Holy shit this book was everything I needed!!!!!!! I absolutely loved Thea and her strong will and her drive! I loved Wilder and I can't wait to see more! I am dying for the next book already! I can't wait to see where this story is going! LOVED IT!!!

If you love an epic romantic fantasy with enemies-to-lovers, slow-burn spice, found family, and a sprawling world of magic and monsters…then this book is for you. I love a good audiobook and this did not disappoint. It is well done with good narrators and I really enjoyed the story. I hope an audiobook is coming soon for book 2 (hint, hint)!

This is a DNF at 30%. I don't think I was a good fit for this book. There's absolutely an audience out there for it. It just wasn't me.

Thank you so much to Helen Scheuerer, Dreamscape Media, and NetGalley for providing the audiobook in exchange for my honest review.

Blood & Steel is a romance novel with a small dose of fantasy and a tiny bit of politics. The fantasy and politics are what sounded very interesting to me, which is why I requested the ARC. But the main portion of the story that I read is taken up by an unearned romance that seems to be more about checking off trope boxes than building an authentic love story. When I realized that once the bickering/enemies to lovers concept was somewhat touched on and that the "relationship" had abruptly turned to satisfying a different set of relationship tropes, I found it impossible to continue.

I do like the bits of world building we got, but that was given out so sparingly. Even the tiny bits of politics were just sprinkled here and there to nudge the romance along. For instance, the main character has to petition the king to change the law for her. Rather than having the older woman who is supportive of her cause and an expert on the topic go with her, she has to travel with the man who is actively malicious toward her and who wants her to fail because.... well, if he didn't, the romance tropes couldn't play out. Then, when she's before the king, she has no argument whatsoever to get him to change his mind about the law because that's not actually important to the story since it was just a vehicle to allow the main character to travel with the man who wants her to fail. A random opportunity to save the king's life rather than a well thought out plan and arguments allows the heroine to get what she wants. Then she's back to traveling with the love interest who has abruptly changed personality so they can have conversations and find common ground. Changing the love interest from an emotionless edgelord to a warm, empathetic man was just too abrupt.

Also, I don't think think that the correct age range for this book is adult. The main character reads like a 14 year old and the story isn't very complex. I don't believe that sexuality is enough to make a book fit in the adult age range.

Thank you NetGally and the author for letting me hear the audio book.
It was a very good read and I read along with my own book. This has nothing to do with the book it self but I realized I do not like audio books (my first one). So I do not believe I would be the best to say if the audio was any good.

This is the second book by Helen Scheuerer that I have listened to in the past week and I'm not upset about it. I didn't realize that the two audios I requested were connected but I'm glad I listened to Slaying the Shadow Prince first since it's not actually listed as part of this series but is good for background information on Wilder and the shadow wraiths. I really loved this one and was sad when it was over but the next book in the series is on KU and the audio comes out in early January so I can wait!

I want to start off by saying that Mollie Stark and Sebastian Grove do a fantastic job of narrating! Their voices are so smooth and clear and you could feel the emotion of the characters through them. The story flows really well and I think I'll be waiting for the next book to come out on audio so I can hear these two reading as Thea and Wilder again because I just really enjoyed it!

Helen Scheuerer does a really amazing job with character development and creating a whole cast for readers to love and wish they could crawl into her book to be a part of their found family. Kipp and Cal are two of my absolute favorite characters and the friendship between them and Thea is fun and sincere; it really shows how training with people and fighting side by side builds a bond stronger than what some have even with family. The three of them are loyal to and protective of each other and achieve so much as the underdogs of the warriors in training. I love that Cal could easily have been "popular" or part of the hazing but instead chose to befriend Kipp who is pretty much hopeless as a fighter and Thea who is the only woman to be admitted to fight and receives a lot of backlash and cruelty for it. The alchemists Thea spent her formative years with, including her sister, are a great group as well though we don't see them as much since the story really focuses on Thea and her path to becoming a legendary warrior. When they are mentioned though they are clearly loyal and intelligent forces to be reckoned with in their own ways, especially Thea's sister who we do see more of than the others.

Now, Wilder and Thea are end game. Even when he is super frustrating and trying to deny what's between them he's so protective of Thea and is clearly obsessed with her since they got back from their initial trip. It's a slow burn in the best of ways and their banter is so entertaining throughout the book. Althea is just a total badass, not to be messed with, and part of that comes from knowing her fate is to die at 27. Since that's only a few years away, she lives every moment trying to leave a mark on the world. Wilder is a fierce warrior who is broody and reluctant to let anyone in, especially Thea. He has suffered a lot of loss and pain in his years as a warrior, some of which is mentioned but a lot of it can be learned by reading Slaying the Shadow Prince! I love the connection between Thea and Wilder's brother and hope that we get a book about him too! There's just so much to love about this book. The writing is great, the story never feels stunted or like certain parts are unnecessary, and the dialogue is original. The worldbuilding and character descriptions and growth are superb and the tension is palpable. 5 out of 5 for me! I would recommend this to any fantasy/romantasy readers and I think even readers who haven't yet dabbled in fantasy would like this one!

