Blood of Desiderium by Ali Stuebbe has a unique blend of all things popular in fantasy at the moment, but at times the pacing was thrown off by large sections of internal monologues as opposed to dialogue or expository scenes that move the story along. As it is, this short, fast-paced read sometimes lagged in those moments, which was unexpected. I'm excited to continue on with this series! This book was perfect amounts of dark, steamy, intriguing, and fun, with an extremely fascinating cover!

Thank you to Ali Stuebbe and NetGalley for providing an ARC so I could provide an honest review.

"Blood of Desiderium" by Ali Stuebbe captivated me with its unique blend of fae, politics, seers, magic, dragons, and betrayals. The pace of the book kept me engaged throughout, particularly in the intriguing first half, though it slowed down momentarily before ramping up into an unputdownable finale.

Emma, the main female character, is someone I couldn't help but cheer for, especially amidst the perfect tension with the main male characters. Stuebbe weaves a captivating tale of action, adventure, and emotional depth, making the second half of the book an incredibly rewarding read. If you're a fan of fantasy romance, "Blood of Desiderium" is a must-read.

A deliciously DARK fantasy that I think a lot of people will enjoy. There are a lot of triggers and please take the author's warnings seriously and don't push yourself to get through it if it's not for you. I definitely don't think this book is for everyone but it mostly definitely will be a HIT with the dark fantasy readers. I thought some parts were predictable but I don't fault the author on this at all due to I read a LOT of fantasy and when it comes down to it there are overarching themes in that genre. Did I absolutely enjoy myself? Yes. Am I going to read more? Yes. Did I start following this author before this book was published because I was so excited for it? YES. I am very eager to see where this author takes this world because it definitely scratched the itch I was looking for, for a darker more gruesome fantasy.

Thank you Ali and Net Galley for this ARC <3

Okay, so I almost DNF this, but only because my life has been a little crazy these last few months and it has been difficult for my attention span. This story is a little slow in the beginning, but yes, there are trigger warnings! (Violence/Gore/Death, grief, profanity, mental health themes, mention of suicidal intent, torture and other dark themes.)

I am a sucker for books that test the boundaries, and in some ways this book does that. The things that our MC, Emma, endures in her life is hard to read at times. There was so many times that I wanted to reach through the book and smack those that are aware and do nothing and applaud those that do what they can.

Without giving too much away, I am very much looking forward to reading book two.

Thank you to the Author and NetGalley for giving me the opportunity to read and review this book!

This book has ⚠ Trigger Warnins ⚠ so please be aware that this book has Violence, Gore, Death, Grief, Profanity, Mental Health Themes, Mention of Suicidal Intentions, and Torture.
Comes with a Pronunciation Guide. 🙏 Bless the author. 😊

In the magical world of Deyadrum, Emma, a Fae Princess, feels like she doesn't fit in, because she doesn't have special powers like everyone else. But when she discovers a dark secret about her world - that it's built on lies and is threatened by an evil force - her quest for freedom becomes urgent.
This is a dark fantasy story with multiple POV's kept me hooked from beginning to end, mixing elements of the Paranormal with Romatacy.
The author describes so well Deyadrum, I felt like I could see the mysterious and dangerous world.

As the story progressed, I found myself immersed in a whirlwind of mystery and romance, carried along by the fast-paced plot. "Blood of Desiderium" combines dark fantasy with paranormal romance, offering an exciting journey into a world of magic, secrets, and forbidden love.

The characters are complex and intriguing, each dealing with their own inner struggles and desires.

Emma, our strong and brave main character, faces tough challenges with courage and determination. Her journey is marked by resilience, romance, wit, and selflessness as she battles mental health issues and grows. Despite her sheltered upbringing, Emma's vulnerabilities make her journey relatable and touching.

Draven is a captivating character, strong and passionate, always looking out for his loved ones. He cares deeply for Emma, and his words have a powerful effect on her emotions. Draven's story is one of loyalty and self-discovery, showing his dedication to protecting those he cares about.

I enjoyed this book a lot, I wonder when we will see the next come to our hands because the end was MINDBLOWING OMG !!!!

Thank you to Netgalley the author Ali Steudde for allowing me to review this book. Which, I will be giving my honest and sincere review.

This book has a VERY strong start! So, I am very sad that I cannot continue with it for reasons that are not in any way associated with the premise, writing, or any other issue with the book itself. It is simply a me problem in that one of the characters has the same name as my young son. Upon looking up other reviews to understand where that characters fits into the story, I don't think I can stomach reading it. Very saddened, but again this is a ME problem and I believe were my circumstances different I would absolutely love this book!

