What Fury Brings is an interesting take on what would happen if women were the ones in power and men were treated the way women often are. It’s a bit unsettling at times and you’re not necessarily going to like the female characters in the story, but I suppose that’s kind of the point. The FMC Olerra is a little more likable than the rest and wants to become queen so she can make things more equal. However, to achieve this she goes to a neighboring kingdom and kidnaps a prince with the intention of forcing him into marriage.

I actually liked this more than I thought I would. I’m not sure if it was supposed to make me laugh but it did. The slow burn enemies to lovers romance between Olerra and Sanos was pretty good - I wouldn’t say they’re my favorite couple ever and I had to suspend disbelief a little that he would fall for her under those circumstances, but it worked. I ended up finishing this in a day and would be open to reading more.

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

⭐️ 2

I'm not sure this book is empowering at all. You know, the blurb by C.S. Pacat (author of the Captive Prince) had me intrigued but I found What Fury Brings lacking, and at best, to be a less well-written Captive Prince. Many parts of the story structure are similar but lacking any interesting conversations or dynamics.

There is hardly any introspection on the FMC's end, even when witnessing blatant abuse, making her incredibly unlikeable. Sure, there's times where she thinks "wow, what *that* woman does is wrong" but then she's quick to say, "but when I do it, it's fine and necessary and revenge, actually". I did not feel empowered or vindicated in any way with Olerra's actions since she's, as I mentioned, just vain and cruel because she can be. This is also an insta-lust situation...for some reason. Literally immediate. Sanos can't seem to get his mind off how much he wants Olerra despite the fact she's terrible and kidnapped him and it comes up at the weirdest of inopportune times.

The court politics were laughable. The main conflict is between Olerra and her cousin, the latter of which is supposed to be a clever manipulator. She never gives off that vibe at all. Sometimes they would straight up admit to each other what they were really doing and the cousin would say something to the effect of "damn! I'll get you next time!" and all I could imagine was her comedically (and evilly) shaking her fist as she walked away. This isn't bettered by the prose, which read to me like middle YA. It was jarring sometimes to read about such awful things and have them described or talked about like it was a novel for a younger audience. I know this is the author's adult debut, but their past in YA definitely shows.

I'm not sure who this is for, exactly. I wouldn't say it was unreadable but there were some ideas which could've been interesting. I appreciated that the FMC was described as having a rounded belly! But overall, I'd say it's a hard pass.

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

This book was quite unique! I was torn between stopping reading and finishing it because I was curious about the plot. The story was really intriguing and kept me engaged for the most part, but I didn’t enjoy it as much as I thought I would. Personally, I don’t feel like this trope is my cup of tea. However, I do think it’s worth reading because it’s not often that you come across an original romantic fantasy book these days. I also appreciate the message the story delivers.

Tropes:
- Dominant FMC
- Rival Enemies to Lovers
- She kidnaps him
- Submissive MMC
- Gender Role Reversal

Spice- 3/5

Thank you Net Galley, Tricia Levenseller and Macmillan for the eARC. My opinions are my own.

Levenseller is one of my absolute favorite authors and this book is not exception. It’s dark, gritty and perfectly vibe wise.

DNF at 12%

While I was intrigued by the premise, the story’s direction and tone felt very different from the summary. I stopped at 12% after a storyline introduced a 23-year-old woman purchasing a 13-year-old boy for her harem. Though the content warning noted “grooming and underage sexual partners,” in practice this reads as pedophilia, which I am not comfortable with.

I read other reviews but went in open to forming my own opinion. However, I found it difficult to reconcile the author’s stated intent—channeling anger at misogyny—with a narrative that normalizes child exploitation. Because of this, I had to DNF.

Rating: 4.5/5
I received an eARC for my honest opinion

Amarra is a kingdom unlike any other—ruled by women, blessed by a goddess, and built on the idea of reversing old gender roles. Here, women are the warriors, leaders, and politicians, while men are valued for their beauty, child-rearing, and leisure pursuits. Love is free and celebrated in all its forms, as long as happiness and unity are at its core.

