Thank you, NetGalley, for the opportunity to read this ARC!
I was initially drawn to this book because of the cover—it’s absolutely stunning! What’s inside didn’t disappoint either. This fast-paced, dark vampire romantasy is packed with action, magic, and a whole lot of revenge.

Lilah, our fierce FMC, is on a mission to avenge her father’s murder at the hands of vampires. He refused to give her up to them and paid the ultimate price. Orphaned—her mother passed away earlier—Lilah ends up living on a farm with Eldrich.

Determined to forge her own path, Lilah sets her sights on joining the Queen’s Royal Guard, a position rarely held by women. Against all odds, she earns her place and becomes the first female huntress in the Guard. She fights tooth and nail for her spot—but everything changes when she’s captured by Nyx, a vampire, and taken into the Dark Forest.

Though Lilah hates Nyx at first, their banter and tension are deliciously sharp, adding heat to the enemies-to-lovers romance. There are a few spicy scenes, a dash of world-building, and plenty of twists to keep things interesting. It’s a fun, dark, and addictive vampire read that romantasy fans will love!

1.5 Stars

I really enjoyed the premise of this book, vampires, forbidden romance and political intrigue.

However it just fell short for me, I think mainly because it is a short book so the romance comes off as insta love and the characters themselves aren’t really as fleshed out as they need to be for me to care about them.

Overall this book wasn’t targeted for me but I want to thank NetGalley for the arc

Kay Marrie’s A Court of Blood and Sacrifice launches the Blood and Vengeance series with a thrilling dive into betrayal, vengeance, and dangerous alliances. The story opens with our fierce heroine witnessing her father’s murder by a mysterious vampire, igniting a lifelong quest for revenge. Rising to become a formidable vampire hunter in the Sunfire Court, she’s unstoppable—until a vampire enemy turns her mission upside down. Forced into an uneasy alliance in the treacherous Dark Lands, their chemistry crackles, blending enemies-to-lovers tension with dark magic and secrets that challenge everything she knows. This atmospheric, slow-burn fantasy will captivate fans of morally gray romance and high-stakes intrigue.

I really liked the concept of this book- it sounded like it would be right up my street. Unfortunately, a few things I couldn’t get on with were the pacing of the book and lack of slow burn. I know this isn’t necessarily advertised as being a slow burn romance which is why I won’t be reviewing it on my booksta as this wouldn’t be a fair review. But yeah unfortunately not for me. Great concept and writing though! If I had one feedback it would be that the ending felt rather rushed.

Really enjoyed this book, hooked me in from the start, ends on a cliffhanger and can't wait for the next instalment.

Vampires, magic, otherworldly creatures, what's not to love

Enemies to lovers vibe, twists and turns, kept me on my toes

Now I haven’t had any luck with books so I was excited to see this one on NetGalley. Unfortunately it was not executed properly and gave wattpad vibes. The plot was all over the places with many scenes/event’s being repeated continuously and I started skimming to just finish. I will say that the romance came out of nowhere and their chemistry was severely lacking. I do wish this one would have worked out but it didn’t. Thank you NetGalley for the ARC.

I enjoyed this book quite a bit. From the world settings and building to the dark, twisted, and cruel world. The characters were also a stand out with how much they suffered. I can't wait to read book 2.

4/5

From the very first heartbreaking scene, this book grabbed me by the heart and refused to let go. Watching the main character’s father get brutally murdered—and her fierce promise of revenge—sets a pulse-pounding tone that carries through every page. I was instantly hooked.

What truly stole the show for me was the electric, volatile dance between the main character and the vampire. Enemies forced into an uneasy alliance, they spark with mistrust, tension, and a slow-burning chemistry that’s equal parts combustible and heartbreaking. The dual perspectives added layers to their dynamic, though I found myself craving even more insight from the vampire’s point of view.

The world-building here is lush and immersive, painted with dark, mysterious strokes—from the enigmatic Sunfire Court to a forest that almost feels alive with secrets. The blend of magical realism and gritty fantasy created an atmosphere that was both dangerous and captivating.
Admittedly, the pacing hit a lull mid-story, and a few plot transitions felt abrupt, but the flawed, evolving characters more than made up for it. The romance simmers beneath the surface, teasing what promises to be a compelling development in future books. And just when you think you’ve got it figured out—bam! The twist at the end flips everything on its head in the best way possible, leaving you eager for more.

