This was a fun romantasy. I listened to this one on audio and followed along in an e-arc. I loved alternating back and forth between the two, it was a fun reading experience. The audiobook was well done, and the narrator really did a good job of bringing the story to life and created such an immersive experience. I love books with arranged marriage. It is one of my favorite tropes, well arranged marriage and marriage of convenience. This is a slow burn romance, with a found family, and magic! The mix of everything in this book was well done. The slow burn romance was nice, romance wasn’t necessarily the main focus of the book, but a sub-plot and it worked well. Just don’t go into this expecting a lot of romance. The world building was well done and slowly introduced me to the world the book was set in. I tend to get frustrated with world building if not well done, however, this one was great, and I really enjoyed it. This book sucked me in right from the start, after a little bit I was fully engaged and didn’t want to stop listening to this one, so then I switched to the e-arc and finished in two days.

If you’re looking for a witch focused romantasy with a nice romance sub-plot, then you need to check this one out.

Solid new Romantasy!

I was hooked from the start. Arranged marriage? Count me in!

I love that instead of the mmc the author made the FMC the grumpy broody character. A nice change from the usual.

The adventure, politics, and magic system set the book up perfect.

And don’t get me started on the last 10% of the book! The ending. Hoping there is another!

Thank you Saga Press for this eARC.

FIVE STARS! It’s been awhile since I’ve read a romantasy that held me in it’s grasp and would not let go. I loved this book so much and for so many reasons: the political intrigue, the slow-burn romance, the found family, the magic system. It’s all there. I don’t want to say too much for fear of spoiling it for you, but I will say this- read it. If you’re afraid of fantasy because of the world building, don’t be afraid of this book. It’s pretty straight-forward and easy to follow. You will be hooked.

Holy COW!!!!!!! 6 star read, incredible. Give me 14 of ‘em right now. This book has some of my favorite tropes of all time, and each and every one was done so well.

✨true enemies to lovers (she tries to kill him on their wedding night)
✨slowwwwwwww burn
✨touch her and die
✨"who did this to you?"
✨arranged marriage
✨faking being in love
✨one bed AND one horse
✨"where’s my wife?"
✨banter 😮‍💨

Amazing political intrigue, and world building. It’s one of the best romances I’ve read in a while where it feels so genuine and well paced. I read this book in one sitting. I am so excited for the rest of this trilogy. EVERYONE GO READ THIS RIGHT NOW!!! I cannot believe this is a debut novel.

https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/6863911215

This book reels you right in. I loved it from the start. I loved the drama at the end.i love that they fell in love at the end. I’m so hopeful of a second book coming out. 😬

A gripping romantasy debut with nail-biting stakes and sizzling slow burn!

“The Serpent and the Wolf” follows Vaasa Kozár after her brother marries her off to Reid of Mireh, a ruthless foreign ruler, in hopes he can use her death as a rallying cry to finally invade Reid’s nation. But she is desperate to live and Reid offers her a deal: help him win the votes to rise in power, and he will share his knowledge about the newly awakened dark magic running through her veins. This proposal may be too good to refuse, yet Vaasa and Reid’s undeniable attraction threatens to break the rules of their arrangement.

When I tell you this book consumed me and made itself my new personality, I mean it! From the very first chapter, when Vaasa put her knife to Reid’s throat, I was hooked and just knew I was going to love their relationship dynamic (I was right!). Each subsequent chapter was better than the last, making it impossible to put this one down!

The plot is definitely heavy on politics (the machination and scheming is on a whole other level), but the romantic tension between Reid and Vaasa is palpable. Reid seriously had me giddy as a schoolgirl! Every word that came out of his mouth made me swoon. I adore how gentle he was with Vaasa as she came into her own.

Vaasa is the FMC I want in a fantasy novel. To echo Reid, she is smart, cunning, and wickedly resourceful. I really enjoyed reading from her perspective and watching her character break free from her family’s cruelty to become a witch strong enough to dismantle nations.

Robinson’s fictional world is intricate, her characters compelling, and her plot twists riveting. If you’re a romantasy lover, definitely pick this one up!

This book is out tomorrow and it’s an excellent romantasy!!

This book has:
* Unique magic system/ witches
* Great political intrigues
* Arrange marriage trope (loved it)
* Slow burn 🔥
* Enemies to lovers
* Bad ass strong female character

I loved Vaasa and Reid’s relationships, and both of them as characters. Vaasa is fierce, cunning, and strong-minded. Reid is protective, patient, and reliable. And they make a perfect power couple! This is the first book in the trilogy and I need a second book sooooon to find out what’s going to happen with them!! ASAP!