At the heart of this story is Olerra, a warrior princess (think Wonder Woman) who must prove her worth to claim the throne. To secure her position, she devises a bold plan: kidnap the youngest son of a rival kingdom. But her scheme backfires when she mistakenly captures Sanos—the heir himself. What begins as a dangerous game quickly spirals into something far more complicated.

First off—Tricia Levenseller, you’re amazing. This book was everything I didn’t know I needed. It’s the first I’ve read with such a complete gender-flipped world, and I wasn’t sure how it would work—but it was brilliant. Feminist, fierce, and empowering, without ever feeling heavy-handed. Levenseller shows both the strengths and flaws of such a society, reminding us that power—no matter who holds it—comes with consequences.

The worldbuilding was vivid and immersive—I could easily picture Amarra and its culture. The pacing started off medium (pretty normal for romantasy), but once the action kicked in, I found myself flying through the pages while still trying to savor every word. The dual POV was a great choice, letting us see Olerra’s and Sanos’s perspectives and making their character development richer.

The romance is a true slow burn—full of tension, banter, and that delicious enemies-to-frenemies-to-lovers pull. Olerra plays the long game, and watching the chemistry between her and Sanos build was one of my favorite aspects. Beyond romance, the story explores power struggles, the emotional cost of leadership, and the courage it takes to unlearn everything you’ve been taught about love, trust, and strength.

This book was a masterpiece for me—dark, emotional, empowering, and romantic, all at once. I especially appreciated the author’s note and the inclusion of trigger warnings.

I want to thank NetGalley and Macmillan for the opportunity to review this book.

I would like to thank the publisher and NetGalley for providing me with an advance copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. Unfortunately, after reading a significant portion of the book, I’ve found that I cannot continue with it, and I wanted to share my thoughts. I quickly realized that the themes explored in this novel were not what I had anticipated. The subject matter was much darker and more disturbing than I expected, and it delved into areas that made me feel uncomfortable in a way that I wasn’t prepared for.

I sincerely thank the publisher and NetGalley for the opportunity to read this, but I will be unable to continue the book.

Rating: 3.75⭐️
Spice: 🌶️🌶️🌶️🌶️
Media: eARC

I dived right into this one and I could not stop once I began. Look, this one won't be for everyone as in any book but I really do think this one is one where you either are in for the ride or you need to get off at the next stop. From the author's note, I knew immediately this wasn't what I was expecting but I was okay with that. I get tired of the same character arcs and Tricia delivers on something that feels refreshing and full of feminine rage. It is not going to be all sunshine and rainbows in this world and as a reader, you have to be aware of that otherwise you won't be able to commit to these characters. I really liked Olerra's character and her fierceness and hello plus size rep! And Sanos, once he was in, he was in. Also, the slow burn, I love a good slow burn and the author absolutely delivers. It was worth the wait and the spice we do get is so good. I kind of liked flipping the stereotypes and having Olerra being the protector. I really enjoyed the world building and seeing how each side justified their actions. I will say I do feel there was a bit more that needed to be worked out for them to feel more like equals and I would've wished to see more of this balance act at the end. Overall, I really enjoyed this world and the characters.

Thank you to Tricia Levenseller, and Feiwel for this ARC.

OK I will give this book a 3.5 but I do feel icky about it but that also influenced my decision. Here we go...

So, Amarra is a matriarchy-based kingdom where women are the stronger gender. The roles are so reversed - men are lesser, they are to bring pleasure and be homemakers Throughout the story - it sounded a bit like slavery, but the men choose this!!! This is where I went wrong going into the book thinking that it would be more about equality, but the author herself (bless her for writing this story in today's society) said this is a book about revenge. Something I needed to keep in mind.

