This is an enemies to lovers story and turns the typical patriarchy on it's head by giving women unusual strength to keep their society out of the hands of men. There are social issues addressed which I imagine will not go down well with male readers. It was a good romance story. Olerra and Sanos were well written characters and I enjoyed the story.

I'd like to thank NetGalley, Macmillan/Fiewel and the author for an ARC copy of this book.

Loved it! This book brought all the fury that women have been feeling for a while now and I'm here for it!!!! 👏👏👏👏👏

Enemies-to-lovers✅
Badass FMC who will kick your ass✅
Political intrigue✅
Evolving tension, spice, and chemistry✅
HEA✅

Olerra must kidnap a husband to secure her succession to the throne of Amarra. Sanos just wants to be rid of his father and is first in line for the throne of Brutus. But when Olerra kidnaps Sanos, thinking he is his younger brother, adventure ensues!

I wanted to devour yet take my time reading this. I think you *have* to read the Author's Note at the start to really know where this book is coming from. At first, it was weird and cringey for me to read such a role reversal between men and women and watching how Olerra spoke and thought about Sanos literally had me cringing.

UNTIL I hit this point in the book where it all started to come together and I was like, "Ohhhhh!!! The Fury! The Rage! Yeeeeessssssssss!!!

I love that Olerra is not a petite, weak character. She is strong, determined, brave, and will throw you literally on your ass! Sanos was what we want from an MMS who starts off in one place and over the course of the book grows and becomes even more swoon worthy. Plus-he lets Olerra fight her own damned fights while backing her 💯💯💯

The book wasn't perfect in it's writing-I personally could have used just a touch more emotional connection. Finally, this is just a me thing, but I don't love when sex scenes are the last 5-10% of the book-I just don't like books ending like this so I was mildly irritated on this piece.

Honestly, I think that there are going to be some people out there who are just going to have a tough time with the concept/premise and how the rage/fury is presented. I am not one of those people. I REALLY loved it! For the babes who like romantasy, you'll love it! For the babes who love enemies-to-lovers, you'll love it! For the babes who love strong, badass FMC-THIS IS FOR YOU!

I love this book!! The banter and sass of both MCs and the political intrigue of the world especially the different views between the two rivaling countries. I also like the ending with the little tease of the FMC’s best friend seeing the brother- hoping that means there’ll be a second book maybe? Tricia Levenseller has been one of my favorite authors and she once again made another book that I would read again and recommend to anyone.

In What Fury Brings, Olerra has her sights on becoming the next ruler of the matriarchal kingdom of Amarra, not only because she wants to bring change to her kingdom, but also because she can't let her scheming and ruthless cousin take the throne. She's doing everything she can to improve her odds to be nominated as the next ruler, including becoming a fierce warrior and general of the Amarran army, but she needs to raise the bar to win enough support in her endeavor. Thus, she sets out to kidnap a prince from a neighboring patriarchal kingdom to become her husband.

This story includes a subversion of not only tropes, but also of patriarchy and gender roles in society. The structure of the Amarran kingdom is the result of women gaining power over men, after previously experiencing oppression.

During the first few chapters of the book, I did have to suspend my disbelief as the world-building and description of how men were treated in Amarra felt a bit jarring. However, as the plot progressed and we get to know the characters, I came to really enjoy this story. It also felt cathartic to read about a reversal of gender roles and position in society.

Despite some of the heavier themes, the story had a lightness to it. I absolutely adored the relationship development between Olerra and Sanos and very much enjoyed the political scheming. It was also great to read from Sanos' POV as he came to realize his own privilege and the inequalities within his patriarchal kingdom.

Highly recommend! Rating 4.5/5 stars.

I absolutely flew through What Fury Brings, a fierce romantasy with a warrior princess on a mission to kidnap a nobleman and claim her throne. Set in a world where women are stronger than men and gender roles flip entirely on their head, it delivers political intrigue, magic, heart-stopping action, and some seriously spicy romance. Tricia Levenseller fully leans into adult themes. Think dominant women meeting their match in battle and in bed, making this a bold, electric read. It’s intense, clever, and exactly the kind of fresh, dramatic fantasy twist that will keep readers hooked.

Thank you to netgalley, the publisher, and the author for the digital ARC! 

