The morally grey villain we all want! A beautiful woven story about what the darkness can hide and how our inner darkness can be more scary then what surrounds you

I am very excited to be reading this book! My full review to follow.
Thank you to the author, publisher and NetGalley for this ARC in exchange for my honest review.

This is a really good start in a series. Action packed, romance, swoon-worthy hero, and a strong and brave heroine. What more to ask for? This one is slow to get into, but well worth it in the end.

Many thanks to Fehu Press and Net Galley for an audio copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

This is a wonderfully narrated fantasy novel, however, the plot really wasn’t my jam. I enjoyed the characters and setting though!

This book will grab you from the start and won't let go. It's perfect for fans of dark fantasy romances like An Ember in the Ashes with its lush world-building and thrilling plot. Zaria, a slave with a burning desire for freedom, enters a deadly competition where only one can survive. But when she meets a mysterious stranger, her fate takes an unexpected turn. Harken, the morally grey anti-hero, is both captivating and dangerous. The forced proximity between him and Zaria sizzles with tension, while the unique magic system and detailed world-building create a truly immersive experience.

“Woven in Darkness” by Lucy Holden is a new adult fantasy romance novel that takes inspiration from Persian and Greek mythology. The story follows Zaria, a slave who is trying to free her siblings from the slave braids that bind them all.

The characters in the book are complex and realistic. Zaria is a strong heroine who is determined to free her siblings from slavery. Harken is a complex hero who is sworn to protect the immortal Weavers. The author has done an excellent job of creating a complex world filled with both lovable and hate-able characters.

The setting is a fully-realized world with rich world-building. The problems of the book revolve around freeing Zaria’s siblings from slavery and the danger that comes with it. The editing and fluidity of the writing are well-done. The plot is intricate and well-woven, with a slow-burn romance that is swoon-worthy.

The audiobook version of “Woven in Darkness” flows well, with Takano’s narration keeping you engaged throughout the entire book. Her voice fits the characters’ personalities well, and she does an excellent job of bringing the text to life. Her reading style is immersive, and she does a good job of differentiating between characters.

Based on the story, I would give “Woven in Darkness” a rating of 4 stars. The book is well-written, with a complex plot and well-developed characters. The only downside is that the world-building and terminology can be overwhelming at times. However, this is a minor issue that does not detract from the overall enjoyment of the book. I would highly recommend this book to anyone who enjoys new adult fantasy romance novels.

Could not get enough of this read!!! Zaria is a slave purchased for the Savage King, Harken. Her initial goal was to join a completion and win freedom for her and her siblings. Instead, she has been tasked by Harken to find out who is behind the Dark Rip that took her brother. Soooo much is going on in this one book! I probably would have suggested splitting this story up into, at the very least, a duology. I think it would behave given Holden the opportunity to go into more detail about the world she built. It may have also helped with getting the readers more invested in her characters. That aside, I really enjoyed the plot line and the relationship built between Harken and Zaria. The hateful banter and borderline hostility made this a very entertaining read. I would definitely pick up more by Holden.

Zaria and Harken <3

The two MC's had great banter in this book, and that's something I very much enjoy. The premise of this story was really interesting and the plot had me glued to the book until the very satisfying ending. If you like your books to end in a non cliff hangery way then you'll love this one. This really was a fantastic romance/fantasy book with all the right elements. I enjoyed it very much and would highly recommend. The narration was also really good!

I will read anything that has both fantasy and romance. those are my two favorite genres and when they are combined, that is something that I will immediately read. Going into this book, I was not sure what to expect from this book going into it but I was not disappointed. I loved every page of this book and the romance was so cute I was constantly giggling.

I did not finish this one, it was not for me, I couldn't relate to the characters, and just did not care for the story.

📚The premise of this story is intriguing. The start of the book is filled with a great deal of information and it does become tedious. However, it is an interesting story once further into the plot. The mystery of Zaria’s past as well as Harken’s future propelled me through. The audiobook narration was well done. Overall unique!

🎧Thanks to publisher, author, and NetGalley for an audiobook ARC of this story.

🔔Content: foul language, torture, cruelty, brothels

I am behind on this review, and for that I am sorry because it was a lovely story that I really enjoyed!!