Thank you NetGalley and Dreamscape Media for the opportunity to listen to an advanced copy of the eAudio! All thoughts and opinions are my own.

This review is posted on Goodreads & Instagram.

In a year that's been plagued with incessant reading slump after slump, this book was such a breath of fresh air. It was easy to read and beautifully written, so my brain could easily digest it, and the plot pacing was chef's kiss. I get impatient and easily frustrated with pacing in even the best of books, but this one was so nice. Like a breath of fresh air.

I loved the take on the "only female warrior" trope. The characters are all rich and life-like, and their thought processes are understandable. You don't always agree with them, but it's that layer of humanity that helps to bring it all to life. It's such a joy from start to finish.

I absolutely love Mollie Stark’s voices and narration. She did so well at translating the story into audio. She conveyed the emotion perfectly.

If you enjoy FBAA and Plated Prisoner, then you'll enjoy this series!

Omg that was SO GOOD! It has everything you could want in a romantasy..
Audible arc review: Mollie Stark; Sebastian Grove Did an amazing job narrating this book. I was gripped by the first chapter and found myself totally immersed into the story.
The world building was nothing short of original.
Althea only has 3 years to fulfill her dreams of being a warrior legend in a world we’re women are not allowed to hold a sword. I love her voracity and determination.
Wilder Hawthorne is everything you want in a MMC. Strong, powerful and a true warrior.
The story is more plot driven, which I loved. The slow burn between the two characters was sizzling.
I can’t wait to continue on with this journey.

4.5 Stars 🌟

I was excited to be awarded the opportunity to listen to the Advanced ARC for this new series. It's been a while since I've read this author, but I really did enjoy her series "The Oremere Chronicles".
I am not sure, but I also do not think that I have ever listened to a book with either of the 2 narrators - Mollie Stark and Sebastian Grove. In the end, while most of the narration is done by the female narrator, the narration as a whole was fine.

The story line for this series is a fairly typical "enemies to lovers" troupe but there are a couple of twists. Since this is the first book in the series, there is a fairly significant amount of time enlisted to set the stage and build the world. In this world, there was a prophecy foretold a couple of decades ago that stated that a woman with steel was going to cause the downfall of the kingdom. The men of the time took it pretty seriously, or at least used this as a reason to use as an excuse and made massive changes to their society. See, it was a matriarchal society and the women were the protectors. Imagine being a protector of the realm one moment and then being told you had to give up your steel the next. And not only that, they were downgraded in society as well. Definitely awful. Most of the women left the realm and then that made it even worse because there were not as many protectors of the country. To top things off - well, the dark was expanding and things were breaking through the veil. Evil things.

In the middle of all of this, we are introduced to Althea who has had dreams of becoming a protector her entire life. She and her sister are orphans who were left at the steps of Thezmarr as babies. She is extremely talented and has been training on her own and has even found a way to own some of the "forbidden steel" - unbeknownst to anyone but her sister.

The top tier of Protectors are called WarSwords (or something like that) and they are the only ones who can carry a sacred type of steel that can kill things from the dark. Unfortunately, there are only 3 of these warriors left. And things are getting scary.

So- Althea meets Wilder Hawthorne (one of the 3 protectors) and they are like oil and water. She is caught with her steel and the story starts from there. Due to some crazy circumstances, she is able to petition the Kings to be able to train to become a protector and things get really, really interesting.

There is non stop action (and drama), and we begin to realize that Althea has more to her than anyone knew. Unfortunately, we find this out at the very end of the book and there is one heck of a cliffhanger.

The book is really good. There is a compelling storyline, a great cast of secondary characters (Althea's friends are awesome), and a mystery that just demands to be unraveled.

So- now the wait begins for Book 2. Bummer.....

Thank you to NetGalley for the opportunity to read and review this ARC. The opinions above are mine and mine alone.

This book really checked all my favorite trope boxes.

I loved this wild ride that Thea took us on. Loved her stubbornness and her shear determination and will. She knows what she wants and then she goes after it. I loved seeing her cockiness then her struggle when she learned she needed more training.

Wilder. Oh man. I loved getting his POV.

Malik and Dax were so much fun and I loved their connection. Especially the protectiveness that Dax extended to Thea.

I really enjoyed Mollie Stark and all her range. She nailed each character perfectly. Especially Seb because I cringed every time he was talking.. and if you know his character you would feel the same way.

Sebastian Grove narrated all of Wilder's POV chapters and enjoyed seeing all the passion and emotions in his voices.

