The Serpent and The Wolf is a thrilling and captivating romantic fantasy that combines high-stakes political intrigue with a steamy slow-burn romance.

The world building and political intrigue were definite highlights of the book for me. I’m a big fan of complex political systems and exposition about power structures. I also enjoyed following Vaasa’s journey and her resilience.

Vaasa and Reid have great chemistry with plenty of tension and banter between the characters. While marketed as a romantasy, I think it’s important to make a distinction that the romance is a subplot within this story. I personally enjoyed this balance.

Read if you enjoy:
🐍 witches and deadly magic
🐺 political intrigue
🐍 marriage of convenience
🐺 slow burn romance with some spice
🐍 fast-paced, high action plots with plenty of twists

The Serpent and The Wolf lays a strong foundation for a promising trilogy. I am looking forward to book two!

My rating: 4.5⭐️

This book was a great read! One thing I love about this book is that it gets to the action pretty early and then starts world and character-building in an easily digestible way. Vaasa and Reid were enjoyable main characters with enough tension to make the slow-burn romance in the book enjoyable. The best thing about this book was the politics, which were easy and fun to understand and added more to the plot. I cannot wait for the next book.

The Serpent and the Wolff is a great book to kick off what I am confident will be an awesome fantasy trilogy! It offers a great slow burn and characters that are developed enough to keep you turning pages. As any good fantasy should have you get some twists/turns, political power struggles and great world building. The ending is satisfying but has me waiting eagerly for the next book to come out.

I was given a copy of this book from Simon Books, and wow am I ever grateful!

The only reason this book took me more than a day or two to finish, was because I was traveling for work. When I tell you I DID NOT WANT TO PUT THIS DOWN.

I loved the characters so much, the angst, and the twists. Reid has a special place in my heart 🖤

I don’t like to annotate/mark up my books but I found myself highlighting in this book so many times! The quotes just hit so so well.

After that ending, my heart is aching and I need more.

I love an enemies to lovers where it’s not. Dark romance but that can be difficult to get right. Robinson perfected it. The relationship between the two characters is a chefs kiss. The banter is addicting.

The world was vibrant and fascinating. The twist at the end really surprised me.

The book is a page turner taking place in a witchy fantasy realm of dark Mysterious magic and even darker monsters.

When I heard this was for fans of Raven Kennedy, I was so excited. I loved the Plated Prisoner series. While it doesn't hit that mark for me, it was still a great romantasy read. It had some great tropes in it as a romance (he falls first, enemies to lovers, arranged marriage). It also had a solid amount of world building that made you feel a part of the story while not being over complicated like some high fantasy books are. I loved the characters, but I will say it was very FMC dominated. I would have loved to have more from the MMC. I am excited for the next two (I believe I read its a trilogy.)

Thank you for the eARC! This was a solid fantasy with romance subplot read for me, 3.5 stars. I liked it as a debut! It centers on an FMC is forced to marry a Prince from their rival kingdom. There is a lot of world building to set up the magic system and dynamics for the story. The plot really focuses a lot on the political intrigue happening between the kingdoms. The romance is more of slow burn as the FMC develops as a character and decides whether to let the MMC (Reid) in. It took a little to get into the story but it definitely got more interesting as I continued through. I did want a little more from the relationship and plot but felt like this set up a foundation for the next book and am definitely interested in continuing the series.

Oh, this was a fun one! I thought it had excellent, concise world building and a fast-paced plot. There was enough action to keep the reader interested but not so much that I was sick of fighting by the end of it. I loved that the reader is dropped right into the story and that first chapter really hooked me.

I wish the romance was a little more fully developed but I really liked both main characters and i can’t wait to read the next book!

5⭐/3🌶️

I really loved this first book in the Dark Inheritance Trilogy!

The author throws both the FMC and the MMC at the very beginning and the ball just keep rolling from there. The pacing is really good and I never felt that there was a lull in the story.

I really liked both Vaasa and Reid (He definitely falls first) and their growth throughout the story as they learn from each other and bond is pretty great.

The found family aspect of this is amazing and that end was jaw dropping! I can't wait for book two!

This is one of if not THE best fantasy I read in 2024. This book is heavy on the politics and magical system and the romance is very slow burning but SO WORTH IT.

A refreshing addition to the romantasy world. This book was more then just a shallow love story with some magic. The fmc enters an arranged marriage, leaving a cold family to live in a place of warmth and companionship. The story featured heavy, in depth world building. It also had a surprising focus on political struggles and economic strife. Add to that a great enemies to lovers trope and it just rounded the whole thing out into a riveting read. The magic and lore became surprising complicated and further captured my interest. One of my favorite reads this year. There is a cliffhanger, so I desperately await book 2.

