Rebecca Robinson’s The Serpent and the Wolf is an incredible romantasy debut packed with high-stakes political intrigue, a unique magic system, and a slow-burn enemies-to-lovers romance that fans of Raven Kennedy and Thea Guanzon will adore.

The story starts with a gripping and unique beginning that immediately draws you in, and it maintains its momentum all the way to the shocking twist at the end. Vaasa and Reid’s relationship is a highlight—watching them slowly build trust and eventually fall in love was deeply satisfying. Robinson perfectly balances their romantic development with the tense political machinations surrounding them.

The magic system is another standout feature, with its fascinating covens of witches and their varied powers. I was particularly drawn to Vaasa’s personal struggle with her dark magic and her emotional journey. Her vulnerability—her fight to believe she is worthy of love and acceptance—was both heartbreaking and healing to witness.

Rebecca Robinson has crafted a stunning and captivating romantasy that will leave readers eager for more. I can’t wait to see where this series goes next! Highly recommend this book to fans of emotional, character-driven fantasy romance.

The Serpent and the Wolf by Rebecca Robinson is the first book in the Dark Inheritance Trilogy. This is the story of Vaasa and Reid.
 
Vaasa grows up in a patriarchal world and she is sick of it and has a lot of rage inside of her. But that isn’t the only thing, and she also has a dark magic that goes more out of control with each day. And I absolutely loved how her magic was described as a snake and the writing style in general is absolutely beautiful. I highlighted so many quotes and passages and it’s very vivid and just engaging. I also loved how she gets to explore her magic and becomes even stronger because of it. Vaasa is a strong and fearless woman who asserts herself in this world and she’s such an inspiration and new favorite book character.
 
Her brother married her off to Reid who is a political enemy, and he couldn’t care less about his sister. Reid is a male character that stands out in this book, and he works very hard to prove himself and to follow his dreams. I adore him and his mother was such a cool character as well.
 
This book is the prime example why I love arranged marriage stories because Vaasa and Reid‘s banter was on point and all their interactions only intensified with each page. And don‘t get me started on all the my wife moments who were to die for. I loved Vaasa and Reid and they became such a good team. The plot was intriguing and a rollercoaster of emotions and I couldn’t put this amazing book down. And that ending. OMG. I can’t wait for the next book and need it like now.
 
The Serpent and the Wolf is a new favorite romantasy and I highly recommend it. 5 stars.
 
(Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for providing me with an arc.)

Title: The Serpent and the Wolf
Author:  Rebecca Robinson
Genre: Fantasy  
Rating: 5 out of 5

All her life, Vaasa Kozár has been sharpened into a blade.

After losing her mother—her only remaining parent—to a mysterious dark magic that has since awakened within her, Vaasa is certain death looms. So is her merciless brother, who aims to eliminate Vaasa as a threat to his crown. In one last political scheme, he marries her off to Reid of Mireh, a ruthless foreign ruler, in hopes that he can use her death as a rallying cry to finally invade Reid’s nation. All Vaasa has to do is die.

But she is desperate to live. Vaasa enters her new marriage with every intent to escape it, wielding the hard-won political prowess and combat abilities her late father instilled in her. But to her surprise, Reid offers her a deal: help him win the votes to rise in power, and she can walk free. In exchange, he will share his knowledge about the dark magic running through her veins—and help keep it at bay.

This proposal may be too good to refuse, yet Vaasa and Reid’s undeniable attraction threatens to break the rules of their arrangement. As her brother’s lethal machinations take form, everything is at stake: Vaasa must learn to trust her new husband, but how can she, especially when their perfect political marriage begins to feel like the real thing?

I was hooked from the very first scene. That’s when the action started, and it never let up. So much political intrigue! My brain just doesn’t work this way, with all the twists and turns and backstabbing, but it was fascinating to watch. I loved how the trust and emotion slowly grew between Vaasa and Reid as they got to know each other, and they genuinely started to care for each other. I loved all of this and can’t wait to read more.