Olerra is a badass, general, princess who is striving to become the queen of Amarra one day. She needs to show her strength by kidnapping a man who just happens to be the crown prince of a rival kingdom who does not adhere to the matriarchal ways of Amarra. She strives to equality without having the gift the women of her kingdom have so she has to fight twice as hard to prove herself and keep this secret of hers. Their enemies-to-lovers type romance very much gave me Stockholm syndrome which is why I also feel icky.

Overall, this book I give a 3.5 but will round up to a 4 for rating purposes. The storyline drew me in, the worldbuilding (which I previously failed to mention) was done beautifully, but there were many aspects that made me not feel great. I will read the next book as it comes out though!

In the author's note, Levenseller said she worked on this book when she was angry, and it shows. This book is heavy-handed and hateful toward men and women alike. Instead of exploring this new perspective on our society or giving it any depth other than making sure she checked her diversity boxes, we are given characters who feel like the combination of everything bad in humanity, but somehow they receive a happy ending. There is no nuance and the graphic content does nothing to balance the juvenile, one-dimensional characters and absence of plot or real world-building.

Thank you for allowing me to review this book. I am giving my rating based on my own personal opinion and not that of any other party.

Wow this book was addictive. I couldn’t stop reading and finished it in a single day.

The concept is such a fresh and fun take, a nation ruled by women, where men are treated the way women once were, all thanks to the power of the goddess Amarra granting women superior strength. That idea alone hooked me, and the execution was entertaining as hell. The worldbuilding is light, but I honestly didn’t mind. Not every fantasy has to be overwhelming, and the pacing here kept me flipping pages like crazy.

Tropes I loved
✔️ Enemies to lovers
✔️ Star-crossed lovers
✔️ Women in power (Amazonian vibes, baby)
✔️ First love

Princess Oleraa? She’s giving full Wonder Woman energy battle ready, fierce, and untouchable, but deep down she just wants to be loved.

Prince Sanos crown prince of Brutus is strong, proud, and trained to hide every ounce of vulnerability. Together wow The banter is everything, the tension I was screaming YES while also clutching the book like, okay wow. 😂

Let me tell you, I love when an author gives me fun, juicy romantasy without making me feel like I need a notebook or a YouTube crash course just to keep up. Sometimes I just want to be entertained, laugh, swoon, and get ruined and this book delivered exactly that.

💌Verdict: I’ve read books from this author before and wasn’t left ruined, but this time? Oh, I was ruined, wrecked, and obsessed. 💜🔥 Princess Oleraa and Prince Sanos gave me life. I laughed, I gasped, I wanted more and more. This was one wild ride and I couldn’t even pick up another book today because I was stuck in this world. That’s how you know a book hit. 🙌
Alright Tricia, I see you girl I'm here for it.

ARC Review
(Thanks NetGalley for the ARC.💕)

This was just…… not good. This book was advertised as feminine rage but the FMC was pretty soft. This world is just a reverse of what history it was. It’s not putting women in a good light not showing how if women in charge the world could’ve been better. It’s just an exact replica of how men treated women but reversed. This tried to have a romance but failed miserably. There was absolutely no chemistry between these 2. It was full Stockholm syndrome. The only reason he started to have any feelings for her is because she stopped someone from unaliving him. These women are blessed to be super strong for the soul purpose of over powering a man. Not to be able to fend for themselves not to be able to protect others. For something that seems like it’s making a statement about women empowerment everything seems to revolve around a man. The MMC is chained practically this entire book. The smut scenes were SO UNSEXY.

I’ve been a fan of Tricia Levenseller for a while, so I was excited to see her first attempt at an adult romantasy. While there was plenty happening to keep the story moving, I just couldn’t connect with it the way I have with her other books. It ended up being my least favorite of hers so far.

That said, the ending really brought everything together in a satisfying way and saved the experience for me. Even though this one wasn’t for me, I still admire the way she’s branching out and I’ll continue to look forward to her future work

I rarely write a review that is not positive in favor of not writing one at all. This book is an exception to my rule. Typically I like when there is a strong female character but this book I felt tried too hard to reverse the sexism in our world. There was a strong culture of sexual assault that including young people which is very off-putting.

