Her Soul for a Crown by Alysha Rameera is a romantic fantasy rooted in Sri Lankan mythology. It follows Anula Ramanayake, a skilled poisoner and orphan who seeks revenge by marrying and killing the raja. But when a coup disrupts her plan, she makes a desperate pact with Reeri, a cursed god of war, offering her soul in exchange for power. Bound to Reeri, Anula must navigate divine politics, human betrayal, and her own conflicted heart as she fights to become the first raejina and reclaim justice. The story explores themes of vengeance, sacrifice, and the cost of ambition.

I really loved this story, the fmc Anula is a concubine out for vengeance. She’s out to kill the raja, so she can become the first raejina. But someone gets to him first and causes her to bargain with the blood yakka, Reeri. She bargains her soul, and he comes to “help”. Intense slow burn romance, and a lot of world building. She went through a transformation towards the end, as she wanted to save the kingdom. The ending gave me Hades and Persephone vibes. Thank you NetGalley for the eARC.

In a perfect world, I would have the option to give half star ratings, and this would be a 3.5. I absolutely love the idea, and I love the representation of a culture that isn't often written in the fantasy genre. However, I did feel that there were some things left to be desired.
The main selling points of this book aside from cultural representation, are the female rage, and the development of the main character's core beliefs. The story follows a young woman who is plotting her way to becoming the first Raejina (queen), and deals a lot with the experience of being a woman in a world and culture dominated by men. The love story also provides the main character with a significant development arc within the romantic subplot, as it changes her entire spiritual perspective.
That said, I felt that the world building left a lot to be desired. It felt a lot more like info dumping, as well as telling rather than showing. I also think that this would have been worlds better if the romantic storyline was not a factor. It is an extremely slow burn, and typically I love a slow burn because it gives lots of time for relationship development, banter, and tension, but this lacked the excitement and tension of a good slow burn. The two romantic scenes at the end of the book also felt out of place, and one of them was in the epilogue which I thought was an odd choice, and took away from the epilogue's purpose. I think it would have been beautiful as just a fantasy with friendships and other relationships in place of the romantic subplot.
Overall, I did enjoy this book, and keeping in mind that this is Alysha Rameera's debut romantasy, I can see that she has amazing potential and will certainly be reading anything she writes in the future.

I was so excited for this book and even more ecstatic when I received an arc. But that’s where my enthusiasm ends.

The book throws your right into mythology that isn’t well know with little to no explanation and I have never been more lost in a book. Ever. So many names and characters and people all over the place. Gods and goddesses and relationships and family. I needed a family tree or glossary or something.

The FMC was probably one of the most annoying I’ve ever read about. She has 0 thoughts for herself and is just doing what her aunt tells her to do for revenge for her family. Also she’s the worst poisoner I’ve ever met. “Oops too much” or “wrong antidote” a few too many times. Wasn’t she trained basically her whole life? She needs to go back to school.

Maybe it’s part of their mythology and culture but why did no one bat a she when the raja just kept being replaced?? By the time they moved onto their third one you’d think someone would have noticed something. But nope. Just going with it. No biggie.

I really did want to love this story, it had everything I love and the mythology seemed really interesting. It just fell so flat for me.

Thank you NetGalley and Sourcebooks for the arc!

🌺 Sri Lankan mythology
🔥 Feminist rage fantasy
🖤 He falls first
💔 Slow burn with yearning
⚔️ Revenge plots
💎 Poisoned Jewelry
🛏️Only One Bed

This is a standalone romantasy based on Sri Lankan mythology and Sri Lanka's first queen. Anula is an orphan with an affinity for poison who is set on getting revenge after the deaths of her family and destruction of her village years before. Her plan is to marry the current raja, poison him, and take the throne for herself as the first raejina. But an unexpected coup thwarts her plans and she's left to hurriedly bargain with the most dangerous cursed god of them all - the Blood Yakka, Reeri. Her soul for a crown.

This was such a unique romantasy that was filled with Sri Lankan cultural representation, decadent prose, and all the feminine rage. I loved learning more about the culture and mythology of Sri Lanka as I'm not familiar with it at all. All the mentions of the food had me salivating! Anula is desperate to end the heartless reign of the rajas and to seek revenge for all the senseless deaths that they've caused. I was invested in her plight to right those wrongs and to make her enemies to pay. Her bargain with Reeri was a delicious plot advancement and their chemistry had me coming back for more. Reeri has his own reasons to accept the bargain - for him to atone for his past actions and to also right the wrongs that his divine tormenter has wrecked on his fellow Yakkas and the world. But he finds he can't stay away from Anula (literally the bond won't let them), and while they are both known to stop hearts, they find their own hearts at risk from each other. This is a slowwwww yearning burn romance that is both sweet and spicy.