Rebecca Robinson is a school administrator. The Serpent and the Wolf is her newest novel.

(Galley courtesy of Sage Press in exchange for an honest review.)

(Blog link live 11/28.)

Outstanding debut! This should be among the top 10 romantasy novels for the year! Fantastic world building & political drama, unique bloodline magics, arranged marriage, hate to love slowburn with angry fmc and protective cinnamon roll mmc. Twist at the end I did not see coming. I could not put this book down! I can’t wait to read what happens next!

Thanks to S&S/Saga Press for the gifted copy of this book!

About the book: Vaasa Kozár lost her mother to a dark & mysterious magic - a magic that also lives in her. When her brother marries her off to to Reid of Mireh, a ruthless foreign ruler, he hopes that it will be the end of Vaasa and the threat she poses to his crown. But we all know how enemies-to-lovers storylines go ;)

My review: An absolutely perfect romantasy read, and I am SO happy that this is the start of a trilogy! This book was full of political intrigue, betrayal, adventure, power dynamics, and female rage, but also had fantastic romance lines like "Dance with me like lovers do" and "You have grown my capacity for hope." The magic system was so well done, and adapted to the storyline so incredibly well. I love how all the elements balanced each other to just create a really engaging and unique story that I can't wait to dive back into! (Because OMG that ending?!)

YES, yes, 1000 times, yes! Only thing that perturbs me is that the second book was given SUCH a good set up and it isn't even out yet! Love the energy, the dialogue, the banter, the hefty amount of politics - all were chefs kiss, superb, excelente, etc. etc. You get the picture. The character arcs are my favorite; I love to see growth of each of our FMC and MMC and this book did just that. Jot this down as your next read if you're a fan of the political side of fantasy as well as romance, I swear you'll be happy you did.

Only just a few nit picky side note types of things - a map would have been a huge helpful tool to have; in my arc read I didn't have one and there were a lot of references to places and moving political pieces which while I could picture in my head, would have been way cooler if I'd had something to reference to. Also, I thought Mathjin was the levelheaded one? That was kind of out of left field, I felt like it was plausible but sort of a stretch. Even though there were times where he was by Reid's side, he was still a bit of a flat character in my mind.

PS - I commend this author immensely on the imagery!!! Holy crow, it was like poetry in motion! I could not put this book down if my life depended on it. Immediate 5 stars over on Goodreads, this was well deserved.

Came for Reid of Mireh, fell to KNEES for the Veragi Coven ✨🐺🗡️

I am OBSESSED with this book. The perfect fucking slow burn where the feelings hit hard and the payout was nice, but let me tell you about THE SIDE CHARACTERS!!!!
Female friendship forming before romance? ✅
A strong group of women making an outsider feel accepted for the first time in her life? ✅
Diverse representation of races and sexual orientations? ✅
Complex and interesting family lore? ✅
Men who respect women and see them as equals? ✅
this is easily one of my top fantasy reads of the year, the magic was unique, the political system was interesting but understandable, and the twists lasted until the end!

Extremely hard to get into a new book when it felt there was no context to why we are here in the first place.

This story could have spent 15-20 pages just introducing us to the FMC. Who she is, who is the man she is marrying and why. Instead we are just thrown into a scene as to no context why we are there. I didn't feel like I got to know the character at all. Then in the next chapter....its three months later.

No real world or character world building and just didn't capture my interest.

So, I DNF'd this one.

The Serpent and the Wolf by Rebecca Robinson
-The Dark Inheritance Trilogy, Book 1-

4.5/5⭐️
1/3🌶️ (spice)
2/3🦋 (swoon)

•My Thoughts•
I LOVED this! A true slow burn romance and all the political intrigue and scheming that fantasy does so well. I loved both of our MCs and the way they grew as individuals. Vaasa was prickly and her journey to discover she was so much more than her upbringing was incredible. Reid was swoony and patient. I loved learning all of his sides - a cinnamon roll who knows how to protect his people is such a great combo. The found family was absolutely heartwarming. I thought the world building was well done and easy to access making this a good one for all, even those new to the genre! It’s hard to believe this was a debut! I am so excited for the rest of this story and am already ready for book 2, especially with that ending!!!

