I really liked the premise of the book, but I couldn’t immerse myself into the world. I do think ALOT of people are going to eat this up so fast. Definitely give this book a try.

*sigh* Where to begin?

This book was marketed as a matriarchal society where women hold goddess given power that enables them to overpower men told through the lens of a gender flipped society as social commentary of the inequalities women faced in the past and still face today. That was all I needed to hear and I was chomping at the bit to read this and was thrilled when my application for an e-arc was approved.

Brief Synopsis:

The FMC's matriarchal kingdom Amarra has a shortage of noble marriageable men because of a past rebellion by these noblemen that lead to mass executions. Now if a noblewoman in Amarra wants to marry, she must kidnap her husband from neighboring kingdoms. Olerra (FMC) is a princess is competing against her cousin Glen for the throne and wants to prove her goddess given strength over men by kidnapping the second son of her sworn enemy, the king of Brutus, Amarra's rival nation. However kidnapping a Brutus prince might be more trouble than she bargaining for.

IMPORTANT THINGS TO NOTE BEFORE I BEGIN MY REVIEW:

I encourage anyone still curious about this book to read the author's note before beginning. It gives important context into Levenseller's motivations behind writing this book, namely her collective fury with past experiences of gender discrimination by men and funneling her frustrations into writing this book.

As a woman in a male dominated field, I can absolutely relate and empathize with her feelings of extreme frustration over the inequalities many women face on a daily basis, having experienced similar situations myself. My misgivings about this book have nothing to do with the topic, and everything to do with the execution.

I want to preface my review by saying I have read both The Shadows Between Us (#1) and The Darkness Within Us (#2) by Tricia Levenseller and I liked both with The Darkness Within Us being my favorite of the two. So I have experience with this author's other works and know that she is capable of smart female characters that hold their own in male dominated societies.

That being said, unfortunately What Fury Brings is not even close to the quality of her other works. This read like a proof of concept first draft rather than a polished book ready for publication. I sincerely hope Levenseller does some major editing before it releases because not only is this book poorly written, it also, in my opinion, contains damaging rhetoric about gender equality/inequality that undermines feminism to a harmful degree.

BELOW I DISCUSS A DETAILED ANALYSIS OF THE MAJOR PLOT POINTS IN THE STORY- DO NOT READ ON IF YOU DO NOT WANT TO BE SPOILED.

The book begins on the battlefield between the kingdoms of Brutus and Amarra and culminates in a standoff between the king and Olerra with her throwing a rock at the king's head, knocking him out, and capturing him. With the king bound, Olerra tries, unsuccessfully, to negotiate a trade for one of the king's sons. Having gotten nowhere, she decides to strip the king naked and dump him back in his kingdom to humiliate him. None of this proves to be relevant at all in the storyline except to showcase the king taking his humiliation out on his sons by beating them black and blue and forcing them to fight injured. This serves as a rather on the nose example of the king of Brutus being brutal and that a man has an unfit temper to be an effective leader or father.

Back in Amarra, Olerra receives permission from her aunt, the Queen, to kidnap a Brutus prince as a show of strength against her cousin Glen, the other contender for the Amarran throne. Olerra wants to keep Glen off the throne because she is cruel to the men she owns (her harem) and even goes so far as to purchase a 13 year old boy for her harem. Rather than intervening directly, Olerra vows to do everything in her power to win the throne to rewrite the laws that take away power from males. What will be these new policies that create a better country with equality for all? She doesn't know and neither do we.

She disguises herself and infiltrates a brothel in Brutus to kidnap Andrastus, the second prince of the Brutus. She seduces "Andrastus" whom she has an instant attraction with and after some heavy petting, she drugs him and transports him back to Amarra. On the journey back, "Andrastus" who is actually Sanos, the crown prince, warrior, and heir to the throne of Brutus, discovers Olerra mistook him for his docile poet brother. He plays along with this mistaken identity while Olerra tries to prepare him for life at Amarran court. He refuses to listen and tries to escape unsuccessfully.

From this point on, the story gets messy and moderately uncomfortable so brace yourself, you've been warned.

Back at court, "Andrastus" is prepared for court (including a forceable full body wax) and tied to a bed naked while Olerra tries to arouse him by touching herself to gauge the size of his penis so she can choose the right size dildo to practice with as she is a virgin and it is a crime punishable by death for a man to make a woman bleed, even accidentally through intercourse. She then leaves him tied to the bed so he can't touch himself as punishment for not cooperating because what better way to warm him to the idea of Amarra than binding him to the bed every night?

