The premise reminded me of an older movie, White Man's Burden and seeing how racism looked when you visually changed the roles. I didn't think this was to show how women would be better than men if in a male role but rather show how it looked if the roles had been reversed. Except once I read it I realized it was a step further.

With those thoughts going in I had a rough time getting a handle on the story. The writing was a little odd. Maybe a little rough because it was trying to be overly formal and it made the reading pace feel strange. I kept having to read sentences over and over again. There were also a lot of names and terms thrown out early that were challenging to remember.

The spice was weird. I don't know. I just didn’t quite get it. I dont think this one was for me. I thought based on the author note and premise I'd enjoy it but after halfway maybe I'm not in the right mood for it. There's a lot more sex and things centered around sex than I'd thought going in.

I could see the right audiences enjoying it and maybe in the right mindset and mood (mood reader) I'd have liked it more.

Thank you to NetGalley and Macmillan/Feiwel for this earc

No. No. No. I should have not read this book. I wish I didn’t read this book.

There are so many amazing reviews from reader that say what I felt much better than I did (please go read them)

Forget for a minute the terrible writing, completely underdeveloped world building and politics. Forget the immature characters. Forget the choppy pace. Forget about almost none of the emotional growth and most of “they are hot for each other”

If the author wanted to write a female empowerment story, why did she write the world when given power, women became just as bad as men??? Why after 500 years of having that power, the society did nothing to grow and change for better???
Writing women who put men down, doesn’t make them better women. Women are better than that.

Oh. And just to give you an idea, where some questions I will never get answers to
- Why is this society that thinks of men as worthless, getting a “husband” give you a better chance of becoming a queen???
- Why the king who is this big bad guy who kept everyone in fear of him for years, couldn’t figure out who took his son after MFC literally told him she’s gonna do it?

You want to write a fantasy standalone? Write one that can ACTUALLY stand alone.

I received an ARC of this book and it was absolutely incredible.

The premise is one I’ve never encountered before — imagine a world that is run by women who have been given special powers by their goddess to overcome their male oppressors. Not a perfect world or an ideal world — instead, it is a world built on their rage. A world built for their revenge.

The FMC was layered and complex…and deeply flawed. She is competing for the throne of a society she doesn’t fully agree with against her cousin. She does terrible things in the name of fighting for the throne, but I found myself rooting for the FMC in the end, despite being the “oppressor” in this story. I wanted her to find her way and find happiness. The MMC was just as complex — strong and resilient and evolving throughout the story as he is forced to confront the power dynamics between genders in his culture and the FMC’s, as well as his own masculinity and his own role in those dynamics.

The truth is that there were parts of this book that made me deeply uncomfortable, but I think that was the point. Men are treated horrifically in the FMC’s culture, including the MMC at the hands of the FMC. This book forced me to examine *why* I was so uncomfortable with this…if roles were reversed, would I feel the same? At her core, the FMC in this book is another version of “Beast” — good at her core, but doing terrible things for noble ends and, at times, taking actions that are deeply misguided — imprisoning and then falling in love with her “Beauty.”

In summary, this book was provocative and thought-provoking and I will need to sit with this one for a while.

Thank you NetGalley and Macmillan for sending this book for review consideration. All opinions are my own.

What Fury Brings by Tricia Levenseller immerses readers in a world where ancient powers awaken and reshape the fate of two sisters. Odelle and Reine belong to a forgotten line whose Fury magic was once feared by all. When Reine’s actions reignite old conflicts, Odelle must navigate dangerous alliances, hidden temples, and her own fears to prevent her world from descending into chaos. The novel’s rich setting ranges from the frozen halls of the Icebound Keep to the lush sanctuaries of the old gods, making each location feel vivid and alive.

One of the greatest strengths of this story is the emotional bond between the sisters. The tension of love mixed with resentment drives every decision and fuels a sense of urgency that carries the plot forward. Odelle’s internal struggle to master her power while remaining true to her values creates a compelling hero’s journey. Readers will find themselves invested in her growth, from a reluctant guardian to someone who must embrace her destiny and face the heavy responsibility that comes with great power.

The pacing remains engaging throughout, balancing moments of quiet reflection with breathtaking confrontations. Levenseller knows how to build suspense and deliver action in a way that never feels overwhelming or rushed. The political intrigue woven into the narrative adds depth, as courtly schemes and personal betrayals reveal the darker side of ambition and trust.