This book was nothing like I have ever read before. It is genuinely very much a gender swap book. Like many of the other reviews that this book was hard for me to watch the FMC see abuse and not doing anything solely for the fact that I couldn't fathom a female character seeing atrocities and turning a blind eye to them. This book highlighted exactly what male characters in books similar to this do, and for that I couldn't be angry. It was a gender swap of the stereotypes. 

As the story progressed and Olerra and her Prince got to know each other more, I enjoyed seeing their dynamic develop. 

The fighting scenes, pacing, and conflict was great and I think was done well. 

If you're into fantasy and interested on a gender swap take, this would be the perfect book for you!

Picture a world where women rule—leading armies, kidnapping princes, and running the show. Tricia Levenseller’s got that girl-power fantasy on lock with a story that’s equal parts fierce and romantic.

Meet Olerra, a warrior princess out to snatch a prince and claim her throne. But oops—she kidnaps the wrong guy. Enter Sanos, a brooding prince with secrets and a heart tangled up in his own family drama.

Thrown together, they clash, plot, and—surprise—fall for each other. But with secrets on both sides, can love survive when the throne and power are on the line?

Fast-paced, fiery, and totally addictive—a feminist fantasy that delivers all the feels.

It started a little different and I didn’t know if I would like it, but it grew on me as I kept reading. It is a fantasy romance with enemies to lovers. Olerra wants to be the queen but her cousin is making it hard. So she comes up with a plan to get a husband by stealing him, but it turns out a little different than expected. I like Olerra and her friend Yrda. They seem to not be like the others. They live in a world where women rule and the men are subservient. These two want it more even. Sanos is a great character too. He fights and doesn’t want to submit, but learns what he really wants. If you like enemies to lovers and women ruling while men are subservient, then this is for you!

Thank you, Tricia Levenseller, NetGalley, and Macmillan for the eARC!

Overall, I enjoyed this book. The juxtaposition of a matriarchal and patriarchal society demonstrated through the leadership style and treatment of individuals in Amarra and Brutus was cleverly done. That layered over the storyline of Olerra and Sanos (Andrastus) was bewitching and really left me pondering societal balances and relationships. It was eye-opening to see women in the power role both politically and sexually and it really evoked Amazon mythology for me. The corruption of power, whether male or female, was an interesting twist as well.

I deducted one star because the back and forth of Sanos/Andrastus' name got quite confusing at some parts as perspective shifted but the writing remained third person without an identified change in perspective. I am hoping that is an editing issue that is corrected before printing. The star deduction was also for a focus on sexual content that I do not feel proved anything about their relationship progressing (the scene where Sanos is chained to the ceiling).

For individuals who enjoy a thought-provoking romantasy with an interesting political/societal twist, I think this will be a good read!

One of the most interesting stories I have ever read in my life and nothing what I was expecting. If you feel feminine rage, this story will validate all your fury and leave you better in the end.

A woman’s revenge book in its truest most awesomest form. The author’s note at the beginning is a MUST READ.

This was one of my most anticipated reads of the year and the premise is absolutely amazing--matriarchy, husband kidnapping, and an entire kingdom of women blessed with the strength to overpower men. But unfortunately, the execution fell short for me and it ended up being a disappointment.

The Queendom of Amarra is a matriarchal Amazonian-esque society where women are blessed with the strength to overpower men. They are often at odds with the Kingdom of Brutus which is your typical patriarchal society often seen in romantasy. As a contender to be Amarra's queen, Princess Olerra sets out to win favor with her people by kidnapping and wedding the second prince of Brutus. Unbeknownst to her, she accidentally kidnaps the crown prince instead. Before his capture, Sanos was focused on defending his kingdom's borders and shielding his mother and siblings from his king father's ire. Olerra offers him a deal: help her secure her crown from her cruel cousin, and she'll let him return home. But the longer Sanos remains by her side, the less certain he is that he ever wants to leave.

