Roman Fantasy with a little romance!

This will be labled romantasy, and there is some romance, but the plot is far more intriguing! I have a feeling the romance will ramp up in book two and I look forward to seeing how that all unfolds.

(In the Stefon from SNL voice) This book has EVERYTHING. Magic, Vampires, deadly tasks in an arena, and mythical creatures! It's fun and makes for a fast paced, action packed, read and I couldn't put it down.

Our FMC is giving strong Katniss vibes in that she is a reluctant hero. She wants to just survive and create a life for her brothers but she really can't help but do the right thing. Even as she is mentally (and spiritually) weighed down by her past and all that is in front of her, you know that the spark in her, that everyone talks about, is emerging again. This first book laid all of the ashy groundwork for her Phoenix arc in book two.

The reason that this didn't hit five stars for me is that I did feel confused by who was who a lot. Especially at the beginning, but even towards the end, the author would mention someone and I was like wait who?? I am not sure if it's the name choices or that the secondary characters weren't fleshed out enough to be remembered, but with all the action, it was hard to keep track of them.

Final thoughts: this is great, I will be eagerly awaiting book two, and I hope that this is a <spoiler>Vampire Diaries romance</spoiler> situation :)

Thank you Netgalley, Avon, and Harper Voyager for this advanced copy!

5/5 stars ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐| 1.5/5 chili peppers 🌶️

Huge thanks to Stacia Stark, the publisher (Avon and Harper Voyager), and NetGalley for the opportunity to read We Who Will Die as an ARC. All thoughts and opinions are entirely my own.

As soon as I saw that this was a Roman Empire–inspired world with vampires, deadly politics, and a brutal arena, I was in. Stark delivers a richly imagined world full of magic, monsters, and morally gray choices—and I loved every minute of it (well, after the first third… more on that later).

Our FMC, Arvelle, is one of those rare characters you root for not because she’s overpowered or untouchable—but because she’s human. Deeply human. She's grieving the loss of her best friend, wrestling with abandonment from a childhood love, trapped in poverty, and forced into a deal with a vampire to protect her younger brothers, Evren and Garith. Her resilience and quiet strength as a big sister shine through and make her instantly relatable, even when the world around her turns violent and blood-soaked.

The magic system is also refreshingly unique, with a clear tier structure based on sigils—gold, silver, bronze—and a class of powerless mundanes at the bottom. The sociopolitical tension between the vampire council and the sigilmarked wardens creates a constant undercurrent of danger, making every choice feel consequential.

Now let’s talk romance... I hate love triangles. Despise them. And yet, here I am—fully invested in this one. I love Tiernon (he’s loyal, layered, and genuinely good), but there’s just something about Rorrik—the dangerous, seductive, and slightly sadistic vampire prince—that has me feral. I know Stark seems to be angling toward Tiernon, but I can't help rooting for Rorrik. (This is why I prefer “why choose” books—don’t make me suffer!)

My only complaint? The beginning is a slow burn. The first third of the book felt heavy on worldbuilding, and I struggled to stay engaged. But once the pacing picked up—chef’s kiss. I was hooked. Utterly and completely.

My only real regret? Reading this as an ARC and now having to wait forever for book two. Why do I do this to myself??

Holy cow—this book was absolutely ADDICTING.

Stark immerses readers in a richly imagined world where ancient gladiatorial combat collides with myth, magic, and (you guessed it) bloodthirsty immortals. The worldbuilding is immersive and vivid, seamlessly blending politics, ancient creatures, and a compelling magic system that feels both fresh and grounded in mythological roots.

At the center of the story is a fierce and determined heroine who’s thrust into an impossible bargain: kill the emperor or lose her brothers. What follows is a fast-paced, high stakes series of trials that keeps the tension sharp. I was lightning fast at turning those pages!

The narrative momentum never lets up, and I found myself devouring chapter after chapter.

And yes—I unabashedly loved the love triangle. It had strong Vampire Diaries energy in ALL the best ways, with just the right mix of angst, loyalty, and forbidden tension.

If you're a fan of morally gray love interests and impossible choices, you’ll be just as hooked. (The evil brother? is SO HOT and I swear gives me Elijah or Klaus vibes if you know what I mean)...