A few of the secondary characters could benefit from additional development, as their motivations sometimes feel unclear. The rules governing Fury magic are intriguing but occasionally vague during the most intense scenes, leaving readers wishing for more concrete explanations earlier in the story. Despite these minor issues, What Fury Brings offers a memorable adventure filled with family drama, epic magic, and heart pounding stakes that will remain with you long after you turn the final page.

Not going to lie. I was a little nervous with this one. I went into it thinking that it would be a female dominated world where men were the weaker sex. Come to find out that is only in their country. Then realized oh snap she is going to steal a prince and was left intrigued. Like how is she going to get him to adjust if he’s from a patriarchal society? For the most part this book kept my interest and flowed well. I feel it had good world building and I could see it like a movie in my head. There were some parts that made me cringe a bit but then I realized I also cringe at those things in real life. Def read the author note and trigger warnings because I felt like I needed them for this book.

I know there are plenty of books out there where when are held to high regard but this one is probably the best in this arena. A shortage of men? No problem, we just capture them.

I enjoyed this book and really don’t want to give anything away, just know, you should read it! It was well written and is worth read!

Happy reading!

thank you netgalley for the arc
I knew this book would be divisive, and it absolutely is. I picked it up out of curiosity and wanting to challenge myself—and I couldn’t put it down. It’s bold, spicy, and unapologetically about revenge, not feminism. The gender-flipped world is both fascinating and disturbing, with moments that feel more shock-driven than meaningful.

While the plot is thin and the romance leans into Stockholm syndrome, I appreciated the normalization of kink, diverse sexualities, and a badass, curvy FMC. It’s not a love story or a deep societal critique—it’s provocative escapism. If that sounds like your vibe, give it a shot.

<a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/220908944-what-fury-brings" style="float: left; padding-right: 20px"><img border="0" alt="What Fury Brings" src="https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1739245996l/220908944._SX98_.jpg" /></a><a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/220908944-what-fury-brings">What Fury Brings</a> by <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/14358948.Tricia_Levenseller">Tricia Levenseller</a><br/>
My rating: <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/7514517034">5 of 5 stars</a><br /><br />
This is my first ever Tricia Levenseller book and I absolutely loved it. The idea of a world where women rule and the men are the ones to stay home and raise the family was very intriguing. The whole plot was very interesting to me. Stealing a husband because there aren’t enough men and stealing the spare heir of the enemy was such a cool twist. The story is great, court politics, betrayals, the magic is such a minuscule part of the story, the story is mostly falling in love with the humanity of the main characters and fighting for those you love. I devoured this book and the main characters. For the first adult book from the author she did great, I enjoyed the spice but it was not the main selling point, important and enjoyable but needed. Thank you to NetGally and Tricia Levenseller for allowing me to ARC this story, I’m so excited to tell people about it when it comes out. Definitely a 5 star read for me.
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<a href="https://www.goodreads.com/review/list/163387896-sandra-rodriguez">View all my reviews</a>

As soon as I read the premise for this book, I knew it was going to be divisive amongst readers. I requested it because I wanted to get out of my comfort zone, and I was genuinely curious about it. (Thank you to MacMillan and NetGalley for gifting me this arc in exchange for an honest review!) If you’re also curious about reading this story, PLEASE read the authors note - this book isn’t going to be for everyone, and it’s not trying to be!

Listen, I’m not a girl who hates men or even dislikes men enough to enjoy reading about humiliating and hurting them. To be fair, the author makes her intentions very clear as to what this book is about. Tricia Levenseller said it herself: This is not a feminist book. Feminism is about equality among the sexes. This book is about revenge. It’s probably my fault for hoping for more nuance. Also, this is SPICY. Sex and nudity are baked into the foundations of the culture and world building.

This book is for the girls (and anyone else) who might find it cathartic/arousing to read about dominating men in every single way you can imagine. This is also for the girlies who fantasize about submissive men. To give What Fury Brings some credit - the premise really is unique. This book is truly not like anything I’ve read before. It is an interesting flipping of the script of how women are treated in modern patriarchal society. This change in dynamic ranged from funny and entertaining (the ladies wanting their men to be hairless) to sensual (lots of naked, oiled up men in body jewelry tending to their female masters’ every whim and desire), to straight up disturbing (men need to be “seen but not heard,” and much worse). Every time I thought that some of the more upsetting elements were going to lead to some kind of meaningful revelation/connection to how the reverse is true in our current society, it never went deeper than a surface-level “gotcha” moment, designed for shock value.

