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.

I want to thank @netgalley @macmillanusa and the author for an ARC. I was hopeful going into this book. The premise sounded interesting in that the script was flipped between the sexes. Women were the dominating sex and all the wrongdoings that have been done to women were now reversed. However I thought the whole point would be to show how inexcusable these actions were - sexual assault, kidnapping, belittlement, oppression - but instead I found the author making justifications for the actions with age-old argument, “If we don’t do it to them, then they’ll do it to us”. Much of this book was humiliation and coerced consent. The FMC would make a point to always have a “willing participant”, but when that participant is chained up and held against their will, I don’t think it’s really voluntary at all. Unfortunately I feel that the premise could have made for a good novel if taken in a different direction.

#netgalleyarc #netgalleyreview #whatfurybrings #advancedreaderscopy #arcreview #bookreview #booktok #darkfantasy #darkromantasy

I'll assume that some readers will share the author's interest in the central conceit of the plot, in which case this is probably a perfectly serviceable book. It's not my thing, though, and the quality of the writing is not good enough to make me care, so it's a DNF after 60%. I tried.

Thank you to Macmillan/FEIWEL and NetGalley for this e-arc…

What Fury Brings is a medium paced read or quick depending on your taste. I found the story to be different and somewhat refreshing. Tricia has found a way to warn very bad men that their actions do come with some serious consequences. Yes, I mean very serious. Ouch! Ok, I admit it. I am now kind of scared of Tricia Levenseller even though I am one of the good guys…. Want to know what I am referring to? Read it and find out.

What Fury Brings is a bold, atmospheric dive into adult romantasy, full of power plays, gender role reversals, and emotional tension. Tricia Levenseller crafts a world ruled by women, where men are rare and prized—and not always by choice. Into this matriarchal empire steps Olerra, a fierce warrior princess who kidnaps a foreign prince, Sanos, in a bid to secure her claim to the throne.
What unfolds is a tense, twisty, enemies-to-lovers dynamic that balances vulnerability with violence. Olerra is unapologetically ruthless and strategic, and Sanos isn’t your typical love interest—he’s clever, emotionally layered, and not afraid to push back. Their chemistry is undeniable, and the emotional beats land with impact, especially as the story digs deeper into trauma, agency, and the price of survival.
The pacing is solid, with a few slower moments in the middle, but the stakes rise consistently, and the tension—romantic and political—is always present. While the world-building could have gone a little deeper in places, the unique setting and themes carried it well.
If you love fierce heroines, complicated relationships, and fantasy worlds that challenge tradition, this is a sharp and satisfying read that lingers after the final page.

I can't bring myself to finish this book.

I usually try hard when it's an ARC but so much of this book is so uncomfortable.

When I read the blurb, I thought it actually sounded kinda funny and naively though the book would have comedic undertones.
It is definitely not like that and I can't endure reading about how horribly men in this kingdom are treated.
The marketing for this book should include "dark romance" as well as fantasy and enemies to lovers though with the way this book is going, it feels more like Stockholm syndrome than actual romance.

There's probably an audience for this somewhere, but evidently it is not for me.

I was extremely intrigued by the synopsis of this book. The author’s post about it being a book about revenge really helps when reading this! It’s definitely a revenge book and it follows through. I enjoyed this

"What Fury Brings" has such a juicy concept. I was looking forward to the “Wonder Woman” meets “Captive Prince” plot, and the book nailed it for the most part, though a slower burn - and perhaps multiple books - would have better developed the central relationship and added more meat to story.

As it stands, lust turns to love incredibly fast for the main characters despite everything. The quick pace, however, does make for a fast read, though I personally prefer more political machinations over spicy scenes. However, I can’t wait to see what else Tricia Levenseller writes in the adult space without the restrictions of YA.

This was an interesting and fun read. I couldn’t put it down and read it in a day. This was a very easy read and kept me entertained. The story itself is about a society of women who have been gifted excessive strength by their goddess, which made men the weaker sex. That is basically the entirety of the magic system. Their matriarchal society was a ruthless one where men were treated as lesser beings. Think historical times where women were subservient to men except this was the reverse with women acting like men and treating men as subservient beings. I thought the premise was interesting, however, this book still had a lot of things missing if it was trying to make a commentary on society. For this I felt it fell short. But if you are just looking for a fast paced read that keeps you entertained, this was great. I could have done without some of the overt sexualization that was depicted. I enjoy spice but be aware this had some darker spice. Overall, this was an engrossing, entertaining read as long as you take it for just that, and ignore the social commentary. For it tries to hard to show equality while at the same time demeaning men.

💜 Mistaken Identity
💜 Enemies to Lovers
💜 Banter

What Fury Brings was an amazing read. Easily devoured the story in 24 hours. I couldn't put it down!
I haven't read other books by Tricia but I'm now immediately going to seek them out!

