Levana has grown up in an unloving, controlling environment where she was something to be used as a pawn. It was amazing watching her journey to finally showing what she feels and acting out on it. The scence where she meets the council was priceless. There were times I really just wanted to shake her. In the end I loved the growth she went through and who she evolved into being.

Orion falls for her first and isn't going to let her go. He is so patient and understanding waiting for Levana. I mean he is ruthless and deadly but that is besides the point :)

This is a great romance with violence and really well done spicy scenes. I normally can get through a book this size in a day or two, with this one I had to slow down and really enjoy the ride. This had all the feels.

Hmmm! A vampire husband huh? I would love me some of that! Masters of Blood is a romantasy about the young princess Levana and the young, by vampiric standards, king Orion. The king falls immediately in love when he first lays eyes upon her, and decides to take action in order to stop the upcoming nuptials between her and Nikolas, the king of a neighboring realm.

And so the story begins. Some of the early advances of our beloved king Orion, that occur in the beginning of the story would definitely be considered toxic and criminal offenses in the real world, but in the romantic fantasy novels we turn a blind eye! It is a very cute love story, with heartwarming expressions of love like decapitating anyone who would be a potential threat, spicy scenes that would make you jealous but also happy about the lovers, and no boring chapters in between.

Even though I read it in 2 days time, I stumbled upon constant repetition of words and phrases like smirked smiles, rolling eyes, curling toes, cupping body parts etc, and the writing in general was not very profound. Also, at the start of the story I could not understand her attraction towards the king...no spoilers here, just my thoughts.

The love story is very cute (even though not that original), and I would really want to learn more about the princess’ best friend, Anika! I look forward to the second book of the series, hopefully with a tab more refined writing.

If you loved the ACOTAR universe, if you are crazy about an enemies to lovers vibe, if you think that a Vampire could teach you how to live (Orion definitely can, by the way), you will definitely enjoy this book!

2.5 stars!

I made it through the book, hoping it might get a bit better (it did) but the writing was not that great in my opinion. It's a small thing, but the lack of contractions used in the writing made a lot of the conversations feel very stilted and awkward (do not vs. don't would have made a HUGE difference in some places, for example). The world and the characters were really cool, but not fleshed out enough to have that emotional resonance. The characters had connections, but the big moments never felt earned, and I found myself wishing to be more connected to them.

The idea of a human and a vampire Hades/Persephone story had me so excited, and I would love to see more like this but hopefully just a little more fleshed out!

This is my honest review upon reading the ARC

2.5 stars

Not sure if this book was my cup of tea or even written for me but i definitely know there’s an audience for it. I went in expecting a romantasy with a plot that equals the romance and while there is a plot there I just don’t think it was that strong which is totally fine but that’s what I look for in the romantasy books i typically read.

im not a huge fan of insta lust/love so it took me a while to get into it given that they kissed not even 10% into the book.
There was times that the dialogue was a little iffy and it didn’t feel like an organic conversation was taken place.

the side characters were actually interesting and I found myself more intrigued when they showed up they were written well and had lots of personality.

The writing was also strong it’s very obvious that the author is a fantastic writer and has immense talent I’m just not sure that this book was ultimately for me.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for sending me this arc

If you like books that keep you on your toes, you will not be disappointed with this one. I really wanted to read this in one go, but had to split it between two days. All I can say is go into this one blind. Have zero expectations and let this author take you for a ride.

Dark romance, vampires yes and yes!! Gothic vibes. Hades and Persephone retelling one of my favorite so far.

Really enjoyed the story line and can’t wait for book 2!

4 stars. I've definitely read stuff with similar vibes but this was definitely good. Was not at all expecting what happened at the end, it was definitely refreshing tho. The dialog was a bit stinted in some parts. Anika has her priorities straight and I love that for her. The worldbulding was meh, but I loved the descriptions of the like individual rooms, gave me a very clear picture of the setting which I love. Saxon and Lestat slayed, Orion also did but tbh I liked his friends more than him. Was definitely smuttier than I thought it would be.