I'd probably actually rate this as a strong 3.5 stars, but I'm rounding up because we don't do half star ratings.

The writing was ridiculously easy to read, and while the story was somewhat light on, for a first book in a series it set the scene, introduced the characters and gave the reader the hook needed to want to read book 2. If you enjoy fantasy, particularly with royal intruige and plots, I feel book 2 will unravel the set up book 1 has set nicely.

I enjoyed the juxtaposition of a female executioner, and the look into what that role actually means for the families that get tied to it. The stigma, the whispered names and for Joss, the personal heartache and even some of the perks that go with it.

Aric was a meh character for me. A lot of this book he's just kind of there. I can't say I love him, or hate him. I feel that he'll become more of an interesting character in book 2, but that remains to be seen as book 2 isn't even released yet!

Henrik was a delightful supporting cast member, who had his own history and character arc which I thoroughly enjoyed. I do hope we learn more about him.

A touch on the short side, at only just over 200 pages, this one shouldn't take you too long to devour.

*I received a free copy of this book via Netgalley*

***4.5 Stars***

What an amazing book! My only complaint about this book is that it wasn't longer! The author sucked me in faster than a book has in a long time. There is something about the writing and just really how well written it is that keeps you glued to the story.

Joss is a legacy executioner and it seems she is one of the only women to hold this position. If she does not properly execute or refuses she will be tortured or killed. She also is a healer in the town and she and her assistant, Henrik, take in a man they find on the side of the road. Because of the way executioners are looked at, they don't tell anyone that they take in what it is Joss does. Aric is an assassin who has been punished for not killing his target. Aric is taken in and also keeps his occupation a secret. Joss and Aric begin to form a relationship, but they both know it cannot possibly continue because of who they are. Aric's target is actually a prisoner about to be executed and all he needs to do is make sure everything goes as planned and eliminate anyone who tries to stop it.

I think the only thing this book was really lacking for me really was the length. Everything felt very rushed and I didn't feel that the story developed as completely as it could. This is especially disappointing because the writing was so well done. Everything flowed very well and A.M. Dunnewin does such an awesome job of keeping you immersed in the world. I am greatly anticipating the next book in the trilogy!

Thank you, NetGalley for providing a digital copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Joss is a female executioner that has been passed down by family. She meets Aric, who has been beaten and left for dead on the side of the road. Joss brings him back to fix him up and let him recover. There are twists in the story that I kinda did see coming at times. There are other important side characters and the story is very plot driven with some romance tension. I’m interested in reading book two when it comes out!

Jos inherited the role of executioner from her father. A role she must hold with respect and dignity otherwise she is to be put to death herself. She finds Aric, battered, bruised and bloody by the side of the road and vows to heal him back to health, to balance the universe in which she takes death. However, he is not as he seems and she finds herself in more danger and uncertainty than she ever imagined.

- I found this book to have a lot of promise and although i enjoyed it i wanted more from it than it gave me. I appreciated that it is a short story however i felt that it would have been better if it was longer, the last few chapters in particular i found to be rushed and wanted more from. i am
hoping there will be a sequel and then i can get the missing pieces that i felt were needed in the first one.

Everything about this book is wonderful! So original and fast paced from cover to cover. I am in love with Aric, Joss, and Henrik. I can’t wait for the second book! Can’t recommend enough!

I finished this in one sitting, I’m not sure if it was because the plot kept me so captivated or due to it being relatively short. The world building wasn’t too much or too little, I felt like I knew what was going on and was able to paint a good picture in my minds eye! You can absolutely tell there was a lot of research conducted to have such precise details.

I loved the dynamic between Joss and Arik, did I wish there was more to it, absolutely! I like the change in character perspectives, some of my favorite reads have been like that. I like that it wasn’t an overwhelming amount of characters either. I’ve read some where it gets confusing this was perfect.

I feel like the pacing could’ve been better, having said that the ending felt rushed. Overall, I would recommend this to my friends and I will be looking out for a book two.

Thank you NetGalley for accepting me for this book!

I really loved the idea behind this book, a female executioner, but when reading, I’m not sure I really liked it that much? It definitely wasn’t what I was expecting

I thought the storyline had the potential to be really good, but i found things a bit too repetitive which made me want to put it down often.