This story follows Saria and my new book boyfriend, Harken. Saria is beholden to the slave braid around her neck, and until it’s removed, a slave she will remain. Her sisters are bought by the Indigold lords and her brother is gone. So all her actions are centered around trying to free them. However, her heart is struggling to stay out of it.

Trust is something Saria and Harken both struggle with and what they both need in order to have what they both want. Love, family, belonging, and ultimately. . . Each other.

I enjoyed this book via audio and think it was all the better for it. Fantastic narration.

Thank you NetGalley and Fehu Press for the ARC. It was a great read.

Blurb:
A BARGAIN. A RACE. AND A SECRET THAT BINDS THEM, BODY AND SOUL.
Swoonworthy, slow burn fantasy romance set in a fully realized world, with complex characters and an intricate plot.
“…a fantastically written, rich tale that is almost impossible to set down…”
“ . . .If you enjoyed ACOTAR you're going to love reading this.”
“…I normally don't enjoy fantasy books. I just can't get into them. This one, though, pulled me in immediately.”
ZARIA IS A SLAVE WITH ONE DREAM: FREEDOM.
Her brother is lost to a Dark Rip.
Indigold lords have bought her sisters.
And now Zaria has been claimed by Harken, the infamous Savage King.

Harken trusts no-one, not even the immortal Weavers he is sworn to protect. He keeps his Savage Court locked away behind the Woven mists.

Along with his past.

And his heart.

But now Harken’s court is in danger from an old enemy. And whoever is behind the plot seems determined to kill Zaria, making her the most valuable piece in a savage game.

In a bid to expose his enemies, Harken offers Zaria a bargain: play the part of his slave for Astria’s glittering season of Revels, and in return, he will help her win freedom and riches in the Maverick’s Race.

But Zaria has secrets of her own. Secrets that bind her to Harken, body and soul, and show her the past he guards so fiercely.

Telling him the truth means losing her chance at freedom. Concealing it means betraying his trust—and the Savage King doesn’t tolerate betrayal.

But the darkness is coming, and when it does, Zaria’ssecrets might be the only thing that can save them all.

Book review:
I thank netgalley for allowing me to read this ARC copy.
I was pleasently surprised by how much I liked the book. I normally find hardcore fantasy a bit hard to dake, as the worldbilding is normally hard to understand and I foound so many instances where I had a hard time diving into the story.
In this case I really loved the worldbuilding and found a deep connection with the main character, as as the older sister she is the one that feels all of the responsibility for helping her siblings and because of that makes mistakes. I am not a fan of the romance but I liked how yoned down it was, making the adventure the core of the novel. I liked the side characters and the creativity that came into the plot. I am intrigued to read the second novel of the series and can't wait to discover more from the character's past and entanglements.
I highly suggest this book.

DNF 15%

Sadly the writing just wasn’t for me, and i was having trouble following along.

Maybe it was just the audiobook, maybe my head just wasn’t in the game, but i cannot finish this book. One day i might finish this, but after months of trying to get into it i just gave up.

Thank you to Netgalley and Fehu Press for allowing me to read/listen this book.

Why did I not read this book sooner! I loved it. I can't wait for the ARC of Book2... I finished Book1 and instantly signed up for the author's ARC team, before I could even catch my breath.

This is fantasy at its best!

A dark greedy magical world thronging with extra mundane beings, and sparks of light like Zaria, with the morally grey Harken to shield her...

The book is gripping from the first page to the last... full of adventure, danger, mystery... amazing plot twists... found family, and a beautiful Storm Dragon...

Also, it has no smut, and does not end on a cliffhanger... Yay!

I think I would have probably better understood what exactly is happening in this book if I had read it instead of listening to the audiobook. Not that there was anything wrong with the narration; it was narrated quite well but the world building was pretty confusing and as a result my attention waned in places. The story is supposed to have taken some inspiration from Greek and Persian mythology but I couldn't figure out how it was incorporated. I think readers who love fantasy as a genre might like this story.

My thanks to NetGalley, the publisher Fehu Press and the author for the ALC of the book.

Rating: ⭐⭐✨💫

It was really difficult for me to get into this book. I have tried multiple times and I couldn't get a handle on the world-building due to the complexity of it. The main character - Zaria - I did like. She seems brave and willing to help others. I had to re-listen to many parts of the story due to ongoing confusion. In the end I probably wouldn't recommend listening to this via audio because of so much flipping back and forth between parts. I imagine this book would be great to read.