Thank you so much to Casablanca for the advanced copy! 🖤

A lush, Sri Lankan-inspired romantasy with a feminist retelling at its core.

The setting blends pre-colonial Sri Lanka with Sri Lankan and South Asian mythology. Rameera reimagines Anula of Anuradhapura, the first female sovereign of Sri Lanka, as a woman seeking vengeance against the crown for destroying her village.

She invokes a deal with a demon spirit named Reeri, who has his own motivations and carries his own grief. Their search for vengeance for their families brings them together in unlikely ways and they find themselves more alike than different.

There's lots of familiar romantasy tropes, but Rameera twists them in a way that makes them feel fresh and a bit more mature. I especially liked her take on the "stabby sassy assassin FMC" that has taken over after the hype of ACOTAR. With Anula, she's created a female heroine that is actually a badass, who has skills, motivations, and personality traits that are shown consistently throughout the story. She's stubborn, untrusting, and manipulative, but she's also full of so much love for her people and her homeland. I found her to be such a compelling character and a nice surprise.

The other characters are less fleshed out, especially the side characters, though I still enjoyed the time I had with them. The male love interest, Reeri, reminded me of Rhysand if he was less of a dick. He has a truly sad backstory and harbors a lot of guilt and pain, but is ultimately caring, kind, and patient. Thankfully, he lacked the issues I always have with romantasy MMCs: controlling behavior, possessiveness, and other heteronormative toxicity. He was an MMC that I actually wanted to root for and I hoped for both of their happy endings.

The romance itself is very lusty, but it's a slowburn in the sense that the characters take a long time to open up to each other, trust each other, and admit their feelings. Overall sweet and heartwarming if sometimes frustrating (JUST KISS ALREADY DAMN).

Her Soul For a Crown is a thrilling low-fantasy adventure spotlighting South Asian culture and mythology, political scheming, and a truly powerful female main character. Long-time romantasy fans and the romantasy-averse alike would enjoy getting lost in its pages.

I loved the concept of book and i Liked Anula’s character and her affinity for poison make her really interesting! It wasn’t a perfect book because the pace as uneven and I wanted the side characters to have a little more depth, but the slow burn is burning with tension and I simply really loved that!

At the end I found the entire story an enjoyable read with a fresh kind of mythology that I would absolutely recommend to any romantasy reader!

3.25 STARS

A fun debut novel that had a lot of interesting and unique cultural elements woven in throughout. Let's start with some of the things I really enjoyed. First, a feminine rage revenge plot? Yes, always. One of my fave tropes. Multiple POV and found family? Also, yes, always. Did love the culturally inspired elements and the descriptions of the characters features and locations was great. Having some powerful shadow based gods, also a plus for me. Definitely a lot of potential in this one.

Some things I did not enjoy as much included the confusing story lines, uneven pacing that kept taking me in and out of the story, and the way the language/vocabulary was used for certain words. That is more of a personal thing for me and totally understand others may enjoy that in a fantasy! Also, I think I needed a bit more from the romance between the FMC and MMC. Was not completely sold on how they came to want each other or why.

Thanks to NetGa

The way this had everything I needed and more! An epic fantasy with an undercurrent slow burn romance. This book was excellently put together and so visual, you could literally see everything you were reading. I was obsessed with the characters and the way in which the story unfolded and weaved in Sri Lankan lore and culture.

I was really hoping I’d love this one but I kept putting it down and struggling to come back to it. Finally I grabbed the audio and powered through but I was still left a little wanting. Conceptually this book should have been a knock out for me but the execution left me struggling to follow along. I don’t think this is a bad book but I do think it is a little rough around the edges.

What’s to love….
- slow burn romance
- shadow daddy? except he’s literally shadows
- revenge & feminine rage
- morally grey MCs
- Sri Lankan mythology based fantasy

What didn’t really work for me…
- pacing, at times we were flying and other times things were moving at a glacial pace
- world-building, especially in the beginning - I wanted more information upfront. I don’t mind being a little confused when reading but I was feeling pretty lost!

A vengeful FMC skilled in poisoncraft, Anula, bargains her soul with the most dangerous cursed god—the blood yakka Reeri— to avenge her murdered family in an endless war and take the crown. Reeri hears her prayer and it’s an offer he can’t pass up, an opportunity to kill his divine tormentor. This bargain tethers the two together until complete… or until they die. As the war continues, Anula must move fast or lose her opportunity to become the first raejina. Though skilled in stopping hearts, the more time she spends with Reeri, the more she finds her own heart at risk. And when the time comes to fight enemies both human and divine, Anuradhapura and the Heavens will never be the same.