To begin with, I read this really quickly and got quite into the story. But by midway, I found the pacing to be slightly off and a bit of a struggle, however this could have been me. Everything picked up again around 75% in, when more was happening and there was more action involved. I really loved reading about the executions as I thought they were really interesting and exciting to the story. But I think the story would work better as a longer book rather than broken into a trilogy.

I really liked the relationship between Joss and Aric though, it seemed to develop pretty quickly, this didn’t bother me too much as I’m not a fan of a slow burn, but I can see other readers wondering how they went from 0-100 in a short time.

Overall, I liked this book, but I didn’t love it. Having said that, I will probably read the next book just to find out what happens next!

Joss is an executioner by birthright. She meets Aric, a hired assassin unbeknownst to her, when she finds him beaten nearly to death. Joss takes him home and tends to his wounds. As she nurtures him back to health, a friendship and bond develops. Unfortunately, their professions cause their paths to cross in possibly disastrous ways.

I was worried toward the end of the book that there wasn’t time to wrap everything up. Thankfully, it is the first book in a trilogy. I love the idea of a female executioner, but do wish the relationship between Joes and Aric would have been fleshed out a little more. I do feel like the last part of the book was rushed, but I believe I might understand why when the second book comes out. Solid read and definitely worth the time! 3.5 Stars!

I absolutely loved it and would totally recommend it to all of my friends. I love dark romances there on of my absolute favourite tropes so a 5/5 from me

The premise of a female executioner was very fascinating but the story fell a little flat. It was also too insta-love for me. I enjoyed Joss’s character but Aric, the MMC, felt under developed. For a fantasy novel, the world building could’ve been more fleshed out. The plot is pretty straightforward so far but I’m intrigued to see if the story will take any unexpected turns in the next book.

The research that went into understanding the history and context for the characters really show through with the thoughtful explanations and events that take place in the story.
I liked the dynamic between the leading characters Alric and Joss.

There are a few weaknesses to the story, pacing is slow at the start and then exponentially speeds up with the last 50 pages. Additionally, it seems to need editing. Character perspectives should never change in the same chapter for obvious reasons. The story also conclusion makes me left wanting.

I'm going to be honest here: I started this book and then stopped after about a dozen or so pages. I'm really getting tired of these "wow look at this girl doing a MAN'S job, isn't that so shocking?!" stories. Can't we just have the girl doing the job without everyone pointing out that she's subverting gender expectations?

I wish I could give more insight than that, but I stopped reading when that theme started cropping up and completely forgot about the book afterward.

I thought this was a unique and nicely written story! It’s pretty far removed from my usual type of book but I still found it enjoyable. I appreciated the work the author did in researching certain historical elements and the effort she put into building this world. I do love a slow burn and that’s definitely what we have here. I’m invested enough in the story to be eager to read the next book, which I suppose is the mark of an effective cliffhanger.

"Hate is so much easier. But Kindness? That takes courage."

I absolutely loved the idea of the book. Joss is an executor. She comes from a long line of executors. There is no escaping this life, if she can't kill after her third attempt, she is killed. Aric is an assassin, who after failing to kill his latest target, was left for dead. That was until Joss discovered him.

I had mixed feelings with this book, in the beginning I was reading quickly and getting into the story. But by midway, I found the pacing to be off and a struggle, but this could have just been me. Everything picked up again around 80% when more was happening and there was more action involved. I think the story would work better as a longer story rather than a trilogy 'All the dark souls' felt more like a prologue, the opening chapters to the world that could be more.

Also for me personally, I would like the chapters to have names of who's point of view we were reading from or when it changes meet way to gave the characters name there. Most of the time I knew who's perspective I was reading from but a couple of times I didn't realise it switched.

I did enjoy the amount of research that went into medieval executions as these were some of my favourite scenes of the book. Saying all this I still can't wait to read more to see what happens to Joss and Aric.

"He ran when it was easy. You stayed when it was hard. That says a lot about the both of you."