This romantasy achieved a remarkable balance between world-building, romance, and political intrigue, making it a perfect fit for my taste! 😝🔥

Thank you so much @sagapressbooks for the opportunity to read early copy! And congratulations to @rrobinsonwrites on tomorrow’s release! Can’t wait to continue the series!💜🔥💜

#sagapressbooks #SagaSaysCrew #romantasy #theserpentandthewolf #rebeccarobinson #simonandshuster

I loved this book!
It had all the best tropes: forced proximity, arranged marriage, enemies to lover, slow burn.
Vassa is a complex character that you grow to love.
The world building is great-you get completely engrossed in the story. The book has just the right balance of romance, magic, and fantasy politics.
This book is perfect for fans of the darkness within us.
Thank you for this ARC.

Thank you to Saga Press and Rebecca Robinson for this ARC.

Holy hell, Batman…this is prob one of the best romantasy books I’ve read all year. As soon as I finished, I was googling to see how I could get my grubby hands on book two 🤣 If you like fantasy, arranged marriages, badass FMCs, and the definition of female rage…read THIS book.

🐺What did you love the most?
Vassa is forced to marry Reid, the leader of a competing territory, by her scheming, evil brother right after the death of her parents. And that’s only in chapter one. The amount of action, intrigue, worldbuilding, and witchy vibes packed into this debut book made my toes curl in delight. This is how you write romantasy. The tropes were balanced out by the actual plot, a magic system that made SENSE, and some jaw-dropping twists that left me hanging on an epic cliffhanger.

🐺What to expect:
🐍Witty banter
🐍Arranged marriage
🐍He falls first
🐍He will burn the world for her
🐍Political intrigue
🐍Witch covens

🔥Steam level: open-door romance

🐺How was the romance?
First, this is more of a fantasy book with a romance subplot, so if you are expecting heavy spice, this book won’t meet your expectations. However, the chemistry between Reid and Vassa is hot, and it does pay off before the end of the book.

🐺Do you recommend this book?
The tension, the scheming, and magic… it worked for me. I am seriously hoping we get a dual POV for book two, as I think it would be a more well-rounded story. Make sure this book is on your TBR; I promise you won’t regret it.

4.75/5

Absolutely breathtaking. This book made me feel ALL the feels. From chapter one with pulling a dagger on her new husband and escaping into the world, I KNEW I was hooked. The found family, political intrigue, the scheming, and the sizzling romance was written so GOOD. The political aspect wasn’t boring at all, I enjoyed reading how they can navigate it all working around schemes with more schemes. Chapter 8 made me CRY, my gosh. Vaasa is a complex character that deserves all the love and goodness in the world, even if she doesn’t believe she’s worthy of it. The feminine RAGE, was everything it should be. I wanted to rave and rant with her. The romance didn’t overtake the story but it added so much more to it. Reid 😮‍💨😮‍💨 my book boyfriend forever. His strength didn’t overtake shadow Vaasa’s and when he says my wife, my consort? AHH! Screaming and kicking my feet. The ending? Made me want to throw the book, because the cliffhanger was villainous. I look forward to 2025 and one of those reasons is hoping for book 2 expeditiously!

i don’t have much to say about this book so I’ll keep the review short. both the main characters Vaasa and Reid are flat and in turn, so is the romance. the writing is kind of clunky and the world building leans towards info dumping. i couldn’t even tell you how the magic works or why it exists, i spent a lot of the book kinda confused honestly. i did appreciate that the relationship between Vaasa and Reid was a true slow burn, i just didn’t connect to anything goin on like i hoped to. there’s also an element of found family that’s always nice to see for me since that’s one of my fav tropes. one thing i will say is that the ending was kind of interesting though and my only real hope is that the structure of the story has some very needed improvement if there is going to be a sequel cause i really do believe there’s potential here. i don’t think this is a bad book, just underwhelming.

Serpent and the Wolf by Rebecca Robinson Out tomorrow - 11/19/24

World building, political intrigue, magic system of witches, and so much more! I loved the slow burn and enemies to lovers is my absolute favorite trope. Even the arranged marriage (not usually a favorite of mine) was well done in my opinion.

