eh.

this isn't a bad book nor is it written poorly. i've read only one other tricia levenseller book and find myself with the same problem. not only did i want more, i wanted it to be less about the romance and more about the world. olerra is an amazing character, but while the story went on, while this dance between her and sanos continued, I was actually so bored. it was a redundant story that i still wanted to see through to the end, and as much as i loved olerra as a FMC, it read like a poorly written BLOOD OF THE SANDS meets BRIDGE KINGDOM when it should have exceeded both of them.

still good enough to read through however. just had way too high of the expectations when i dove into this.

What Fury Brings hooked me with its premise. The idea of flipping the familiar romantasy script, where a woman is the one kidnapping a prince and forcing him into her world was such a thought-provoking setup. I loved the way it pushed me to look at some of those tropes we see all the time in a totally different light.

Olerra, our FMC, is a warrior princess determined to prove herself and lead, even as she carries the weight of scars and ambition. She kidnaps Sanos, a prince from another kingdom, and from there the power struggle begins. Sanos, the prince she captures, has every reason to hate her kingdom and resist her, and yet his resistance slowly cracks in a way that feels raw and complicated. Their dynamic is full of tension and mistrust, and that’s where the story shines the brightest.

The world of Amarra is harsh, matriarchal, with a patriarchal feel, and deeply flawed. The customs and laws are unsettling, and putting Sanos in the position we often see heroines endure really brought that imbalance into focus. The worldbuilding works, especially when contrasted with Sanos’s homeland, Brutus, though I would have loved just a little more time spent exploring both places in depth.

For me, the biggest thing was that while the premise is fantastic, I don’t know if it fully landed. There were moments where the story, the emotional beats, and even the characters themselves could have gone deeper. It reads more like new adult romantasy with strong mature themes, which isn’t a bad thing, but sometimes I found myself wishing for just a bit more weight and complexity. Knowing this is the author’s first foray into adult, though, it makes sense, and it feels like a really strong foundation to build from.

The pacing works overall. It takes a little time to settle in, the middle lingers here and there, but the ending delivered the action and choices I wanted.

Overall, I enjoyed what was being done here. What Fury Brings is bold, fresh, and thought provoking, even if not every piece clicked perfectly into place. It’s a story that asks questions about power, morality, and what we’re willing to sacrifice, and that’s something I can appreciate in any romantasy.

Huge thank you to NetGalley, Macmillan Publishers, and Feiwel for the ARC and the chance to dive into this one early!

First off, huge thank you to Macmillan and NetGalley for sending me a free ARC of What Fury Brings in exchange for an honest review! Before diving in, the author herself said: please check the trigger warnings, and also clarified this book is about revenge, not feminism. Fair enough—I saw the warnings, thought “okay, nothing wilder than other dark fantasy I’ve read,” and I was ready for a fierce revenge story. The first few chapters? Amazing. We’ve got a kingdom called Amarra where men are scarce, so women literally have to kidnap their husbands. I was like, hello?? Fresh idea, let’s go! Then we meet Olarra, the warrior princess MC, who decides to secure her throne by stealing the second-born prince of an enemy kingdom. But she messes up and grabs the first-born instead—aka Sanos, who’s trained to fight, hates Amarra’s system, and is absolutely not here for her plan. At this point, I was all in. Give me slow-burn enemies-to-lovers, give me political drama, give me Olarra’s throne and some juicy revenge.

But then… everything took a nosedive. Instead of showing me what a matriarchal society could look like, the book went straight into a dark spiral of systematic degradation and torture of Sanos. And I mean *degradation*. The premise was such a good setup, but the execution made it feel like the point of the story wasn’t about flipping gender roles or even exploring power dynamics—it was about breaking this poor guy down until he had nothing left. That’s not what our society looks like, and it’s not a one-to-one reversal of women’s experiences either. It felt less like social commentary and more like straight-up cruelty for shock value, and it really turned me off.

And yes, technically there’s a romance subplot. But when you’ve got your love interest chained, humiliated, and held captive, it stops feeling like slow burn tension and starts veering into Stockholm syndrome territory. So every time the romance “progressed,” I just couldn’t buy it. Like, how am I supposed to swoon when I’m still cringing from the last scene? I wanted to root for Olarra, but her choices and the world around her just made the dynamic with Sanos feel wrong, not empowering.

