Rated this a 4.5 stars. What an opening night to a debut. Really enjoyed the storyline and the unique magic system in this world. Plot focuses on political intrigue with romance being the subplot but nonetheless I devoured the book. The romance is a slow burn but once Vaasa and Reid get together, it is magic. Cannot wait to continue this series!

Absolutely brilliant start to the series. This was a fun and fast paced book that I really enjoyed. Building up on a marriage convenience to them being allies to falling for each other, with a lot of political intrigue to keep you hooked, this book hit all the correct notes and so very well! The cliffie ending really left me wanting more immediately! I want the next book already!!

4.5⭐️ (rounded up)
1🌶️

Thank you NetGalley and Saga Press for the e-arc of The Serpent and the Wolf.

Forced into a marriage with a leader from a rival land, Vaasa will do anything she can to escape and gain her freedom. Freedom from her current country and her new one. Upon discovering a dark magic brewing within her though, her new husband strikes a deal with her that entices her to stay. Dark forces are at work from all around her and Vaasa must learn to control her new power, while also maintaining the right image to those around her, never knowing who’s truly her ally or enemy.

I was intrigued by the blurb for this book and I must say, it didn’t disappoint. This is a fast paced, quick opening to the story and world. Full of lots of political intrigue and a unique magic system.

I liked the twist away from traditional enemies to lovers. It’s more like enemies to reluctant allies to lovers. This is definitely slow burn but the banter between Vaasa and Reid is very entertaining to read. We have only a couple scenes of spice and I will say I wanted more from those scenes honestly. I don’t mind when there may only be 1-2 scenes but I then want those scenes to just fully deliver. I felt these were like allllllmost there but I was left wanting more. Hoping future books will crank it up a notch

This book does end on a cliffhanger but sets up for a next book nicely. There were a few twists and turns I did not expect, which was nice. It’s never fun when you can fully predict a book and I didn’t feel that way with this book.

Overall a unique story. I really enjoyed reading it and look forward to future books in the series.

Thank you to NetGalley and Saga Press for gifting me an arc to enjoy in exchange for an honest review.

The Serpent and the Wolf is a debut romantasy about a marriage of convenience between rival kingdoms. We start with Vassa whose mother has just died from a mysterious magic that seems to be inside her. Her brother marries her off to Reid of Mireh, a ruthless leader hoping to use Vassa's death as a catalyst to invade Reid's nation. Determined to live, Vassa uses her political prowess to help Reid rise to power. In exchange, he'll let her go free and help her with the dark magic coursing through her veins.

4.5 ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
I’ll start by saying this is not a romantasy as advertised. Just like The Cruel Prince series, romance is a subplot here. We focus more on Vaasa's healing and magical journey than her romance with Reid. Vassa has such deep-rooted trauma and we really take our time digesting and learning why she is the way she is. I thoroughly enjoyed this book and couldn't put it down. The world-building is not complex and is well-written. I’m so ready for the next book.

I recommend this book to readers who loved Nesta's journey in A Court of Silver Flames. This is definitely a book you should take a chance on. I promise you won't be disappointed

This was a good fantasy book! It was a great start to the new series. The magic system was great and I feel like I was there in the world.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the opportunity to read this arc.

First, the good - this book starts with a bang and several tension-filled scenes back-to-back which hooked me in immediately! I loved the political intrigue, the writing style, and the character complexity.

That said, I liked this book, where I was truly expecting to love it, and perhaps I went in with expectations set too high, because I was left feeling a bit empty through the reading experience. Not one aspect made this a four-star read vs. a five-star for me, but rather the combination of a few factors, including:
- the pacing was not consistent; many stretches in the middle were long slogs to get through and I found myself skimming
- the romance was a much slower simmer than I expected, and while I very much appreciate a lack of insta-love, I feel there was opportunity to create more tension-filled scenes than we received
- I didn't vibe with the FMC; I love a good morally gray herione, but I just could not emotionally connect with Vaasa

I would recommend this book, especially to readers of YA and NA fantasy that love a good enemies-to-lovers romantic subplot and I likely will purchase a copy for my classroom library, as well.

📖 SPOILER FREE BOOK REVIEW | THE SERPENT & THE WOLF @rrobinsonwrites

I never include star ratings in my book reviews here because they’re subjective based on your experiences & likes, but I have to tell you all that this is five freaking stars ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️. And I won’t be shutting up about it for a long while. And the way I threw myself into the couch at the end like a big baby?? It’s that good.

This is Rebecca’s debut novel and I’m absolutely blown away. The political intrigue is beyond anything that I’ve read and I am a slore for a fantasy book driven by plot and not just romance (even though you’ll get a good helping of it). Some parts were a little bumpy but by ~25% of the book in I was so engaged. And by the end? Hot damn.

