4.25🌟
2🌶 once it hits

I am so ecstatic that I snagged an ARC of this. Scarlett St. Clair is an amazing writter and her world building is top tier. This book did not disappoint for me. I'm not usually an urban fantasy fan but she writes it so well.

I love feminine rage and Lilith is top tier and her relationship with Z is amazing he is perfect. Once the spice starts it hits🌶. The are amazing allies to lovers and he gives off major touch her and die vibes.

I can't wait to see what happens in the next book!

Tropes
*Touch her and die
*urban fantasy
*allies to lovers
*religious trama
*mafia

Terror At The Gates was absolutely captivating. I don’t know how Scarlett St. Clair does it, but her books completely draw me in with their action-packed storytelling, witty banter, and spectacular characters.

The storyline never stopped delivering. It was packed with intensity, and I couldn’t get enough. I found the FMC and MMC so easy to connect with, their emotions and struggles resonating deeply. The supporting characters added even more layers, their motivations unfolding clearly throughout.

I loved how this modern retelling brought so much depth to the family dynamics. If you adored the Hades and Persephone saga, you’ll love this. It has all the magic, tension, and emotional pull that made that series so unforgettable.

Thank you for the earc. All thoughts are my own.

This is my first read by this author but it will not be my last.

The plot and world building were phenomenal. We got pulled into an intricate setting where religion played a huge role in the societal hierarchy. Relationships, familial and not, were complicated and well established throughout the story. They helped move the story forward effectively.

“Behave,” he said. My eyes instantly narrowed. “You don’t have what it takes to make me.”

Lilith as a main character brought a strong leading presence and I loved that she didn’t conform. Zahariev was the hero she deserved. His priority was always Lilith. Even when she didn’t know it.

“You don’t think I carry you wherever I go? You are unshakeable. A menace…”

I am eagerly committed to continuing this series. I can’t wait to see what happens next!

Complementary copy received and voluntarily reviewed.

Here’s a little NSFW Quote 🔥

“I can’t stop wondering how often you’ve been this wet for me.”
His tone was low and rough, grazing my skin with every breath.

🖤Okay. Wow. Where do I start!🖤

Terror at the Gates has a little bit of everything you love in an urban fantasy.
(It’s giving Crescent City Book 1 vibes’ish)

There is slow burn with tension POURING from the pages between Lilith and Zahariev.
This has mafia vibes and “I would burn the world down for her”… along with a healthy dose of touch her and die.

I love a feral MMC who is absolutely unhinged for the FMC.
They’re frenemies… and he falls first (but she doesn’t see it 🫠)
The slow burn burns us all the way to about 65ishhh% and ALL the tension is worth it.

While this isn’t dual POV in the traditional sense, we have mini snippets from his POV—and they’re EVERYTHING. I absolutely love his POV.

“You act like this has to mean something.” Fucking brat.
She meant everything.

(See what I mean!!)

Lilith experiences so much—trauma, heartbreak—and is trying to uncover the mystery behind a dagger that’s come into her possession.

There is a pet companion: Cherub the cat 🐈‍⬛

“If this wasn’t a sin, you’d be a saint.”
Yes. He said that.

If you like:
– feral MMCs who would destroy anything for her
– slow burn + tension
– urban fantasy / mafia vibes
– feminine rage, high tension, and magic
add this to your TBR.

This book was like a love letter to everyone (especially women) who have been stepped on by organized religion, and particularly by parents who follow that religion to the detriment of their children. So many of Lilith’s feelings and actions were so relatable to me. I felt such a connection to her.

This book was definitely slow burn, but I loved the small pov snippets from zahariev. His dedication to Lilith and her head strong personality were so much fun to read. I really looked forward to those little pieces of him.

This book does leave on a little cliffy, but not an excruciating one. It so perfectly sets us up for the next book and I am SO excited to see where this story is going!!

Thank you so much to Scarlett and Bloom for this eARC! This was one of my most anticipated reads this year and it didn’t disappoint!

❤️‍🔥Terror at the Gates❤️‍🔥
By Scarlett St. Clair
Book 1 of the Blood of Lilith series

Read as an ARC via NetGalley & SOURCEBOOKS Bloom Books. Thank you! 🙏🏻

Terror at the Gates is a Romantasy and the first book of a new series, Blood of Lilith, by Scarlett St. Clair. It has heavy religious aspects from multiple religions. The society is wholly ran by the church who uses religion as a weapon with spiritual abuse, trauma, violence and oppression. Check trigger warnings if needed. There will be some big triggers for some people.