All that said—the premise? Brilliant. The cover? Drop-dead gorgeous, golden perfection. The execution? Sadly, not for me. If you’re picking this up hoping for a sharp, thoughtful matriarchal society with political intrigue and badass women calling the shots, that’s not really what you’re going to get. What you will get is a brutal, revenge-heavy story in a world where men are treated as lesser beings and abused. If that’s your thing, you might vibe with it more than I did. But for me, this one was a miss.

I had high hopes for this book, as l've read and loved many of the author's other works. Sadly, I can hardly find anything positive to say this time - What Fury Brings was, for me, a complete mess.

I was intrigued by the premise: a society where women hold the power and men become the weaker sex. Unfortunately, the execution fell flat. The pacing felt rushed, with unnecessary time jumps, and the message is deeply problematic - men did wrong in the past, so now younger generations are being punished for the deeds and atrocities of their forefathers. What fault does a man born today have for what other men did 500 years ago? This book isn't about female rage and female empowerment. There is nothing feminist about What Fury Brings. It simply inverts oppression, which I found neither progressive nor liberating. I am frankly disturbed, and the marketing and trigger warning were as inaccurate as can be.

The characters did little to improve my impression. They are a hypocritical bunch and every single one of them is downright unlikable. Orella claims she wants to rule to change society and to prevent her man-hating cousin from ascending the throne, yet her actions contradict her words and nowhere in her behaviour can you observe a desire for change. She claims she dislikes men being mistreated, sold and raped, and yet, she's not better herself. All Orella does is humiliate and abuse Sonas. And don't even get me started on Sonas. Simply put, he's your typical man that lacks empathy and is blind to the suffering of others. His ignorance is appalling. Also, 'His mouth watered. A large woman meant large breasts.'? Yuck!

The relationship between Orella and Sandos was the most troubling of all. I can't even call it a romantic relationship, because where was the romance? It was a typical Stockholm syndrome dynamic, only with the genders swapped. I'm not even gonna talk about the lack of consent when it came to sexual activities...

According to What Fury Brings, oppression is acceptable as long as it is women doing the oppressing. The book does not meaningfully explore female rage or empowerment. Instead, its shallow and problematic portrayal of power, abuse, and gender dynamics, leaves behind a deeply unsettling impression.

1 ⭐️ ARC Review

oh boy. when I came to read this book, I'm not entirely sure what I was expecting. but what I was not expecting was something best described as patriarchy at its worst in six inch heels. some absolutely horrific things happen in this book (13 year old boy being sold into harem??), and the worst part is NOTHING in the plot even mildly discusses any of this as wrong. in fact, it's treated as fully right. so, the setting is nightmarish and one of the most problematic things I've ever read. the plot is AWFUL. the character chemistry? worse than non-existent. literally NOTHING about this worked even slightly. I hate to say this, but I would give this a 0 if that was possible.

This is not your average romantasy book. In this book women are the superior gender and the FMC’s kingdom the women have all the power. Ollera decides in order to become the next Queen she needs to kidnap the Prince of her rival kingdom. Only problem is she steals the wrong Prince. This was such a fun read. I wish there was a bit more of a fantasy aspect since it’s being marketed as a romantasy book. The history major in me loved the Greek/Roman vibes of this world. And I really enjoyed the flipping of the gender roles it’s so unique in this genre.

Thank you to the publisher for granting me early access to What the Fury Brings.

I’d rate this one a 3/5. Overall, it was okay, but I struggled with how repetitive it felt at times, and some moments came across as a little cringey. That said, I really appreciated the “screw the patriarchy” energy woven throughout. The way the author flipped gender roles and challenged traditional dynamics was clever and definitely a highlight for me. Unfortunately, the story itself didn’t always deliver—I found much of it predictable and I was hoping for more depth or surprise.

Still, it’s clear what the author set out to do, and I think some readers will connect more strongly with the themes than I did.

"Do you know what I think I've been dreaming of you all these years?"

What Fury Brings is the answer to the question, "What would happen in a world where women held all the power". I devoured this book as it was both fascinating and unsettling to read.

Olerra is a feared warrior princess and heir to the throne of Amarra- a land that is run by women. To lock in her place as the princess chosen, she decides to kidnap a prince from a rival kingdom. Unbeknownst to her, she ends up kidnapping the wrong prince. Sanos is the heir to the kingdom of Brutus and has only known a world run by men and the abuse of his father.