Tricia Levenseller did something really different with WHAT FURY BRINGS, and I can’t say I’m mad at it. This book is unique in a smattering of ways, with Levenseller flipping several tropes on the head for something new, meaningful, and highly entertaining. This is also exceptionally written. All told, Levenseller’s latest is a very lively read.

First & foremost, thank you so much to Net Gallery, Macmillan Publishing, and Tricia Levenseller for the amazing opportunity to read this advanced copy.

What Fury Brings By Tricia Levenseller

Pub Date: September 23, 2025
Rating: 🌟 🌟 🌟 🌟 🌟
Spicy: 🌶️ 🌶️ 🌶️

TW: Graphic sexual content, graphic language, graphic violence, mentions of sexual assault, but no scenes within the book, physical and emotional abuse by a parent/spouse, dubious consent, kidnapping, bondage, sex workers, and war themes. The author recommends that readers be 18 years old or older.

One word that comes to mind when I think of What Fury Brings is fantastic. This story was not like anything I’ve ever read because starting off in the kingdom of Amara, the roles between men and women are reversed. The women have all the power in the kingdom, and the men are the ones who take on the role of the women, like in the real world. The fact that the roles are reversed was such an interesting spin because I have never read a book where this is portrayed. This is an slow burn enemies to lovers and I devoured it in a few days. I just couldn’t put it down and when I had to, I couldn’t stop thinking about it.

I loved how the FMC Olerra was so determined to become queen no matter what and never denied her feelings from day 1 for the MMC Andrastus (aka Sanos) but he denied his feelings until he couldn’t any longer and THAT alone had me kicking my feet. The action in the story was sooo good and it is definitely worth the read.

Thank you to Netgalley, Tricia Levenseller, and Macmillan for the arc!

I’ll admit—I was scared to read this one. The synopsis made it sound so intense, and I wasn’t sure I was ready for that much rage and death. But wow… once I started, I couldn’t stop.

I loved the banter between the FMC and Sanos—it was sharp and fun—but I do wish we saw more of him falling for her. Still, that wasn’t really the point. As the author said, this book isn’t about romance—it’s about the fury of living in a world ruled by men. And it delivered.

Watching her challenge Sanos, educate him, and make him question everything? That was one of the most satisfying parts. Her rage changed a kingdom, and honestly? It lit a fire in me too.

I'll rate this a 3.5 as I feel it could have been a little longer to showcase progression in their relationship.

Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for the opportunity to read this in exchange for an honest review.

Tricia Levenseller is an auto-buy for me. Her works have consistently blown me away, and I went into this novel with high expectations. While the novel wasn't what I expected going in, it did deliver in all ways that mattered - well-written, extremely well-paced, with an ending that felt absolutely complete and satisfying.

This is a novel that requires a reader to sit with preconceptions and discomfort, examine from where that discomfort originates, and consider popular tropes through a reflective lens. Did the power imbalance between the FMC and MMC make me uncomfortable? Did I dislike, at times, that the FMC had typically 'masculine' traits while the MMC played at the damsel in distress? Yes and yes. Ah, but why? There is nothing inherently flawed, I believe, in preferring certain relationship and power dynamics between characters, but it may be important to examine the 'why' of this preference, to be forced to sit with discomfort and seek to understand. This novel forces one to do this, and I'm impressed by Levenseller's commitment to make the reader think and consider and question. I'm a feminist who experiences - and champions - feminine rage, but readers typically see this play out in modern fiction writing in ways that still maintain a certain power dynamic between a FMC and a MMC counterpart/love interest. This novel plays with our assumptions and comfort levels, and I appreciate what the author intended by doing so.

I look forward to seeing what Tricia Levenseller brings us next.

2.5 stars rounded up.

I hate to use the phrase “this is fine if you turn your brain off,” but I kind of feel that way about this book. It was easy to read, I think the pacing was good, and I appreciated that it was a quick standalone novel. However, the more I think about it, the less things hold up. There’s a part of this book that wants to be some sort of social commentary (I think), but the execution is by no means sophisticated enough to pull that off.

The only reason this is not a YA novel is all of the explicit sexual material; the basic prose and uncomplicated plot weren’t very impressive for an adult debut. Yes, the writing was easy to get through, but it had some awkward phrases and pieces of dialogue that didn’t sound natural. There was nothing subtle for me to pick up on, and at times things were overexplained (I know what a eunuch is!). But my biggest gripe was that there was waaaaaay too much telling vs showing, especially concerning the characters.

Speaking of the characters, they were…fine, I guess? Neither of our main characters annoyed me, but neither did they impress me—they were just kind of there. Sanos was mildly interesting at first, but then he kind of just devolved into “wow Olerra is so cool I love her!” And their romance wasn’t terribly convincing, probably due to the telling over showing. Olerra’s evil cousin ended up a little cartoon villain-y, and her mom’s confession at the end was honestly just dumb. We didn’t get many side characters, but they were all rather flat as well.