This book delivered on action, romance, and worldbuilding, and I’m DESPERATE for book two!

10/10 best book I've read so far.

“We Who Will Die” by Stacia Stark is marketed as a romantasy but I would categorize it as mythology with vampire-lore. The storyline is imaginative and has plenty of emotional intensity and dramatic pacing. The book was well written and I had a good time reading it.
Thank you to NetGallery and Avon and Harper Voyager for an advanced copy of this audiobook in exchange for my honest review.

We Who Will Die by Stacia Stark
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
🌶

What I loved:
🗡 vampire diaries x gladiator
🛡 magic system
🗡 FMC's arc

"That's the thing about rights--you don't realize you've taken them for granted until one day, you wake, and they're no longer a right. They're a privilege reserved for other people."

"One of my worst realizations was how many people will--without a second thought--trade other people's freedoms for their own minor comforts." (Quotes may not be exact as the book is not finalized.)

This is a whole new side of Stacia Stark. I am absolutely blown away. If you don't already have this on your TBR, this is your sign to add it!

The world and politics were so dense and fresh. It took me a minute to acclimate to this world, but once I was, I was obsessed. Ancient Rome has been a frequent inspiration for book settings lately, but We Who Will Die is by far the best Roman Empire-inspired world I have read yet. I adored that Stark took the culture, good and bad, and turned it into this incredible fantasy. The trials, the class system, the colonization, all of it had so much depth.

Arvelle was a great FMC. She was such a complex character, yet her motives were clear. I loved her growth in this novel. Her battling and coming to terms with her grief was well done. She was am easy character to love and root for. The family she found was heartwarming and the enemies she made kept the tension up.

This was a large cast of characters but Stark did a magnificent job differentiating them. All of the characters were well-written. There were numerous characters I wanted more time with and I can't wait to see how what they do in the sequel. Rorrik was a fascinating character and I could not get enough of him! I'm desperate for more of him in the next book. I also loved Arvelle's brothers and the friendships she made in the trials.

The ending was full of tension and intrigue. I was on the edge of my seat. Stark wove the threads together so well and I loved how they all came together. The twists were perfectly executed. The end, thankfully, wasn't a cliffhanger but it did set up the next book. The way I need the sequel asap after that!

I will say the marketing of this novel did give some aspects away, but I didn't love them any less! As a proud team Damon member, you already know who's side I'm on!

We Who Will Die is an epic romantasy with a mystery, vengeful gods, mythical creatures, a slow burn romance, magic, vampires, and politics. What more could you want? I absolutely can't wait to dive into the next book. The wait is already brutal. I'm calling it now that this will be one of my favorite series. This is by far Stacia's best book yet. I can't recommend it enough!

5 stars! I loved everything about this story & could not put it down once I started. I absolutely can’t wait for the next book.
Full review coming soon.

Thank you for this ARC NetGalley!

First of all Stacia is one of my favorite authors, she writes with such passion that it makes you fall in love with all the characters. This book was no different. It did start a bit slow and took me sometime to get into but I loved the mystery, the characters, the interesting plot. I do have a feeling I am going to fall more in love with Rorrik than with Ti. Ahhh! Can’t wait for book two, now to wait forever!

WOW!! This book is one of my only 5 star reviews for this year so far! I was hooked from the first chapter and cannot WAIT until the next one comes out. I loved the world building and the characters and had so much fun with this one. I was introduced to Stacia Stark from the Kingdom of Lies series and was a little hesitant to start this one thinking I couldn’t possibly enjoy this one as much of those books but I was so wrong! Easily my top book of the year! Thank you to NetGalley and the publishers for the chance to read the eARC!!

🩷 Book Review 🩷
📚 We Who Will Die
✒️ Stacia Stark
💫💫💫💫💫

Thank you so much to Stacia Stark, Harper Collins and Avon Books for an eARC in exchange for an honest review.

I ABSOLUTELY LOVED THIS BOOK

It had everything it promised and more!

