I really, really, wanted to love this one, but whilst there were bits I loved, like the found family and the magic system, there was too much I just didn't like.

I feel like it started off so well, but then it just took a nosedive with no other option but to crash out, which was a massive shame. There's no real high stakes as everything seems wrapped up so neatly and easily solvable by our MC, and the pace is definitely on the slow side. The world building at times isn't enough, and it went from big explanations that felt rich and surreal, to barely any explanation at all.

For me it had potential, but not enough to truly keep me interested in what was happening.


Do check the trigger warnings before reading! There's definitely things in this that could trigger people.

I thoroughly enjoyed this book, the unique magic system was intriguing and unique to those I have read about before. The villain, an immortal emperor truly was evil and in hand made the FMC very likeable.

There were elements of war, conflict, romance and found family within this book. Providing heartwarming interactions and dialogue to a plot intertwined with difficult choices for the FMC.

The romance with the MMC had a good amount of depth for a book of this length. With focus on how they had to approach things differently to cope with the trauma the FMC had from the emperor. Something that I don’t think is usually focused on.

Overall, I recommend this book to everyone that loves fantasy and found family.

Thank you to net galley and Angry robot for the eARC in exchange for an honest review.

To paraphrase Truman Capote, no matter how far you run you’ll just keep running into yourself. You can’t escape who you are at your core. This is Khana’s dilemma: She ran once in desperation and found everything she had been searching for. Now that her past is coming for her, she knows she can’t run again. That isn’t who she is. That’s not what she wants. She fought to escape and to be free, and now she has even more to fight and live for.

The Witch who Trades with Death is full of wit, from the kind of silly and fond kind one might see within a household to the gallows humor usually reserved for action scenes and war encampments. If you’re familiar with Alongi’s social media works then this might not come as a surprise, but since I knew nothing about Alongi going in I was pleasantly surprised and absolutely loved every comic muscle flexed because it made every darker moment sink in that bit more.

Make no mistake, this is a dark fantasy novel with a middling sprinkle of very slow-burn romantasy. Khana has been through a lot of trauma in her past and was sent away to be the Emperor’s concubine when she was young. She knows as little of family and friendship as she does romance and so Alongi made the wise choice to spend most of this book having Khana build relationships and bonds that meant more to the plot and to Khana’s core emotional and social development than thinking about romance. This choice brought a wonderful supporting cast of found family, friends, and enemies to the forefront.

The third act of this book was absolutely my favorite part of the book, chaotic and full of seat-of-your-pants action. There’s a whole lot of problem-solving on the fly and “fake it ‘til you make it” scenes that made me smile because sometimes plans only work if you know the people you’re with down to the marrow. Plus, the shared emotions, sacrifices, responsibilities, and elation of Khana and the people she’s come to love feels so genuine it’s easy to smile alone while reading. It was a satisfying read. 4⭐️


I was provided a copy of this title by the author and publisher through the Robot Army and via NetGalley. All thoughts, opinions, views, and ideas expressed herein are mine and mine alone. Thank you.

File Under: Action-Adventure/Dark Fantasy/Romantasy/Found Family/Standalone Novel/Supernatural Fantasy/Witch Fiction

This is a fast paced high fantasy that is perfect for fans of The Way of Kings by Brandon Sanderson.

I really enjoyed the world building in this book. The pacing was good throughout and I couldn’t get enough of personal development our main character experiences.

Thank you Angry Robot for this arc in exchange for an honest review!

The Witch Who Trades With Death by C.M. Alongi

⭐️⭐️⭐️.8

Born a death witch, Khana is forced to serve as one of the many concubines for the immortal emperor.
When Khana murders a favoured courtier, she discovers the emperors secret in his affinity with necromancy - deals with death. In haste she makes her first deal to escape the palace. On the run from imperial forces, Khana flees to an entirely different kingdom. Finding refuge in the snow-capped mountains, Khana’s witchcraft ostracises her from the town. Her station as a refugee changes when the emperor’s army threatens the town in exchange for her capture. Khana’s courage and magical abilities are put to the test as she must fight.

Thank you to @netgalley and @angryrobotbooks for sending me this eARC in exchange for an honest review.

This book surprised me. I initially went into this expecting it to be an epic, action-packed fantasy stand-alone. What I found instead was a sweet story about healing, found family and banter. I enjoyed these aspect’s immensely and loved the humour. The beginning of the book gripped me but with the middle section my attention waned. Majority of this section was dialogue heavy as it focuses on the characters past traumas and healing journey. I did enjoy delving into this important aspect for the character development, however the action scenes were quite good and I was disappointed to not see quite as much. Other than this, I think this book is a solid and enjoyable story. Dare I say that this is a cozy fantasy book despite the grim themes?

Pub date: 11/3/2025

No one has ever escaped the clutches of the Emperor before.

Immortal, bent on conquest, he has mastered the secrets of necromancy and uses them ruthlessly.

