This book was… okay for me. I’m a sucker for forced proximity and shadow daddies, so that immediately caught my attention. And vampires? Say less. All of the male characters were top notch. However, the FMC and her bff were kind of insufferable. They were completely immature and could have easily been portrayed in a YA book. In absolutely did not like either of them.

The editing is not great. I thought there were A LOT of issues with the use of past and present tense, the author definitely couldn’t decide which they wanted to use. There was a lot of jumping between old things and new things- oh there’s only candle light and oil lamps but somehow we know what zippers and reclaimed wood tables are…? Kind of weird. There’s absolutely zero use of contractions which made the whole thing seem kind of clunky and distracting. I’m bummed because I didn’t really get the whole Hades/Persephone vibe.

Thank you to NetGalley and Karolina Wilde for a copy of Masters of Blood.

The premise of this story is good, if you like forced proximity romantasy. However, the author needs a better editor. The book is supposed to be written in past tense, but occasionally present tense sneaks in. There are some weird phrases and comma splices. These collectively happened often enough to draw me out of the story. There are also some interesting choices in regards to modern amenities (zippers exist?) and vocabulary. The characters use the word "like" the way a millennial would. Despite this, the author doesn't often use contractions, making the dialogue choppy.

The FMC and her best friend act as though they would belong in a high school setting. The MMC sees the FMC and instantly decides he wants her, alliances and wars be d*mned. I don't necessarily mind that, but some people may not like the insta-love trope.

I ended up DNF-ing at 20% when the FMC and her best friend have an extremely childish fight/conversation.

I received this from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review. This is book 1 in Lethal love series. I did enjoy this take on Beauty and the Beast. It was a pretty good read. I wasn't sure I was going to like it but it did get better as the story went on. I am looking forward to the next one.

OMG, this book had me feeling all the feels! I swear, I have this thing where every ARC I request turns out to be like a 2-star read (but I keep doing it, LOL). So, when I got accepted for this, I didn't expect much, but holy moly, was I blown away! This book had it all— the setting, the plot, and OMG, the way their love bloomed, it just melted my heart! And don't even get me started on the characters, especially my girl Anika! I'm legit attached to this world now, it's insane! This book took me on an emotional rollercoaster—I went from being mad to feeling all the sympathy, then I was laughing my head off, then crying, then swooning, and now I'm just a puddle of emotions. The romance was everything, and the spice, oh boy, it was perfect! I can't even put into words how much I loved it, but seriously, mark your calendars for May 7th, 2024, 'cause you gotta read this one! You're seriously missing out if you don't!

TROPES:
⤷ Hades x Persephone Retelling
⤷ Arranged Marriage
⤷ Vampire King x Stolen Princess
⤷ Forced Proximity
⤷ Political Court Intrigue
⤷ Dark High-Fantasy Setting
— Genre’s: Adult, Fantasy, Romance

NON-SPOILER PLOT SUMMARY: Princess Levana Rhazien, heir to Eziron's throne, never questioned her future. Locked in her father's palace, she tended her gardens, awaiting her fate as queen. But when her father arranges a marriage to another king, she must comply. Yet, her plans unravel when a powerful vampire king kidnaps her during her engagement party. Now, alone in the wintry north, she must navigate a world of bloodthirsty vampires and a determined vampire king, Orion Lothaire, who wants her as his bride, no matter the cost. Survival becomes her only goal.

WRITING: So, this is my first dive into this author's world, and let me tell you, I'm already hooked. There's just something about Karolina Wilde's writing that clicked with me. It's like a breeze, you know? The dialogue is top-notch, filled with banter that's just *chef's kiss*, and don't even get me started on the swoon-worthy lines Orion drops on Levana. Seriously, I was highlighting like crazy because every line was gold. And speaking of pacing, it was spot on. Not too slow, not too fast, just right. And let's talk spice. Normally, I steer clear of it because it can get so cringy, but here, it felt natural and genuine. Sure, there were some grammar and spelling hiccups, but hey, it's an ARC. Overall, loved the writing, can't wait to dive into more of Wilde's stuff.

LEVANA (FMC): Orion’s got this nickname for her, “sunshine,” and let me tell you, it fits perfectly. Levana's like a ray of sunshine, stuck in a castle with her less-than-stellar parent, surrounded by her plants and furry pals, and most importantly, her ride-or-die bestie, Anika. Then along comes Orion, shaking things up in her world. Levana's character growth? Insane. She goes from this delicate princess everyone walks all over to this fierce queen who's like, “I’m done with pleasing everyone.” It’s a vibe. Sure, she can be stubborn, and okay, maybe a tad idiotic (who shows up to a royal meeting NAKED just to get a rise out of Orion?), but man, I love her. She's sweet, deserving of all the happiness, and just lights up any room she walks into. Protect her at all costs, 'cause she's a gem.