What a debut! I read this all in one sitting because I couldn’t put it down. The story hooks you right away and doesn’t let go. I personally liked that it jumped right in to the plot. I will say a couple of the transitions in the beginning didn’t flow perfectly. For example, the MC’s time in one of the cities she visits before returning to the castle felt a bit out of place. After that though I was happy with the timeline of events. I loved the characters, political plotting, and the romance (though they aren’t enemies for very long, it is still a slow progression). I look forward to reading the next installment and found this to be impressive for a debut.

I enjoyed this romantasy book! This book started off really well grabbing my attention quickly but I felt that what the story was trying to be got lost along the way! I enjoyed the characters in this one and the romance worked well! Overall an enjoyable read that had a lot of potential but sadly missed the mark for me a bit. Definitely recommend checking this one out.

The Serpent and the Wolf is an engaging blend of romance and fantasy. Robinson’s debut novel starts off a little slow, but definitely gains momentum as the story takes shape. The world building, character depth, action, and slow-burn romance kept me turning the page. A few of the side characters could have used a little more development. However, the relationships feel authentic and the emotional stakes are high, making it a satisfying read. If you’re into romantasy but prefer more action to romance then this is a good one! An enjoyable read even with the imperfect pacing.

I truly enjoyed this book from beginning to end. I loved the dynamic between the two main characters and the affections that grew between them as they formed a layer of trust in the midst of so much distrust. The magic system was interesting and I loved the twists that the end of the book brought.

This had fun banter, great elements of a fantasy series, and enough suspense to keep me guessing all the players next steps! Cannot wait for the second book and to see what happens next.

Excellent romantasy with an arranged marriage and a kick butt FMC. Pacing was great and the characters were well-developed.

This book gave me the feeling of always being on the verge of getting answers but they’re not satisfactory or answering enough.
The writing was messy and choppy but it’s a debut… it just sadly never drew me in.
The slow burn was nice but the MMC didn’t feel like a character in his story… he wasn’t multi dimensional.
For me it’s a forgettable read. I had no desire to pick it up and my mind is already blank about this.

If you've been looking for a politically-heavy fantasy romance with a prickly, complex FMC and a sweet and competent MMC, then this is for you! Finally, a fantasy romance book with a complex, interesting plot on top of just the romance. Though the last 30% was not as awesome as the first 70%, I really enjoyed this.

You follow a woman named Vaasa who has been freshly married off to a powerful man of a different nation named Reid. She is the sister of the emperor of a voraciously hungry country and she fears what this marriage may cost her because she has a dark curse slumbering within her that also destroyed her mother. She must navigate this marriage with a man she does not know and agrees to help him get elected to a higher position if he helps her control the dark powers within her.

Vaasa is such a fun FMC because she is very prickly and would be unlikable if she wasn't well-developed. Her guardedness and casual cruelty at the start is understandable due to how she was raised. She also has shadow powers which is fun since usually the MMC has them. And in this world the MMC has no powers and he is both kind and competent. I really liked both of them and enjoyed their banter, even if it was a little much at times.

Definitely go in expecting there to be political maneuvering because it becomes quite central to the plot. Overall, I definitely recommend this to fantasy romance fans who are looking for one with a good balance between plot and romance.

Eeek, this was a fun book! It took me a little while to get into it. The comparisons to animals took me out of it and I didn’t like Vassa at first but it all grew on me.

This book is full of action from the very beginning and all the way to the end. I love political games in fantasy books. It definitely kept me turning the page in this one. I struggled a tiny bit keeping up with some of the names because there was a lot but overall I was a big fan.
I loved the found family aspect as much as the romance in this one. I loved how Vassa found and was accepted by her coven while she grew into her power.
The romance is a subplot so there’s not a ton of it in this book. I love a good slow burn though. I liked Reid but I’m hoping we get to know him a little more in the next book! I think he’s a great MMC and I want more of him. 🖤
This was a great Book One. It’s pretty wild that this is a debut novel as well. I am really excited to continue the series. The cliffhanger was delicious!

Recommended if you like witchy fantasy books where the romance is very slow burn and more of a subplot.

This was my favorite romantasy of the year! Familiar tropes with all-new twists (it's so hard to be surprised by this genre anymore) and enemies-to-lovers slow-burn banter that never made me cringe. Highly recommend it for fans of The Hurricane Wars or Fourth Wing. I do wish that the book had been a bit longer and showed more of the found-family relationships though.