We have:
- vampires
- Gods
- Gladiators
- magic
- mythical creatures
- Roman Empire vibes
- fierce FMC
- two brooding dark MMC (who are brothers)

And a love triangle that has been written so well, that even I (who dislikes them so much) enjoyed this one!
This book started out heavy, and it needs to because the world building is necessary to the plot. You meet so many people, go to so many places and I recommend maybe writing some things down. When you reach the 30% mark, everything just kicks off and the plot is plotting so well. If you love fantasy written as well as the romance, so well that I found both aspects to be equal and not over powering (sounds like a Master Chef judge now) this is the book for you.
There was trials, scream worthy twists, the romance was steamy and the found family was present as well.

I cannot wait for book two!

I have really enjoyed reading We Who Will Die by Stacia Stark. I enjoyed the games portion of the book and the romance plot. One thing that was annoying, is the book would go back in time or talk about a person we hadn't been introduced to yet. I found myself looking backwards trying to figure out if I missed something. Otherwise, this book would have absolutely received a 5 star review!

I was quite into it for the first 2/3 but it felt like a slog by the last bit. Very repetitive, and I feel like all the important parts were just quickly glossed through.

Thank you to the author and publisher for the chance to review this ARC prior to its release!

This book was a 4.25 ⭐️ read for me. Stacia never disappoints. The plot was very in depth and there were a lot of characters. I found myself really liking most of them. The FMC’s character arc shows growth and healing through trauma and a lot happens for her within a short period of time.

The romance part of this story has me excited for the next book. Without spoilers, I have lots and lots of questions and Stacia is setting us up for 🔥.

Some parts did leave me a tad confused and I had to re-read quite a bit. This book was plot heavy and there were a ton of characters. I did find myself wishing a few times that things were explained more.

All in all, I cannot wait to read the second book already. I’m a sucker for all of the tropes in this book and I’m totally looking forward to the romance in book 2!

If you wanted The Hunger games, mixed with Vampire Diaries, mixed with some mythological creatures, this book is the perfect concoction for you!

This fun ride of a Romantasy has trials, life and death situations, reconciled love, grief, hardships, family, sexy vampires, creatures, fighting, and a girl who will do anything to protect those she loves. What more could a fan of Romantasy ask for?

The world-building took me a little bit to understand or get into, but once I finally wrapped my head around what was going on, I was sat. There are vampires, humans, and people with varying levels of power, which of course, then determines their worth to the emperor and the empire overall. So when Arvelle is tasked with killing him, she has no qualms with taking care of him.

However, she has to make it through the Sundering before that’s even an option. She’s met with trials, bloodthirsty vampires, and those with powers who think her beneath them, since her own powers never showed up. She meets the Primus, the emperor’s fiercest protector, and realizes her task will be way more difficult than she originally thought. But to save her family, Arvelle will do whatever it takes to accomplish her goal.

I really liked the pacing of this book! With some books with trials, it takes the whole book, and the last trial is when everything goes wrong. This book, however, moved through them relatively quickly in comparison, while still letting us see all the drama and tension in between Arvelle and the other characters, and still seeing the trials themselves. I feel like so much happened in this book without it feeling like it rushed through everything.

The rate of reveal was also really well done, in my opinion. There were some predictable plot twists, but I still thoroughly enjoyed the journey and watching Arvelle discover the things I already suspected. We didn’t have to wait a whole book or until the very end to uncover secrets or big plot points. Nothing was drug out longer than it needed to be, which I really appreciated as a reader.

And the romance! I love a good balance of fantasy action and romantic tension, and this book had a perfect balance of both, in my opinion. I was kind of left wondering who the love interest was and where the stories between Arvelle and these men were going, and I was always pleasantly surprised. Although, with how this book ended, I need to know more immediately!

I think this will become a pretty popular book in the romantasy world, and I’m so grateful to NetGalley and the publishers for letting me read an ARC!

