Member Reviews

I wanted to live The Serpent and the Wolf but I just could not get into the writing style. I loved the premise but this was a DNF for me.
Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for this arc ebook in exchange for an honest review. All opinions expressed are my own.

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This was a lot of fun! I found the plot to be quick-paced and the world-building to be superb and succinct. I wasn't tired of fighting by the end, but there was just enough action to keep the reader interested. That first chapter truly captured my attention, and I adored how the reader is thrust directly into the narrative. The romance in this book is slow-burning but well worth it, and the politics and magical system are heavily featured.

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Oh goodness, I can't stand that I have to WAIT to know the ending of this story! And what a story! Reid and Vaasa are great together... he's "happy nonchalance -it's ok to put a knife to my throat" to her "everyone's out to kill me" vibe is the best combination. I like the amount of tension, spice, world building, political intrigue and family drama. Can't wait to see their story unfold in the next book!

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Thank you to Saga Press, an imprint of Simon & Schuster, for the free copy for review.

Y’all, this was a really great debut novel! Lots of political intrigue, witches, magic systems, slow burn, marriage of convenience, enemies to lovers, and a great pair of main characters.

The Serpent and the Wolf follows Vaasa, a princess to the Asteryan Empire, who is newly in possession of a terrifying magic, as her brother weds her to their political rival, Reid of Mireh. The night of their wedding, Vaasa ties Reid up and escapes to a sodality where she tries to learn what is plaguing her. Reid finds her, though, and offers her a deal: stay married to him for three years while he tries to become the leader of Icraria, and learn how to control her magic from a teacher, and then after, go free with a divorce. Vaasa agrees, and the political machinations commence. The only problem? Vaasa’s brother wants her and Reid dead.

Without giving too much away, I enjoyed the world building and really loved the scenes where Vaasa’s coldness slowly melts away as she deals with the scars of her past. The coven scenes were some of my favorites, and I loved those ladies so much! I was a little confused with all of the different parts of Icruria (lots of moving parts) but had it figured out by the end. Also, I was a mess and need book two, like now.

I’m excited to see where this series goes and think it has a lot of potential!

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Slow burn enemies to lovers with political and dark magic themes. Vaasa has had dark magic start to come in life within her and has no idea that to do about it. Especially since her mother died trying to keep the dark magic at bay.

Vaasa’s life is also threatened by her brother who is hoping to keep the throne from her. He has married her off to a ruler from a different land. She finds herself in a deal with her new husband, Reid, and helps him win political power to take over and in exchange he will teach her how to use the dark magic.

Vaasa has no one to trust, and is alone in a new setting trying to survive and fight for her life and freedom.

A base level, nothing to intricate or crazy magic system that allowed for this to be an easy read to flow through.


Thanks to NetGalley and Saga Press for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

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“You don’t hate me, and I certainly don’t hate you.”
She tossed her arms into the air. “I almost killed you on our wedding night.”
“As I told you, you underestimate how much I enjoyed that.”
“You’re sick.”


I love political intrigue and “she thinks they’re enemies to lovers but he was never her enemy”. Is that a trope? If not it should be

The dynamic between the two characters is fantastic. They have great banter and angst, and the slow burn is perfectly drawn out.

The middle was a bit slower paced as there was political scheming and maneuvering happening, which I actually enjoy so I was still happy with it.

And then the ending was crazy and explosive, I NEED the next book!

This is a great pick for lovers of fantasy, political scheming, enemies to lovers, and slow burn angst.

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This was one of my favorite reads of 2024.
Pros:
- Arranged Marriage
- Found family
- Magic is scary
- MFC is a Stabby black cat
- MMC is just happy go lucky
- Slower Burn
- With a purpose MFC
- Trauma to Healing

The story gets spicer as it goes. This is a story over smut book.
It was beyond expectations. I even bought the physical copy!