But when a slave-concubine, Khana, manages to steal the secrets and use them for her own, he unleashes the full force of his might to get her back… unless, somehow, the small province in which she’s taken refuge can fight back with her help.

But if Khana goes to war, how can she withstand him without using the same powers that destroyed his soul?

This is a phenomenal story: gripping and powerful, full of emotional heart and humour and sweetness to balance out the darkness.

With moral dilemmas, found family, romance, underdogs, and a military academy, the characters are well developed and the story moves at a good pace.

(Will hate Bhayana forever but Haz is my baby)

First thing: Love the author and her Cafe Latte series on TikTok! I was very excited to have been given the ARC for her newest novel and while it was not my cup of tea, the story is still one of a kind and I will continue to support C in all future endeavors!

Alongi masterfully weaves a story of trauma, healing, and resistance as we follow Khana who has been bound to the Immortal Emperor as his concubine since she was a child until she discovers his greatest secret and flees as far as she can.

I really appreciated the care that went into dealing with the various mental scars each of these characters carried and the way that healing was not linear or simple for any of the characters. There was a beauty in the stories of survival that we got. I particularly loved the found family element to this story as Khana was able to forge a new life for herself and able to have agency over her choices.

One of the things that I can find frustrating in books is when there is a bigger battle and the cost of war is not properly balanced however Alongi managed to expertly do this in a really unique way.

I am just blown away by this book.

This is an amazing book but please head the trigger warnings in it. If you are at the point in your life where a book with SA will harm your mental health, do not read this. Although there are no graphic scenes, and we are only told it has happened, Khana is dealing with the trauma of years of abuse throughout the entire book. Other triggers include domestic violence, war, violent death, racism/xenophobia, consensual sex (the author said explicit, but it isn't at all, although that depends on what you consider explicit). Please remember to take care of your mental health. I know tons of people were excited to read this book, but it may not be the right time (or ever) to read it. That is so much more important than reading this book (if it helps your mental health, we can all tell you it was terrible).

I really am not huge on the fantasy genre but absolutely love this author. I absolutely loved the story and the characters. There are very heavy topics in this book, and I love that it wasn't just written as 'yes it happened but trauma isn't a thing' and just moved on with the story. I hate when authors write traumatic events like that.

Not sure if there are any plans for a sequel, but I would love to see one. Definitely would recommend!

Thanks to NetGalley for the free Kindle book! My opinions are my own and are freely given.

The Witch Who Trades with Death is the story of Khana, our fmc, who is running away from a terrible situation, and finds herself a new community and new life. She is a witch who can breathe in the soul of others and transfer them to either herself or others to heal wounds and give life. Imagine how useful that could be in battle....

The world building is done well - it's easy to envision the environment, the communities, the climate, and the different characters. You can sense the implacabliity of the Emperor, the fear of the people, and the defiance of those in Pahuuda.

There is a small group of protagonists that the reader invests in - a motley crew of rejects who form their own family. Each, of course, has their own backstory, fears, and history. I found that although I can see them in my head, I don't necessarily feel any strong loyalty towards them, possibly because there wasn't much in terms of physical descriptions.

The writing is where I find the book fell a bit flat. Someparts of the writing were lyrical and sophisticated, yet others felt childish, especially with the use of words like "cute", "adorable", and "squishy". This is an alternate universe, so there really isn't the concept of anachronisms, but the babyish words and other colloquialisms felt startling and out of place. Some of the sentences and descriptions felt overly simplistic, which felt jarring against the vast and sophisticated world the author was trying to build.

Overall, I think there was just a lack of passion and big feelings that made me not really connect with the story. The characters felt tepid, like they were puppets going through the motions on a big set, but not quite able to stand on their own as lasting, memorable individuals.

Spice - one scene. I can't quite call it slow burn, as things never really burned.
Triggers - marital rape, talk of rape, violence, torture, gore, character death.

Thank you to NetGalley for providing the ARC for review. All opinions are my own.

I’m always on the lookout for a great found family story. and this one absolutely hit the spot for me! There’s just something about a ragtag group of misfits coming together on a journey that has me instantly reeled in.
I enjoyed the worldbuilding, unique magic system, the witch’s powers were interesting, it was a fantastic read, and I love how it wrapped up so nicely as a standalone!

Plot wise, it was really well executed. The pacing was a bit shaking in the beginning for me, but it held up towards the end, the stakes and tension were present.
I especially loved the characters. Each one was thoughtfully developed with depth and meaningful backstories that made me feel so connected to them.

I also appreciated how Khana’s trauma was handled with care. Watching her work through that pain and embark on her healing journey was great. And the romance? Sweet, tender, and perfectly slow burn. I loved how it wasn’t rushed; it gave me time to get really invested in them as a couple.
Most of all, I enjoyed how well this was written to give all the characters their own moments and somehow managed to wrap up the story in a well deserved ending. I’m deeply satisfied with this read and it was just a fun time.

Thank you @AngryRobots for this ARC in exchange for my review!

