but the plot and character development might leave traditional supernatural/romance fans wishing there was a bit more substance.

When Adrian the Blood King shows up at her kingdom's doorstep, battle-hardened Princess Isolde isn't keen to the idea when her father King of Lara plans to surrender to avoid war, but things take a turn when King Adrian stipulations to surrender include Princess Isolde's hand in marriage. Although Isolde accepts in order to protect her people from further harm and it also get's her out of the grasp of her former lover, Killian, she trades away her life to begin anew in the Vampire capital as Queen. Throughout their time, Isolde struggles with her thoughts of hating Adrian and vampires like him while also battling the undeniable chemistry they have. While this book started off strong and I found a majority of the character's likable, I felt as if the plot did take a hard left when we discover the twist. I appreciated that the author left "hints" for the twist, so it didn't totally come out of left field, but it did still feel a bit awkward. I did enjoy the world-building, and it seems like St. Clair put a lot of work into coming up with all the jargon, lore, and culture that rules the world of Cordova. Overall, it was a pleasant, quick read that featured a impressive characters, tense mystery, and a fierce villains that plan to overthrow Adrian's and Isolde's romance.

I was very excited to read King of Battle and Blood based on the book description. I love the writing style, which is reminiscent of Jennifer Armentrout. The plot, mainly the long travel on horseback, reminded me of From Blood and Ash. The world-building is beautifully crafted, intertwined with the history of witches and magic. The female MC was hard to like and reminded me of The Shadow Between Us (a book I DNF). She's presented as a strong, kick-ass warrior princess. Yet, her actions paint her as a needy, horny, whiney woman torn between the duty to her country and the love/hate relationship with her new husband, who is also her nemesis.
What I struggled with was the relationship between Isolde and Adrian. She was indoctrinated from an early age to see him as the monster of all monsters, but from the moment she laid eyes on him, all she could think was how to jump him. That wouldn't have been a problem if the tension had built up, leading to that perfect moment when she gave in to forbidden love. I'm not above some good vampire smut, but it doesn't work for me unless you set the mood.
Another thing I found unusual (but not necessarily bad) was the name choices. The story is set in a fictional world (not Romania). Still, a big part of the cast has Romanian names (Sorin, Ana Maria, Violeta, and King Gheroghe - actually, the Romanian name is Gheorghe). For those who don't know me, I am Romanian, so the names stood out right away. Now, I don't have a problem with it. Not at all. But I was intrigued by the name choices and hoped they would somehow relate to my country.
Relationship aside, the story is intriguing, and I think it has a lot of potential, but we have to wait for the next book and see what happens.
Overall, King of Battle and Blood is a good fantasy with an always horny heroine and way too much smut. If that's your cup of tea, go for it!

Steamy and action packed. I was hooked from cover to cover and could not put it down. Loved the two MC's. The only real negative for me was the heavy use of a trope I haaaate, but I've rounded up to 5 stars due to the subjectivity of that opinion.

Love LOVED this book! Scarlett completely knocked it out of the park! This is the type of book that the story really flew off the page. I can't wait to read the next one!

I adored this book.

"Their Union is his revenge" (and my utter joy) - just not in the way you might think.

"I wanted to fall, and I could tell by the hungry look in Adrian's eyes he was ready to catch me"

"All the stars in the sky are not as bright as my love for you" - if I didn't love Adrian & Isolde as much as i do, the sweetness of this would make me yak.

To be honest I could go on quoting this from about every other page because the entire thing is basically prose. It's lyrical and poetic in a way that's really quite different to the authors other works and I've fallen in love with her all over again.

The story is fast paced, well written and has you devouring it in one sitting. The characters are beautifully relatable - in so far as any mystical being can be, and as usual we have a lovable cast of supporting actors too.

Honestly, its not even officially out yet (6 days to go) and i'm already salivating for the sequel. damn those long waits.

I marked it 4 stars instead of the full 5 for 1 main reason - I found the language too formal, while I understand that this was done intentionally in order to create a certain atmosphere, personally I prefer a liberal use of contractions. 'Is not' just doesn't roll off the page the same way 'Isn't' does especially in fiction - and even more so in dialogue.

This book was very reminiscent of a lot of other fantasy books that I've read which isn't necessarily a bad thing. I will say that the plot is a bit predictable and I kind of wanted a bit more from the romance. I feel like the two mc got together too fast and there was no build-up to their relationship However, I still really enjoyed reading this book. It's the first one in the series and it set up the world-building quite nicely and I feel like there is a lot of potential for this series to turn out amazing.