When I say this book was fun, thrilling, interesting, YEARNFUL(!!!) I mean it. We’ve got slow burn, female rage, forced proximity, etc. The pacing itself kept me wanting more. My only wish is that we got MORE of the fmc and mmc together. This beautiful book is based off of Queen Anula of Sri Lanka and the authors amazing retelling of her story and humanizing someone with flaws and growth and purpose and I truly loved this.

Thank you to NetGalley, the publishers and the author for the e-ARC in exchange for honest review.

3.5 stars rounded up. So this was such an interesting concept for me! A story based on the first queen of Sri Lanka, also known as the poison queen! And adding in fantasy elements, sounds amazing!!

So I loved the characters and their arcs, I loved the real bits of history that were included and all the cultural elements that made me feel completely immersed. And it's a standalone book, which I love every now and then!

There were a few things that had me knock down the rating- first the words betwixt and mayhap were used A LOT. But then between and perhaps were also used, I wish one had been picked and maybe used a little more sparingly.

Second, the MMC used the words "the cave beneath her bush" and it gave me an immediate pick.I know it's based in the past, but there were a lot of other phrases that could have been used.

Overall, I really liked the book, just a few small things that most people would probably gloss right over. Would definitely recommend as a standalone book with a basis in history!

As someone who enjoys diving into new fantasy worlds, I always hope to be surprised by where the story takes me. I’ve read a lot of fantasy over the years, so it’s not unusual for me to pick up on plot patterns early — but I’m always looking for books that break that mold and really pull me in.

Unfortunately, this book didn’t quite do that for me. While it wasn’t a bad read by any means, I found the storyline a bit too predictable, and I never fully lost myself in the world the author created. I didn’t dislike the book, but I also didn’t love it as much as I hoped I would. It just didn’t click with me in the way I wanted.

That said, if you enjoy stories centered around two characters who are on opposing sides or fighting for their own causes — but gradually grow closer through shared experiences — then this might be a book worth checking out. It simply wasn’t the right fit for me, but it could be exactly what someone else is looking for.

Her Soul for a Crown pulled me in right from the start with its mix of myth, magic, and vengeance. Anula is fierce, determined, and unapologetic, and I enjoyed following her through poisons, politics, and impossible choices. Reeri was such an intriguing counterpart - otherworldly yet grounded - and their slow-burn connection had just the right amount of tension without taking over the main plot.

The Sri Lankan–inspired world was vivid and full of fascinating details, and I appreciated how the folklore wove naturally into the story. There were moments where the pacing felt a little uneven and a few secondary characters could have been developed more, but it didn’t take away from how much I enjoyed the journey. Overall, I really enjoyed this one!

Her Soul for a Crown was a breath of fresh air to the fantasy genre and I love finding hidden gems like this. Alysha Rameera gives us an amazing debut bringing in Sri Lankan mythology at the forefront while giving us al the things that we love in a fantasy. Being that this is her debut book I absolutely look forward to what Alysha will bring to the fantasy genre.

Read this if you love these tropes:
-Feminist Rage
-He Falls First
-Slow-burn with yearning
-Only One Bed
-Forced Proximity

Thank you so much to Sourcebooks Casa and Netgalley for the eARC of this book.

3.5 stars

I picked Her Soul for a Crown by Alysha Rameers from Netgalley because the description attracted me. South Asian representation in fantasy romance is so rare and I haven't read Sri Lankan myth ever in this genre. The plot was incredible with twists, turns and all shades of emotions. Anula is a fierce protagonist and Reeri the Blood Yakka is stands out in contrast. The whole concept is very unique and novel.

Anula Ramanayake of Anuradhapura vowed to take revenge for her parents' assassination and she plans to achieve it by killing the current Raja by poison. But its not so easy and when she is desperate to succeed, she makes a deal with Reeri the Blood Yakka, known to be one of the most dangerous and devious gods. The story is full of ups and downs. Power plays. Mind games. Reeri and Anula's connection is built slowly and there is whole lot of longing angsty slow burn feels. But the main part remains the suspense and the action and the secrets.

Anula is such a strong heroine. She is fearless and stubborn. While Reeri shows a soft side. The side that feels guilty and repenting for being the downfall of his own people. He is a great MMC every way, specially the way he feels for Anula. The book shows Sri Lankan mythology beautifully. The description is vivid and I could feel like being transported to another complex world.

The start of the book is a bit slow and you have to keep going There are so many moving parts with an extensive secondary caste and that can be a bit daunting and exhausting.

