Kalie Cassidy's In the Veins of the Drowning is a mesmerizing romantasy debut that seamlessly weaves dark magic, forbidden power, and an intoxicating romance. Set in a richly imagined world where sirens are both feared and hunted, the narrative follows Imogen Nel, a siren in hiding, as she forms a precarious alliance with King Theodore to confront a looming darkness that threatens their realms.

Cassidy's world-building is both lush and haunting, immersing readers in eerie waters teeming with undead horrors and kingdoms on the brink of destruction. The atmospheric prose captivates from the very first page, drawing readers into a realm where mythology and reality seamlessly blend. The slow-burn romance between Imogen and Theodore is exquisitely crafted, brimming with tension and depth that will leave readers yearning for more.

The novel's pacing is impeccable, balancing high-stakes adventure with emotional introspection. Cassidy delves into themes of identity, power, and sacrifice, offering a protagonist who is both relatable and inspiring. Imogen's journey of self-discovery and empowerment resonates deeply, making her a standout heroine in the fantasy genre.

Fans of Rachel Gillig's One Dark Window will find In the Veins of the Drowning to be a compelling addition to their bookshelves. Cassidy's debut is a testament to her storytelling prowess, leaving me eagerly anticipating their next book!

Wow, I was blown away by this book. It was genuinely everything I had hoped for and more. The characters were well developed and the plot was interesting. I really liked Imogen and her backstory. Great pacing--I couldn't put it down from the first page! I'll be recommending In the Veins of the Drowning to our customers. Can't wait for book two!

In the veins of drowning is a dark and moody, lush romantasy. I felt the pacing was a bit slow and hard to keep me engaged. The character building was a bit rocky in my opinion as well. I do think the way that sirens were described were incredibly fun, with the wings and talons, it kept an age old fantasy fresh in that way.

The writing was really flowery and I had trouble tracking the magic, and wish there was a bit more world building before we jumped into the plot.

This book had me in an absolute chokehold from page one. Imogen is such a relatable, loveable person! Her development through the story is both heartwarming and heartbreaking. The antihero of the story, the person you want to root for and build up when she’s knocked down.

The imagery and diction the story weaves is top tier, I viscerally felt every emotion and situation Immy and Theo went through. I DESPERATELY need book 2!!

3.5 out of 5 stars; rounded up to 4 stars. Thank you NetGalley and Little, Brown and Company for the e-ARC! In exchange, I will be providing a honest review.

The plot of this book had an interesting, dark, and mysterious take on sirens that I found quite enjoyable! It is a Romantasy with the romance and fantasy elements balancing throughout the book. It also gives a fresh take on the Romantasy genre with the sea creature elements that I have not seen in other books of this genre.

Imogen Nel is a siren prisoner stuck in a castle. She is being forced to marry a siren hunter, and when everything takes a turn for the worst, the king of another kingdom, King Theo helps her escape. While Imogen is gone, she leans more about who she is, her family, and her siren powers.

This is a MMC falls first and HARD romance. The romance felt suddenly rushed, which was why I gave this the rating I did. There was some miscommunication between the MMC and FMC that was frustrating to read about.

The writing style was simple to understand, even with all the fantasy elements that were thrown at the reader at times. This simple language helped me understand and enjoy the book more.

The book also does end on a massive cliffhanger but is clearly setting up for another book or two, which will hopefully be better. This book is more of a self-discovery book for Imogen, which I appreciated.

Overall, I highly recommend this book!

Thank you for NetGalley and the publisher for this ARC.

GIRL. I am OBSESSED. Absolutely stunning novel with a fresh take on the genre. Perfect amount of tension and yearning. I am so excited to talk to literally everyone I know about it over and over again

I absolutely adored this dark and magical romantasy with its unique premise centered around a siren. The blend of romance, fantasy, and the haunting allure of the sea creates an immersive and captivating world. The author’s ability to weave a story that is both enchanting and mysterious kept me hooked from the very first page. As someone who loves anything related to the ocean, I found the setting to be wonderfully atmospheric and full of tension. I received an ARC copy and I’m beyond excited to see where this story goes next. The potential for both heart-stopping romance and thrilling magical developments is endless. If you’re a fan of fantastical, high-stakes love stories with an edge of darkness, this is definitely a book you’ll want to dive into!”

Imogen Nel is a prisoner at court. A siren in a land where sirens are hunted, she hides away her true self and accepts whatever the king demands. Even if it happens to be marriage to the very captain who has killed so many of her kind. During the week of her nuptials royals from surrounding kingdoms arrive and Imogen meets a darkly handsome king from another land. He just might be her salvation and a way to connect with her siren magic and escape a dangerous situation. They form a blood bond, one that they agree to sever as soon as they reach safety. But their alliance will start a war.