In addition to top tier world building & politics, you’ll eat this up if you:
* are a fan of the Bridge Kingdom by Danielle Jensen
* are a Nesta fan
* swoon over cocky flirts who are consent kings
* love found family (baddie witches aplenty here)
* eat up fake dating

Two things to note:
* I wouldn’t classify this as a romantasy necessarily if you care about titles. You’re not going to get a TON of romance but I’m still so down bad for Reid & Vaasa.
* This is not a standalone book (I wasn’t aware and now I’m in mourning)

All this to say that I will be beside myself until the next book comes out. Because the ending?? The hottest mic drop I’ve ever witnessed 🎤🥵.

Release date: Nov 19, 2024

Thank you to @sagapressbooks @rrobinsonwrites for my first ever ARC!

🗡️🗡️🗡️🗡️🗡️🗡️

First of all, thank you to Saga Press and NetGalley for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

This book was a breath of fresh air. This story felt very original and stood out among lots of other romantasy books I’ve been reading. I would say this book is more political but I loooved that! Sometimes it’s what you need. The romance and world building was chefs kiss. I’m unwell after that cliffhanger but I can’t wait to read what comes next.

A few years ago (okay a few more than a few, but be gentle--the COVID years really warped my sense of time) I had the realization that I had outgrown YA as a genre for me to enjoy as myself as a reader. I couldn't relate the characters or their problems any longer. I saw too much of the genre collapsing into specific sub-genres that fed off each other in an oroborus of tropes. (thankfully, while YA is now firmly in my rearview mirror thanks to my age, it seems to have broken back out of its genre shackles).

However, I now find I'm feeling the same way about the "romantasy" subgenre. I find the genre to have collapsed into the tropes that made it popular; most of the offerings aren't much more than the sum of their tropes. The books are marketed based on tropes, whether they fit it or not. Many of the heroines are interchangeably "badass" in a way that reminds me of Twilight's Bella--the heroine has to be enough of a reader insert to market. And if the authors can shove anything similar enough to Maas' ACOTAR characters in, so much the better for their marketing. (notice how much of this is marketing--not the authors. I truly believe authors are writing interesting things, but publishing is flattening the genre).

And unfortunately, while Robinson has a solid writing style and clear talent, The Serpent and the Wolf suffers for all of the above. I found Vaasa a difficult character to connect with. For the first two-thirds, it felt as though she didn't have a clear personality or interests. She and Reid absolutely do not have an "enemies to lovers" relationship. I didn't find the political intrigue to be much more than surface level interesting.

I do think Robinson wrote the relationships between women in interesting and nuanced ways. I wish that that had been the focus of the book. The coven, the idea of matrilineal magic, and the sisterhood these "witches" share was genuinely good writing and allowed Vaasa to have more character when interacting with them. I didn't need another generic "enemies to lovers" romantasy--but a fantasy with a laser-sharp focus on sisterhood and finding your own power with your sisters would have a welcome addition to the genre. And I'm not just wish-listing; there are elements there that could have been teased out.

So all this--and I know it's a long review no one will give a damn about--is to say, The Serpent and the Wolf isn't for me. Perhaps romantasy, in its current iteration, isn't for me anymore. However, I think plenty of readers are going to like this because it plays to the tropes that romantasy is cashing in on right now, and Robinson has quality writing that deserves its fans.

Thanks to NetGalley and S&S/Saga Press for the ebook ARC. All opinions are mine alone.

I love nothing better than a good enemies-to-lovers trope. However, this book didn't get there for me. I felt the pacing was too slow and frankly lost interest a couple of times. I can see there being an audience for this book though. I liked the world building and characters.

I don’t know if this book was for me or not. While I very much enjoyed the political intrigue and the sisterhood of the coven, the pacing was incredibly slow and I felt it focused on the wrong things at times. I also don’t know that I would qualify this as enemies to lovers because Reid was nothing but kind to Vasaa from the very beginning. I did however enjoy that it wasn’t an insta love situation between them. I know I will be reading book 2 simply to see where this all goes.

I ALWAYS love a good fantasy! And although this had some classic romantasy things going on, I felt like they were done in a really unique way.

This is technically a slow-burn (because nothing really happens until the end), but the tension is there and obvious the whole time. And no one is denying it...maybe because it is so obvious that they can't because it would make them look silly...I don't know but it was so much fun!

I love political dramatics and schemes, betrothals to random kingdoms, newly discovered dark magic, and so much more!

Our main character, Vaasa, is an absolute badass with a blade. And she is not afraid to hold it to anyone's throat AND WE ALL LOVE THAT IN THIS HOUSEHOLD! (By household, I mean community of readers...everyone loves that, it's just the truth.)

If you're looking for a new fantasy to dive into, I would definitely recommend you check this one out. I was instantly engaged and invested in the story, and that is so very important to me when reading a fantasy novel.

Thanks to NetGalley for the e-ARC of this book in exchange for my honest review! My Goodreads review is up and my TikTok (Zoe_Lipman) review will be up at the end of the month with my monthly reading wrap-up.