*thank you NetGalley for a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

The world building is so well researched.
You can see that the author obviously spent a long time building this medieval universe—all axes and blood and hope—but we did end up with a mini info dump on each page.
And I found that a little boring, because as the book progressed, nothing was happening.
Perhaps it’s just because it was so short (barely 200 pages) that when I finished it, I immediately thought “that’s it??” Not because I was so immersed and didn’t want to leave, but because it felt like a prologue in a longer book.
But I tend to enjoy longer books so perhaps that’s on me.
In this case though, I really feel like it would have benefited from being longer.
I didn’t have enough time to connect to the characters, the ending felt too rushed, and the pacing was off.
It went from a very slow pace with not much happening, to action action action in the last few chapters.
And it was so abrupt—and a little predictable.
The characters and their interactions felt very flat and one dimensional most of the time—another thing I think would have improved if the book was longer.
I liked Joss, loved Henrik, and disliked Aric...so how much I cared really just depended on which of the characters was at the forefront
And while this book is marketing as a ‘fantasy romance’, there was no chemistry, nothing that made me care about them.
All the Dark Souls took me much longer to read than normal, but I can’t really blame that on the book (I keep reading too many books at once)
All in all, I really wish it had been longer because I feel like I would have enjoyed it more if it had been.

i received a free digital copy of this book from netgalley’s Read Now shelf and all opinions are my own.
(my full review is linked below)

Finally something different you don’t see very often. The premise of the woman executioner was great. You can tell the author did a lot of research and the details of history are great. I felt like this book was lacking. The storyline was great, the writing was great, the buildup was great and then it just ends. I think this book should have been longer to actually finish the story. It left me wanting more but also not sure if I want to continue.

What I liked
-evocative writing style that helped me as a reader become fully immersed
-Having the choice for main character be a female executioner felt unique for the genre
-Complex characters
-Setting shows a decent amount of research went into this work
What didn't work for me as well
-The book felt too short for the story it was telling
-Pacing felt very rushed for the last quarter of the book
who I would recommend this book for
Readers looking for a fast paced novel with a unique setting and well researched historical references will be pleased by All the Dark Soul by A, M. Dunnewin.

Thank you, NetGalley for providing a digital copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

3.4 ⭐

This book was hard to rate but I believe 3 stars is a good qualification. I enjoyed the read. The writing was great, and I quite liked how descriptive it was, it made it easy to envision the scenes in my head.

I liked the premise of this story. A woman executioner? That's not something you find often. Besides, you can see that the author made a lot of research because the historical details are on point. I found it fascinating to read about such a complex character. Someone who kills and tortures in the name of the law but it's seen as a monster by the citizens. I want to read more about Joss, I didn't get enough of her past and her family's history.

The rest of the plot was not something new in this genre. A "lost" heir, schemes, and politics, a kingdom tangled in war, a villain working in the shadows, etc.

The book was too short for my taste. I don't mind slow-paced stories but this one had almost no action until the last few chapters. I was just getting interested in the story when I noticed there were only a couple of pages left...I guess the author was building the atmosphere, presenting the main characters and a basic rundown of what's coming next. That's okay but I would have preferred a longer novel (maybe combining the first two volumes?). The end's not abrupt but it leaves too many loose ends and there was not enough information to make any deductions.

4.5/5 stars! I loved the executioner/assassin elements of this fantasy romance and found Joss and Aric to be amazing characters. I fell deeply in love with this world and want more of these characters and this world. I haven't read this strong of a fantasy debut in a long time.

I received a free copy of this book via NetGalley and am voluntarily leaving a review

This book is a solid 3.5 but deserved the round up to 4 rather than to be rounded down. I was intrigued by the story and enjoyed the world building. However, I do think that it took a bit too long to get to the more action-packed parts of the book. I appreciated that the world was well constructed, and the understanding of the characters and their personalities was deeper than just surface level. It just felt like we spent so much of the book learning about them and the world they live in before we learned what was going on around them.
To me by the time the book got to the part of the story that answered all the hidden hints and clues, it was over. And the whiplash I felt at the book being over was strong because it felt like the book had really just picked up the pace.
I did enjoy Joss (Jocelyn), Henrik, and even Aric. The overall story and the individual characters’ stories were well told. And I am interested to find out what happens to all of them.
I would recommend this book for someone who enjoys world building and evenly paced books. But maybe not for someone looking for romance or adventure. There are undertones of romance and mild adventure towards the last third of the book.
I received this ARC for free. I am willingly leaving a review of this story