Olerra presents "Andrastus" to court with an armband around his bicep that shows her ownership of him and cuffs around his hands and feet. As she's presenting him to the queen, he takes a swing at her and Olerra punches him in the groin and holds a knife to his throat to get him to behave, then shackles him to a chair while she holds court. But don't worry, she's not actually a brutal person at heart, she hates acting this way, but to earn the respect of the court, she has to demonstrate control over her man so this is all for show.

Glen challenges Olerra to a duel between Andrastus and a man from Glen's harem. He and Andrastus battle and Andrastus wins which earns him a night unshackled to the bed, lucky him. He uses the opportunity to try to escape the palace (as he should) and Olerra catches him and uses it as an opportunity to thoroughly trounce him in combat to show him her goddess given gift of being stronger/unable to be overpowered by men.

She takes him back to court and in punishment for the escape attempt, she puts him in nipple clamps, a collar and leash, and makes him walk barefooted and kneel next to her while she converses with her court. But if he behaves, she'll be nice and not do that again because she's more benevolent than Glen. Later she takes him to the countryside to see how Amarrans live with men being sold in sex markets and rapists being sentenced to having their penises chopped off in a guillotine as punishment for their crimes. Olerra tries to justify these punishments as a way to retaliate against past abuses of men and take back their power. Levenseller attempts (unsuccessfully) to use these shocking gender-flipped cruelties as a way to get a man (Andrastus) to realize men's abuse of their power is worse than he realized.

Spurring social commentary about the injustices women face by having women enact cruelties of their own is, in my opinion, an ineffective and extremely harmful to the idea of female empowerment. In the author's note, Levenseller does say, "Please note that this is not what I think the world would look like if women were in charge. Far from it. Rather, this book is flipping the tables to show a new lens through which to view our own history." Although that may be the case, if this cruel world is not the society Levenseller believes women would create, then what is?

The only world shown in the book is one where men are sold to harems, kept as sex slaves, forced not to speak unless given permission, put to death if they make a women bleed, are unable to keep their own property, and more. By writing this world, the implication is that women created this world from the power they wield rather than a better one which was alluded to, but never explained or shown. This idea that when women finally have more power than men, they would use it to not only right past wrongs, but to take things one step further and subjugate men the way they had been is not at all the society I believe women would create and again, an extremely dangerous implicit statement to make, especially in the current political climate of the United States with women's autonomy and equality being whittled away every day. Would it not have been more effective for Levenseller to show the society she believes women would create when given the opportunity rather than the society they wouldn't?

Later, Andrastus is working out at a gymnasium and is baited into a fight with a man from Glen's harem. During the fight, Andrastus unknowingly pushes Glen out of the way who falls to the ground and scrapes her elbow bloody, which is a crime punishable by death. Glen demands Andrastus' death and Olerra substitutes herself to take the punish, but since it is forbidden to kill female royals, the punishment is a violent beating. Olerra saving Andrastus' life and taking on his punishment softens him to Olerra and they form a tenuous truce to work together.

After Olerra recovers, her and Andrastus venture out in the royal carriage to introduce her people to the princess' intended and are attacked by assassins sent by Glen. He helps her fight off the assassins rather than using the opportunity to escape. In gratitude, Olerra asks if she can pleasure Andrastus and he agrees.

His wrists are tied and he's hoisted aloft to the ceiling, balancing on his toes turned away from the door. Olerra then fingers him anally until he cums, which is absolutely crazy thing to do for your first sexual act with someone.

A few other diversions happen that have no particular relevance to the story. Andrastus trains with Olerra and her warriors, performs at a talent show by juggling/throwing flaming daggers, Andrastus confesses to being given a dagger by Glen to kill her but decided against it because now he's all in on Olerra becoming the new queen since she'll be a much better ruler than Glen. Again why? Unclear except being less cruel to men than Glen is. And just like that, Andrastus falls for Olerra and suddenly doesn't mind being a captive without autonomy anymore.