ORION (MMC): Alright, brace yourselves 'cause I gotta let it out: HE'S SO FREAKIN' HOT! Whew, feels good to say that. Seriously though, what's up with authors making the "bad guy" so irresistibly attractive? Orion's the whole package—sexy, sweet, a little rough around the edges but gentle when it counts. He's got sass, he's hilarious, powerful, protective, and let me tell you, he'd go to extreme lengths to protect HIS Levana, HIS sunshine, HIS queen. Can we just take a moment to appreciate him? This man could ask me to do anything, and I'd be like, "Sure thing, no questions asked." Okay, okay, I need to chill, but can you really blame me? I'm head over heels for this guy. He treats Levana like a queen, showers her with the most swoon-worthy gestures. I mean, he literally built her a greenhouse because he knows how much she loves plants and has always dreamed of having one! Like, come on, that's perfection right there. I need more Orion in my life, like, now. He's officially on my never-ending list of book boyfriends.

THEIR ROMANCE: DESTINED, CONNECTED, MADE FOR EACH OTHER! These two are everything, I swear. Their love is like a lifeline when everything feels like it’s falling apart. It’s just… breathtaking. Their playful banter, the way their love blossomed from the very start to where they are now—it’s been a journey, a rollercoaster, but they made it. From enemies to this unbreakable bond they share, it’s nothing short of beautiful. They’re like the perfect match, the beauty and the beast, all rolled into one. The way Orion loves Levana, the way Levana understands Orion—it’s pure magic. Honestly, to be loved like that, to be understood like that, it’s the most precious thing in the world.

IN CONCLUSION, CAN YOU TELL I'M OBSESSED WITH THIS BOOK? It's like everything I've been craving after crawling out of my reading slump. It even reignited my love for writing reviews—I was starting to lose interest, but this book got me back in the game. I'm seriously attached to these characters. August can't come soon enough for the second book—I'm already counting down the days. This book deserves all the hype and more once it officially drops on May 7th, 2024. Seriously, everyone needs to read it ASAP. Major love for the author and everything about this book. I just can't get enough of it.

The premise of this book was incredibly intriguing. A retelling of Hades and Persephone involving a vampire and a princess? Yes please! Unfortunately, the execution fell short. The authors writing style was a struggle for me. She kept using phrases that would've fit better in a contemporary novel, they pulled me out of the fantasy. The names of the characters felt over the top in terms of their personalities, especially her parents. Levana felt very childish and I struggled to engage with her. Obviously, this was an ARC, but I hope that before publication it had some grammar editing done. There are a lot of good reviews on Goodreads, I think this book was just not meant for me.
Thank you Netgalley for the ARC!

I very much enjoyed reading this book. When I wasn’t reading, I caught myself thinking about the characters and WISHING I was reading. To me, that’s always the sign of a good story. I loved the pacing of the story and the banter between the characters. I also appreciated that the storyline kept me on my toes.

Thank you NetGalley for the ARC of this book. This review is my honest opinion.

This book has great “bones” but there are a few things that broke the magic of the story.

First, the good:
I enjoy forced proximity romance, I don’t know why- but it is my guilty pleasure. Kidnap a girl at her engagement dinner? Yes, please. There is plenty of romantic tension a political intrigue to keep a girl up at night reading until the wee hours. The interaction between our main character and Orion, excellent. I really enjoyed these aspects of the story.

Things I did not enjoy- Orion ALWAYS smirking…..I wish he had a different expression. He smirked so much, it became a distraction to an otherwise fantastic story. The other issue was the fact our heroine was kind of a brat. Yes, I know she was abducted from her engagement and taken against her will- but for 200 or so pages she was a jerk, just to be a jerk. At every turn Orion is trying to demonstrate that he has her best interest at heart, and she allows intimacies then for no reason I can see, turns on him and just acts like a brat. He continually has patience and makes allowance for this behavior. Then, out of nowhere, she decides she loves him and stops with the theatrics. It was a little jarring, and didn’t feel “real”. It was more aggravating than endearing.

All in all, I enjoyed the book and it was an original idea. I really liked Orion, not so much Levana. She could have been a wonderful heroine, but just left me a little aggravated at her immaturity. This book is worth the read, and could be GREAT, but only warranted three stars because of the aforementioned things I didn’t enjoy much.

Princess Levana knew that one day she'd be married off to someone to benefit her kingdom, so she's not surprised when she becomes betrothed to the only other human king in the realm. What Levana doesn't know is that the vampire king Orion is about to steal her away from her engagement party and force her to journey with him to his kingdom to be his bride.