I will say there were a lot of moments where I was like " Wait...am I supposed to root for this?. This book is messy, challenging, and thought-provoking. The political intrigue kept me hooked, and the role reversal really made me think about gender, power, and control in fantasy books. This romantasy is dark, and I warn people to look at the trigger warning before reading.

Overall, I'd give this book a rating of 3.75. I could definitely see myself picking up the next book in the series

I really wanted to like this one. I tried to get into it but I ended up dnf probably 45% into it. The whole book just felt very cringy to me. Maybe I’ll try to read it again once it comes out.

2.5 stars? I think?

This is a tough one for me to figure out where to rate and how I actually felt about it. On one hand, I was entertained and the pages kept turning because I was fascinated to figure out how this would come together. I honestly haven't read a book so quickly in a long time - but I don't think that's necessarily a good thing. This had the feeling of a guilty pleasure read, but I'm not sure how much I actually did enjoy it?

I think maybe I expected a bit more out of this one. Ultimately, it fell flat in my eyes. The romance was really hard for me to actually get into and support and enjoy. Stockholm syndrome, anyone? This is where I struggle with romantasy and don't typically buy into it because everything else tends to get sacrificed for the sake of the romance - which is, in my opinion, what we see here. Because where did this immense love for Olerra come from. Bro was KIDNAPPED. The things she did to essentially earn her love and prove that she's... good, despite harming him, were all because SHE STOLE HIM.

But hey, genuine shoutout to a properly plus size FMC. I loved that she wasn't a tiny wisp of a thing. The descriptions describing her was so delightfully clear and if I see ANY fanart from this where she is anything less than gloriously fat I'm gonna lose my shit. I wish I liked this more and felt compelled to draw her because, if you know my art, you know I'm always going to advocate for more body diversity in fantasy and romance settings and this would've been the perfect opportunity.

Anyway - the writing was good, and I've read one other book from Levenseller that I did enjoy. This was saved and kept me reading because of the writing (and my curiosity), so that's where I'm torn between a 2 or a 3 star rating.

[Review with a few mild spoilers on goodreads]

Unfortunately, I didn’t love this book like I was hoping to. The pacing just felt off and the main characters’ connections to each other (and other characters) felt shallow. The dialogue also came across a bit stilted at times.

Thank you so much to the publisher for granting me early access to this book. While I don't think it was the right fit for me, I can see the potential and the unique concept that for sure will find the right readers.

I'm sorry, I am grateful for the arc, I was SO excited when I got approved, it was one of my most anticipated reads this summer, the premise sounded amazing. And I tried to like it, it was engaging enough. But everything felt so... off. I just couldn't get into it. 😭😭😭

Yes, I did read the trigger warnings, the notes, everything. And I didn't have a problem with any of that - actually, I applaud Tricia for such a bold and fun and interesting idea. 👏👏

My issue is the execution. It read like a satire? It all felt forced, too much (like I did get the point, but she was trying too hard to make it?), the dialogue and interactions between the MCs were cringey, the characters felt one dimensional, the FMC took her long time to show some feeling or character or nuance or anything. At the beginning, she just showed as a spoiled brat who wanted a throne. Yes, yes, great, we love a queen who puts men in their place, but WHY? who are you? what are your values, thoughts, interests, personality traits etc etc? WHY should we care? Why root for you? Give me some background.

You know what I'm saying? It felt a bit superficial to me.

Anyway. All that (and don't get me started on the hero and all their cringe interactions and parading) made me really struggle with the first part of the book.

But then we got to know the characters better, they did too, the plot thickened, action and politics happened and I got swept into it all. Loved the ending.

But yeah. Sorry.

On the plus side, like others have mentioned, the concept is really bold and interesting and it will make for some fun and controversial discussions. It's a symbol and I like what that represents. So I hope other readers will love it more

I saw this book all over social media and it sounded absolutely amazing based on the marketing. So I started reading it early and I honestly do not believe I read the same book as everyone else. This is not the story I was promised in all of the other early reviews and marketing, it lacked in so many ways and I sadly had to DNF this book at 46%. I was having problems from the beginning connecting with this story and the writing but I always try to give books until 50% before I DNF. I wanted to like this so bad but I am so sorry that I didn't!