This book has dual POV, though the vast majority is through the POV of the FMC. At the beginning of each chapter, there is a small POV from the MMC.

The story takes place in Eden. Eden is ran by the church and the commission which consists of the archbishop and the head of each district. It is split up into 5 districts, from "godliest," richest & most prestigious to less than:
Hiram - Financialists ruled by Lucius Leviathan (Father of the FMC, Lilith),
Temple City - Industrialists ruled by Victor Viridian,
Galant - Merchants ruled by Serafin Sanctius,
Akkadia - Artists ruled by Absalom Asahel,
Nineveh - City of Sin ruled by Zahariev Zareth, the MMC.

The FMC is Lilith Leviathan. She is the daughter of the leader of Hiram, the most important, richest, "godliest" district of Eden. She has a terrible relationship with her mother who is just awful to her at every opportunity. She gained her Elohai sex magic powers at age 18, left home not long after & ran away to Ninevah. Zahariev, being the ruler of Nineveh, agreed to let her stay, keep an eye on her and make sure she stays safe in the dangerous district. She's had a crush Zahariev for a long time, but never acts on it. Her father and the head of the church agreed to allow her to leave Hiram for Ninevah believing she would get there and realize how good she had it and run back home. After 2 years away, they are getting impatient with her and begin with threats if she does not return soon to fulfill her duty to marry. She is a very defiant and independent woman, knows what she wants & does not want for her life, & has no plans to ever return to Hiram.

Zahariev Zareth is the MMC. He rules Ninevah as head of the Zareth family follwing the death of his father and has one younger brother named Cassius. He is one of the most feared of the five bosses, even without a wife and her magic. He uses information as a weapon against those who think to cross him. It seems to me he runs it in a way similar to the mob. Ninevah is a rather seedy, dangerous district full of strip clubs, smugglers etc. It contains the South Gate, which becomes important, and borders the canal between Ninevah and Akkadia. It is obvious he is smitten with Lilith who he calls Lo or Little Love. He is always there for her, helping her in literally every way he can, and is a shoulder for her to cry on when she needs it. They have always been in each other's life. Its obvious early on that she takes advantage of Zahariev all the time, but he does not seem to mind. She can be petulant and pushes all his buttons all the time.

Being who he is and being who she is, Zahariev and Lilith cant marry or have a romantic relationship. Her father and the commission would never allow two heirs to be together. So, even though they may both secretly want it, they never touch each other in a romantic way (ok of course they end up very much touching each other in ALL the ways ;). ❤️‍🔥

One thing that I noticed about Lilith was everyone in her circle treats her with such care and love and support. It's like they inherently or subconsciously know she is an important part of the world and take care to treat her as such. Her roommate is Colette who goes by Coco. She works as a dancer at Praise, a nightclub owned by Zahariev. She is the definition of a BFF to Lilith. She brings home a tiny kitten that quickly becomes a part of Lilith's circle too, named Cherub. There is mention that Cherub is Lilith's "Familiar." Lilith & Zahariev have wonderful married friends named Gabirel & Esther who are expecting a baby boy, Liam. Lilith does not get along very well with Zahariev's brother Cassius.

Elohai is the name of the bloodline that gave each family their magic and the right to rule their district. The magic is only present in the women. The women are subservient to the men therefore the women are not allowed to use their magic without some kind of male oversight. Since Lilith is unmarried, her father would dictate how and when she uses it. With hers being sex or lust magic, he did not want anything to do with it. So, the men marry the magically gifted women in order to control and use their magic. The woman's father will pick their daughter's husband to be the heir of the family. The church says the women's subservient place in society is due to the tempting of the First Man.

The figurehead of the church is Archbishop Alarich Lisk. He leads worship in the First Temple in Hiram & lives on the premises of the church. The church uses the Book of Splendor as the religious doctrine that rules the society. Lilith has a horrible past with Lisk that started at age 9 and is one of the main reasons she left Hiram. Lisk is corrupt, abusive, and dangerous.