Thank you to @SagaPressBooks, @netgalley and @rrobinsonwrites for the early copy. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

𝘔𝘶𝘤𝘩 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘯𝘬𝘴 𝘵𝘰 𝘚𝘢𝘨𝘢 𝘗𝘳𝘦𝘴𝘴 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘕𝘦𝘵𝘎𝘢𝘭𝘭𝘦𝘺 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘦𝘈𝘙𝘊 — 𝘢𝘭𝘭 𝘰𝘱𝘪𝘯𝘪𝘰𝘯𝘴 𝘢𝘳𝘦 𝘩𝘰𝘯𝘦𝘴𝘵 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘮𝘺 𝘰𝘸𝘯.

I enjoyed this story beginning to end!

INCREDIBLE world building and magic system! This is perfect for fans of intricate bloodlines, elaborate world building and complex politics, and I’d say a healthy respect for these things is necessary going into this series. Rebecca has done an impressive job of constructing this setting & every part interconnects well — it all feels very well thought-out and it is FUN! But comprehension is required to follow the plot, as the characters, schemes, city-states & lineages are all wrapped up in the political intrigue. The author does a good job of dispersing the info along the storyline to make it easier to digest, but I still found myself a little confused at times, backtracking to reference & eventually jotting notes as I went.

However, this kind of world building is central in some of the best fantasies series.

I was disappointed there was no map. Readers would really benefit from one to help understand the lineages, governances, politics, etc. At the least, a reference key for the main players and/or city-states would be helpful. Perhaps these things will be included in the published book or continuations?

Besides the various political figures with their agendas there are witch covens, each with its own magical abilities & venerated gods from whom they are gifted their powers. Loved this! The covens’ different magic systems were fascinating & varied. Looking forward to how the witches & their precarious relationships with each other will continue to play into this story. Definitely a riveting sub plot!

While political intrigue is a key theme, the love story is certainly not downplayed. It’s an enemies-to-lovers slow burn which grows very organically from a forced marriage into a marriage of convenience and eventually more. Both MCs have deeply ingrained trust issues & undergo lots of character growth as they navigate their arranged marriage, which kept things interesting. I love them together! Great banter & innuendos, also. The MMC, Reid, gives Cassian vibes in all the best ways! And I felt a good connection to Vaasa’s character as she faces down her fears of letting anyone get close to her — intimately or in friendship. She’s tough & cunning, but flawed — not naive.

Kudos to Rebecca for giving this story an intelligent and relatable heroine.

While there are a lot of characters to keep track of, the important ones are all very well developed. Even the minor ones have decent depth. I loved that Rebecca took time to emphasize the relationships Vaasa builds with other FCs in addition to the romance, as it was so important to her character growth — the “found sisterhood” in this is truly an empowering one.

Romance & politics share the center stage, but there’s plenty of violence, action & twists to keep the pace flowing. I don’t think I was ever bored. There’s a couple sizzling spicy scenes. But the rising action, climax & heart rending cliffhanger take the cake. Rebecca ends this book in a way I didn’t expect, I was floored & completely immersed… tears were shed. But I’m certainly committed to this series & it has my full attention!

For a debut novel I was impressed with the writing. The world building was pretty solid, but I think the plot failed to keep me captivated throughout the book. One chapter I would be intrigued and the next I wouldn’t care to keep reading, it just felt a bit choppy to me. I liked the pace of the slow burn in the first 60% but then it sped up so quickly that it felt like there was a sudden jump as well. I wish we got to know Reid more, he almost felt like more like a side character to me. I really loved and preferred the friendship between Vaasa and Amalie and I thought that relationship was special.

Overall this book was fun and the magic interesting, but the romance and mmc felt underdeveloped. There’s a lot of political intrigue so people who prefer that may like this more than I did!