Pretty predictable but such a fun read. Honestly I wish there was more smut. But a fantastic adult debut! The reverse society was so satisfying after dumping yet another mediocre man irl lol. Such wonderful plot and enemies to lovers. Amazing side characters and conflict.

I really loved this book! It shows how messed up both genders can be. I loved the romance in this and how we got to see it grow. The last 50 pages were insane and I couldn't think of a better ending if I tried. The characters are great and they are so unique. I love this world and this story.

I do not have book triggers, I am all for women empowerment, and I love previous works from this author. But I honestly couldn't stomach finishing this.
This was full rage, dark romance, and the excusing of pedophilia and rape? No thank you.
I hope this finds it's target audience and I wish that it was marketed correctly. I'm honestly upset.

amarra is a kingdom ruled by women, blessed by goddesses with the gift to overpower men. our fmc olerra however, is one of the princesses vying for the throne of amarra and also happened to be born without the gift. in order to win over nobility she is determined to follow her kingdoms traditions by kidnapping a husband. olerra is determined to kidnap a prince of the enemy kingdom, and is successful except for one thing. instead of kidnapping the spare, she ends up kidnapping the heir, sanos. sanos is determined to make it home, no matter what the cost. at least until he finds himself wavering on his convictions.

from the authors note you can tell that the author writes from a place of rage, flipping the patriarchy on its head and writing about a world where men are treated as women have been historically treated. every single character in this book intrigues you, making you want to dive deeper into the story to uncover their motives.

was this book hot? yes. was the pacing of the romantic relationship too fast? also yes. i think if the story was spread out over multiple books the author definitely could of had an epic slow burn on her hands.

this is one of the books that you have to go in just for the vibes. don’t think about it for too long or too hard. if you’re able to do that, you’ll definitely enjoy it. i could not put this bad boy down. 🤸🏻‍♀️

𝙮𝙤𝙪 𝙨𝙝𝙤𝙪𝙡𝙙 𝙧𝙚𝙖𝙙 𝙩𝙝𝙞𝙨 𝙞𝙛 𝙮𝙤𝙪 𝙡𝙞𝙠𝙚:
🗡️ forced proximity
🗡️ feminine rage
🗡️ unique magic systems
🗡️ plus sized fmc
🗡️ political intrigue

The writing style of this book is done well as the author is already accomplished, I just think it is difficult navigating a revenge fantasy and adding romance into the mix perhaps? The author does include a note at the beginning of the book- this is NOT a feminist idealized world of what it would be like if women were in charge. This is if women were in charge AND were just as awful as the patriarchy historically has been in the real world. And honestly- it is well represented, however uncomfortable it is to read about. That discomfort just made it difficult to fully invest in the romance and root for the couple in this story. I think if the FMC was more completely against this oppression/more outspoken it would have been easier for me to be on her side.

The pacing of this story was well done, as well as the voice, and I would consider reading the author's other works as I do recognize she is talented

“What Fury Brings,” by Tricia Levenseller

I really liked the flips in story plot where the women rule over the society and men have no rights. I always find these stories interesting to challenge ideas. I liked how strong the women are in this book even though they are very evil and the FMC is so strong but wants to change the laws to change the kidnapping men and lack of rights for the opposite sex. The romance is enemies to lovers and slow burn with lots of challenging each other and learning to trust on both sides. Really good plot with solid characters, 5 out of 5 stars.

-Kidnapping
-Hidden Identity
-Slave X Master
-Enemies To Lovers
-Dual POV
-Political Intrigue

Thank you for the ARC, Netgalley.

I was given this book in exchange for an honest review for Netgalley. I have never read anything by Tricia Levenseller, but was pleasantly surprised in a good way. From the very first chapter I was intrigued by the characters and the plot. I love that this book was unique and nothing like I had read before. From the very first page I was invested in the characters and flew through each chapter. I found myself reading for hours upon hours. For this to be the authors first adult book, I thought it was well done and I enjoyed it thoroughly. Olerra was my favorite character. She was relatable, kind, and compassionate towards her people as well as Sanos. Sanos character was very protective, strong, and would do anything to protect and fight for the people that he loved. I also loved all of Sanos brothers. I would love to find out more about them as well as Ydra who is Olerra's right hand. Im super excited this is going to be a series and I can't wait to get my hands on book two.