All of a sudden, Glen rushes into Olerra's quarters with guards, convinced of a secret Olerra has been keeping about her powers. Glen had sent the 13 year old slave boy she purchased for her harem to bump into Olerra in passing and succeeded in making her off balance, which should be impossible to do if she had the goddess given gift of being more powerful than men. Glen also exposes that "Andrastus" is actually Sanos, the crown prince of Brutus who concealed his identity this entire time for fear of Olerra trying to kidnap the real Andrastus and send Sanos home. Olerra throws him in the dungeons and then taunts the king of Brutus with the knowledge of his captive son. We're expected to believe that there is not even one singular Brutus spy in Amarra that had knowledge of Sanos being kidnapped and engaged to Olerra and that the king was unaware that anything had happened to his son the whole time?

In the meantime, Olerra somehow extrapolates that Glen had another secret plan of opening the city gates to allow troops from Brutus to enter Amarra. Why would Glen do that and how does Olerra figure it out? No clue! But Olerra devises a way to get the king of Brutus to confess to the plan, stop the invasion, and out Glen as a traitor.

Olerra dresses up Sanos in provocative clothes and puts on a show of owning him to enrage the king, which Sanos happily accepts because now he is in love with Olerra and wants to stay with her, despite having hated her and trying to escape this whole time.

Olerra successfully goads the king into a one-on-one battle, taunts him enough that he confesses Glen's plan to invade the city, and then succeeds in killing him.

The book wraps everything up in a neat little bow: Sanos is now the king of Brutus and wants to negotiate peace between their nations, Glen is branded a traitor and exiled, Olerra is voted as the crown princess and heir to the throne, and Sanos and Olerra get married and move Sanos' family into the royal quarters. Who is going to rule Brutus with the whole royal family living in Amarra? We don't know and it's never resolved as the story ends in an unfinished happily ever after.

FINAL THOUGHTS:

The overall concept of this book of female empowerment and commentary on gender inequality is of vital importance, particularly now under the current administration dismantling previously held freedoms for so many underrepresented groups, including women. But to speak on this topic in a way that effectively and positively adds to the progress of gender equality and feminism requires nuance and careful balancing that to me, this book did not accomplish, rather the opposite.

1 star.

Thank you to NetGalley, Macmillan/Feiwel, and the author for an e-ARC of this book.

This felt somewhat like a reverse handmaid's tale and not in a good way. When I saw this was a "sexy, empowering romantasy" I thought I would love it but what we got was too off putting to me. The concept of a society run by women sounded so intriguing and exciting but the men being treated as property really didn't feel good to me. I also didn't feel any romantic connection between the two MC's and didn't feel the heat. Maybe this was just a case of wrong time/wrong book but I was not feeling this book at all.

I have read a couple of this authors other works and enjoyed them but this one was a miss for me.

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

Just finished What Fury Brings by Tricia Levenseller, and I’m seriously impressed! This book delivers everything I love about epic fantasy — fierce warriors, high-stakes battles, and a richly built world that feels alive and dangerous. The characters are complex and driven, with motivations that keep you guessing, and the story moves at a great pace with plenty of twists and emotional moments. Levenseller’s writing is sharp and immersive, making it easy to get lost in the action and drama. If you’re into fantasy with strong heroines, political intrigue, and intense, fiery conflicts, this book should definitely be on your TBR. Highly recommend!

I was excited about the idea of the story. So different from anything out right now, but felt like the opening of the book needed more context, we were kind of just thrown in and left to figure out what was happening. I loved to power play in the dynamics of it all. The relationship seemed like it happened over night. This is where I think I could have benefited from being longer, so we could see the relationship developing. But over all a fun read, if you read the premise and it sounds like it’s for you it’s a fun time.

I smiled at the dedication at the front of the book. I am glad that it came with Trigger Warnings.
But I also liked that the author said she was flipping the script on men who tried to make her Less. She also mentioned in the intro that it was her fury that started the whole book. Very interesting ! There is also a chart with Amarran Terminology in the front of the book too.

This was an astoundingly great book ! Yes, there was one deserved but gruesome scene that made me wince but the rest of the story was great ! Even with all the WEIRD sexes and couplings that are not something that I usually read. The tension between Olerra, a warrior princess vying for the throne and the kidnapped Prince Sanos was off the charts awesome ! I loved how the author admitted in the intro about a lot of her rage was worked out through this very book. Rage at being made invisible, to look less than, to be underpaid for great books just because of her gender. Being a woman I totally got it and it came through in this book. In the beginning they each had utter contempt for each other and their respective kingdoms. It made me wonder how on earth that would ever work out without either one of them getting killed? And at times its a close one because both of them had enemies in the her compound. Sanos was fighting hard his attraction to Olerra and she just wanted to break him to show her power and become the head of the kingdom to bring about good change. I hated her cousin who turned out to be evil more evil than originally thought. Olerra was well aware that her cousin wanted to kill her, but still this was her cousin who once loved her ! Their Queen was in Olerra's corner but there was only so much that she could do for her.
There is tenderness in this story, and near deaths, sacrifices that are painful but also life changing.
The ending was Spectacular and VERY satisfying. I would read it again !