Blood and Steel is book one in Helen Scheuerer's series, The Legend of Thezmarr. I have recently listened to an audio ARC of Slaying the Shadow Prince by the same author, and I am so glad I listened to Blood and Steel second. If you're wondering what order you should read, definitely read Blood and Steel after STSP!

I had such a lovely time listening to this audio ARC - thanks so much to the author, Dreamscape Media, and NetGalley for providing this to me in exchange for my honest and unbiased review.

What I loved:
- Thea and Wilder have SUCH GOOD CHEMISTRY!! god, I want so much more of them, I adore them so much.
- The entire cast of characters were so much fun and fit together so well with the plot.
- Thea took feminism and shoved it up the Guild's ass! I love her values, morals, tenacity, and drive. She is such a well-rounded character and I had the best time experiencing her character arc.
- The plot twists! What the hell!!!!!! (affectionally)

This is where I'd put room for improvement, but I don't have any :)

Overall, I completely adored Blood and Steel and I will definitely be continuing this series!

I really enjoyed this book. The world building is very digestible and the characters are fantastic. The plot moved forward and kept me interested.

I found myself very invested in Thea's growth and character development. She lives in a world that used be forge great female warriors, however due to a prophecy all women have been forced into submission, to hand over their weapons and live in a world fraught with misogyny. But Thea has dreams of becoming a warrior to fight and defend her people and land. Once Thea finally gets what she wants she is quickly humbled into realizing she requires a lot more hard work and dedication to reach her goals.

There are so many well written characters, themes of team work, friendship and determination with plenty of overcoming hardship and challenges. The romance plot is perfectly balanced with the plot and other character relationships. The tension between Thea & Wilder is great and I love that he encourages her to work hard to be better rather than coddling her.

The audiobook narrators were easy to listen to and didn't lose my attention. Their pace was good for someone who listens at an increased speed.

I feel like this book checked all the boxes for what I'm looking for in an adult romantasy.

Blood & Steel is an amazing book worth reading, or listening to.
The narration of both FMC Althea and MMC Hawthorne was absolutely brilliant and I loved every minute of it.
The tension between the main characters was great and a lovely touch to the story in its entirety.
If you love a good fantasy with a slight hint of spice, some romance and strong characters I promise, you’ll love this one.

A huge thanks to Dreamscape for giving me the opportunity to listen to this book, I absolutely devoured it!

Okay y’all do not sleep on this series! It has all the things we love in what’s going to be an epic romantasy series- I’m calling it now!

Thea has wanted to be a warrior her whole life, with the limited time she has left- she sets out to do just that. Insert Wilder, the arrogant warsword who is thrust into this journey with Thea. Their instant chemistry, denial and banter gave me butterflies. I love that Thea isn’t a gentle FMC but also realizes she has much to learn and grow! The plot and writing was well paced with just enough hints at the growing storm (👀) but with enough twists that the last 100 pages are excruciating to put down! It really zapped me at the end ⚡️

What you can expect:

Found family
Banter
Arrogant, broody MMC
Strong, stubborn FMC
Coming war
Magical world
Hidden identity and powers
🌶️🌶️

This is a must read for my romantasy book besties!

I absolutely ate this up! I'm so glad I got more of wilder in this book, he was a favorite in Slaying the Shadow Prince! If you like Sarah J Maas, Jennifer l. Armentrout and Rebecca Yarros (some of my favorites) You'll love this one as well!

With her death foretold, Althea Zoltaire only has three years to become what she’s always dreamed of being: a warrior legend. Women are forbidden to wield blades, so she has trained in secret her entire life. Now racing against the clock, she fights to secure her place in the elite guild charged with the protection of the five kingdoms.

The sparring and hazing of the new trainees border on deadly, but even more dangerous is her growing attraction to Wilder Hawthorne, her unwilling warrior chaperone. All around them, schemes are afoot and darkness looms.

Will Althea pass the perilous initiation test and take her place as a champion of Thezmarr—or will the invading evil snatch away her dream before it starts?

Thanks to NetGalley & Dreamscape Media for my new obsession!

Blood & Steel
The Legends of Thezmarr, Book 1
By: Helen Scheuerer
Narrated by: Mollie Stark, Sebastian Grove
Publisher: Dreamscape Media
Length: 14 hrs and 52 mins
Release date: 12-12-23

I absolutely loved this book!
A very entertaining adult fantasy romance

🖤 Strong female MC 🗡
🖤 Slow burn 🔥
🖤 Forbidden romance
🖤 Orphan/lost identity
🖤 Found family and funny side character
🖤 Monsters and magic ☠️🪄
🖤 Prophecy
🖤 Trials and challenges ⚔️

⭐️ 4.5/5 stars!
🌶 Spice 2/5

I absolutely loved this story and the narration.
The story gave a Nordic shield maiden vibe and I was obsessed from the beginning! Thea was such a badsass female protagonist and I loved that she consistently stood her ground even if she made some questionable choices!

