Book review 📖

📜In The Veins Of The Drowning
✍️Kalie Cassidy
📠Little, Brown and Company
📚Fantasy Fiction
🗓️Pub date: July 15, 2025

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

✨Thank you @NetGalley and @littlebrown for providing me with an Advanced Reader Copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

✨In a kingdom where sirens are seen as monsters and then slain, Imogen Nel is in hiding. Keeping herself from the waters and her true bloodlust and magic, Imogen avoids the king and his captain, who viciously hunt her kind. In doing so, her dark wings are kept concealed beneath her skin.

✨During a brief meeting with a visiting king, Imogen realizes he sees her for who she really is and knows he can save both of their kingdoms from an even darker power and greater monster. Imogen’s power threatens to reveal itself, and upon forming a blood bond that protects them both, they flee the kingdom.

✨Traversing waters filled with the undead, the lines between duty to kingdoms and desire for each other begin to blend. Imogen fears her power may not be enough and the only way to defeat a monster is to become one herself.

✨This stunning debut was written in a gorgeous prose and is a remarkable romantasy. Like the magic of a siren’s call, I was lured so deeply into a beautiful romance and enticing powerful duet between a king and his queen. For fans of The Ever King, you will love this!

#netgalley #intheveinsofthedrowning #kaliecassidy #littlebrown #advancedreadercopy #arc #bookreview #bookstagrammer #bookstagram #summerreleases #fantasyfiction

I loved the atmosphere and the overall feel of this story! The characters and the world were very interesting, and I wished I could have learned more about them.

It’s a siren book! In the true classic mythology sense of the word, so more feathery than scaly. She’s gorgeous and terrifying and I love a marriage of inconvenience trope, so this was delicious. The political intrigue kept my attention but we all know I’m just here for the romance. Which was fabulous. I absolutely recommend!

I received an advance copy from the publisher, all opinions are my own, and a review was not required.

Thank you for the Arc!
Unfortunately, I could not connect with the main character at all. I found her inner monologue and dialogue quite boring and found that there was a lack of action to keep me engaged. The premise was interesting, but there didn't seem to be much going on with our FMC.

This one unfortunately was unable to hold my attention long enough to push through, and is sadly going on the DNFs shelf. I was very excited by the premise, as I find siren lore to be quite underappreciated within the fantasy book realm. However, I don't think this title managed all that well. The worldbuilding & lore itself was fine, but the plot was very helter-skelter (for lack of better phrasing). You're sort of thrown in at the deep end (no pun intended), and feel like you've come in mid-plot, rather than at the exposition. There's definite insta-love vibes going on as well, and a male MC that was not quite as quick-witted or enthralling as promised.

I really enjoyed this book. I usually am not a huge fan of "body horror" but it fit so well in the setting & the writing style, that I did not mind it. It added to the overall atmosphere of the book. I'm excited to read book 2.

This was a fun, entertaining read. I was a bit surprised at the beginning because I felt like I was just thrust into the middle of a scene and I was missing details. I even checked to make sure that it wasn’t a second book, or there was a prequel novella, but there wasn’t. It took a few chapters for me to catch up, but when I did, it was enjoyable.

I do feel there could have been more details added, again, with the opening scene, between the two MCs, the development of her siren powers, etc. I usually need more detail so I can feel immersed in a world, and I don’t feel like I got this from this book.

Entertaining, enjoyable, just missing a little extra oomph to take it that last mile.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the advanced copy of this book.

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
🌶️.5

The moment I saw this STUNNING cover art, I knew I had to read this book. Dark, atmospheric, political, romantic, this book has it all. You may be wondering why I didn't rate this 5 stars and the biggest downfall is that even though I absolutely loved the MMC, there really should have been more time spent building up the relationship, in particular in the beginning before certain actions were taken.

With that said though, In the Veins of Drowning had some of the best yearning. Some quotes I highlighted in my copy:

"I called you a gnat, and I detest myself for it. I am the bug. A moth. And you are the moon. Drawing me, pulling me. But I'll never be able to reach you without destroying myself. All I can do is pray for the day." He gave me a pleading look. "Do you understand? I am doing my very best to keep a grip on myself, to keep my distance but everything you do seems in service of thwarting that goal"

"I can't even see her for the way you encompass me" Emotion etched his face. "You fill my every sense. You stalk my waking mind. You make up the entirety of my dreams."

Ahh!!! Theo is the fantasy version of Anthony Bridgerton.

In the Veins of Drowning featured a unique take on Sirens, something different than how we usually see them in media. The book was fast paced and I can say I never found myself bored. If anything, I wish there had been more world building and it had been a tad bit longer.

I think readers will be for a treat with this new series!