There have been a lot of Hades/Persephone retellings, but I hadn't seen one with vampires, so I was excited. I was also thrilled to see that Masters of Blood was standalone - don't get me wrong, I love my sprawling series, but it can be very frustrating to wait for new books to come out. This book seemingly had a lot going for it...sadly, I DNF. The grammar and (or?) syntax was wacky, and I just could not get into the book. Karolina Wilde may want to seek a new editor.

“Masters of Blood,” by Karolina Wilde

Princess Levana Rhazien is daughter to one of the most powerful rulers in the kingdom. Her father arranges a marriage for her to the last human king available, Eziron. She knows she must do what her father wants and hopes for the best. Until she is kidnapped by the vampire king Orion Lothaire. He is determined to wed her regardless of it starting a war.

I loved loved loved this book. True enemies to lovers relationship and gave me everything I wanted from a dark fantasy type book. There is nothing I wish was different, it was solid the entire way through. Its spicy with tension and some light BDSM themes. I loved the main characters and all the supporting characters, all of them were written well and I was so invested in their lives. I cannot wait for book two. One of the best books I’ve read this year, 5 out of 5 stars.

-Shadow Daddy
-Vampires
-Kidnapped
-Royalty
-Enemies To Lovers

Thank you for the ARC, Netgalley.

I appreciate the opportunity to read this but this one is unfortunately a DNF for me.

I'm sure (hope?) it's because it's an ARC but it seems it could have gone through another round of editing. There were several grammatical and spelling errors that were distracting.

Enemies to lovers is one of my favorite tropes but the part I read before DNFing always felt forced. They were seemingly always engaged in one of two F verbs and not actually much plotwise.

I received the book from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. Thanks for the book!


This was a cute standalone fantasy book. I had picked it up for the plot, we love a steamy vampire fantasy book, with a shadow daddy to come and pick us up!

The story was predictable. The plot was very simple, and sadly, the ending was not what I would have wanted it to be. I feel like the ending was very fast in comparison to the whole development of the relationship between both main characters.

The language was very pretty, but must I say at some parts repetitive. The characters were different from each other and also well built. Even though the FMC could have been smarter at the very beginning. At some spots, she was just embarrassing herself, and she thought it was bravery. It's also a cliché trope, that the FMC never rebels her whole life and then out of the hat starts to have an attitude. The transition was missing. Nevertheless, I liked her characters and her brave and curious spirit.

The world building was also suprlerficial, only mended together to give sense to the reader where the FMC was taken and what the few other different kingdoms were. That could have been more accurate and deep, but in comparison to the book's length, it was sufficient. Otherwise, it would have taken way more space than the story itself.

Overall, I enjoyed it very much. There was a lot of description of food and nature, things I love very much. That also made it different from other fantasy books that only have war, injustice, and cruelty as the main topics. This was a light fantasy.

So this book as a whole caught me off guard. I wasn’t sure what all I was signing up for when I got to the page about trigger warnings. I was a little scared to proceed 😂

However, this book exceeded expectations and delivered a non-stop ride from start to finish. It was set in a beautiful fantasy realm where humans and vampires coexist as members of “The Coalition,” basically a peace treaty that ensures no war between the two species.
At a meeting of the rulers of the land, vampire King Orion sees human princess Levana and decides she is the one for him, even though she is betrothed to another. On the night of her engagement party, Orion whisks Levana away and takes her to his castle of night.
Furious, confused, and afraid, Levana plots her escape and spends her nights hating the King who kidnapped her.
However, as she finds it harder and harder to hate him, the world around them is thrown into chaos. War is imminent, alliances are formed, and the future is uncertain. Will King Orion and Levana see through their differences, or will their choices doom the world.
This sexy, hot, dark, and witty book surprised me. I wasn’t expecting the touching character development or the intriguing plot. Levana and Anika’s friendship was the sweetest thing ever and I just loved it. Made me miss my best friend!
It had a bit of a will-they-won’t-they element as well as some of the following tropes
- he fell first
- vampires
- enemies to lovers
- kidnapped
- special powers
- found family
I think it was a great read and a great story. I gave it 4/5 because some of the dialog in the second half of the book just didn’t flow very naturally and felt a bit clunky.
Also, the spice meter is at least a 4/5. The spicy scenes left me blushing and rapidly turning the pages. Definitely explicit and graphic so wouldn’t recommend for readers under 18+.

This book was amazing I was hooked as soon as the princess dismissed the vampire king when he had only said 2 words to her. The book was very well throughout I do think there were just a few typos but it was not hard to figure out the word that was supposed to be there. It’s thrilling and a great story. I cannot wait for the next book! I will definitely be adding these to my shelf. I don’t want to give any spoilers but this book is a great read! Forced proximity, bdsm blood play (of course it’s vampires) always check your triggers but it was great. A great Hades and Persephone retelling! “She’s worth starting a war for” ❤️

The mmc uses his hands a lot for a shadow daddy 😒

I really enjoyed the book, I liked the premise and the plot. It did say “me and name” a lot (rather than “name and i”) which was fine at first but got a bit distracting.