This was such unique world-building. Out of all the fantasy romance I’ve read lately, and there has been A LOT, I don’t think any have had sirens, in their viscous winged and taloned forms, and magic inherited by the god’s direct ancestors. I was drawn in immediately. The begrudging allies to lovers romance does build slowly, despite a blood bond that won’t let the two main protagonists get more than a few feet away from each other without pain.

I won’t go too much into the plot itself, but the entirety of the book is pretty much Imogen discovering who she is and why she was essentially trapped at court her whole life. There is political intrigue, an interesting history of the gods and sirens, and two people who are pretty much at each other’s throats until about the 60% mark. I would say this is a darker fantasy, as there is a lot of violence and dark themes.

This is absolutely a set-up for at least a trilogy. With the ending I can’t see the author wrapping this up in just one more book. I do think with the ending readers will be eager to find out what happens next. The romance slowly develops from unwilling allies to forming an attachment that is ripped away at the end, so I’m also interested to find out how this couple navigates their relationship moving forward. I’m also supremely invested in the secondary characters and their relationship. Which I guess means that I will absolutely be picking up the next book in the series.

Thank you to NetGalley for the eARC of In the Veins of the Drowning.

When I tell you that I was sucked in from page ONE. The only reason I didn’t read this in one sitting is because I knew this is just book one in a series, and I wasn’t ready for the hangover.. so I paced myself.

Kalie Cassidy has created a beautiful world with Sirens, Gods and Goddesses, blood oaths, interesting magic and spells, a strong FMC and an MMC that would give up his kingdom for her. This is top tier Romantasy!

I do think that the first half of the book is a little romance heavy where as I wish there were more world and background building into the FMCs family and where she came from. I loved how it ended (even though it was a cliff hanger) but it felt kind of rushed and I wanted more from the last scene. I cannot wait for the next book and this will definitely be a story I re-read.

4.75 stars

Thank you to Little, Brown and Company and NetGalley for the eARC!

HELLOOOOOOO, YEARNING. In the Veins of the Drowning is EXACTLY the kind of romantasy I've been searching for! This book had everything: sirens, gods-given magic, an MMC who falls so hard for the FMC that it's almost painful (non-derogatory), a creepy and mysterious mage seer, political intrigue, and more. It also doesn't hurt that the two MCs have two of my favorite names ever 😂 (Imogen and Theodore).

I loved watching Imogen and Theo's relationship blossom, especially because it started with them being very reluctant allies. Witnessing Theo's yearning for Imogen was everything to me. 🩷

This book does end on a cliffhanger, but I think it was really well done, and I'm SO excited for the next book (which, unfortunately, will be quite some time from now, since In the Veins of the Drowning isn't even published yet!)

In the Veins of the Drowning hits shelves on July 15, 2025. If you're a romantasy fiend (like me), you're absolutely not going to want to miss it!!!

I liked the description of this book more than I liked the execution.

I couldn’t really connect with the characters and felt they needed more in general. The two main characters didn’t mesh together well and the insta-love relationship between them rang false in my opinion, although that could be because I really didn’t care much for Imogen. Maybe with more characterization and depth it would have worked better.

Much like the characters, I wanted more in regard to the world this was set in. There simply wasn’t enough world building, and that along with the flat characters had me struggling to finish. It just felt very juvenile and like this was a first draft rather than the final book.

I seem to be in the minority with thinking this book was meh, so apparently this book just wasn’t a good fit for me.

I received an ARC of this book via NetGalley, however this review is completely my own unbiased personal opinion, left of my own volition.

This book had really good bones. The story was intriguing. I enjoyed the grit of it and the darkness of it. What I had a hard time with was the pacing...it went so fast that it actually felt a little rushed. I feel like it could have used another 100 pages of development. I felt like if I saw more into her life at the castle before binding herself, I might have emotionally connected more. The romance was very rushed and felt more like insta-lust than something deeper, though I understand it was supposed to be deeper. The story needed to be more stretched out and because it went so fast, it wasn't as deep as it could have been.

Overall, it wasn't terrible, but It needed more depth.

Definitely one to pick up if you like romantasy. I enjoyed the characters and was intrigued by the plot.

This was a first-person narrative, with descriptive writing and easy to read. There was a decent amount of dialogue which made the reading move pretty quickly. Court politics in ocean life will make this a great read for those who love nautical tales.