Series: Wrath and Fury
First Book: What Fury Brings
This book is first book in an interconnected standalone series ,(not confirmed but that's what I'm guessing). (1 of ?)
INCOMPLETE Series
Original series (not a spin off/not same world as previous series)
Spice: 4/5 (Explicit Open Door based on romance.io scale)
NOT Available on Kindle Unlimited

I love this book!! It's for sure different but so refreshing while still having all our favorite tropes that keep us coming back for more! Best of both worlds! I finished this book in a day and a half if that tells you anything. I stayed up until 2am when I really, really shouldn't have. This is definitely going to be a trophy book. Also the cover is gorgeous and the sprayed edges are to die for so I kinda have to.

Thank you NetGalley, Macmillan Children's Publishing Group, and the author Tricia Levenseller for an ARC copy in exchange for my honest review! Can't wait for book 2!

My rating: 4/5
I would definitely recommend this book/series!

Specifically for:
- all romantasy readers
- readers that are looking for something new

3.5 🌟. Ok the first 60% I was thoroughly invested and loved this. The rest started to fizzle and the slow burn wasn’t the payoff I thought it would be. I’m soooo bummed because the feminine rage + slow burn + there’s only you + two rival kingdoms = SOLD. Unfortunately, towards the end, I lost connectivity with the characters. I was happy for them and enjoyed their journey but I know I’ve moved on when I start investing my emotions more into the side characters (book 2, you know who I’m referring to👀👀👀) before the plot has even wrapped.

This was the epitome of feminine rage BUT isn’t written to solve or redefine gender dynamics so if you’re looking for that vibe or “a progressive solution “ (apart from mirror imaging and role reversal of how men and women are treated) then you won’t enjoy this. But if you’re just fed up and what to know WHAT FURY BRINGS then this will be an interesting and fast read!

Overall, I enjoyed it a lot but didn’t end up walking away with the same fervor I had when I initially started. Tricia was playing chess not checkers writing this though and I’ll never take that away from her. This is her first ADULT fantasy so I will gladly read her others as she comes out with more…

Thank you to netgalley and Macmillan/Feiwel for this advanced readers copy in exchange for an honest review.

Warning: this review is over 2k words long because I have *thoughts* and reading this book was far from enjoyable for me. Because this book deals with a lot of sex and dom/sub dynamics, this review contains frank talk of sex (including describing specific actions). If this is uncomfortable for a reader, I highly recommend reading the content warnings and Tricia Levenseller’s author’s note (posted and pinned to her Instagram profile).

I was really looking forward to this book because I adored Tricia Levenseller’s YA romantasies (The Shadows Between Us and The Darkness Within Us), but unfortunately What Fury Brings was a spectacular let down. Everything in this book fell flat for me, even where Tricia usually excels, from her signature strong female characters to delicious banter and propulsive pacing. I simply could not find anything I liked and would have DNF’d this at 20% in if not for the fact that I was generously gifted a physical ARC by the Fierce Reads team (which honestly merits its own discussion because an adult book shouldn’t be promoted so heavily by a YA imprint…but that’s a conversation for another time, so I digress).

I struggle to find real writing/craft merit to this book. The worldbuilding is paper-thin (there’s an oppressive patriarchal kingdom, an oppressive matriarchal kingdom, and small kingdoms that get conquered just because) and serves no purpose other than to justify the gender systems. There’s a faint hint of magic since the women in the matriarchal Amarran kingdom have the power to physically overpower/dominate men, but this magic serves zero purpose other than to make the FMC special because she lacks magic. The magic would have been an interesting plot device that could have added nuance to the Amarran women, but instead of showing potential conflicts (what if an Amarran woman had to negotiate being a dom but is reluctant to use her magic to enforce this? what if this power was misconstrued and abused by religious fanatics?), it’s a lazy way to excuse the oppressive matriarchy.