The way I enjoyed this so much-
Was it predictable? Yes. Did I eat every bit of it up??!? Absolutely.

It has all the things I love:
- Enemies to lovers (well dislike to lovers really)
- Shadow Daddy
- Dark, Broody MMC covered in tattoos and piercings (and the sweetly romantic things that come out of his mouth??!? I'm deceased)
- "Who did this to you"
- Blood Play & Shadow Play - YES PLEASE
- Fated Mates
- Dragon Shifters

A debut novel?? Ali did a remarkable job.

This book was even better than the first! I immediately bought the paperback copy of this because I loved it so much.

This book had so many pieces from some of my favorite books combined. It took me forever to get through because I felt it was a bit slow. But it definitely picked up about 50% of the way through. I’m excited to read book 2!

Thank you for the ARC!

This will be spoiler free!
This book will take a lot of concentration to follow for the first few chapters. We meet some people that will either not be in the book again either at all or until the end of the book. This makes it almost hard to follow for the first quarter-ish of the book. I felt so sorry for Emma she had to go through so many horrible things! I hate her father! The MMC was well written. I will be reading the next book!

I wanted to like this book more than I did. I failed to feel the connection to the characters I should have. It starts out fast and it pulled me in, but after that, it felt quite slow. I started skipping through things rather than reading every word. I guessed some of the twists early on, which made it lose a bit of its allure. It was an ok book. I think it’s a fine read, but it’s not top of my list. I did like the end, that was gratifying and gave some solid closure, and I appreciated that.

"Blood of Desiderium" is a masterpiece of fantasy storytelling, blending action, romance, and suspense in perfect harmony. I was completely enthralled by every twist and turn, eagerly turning pages to uncover the secrets lurking in the shadows.

The writing was rough in a lot of ways, and there were definitely plot holes here and there, making me question a lot of things along the way, but I literally don’t care because I enjoyed Blood of Desiderium enough regardless of those things, so I’m giving it 4 stars.

And yes, it was a mix between From Blood and Ash and Throne of Glass, but listen.

Maybe I don’t care because the parts that were so similar to those series were parts that I loved in those series anyway.

I do get really annoyed when words are misused and sentences aren’t structured correctly. There was a lot of that throughout this book. But for some reason, the story captured me enough from the beginning, and I liked the characters so much, that I was able to read right through all of that and still stay present in the story.

Was it maddening that we traipsed around the world talking to Elders and asking all-knowing books questions, but never once asked how to get the f*cking necklace off Emma’s neck so she could access her full power? Yes. Yes, it was.

Was it confusing that Draven’s wings were made of shadows (that his shirt could be pulled straight through), but they kept saying he couldn’t use his wings in battle because they’d get ripped to shreds? Yes. Yes, it was.

Was it cringey when knife play occurred with an FMC who had been tortured with whips and blades, leaving scars all over her body? Yes. Yes, it was. (That would’ve caused a MUCH stronger trauma response in real life.)

Was it annoying when the characters used modern slang and vernacular randomly throughout the book? Yes. Yes, it was.

Did we all know from the get-go that Shade was Draven, and that Emma and Draven were obviously mates?* Yes. Yes, we did.

Do we wish the FMC had a more fitting name (like Draven, Aiden, Kye, Mariam, Emil, Zoraida, Oren, Whiro, Mauve, Bash, or even Cora and Lydia) rather than Emma? Yes. Yes, we do.

*HOWEVER, aside from some structural issues, WE ALL KNOW WHAT WE WANT FROM A DARK ROMANTASY BOOK. And this book gives it to us.

We have a traumatized, abused, naive, yet rebellious and strong FMC. We have a devilishly handsome and broody MMC. We have lovable, funny, fierce, and loyal found family side characters. We have banter. We have action. We have quests. We have dark vs light. We have SHADOWS AND WINGS. We have slow burn. We have spice. We have tension. We have fae and magic. We have fated mates. We have a cliffhanger.

Maybe I needed an escape from the real world just now, and this book provided that escape. Maybe I just happened to be in the right frame of mind to forgive the bad and revel in the good. Either way, I was into it. And I’ll definitely be reading book 2.

I’m incredibly grateful to have been given the opportunity to read an ARC of this book, and have left an honest review of my own accord.

I'm hooked. I'm a sucker for fae related books. I read from start to finish in less than a day. I can't wait to read more!

I really, really wanted to love this book, but alas it’s a no from me.

Emma is chained, beaten, and lost in her own home. Her father is her tormentor caging her magic behind an iron collar which causes her immense pain if she can’t keep her magic under control. Her world begins to change when a mysterious stranger wrapped in shadow saves her.