I have been meaning to read this book for ages so when I saw the audiobook it seemed like an excellent excuse to bump it up my TBR!

This book did not disappoint! I was invested in the story and the characters from the very start, making all kinds of wild (and not necessarily accurate) predictions about who was who and why people were acting the way they were.

Wilder Hawthorne, just wow. The perfect blend of soft and snarky, we love a moody, broody warrior with a secret soft centre and Wilder ticks all those boxes!

The banter between the main characters, as well as the side characters was just top notch. I loved how fleshed out and multi faceted all the side characters were, they had a real depth to them rather than just being used to move the story along.

If you love romantasy this is an excellent series to start, full of action, adventure, politics, strong females, mysterious evils, high stakes and plenty of swooning and forbidden attraction. I couldn't recommend this book enough and I will never stop being mad at myself for not picking it up sooner!

The narrators did an excellent job bringing all the characters to life, I really enjoyed listening to this book by audio and it was really gripping and felt like I was right there living the story.

Yes! I loved this audiobook so much! I have never read anything by Helen Scheuerer before and it definitely will not be the last! This was such a fun book. I am RUNNING to get the kindle version of the second book because I have to know what happens!

A slow burn romance with a “Who did this to you” thrown in….had me swooning, kicking my feet and giggling. It was a very interesting fantasy world without a ton of world building so it is an easy book to understand if you are new to fantasy.

The narrators did a great job building the tension and portraying the feelings of the characters.

I HIGHLY recommend this book/audiiobook.

Thank you to NetGalley and Dreamscape Media for the audiobook ALC in exchange for an honest review.

As a first entry into the Legends of Thezmarr series, this was very well done. As I was reading, I felt that enough of the world-building, character, and relationships were there to interest me and keep me coming back to it. As an avid mood reader, I can sometimes get taken directly out of the middle of one story and sent into another. But this one kept me invested from beginning to end.

The audiobook was well done, though there were moments when I felt the narrators depicted the same character differently enough that I noticed the discrepancy. Otherwise, I felt they both did an excellent job with all characters. The male narrator stood out to me especially.

Overall, I would recommend this book to anyone who is a fan of the fantasy romance genre. I didn't feel that it did anything new or groundbreaking for the genre, but it was a solidly written fantasy romance overall.

Thank you to NetGalley and Dreamscape Media for an advanced listener copy of this audiobook. All opinions are my own, and I am providing this review voluntarily.

Okay Helen Scheuerer you've got my attention! I've seen Blood & Steel pop up now and then on Booktok and Bookstagram and I've had it on my TBR a while but never felt the urge to dive in. What a mistake. When I got approved for the audio ARC I finally got the kick in the pants I needed.

Althea and her sister Wren were abandoned at Thezmarr when they were children with no memory of their parents. While Wren flourishes at being an alchemist Althea longs to be a Warsword. Unfortunately women are not allowed to have weapons due to a prophecy told twenty years ago. All previous women warriors were stripped of their weapons and forced to do other castle duties or could leave the territory. I'm not sure when the author started writing this but I immediately related the stripping of weapons from these warrior women to the overturning of Roe v. Wade and I was angry for them! When Thea gets caught with a weapon she's sent to speak with the kings to ask permission to train and happens to be escorted by a Warsword named Wilder Hawthorne. He's of course tall dark and handsome and so gruff. Their relationship has a good slow burn build up though the back and forth was a bit annoying. I wanted to shake Wilder and tell him to stop being so stupid.

The secondary characters were fun as well. Kipp and Cal, Wren, Malik, and Torj were all well written and carried depth. The pacing was a bit fast but easy to follow. We are left with a soft cliffhanger and a road block in Wilder and Thea's relationship though I think it will quickly be tossed aside in Book 2, these two are mad for each other. There's so much more I want to know...like what happened with Wilder's mentor, the whole magic thing!, the King feels fishy...something's going on there. This was a really solid romantasy read and I would say the only thing that really irked me was how fast it went, it really doesn't seem like a 500+ page book at all. And I do wish some of the spicy scenes had a bit more patience to them (it seemed like these two just attacked each other each time and I wanted them to slow down a bit and create a bit of tension if that makes sense).

I was blessed to receive an ALC of Blood and Steel and it was quite enjoyable. Mollie Stark and Sebastian Grove were new to me as narrators but I thought they both did a great job. Their pacing was spot on (I listened at my normal 1.25x speed) and there were no unnecessary pauses or over dramatization. Both of their voices were pleasing and easy to listen to.

I really enjoyed Blood & Steel and can't wait to get into the sequel so I can find out what happens next! Thank you so much to Dreamscape Media for providing me with an ALC via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review!