Most of my issues with this book come with the worldbuilding, which is why this book needs the “turn off your brain” method to get through it. Worldbuilding elements were clunkily dropped in, and there really was no reason for a map at the beginning since we’re mostly concerned with just two nations and don’t move around much. The religion and politics of the Amarran society were laughably hollow: the women of Amarra have the magical ability to overpower men given to them by their goddess, but what else is their religion? What is the religion of neighboring societies? Why do they have queens if they’re elected? Amarran society is also weirdly sexual, and I’m not really sure what the point of that was. (The scene where Olerra educated Sanos about the clitoris? It sounded straight out of an anatomy textbook and was unintentionally hilarious.)

And then there’s the view of gender and sexuality. Amarrans treat men as the inferior sex, yet they are totally fine with gay and transgender people. To me, this read as the author trying to maintain some semblance of political correctness, but I really don’t think it belonged in this book. I highly doubt a matriarchal society would be a utopia for all but men. There was one interesting point where Olerra is telling Sanos about their society and how the treatment of men is “what fury brings” (fun title reference there), implying that the men are the only ones to receive poor treatment to atone for their past crimes. Which is an interesting concept! But I don’t think it would last, especially after 500 years…which is implied to not be that long ago?

One more minor thing, but I’m very curious: do Amarran women remove their body hair? It’s never explicitly mentioned, but we do get a scene of them removing all of Sanos’s body hair. I would think that in a matriarchal society, women wouldn’t feel the need to remove their body hair, and I think it was odd that Levenseller never addressed it when she had ample chances.

Overall this was a missed opportunity for any sort of gender social commentary, but it was entertaining enough.

super unique twist on typical fantasy tropes! The story really makes you reflect on some of our 'traditional' values.

For me overall I would say the story was a little flat. The characters are interesting but there wasn't enough tension overall to warrant 5 stars.

All that to say, I still have the deluxe edition preordered 🤷‍♀️ so do with that what you will 😂

I received an arc copy of this book from netgalley in exchange for my honest review

3.5⭐

En el reino de Amarra, las mujeres gobiernan. Tras una fallida rebelión de los hombres nobles, las amarranas deben conseguir maridos de forma poco convencional: secuestrándolos de otros reinos. En este mundo donde los roles de género han sido completamente invertidos, la fuerza, el deseo y la política se entrelazan en una historia que no deja indiferente.

La general Olerra Corasene es una guerrera feroz, decidida a reclamar su derecho al trono. Para hacerlo, necesita algo más que victorias en el campo de batalla: necesita un marido. Y no cualquiera. El elegido es Andrastus, el segundo príncipe de Bruto, un reino rival donde los hombres aún dominan... o eso creen. Sanos, criado para guerrear y obedecer a su brutal padre, el rey Atalius, se convierte en el objetivo perfecto (por equivocación). Pero una vez capturado, lo que debería ser una simple estrategia política se complica cuando entre captora y prisionero surge una tensión irresistible.

Con un enfoque que subvierte los tropos clásicos de fantasía romántica y pone sobre la mesa temas de poder, género, venganza y deseo. Me pareció interante este cambio de poder.


Thanks to NetGalley, the publisher and the author for the ARC in exchange for an honest.

The concept of What Fury Brings was fantastic and I really thought I would enjoy it more, but I just couldn't get into it the way I hoped and ended up DNFing.

4.5 🌟
I have to admit this book was a shock to my system and also a deep breath of fresh air. I did not know what I was getting into when I first started reading. So seeing a kingdom where females are the stronger of the species was stunning. Also, them having the tradition to kidnapped their husbands was hilarious, I loved it. It was so enlightening to see this society flip the roles and the origins of their culture.

At some point in the story, I did feel for Sanos mostly because he is so lost in Amarra and its customs. He had absolutely no idea what awaited him. But oh seeing him realize the why and finally coming into understanding of this kingdom was glorious.

Tricia levenseller sure knew how to bring the femine rage to this book. Every time I saw a dialogue line or even inner dialogue from a male about how crazy it is to do certain things that usually women have to do to appease in real life was really sending me. I loved seeing flipped.

Now, I have to say I loved Olerra! I was surprised at her secret and how it affected her but also how it benefited her because she is the best even without that advantage. She is very no nonsense and seeing her teach Sanos the ways of her people was fun. I truly enjoyed her point of view and her resilience, strength and compassion . A very complete strong FMC. Especially when she never stoop low as her cousin when fighting for her crown. She wins fair and square the whole time, even when it seemed she would lose.

I would be so excited to see another book in this world (pls canus and ydra, i saw the hints). But most of all, I will definitely be buying this book when it releases