This was a big DNF for me. I am all for feminine rage and FT Patriarchy, but it was over the top in a way that I just couldn't get into. I wish the author nothing but success but this was just not for me.

This book was thought-provoking for me. It made me consider how power imbalances that are ingrained in a culture can be overcome. However, this book was difficult to rate because it made me feel uncomfortable. I read and really enjoyed The Shadows Between Us and The Darkness Within Us; I appreciate morally gray characters or those with complicated motives. The difference with this book is that it was difficult to believe that a pair of characters who previously lacked basic empathy for others could experience such deep attraction for each other that it uprooted their entire world view over the span of a few months. I found it troubling that Sanos, as a frequent visitor, had never considered that the workers at the brothel might not enjoy their work or have other options for their income. I also found it troubling that Sanos, as a future ruler, had never considered the safety of the women in Brutus, even as his mother and sister were abused. Similarly, Olerra seems unconcerned about doing anything about the treatment of the men in Amarra, unless she becomes the future ruler. It feels easy to root for Sanos and Olerra only because the alternatives are much, much worse.

Thank you to NetGalley and Macmillan for the ARC!

After reading the authors note, I will not be finishing this book. I know it's not supposed to be feminist or whatever, it's supposed to be revenge. But the authors note is a giant rage fest of my life is so hard because I am a woman I will make everyone listen to me rage. I had almost enough of that with her last book that I really do not want to read more of it.

This book prompts a fascinating, brutal "what if" hypothetical, but never seemed to move beyond its initial premise. I felt like the characters were continually stuck in their assigned roles with little room for the kind of nuanced development that makes the romantasy genre so compelling. Personally, I would have loved to seen a version of What Fury Brings that leverages brutality/darkness, etc. as just one of multiple storytelling devices vs. the primary method.

In this dark fantasy debut, Tricia Levenseller captures the essence of feminine rage by flipping societal standards declaring women as the epitome of power and strength.

As stated in the authors note this book is about revenge and depicts the injustices and brutality committed against women throughout time having happened to men. "Men should be seen and not heard. Men should smile and flex whenever a woman looks at them".

For every little girl or woman who has heard "you should smile more" or "would you just behave" etc, this book is for them.

Olerra, a war general and princess vying for the throne of Amarra sets out to capture a prince to earn favor among the court. When she captures the heir apparent of a rival kingdom a battle of wills ensues between the two generals leading to undeniable chemistry and bending of gender roles.

This was a solid 3.5 stars for me. I thoroughly enjoyed this book and devoured it like candy. I do feel as if it was a bit rushed and lacked information that would have added to the depth and development of the plot.

Thank you NetGalley, Feiwel, and Macmillan Publishing Group for this gifted advanced reader copy in return for my honest review.

Tricia Levenseller writing an adult romantasy was not on my bucket list, but oh god, I LOVED IT! Her writing style is amazing so jumping into this new world was easy. The world building is enthralling and I loved every new thing I learned. Definitely check those trigger warnings though. I appreciated that we got to experience the range of female rage to healing. Olerra is the kind of heroine we need more of. She's badass and brilliant and so thoughtful. Sanos was so fun. It was great seeing a man on this side of the kidnapping. He grew throughout the book and it was so nice watching. Their romance is adorable and I NEED Tricia to write another one about two characters who shall not be named... Overall, a delicious story that I will be coming back to again and again.

What Fury Brings
by: Tricia Levenseller

My rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

A gasped when I got approved for this eARC! I have loved the other books I’ve read by this author, particularly The Shadows Between Us and The Darkness Within Us. Needless to say when I found out the author was releasing her first adult romantic fantasy, I was excited! This story is a Dark Romantasy where all the injustices that happen to women IRL are done to men; it basically flips the patriarchy on its head. It is NOT for the faint of heart, but it had me in a chokehold. The commentary about the inequities of the sexes were so well done, and the romance was raw and intense but rewarding.

This book is a must read if you like:
🗡️ Strong and Powerful FMC
🗡️ Enemies to Lovers
🗡️ Dual POV
🗡️ Matriarchal Society
🗡️ Captor / Captive
🗡️ Spicy 🌶️ 🌶️🌶️

Note: The author has a letter to the reader at the beginning of the book about the intent behind this book, and it’s a must read before starting. She really elaborates on the choices made in the story, and context is everything.

Thank you to Macmillan, Feiwel, and NetGalley for sending me an eARC in exchange for an honest review.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Tricia Levenseller does not miss. What Fury Brings is a firecracker of a novel—equal parts vengeance and vulnerability, with a heroine who’s all blade and bite. The pacing is relentless, the emotions run deep, and the stakes are higher than ever.

This is the kind of book you inhale in one sitting. The action is tight, the romance is tense and satisfying, and the character growth is earned. Fury, grief, and healing all collide in this brilliant addition to Levenseller’s fantasy canon. I loved every moment.

