This Vicious Dream by Stacia Stark was phenomenal! An action-packed romantasy with just the right amount of spice and an exquisite slow burn—I couldn’t get enough. I adored Madinia—she’s the perfect sassy, strong heroine, and I loved every moment of her journey. The pacing, the tension, the emotion—it was all so well done. I flew through this book in less than 24 hours, and the audiobook was absolutely exceptional. I truly can’t rave about it enough.

I have to confess that I’m a huge Stacia Stark fan, no one gets me kicking my feet and giggling like she does and she doesn’t disappoint with her latest offering.
Funny, engaging, slow burn, angst, world building, yes yes yes and I can’t wait for more!

I’m a huge fan of A Court This Cruel and Lovely—so it’s no surprise I devoured the first installment of Madinia’s spin-off story, This Vicious Dream (seriously, what a killer title).

It’s packed with all the best romantasy tropes: powerful magic, slow-burn tension, simmering secrets, one bed, and the grumpiest female lead with a heart of gold. Madinia is sharp-tongued, stubborn, and completely unforgettable.

This feels like the start of something epic, and I cannot wait to see where it goes next.

If you loved the Kingdom of Lies series, this one’s a no-brainer. Trust me—you’re going to be obsessed.

4 ⭐️ 3🌶️ 3🎧

This is everything you want from a far romantasy series.
Our FMC Madinia has been imprisoned for 3 years and has lost her memories of what her mission was before her imprisonment. Calysian a powerful God who has lost his way on the continent searching for a missing piece of himself, is drawn to the tower she has been trapped in, right as she is enacting an escape plan and about to get revenge on her captor.
They join together to go on a search for both of their memories and what they are being pulled toward.
The story feels a bit like a mystery as you read and slowly uncover what is happening with the characters and their pasts, and how entwined they really are. I enjoy unraveling plots like this and waiting for the shoe to drop.
I think it could have been a bit more intense and got boring at times, but I did enjoy the character development and strong relationships that are built. I will definitely continue the series.

Audio notes- it was overall an average audio as far as narration goes but I think I may have enjoyed it more if I did read the actual book. At times the male narrator felt a bit cringe and it took me out of the story.

It wasn’t bad, but it wasn’t great either. I listened to the whole thing and while I enjoyed the story, it felt overly formulaic. Usually that isn’t a huge issue for me, but I felt like nothing truly unique happened until the last 10%. Stacia’s story telling is fine- but I wanted more character building and world building to make everything feel less flat. I don’t like that this is marketed as a new story set in the world of the Kingdom of Lies, implying one not read the previous series to understand what’s going on. While I didn’t need to read the previous series (nor have I), I believe I would appreciate the entire story and world more if I had.

Now to the audiobook portion:
Ew. The narrators are popular seasoned narrators but holy moly neither can voice the opposite gender well. This is a duet- why can’t they each voice their respective gender throughout the entire thing? In addition I found their attempts (well, not attempts because they did sound sultry) almost too much. The female narrator’s male voices were over the top. If I hadn’t received this as an ALC I would have either moved to a physical copy or just DNF’d.

So… overall it was okay. I have no idea if I’ll read the next book. If it’s like the typical romantasy formula I won’t enjoy the second book as much as the first.

Thank you NetGalley and Dreamscape Media for the ALC.

YESSS. This was SOO GOOD. Everything I ever wanted wrapped up into one beautifully read audio book. Meg Sylvan and Tim Paige read this better than I would have in my head. Listening to them had me hooked, and I think they were perfect for Calysian and Madinia. I think the plot was addictive, and really kept me engaged.

The cliff hanger is rough, so thats neat. Thank you for that.

Thank you Netgalley, Stacia Stark, and Dreamscape Media for the opportunity to listen to the audio early!