On the plus side: matriarchy. On the downside: it's basically a mirror version of the absolute worst aspects of the patriarchy. In this world, women are the warriors and breadwinners, while men are second-class citizens--expected to remove all their body hair, dress skimpily, and spending their days at the gym working out or doing arts and crafts. I get it; the women of Amarra were historically mistreated by men, and this is how they keep them in line, but it didn't feel empowering or like justified revenge. Especially since Sanos was a victim of abuse himself. That said, this setup wasn't all bad and it did lead to some truly enjoyable and though-provoking moments (ex: the moments where Sanos was on the receiving end of romantic gestures were very cute).

However, there were some inconsistencies. Amarran society is progressive in some ways--it's very accepting of of gay, lesbian, nonbinary, and asexual individuals.. It's also very old world in other ways, holding public castrations for rapists of women and girls. What I didn't understand was how a woman having 13-year old boys in her harem wasn't frowned upon. There are also some inconsistencies when it comes to consent. The FMC places a lot of importance on consent when it comes to sex but nowhere else--kidnapping the MMC, forcing him to get piercings, dictating how he dresses and where he goes. She's a badass warrior woman, but this behavior made her hard to connect with, so Sanos ended up being the relatable character of the story.

I also had a hard time visualizing the world. Characters wear skirts and sandals, ride on horses and in carriages, write with ink and quill, but doctors have medical coats, and the gymnasium has wall-length mirrors and some sort of leg extension or press machine. The worldbuilding and characters felt one-dimensional and underdeveloped, with everyone's thoughts and motivations coming across as overly simplistic and obvious. Supposedly clever characters lacked subtlety and happily volunteered information with little to no prying.

And, aside from the scene where the two MCs first meet, I felt there was little chemistry between them. I still don't quite understand why they fell for each other...Stockholm syndrome maybe? The smut was also a bit of a disappointment. Instead of a crude-speaking MMC, we get a crude-speaking FMC (but she's still a virgin, because of course). There's a lot of build up that had me expecting some amazing femdom, but there were actually only three spicy scenes (one femdom, the others switch-y iirc) and they were a bit underwhelming. The femdom was yet another thing that felt a bit imposed on the MMC, and I wonder if it would have been more satisfying if there were earlier hints that the MMC desired or fantasized about it beforehand.

Overall, this was okay--it was an interesting look at a warrior-led matriarchal society, but the writing just didn't click for me.

TW: dubcon, abuse, graphic violence, grooming/pedophilia, animal death.

Thank you to Macmillan/FEIWEL for providing this ARC for review!

⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ | A fierce, feral, and feminist twist on fantasy romance—sensual, sharp, and impossible to put down

What Fury Brings by Tricia Levenseller is the kind of book that grabs you by the throat and whispers, “You’re mine now”—and honestly? You’ll thank it for the privilege.

This isn’t your typical romantasy. It’s a brutal, clever reversal where the warrior woman holds the power, the crown, and the leash—and the kidnapped, princely husband-to-be is the one negotiating his pride, his future, and, eventually, his heart. With graphic heat, bold political intrigue, and layered emotional stakes, Levenseller's adult debut fully delivers.

⚔️ Why it hit every mark:
Olerra is the embodiment of rage and control. She’s unapologetic in her ambition, lethal in battle, and refreshingly complex. Her dominance isn’t just physical—it’s psychological, political, and emotional.

Sanos is not your average prince. He’s trained for war, raised to rule, and yet thrown completely off-course when he’s reduced to a pawn. His defiance gives way to reluctant fascination, and the tension between surrender and resistance is chef’s kiss.

The chemistry sizzles. From forced proximity to power play, their dynamic is unrelentingly sensual—and surprisingly tender beneath the steel.

The world-building is dark but rich. A matriarchal society that doesn’t flinch from violence or moral grayness? Yes, please. Add in palace plots, fractured loyalties, and societal inversion, and the stakes stay high.

💥 Final thoughts:
This is not a soft fantasy. It’s violent, visceral, and gloriously sensual, built for readers who love their romance with bite, and their heroines with swords. If you’re here for dark female power, captor-captive tension with a twist, and an exploration of what it means to want—and be wanted—on your own terms, this is your next obsession.

Five fiery stars. Bow down to Olerra, and pray Levenseller never stops writing like this.

Just okay -- the plot wasn't as engaging as I expected and while I know the role reversals were intentional, I had a hard time really caring about these characters after a certain point.