This book made me unreasonably angry. Here are a few reasons:
1. It wasn't what I was expecting based on the blurb, and I was disappointed.
2. There wasn't enough focus on the world-building. I thought the world was super interesting but I needed more.
3. Why was sex the focus of this book??? It was too much. I wanted to like Olerra, she's a strong warrior princess, but she was so horny it was off-putting.
4. It had some good moments, but was over- shadowed by the aforementioned sex. Just because it's an adult novel doesn't mean it has to be so sex-heavy. Dial down the sex a little, ramp up the fantasy, and it had the potential to be a good book.

Those are just a few of the problems I had with this book.

Thank you to NetGalley for a copy of this book in exchange for my honest opinion.

A matriarchal society where the women are expected to go to neighboring kingdoms and steal their husbands, which is exactly what our FMC attempted to do. Everything was going according to her plan, until we realize that she has kidnapped the wrong man. When our MMC is brought back to this female led kingdom, he is taught (against his will) all about what is expected of him as the future husband of a General who is in the running to be the future Queen. He is to be silent in public unless spoken to, if he makes a woman bleed (even during their first intimate time together) it means death for him, he must always wear the jewelry that shows that he belongs to his future wife, and a whole host of other rules that would seem absurd in our society. There's also the pesky problem of he is a kidnapped Prince, and his father is out for blood.

It was very different to read a book where this was the way the kingdom was run. I can honestly say that I would not have wanted to live there, as the laws were extreme. I can see why the author wanted to flip traditional roles on their heads, but it wasn't a selling point for me personally. If you're going into this expecting a spicy read, you will probably be disappointed. While there is a huge amount of talk revolving around sex, including but not limited to: brothels, sex work, self pleasuring to prepare for intimacy, etc, there is really only one open door scene, and it is at the very end of the book. (We're talking around 97% of the way through.) So please don't expect to be reading a spicy romance. This is more about battle, kingdom politics, and betrayal.

ARC Review for What Fury Brings, out Sept 23, 2025.

Summary: A warrior princess kidnaps the spare prince of an enemy kingdom for a husband but it’s actually the heir (oops!)
✨Dark romantasy
✨Spicy enemies-to-lovers
✨Gender-flipped society
✨Feminine rage
✨p3nis guillotines

It’s important to enter this trope subverting dark romantasy with the right expectations - it’s not a feminist utopia but a gender-swapped hellscape of a matriarchy where women treat men the same way men have treated women (you know, like subservient, second-class sex objects).

As the author herself said: feminism is about equality and this book is about revenge.

As a woman in STEM living in the United States, hell yeah, sister. My cup of feminine rage overfloweth.

While the plot was far from watertight, the characters were a bit two dimensional, and we went from lust to love in two shakes of a lamb’s tail, the subversion of romantasy tropes in this gender-flipped fantasy world kept me reading.

At times unsettling, at times like a dark rom com, this was a truly unique romantasy. If you’re in the mood for vengeance, I recommend What Fury Brings.

I've heard great things about Tricia Levenseller and her writing but have not had the opportunity to read anything by her so far. The cover and the premise of this novel really had me hooked, as it is such a new and fresh idea.

It was a really great, unique read!! Definitely a lot different than anything else I've read this year.

The characters are well written and it was cool to see their personalities shift over the course of the book. I wish there had been more chemistry between Sanos and Olerra, more romance less smut (but that's a personal opinion).

The plot? Tricia NAILED it for me. It wasn't super predictable, it had good twists and left me shocked in quite a few spots. It was a slower build up like many romantasies, but I enjoy that.

It was a really enjoyable way to address society's complexity in a palatable way. The ending definitely left an opening for more, and I'm there for round 2!

Okay wow — this was such a fun and fiery ride! I already love Tricia Levenseller’s writing, but this adult fantasy-romance hit different in all the right ways. The world was bold and unapologetically matriarchal, and I was so here for it.

Olerra is the kind of badass heroine I instantly rooted for — fierce, determined, and completely unbothered by rules or expectations. And Sanos? Total grumpy-turned-soft love interest. Their chemistry was sizzling from the start, and I loved watching their relationship evolve from enemies-ish to something deeper (with plenty of tension along the way).

There’s action, political scheming, and some genuinely swoony moments, but it also dives into themes of power, identity, and choice without ever feeling heavy.

This felt fresh, fast-paced, and really fun — a great mix of spice and heart. I’ll definitely be grabbing whatever comes next in this world!

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the opportunity to read and review an early copy of this book.

This author has outdone herself with this one. The perfect balance between plot and world building and some amounts of spice it is one of the best books I’ve read this year. The way in which she takes a lot of facets of our current society and gender swaps them just shows how crazy some of the things we deal with in the real world are. Everyone should read this just for that thought provoking portion alone. I loved the FMC and how even though she knows their society is not perfect, she hopes to rule it someday and correct some of the flaws that are a result of centuries of oppression from men. The tension that grows between the FMC and the enemy kingdoms prince is the best and I love getting to see inside both of their heads as they navigate the complicated relationship of his kidnapping. This book was a well contained story and while the story of these two main characters wrapped up in a nice place, I would LOVE another book to explore some of the side characters stories!