Now that's all out of the way, the plot line. At the beginning of the story, Lilith is using her lust magic in one of Zahariev's clubs to "acquire" things to sell on Smuggler's Row for money to pay her bills. Her magic locks on to lust creating a type of thrall she can use to make people do things or tell her things they normally wouldn't. She likes to get religious relics, they seem to bring the most money. This particular night she sees a bejeweled dagger on the hip of a man, so she approaches him to get it. It does not take her long to get him to give her the dagger. He tells her he stole it off of a priest before killing him. Since using her magic is against the rules and they have ways to catch magic being used, she is caught by Zahariev's men. Zahariev allows her to keep the dagger. When she goes to try and sell it, the buyer in the shop she uses keels over after touching it. Also, after Lilith acquires the blade, she begins having intense, realistic dreams that continue throughout the book. She finds out the blade is one of 7 that together make up a magical sword, the Defender. The main plot line has to do with other gods being locked behind the gates by the Messiah, an invader. Some of this story is a little hard for me to follow, not because the author, but because I believe it is a bit over my head. I need to take some better notes on the gods, who & where they are, some information obtained from prophetic words from Lilith's dreams, Tori (a possibly mentally ill citizen of Nineveh who would yell out about the gods while out in public), a witch, and Lilith's mother. I need to understand it better because what everything builds up to and what happens at the end........ holy cliffhanger!!!

I have read all of the Hades x Persephone's finished series, what has been released in the Adrian x Isolde series, and both released standalone Fairytale Retellings. I have loved every single book I have read from this author. This new book is such an amazing start to this series! I recommend reading it and all of her other books! Whew this was a long review. More like a book report!

Happy Reading! 📚📚❤️‍🔥❤️‍🔥

In classic Scarlett St. Clair fashion, this book was unputdownable! It was a great first installment to the series, and the ending left me with so many questions that I can’t wait to pick up the next one once it comes out.

My favorite part of the book was Zahariev’s chapters. They were short & packed a punch of depth and insight. It had me swooning even more than I thought was possible.

I absolutely adore Cherub and all of the side characters.

I’m desperate for more information and more Zahariev and Lilith!!!

Lilith was an amazing female main character. Sure some could say she makes rash decisions but I think she’s got so much room to grow and I love her character already. I can’t wait to see her evolve in the future books, especially as she continues to uncover more about herself and the secrets of the world she’s living in.

I'm gonna convince you to do yourself a favor, go preorder this book, get the signed copy and vellum overlays. I was so lucky to receive an early copy through NetGalley, hence why I am letting you know now.

I don't know what the FUCK she put in this book, BUT DAMN. CRACK. Spectacular, give me 14 of them right now.

This book is so complex yet so easy to read, and has easily influenced me to order that signed copy with the vellum overlays, and I will be chomping at the bit for the next one. In the meantime, I will probably reread, at least once. Lilith and Zahariev have easily become a Top 10 book couple for me. The yearning between these two is impeccable. I cannot rave about this book enough.

This book was everything and I absolutely devoured every second of it. The story was so well thought out and put together that it made it an easy and fast read. The romance and connection between the main characters was unmatched, and the slow burn was one of the best ones I've read and it was probably my favorite part of the book. This is a dark romance that I want to go back and keep reading.

I am so ready for the next book!

*I was lucky enough to receive an ARC for this book, but all my thoughts and feeling are my own*

WOW
Scarlett St. Clair has done it again. Besides being beautifully steamy, Terror At The Gates built me up, tore me down and then put me back together again. Lilith was the best kind of fmc, she didn't feel like a copy and paste of every other badass fmc, she was so grounded and real. I am so excited for this to come out next month, I know people will be TALKING

Scarlett st. Clair delivered a whole lot of 5 freakin’ stars in this!! 🤩 If it wasn’t for work I would have finished this in one day 🤯 Zahariev is now officially fighting Hades for my favourite character of hers !! The tension, OMG THE TENSION 🔥🥵 between Lilith and Zahariev was so 🤤. The little tidbits into Zahariev’s mind was too damn good, it just added to the mystery and hotness ( yes I said hotness) of him. Lilith is my favourite kind of FMC, takes no shit and does what she wants but has the fire in her to do what is right. My heart broke for her … so many times!! Hopefully her little Cherub will bring her some comfort 💕 loved how the cliffhanger also left so much unanswered!! Plus, we all know that man is gonna have to hit the big 10!! 😉 I am so happy I got to read this ARC, can’t wait to see what else this world has in store for us 😈

I would definitely recommend taking into consideration trigger warnings before reading !

Thank you to the author, NetGalley and Source books/ Bloom books for the eARC :)

Terror at the Gates is a dark fantasy retelling of Lilith with Cursed Fates, Prophecies, Witches, Magic, Enemies/Friends to Lovers, Forbidden Love & Found Family that had me glued to EVERY page.
The world building is easy to understand along with character relationships/personalities. This is a single POV told by our FMC Lilith following with a small POV from our MMC Zahariev after each chapter.