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The Serpent and the Wolf - Rebecca Robinson
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ | 🐍 Political shenanigans with a side of SPICE

Listen up besties, because I'm about to put you onto your next book obsession! Buckle those seatbelts and hide your TBR pile because this debut is about to wreck your entire reading schedule. Rebecca Robinson said "I'm new here" and then proceeded to serve EVERYTHING.

Picture this: our girl Vaasa is basically a human weapon with scary magic who's like "thanks, but no thanks" to dying for her brother's political games. Then BAM - enter Reid, who's giving major golden retriever energy while also being calculating and HOT. The chemistry? EXPLOSIVE.

Let's break down this serotonin fest:
🗡️ Stabby girl meets sunshine boy
💫 Magic that's actually terrifying
👑 Political schemes that'll make you GASP
🔥 Sexual tension you could cut with a knife
🤝 Marriage of convenience but make it SPICY
💭 Trauma healing that hits different

Listen, I got NO WORK done while reading this because I literally couldn't put it down. The politics are *chef's kiss* perfectly digestible, the romance had me SCREAMING into my pillow, and that ENDING? Ma'am, I'm gonna need book 2 immediately or we're gonna have problems.

If you love your fantasy with a side of "oh no, he's hot" and enough political intrigue to keep you guessing, this is YOUR BOOK. Just don't blame me when you're up at 3 AM yelling "JUST KISS ALREADY!"

TL;DR: It's giving everything it needs to give. My only complaint is that it ended. Excuse me while I go reread it immediately.

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This book had a way of just dragging me in with that first chapter. I love this world and especially Reid and Vaasa's dynamic relationship between each other. Vaasa is forced by her brother who wants her killed is an arranged marriage to the enemy of the kingdom Reid. The book opens up on Vaasa and Reid's wedding night and Vaasa is trying to find out about her past from her husband Reid who in return needs Vaasa's help to gain rise in power. I think the world building with the magic needs more info for me to understand it better. It felt a bit choppy on that note. But when Reid and Vaasa were together I just loved those scenes. This does end on a cliffy so I have to be back to find out what happens next.

I received this book at my request and have voluntarily left this unbiased review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.

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I loved the audiobook, which is read by Jesse Vilinsky, she did a phenomenal job and I highly recommend that version!

This is a rather classic romantasy book, with a unique magic system.

Our main character, Vaasa, has just been married to Reid, a ruler of an enemy nation. This marriage was arranged by her deceased mother. But the mysterious illness that killed her mother, has also infected Vaasa, and she hopes to use the resources in this foreign nation to find a way to cure herself before she meets the same fate of her mother.

This is a story about love, trust, self acceptance and betrayal. There is a slow burn romance, but it isn't the main focus of the story. This book does end on a cliff hanger and I'm excited for the next book in this series.

Thank you to netgalley for providing me with an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

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Fantastic World building and slow burn romance. This was such an interesting book so read. I do think the marketing might be a little off, especially in this climate of readers who see romantasy and think "oh this will be have a lot of romance" This was more fantasy with romantic aspects. Which I enjoyed, I hope the marketing for the next book in the series, is a little more accurate.

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This was a good slow burn, enemies to lovers romantasy read. Great tension, but also interesting politics and twists that I didn’t see coming. The cliffhanger ending left me interested enough in continuing on with the series!

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i really liked this one! the world-building was solid, and the mix of dark magic, politics, and slow-burn romance kept me hooked. vassa and reid had such a good dynamic, and their tension was so well done. a little slow in parts, but overall, a great read. solid 4 stars!