Thank you Netgalley and Little Brown and Company for a copy of this ARC. All opinions are my own.

a quick and engaging read!

things i liked:
- the mmc was so cute
- the yearning!!
- gothic atmosphere

things i didn’t like:
- romance (not awful but it went way too fast for my liking)
- lack of worldbuilding
- wanted more siren lore

What a STUNNING dark fantasy romance!

If you love sirens/the ocean you need to pick this one up! This is the romantasy we needed with Sirens!

5⭐️Review: Thank you @netgalley @littlebrown and @kaliecassidybooks. Wow! I could not put this book down! This was book one in the Siren Mage series. If you like a fast paced Romantasy with Sirens, a brooding King and magic you should definitely add this to your TBR. It was beautifully written and immersive. There was lots of dark magic, slow burn and tension. What an emotional rollercoaster! I didn’t want it to end. I highly recommend this book. I can’t wait for book two!

In the Veins of Drowning is a captivating dark fantasy, with romance, mythical creatures, and kingdom politics. I didn't think this story was completely perfect, but there was just something about the dark atmosphere that drew me in. I appreciated the different take on sirens, with the sirens having wings and talons opposed to the mermaid type sirens in other stories.

Imogen and Theo are both complex, messy characters. I was happy to see that Imogen leaned a bit more toward darker tendencies, even though a lot of her decisions were questionable. It took a while for me to like Theo, because I felt like his initial interactions with Imogen were too degrading, such as calling her an imbecile. But I felt like the relationship between the two of them finally came together, and their struggles with the blood bond, their feelings for one another, and their individual duties were done really well.

I found most of the world building to be very interesting, and liked the fact that Cassidy gave the reader an understanding of the different gods and their attributes. I did find myself wanting a more in-depth look at the sirens and their abilities. I felt like I was just thrown into the first time Imogen used her alluring ability, with no explanation of what was really happening, and it seemed a bit confusing.

Overall, I enjoyed Cassidy's writing and the pacing of the story, and I'm excited to see where the story goes in the next book. If you love dark fantasy, forbidden romance, secrets and betrayals, forced proximity, and magic, then I would definitely recommend In the Veins of Drowning.

Ambitious Siren Plot Fails to Be Realized
Kalie Cassidy, In the Veins of the Drowning (New York: Little, Brown and Company, July 1, 2025). Paperback: $19.99; Romantasy. 384pp, 5.5X8.25”. ISBN: 979-0-316587-60-0.
**
“…Romantasy about a threatened Siren who forges a bond with a brooding, self-righteous king in order to flee the king who raised her… The monster is always slain… Imogen Nel is in hiding. Hiding from a cruel kingdom that believes Sirens are monstrous, blood-hungry creatures. Hiding from a king and his captain who viciously hunt her kind. Hiding from her own alluring abilities. By keeping herself from the sea, Imogen’s bloodlust is dulled, and her black wings remain concealed beneath her skin. When a neighboring king comes to visit, Imogen can no longer hide. He knows precisely what she is, and he believes she can save their kingdoms from an even greater monster. But Imogen’s power threatens to violently reveal itself, and the two form a blood bond that protects them both. They flee together, traversing waters teeming with the undead. As the lines between duty to their people and desire for each other begin to blur, Imogen worries her ancestral powers may not be enough to kill what hunts her—the only way to defeat a monster may be to become one herself.” This premise is dramatic and invites readers. There was a way to execute this story to make it interesting, and multi-layered, but the author has not succeeded in delivering on this ambitious promise.
This title has another great cover-design that I am rather jealous of. The central image is of a falling angel. The figure seems to be based on a photo or a statue, but parts of it are single-color or line-only in black or gray. This combination of line-sketching and dimmed photo-art is curious, and original. The drawing of splashing water at the top of the water-body this figure is penetrating is also both realistic, and artistically elegant. And the gold doodles around the edges with leaves and snakes are a good mix of sketchy and simple. I am still working on learning how to bring drawn elements to cover some letters in the text: this is probably done by mixing layers in a program and erasing parts of one of the layers in the over-lapping sections. Sections are also introduced with gray drawings of figures, feathers, and the like: this is an appealing way to start sections to draw readers’ interest.
The opening section is a free-verse poem that describes a powerful woman waiting in the water: it concludes by saying this woman is more of a symbol for “want” as opposed to simply a drowned woman.
The first chapter in the first part begins with a mystical reference to a magical scent of the sea being felt like a “tentacle”. But then the story digresses into mundane chatter about an unsuitable dress between a girl and her previous “teenage governess”.
The book ends with the protagonist pushing herself to stand up and heal her own wounds to jump back into the water for it to carry her towards her goal to kill an enemy, find one friend, and save another friend. This is a formulaic counter-resolution, as the character comes very close to death in the preceding climax, and still struggles forward. The determination at the end is either a suicide, or a death, or an invitation for readers to proceed to the next book in the series. And it is rather cheap to use the threat of death to encourage a publisher, or readers to feel sympathy for this character to revive her by paying for the next part of a series.
The first mention of this story being about a “siren” is made a fourth into this book, when an emotional response (swooning) is portrayed in young ladies as this revelation is made: “The large feathers were stretched wide; bolts through the bone held it to its wooden plague…” The description continues: this is apparently a siren’s wing that has been strung onto the wall with a plaque under it. Since this book describes “real” sirens: this is like having a human mummified severed hand hanging on a wall: very grotesque. Apparently, this is strung up in the quarters of somebody who has been “hunting divine Sirens.” It seems nonsensical that anything “divine” can be “hunted” and hung up for sport, but the author seems to be borrowing from human-hunting habits, and mixing these notions with mystical ideas about mythology. Similar mistakes and confusion appear in most fantasy novels.
This book has flashes where it seems to have been polished by a competent editor, who added some details. But most of it is very hollow and unreadable.
Pennsylvania Literary Journal: Spring 2025 issue: https://anaphoraliterary.com/journals/plj/plj-excerpts/book-reviews-spring-2025