Thank you to NetGalley and the author for the gifted eARC for this book! All opinions given are my own!

DNF @ 12%. Nothing wrong with the book. It's very upfront about what is included and what the project of the book is. Just after the events of Chapter 3, I came to understand that it was too much for me and was making me too uncomfortable. But my discomfort is not to say that this is a bad book. It is well written and what it is portraying is accurate to real life presently and historically. It is meant to make you uncomfortable. You should not feel comfortable reading what is going on in this book even from the beginning. You are meant to feel unease, meant to be disgusted, meant to be angry. I love what Levenseller is tackling with the project of this book and I think that it's an important story to tell. I think the story with content that is drawn from what is presently and historically done to women being flipped onto men helps facilitate an important conversation. It just... was too much for me. And I want to be clear that it would have been too much for me if it wasn't gender-flipped. If what was going on in this story was happening to women and girls (which it quite literally does), I would've been just as uncomfortable. So again, I see what this book was doing, I see the project that this book is.. I just have to prioritize my mental health over completing the book.

✨What Fury Brings✨

Author: Tricia Levenseller
Release: September 23, 2025

I’ve been a long time fan of Tricia’s and was so excited to see she had her first adult Romantasy releasing! This new story is one that reading her author’s note at the beginning is very important and to remember- it’s fiction! It’s set in a magical world where in one country (Brutus), the land is ruled by men and women are to be seen and not heard. But there’s also another country that is ruled by women and, while it is not a depiction of what a world truly ruled by women would look like, it’s almost a gender bent inversion of Brutus stemmed from a revolution where the women were blessed by their god, Amarra, to become the dominant/stronger sex. There are harems, slaves, but also men just simply taken care of as a dad/partner/stay at home husband.

It was strange at first, reading this story and seeing the men accepting flowers, walking down the aisle, being provided for by the women. But I’ve always adored Tricia’s writing and she continued to keep me entertained and intrigued. This story is considerably darker than her others and spicy, but she still kept her humor and banter woven within.

Olerra is in the running to become crown princess against her evil cousin, but with only the army behind her, she needs more influence. So, she kidnaps herself a noble husband from the warring country of Brutus. Aka a prince. Aka the wrong prince. Sanos keeps his identity a secret to protect his family and keep war at bay in hopes of an escape, but while the world of Amarra is wild and he goes from crown Prince to submissive consort, Sanos sees a new side of the cruelty of man… and woman.

I looked forward to picking this book up after having to set it down. I felt like the relationship was lacking a little bit of deeper connection to result in love, but I thoroughly enjoyed Olerra’s kindness and forwardness and Sanos was hilarious with his anger.

Tropes you may find in WFB are enemies to lovers, fake engagement, strong women, unique premise, medium high spice (back door and some bondage), forced proximity, court intrigue, and a HEA.

Thank you Tricia, Macmillan’s Children’s Publishing, and Netgalley for this gifted arc.

I think it’s commendable that the author took a leap at writing a gender subversive story within the romantasy genre. However, I don’t think the story is as strong as it could have been. Firstly, the matriarchal society in this story is confined to a small geographical area. The male main character’s society is stereotypically patriarchal. So even though the setting is gender bent, the romantic roles really aren’t. Both Sanos and Olerra are headstrong warriors in line for their respective thrones. I think this story would have been a lot more interesting if the author had explored a softer type of male such as Andrastus who she intended to kidnap. Furthermore, I think it could have been interesting to explore what differences in a matriarchal society would look like instead of having women behave as the worst of men would i.e. forcing the other gender into slavery, having harems, etc.

There are some things I would give the story credit for, though. The story was boring by no means! The vying for the crown between Olerra and her cousin was interesting. The romance was tension fraught! The author does a great job at diverse LGBTQ representation! And it was interesting to watch Sanos develop empathy in real time.

I just think the story suffers from being displayed as a reversal of the patriarchy especially given that we don’t get the POV of a male character raised within this matriarchy.

Thank you to NetGalley and Macmillan for providing me with this ARC in exchange for a fair and honest review!

I am obsessed! This was on my highly anticipated list for the year, and it did not disappoint! I love her writing style and how intricate her characters are! Highly recommend for the fantasy lovers and this world is amazing!

The description was delicious and intriguing, the execution disappointing. What if Captive Prince was a straight romance, and didn't commit to the bit?

I think it works too hard to subvert its own fantasies. While being marketed on darkness, dubious consent, a captivity romance and a terrifying society, it delivers on none of the seductions of power - and no good reasons for this kidnapped prince to ever cooperate. What if the warlord princess was a milquetoast reformer?

I had very high hopes for this book based on the blurb. I was thinking of an empowering (like it says in the description) female driven society and got almost the exact opposite. Nothing about the way the Amarran society was portrayed is empowering or sexy. There is talk about Olerra wanting to change the society when she becomes the ruler and then it is never brought up again. The dialogue between the MCs was juvenile and not for one minute did I believe they were actually in love given the treatment by the FMC and that’s the whole point of a romance novel. Very disappointed in this one.