“In the Veins of the Drowning” had its' talons hooked in me from the start and didn’t let go. Cassidy weaves a darkly captivating tale of power, identity, and unexpected bonds. Imogen, a siren hidden away from her true nature, and Theodore, a king bound by duty, kept me on the edge of my seat with every twist and turn. The characters are complex, layered and downright infuriating. And the tension between them—CHEF'S KISS. There’s a delicious blend of danger, heart-wrenching moments, and swoon-worthy declarations that will leave you breathless. If you love a the-world-is-not-for-us romance with high stakes and magic, this is an absolute must-read! I’m obsessed.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for access to the eARC in exchange for an honest review.

Lured in by the siren call of a romantasy thinking one again 'have i finally found one that I'll like' only to be left rather expectedly devastated that this failed to live up to not only my expectations but it's own as well.

I'll admit i enjoyed the first 20%, but after that and once the plot kicked in, i felt like i was stranded out at sea because nothing these characters did, or what happened to them, or the decisions they made, made any fucking sense.

Lets talk about the characters first. A fucking tidepool has more depth than any of these characters, and i'm not even being hyperbolic. I'm not mentioning the side characters because you could have taken them out completely and nothing in the storytelling would have changed. I'm talking purely about the main characters. Tell me one trait that Imogen had other than being angry or jealous. I'll wait. Our man Theodore (i had to look up his name because i had forgotten it that's how boring he was) existed purely to stand in the corner and brood. They were both so one note and shallow! And you're trying to convince me that these two had chemistry? Or any feelings for each other outside of the Siren bond? I don't buy it for a second. They had no casual moments of intimacy needed to build their relationship, no shared experiences or history to bond over, and no reason to be "in love" with each other other than the Siren bond, which didn't do anything other than make each other aware of how badly they wanted to fuck each other.

Just absolutely disgusting character work. Moving on. The dialogue..it's romantasy you can take a guess. It's cringy and they say the f-word to much for it to sound as gritty and dark as intended. it lands more so in the realm of a teenager who's parents are away for the night and they're finally allowed to say whatever they want without getting in trouble.

Finally, the pacing. Atrocious throughout. The first 20% was interesting and engaging and fooled me into thinking that the rest was going to follow suit. This dragged for the remaining 80% afterwards. Scenes that should have been punchy and fast because of the action were a slog to get through, and scenes that should have been slow for development blended in with everything ele that was slow and failed to stand out as these character defining moments.. After a certain point (around 65-70%) i just read the dialogue because I needed it to be over and I can't DNF when i'm that far in.

All that said, I hated this but I made it to end so two stars I guess? Also if you see me out in the ocean, and you're tempted to throw me a buoy please don't bother because i'm trying to recollect the time i wasted on this book from Imogen herself.

Vampires meet epic fantasy in this romantasy where there are few beams of sunlight cutting through the stormy skies. This was a dark book, the imagery, the cost of the magic, the bargains made with gods. Themes of abuse, of manipulation, of cold bargains made to further power - but through it all threads of genuine tenderness in places you didn't think it was possible to it to survive.

OK, I said vampires, but they are actually sirens - old school sirens wrapped up with gods and powers that feel a lot like modern vampires. It took me a little to get into this book as it is one of those that throws you into action and has you find your footing along with a less than completely reliable narrator who is woefully ignorant of many of the things she is twisted up in.

I did actually enjoy this story more as it started to unravel and more truths about world, the magic, the political alliances etc began to come clear. Absolute reluctant cinnamon roll romance if you are into that with the expected she's not going to make it easy on him.

The ending - while not a cliff hanger per se, there better be a book 2 because I NEED to know what happens next - way too much left unfinished with all those teasers for where the plot will unfold. Like everything discovered and resolved in this book just set up book 2.

NOOOOOOOO you did me dirty by ending like that! There I was just minding my own business getting sucked into this book and bam, it's over... just over! Book 1 isn't even released and I'm already waiting for book 2.

Genre: Dark Fantasy
Descriptors: dark magic, royalty, sirens, violence, longing, wanting, revenge.
Favorite Character: Theo <3
Spice: It's a romantasy, you get some that leaves you wanting more
Standalone? NOPE! thank goodness.
Would I recommend: Oh yes!
Rating: 4.5 stars rounded up to a 5

Thank you Netgalley for the opportunity to review this splendid book.

My new obsession. This is absolutely going to blow up on booktok and bookstagram. Oh my gosh I loved this so much. The banter was top tier. Just so well done

This was good but not my favorite romantasy. There were some pacing issues and I felt like there should have been way more up front to really situate the world, what Imogen was feeling, etc., This lead to some trouble understanding Imogen's motivation and why she did what she did. I will say though, once the plot kicked off, things really picked up. I also need to compliment the author's commitment to gruesomeness. Yes, Imogen is monstrous and she is that. In spades.

Thank you to NetGalley for the ARC!