3.5 🌟 I actually like really enjoyed this read. It was super quick and there was always something entertaining happening. Initially I was afraid it was going to be super smutty but it was actually pretty minimal. I’m glad I got an ARC copy because I’m not sure I would’ve read this otherwise. The only reason I’m not rating is higher is because since it was a shorter book some moments felt a little rushed but I’ll definitely be checking out this authors future works!

Okay, okay - color me intrigued! What Fury Brings by Tricia Levenseller is her debut ADULT novel. But…this is not your normal fantasy romance, oh no, not by any means! It is so VERY different than anything I have ever read. It was a pleasant surprise.

This book turns the patriarchy upside down and inside out! Where women are in complete control and men are the lowly subservient sex. The premise was astounding and the plot was well thought out. However, being touted as an adult novel, I still felt as if the dialogue and intimate scenes stilled leaned a smidge toward YA. Nevertheless, I enjoyed the book. The characters were crafted well and the world Levenseller created is quite unique. It’s ruthless and teeming with exquisite feminine rage! Olerra, the FMC, is confident and strong and brilliantly brave. It was refreshing to see such strength in a female main character right from the get go. And the fact that she is not some skinny meek thing, makes it that much better! I definitely would have liked to see more “adult” time explored in the book though.

Thank you to Macmillan | FEIWEL, Net Galley and Tricia Levenseller for the advance digital copy. All opinions states are my own.

1.5/5 rounded up. I have thoughts.

I really don't know what to feel about this book. I had such high expectations because I have LOVED other books by this author, but this book was SOOOOOOOO not for me. And I get the feeling it's not going to be for a lot of people.

Trigger warning for literally everything possible in this book! I mean it.

The concept of this book is weird and makes no sense (mainly because it would not ever happen that way, just look at the entirety of history). This felt so incredibly misogynistic and I really don't think it was supposed to. Even though the women are in charge, they still feel like their only point and purpose is to be sexual objects. I was so uncomfortable the entire time reading this, I genuinely considered DNFing it, but I decided to skim the last 25% instead.

There was also absolutely no plot to this book at all. And yet, it dragged. Make that make sense.

I don't know if the concept as a whole is just not a thing that can ever be accomplished by anyone, or if this author just isn't the one who is supposed to (or able to) do it.

I'm giving this a 2/5 (1.5 rounded up) instead of a 1/5 because maybe I am missing something, but I do not think that I am. I don't know, I'm just so confused as to why this book was written and published. In this political climate, I don't think that this is the right book to be releasing. Honestly, I feel quite disappointed in this author. The female main characters in her other books are so strong and independent, they are whole people. This departure from that makes me sad.

Thanks to NetGalley for the e-ARC of this book in exchange for my honest review! My Goodreads review is up and my TikTok (Zoe_Lipman) review will be up at the end of the month with my monthly reading wrap-up.

4.5 ⭐️

In her adult dark fantasy debut, What Fury Brings, Tricia Levenseller flips the script with a brutal matriarchal society where women gain power by kidnapping and taming husbands. Olerra, a fierce, curvy war general, abducts a prince to secure her claim to the throne—only to find herself entangled in a tense, chemistry-charged game with a man hiding his true identity.

This isn’t your typical girl-power story. Levenseller purposely crafts a world where women in charge doesn’t equal justice or peace. Please don’t skip her author’s note at the front! Men are bought, chained, and abused—mirroring the same violence and control once used against women. The book doesn’t pretend a gender swap solves anything; it asks, what if power just corrupts, no matter who holds it?

Despite the dark themes, the story is fast-paced, emotional, and layered with revenge, resistance, and hope for something better. Olerra wants to break the cycle, and her evolving relationship with Sanos might be the key. Add in political tension, battles, and a standout supporting cast (Ydra my precious), and you’ve got a romantasy that’s as thought-provoking as it is bingeable.

It’s messy, bold, and not for everyone—so check the trigger warnings—but for fans of flipped power dynamics, morally complex heroines, and stories that challenge norms, this is a standout read.

This book was so refreshing.

It completely flips the patriarchy on its head and presents a world where woman are goddess-blessed with the strength to overpower ANY man. Women are the leaders, skilled-craftswomen, the educated, the ones with all the power, the protectors of men. Men are valued for their looks, their ability to sire children, they spend their time raising children or busying themselves with hobbies meant to entertain the women.