The characters are also terribly one-dimensional. I didn’t empathize with the FMC Olerra at all because she does nothing to openly question her kingdom’s violence against men and even perpetuates it by constantly humiliating the MMC Sanos. She never seems apologetic for constantly subjecting Sanos to verbal and physical humiliation; she’s sorry she has to use him to get political favor but never expresses this to him until about the 60% mark, and by then it doesn’t matter because he’s madly in love with her and will do whatever he can to please her. Olerra is supposed to be a badass and fierce woman, but being skilled with weapons doesn’t make her a strong FMC. She doesn’t stand up to anyone or hold them accountable when they wrong her or Sanos. Despite being a candidate for crown princess, there’s nothing terribly inspiring about Olerra’s leadership aside from the fact that she doesn’t physically abuse her men like her evil cousin. Her army is fiercely loyal to her but there’s no on-page examples that demonstrate her leadership or interactions with her troops on a battlefield. Honestly, I thought her soldiers were more loyal to her second-in-command Ydra than her lmao.

Sanos’s entire personality consists of being protective of his family and horny for Olerra. I liked that Levenseller made Sanos a family man who wants to protect his mother and sister from his abusive father, but he quickly loses sight of this when he’s kidnapped by Olerra. He has little to no agency (bro doesn’t even try to actually scheme or escape after being kidnapped except for one half-hearted attempt) and always acquiesces to her, even when she continually humiliates and dehumanizes him by keeping chained up and making him listen to her orgasm in the adjoining room. The Stockholm Syndrome is SO real with this guy because I absolutely cannot fathom why he romantically falls for Olerra when she treats him like dirt and then tries to justify her borderline-non-consensual actions as an act to win the throne. Like, dude, she’s clearly using you. Sanos never truly stands up to her when he debates her on gender roles or questions her abusive actions, and for such a self-professed family man, he doesn’t care enough to make an earnest attempt to return home and/or rescue them. For such an allegedly big strong sexy man, nothing about Sanos is particularly big, strong, or sexy aside from his physique. Oh, and his d!ck size, but honestly that’s not very sexy in my opinion lmao.

The main romantic conflict is laughable and not in a funny way. It would have been fun if the book leaned into the satirical set-up—Olerra kidnaps Sanos thinking he’s his soft-hearted younger brother, the spare prince Andrastus—but Levenseller takes the “conflict” way too seriously. If Olerra just frickin’ communicated that she needed to make a show of dominating Sanos so she could get the throne, then her actions wouldn’t have come across as abusive or manipulative, especially since Sanos decides to play along so he can eventually escape. However, this agreement between the two doesn’t happen until approximately the midpoint, so all of the abuse Olerra levels at Sanos is just that: abuse. She has him waxed and shaved without his consent, verbally abuses him in front of the court, physically humiliates him by keeping him chained and forced to wear nipple clamps, coerces him into get a piercing to mark him as her property, and forces him to witness a voyeuristic sex market where a rapist gets his reproductive organs sliced off by a guillotine. Olerra revealing her motives at the midpoint is far too late to excuse all the non-consensual humiliation rituals she subjugates Sanos to. Oh, and the mistaken identity thing is dragged out for eons until right before the final battle, which is horribly unrealistic (how the hell does no Amarran know what the crown prince of their sworn enemy kingdom look like??). It would have been much more intriguing if Sanos’s identity was revealed sooner and the two had to navigate the court while trying to keep Sanos’s identity a secret and trying not to fall in love for the heir to their enemy kingdom. Anyway, what I’m trying to say is that the romance absolutely did not work because it was so one-sided and abusive, and I don’t give a flying fig if the two characters are horny for each other. There’s a difference between a romantic relationship and a sexual one, and unfortunately Olerra and Sanos’s relationship falls into the latter. Zero chemistry aside from bed chem.