This book pulled me in from the beginning. I loved the political intrigue, the slow-burn, enemies-to-lovers romance, and the magic. This was a great debut and a great introduction to this world and this series. There is so much tension between the FMC and MMC throughout the book. There was a lot that worked so well for me in this book. In the sequel I would love to see more world building. Also, reading the ARC I really wanted to see the map so I am excited to look at it when I can grab a finished copy.

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️💫

Thank you to @sagapressbooks for my copy of the ARC. All thoughts are my own.

the squeal I squelt at the last line

✧ 4.5 stars, complex world building, juicy political intrigue, witch covens with dark magic, and a slow burn forced marriage turned lovers between a bloodthirsty heroine and a consent king.

thank you to saga press for the ebook arc.

I live for an arranged marriage story, especially one where he's so far gone for her and she has her walls up high, and well thats exactly this book. I ate up the political machinations and loved every bit of the 'fake' relationship. I definitely had some confusion about the hierarchy, but the author has a pinned post on her insta that helped me out a lot. The ending definitely hurt, and I'm looking forward to the next book to see what happens next in this world.

I want to thank NetGalley and the publisher Saga Press for this Arc in exchange for my honest review.

This novel is being called a thrilling romantasy. For me, not a reader of romantasy in general, I found the novel quite enjoyable for the political machinations, scheming, surprises and action scenes. For those that like more spice, those readers may be disappointed as there are only a few steamy romance scenes in the novel. But for readers that like a build-up to the spice, then it certainly delivers. Both general fantasy and romantasy readers will find many things to like about this novel.

This is the story of Vaasa Kozár heir to the Asteryan throne. Vaasa has known throughout her life that her life is to be used as a weapon for her people. Her brother, Dominik, the emperor has her married off to a rival family, a family she has been trained during her life to fear and distrust. Dominik believes this marriage will remove Vaasa from his kingdom and believes his sister is an instrument to bring the downfall of this rival kingdom of Icruria.

Vaasa, though, has other plans. With her upbringing, she is strong-willed and flees this marriage, to live her own life and to hopefully find a cure for the black magic she has been inflicted with, a black magic that she believes will kill her, as it did her mother. But Reid, Vaasa’s husband, is not willing to let her go, finds her and makes a deal with her. Vaasa will stay with Reid for three years masquerading as a loving couple to help Reid defeat his political opponents, so he can take the crown. Vaasa will get in return the promise that he will let her use all the resources available to him, including a coven of witches, to help her learn more about this black magic that is festering inside her.

The biggest problem with the novel, go figure, was the romance between Reid and Vaasa. Not to get into too much with spoilers, but it was hard to fathom why Vaasa was so reluctant with building a relationship with Reid. It just seemed like Reid was the perfect mate for Vaasa. I like when my characters are more flawed. On one hand, we have a flawed, complex character in Vaasa, but Reid doesn’t feel that well developed. Also, while readers of romantasy will be happy with the spicey scenes, it is more stimulating to my senses when we leave more to the imagination when it comes to sex scenes.

The cat and mouse and political machinations by the rival families were enjoyable, and the action scenes were exciting and a nice surprise. Also, there is a theme regarding mental health and how traumatic events can eat us from the inside if we let them and how we cope with these emotions adds a little depth to this novel.

And most of all like any good first novel of a fantasy series, the cliffhanger ending, leaves me wanting more. I am glad I gave a novel of a sub-genre, I rarely read a chance. I hope others that are reluctant to read a novel categorized in the romantasy genre give it a try. Like I did. Can’t wait to see where the series goes next.

The Serpent and the Wolf by Rebecca Robinson is an enthralling tale of loyalty, betrayal, and the blurred lines between predator and prey. Robinson’s intricate world-building and sharp dialogue bring the story to life, weaving a tense dynamic between the two titular characters. The plot twists are engaging, though some aspects of the story feel predictable. However, the strength of Robinson’s character development and her ability to craft morally complex relationships make this book a standout in the genre. A gripping read with just enough bite to leave readers hungry for the next chapter. Four stars for a strong, atmospheric debut.