I loved both MCs. Vaasa and Reid have fantastic chemistry and banter but the romance is definitely a subplot. It really has more of a focus on the machinations of family and headmen vying for power.

Vaasa had more depth in this first book in the series and I am looking forward to more of her strength and plotting. She inherits a strong magic after the death of her mother, and it is a race to control it before it controls her. I loved Reid but I felt he didn’t get as much attention as Vaasa. I believe he will be more of a focus in the sequel.

This is a fantastic debut novel. Robinson also built great characters that I want to see again in the series- the witch covens, the warriors and the headmen and consorts. Theresa final plot twist was a good one that I didn’t see coming and can’t wait to get back to this world soon!

4.75 stars

Okay this is absolutely fabulous! You get political rivals, a little found family, and war. I mean what else could I want. I am obsessed with the banter between Vaasa and Reid, he is so obsessed with her from the start and is constantly surprised by her and she like hates him. It's giving very grumpy sunshine. Like who within the first 20 pages writes that the main character is gonna try to kill her husband, flee and change her name and disappear, like I am living for that. I also loved seeing Vaasa vulnerability anytime someone showed her kindness because she wasn't used to it. Seeing her navigate and learning how to accept help and accept others into her life was so sad and yet so endearing because it felt so real. I also enjoy Vaasa's vulnerability over her power because in so many books people just accept their power, but she is genuinely terrified and wants it go that is also very different from the norm in other books and I find that refreshing, I think this book series is gonna be a hit. If you like Thea Guanzon you will looovvvveeee this book just like I did.

I really wanted to love this, but unfortunately it fell flat for me. The MMC felt very one dimensional. I also didn’t love how the book started. It felt like there was a chapter missing in the beginning, because you get thrown right in to the action. I think more context would’ve helped the pacing in the beginning.

I have been provided with a review copy of The Serpent and the Wolf from NetGalley for an impartial review. I was just drawn into this wonderful story and I just couldn’t get enough of it. It was just so easy to get lost in this great story. I just didn’t want it to end. I just lost myself in and I just couldn’t get enough of these interesting characters. I can’t wait to see what’s next from this author.

Enemies and lovers and one bed trope 🙂‍↕️ say less. I didn’t have any expectations for this book when I got it as an ARC but it was so entertaining and really good with the world building. My only struggle bow is I have to wait for book 2 since this one released recently. 🙂‍↔️

The Serpent and the Wolf is a debut romantasy. It’s filled with magic, slow-burn romance, kingdoms, politics, and war. Vaasa is a very strong, quick-witted, determined fmc while Reid is a strong, powerful, cinnamon roll mmc. It was a slow-burn romance but the chemistry and tension between them was like waiting for fireworks to go off and once they do, it’s a beautiful sight to see. The story building took a lot to comprehend and absorb, it did get confusing in some parts. Towards the end is when the story started getting action packed. I think a map of the kingdoms and to show who was in what kingdom would’ve helped me be more into the story. I do look forward to continue reading the next books because I need to know what happens next!
Thank you to NetGalley and Saga Press for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

*ARC REVIEW*
Thank you to NetGalley for this advanced copy.

This book….how do I even put into words, this book. It was delectable, slow burn, enthralling. The world that this artist paints is beautiful.
A world full of magic.

-forced marriage
-enemies to friends
-friends to lovers

This is every romantasy readers dream. I was hooked from page one and it didn’t let me down the whole way. I am a sucker for character growth and I really felt that Vaasa developed so well but also in a way that felt realistic and made sense. Reid was the perfect pining and self confident man for this story. Will be impatiently waiting for book 2!

Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️.5
Spice: 🌶️🌶️🌶️

This was an absolutely amazing debut romantasy! First of all, THE WORLD BUILDING! Rebecca Robinson built a robust world, with a unique magic and political system (which is so tricky to pull off)!

The relationships and tension were amazing. Reid is a top tier book boyfriend and Vaasa is the perfect mix of smart and strong (with just the right amount of female rage!)

No spoilers, but that ending!! The last 100 pages felt like an SJM novel with all the action and twists and turns (the highest of compliments)! The way I need this sequel immediately!

Read if you like:
- Marriage of Convenience/Arranged Marriage
- Enemies to Lovers
- Slow Burn
- He Falls First
- Witches
- Protective MMC
- Political Intrigue

Thank you to Netgalley and Saga Press for the advance reader copy!