I reviewed an early copy voluntarily

4.5⭐

Thank you to Alysha Rameera, Coloured Pages Book Tours, Sourcebooks Casablanca and NetGalley for the Tour Stop & ARC!

𝐇𝐞𝐫 𝐒𝐨𝐮𝐥 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐚 𝐂𝐫𝐨𝐰𝐧 is an epic, slow-burn romantasy inspired by Sri Lankan mythology follows a fierce orphaned young woman with an affinity for poisons and revenge who would do anything to end the reign of heartless rajas—even sell her soul to the most dangerous cursed god of all—the Blood Yakka, Reeri.

I discovered this book through the gorgeous cover reveal posts and reels and I was so enamoured by it. As a Brown female reader, I knew that this would resonate with me deeply and it did have me absolutely enchanted till the end!

Rameera was inspired Sri Lankan history & Sinhalese folklore and mythology for this book and it was absolute perfect to have this book. The FMC, Anula, was inspired by Queen Anula of Anuradhapura, who was the first queen-regeant in Sri Lankan history. The Queen in the mythology was said to have married six times and during her five year reign, she poisoned her way through four husbands, causing her to rule on her own. Reeri, the MMC, was inspired by the Sinhalese folklore tale of the demon Reeri Yakseya, believed to be one of the most cruel and powerful demons.

The Anula and Reeri in this book — this amazing retelling are different from their inspiration sources. Rameera explored complexities with her characters — Anula being a poison master, whose vengeance for the throne to avenge her murdered family ran thicker than water and she would do anything to achieve her goals. Reeri is more empathetic — whose behaviour and actions are layered and flawed, haunted by the mistakes of his past and full of heart to right his wrong. He loves his people a lot and he yearns to be so much better.

The platonic relationships throughout the book were precious. The bond between Reeri and his brothers was heartwarming and precious — a definite standout that made the book even better.

Anula and Reeri had so much chemistry. The unique twist to the forced proximity trope was clever. The banter and tension was messy for them but the way their emotional intelligence was explored in dark times together created a compelling dynamic between. The yearning and angst in the slowburn romance had me on chokehold.

I was on the edge of my seat from the beginning of this book. There's so much lore, world-building and narratives explored throughout the book that had me hooked and amazed! The emotionally attached stakes were really high, which made me sob at times. The plot lines were immersive and the foreshadowing for them was very subtle but made so much sense when revealed.

For fans of Tasha Suri, Kritika H. Rao and Scarlett St. Clair, this book is perfect if you're looking for unique twists on mythology, history and tropes!

This was such an incredible book. It is a faced paced romantasy about Anula who is highly skilled in poison craft and is out to avenge the death of her family. The fact Anula is based on the real life queen in Sri Lanka really intrigued me. She is forced to work alongside Reeri, the cursed blood Yakka who is determined to free his family from the slavery by Lord Wessamory.

Based on Sri Lankan mythology, this is a slow burn enemies to lovers tale with lots of political intrigue. I loved both main characters and wished we knew more about the side characters as well. Overall it's a very enjoyable book.

Dnf at 65%

I really wanted to love this. It took me until 15% to start to get in to. There were a lot of past/present chapters, and the chapters alternated between Reeri and Anula. There was a glossary in the back, which was helpful. Once I started to grasp what the book was about and the plot it did pick up for a bit but around the 60-65% mark I started to lose interest. I tried to keep going but unfortunately this wasn't for me.

Rating 2.5 rounding up because the first half of the book was interesting and I really loved the Sri lanken inspiration. While this book wasnt for me I do believe that others will enjoy it.

Thank you to Sourcebooks and Netgalley for the ARC copy.

I've noticed that so many recent romantasies based on the legends of those eventually colonised by the British Empire are deeply concerned with societal trauma and revenge (Ireland among them), and I think Her Soul for a Crown does a wonderful job of using the romantasy format to tell a story of Anula, a young woman who dreams and schemes of having more influence in her country than has been provided to wives and concubines in order to make the world better for her people.

To achieve the influence, she trades her soul to the Blood Yakka Reeri, a devil who haunts her people. Although Anula quickly realises that he may not be the devil that she assumed and that her revenge may not be as straightforward as she thought.

The book manages to combine both steamy scenes and really interesting themes about what is justice and what is vengeance, with a really keen description of the pain that comes from being voiceless and vulnerable. I really enjoyed this one and will definitely revisit. While it's lovely to see a standalone romantasy, the world is so fun that I would love to see Rameera continue to write in it. Thanks to Sourcebooks for an early copy, and this is for fans of Scarlett St Clair and Emily Vargas.