I was nervous about this one due to other reviews stating that this is not a feminist book, but I actually LOVED this. It was nothing I expected and that is not a complaint. There are so many books with overpowering males who take control of women and this is the complete opposite. Olerra might be my favorite warrior princess ever. This book made SO many good points that apply to the real world and honestly, I think everyone should read it. Thank you Netgalley for the ARC!

I enjoyed this book, but for me, the spice was a bit heavy for the amount of plot that we were getting. It was a unique premise, which I liked, but I just wanted more.

Revenge. This is a pure female dominant kingdoms. This will definitely not be everyone's cup of tea so definitely check trigger warnings, but for me as a female I enjoyed it. It was a long book to so that had me sucked in. It was a good romance/fantasy but it is not one I would re read.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for allowing me to read an eARC of this book!
I thought this book was based on a really interesting premise and was interested throughout as the author compared the Amarran customs vs. that of the other countries in the world (and that of most customs in real life). I enjoyed the dual POV and felt like it was easy to follow the story throughout. I appreciated the trigger warning list up front, definitely check through those before you start just in case! The essential question of the book - “we treat men this way because they treated us this way; what is your excuse for treating women the same way?” - was really intriguing to work with throughout and see Sanos work through as well. I also enjoyed that this was a shorter standalone book but still packed a lot into the pages!

Thanks to Feiwel & Friends and NetGalley for the preview. All opinions are my own.

4.5 stars

This was the perfect read for the ragey mood I’ve been in. There’s a queendom where women have all the power! And the men must kneel! And there’s a 🍆 guillotine for 🍇ists!

Now, it is absolutely essential that you read the author’s note at the beginning of this book. Because if you go into this thinking Levenseller imagines this is the perfect society, you’ve missed the point. Of course it’s messed up! But to see what a flipped social structure would look like, it’s important to point out the issues, and those issues can sometimes be seen more clearly when the injustices are not where you’d expect. Which is exactly what Sanos learns too.

All that being said, this is full of politics, plotting, court game and intrigues. Plus of course a delicious romance. You only think you’ve swooned before when a hero swears that no one will ever hurt the fair maiden again. What’s amazing is when the fierce warrior princess says it to the big strong man.

Loved that this was a standalone, and that the end felt really great. I’d recommend, but only if you really do pay attention to the content warnings first.

“What Fury Brings” is a fiery, boundary-pushing entry into adult romantasy—bold, brutal, and provocative. It thrives when challenging assumptions about power, rage, and redemption, though its discomforting start may not suit everyone. If you're drawn to morally gray characters, heady reversals of traditional gender roles, and raw romantic tension, this book delivers—just be ready for its intense twists before it offers its rewards.

Thank you to Tricia Levenseller, Macmillan and NetGalley for approving my ARC request!

⭐️- Worldbuilding
The world building was absolutely incredible. I love the idea of subverting the current patriarchy on its head. It really struck me that even though the general idea of "dominion" is one I've seen a lot of misogynists use as a way to combat the idea of a matriarchy (These misogynists cannot fathom women not oppressing men to stay in power because it is what they do to us), even this version of the matriarchy is so compelling, and a taste of utopia that we could never find from the patriarchal structure. Despite this idea of dominion, I was pleasantly overwhelmed with the forefront of empathy that the Amarran women had for all walks of life. The diversity through sexuality and gender was also pleasing to see. Amara was a safe space for anyone who needed it, and had full justification for their ruling system. On the other hand, I thought the term for the patriarchal kingdom being Brutus was very fitting. Not only is their god, Brutus, perhaps coincidentally named after one of Caesar's violent betrayers, so true do they only know the primitive and carnal desires of violence and harmful lust. I really enjoyed that there was historical justification in everything that the Amarran's did. We must know our history to build upon the future, and I think it's illustrated well that a matriarchy would follow this mindset. I think the only thing I'd wish for is a little more cast diversity in more than just sexuality and gender. However I also realize the purpose of this book and the weight of the statement it is making.