First off, thank you to NetGalley and the Publisher for letting me read an advanced reader copy of this book!

I want to start off by saying that I absolutely loved this book. I loved everything about it and I couldn’t put it down. I’m already impatient for the second.

This book was incredible. It was so real, so flushed out that I could picture everything in my head so easily almost like a movie. Vassa was an amazing character. She was strong and flawed but had such incredible, but real growth that she was easy to connect with as a main character. And I adored Reid. He was patient and kind. I liked how their romance wasn’t insta love but developed so naturally. It is one of my favorite romances that I’ve read in years.

It was the perfect blend of fantasy, thriller, a dash of mystery, magic, romance, and action, The Serpent and the Wolf had every single thing I could ever want in a book. It was perfection.

Romantasy is my favorite and I was so excited to start this one. The beginning really hooked me but it fell off for me after a bit. The pacing was at times hard to follow and I wanted more from the romance and plot. Thank you to the author, Netfalley and the publisher!

All I have to say is wow. Robinson is a debut author and this book is a powerhouse. First and foremost, our main character Vaasa, is beautifully complex and unique. She’s morally gray insofar as she believes she has to be. Being told from Vaasa’s perspective, the reader is initially led to believe that is Reid, the MMC that is the morally gray one. Within the first scene it becomes obvious that that is not the case. We learn that Vaasa was born and raised to be politically vicious and she immediately feels torn between who she was raised to be and who she wants to be. Add into the mix her sudden dark magic capabilities and you are left with a character who is really struggling with their identity. As she comes to terms with her new self, she also comes to terms with her arranged marriage with Reid, who is not as he seems.

I related so strongly to Vaasa’s disconnect she feels from her body due to her magic, and as someone with a chronic illness, I felt it was deeply relatable and heart wrenching. The enemies to lovers slow burn tension between Vaasa and Reid is also *chefs kiss*. The banter, the swords, the teasing is all beautifully done until they finally admit their feelings for one another. And when they do, it is magical.

Overall, I devoured this book. As Robinson’s first novel, I cannot wait to see where she goes from here.

Wow! I really enjoyed this fresh take on an enemies to lovers romantasy. I feel it is so hard nowadays to find a true enemies to lovers and I was quite satisfied with this one! I loved the FMC and the politics/world building was spectacular. Very excited to see what else this author produces and so excited I was chosen to read this ARC.

The premise was good - and I love a romantasy - but this book didn't quite live up to that potential. The plot was strangely paced, which made things a bit hard to follow and meant it dragged a bit at points. It wasn't a bad book by any means - but just not the one for me.

Thank you to the publisher for providing a review copy

Unfortunately this book really didn't work for me. But it may work for you and thats great!

What I liked about this one:
The world, cast of characters and the different magic covens. I absolutely adored the scene where they all crawled under the table. <3 Also all the fun action happened right at the end! Definitely a crazy plot twist and I did not expect some things.

What didn't work for me:
The amount of "telling" over "showing" was way too much for my personal taste. I grew frustrated as huge time jumps happened where relationships grew, powers were learned, & training happened that we just didn't get to see. We would be told some things like, "this character always does xyz. Oh xyz would totally do something like that." And I sat there as a reader thinking, oh ok I guess that's true. We don't get to see the growth or personality come out of character, we're just told after a certain amount of time and that's what frustrated me.

One thing this was marketed as, was enemies to lovers but it truly never felt like "enemies" for me. The main male did absolutely nothing to justify that he was ever Vaasa's enemy besides just being a leader in another country. He was kind to her from the second she met him. So maybe arranged marriage would be better to label.

Thank you NetGalley & Saga Press, an imprint of Simon & Schuster for the free review copy in exchange for an honest review.

I would like to say that I jumped for joy when i saw that sagapress approved my digital arc request for this book. I been following the author and the process of this book for years. and let me tell you... this is 100% booktoks next obession i am calling it now. Amazing writing, amazing plot, amazing story, amazing characters. This book in my opinion has no skips *i am easily entertained once a fantasy book is in my silly little hands* and this book really delivered for me. If there are no lovers of this book -consider my accounts deleted. I cannot wait to see this on shelves and instagram. everything about this book deserves so much hype. Thank you once again for the chance to arc read this novel. 5/5 stars *because i cannot rate a book 6

Amazing!
The Serpent and the Wolf is a thrilling romantasy debut book that had me turning pages until the very end. This author wrote an amazing book with so many twist and turns. I loved the world building in this one and all of the characters were great. The ending was so well done and had me on the edge of my seat. The book is one of my favorites this year and one I will be thinking of long after I read it. I loved this book and recommend it to any reader and if you love romantasy then you need to read this one. Thank you to Saga Press Books and NetGalley for this ARC read in exchange of my honest review of The Serpent and the Wolf by Rebecca Robinson.