Speaking of bed chem, the consent in this book is kind of ridiculous. Olerra spends over half the book taking advantage of Sanos and subjecting him to uncomfortable and even abusive situations, such as an early scene where she forces him to watch her masturbate and orgasm after she’s kidnapped him. It doesn’t matter that Olerra has mental reservations about her actions or understands that simply flipping oppression on another gender is not a legitimate way of ending the cycle of violence—she does not ask Sanos for his permission when engaging in sexual acts or actions that carry heavy sexual connotations like yanking on his nipple clamps. However, once she realizes and admits that she has feelings for Sanos, Olerra is suddenly overly concerned with verbally getting Sanos’s consent in the bedroom. Girlie, where was this when you were chaining him up and giving him a$$ play when he didn’t ask for it?? I don’t care if he ended up enjoying it—exprimenting during sex should be mutually consented to, and Olerra most definitely does not get his consent before sticking her fingers up there. For such a sex-positive book, this fails to show enough positive examples of consent, even between the romantic leads.

The only thing that mildly redeems this book is the brisk pacing, but even that fails to save this book from painful mediocrity. Levenseller excels at pacing in her YA romantasies, but even though What Fury Brings is short and pacy, it also exposes the fact that nothing really happens in this book. There’s painfully little time to explore court politics aside from Olerra’s evil cousin constantly trying to one-up Olerra by being abusive to the men in her harem, and none of the characters add to the plot. I would have loved to further explore the relationship between Olerra and the queen (why is the queen so nice to her but can’t name her crown princess?), Olerra and a former lover (whom I’ve already forgotten his name lmao), and Sanos and his brothers. Unfortunately, the side characters kind of just float in and out of the narrative, only appearing when it’s convenient. They lack any depth outside of their tropes—gentle queen mother figure, abusive father, fun-loving brothers, loyal side-kick, jealous ex-lover, etc.—and do not enhance the narrative in any way.

Okay, now that I got the actual review of the book out of the way, prepare for a long-winded discussion of why this book’s core message of dismantling patriarchy/oppressive gender systems does not work:

What Fury Brings is marketed as a “revenge” novel that attempts to interrogate patriarchy, but I found that this book can’t decide if it wants to be a dark romance or a feminist novel (it fails at both). The revenge element is hazy and read more like the author’s obsessive revenge fantasy in which women completely subjugate men with any measure necessary (including non-consensual sex, forced voyeurism, and a pen!s guillotine) instead of a meaningful attempt to deconstruct the patriarchy. It might have been more meaningful revenge if these horrific elements were justified, but the justification in the book is flimsy—men oppressed Ammaran women so the women decided to do it right back. There’s no meaningful investigations of the implied cycle of violence or normalization of sexual abuse and assault.

I’m not a dark romance reader so I can only comment on what I believe to be the subgenre conventions, but I honestly think this book would have done fine as a dark romance. There’s frank talk of sex and pleasure and plenty of scenes with dubious consent involving bondage which isn’t my cup of tea, but definitely would have fit in a dark romance novel or even erotica where the core focus is on sexual encounters and experiences rather than this book’s purported interrogation of sexual oppression and patriarchy. I honestly can’t even classify What Fury Brings as spicy because the sex scenes are written mechanically and are kind of laughable with the amount of times characters orgasm. I expect my spice to at least have emotional relevance to the characters, but the sex in this book doesn’t really move the plot forward or help the characters grow. In fact, it seemed to regress the characters as they slipped into the same roles they claimed to be against or subverting.

I want to make it clear that it’s fine to have dom/sub dynamics in these scenes, but these dynamics are not commented on at all or given any relevance to the characters. For example, instead of using Olerra’s sexual dominance to interrogate how she struggles to navigate and negotiate her preferred role during sex with her country’s misogynistic oppression of men, it’s explained away as “oh women are dominant in this society” with zero nuance. Olerra’s kingdom is not feminist—it is an inversion of patriarchy and meant to illuminate just how oppressive this gender system is. This is stated in the author’s note, but it’s not enough to just say it. It needs to be shown/explored in the book, but unfortunately it’s not. Even if What Fury Brings isn’t a feminist novel, there are inherent feminist and female empowerment themes that could have been interrogated through the inverted gender systems. Regrettably, Levenseller seems completely adverse to really going to this uncomfortable but important territory.