Masters of Blood is set in a world of humans and vampires living in what appears to be peace between the species and territories of the Kingdom. As with any world where differences are clear, and power struggles are obvious, the concept of peace is on the verge of collapsing. The world that Karolina Wilde has created in this series opens the book up to many possibilities of variety and adventure, but the character development, plot and severe grammatical errors made this book really hard for me to get through. I did finish though, just in case!

The main female character, Levana, was quite shallow and prissy. Perhaps she was designed this way, but I found her character hard to like for this reason. Her feelings shifted from hating Orion to loving him in a very short space of time. Orion on the other hand seemed overly affectionate from the get-go. It left the typical 'enemies-to-lovers' plot line almost non-existent because I could see where it was going from the start, but neither character created a sense of more than skin-deep affection.

The spelling mistakes were so abundant that I wonder if this was edited? Or if Netgalley provided a copy that hasn't been checked over by anyone?

Overall, I didn't enjoy this book due to shallow nature of the main characters, the anti-climactic love development and the repetitive spelling mistakes. I'm sorry, this was a 1 star rating for me.

Levana describes herself as nothing special. King Orion disagrees and snatches her away to become his wife. Political turmoil ensues. Honestly, this was difficult to read at some times because what editor approved this version? There are many typos and grammatical errors that need to be fixed. The way the characters speak to one another jumps from super stiff to relaxed. There was one point in the book that the author realized she could curse in this book, did it all on one page, then carried on like nothing had happened. Levana and Orion’s love story is semi-sweet but the romance and chemistry isn’t built well enough to be believable by the end of the book. The smut is smutting though. That might be the one redeemable quality. And Anika. Would love more of Anika and Lestat (really??) and Saxon. Please fix the grammar errors.

I really had high hopes for this book considering it was my first ARC. I was so excited when I saw that I got accepted for it. However, I had to dnf about half way in. I think the story could be great and I wanted to love it but unfortunately, all of the grammar, spelling and writing issues caused me to not finish it. I saw that several other reviewers had the same issue as well. I hope that these mistakes can be fixed before it gets published! Here are some things that I did like that lead me to giving it a 2-star:
- the friendship between Levana and Anika.
- the found family feeling between King Orion and his friends.
- sort of a hades/persephone retelling
Overall, the book seemed a little rushed and could have used more world-building. I think the book idea is great but needs some work. I am willing to try this author out again!

Levana , a human, is being forced to marry a king but finds herself being kidnapped by King Orion. King Orion is the king of vampires. He ends up taking Levana’s hand in marriage and through the book she is adjusting to her new life and all the dangers that comes with it. She tries to run from Orion but over time she began me to understand him and develop a liking towards him.

This book was really good and filled with dark and sexy vibes. The overall plot, world building and characters were fantastic.

3.5 stars.
Overall I enjoyed this book! There was sooo much packed into it. Princess Levana is engaged to a King when she is abducted from her engagement party by the Vampire King, Orion. Forced to marry him - Levana tries to escape him every chance she can
- when she realizes that he isn't the bad guy and saves her from a fate much worse.
I loved her friendship with Anika & like the found family feel with Lestat & Saxon. I think the author did a great job with her imagery and paints a dark and gothic world really well. I definitely would recommend if you like vampire books/hades & Persephone retellings!

Thanks to NetGalley for providing the eARC of 'Masters of Death' by Karolina Wilde in exchange for my honest review 💫

"𝑆ℎ𝑒 𝑖𝑠 𝑤𝑜𝑟𝑡ℎ 𝑠𝑡𝑎𝑟𝑡𝑖𝑛𝑔 𝑎 𝑤𝑎𝑟 𝑓𝑜𝑟."

Masters of Death is a fantastical romantic retelling of Hades and Persephone, but with seductive, yet dangerous Vampires, with political court intrigue in a dark high-fantasy setting.

What I liked best in the book was the genuine friendship between Anika and Levana (can Anika have her own book?). But let's talk about the 'When I saw her I immediately knew I loved her' and 'I'm gonna run away cause I hate it here, but then I run back to you and then hate you and then love you again'. It seems not so realistic (it's fantasty/romantasy I know) but still. In my opinion the book had been better if there was some more depth in Orion and Levana their relationship.

One of the lesser points in the book were the grammatical errors and repetitive sentences/words. It made the book less interesting too read, which is actually very sad, cause the book is good and has a lot of potential!

Tropes:
💫 High Fantasy
🧛🏻‍♂️ Vampires
💍 Arranged Marriage
🌸 Hades and Persephone retelling
🩶 Shadow Daddy

Ratings:
3⭐️/5
2🌶/5