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher.

This was great. This is what I want when I say I’m in the mood for romantasy. My problem is the ending! How dare this book end like that. I need book two now which is crazy because I read this as an eARC and I have so long to wait. I recommend. It’s gothic, there are sirens, dark magic and the writing is immersive.

Okay, so this was darker than I expected and I quite liked it! 3.5 stars rounding up.

Thank you to Little, Brown and Company as well as Netgalley for the eARC.

This one has dark magic and sirens/sea witches with a heck of an ending. Trigger warning for magic that pretty much requires self harm, though.

The writing is really beautiful and lush without being overwhelming for the story. The banter between the characters is fun (although it veers a little TOO much into talking about how hot the MMC is when he is glowering, it kind of made me laugh and not in a good way). It took a little bit to understand the magic in the world and how things worked, and I think we will be seeing more in the next book.

The spice was okay, nothing mind blowing but it was well done.

Will be reading the next book, and I think readers will eat this up upon publication!

This book dug it's talons into me and didn't let go. And I am here for it. It immediately lures you into its siren song with atmospheric descriptions and beautifully strung together sentences. Imogen Nel is in hiding, right beneath her enemy's noses as the ward of the King who hunts her kind. She's also betrothed to his army's captain, the very man killing sirens like her. Tension, check.
As long as she stays away from the ocean, perched high in the mountain fortress, her siren nature remains dulled, her wings safely buried within. When that no longer remains the case, she desperately requests the aid of a foreign king to take her away, starting a war à la Paris and Helen of Troy.
This world was so well-built, even in a fairly short length novel. The magic system, the Gods, the creatures and the lore were all so well-developed, I absolutely devoured this book. The complexity between the relationships was emotionally charged and Cassidy excelled at evoking visceral feelings in the reader for each of them. I appreciated the dark elements as well, exploring the gruesome lore of sirens, but also authenticating actions through the morally gray heroine's perspective. Not to mention stalwart, very kingly oh-so-hot Theodore - the slow burn was as antagonizingly delicious for me as it must have been for them. This was a joy to read. I can't wait for book 2. This is a dark fantasy romance you do not want to miss.

Kalie Cassidy knows what she's doing and, goodness, she does it so well. From the first chapter I couldn't look away. This world, the characters, the way Kalie dangles the carrot so that I have no choice but to continue on--this book had me in thrall! I'll be sure to shout about this book from the mountaintops! It's incredible.

All the romantasy tropes but with a great siren spin. A woman coming in to own and a man filled with such longing! A great quick read

Easy 4.25 out of 5 stars for me

This book took me on a journey and I was hooked from the first chapter. Was that an accidental siren pun? Yes. Do I regret? Not particularly.

We had a fast moving plot (imo), two fantastic leads, and a fascinating world.

The world building was great for me, no info dumping and easily wound into the main story.

Gorgeously dark atmosphere.
Tense and somewhat slow building romance.
Breathtaking gowns.
Female rage 🥰
Interesting magic system.

This is one of my favorite reads this year and very excited for the next book! Almost wish we had another 50 pages somewhere haha.

Thanks to Net Galley for the eArc!

Where to begin... After what has felt like an endless reading slump, In the Vein of Drowning came to the rescue. While many books in the romantasy genre have become somewhat trite over the last few years, Cassidy has created a standout novel full of unique magic, a twisting plot, and genuinely believable romance. I can't wait for everyone to experience this book when it releases, and I absolutely cannot believe I have to wait for book 2! 

This ARC was provided by the author in exchange for an honest review.