All of that being said, I couldn’t put this book down. Whether it was because I was curious or unsettled, I had to know what happened next. I also liked that it was refreshing not to get cookie-cutter romantasy spice. Characters of all kinds of sexual orientations and gender identities, as well as less talked about kinks and sexual practices were normalized and treated with respect. I also loved the tall strong, curvy FMC. As in, she actually has a belly but still kicks ass.

The story/plot itself is just fine. It’s barely there and more of a vehicle to shove in more shock value moments. Also, the romantic relationship that eventually developed wasn’t that believable, and felt more like Stockholm syndrome than anything real and mutually respectful.

I want to give the book some grace because clearly I’m not the target audience. But overall, to me this book is equal parts intriguing, arousing, and disturbing. If you’re curious about it, you should give it a chance!

⭐️⭐️⭐️.5

Such a fun twist on the fantasy romance genre! In Amarra, women rule. Enter Olerra, a fierce warrior princess trying to claim the throne, and Sanos, the heir of a rival kingdom who accidentally gets himself abducted. Their dynamic is everything: enemies-to-lovers, culture clash, power struggle, and so much tension.The premise is wild in the best way, and the slow-burn romance had me rooting for them even as they butted heads. A few pacing hiccups here and there, but overall a super entertaining read with great banter and a fresh take on gender roles. Would absolutely read more in this world! Thank you NetGalley and Macmillan for the eARC.

Thank you NetGalley for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

I loved Tricia Levenseller's "The Shadows Between Us" and I was excited to read "What Fury Brings." However, the book did not live up to my expectations. It was difficult to connect to the characters and there was disjointment with the plot, especially as the story progressed along. Finally, there were some parts that made me uncomfortable as a reader.

*Please read content warnings*

When thinking about the current state of the world (if you know, you know), I cannot imagine this book coming at a better time. Tricia Levenseller has jumped out of her comfort zone of YA and has broken out into adult romantasy; which I think she did smashingly well.

What Fury Brings flips the script of the male and female dynamic. It starts in the heat of a battle between two different countries, one a predominantly female country where women rule over men and the other more like the mainstream world we see in real life; with ruling men. In Amarra it is a tradition for the women to kidnap men from other countries to be their husbands. The powerful female general has her sights on the royal line of their enemy; the kingdom of Brutus. However, things go awry, and she does not kidnap the correct prince, but unknowingly the heir.

Does she manage to tame the brute? Does he ever stop trying to fight and flee back to his country? Is he willing to accept many of the actions his gender commits against women as atrocities? Will the general’s grave mistake of kidnapping the heir bring war and devastation to her country of Amarra? Will the world one day become a better place?

What Fury Brings is the perfect title for this book, as it embodies feminine rage brought by the atrocities of men in a society that fails many because “yes, for that is what fury brings.”.

Unfortunately, this just didn’t hit the mark for me. I liked the idea of a reversed world where women were the superior gender that was in charge but hated that when given power they had all the horrible qualities midevil men had. The main character did wish for change but you didn’t get to see any of that change enacted. Because of how society is set up, I was uncomfortable with how the FMC and MMC met and started their relationship ship, it made it unbelievable he could fall in love with her given how his character was portrayed at the beginning and her did a random 180 halfway through the book. I also found the writing awkward and overly formal with the way things were explained being disjointed from the story telling and not flowing well.

Thank you #Netgalley for the advanced copy.

Olerra must kidnap and train a husband from another kingdom to be voted in as queen. It will be a show of strength. She goes to Brutish to kidnap the 2nd son of the prince but is unaware that the crown prince has take his spot. The moment Sanos is kidnapped he hatches an escape plan. He doesn’t let Olerra know that he is the crown prince for fear of death. Olerra works to get him to be a submissive husband in order to look powerful in front of the leaders of her female led a society. Sanos needs to escape before they find out who he really is but he starts to fall for his captor.

Tricia Levenseller is a must read author for me. This was her first foray into adult fantasy as she has only ever written ya before. I loved the concept of a female led society.this was darker than I thought it would be but it was also funny. They poised the question what would happen if women were in charge? The answer the same thing men had done throughout society. Men are beaten, raped, kept chained, bought and sold. Women do not better than men. Levenseller did say this wasn’t a feminist book it was a revenge book. But she also gave the reader hope that Olerra would change things once she was queen. Overall I liked this book. I thought there were some issues. It definitely kept interest and I read it in one sitting. I loved the main characters. I would definitely read a second book about Ydra. I’m excited to see how Olerra and Sanos bring the two kingdoms together and what changes are made.