Thank you to NetGalley and publisher for the ARC!

I enjoyed the book but I had a hard time with pacing of the overall story. I felt like things happened way too quick or way too slowly, there was no in between. While I had a hard time with that, I don't think it negatively impacted my time reading this book. I enjoyed the characters and the world building, and can see where Kay wants to go with the series and intrigued to pick up the next book. If you like vampires, enemies to lovers and good world building, this is a book I think you should pick up!

Thanks to NetGalley for an ARC.

Lilah only has her father after her mother was killed from a mysterious illness spreading throughout the land, and then one day at 12 Lilah's father makes her hide and he is killed by vampires. With nowhere to go Lilah rummages for food till she finds a kind man to take her in. Now alls he cares about is becoming one of the Sunfire Court so she can find the vampires responsible for her father's death and kill them. Becoming the first female to fight and kill vampires is all she cares about but once accepted things turn and Lilah finds herself with a vampire she should hate.

Lilah didn't know vampires existed till her father was murdered but she had no clue she was still in the dark about so much and she soon learns it's not just the vampires who are evil and maybe not all the vampires are as evil as she first believed. But what she is sure about is she will kill the vampires who took her father away. She just never guessed she'd fall for someone along the way.

This was a good book, I loved the premise int his story. There's a lot of really interesting elements added to this book making it not just a regular vampire book. The story is not finished in this book and leaves off with so much unanswered and a cliffhanger. I wouldn't say it's a cliffhanger that makes you want to throw your kindle but you for sure want to know what will happen next.

I like both series with one person's point of view but I love when we get both the heroine and the heroes point of view. When reading this I assumed it was just Lilah's point of view but then we get small bits on Nyx point of view. I liked that we see what he's thinking but it wasn't a consistent back and forth point of view(like many books one chapter each) so that did leave me wishing for more of his view point. This was different for me so something i wanted to make mention of. I liked this book is was fun to read and I liked the elements in it that weren't a cookie cutter vampire/slayer book. I'm really wanting to see what happens next!

*Thank you Netgalley and Kay Marrie for this ARC

Vampires, battles, and magical creatures - A Court of Blood and Sacrifice is a thrilling new romantasy. Lilah fights to learn more about her past as she battles for her place in a country fighting off the advances of a vampire nation.

The first book in a new series, Kay Marrie has created a fascinating world that the reader can easily get invested in! Lilah is fierce; the kind of strong female main character you want to read more of! The spice is light, definitely hoping for more romance and heat in book two👀.

My thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the opportunity to read an early copy of this book in exchange for an honest review📚

I think the plot is definitely going somewhere and I loved the fast burn, Romantasy vibes of this book.

The writer has a fantastic imagination and described it so visibly that I was able to imagine those worlds really well.

I was super tense throughout, just when I thought Lilah would get a reprieve, something else happened.

I adore a strong, feisty heroine and that's exactly what Lilah was. I would also love a piece of Nyx myself.
I wish there was more of Nyx's POV because I felt his feelings where really rushed? he seemed to fall in love extremely quickly, I understand he had been watching her for a while but would have loved to see more of that and understand more of where that came from.

Overall I really liked this book, I love the magical aspect of it, it really throws me into another world that I enjoy being in and I can't wait for the next book!

Honest review incoming….this book from the outset had all the things that I like. Vampires, magic, enemies to lovers. But I just couldn’t get along with it fully for some reason.

Some of the way things were phrased seemed really clunky, in particular some of the dialogue didn’t seem 100% like natural speech. But perhaps that’s how I read it in my head.

I read a few other reviews which mentioned the odd pacing and the seemingly unfounded connection with the main characters and I am in a mind to agree. We didn’t get long with the training to be a hunter but yet she is apparently amazing.

There was a fair bit of repetition aswell, perhaps for emphasis but I didn’t feel it needed it. (Yes we know you’re the first female huntress….yes we know your fuming cause your dad was murdered….😅)

I will be honest it was nearly a DNF but I persevered and started partly speed reading.