Really great debut and start of a new trilogy! That cliff hanger 😅

Pros: i loved the main character. Vaasa reminded me of Ellsbeth from one dark window and Aelin. Ellsbeth because of the “curse” she has and how she personifies It and her relationship with It. She reminds of Aelin because of how resilient and bad ass she is because of her past, but also cold and afraid to get close with anyone.


Cons: For a romantasy, there’s not a whole lot of romance. So much of the book is world building and political(which isn’t a bad thing). I would have loved a little more dialogue and interactions between the love interests. I wish Reid was more well developed. His reputation is that he’s bad ass, takes no shit, and is knows as the wolf, but the whole book we really only ever saw him as a softie.

Really enjoyed this and definitely will be reading the next one when It comes out! (NetGalley please approve me when that happens please after that cliff hanger)

I am so in love with this book! It hooked me from the beginning and kept me captivated throughout. The twists and turns are fantastic and that ending makes me so excited to continue reading more from this author! 🩷🩷🩷

⭐️ 3.75

I really enjoyed this book! The little twist at the end had me crying! Can’t wait for the second book. Thank you Saga Press for this arc!

You should try this out if you like:
Arranged marriage/marriage of convenience
Political intrigue
Mysterious magic system
Found family
Slow burn
Enemies- to lovers

2.75 stars
This book was a fairly quick and easy read, and I was very much enjoying it at the beginning but steadily lost interest as it went on. In summary, Vaasa, infected with some sort of magic she doesn't understand and fears, is married off to Reid, a foreman and soon to be headman of a rival country. She is uninterested in political power and this initially makes her seem to be Reid's enemy though they quickly progress to reluctant allies and then lovers. The main plot is heavily political, primarily involving the intentions of Vaasa's brother Dominik. I thought I had seen this marketed as more of a romantasy, which is honestly something I don't often read and am still trying to figure out what that genre means and consists of. Many books I've read and loved that are sometimes considered romantasy but I would more consider fantasy with a strong romance subplot include Five Broken Blades, One Dark Window, Emily Wilde, Daughter of the Moon Goddess, Daughter of the Pirate King, etc. For the start of the book I thought this was going to be more solidly romantasy and primarily motivated by the romance plot, which I was actually quite enjoying, but it turned out to be more of a fantasy romance, where the main plot was the political situation, and the romance was more of a subplot. This was actually surprisingly unfortunate for me, even though I typically love a romance subplot, because I was uninterested and a little confused by the main plot. I don't know if I was too dumb to understand the political landscape or if I just didn't care since elements of the writing, world-building, and character development weren't grabbing me, but I did not find the main political plot compelling. Other books with strong political plots that I have enjoyed in contrast include The Cruel Prince, The Mirror Visitor series, and the aforementioned Five Broken Blades and One Dark Window. This book felt both too exposition heavy and yet also lacking in clarity of world-building and character motivations. I didn't feel I knew most of the characters very well or could distinguish them from each other or understood their decisions. Vaasa as a main character felt flat to me. I quite liked Reid as a male love interest, but other than that I felt little about most characters. There's an attempt at showing Vaasa's character development throughout the book that involves things I'd typically like, but felt too telling rather than showing to me and wasn't convincing. Additionally, the writing style was sometimes trying to be fairly flowery, but it didn't feel natural to me and it wasn't consistent. I have enjoyed flowery writing from Leigh Bardugo, the aforementioned Daughter of the Moon Goddess and One Dark Window, Roshani Chokshi, and Carnivale of Curiosities, but in this book it didn't work for me. Lastly, as I've mentioned the world-building didn't really work for me. For example, I didn't really understand what the Veragi magic was or how it worked or what it did; the descriptions of Vaasa's magic were typically fairly vague, which might work for folks who like the writing style more and the general vibes, but just frustrated me. In some ways, this book reminded me of The Shadows Between Us, which was another book I was disappointed by. I absolutely think that there are people who will love this book, and I have seen positive reviews and reception. I didn't hate the book; I just thought it was somewhere between fine and disappointing.