I would be interested to see what this author does in the future, but this book was not for me.

I appreciate that the author was going for an intricate plot and world building, unfortunately this was done through A LOT of exposition, not only in the beginning but throughout the entire book, and I still ended up losing track of who was who and what was when.

On the other hand, the writing itself is very simplistic and easy to follow, but there is nothing left for interpretation. Every thought or emotion had by a character "flashed across their face" or was narrated explicitly.

Then, despite all of the plot intricacy, a big part of the third act conflict is still just a simple miscommunication.

Also lots of thoughts on the romance... the lack of chemistry, the insta-love, the immortal man with a girl who's only recently come of age, not to mention the slave/master roles....

Lucy Holden seems to have drawn inspiration from Holly Black and her Folk of the Air and Ironside series. Supposedly there was also inspiration drawn from Greek and Persian mythology, but I guess I wasn't able to see where those tied in. If you're a fan of any of the stories previously mentioned, you may enjoy this book.

It's unfortunate when such a promising premise is so poorly executed. I probably should have DNF'd this by the 50% mark but infeel guilty for DNFing so many books lately.

So much info-dumping and yet the world-building still falls short of expectations. We know that there was a war that caused massive changes in their world, yet it's not made very clear what the war was about nor who the good guys vs. bad guys were. There are so many characters, too many to truly keep track of, and we are told which side each of them were on. Some of the (presumably) bad guys are allowed to walk free (and sit on the Council) while others were imprisoned or executed, and some of the (again, presumably) good guys are allowed to walk free (and sit on the Council) while others were imprisoned or executed. There's no rhyme or reason as to why an individual was given a certain punishment.

Scenes that should have been important or that have a big impact on the plot are rushed and over faster than you can process what just happened, while useless, meandering scenes full of useless info-dumpy chatter go in for chapters at a time. So many words, so little said. Things like a "Sliver Sky" or a "Dark Rip" play central roles in the plot, yet it's never explained what they are or why they're so scary. What's Darkwine? What makes in Indigold? What makes a Pathfinder? What makes a Shadow? What are their abilities? What makes them distinct species? Who are the Paladins and who are the Priestess? What are their roles in this society? Seems like we'll never know.

Gross and likely offensive takes on slavery (I.e. Zaria wants to stay enslaved the Harkan so they she can "feel him" while they have sex). And then when, as promised, Harkan releases her from her slave bond, she feels sad that she's now a slave with no master... I mean she's so depressed over it that she no longer wants to pursue the goal we've spent that last 300 pages talking about

Zaria is a very boring character. Her personality consists of being obstinate and that's pretty much it... this singular personality trait even gets a sibling killed and forces the other to remain enslaved. But don't worry, later on in the book she considers that she may have been a moron. The most interesting thing about her is that she supposedly has eyes the colours of Darkwine (still don't know what that is, though) which I presume means burgundy. Oh, and she's got a... Zumi on her back? We aren't really told the significance of a Zumi though... I mean we're told it's meant to be a protection but clearly that isn't true as Zaria is enslaved and abused for her entire life.

I didn't buy the love story between Zaria and Harkan. They barely interacted and when they did it was bland. All of a sudden they're banging. Oh, and to call this a spicy book then only provides this one (dub-con) one paragraph sex-scene? I just don't think we should be calling a scene between an enslaved woman and her master spicy but idk maybe I'm just a prude. It's okay not to have spice in a book. Toting false promises just makes readers feel mad and deceived.

And finally, once the main conflict is resolved, all other minor/side conflicts are magically resolved out of nowhere. It feels cheap and unearned.

I was so excited at the potential of this book but was unfortunately left wanting. I thought I saw somewhere that this was a standalone but it seems like there's a seed for a sequel... if there does turn out to be a sequel I hope it's better than the first installment.

Woven in Darkness by Lucy Holden was such a slow start that I’ve put it to the side several times. I listened to it and it was narrated by Heather Takano. I’m going to stop right here and say that Heather Takano is probably one of my favorites. She tells a beautiful story adding so much to the story. But alas it still wasn’t enough to compel me to finish. It dragged and I was confused and I just couldn’t do it. I always try to finish my books but this is not one of them.
Thanks Fehu Press via NetGalley.