⭐️- Plot
Of course we all had an inkling of what was going to happen, but that's the fun of it, right? I don't read this sort of romance because I want to know if the main characters will fall in love or not. I read it because I want to know why, and how. The author does such a splendid job of entrancing the reader to want to find out how it happens. The plot, world building and character development all lend itself into a perfect blend.

⭐️- Writing
At first I went back and forth with how I felt with the writing. When I read high or political fantasy, I often want a certain eloquence to the prose I read. Do not get me wrong, Levenseller provides beautiful prose of dialogue and yearning, however I was momentarily thrown off by the phrases that would be more common place in today's modern society. That being said, I found I thoroughly enjoyed the use of it! Levenseller's voice is so easy to pull from her writing, so unique to her, and one that I really liked! I'll also admit, I loved the Captive Prince series, and seeing that C.S. Pacat had something to say about this book made me all the more curious. I'm not the biggest fan of sexual activity in my books, but there is a certain distinct style to which these authors write it, that I find myself enjoying it. Especially kudos to Levenseller. I've had recent difficulty finding heterosexual fictional couples I like because it always feels heavily one-sided towards the man's pleasure. There's always a hidden line of misogyny to the romance that I can't overlook. This book does such a stellar job in showing the importance of consent and sexual equality, that I was so pleasantly surprised about! I can safely say I enjoyed getting to read the relationship between the two characters! I should also say, I've never learned so much about anatomy!

⭐️- Character Development
The characters never felt one dimensional, or as if they were props. They all possessed such a humanity to them, that I was also happy to see. In a story like this, Olerra was such a wonderful protagonist. All I wanted was to see her succeed the entire book. Sanos, definitely grew on me. Watching him have that baseline empathy for the feminine members of his family at the beginning, to watching him grow and question the very fundamental systems of both he patriarchy and this version of the matriarchy was so vindicating to watch. The secondary characters were very intriguing and I do wish we could see even more of them, or even a perspective or two of their's. However I won't say more for risk of giving anything away to future fans!

⭐️- Personal Feelings
There were moments of this book I wasn't sure what to think, however I think a good book will do that to you. Every book I read, I will always critically think about and analyze in some way. This book really got me thinking about some of the structural systems in place now, and what they would look like flipped. I cannot wait to read more from this author.

Thank you again, this was a very enjoyable first ARC read!

Enemies-to-lovers with a twist I didn’t see coming and I’m obsessed! A fierce warrior princess, a kidnapped prince, political tension, dark magic, and so much chemistry. Olerra and Sanos are everything: raw, complex, and impossible not to root for.

The world is rich, the romance is slow-burn and intense, and the twists hit hard.Plus, the cover? Absolutely stunning.

That ending left me reeling I need the sequel now. A dark romantasy standout. New favorite!

I would like to express my gratitude to NetGalley and the publisher for providing me with this advanced reader copy.

What an interesting flip on societal norms and gender expectations! I was honestly a little hesitant at the idea of women kidnapping their husbands but I think the author did a really great job in their approach. We got our grumpy-sunshine, “I don’t want to love you”, touch him and die, who did this to you romantasy.

We meet Olerra and Sanos on similar trajectories with their respective roles in their separate kingdoms and then witness some humor and humility along the way of them navigating their feelings (an odd concept, right? Lol) and layers of trust. There’s political intrigue, betrayal, secrets, courtship, some spice, and of course banter.

I found it really comical that the brother we intended to kidnap was a poet and what we got was the battle worn other brother. The dual POV was a nice touch and the flow was seamless. The villain was definitely evil in every sense of the word - both of them, actually.

Now. Some truths. I was toying with the idea of this not being a 5 🌟 but had to ask myself “why not?” The writing was good, the story was interesting, the pacing was great, the slow burn was WORTH 👏 IT 👏…so why was I considering a lesser rating? Because there were themes explored that I wasn’t quite expecting in a romantasy book. HOWEVER, I quickly identified that’s kind of the point the author is wanting to make. Get uncomfortable to see beyond the rose colored lenses. We see this as Sanos comes to some internal discovery about how women are treated in his kingdom and how his entire set of beliefs has been flipped upside down. Likewise, our leading lady learns that men aren’t just ornaments. Overall, super fascinating read and I really enjoyed it!

Thank you to the author and NetGalley for the ARC!

Thank you to Tricia Levenseller, NetGalley, and FEIWEL for the ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.