Dual POV
Touch her and die
Rivals to lovers
Forced proximity
Vengeful Gods
Hidden identities
Secrets
Spice

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ 5 stars

Let me just say—I went in completely blind and have zero regrets. I saw *Stacia Stark* and immediately hit request. No reading the blurb. No second thoughts. Just vibes. And WOW did this audiobook deliver.

*This Vicious Dream* pulled me in from the first line and refused to let go. The moment I realized this was *Madinia’s* book, I full-on gasped. The *screams I SCRUMPT* were loud, and I have no shame.

Stacia’s writing is once again absolutely magical—dark, lush, and addictive. If you’ve read *Kingdom of Lies*, you’ll definitely catch some extra layers in the worldbuilding and character depth, but this absolutely holds its own as a standalone. Think Rapunzel meets Beauty and the Beast, but with sharper edges, a touch of amnesia, higher stakes, and delicious slow-burn danger.

Meg Sylvan and Tim Paige *nailed* the narration. Their performance brought every ounce of tension, chemistry, and emotional weight to life.

I’m obsessed. Utterly hooked. And already desperate for more.

Huge thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the ALC!

In classic Stasia Stark style, “Vicious Dreams” is yet another five-star read! Dropping on May 13th, this thrilling spin-off from the “Kingdom of Lies” series puts the spotlight on one of my all-time favorite characters—Madinia Farrow. She’s finally front and center in her own standalone duology, and I am 100% here for it! And if you love audiobooks...you will love how Meg Sylvan and Tim Paige bring these characters to life!

The plot? Absolutely CAPTIVATING! Madinia, with all her fierce independence, stubborn streak, and unwavering strength, is on a mission to protect her world from a dark god on a quest to reclaim his lost grimoires. The emotional intensity had us hanging on every page—the sharp-witted banter vs the tender moments, the fiery passion vs heart-wrenching pain, the distrust vs true understanding. We’re already desperate for Book #2!

Here’s what you can expect:
– Dual POV (because, of course, you want inside Calysian’s head and the fact that Tim Paige does such a good job narrating our MMC...is a cherry on the top!)

– “Touch her and die” energy 🔥

– Unapologetic feminine rage

– Rivals-to-lovers tension you can cut with a knife

– A ruthless game of cat and mouse

– Forced proximity (hello, slow-burn intensity)

– Vengeful gods with unfinished business

– Hidden identities and ancient secrets

– Surprise cameos from your Kingdom of Lies faves 👀

Spice Level: 3/5 – Just the right amount of heat to keep things smoldering.
Emotional Damage: 4/5 – Our hearts are broken for Madinia and Calysian… and that cliffhanger? Brutal.

Worldbuilding: 3/5 – The layers being added to the Kingdom of Lies universe are *chef’s kiss*
Favorite Character: Calysian—no contest.

Favorite Side Character: Fox, obviously. He’s bitey, grumpy, and we adore him for it.

Runner-up: Eamonn. That mysterious energy? We need more.
Favorite Quote:
“As you die, your last thought will be this: Harming Madinia Farrow was the biggest mistake of your life.”
(Chills. Literal chills.)

Our Take:
You can dive into this without reading Kingdom of Lies—but should you? We say no. Knowing Madinia’s backstory adds so much depth to her journey. Trust us, it’s worth it.

Our two main characters start out as enemies, become reluctant allies, and then lovers — and then a lot more. I did find the beginning of the book a bit harder to follow, especially in the audiobook, as it jumps back and forth in time and sometimes wasn’t very clear. However, once I got a handle on the time jumps, I was able to really get into the story.

Our FMC and MMC team up to find an item that everyone is searching for. It’s very much a traveling story, as they journey first to find the item and then move on to search for another. You can tell there’s a lot more to both characters than meets the eye, though the full picture isn’t clear at first.

The end of this book reveals a lot of information about our two main characters and how they became who they are. We also learn more about several side characters and how they connect to the overall storyline.

This does end on a bit of a cliffhanger, so be aware of that going in! But it’s only supposed to be a duology, so hopefully we won’t have to wait too long to find out all the things.