I don’t want to sound like there was no good points. There definitely was, I think the overall story seems good and I liked some of the atmospheric introductions. But perhaps just not fully to my own liking. And I did enjoy the sass she gave quite often too.

1/5⭐

My thoughts:
I really wanted to love this book. I love vampires, magic, romace..etc
Sadly, this book were not for me.
The first chapters were fine I guess, even though the writing style were bothering me a bit.
I really struggled to continue readling after 40%.
The pacing was weird, all the characters were angry/filled with rage/hatred all the time *insert eyeroll*. The romance came out of nowhere, and almost gave me a wiplash. I mean, I knew there would be romance- obviously. But the maincharacters lacked chemistry, and the romance really went from 0-100 in one chapter.

Thank you Netgalley for this ARC!

*ੈ✩‧₊˚Rating*ੈ✩‧₊˚
1/5 Stars

˗ˏˋ ♡ ˎˊ˗Tropes˗ˏˋ ♡ ˎˊ˗
🩸 Enemies To Lovers
⚔️ Forced Proximity
🩸 Touch Her & Die
⚔️ Hidden Family Secrets
🩸 Mysterious & Dark Vibes
⚔️ Vampire/Human Romance

💭 Thoughts-
Honestly, when I read this most of my reactions would be described in one simple emoji and that is 🙄. This whole story seemed wayyy too generic and without any unique qualities to make it stand out from other books I’ve read like this. The pacing also just seemed super off and weird and the chapters lacked depth and any real meaning or anything to it. The romance also progressed way too quickly, and she was just trusting him for no reason whatsoever when she obviously shouldn’t be. All in all, though, I did not like this book and would not recommend unless you want a super generic vampire romance book.

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(Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for an early copy of this book in exchange for an honest review)

Emotional, dark, and full of twists – I couldn’t put it down!

This story pulled me in straight away. The beginning was heartbreaking and intense – watching the main character’s father get murdered and seeing her promise to take revenge really set the tone. From that moment on, I was hooked.

What I really enjoyed was the relationship between her and the vampire. I love stories where enemies are forced to work together, and this one got it just right. There was tension, mistrust, and that slow build of something deeper. Their moments together were full of conflict but also strangely moving.

The world itself was great too – dark, mysterious, and dangerous. I liked the idea of the Sunfire Court guards and the forest that seemed alive. Everything felt well thought out and easy to picture.

And then came the twist at the end – I didn’t see it coming, but it made me rethink everything in the best way.

If you like dark fantasy with strong characters, emotional moments, and a bit of romance and danger, this book is well worth a read. I’ll definitely be keeping an eye out for the next one!

Honestly, the first 25, especially, gave me extreme whiplash. The pacing was inconsistent, and it felt like we were going through the basic motions of a book without any genuine emotion.

The romance was lacklustre, and there were no real stakes. I did not care about the characters cause there was no reason to.

Vampire and human romance - the romance is better than twilight and even the trees have more personality too! Ithink this is a really good first book for world building and learning the characters. It was very moody and haunting in vibe.
My only issue was that each scene was very fade to black and into a new one without a lot of assistance to the reader on how we got there. I think as this series goes on this will improve and it's really a small detail in comparison to how much fun I had reading this.

⭐️⭐️⭐️.5

While the setup had all the ingredients for a gripping fantasy romance, it took me a while to get into the story. The pacing felt uneven—slow at first, then jumping between action and world-building in a way that didn’t always flow smoothly. I also felt like something was missing emotionally or thematically to make me fully connect with the characters and stakes. That said, the enemies-to-lovers tension and forced proximity with Nyx definitely had its moments, and there’s enough intrigue to make me curious about what happens next.

Hoping the second book brings deeper character development and more consistent pacing, because this world has a lot of potential!

To be honest, I didn’t really enjoy this book. It had a lot of good parts, but the quickness of the story made me not enjoy it as much as I wanted to. I will read the second book to hope for a happy ever after ending (hopefully there is one) and the smut (this was the part written well). I didn’t hate the characters, I didn’t hate the story, the smut was good, and I enjoyed the vibe. It just didn’t make sense how it all takes place in a span of a week. And sure there is magic and stuff but if she’s primarily human, it doesn’t add up. I think this needed to be longer and have the story play out longer as well. I get vampires hunt quickly but it was just too fast.