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When forced into an arranged marriage by her brother, Vaasa will do anything to escape her new husband and contain her magic... but when her husband finds her again and makes a deal she can't resist, Vaasa finds herself thrown head first into a new life filled with politics, romance, and magic. Vaasa has been trained to be a blade all her life yet she has magic she can barely contain, magic that killed her own mother. When her cruel brother tries to eliminate Vaasa by having her married off to Reid of Mireh, a ruthless foreign ruler who he hopes will kill her and let her death be the reason for him to finally invade Reid's nation.... Vaasa has other plans and escapes into the night during the marriage night, leaving Reid bloodied and tied up in their bed. But to her surprise Reid comes after her and offers her a new deal: if she pretends to be his wife and help him win the votes he needs to rise in power, he'll grant her freedom and a legal divorce after 3 years and will share his knowledge about the dark magic running through her veins and help her keep it contained. The proposal is too good to be true but Vaasa has no other options... but then there is the issue that there is an undeniable attraction between Vaasa and Reid that they'll have to deal with. Vaasa has had her guard up all her life and with her brother scheming for war and her death, she'll need Reid's help... but a traitor is amongst their ranks and war is brewing... can Vaasa open up her heart to the man she vowed never to fall for? This is the first book in a series and ends up a major cliffhanger. I had a lot of fun reading this and am intrigued to see where the second book goes. This is indeed a slow burn romance but I hope that when we delve into the second book it'll pick up more. I liked Vaasa as a FMC because she was sharp and relentless, she reasoned things out and picked between the options, and yes she can be stubborn but after everything she's been through she has a right to be guarded. Reid was such a patient love interest and I hope we get more POVs from him during the second book. Overall, if you like enemies to lovers/arranged fake marriage with slow burn, absolutely pick this one up!

*Spoiler: Vaasa and Reid tell each other they love one another. Vaasa's brother and one of Reid's friends scheme together, kidnap Vaasa and her best friend Amalie and force Vaasa to write a letter to cause war... only Vaasa kills her brother and then goes to Reid and kills the other traitor as well as Ton (one of the potential allies who had wanted war instead). Then it is revealed that Vaasa was the prophcized wolf that would kill her brother (her magic creates a wolf) and then Ozik (an advisor for her brother) turns out to be an evil wizard who was having an affair with Vaasa's brother and was the ultimate mastermind behind everything. He kills Reid and agrees to bring him back if Vaasa gives up all her magic and comes with him, Vaasa agrees and Reid is brought back. Reid wakes up a week later and announces that he will get his wife back as the new emperor. *

Release Date: November 19,2024

Publication/Blog: Ash and Books (ash-and-books.tumblr.com)

*Thanks Netgalley and Saga Press | S&S/Saga Press for sending me an arc in exchange for an honest review*

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YES YES YES! If you are looking for a new romantasy book, this is a book YOU MUST PICK UP. Rebecca Robinson had me hooked from the first chapter and left me wanting more.

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I enjoyed this very much! I liked the enemies to lovers relationship, worldbuilding, and magic. Our library purchased this title, and it has been popular amongst our patrons looking for recommendations within the romantasy genre.

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Story: 4 ⭐
Spice: 2🌶️ but barely... There were 2 open door scenes.

What a whirlwind! And that freakin' cliff hanger!

Vaasa is a strong and what she thinks is an emotionless women who just wants to be free. Reid is a leader of his area, and known as the Wolf. But, really just a big cinnamon roll for the ones he loves.

They are thrown into an arranged marriage turned into a marriage of convenience. You feel that slow burn happening as they work together for the better of their lands.

This has a very unique magic system and was fun to learn about.

Be prepared for action, fighting, blossoming love, healing, revenge, and a few twists and turns thrown in.

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This was EVERYTHING I want in romantasy. It really pulls you in and hooks you from the beginning and keeps a nice pace throughout!

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This book was so fun! The beginning had me by the throat, it was so compelling with such great tension between the love interests! I can't wait to read more from this author because this was excellent!

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Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for allowing me to read a free copy of this novel in exchange for my honest opinion!

Vaasa and Reid?!?!? The slowest, most DELICIOUS of burns!!!! OOF!!!! Both of the characters are so interesting, so fleshed out and fun. Devastated I have to wait to read more of them, I need it now, Rebecca Robinson!! You're amazing, please keep giving us more of this amazing world building and crazy plot twists!

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