Thank you to NetGalley and McMillian’s Children’s Publishing for providing me this digital ARC in exchange for my honest review.

I would like to preface my review with this quick note from the author:

“This is not a feminist book. Feminism is about equality among the sexes. This book is about revenge.”

Please read the trigger warnings before diving into this book.

With that said, I thought this was a great adult dark fantasy. There is enough world building to understand the narratives of the two main opposing countries. The FMC Olerra is a strong, opinionated woman who is fighting for her right to the crown. We see her desire to make changes to her country for all citizens. The other potential crown princess, her cousin Glenaerys, wants to keep the status quo of keeping males under the control of females. We see the MMC Sanos grow in his own beliefs by witnessing the atrocities his sex bear in Amarra and realizing his own country’s flaws.

While reading this book, I compared it to Game of Thrones. I did not read that series to feel happy and content. It had shocking and disturbing scenes that were necessary to understand the world the book was set in. This book is similar. There will be things that undoubtably make you squirm. Let me reiterate to read the trigger warnings.

The ending felt slightly anticlimactic for me, which is why I gave this book four stars instead of five. I still very much enjoyed the ride. I enjoyed the immediate chemistry between Olerra and Sanos and the tension they have as a result of their forced relationship. If you like dark romance, I think you’ll like this book.

#whatfurybrings #tricialevenseller #darkromantasy

The novel is a little different than what I normally read. It was a good read. There are two kingdoms, one where women rule, and the other where men rule. The book was different in regards to seeing what it would be like if women were in power, for most are familiar with how it was when men were in control. The lead female and male characters were strong individuals, each having their own thoughts and beliefs based on the kingdom, they grew up in. Both had to see the perspective from the other, sift through the lies and falsehoods they believed about each kingdom, even though some was true. Olerra and Sanos learned from each other, but it wasn’t easy. They both had their fears and secrets. It is not one extreme or the other, but something in between that satisfies all parties and sometimes risks must be taken. I received this novel as an ARC from NetGalley and the publisher. Thank you! All thoughts and opinions are my own.

Goodness do I love Tricia Levenseller. I was ecstatic to be given the opportunity to read her debut as an adult fantasy writer. I devoured this book. I loved the development of the characters and the overall storyline. The story was written with the same flare and interest that Tricia is known for. I thought Sanos and Olerra had great chemistry.

I would have given the story a 5 star overall however, I felt the inclusion of some of the adult scenes were redundant and not as well developed as I would like. I enjoy a slow burn romance but hearing how often she was "preparing" herself for him was slightly off putting. Also, I appreciated the feminist theme but there were moments that it felt too in your face. There were great moments of subtly that I thought better sold the story as a work of feminism.

I would sign up immediately to read follow on stories for the side characters of this, including, Ydra and Sanos' brothers. Tricia has become an immediate read/buy for me.

Thank you NetGalley and Macmillan/Feiwel for giving me the opportunity to read this story and share my thoughts.

As a huge fan of most of Tricia Levenseller’s previous work and as a fan of adult romantasy in general, I came into this was high hopes and big expectations.

With that being said, I’m struggling with how I feel about this one. While I love the idea of a story that flips the “normal” script and allows us to see a society ruled by woman, this one just felt off-putting. I found myself rooting for no one, when I thought (based off of the synopsis) that I’d be rooting for the matriarchy.

Positively, I think the world was well fleshed out and the overall writing was good. Our main characters both show growth and while I wasn’t a fan of their romance, I did enjoy watching them develop. It was an easy read without being too simplistic. While this wasn’t the story for me, I can easily see others enjoying it.

If I had known it was basically erotica, I wouldn't have read it. A disgrace of a book on gender dynamics, oppression, and discussion.

This book is so much more than I expected. It wasn’t perfect, but I enjoyed it so much, I’m giving it 5 stars.

I can see how this book would not be for every reader. Take the author’s note at the beginning seriously. I want to emphasize that there is more to this book than just a furious role reversal of the genders; there is more nuance to the themes than just rage and revenge. I don’t know if the author plans on writing anymore books in this world, but I think there is an opportunity to explore how a society rebuilds in a more just way.

If you’re looking for an FMC that isn’t teeny tiny waif of a human, who has strength and skill on her own merit, then this book is for you. I think this book gives us what a lot of fantasy/romantasy readers have been asking for in an FMC. I’m just buzzing with excitement for this book!

Thank you to NetGalley for providing me with an advanced copy to review.