This matriarchal society is completely f-ed up, and thats the point. It’s supposed to be a flipped take on the real world patriarchy. Men are the ones oppressed, mistreated, and scared for their lives. This book isn’t meant to be nuanced or to show what a world run by women would really look like. Rather it is meant to show what a world run by women, acting like men, would be like.

I highly recommend reading the author’s note before diving into this book. It gives vital information, not only on the author’s intention and purpose for writing this book but the extensive content warnings. This is a DARK romantasy. It is a revenge book.

Personally, I found this book empowering af. Do I actually want to live in a world like this? No. But would I gladly take that goddess-blessed power in order to never feel physically unsafe again? Absolutely.

This is a true romantasy, with a perfect blend of romantic and non-romantic plot!

I stayed up till 2am devouring this book, I didn’t want to stop reading!

There is so much to love about this book…
- political intrigue
- easy to follow world-building
- villains you’ll love to hate
- a heroine worth rooting for
- CURVY THICK AND TALL FMC
- a kidnapped prince
- epic tension + chemistry
- delicious spice
- binge-able
- a satisfying STANDALONE

What’s not to love…
- This wasn’t perfect, there were areas where I didn’t love the prose, but this was such a unique and empowering story, with so MUCH to love about it, that something small like prose is inconsequential in comparison.

🌶️- This is definitely an adult book! There are adult themes and s-x mentioned throughout the book. Spicy chapters are: 7, 17, 21, 28.

4 Stars
ARC review
Release: Sep 23 2025

What Fury Brings centers around Olerra, a warrior princess in the kingdom Amarra, a female dominated kingdom. Think “classic” societal gender roles, except flipped so that women are the more dominant force. In order to prove her worthiness to the throne, Olerra must kidnap a husband to claim as her own. Sanos is the heir to the neighboring kingdom, Brutus, which follows a more traditional norms with men as leaders. In an attempt to capture Sanos’s brother, the spare, Olerra unknowingly kidnaps the heir to the kingdom. In a world of lies and deception, who will come out on top?

To say this is unlike anything I’ve ever read before is an understatement. I mean, I am SHOOK right now. Firstly, I’d like to say, Tricia Levenseller, you’ve got guts to write a book like this, especially in today’s society, and I absolutely love you for it. Please, never stop writing, and don’t listen to the haters out there, you’re amazing.

- The Characters -
I loved these characters and seeing how their personalities shifted over time. It truly is an enemies to lovers story from the very start, which I did enjoy, but there were also some not so great aspects to it. The main reason I only rated it 4 stars instead of 5 stars was that I just didn’t feel as much chemistry between Sanos and Olerra. There are some times when they’re very sweet together, but at the same time, most of the on page interactions where both of them are alone after a certain point is pretty much just smut. Which wasn’t bad, per se, but I just didn’t feel as invested.

- Plot / World building -
As always, Tricia absolutely nailed the plot. It starts off a little slower, like most romantasies, but it definitely sped up near the end. A big aspect that plays into how I rate books is how predictable I thought that the plot was, and there were multiple times in this book where I was in genuine shock. Content wise, there is constraint, mentions of SA, explicit sexual content, violence, and forced sex workers.

Overall, I think this book is able to address some of the complexities of life in a way that’s easier and more enjoyable to read. There were times in this book where I was laughing my ass off, and others where I was completely speechless, in a bad way. PLUS that ending set the scene for a potential next book perfectly, so I can’t wait to see what happens!

Features -
- Enemies to lovers
- Dual POV
- Third person
- Stockholm syndrome
- “Good boy”
- Violence
- Political plot
- Romantasy
- Spicy

Please, please, please check your trigger warnings before reading!

>> Thank you to netgalley and the publisher for an ARC - all thoughts are my own <3

I am so grateful for the chance to read and review this arc, but I just could not finish this book I had to DNF.
I was so excited for this premise but the execution of it and the writing was too off putting. The interactions between the FMC and MMC felt forced and awkward. And even if the author did not want to write a feminist book, there was no plot or story beyond the FMC trying to break the MMC.
I wish I could have finished and enjoyed this one, but it just wasn’t for me.