This book was unlike anything I've ever read. It was dark and raw and sweet and sexy, and completely and totally unique. Reading this, especially in the times we're living in, gave me such a feeling of catharsis. Once I started this book, I couldn't put it down. I wanted to crawl inside this world and never come out. Olerra is the FMC I've always wanted. I would read a million of her stories. She's big and strong and fierce and smart and self-assured and I could not get enough of her.

I could sing the praises of this book forever. But I guess I'll have to settle for pre-ordering a physical copy so I can read it again and again.

I was SO excited for this book (Daughter of a Pirate King series is among my top favorite reads). The concept/description had be salivating to read this. After reading I still love the concept (of this backwards, vengeful world and the plot of kidnapping a husband), and I really enjoyed the humor sprinkled into the story! However the story didn’t live up to expectations for me. After a really strong start that hooked me I became less and less engaged as I didn’t feel connected to either FMC or MMC.

I feel like a lot of the story was driven by dialogue and I was working overtime to try to picture where we are and what the underlying motivations and feelings are. I know that the FMC is meant to be very forward and blunt, as in this world women have the confidence and freedom of men to speak like this, but I wish I got to know her on a deeper level than her very blunt statements. The book did a great job of educating the reader on the ins and outs of the world (the politics and society in the country) but I wish we got that deeper understanding of the characters as well. I also would have loved getting more side characters (most side characters I felt like I knew their name but that’s all I knew about them). Also we kept being told the FMC was the best human to ever live but - why??

The romance was extremely unbelievable to me as there was no chemistry. This didn’t feel like slow burn to me because I wasn’t rooting for the characters to get together. I didn’t feel the tension/banter and will they/won’t they emotions. The situation was so abusive it just wasn’t believable to me that feelings would form. When feelings did form it was so sudden I felt like I had whiplash, it went from 0 to 100 for me. Even if I could believe the MMC came to be fond of her as a person, I couldn’t believe that he would fall in love so suddenly based on everything we were told about his character and background. She also was in love with him for no reason other than him being an attractive man, she didn't know him at all. They only had "real" conversations after they decided they were in love.

I feel like this would be better marketed as a dark romance. I do think the read is worth it just for the exciting concept (which I still love) but I didn’t get the same thrill I usually do from romantasy.

4.5/5 ⭐️

i was super excited to receive this arc because i LOVE the shadows between us duology, and have several of tricia levensellers books on my tbr. i am usually more of a ya girly, but i occasionally enjoy an adult romantasy so i thought what better shot than an author i already really enjoy.

first things first, the prose is very engaging and immersive, which is what i’ve found in tricia’s other books too so that definitely continued here. the premise is very different and had a different vibe than usual romantasy, which i found refreshing. however HEED THE TRIGGER WARNINGS. i would maybe even consider this more of a dark romance/romantasy because the main romance is captor/captive. so if you are uncomfortable or completely turned off of dark romance tropes this book is NOT for you, and that’s okay.

personally, i am not really into that myself, however i found everything else about the book to be so engaging and interesting so it did not really turn me off of it. but keep in mind a lot of the topics are pretty brutal.

i have to say one of my favorite things about this book is that olerra is PLUS SIZE! at the beginning they keep describing her as a large woman so i was thinking to myself, okay then she’s plus size TO ME. but later on she is described as literally having a round belly, i was ecstatic lol. you rarely get true plus size/fat girl main characters, ESPECIALLY in romantasy.

one of my few complaints is that i didn’t feel like the made-up labels for sexual orientation/gender identity were necessary? i found it mostly confusing and i felt like the existence of the queer community in this world could have been explained in a way that didn’t involve confusing made up labels. i love that it’s normalized in the amarran society, and that it was being shown how in brutus it wasn’t accepted but i just didn’t find the labels to be necessary, if that makes sense.

i’m not sure if this book is just meant to be a standalone or not. if it is then i think the ending made sense, but if it’s going to continue into a series i would’ve liked to see it end on more conflict and maybe angst in the romance. but if it’s a standalone i think it was wrapped up nicely. although, i did find the ending to be awfully silly and jolly compared to the brutality and intensity of the rest of the book lol.

overall i genuinely really enjoyed this book, even though the smut wasn’t necessarily for me. i did grow weary of the captivity of it all by about halfway through, so just keep that in mind that if that isn’t your thing, you really aren’t going to enjoy the romance.

the concept of the sort of “reverse” society of the amarrans was extremely interesting, and i think the vibe gave off more “game of thrones” than “acotar” which was refreshing as a romantasy genre, just to read something different!

thank you to netgalley and fiewel macmillan for this arc in exchange for my honest review! all thoughts are my own.