**AS ALWAYS BEFORE READING CHECK THE TRIGGER WARNINGS**

Lilith Leviathan is our FMC & the daughter of Lucius Leviathan who governs the territory of Hiram, the financial district. Lilith has run away to Nineveh to escape the Church & her family's unbelievable expectations & constant disappointment.
Zahariev Zareth is our MMC, the head of The House of Zareth & Zahariev governs the territory of Nineveh where Lilith has decided to start a new life.

The friendships & emotional connections within this book really did it for me, Lilith is a FMC who truly FEELS her emotions but is still so strong within her struggles. If I am being completely honest this book & every situation Lilith had to go through in such a short time had me in tears, Lilith needs a streak of goodness after all she went through in book one. *cough cough, Scarlett PLEASE*

Zahariev had me obsessed with how much he cares for Lilith -

“Promise me something” he said, still watching me.
“What?”
“If you ever feel like you don’t want to do this anymore…tell me. Give me the chance to bring you back.”

LIKE UGH I’m obsessed.

This was a 5 star read for me & I am truly so excited for book two, as book one left off on a MAJOR event that I am dying to have more answers too. I loved the Hades x Persephone series & I believe this series will be just as captivating if not more!


Thank you so much to Scarlett St. Clair, SOURCEBOOKS Bloom Books & Netgalley for gifting me this eARC & the opportunity to read this book!

This was the dark urban fantasy book I needed now. The focus on feminine rage against a patriachial society was cathartic at this momment in time, especially. The characters, especially the main character Lilith, were well-constructed and intriguing and I found myself surprised by the developments of the story's mysteries.

Often, I find myself guessing the answers to book's trying to present mysterious. However, even at the end of this first installment, I was left with a sense that there is a mountain of unseen world-building and the main characters and I have yet to sort out. The idea that those in power in the book's society have hidden the truth of its past was prevalent, and I found myself wanting answers that won't come until future books.

That being said, I felt it ended at a great stopping point, though I did want to throw my reading device at a wall. In a good way.

Thankyou to netgalley for sending me a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. Wow, Scarlett St. Clair does it again! Terror At The Gates is the start of a new fantasy series, our fmc is a strong woman which I love but she does cry a lot which did start to get annoying. The beginning was a little slow but once the story got going I couldn't put the book down. I'm really excited to see where this series goes and discovering more of the world. I highly recommend to any urban fantasy lovers out there who want a slow burn romance that gets really spicy towards the end. Overall rating: 4.5☆

Tropes:
♡frenemies to lovers
♡he falls first
♡slow burn
♡mafia
♡animal sidekick
♡urban fantasy

Im a sucker for Scarlett books and i'll read anything she'll write. Imagine my happiness when i received arc of her new book (yes, there was screaming and jumping involved). However, im always honest in my reviews so lets get to it...

Tbh, first 30% i wasnt convinced. The world/city was interesting, tho the way it was managed is over-used in my opinion. HOWEVER, we then started to discover more and more about the inner working and i fell fast and hard. I loved the plot and how it was slowly uncovering, the characters, the found family trope, the kittyyy, and dont get me started about the slowburn - it was so worth the wait 🔥

4.5⭐️

4.5 stars rounded up
ARC review
Release: July 8, 2025

- My Thoughts -
This book left me speechless in the best way possible. I hadn’t read a Scarett St. Clair before this, but I can confirm that I’ll be reading her entire backlist now. This book is THAT good. It hits really hard emotionally, but there are some parts that are just so heartwarming.

- The Characters -

>> Lilith <<
So, this woman is badass, okay? She doesn’t take shit from anyone, but she also doesn’t know how to ask for help, which is why it’s so amazing watching her character evolve. Lilith also cries a lot, like, we will be filling the entire sea with her tears at this point, but at the same time, it’s also understandable after what she’s gone through. If I had to chose one character that she reminded me of, I’d probably say Tory Vega from Zodiac Academy. She has that same “don’t give a fuck” energy, which I absolutely love.

>> Zahariev <<
Do not even get me started on this man. There are no faults when it comes to this man. Seriously, none in sight. He’s morally grey, he kills people who touch her, he’s a litttttle bit older than her (8 years), and he’s hot. What’s not to like?? Honestly, the beginning of their relationship starts out a bit slow, but it’s definitely worth it in the end. Part of what happened to Lilith is that she ended up running away from her family, but in a way, Zahariev kind of becomes her family, which was super sweet. He always had her back.