Thank you NetGalley, C.M. Alongi and Angry Robot for the advanced reader copy. This book was a really good time. The way the witches magic works is unique and interesting, with them being able to use other people’s life force to heal others. The found family aspect of this book is strong, with almost a Mulan meets witches vibe to it. There are also a strong theme of the human condition and how the love we have for life and those around us what truly makes life worth living. I would absolutely recommend this book if you like witches, wars, immortal villains, and a band of rag tag people coming together and being stronger for it.

Thank you NetGalley and Angry Robot for the ARC copy of this book! I enjoyed this storyline which is a tale of found family and healing about Khana who was stolen from her home and forced to be the Emporer’s concubine. She escapes and the story goes from there. Fast paced, great world building and emotional back stories. An engaging, powerful stand alone fantasy novel.

This book is beautifully written. It holds quite a lot of amazing levels of world building that are presented to us through our main character as she discovers how the new country she's going to is run. The magic system is utterly fascinating and has a give and take that some people would see as too steep of a price but others, those that seem to have no qualms, would absolutely take. The pain and the experiences are believable, the prejudices make sense to real life, and the plot is well executed.

What would you do if you were being hunted by an immortal emperor that wanted to keep you as a concubine? And that you had no choice in the matter and you were pretty sure he was going to kill you? I love Khana's entire journey of accepting what happened to her, growing from it, and building bonds that are so powerful and compelling. Sava is such an amazing character that as soon as he came into the scene I just wanted to hang out with him. He is so charismatic and warm and fantastic.

This is the first C. M. Alongi book that I've read but I will absolutely be reading more of them.

I thought the premise of the book was incredibly interesting. Anyone who knows me knows I'm a sucker for Death personified in any way. This book just ended up not being for me. Something about the writing style just didn't connect with me and made it hard for me to feel immersed in the story the way I wanted to be. I do think, however, that a lot of people ARE going to connect with and love this book!

Rating 3.5/5. Thanks to CM Alongi, Angryrobot and Netgalley for the eARC.

Overall, I found the world building and magic system to be quite interesting. Khana's journey working through her trauma had weight and was meaningful.

My biggest struggles came from the pacing as well as being connected with the characters. The characters clearly had a lot of depth and effort put into them but for some reason I just couldn't connect as well. I also found myself getting taken out of the narrative at times with it being somewhat historically minded fantasy but was written much more presently minded...if that makes sense.

I hope to come back and give it a reread in the future when my mind might more appreciative of it. I know some folks will really love it though.

3.5 stars.

as a standalone fantasy, this was pretty solid. the fmc Khana is a witch whose magic revolves around draining aji (life force), from people and the environment around her. i thought her abilities were interesting, especially since the aji can be used for different things: healing, reviving, weakening someone, etc. but each time Khana does this, she makes a trade with death.. therefore, she’s losing bits of herself the more she does it.

i love when death is personified, so i enjoyed that aspect of the story. the romance between Khana and Sava was also really beautiful— Khana has some sexual trauma due to being a concubine to the emperor (who’s also related to her🤢), and Sava is so intentional and patient with Khana because of this. he doesn’t push her into anything and offers his support in whatever way she may need it.. i loved them so much. the found family is another thing that stood out to me with this book, Khana’s friendship with Haz was platonic perfection. it was fun seeing Khana learn to be a soldier and not only depend on her witchy abilities too. my main issue with this one was really just the pacing.. it was very uneven, the beginning and end sections were so good but the middle kind of waned with the overflow of training sequences and sitting around. but even saying that, i still liked this a lot and thought it wrapped up nicely.

What a welcome surprise in the world of fantasy standalones!
I cannot express how happy I am that it's a standalone (after being disappointed by several books without knowing they are not a standalone...) and that it's good.

It had tropes that definitely got to me, most of all found family, which was done so well here. The story took care of Khana and all the side characters, not sidelining them at all but giving them a moment to shine and the opportunities for us to get invested in them. I'd even go to say that the author really took care of the way she wrote the entire story? There are no loose ends and the ending gives such satisfaction (although it will grip your heart a bit!)

This may be my fave read of the year so far! Solid 4.5 stars.

Really enjoyed this read! I particularly loved the relationship between FMC Khana and ‘Death’. It truly felt like a unique story with excellent world building for a standalone.

I did not give 5 stars as the pace felt quite slow in the middle in comparison to the start and end

Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️.5
Spice: 0.5 🌶

The Witch Who Trades With Death is a fantasy novel with strong found family vibes. There's a war, an evil emporer, a ragtag group of underdogs who persevere against all odds, and a survivor learning to face her greatest fears. It gave strong Mulan vibes and was a good read, but I don't think I'm going to be screaming from the rooftops about this one.

It was slower paced than I prefer, giving it the feel of a book you'd pick up and read a couple chapters at a time rather than one you consume in a day or two.

If fantasy is your go to genre, and you like Mulan, I'd give it a go. It'll probably be more up your alley than mine.