Olerra never openly questions or struggles against her kingdom’s oppressive gender system and instead excuses it as “oh well if women didn’t do it then men would” despite KNOWING that it’s not right. I think that’s the fundamental issue with this book—it claims to interrogate patriarchy through an inversion of it that is just as oppressive, but none of the characters really question it. Olerra is introduced as someone whole-heartedly against her kingdom’s gender system (she wants to be queen so she can equalize some of the gender roles), but she still conforms to it when she publicly humiliates, abuses, and degrades her male partner. Even if she feels the need to (over) perform her dominance to gain political favor, it’s not enough for her to mentally acknowledge that what she’s doing is wrong because she never explicitly questions or struggles against this. I was completely unsympathetic to Olerra because it doesn’t matter if she knows she’s in the wrong—she needs to comprehensively denounce it and articulate/understand why her kingdom’s gender system is oppressive. Unfortunately, this book fails to do so, and having a man get married wearing cosmetics and a long skirt does not make up for it. Performative equality is not a deep enough deconstruction and dismantling of oppression.

On the surface, What Fury Brings is a female revenge fantasy solely because it takes place in a world where women subjugate men as revenge for centuries of patriarchy. However, the book hangs in a frustratingly ambivalent space between dark romance and revenge fantasy with a thoughtful social critique. The concept is spectacular, but the execution fails on all fronts, from romance to pacing to characters. There’s moments where the story seems to (rightfully) argue that gender systems built on oppressing other genders is always unjust no matter if it’s a patriarchy, matriarchy, or something else, but the abundance of dubious consent completely undermines this message. If this was a dark romance, this wouldn’t have been such an issue for me because the genre conventions allow for dubious consent, but I went into this expecting a romantasy with a focus on gender. I desperately wish Levenseller either committed to fun, wish-fulfillment dark romance (which would have been a natural evolution of her YA romantasies imo) or a scatching critique of patriarchy wrapped into a romantasy as the author’s note suggests. Unfortunately, this book is neither, which makes it a deeply unenjoyable read on both ends. I’ll continue reading Levenseller’s YA books, but if this is the direction she’s decided to take her adult books in, I’m going to have to hard pass on them.

1.5/5 stars (rounded up to 2)
Thank you to Fierce Reads (in partnership with Feiwel) for the physical ARC. This does not influence my review in any way—all thoughts and opinions are my own.

I went in to this read thinking it would be entirely different than it was. This book is definitely a DARK romantasy and I don’t think I’m the target audience as it’s not my taste.

Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for the ARC.

An uneasy 2.5 stars rounded down. Hoo boy, this is a complicated book to review.

Let's start with the positives. I've had a few encounters with Tricia Levenseller's works before, but the only book of hers I've fully read was Master of Iron, which I thought was cute but the writing a bit amateurish, and I've found this to be consistent with what I've peeked in The Darkness Between Us and Daughter of the Pirate King. Here in her adult debut, I feel her prose has massively improved, which is a big part of the reason I found it so readable. It's not at a level I'd fawn over like Laini Taylor's but it's certainly a few stages above her YA books, so I applaud her for making her adult book notably different from them. Secondly, I respect (part of) what Levenseller did with the second steamy scene in the book (where Olerra uses oil on Sanos, IYKYK) as the particulars are not something you see often if ever in mainstream MF books, though I wish the author had committed to the next logical step later on. Thirdly, I will admit this book was an addicting read as I sped through 50% chunks within only a few days each. There are parts of it I enjoyed, parts I found cathartic, which lines up with what the author's intentions for it were, and I can't say there was a boring moment. However, even larger parts of the story are...disturbing and problematic, in ways I don't think Levenseller fully intended. I definitely don't think this should be marketed as a "sexy, empowering romantasy" or any of the other taglines that seem to portray this as some feminist fantasy. It's a dark romance and shouldn't be downplayed as such.