I was very excited to read this when netgalley approved my request! And it did NOT disappoint! I devoured this. Especially because it was so interesting how Tricia Levenseller built a world where women are the stronger sex.

All in all, it was entertaining and I enjoyed it. And yes I would recommend this but read the trigger warnings before you dive in.

Thank you to NetGalley and Macmillan for an ARC of this in exchange for a review!

I really wanted to like this. I’ve liked the authors previous stories, and I was excited to jump into her first adult novel. The premise is very enticing and I was very interested in ready a flipped-script narrative on how women have been treated or viewed, and this missed the mark for me.

I read the authors note and the trigger warnings, but still wasn’t prepared for how dark this was. It didn’t read like the “revenge on men for how they’ve treated women” idea that I got from reading the synopsis and even the notes and warnings. Instead, it was just “let’s enslave and torture a different gender and make it okay because men did worse 500 years ago in this story”. Maybe it would’ve been different if this story took place right after an uprising where the women got fed up and got their revenge. That at least would’ve made more sense as to why the women in this matriarchal society are STILL treating men like dogs.

I do understand the concept, I truly do. But to me, this was no different than reading one of the stories where the same happens to women. I didn’t feel empowered or “yes you go girl” like I wanted to, instead I was just grossed out that humans would treat other humans like that, even in a book. If the women had gone through what they’d went through, you’d think they’d shoot for a more peaceful society after enacting their revenge and making sure men wouldn’t oppress them again. But I’m not sure that becoming the oppressor is the empowering thing that this book tries to tell us it is.

Regardless, I tried to hold out hope for our FMC. She grew up in this society, and I was hoping that meeting Sanos and getting a man’s perspective on how what they’re doing was wrong would help grow and evolve her character, but it didn’t. She had a FEW lines where she mentioned that she didn’t agree with some of the stuff that happens to men, but then goes and treats Sanos like an animal without a second thought. We barely saw any guilt or fight in her to maybe realize that she was also contributing to the problem in their society. I wanted more complexity in her character, but she fell flat. I wanted her to be the one to change the way things were, and she said she wanted to, but her actions to Sanos and how she even spoke to him for a majority of the book contradicted that. It would’ve been nice to see some development and growth where they could both learn from each other and be greater rulers together.

Even their romance wasn’t my favorite, though. I’ve read plenty of stories where a girl is taken or in the wrong place at the wrong time and meets the broody bad guy and eventually falls for him. It’s a trope that’s pretty common in romance these days, but this crossed the line for me. The FMC emotionally abuses and humiliates the MMC and says she wants his consent but also does MANY things she shouldn’t without caring if he’s a willing participant or not. And Sanos didn’t have as much of an issue with it as he should’ve.

Their progression happened quickly and in a really weird way, too. I feel like we never got to set them actually start developing feelings for each other. It started out as lust and attraction, and then with just a few minutes of conversation total on the page, they know each other so well and love each other? Sanos just decided that he loved her and needed to “get over” how she treated him? And then after he gives into his desire once he suddenly worships the ground she walks on? It didn’t make any sense to me and felt like a very surface level relationship. Why couldn’t we see more conversations with them? Where they open up and start to realize they’ve both been masking how they really feel about the world they live in? I feel like they had so much potential but it was all lost in the talk of sex, as if that was the most important thing to them.

The ending also felt quite rushed. We’re meant for believe that Olerra had a huge conflict where she didn’t feel like enough, but it was revealed and didn’t even end up mattering at all. Sanos also had this secret built up, but it was yet another conflict that was quickly and easily resolved. It would’ve been nice to sit in that betrayal and lies for a little bit, and they could’ve deepened their relationship some more.

All in all, I believe that this concept had potential, but it fell flat. I think this story focused on the wrong things. It seems like the idea should’ve been for women to take the power back and show men how powerful they can be as leaders, but they just turned around and treated the men just as bad as the women in their history were treated. This wasn’t a story of empowerment, just a story of women treating men like garbage and getting away with it because “men do it, too”. I almost feel like this book SHOULD have taken a feminist approach, or at least had the FMC striving for equality and peace a bit more, and it would’ve been maybe a more hopeful tale instead of the dark romance that it is.