I had a really hard time with how wordy this book was, page upon page of text with no break for dialogue made it really difficult for me to stay engaged with the book. This book fell into the trap of telling instead of showing.

With thanks to the author, Ali Stuebbe and NetGalley for the opportunity to read and provide my honest opinion of the book.

From Debut author, Ali Stuebbe, with a promising premise, Blood of Desiderium (Book 1, Divide Series) will appeal to the FBaA or Plated Prisoner audience.

I thoroughly enjoyed Blood of Desiderium and rollicked through it in a weekend. The easy reading writing leant to a YA style however, the mature content means check the content warnings.

Although I enjoyed the story and read it without expectations I was struck that the overall story felt like it was one of thirds. The second and final third built without rest after an extended and sluggish beginning. I would have loved more of the found family and quest rather than dwelling on the Court of Asov.

The world building and magic was complex enough however, I was confused a couple of times and want to know more on the scope of magic at play. The world lore was a little less developed leading to the moments where I felt the largest plot holes were. I felt a number of character decisions leant to more simplistic resolutions rather than taking a twisty twist.

The Fierce FMC, Emma, was a contrary force of immaturity and survivor. Simply put, frustrating! The written scenes of her trauma were head on. Her torture, magical suppression and physical wants were a strong plot angle. Yet I am still asking questions.

The supporting cast, Cora, Kye and Fynn are the core of a fantastic found family. They were recognisable sidekicks yet their characters fell victim to “tell not show” when they were on the page. I have high hopes for a secondary romantic story developing.

Our Shadowy MMC was a standout character. His dour, secretive, shifter identity and defender of innocents persona was nicely done. Some of the character language choices didn’t sit well but, modern turns of phrase in fantasy do pop up. I enjoyed the MMC and I look forward to seeing more of him.

Blood of Desiderium was a fantastic set up for Book 2, Soul of Salvation.

5⭐️ 3🌶️ 3☠️

Whew, I forgot how much I LOVE this book. It has EVERYTHING I want in a dark romantic fantasy.
-shadow daddy
-vulnerable yet strong FMC
-found family
-hidden powers
-fae & gods
-delicious spice
-epic scenes
And a few other biggies but keeping them quiet as to avoid spoilers.

On a second read, it was just as good at the first. It hit all the feels. And that ending. Oh my gosh that hurt. It ends on a big cliffy!

The plot was in my opinion was unfortunately very messy. I had a hard time connecting to the MC in this book and did not feel any chemistry between love interests. There was just a lot going on and it felt as if the author tried to pack too much in one book. It has promise it’s just too busy which makes it a confusing and complicated read.

The cover art is absolutely gorgeous.

I received this book via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

'Blood of Desiderium' delves heart of Deyadrum, bringing to life a tale of magic, dark secrets, and a quest for freedom. What begins as a princess’s struggle with powerlessness in a world saturated in enchantments evolves into an epic exploration of truth and deceit. Stuebbe has written a world fraught with intrigue, where every ally might be an enemy, and love blossoms in the most unlikely of places.

The characters have a wonderful depth of emotion written into them. Emma is sheer vulnerability wrapped in determination. The dance between Emma and her would-be assassin turned protector is one of animosity and an unyielding undercurrent of attraction, creating a wonderful slowburn romance.

However, ‘Blood of Desiderium’ isn’t without its issues. At times, the pacing lags and much of the narrative is steeped in predictability. Additionally, the use of modern colloquialisms and the swift unveiling of key identities are a bit jarring and detract from the story’s immersive experience. However, these elements don't diminish the overall impact of Stuebbe's debut, which is brought to life by a robust magic system and a plot that captivates with its twists and turns.

Criticisms aside, the novel was a delight. Emma’s transformation is one of physical escape, but it is also an internal struggle – a battle against the darkness within, and against those that seek to control her destiny. Packed with wit, darkness, and rich with well-crafted characters and seamless storytelling, Blood of Desiderium is an incredibly engaging read, offering a great deal to look forward to in future installments. While it does tread familiar ground, Ali Stuebbe’s distinct voice and the vivid world she has fashioned help this novel hold its own among the other novels of the fantasy romance genre. Fans of this genre, who can appreciate a powerful story of transformation – fraught with danger, magic, and a touch of romance – will certainly find something to enjoy in this darkly enchanting tale.

I DNF’d this at 20%. The cover art is STUNNING. And I really really like the premise. But it felt plodding, with not enough dialogue and too much inner monologue. Not enough development with both the characters and the lore, and not enough editing. And the use of modern language, which sometimes doesn’t bother me, didn’t work here.