This is a deeply self-indulgent book. This is not necessarily a bad thing; it's also the impression I have of Levenseller's YA novels, which I'm sure are fun, and I think authors should be able to write self-indulgent shit. However, I also think that if you're going to add in a bunch of dark elements like pedophilia, rape, and abuse, you need to engage with them with some level of nuance about the power structures in play, which this book doesn't really do. What Fury Brings does a good job highlighting how the way men treat women in a patriarchal society is alternatively cruel or ridiculous, but I think the message is fundamentally undermined when all the little ways in which the MMC is humiliated and abused by the FMC and the female-run society they're in are downplayed (yes, he "learns to love" some of it by the end but that doesn't change the fact that it's nonconsensual for the majority of the story). There are several times Sanos is told that he should be grateful for Olerra because she treats him better than other women would and that he should just get over how he was kidnapped already because he needs to focus on the future (yes, one of the characters literally tells him to get over it and she's framed as being correct, wtf?). Olerra even expresses irritation that Sanos won't be friendly with her or give in to his attraction, which uh?? You keep him chained up almost all the time and force him to do and wear things he doesn't want to?? Unfortunately, Sanos himself starts thinking that because Olerra and the Amarrans treat him better than his father (who beats him), they are the good guys. This is a major reason why their whole romance reeks of Stockholm Syndrome, they gloss over the fact that Sanos was/is being held hostage and should rightfully be upset about it(!!!) so hard. It's frankly laughable that there are so many assurances of consent (sexually) later on when there is so much nonconsent present in their relationship in every way possible (additionally, the author herself promotes the book as having "consensual bondage", and having read the scene, the bondage itself was not consensual...unless she's not referring to a sex scene but rather later parts of the story, which I would label dubious at best).

Speaking of Olerra, wow, what a mess of a protagonist. In theory, I should like her. She's a curvy, plus-sized fighter who is dominant and the best at what she does despite her secret. Unfortunately, the way the author tries to make her out as a good guy is just ridiculous to me. Yes, she's "better" than the majority of the other women who abuse the men around them, but she's also not *good*. She talks a lot about how she wants to improve life for the men of Amarra who are treated like second-class citizens, that she wants more equality, that she doesn't degrade or demean men, but she certainly never does anything to support that or speaks out against anything (and also!! You are degrading and demeaning a man literally as we speak!!). Yes, I get that she's trying to accumulate political power before she can enact real change but it comes off as her just giving lip service, not because she actually cares about the rights of men. I would've liked her way better if she had started out deliberately as a "lesser evil" morally gray character who gradually starts to realize things should be equal as she becomes closer to Sanos. As she is currently, it feels like the author just wanted the audience to view her as a hero with revolutionary (and modern) ideas instead of someone who demonstrably plays into and upholds the current system as it benefits her.

This review is getting long, so a couple of other notes I had. I wish Sanos had been given a male Amarran friend to bond with and exchange viewpoints with, as I feel his only primary interactions being with his love interest and her best friend made the cast feel uneven and enhanced the Stockhold Syndrome vibes in the relationship. There was a brief extension of friendship in one of the chapters but it was never followed up with, which I found disappointing. I wish Olerra had also been given a male friend to help portray her supposed sympathies for men, as the only other men in her life that she interacts with are a spurned suitor and a former soldier turned into one of her cousin's harem members and subsequently an antagonist. Secondly, prior to finishing this book, I saw a lot of people criticizing it for calling itself a "female revenge story" with the impression that the women in the story have always been in power so it can't be female revenge. However, in the book, the women-run society of Amarra has only been in power for 500 years and is canonically said to have been formed in response to the previous patriarchal society it used to be, so I would argue that while there's a lot to criticize this book for, it still counts as a female revenge story.

I'm sure I would have a lot more to say about this book if it wasn't getting so late and if my notes were actually organized, but that's all I can squeeze out for now. I will say that while I have copious amounts to criticize about What Fury Brings, Levenseller's aforementioned improvement in writing does make me interested in reading more from her in the future.