- The Plot & World Building -
Okay, I think it might’ve been a little slow at first, but it definitely picks up. It’s also a bit predictable at times, but overall, there were a lot of moments where I was in total shock. Namely that one scene that made me cry. If you know, you know my pain. I think a lot of the actual Lilith retelling itself will come in the next book, and I am SO excited to see where this series goes. PLEASE check your trigger warnings before reading this book, such as, but not limited to, SA, violence, descriptive sexual content, child abuse, and religious trauma.

Features -
- Romantasy
- First person
- FMC’s POV with small excerpts from the MMC’s POV
- Unique magic
- Violence & Death
- Grief
- Retelling
- Morally grey characters
- Touch her and die
- Spicy

I really liked the original world building in this book and the different elements but I felt like I lost a lot of the “magic” in the world and how it was able to be wielded after the first few chapters. It left me with a lot of questions about how everything works.

Overall, It was definitely entertaining and if you liked the Hades x Persephone series I think you will enjoy this one!

I think overall it felt like there were just too many things going on in the plot for me to really connect with the characters so I lost a lot of the yearning and love that would come with a normal slow burn, forbidden romance. It didn’t feel like there was a cause for them to give in to each other or a pivotal moment where they decided it wasn’t worth it to wait anymore. Then it just kinda ended with a lot of spicy scenes to play catch up and an ending that tried to be twisty but didn’t quite make sense in the world building we were given up until that point.

Scarlett St. Clair, bravo! This was such a fun, sassy, and easy page turner that had my entire attention.

This was a fresh and new world to try to understand. It's rooted in religion, with an Urban Fantasy-like aesthetic. It took me a beat to try to visualize the aesthetics; and the closest I could come to would be if Blade Runner had a baby with Arcane League of Legends. There were no Sci-Fi elements, but the visuals, once I got a grip on them, were really cool!

This book is told through the POV of the FMC, Lilith. But, at the end of each chapter, there is a little peek at the MMC's, Zahariev, head. Even though I enjoyed this setup, I was left wanting lengthier sections from Zahariev's POV's.

I don't personally think that Lilith was an easy character to swallow down; yet I actually enjoyed that Lilith was a difficult character for me to fully like. I felt that she was a bit prickly and had her moments that made me frown. She is younger than the MMC, and I felt that her younger age was represented pretty realistically. I found her brave, sassy, hard headed, sometimes unfair, caring, and also naive; as we all were at one point in our lives before we grew and learned more about life.

Zahariev, the way I blushed over this man throughout this book....whew. I loved him immediately. I loved his mannerisms and his physical appearance was working for me big time. The only criticism I have, is that I wish he did a little more near the end of the book. I felt that his character was almost too reserved for me to feel like I really understood him. Maybe that was the point? But, I would have liked seeing his character feel more present for me; he somehow felt a little too in the background at times.

I thought that the pacing of the story was pretty well done, however the ending felt slightly rushed compared to the rest of the books speed. But, I am really excited with how things ended. And I now feel like I have so many more questions than I already did. So, with that I am eager to read the next installment and see where this story goes from where Terror at the Gates left off at.




Thank you to Scarlett St. Clair, NetGalley, & SOURCEBOOKS Bloom Books for the ARC

Thank you NetGalley & SOURCEBOOKS Bloom Books for this eARC

OMG this book was amazing. I love Scarlett St. Clair books and this one does not disappoint! Scarlett does such a great job of making characters you love and feel with and ones to hate. I was sucked into this book on page 1. I love how the dual POV was done in this book. Lilith is a KA FMC you instantly want to see thrive and Zahariev was so easy to swoon for. I can’t wait to continue the series to watch what these two characters will achieve together.

“…I will call her goddess.”

Wow wow wow! I was so excited to see that I was accepted to read Terror at the Gates. I preordered it the second Scarlett announced her new book.
With that being said, I devoured this book in one night. I loved that it was a mixture of fantasy and the real world. Scarlett did a brand new take on some religious themes and also showing us the realities of religious guilt.
My only thoughts on it really is so much happened so fast. There was no break. Every single day something terrible happened to Lilith. Literally everyday. Lots of murder, kidnappings, death, etc.
I kind of wish we had a little bit of a slow down to meet and get to know some of our main characters more.
It took 80% of the book of Lilith and Zahariev fighting their feelings for each other and how it could never happen.
Then all of a sudden she’s having 8 orgasms in the back of the car within in hour. Mind you, her dad just got blown up and she also believes her mom did as well. I just feel like it was very sudden.
Don’t get me wrong, I loved all of it, I just feel like everything happened so fast that I have whiplash.
I will be impatiently waiting for book 2 though!