Thank you to NetGalley and Stacia Stark (and her INCREDIBLE street team) for giving me the opportunity to ARC review We Who Will Die. I am forever grateful!
I really enjoy a story that has a lot of political intrigue, a strong historical background that is (accurately) recalled often-it's especially impressive when the FMCs world and ancient history is not based in our reality, and an FMC who has flaws that she acknowledges or embraces but also has this incredible strength of will and a titanium spine to go with it. This book has all of these. And even more!
You'll get vampires, humans with powers called sigilmarked, humans without powers called mundane, all sorts of mythical beasts that immediately made me reminisce and think of her Deals with Demons/Bargains with Beasts series, gladiator-style games, politically charged murder mystery, a bit of spice sprinkled throughout, and a LOT of yearning and pining between known and previously unknown couples!
This is a book with a lot of twists and turns that you won't see coming. And, even if you do know it's coming, you will be absolutely shocked when it finally explodes right in your face. The first half of the book was a bit complex and required me to write down some characters and Thorn's historical facts to keep them straight, but once you're caught up on life in Thorn, the story ramps up and up and up and doesn't stop. Even at the end.

I've never actually seen The Vampire Diaries so I can't speak to the story giving those vibes. But it feels like a grown-up Roman mythology inspired House of Night series meets Gladiator. This was action-packed and truly a one-of-a-kind story.

I loved this book! I’d say it’s a solid medium pace throughout, with mostly world and character building. The magical elements are unique and I love the gladiator tie in. It is set up for something really great in the next books, and I can’t wait to see where this story goes.

Loved this so much!! Very slow start but once it picks up it PICKS UP!! I feel the slow beginning was necessary for world building and backstory as well!

If you enjoy action, arena-type settings, vampires, and longing– you’ll enjoy this!!

First Thoughts/Summary:

Grab the smelling salts! Hold my hoops! Clutch my demure
pearls! STACIA!! What are you doing to me? I am so
obsessed, it's wrong!

Storyline/Plot:

Stacia is known (at least in my brain) for setting the perfect
pace for a story. You are never bored, you are never rushed,
and you are always hating the moment when you can't keep
your eyes open to keep reading. This book is no different. 1
loved everything from the class system, the way magic levels
were displayed, and the power dynamics between different
magical races. Stacia is amazing at creating complex
characters. She doesn't need to explain how they are
complex, because they just are. Her backstories are woven
into the plot beautifully, and her world-building is just as
magical. Can you tell how much I loved this book?

Favorite Characters:

I loved all of the characters. There was one that I was
obsessed with. It's pretty obvious, I was instantly drawn to
the Rorrick. He is slightly psychotic and very broken and
devastating in all the most interesting ways.

Spice:

There are a few scenes. I don't want to give too much away.
Let's just say, I was satisfied even though there wasn't a ton
of action! The unexpected tension was to die for!

Triggers:

Addiction, Assault, Blood, Death, Decapitation, Depression,
Genocide, Hostages, Murder, Poisoning, Abandonment, Loss
of loved ones, Torture, Suicide, Loss of Parents, and probably
more

I was so excited to get approved for this arc months before it was released!!!

Story: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
Spice: 🌶️ (not a lot of spice, but the spice that was written was very well done)
I didn't like this book, I LOVED the absolute S*&^ out of this book! It had everything I was looking for.

✴✷ 🎀 💫𝐹𝒶𝓋❁𝓇𝒾𝓉𝑒 𝒬𝓊☯𝓉𝑒💫 🎀 ✷✴
꧁☬"The rabbit thought she was saving the wolf"☬꧂

🛑🛑🛑𝗦𝗣𝗢𝗜𝗟𝗘𝗥𝗦 𝗔𝗛𝗘𝗔𝗗🛑🛑🛑🛑


Seriously, stop reading if you haven't read this book


🛑🛑S T O P🛑🛑


♥ Okay You have been warned ♥

We Who Will Die REVIEW
Thank you first to Netgalley for this free ebook in exchange for a honest review

Arvelle is a brave and broken woman who lost her best friend six years before this story begins. The pain she feels is so well written, and I could feel her grief in my own heart. Her relationships are basically non-existent other than her brothers, due to her pushing everyone away. It was healing to watch her grieve and accept that Kas's death was not her fault in the end.

Now lets talk about the brothers 😏
It was definitely giving me Damon and Stephan vibes from the Vampire Diaries and I love it. You can't help but love Tiernon. He is so selfless and caring. The way you watch him grow up through Arvelle's eyes. It made my heart ache to learn the truth of his torture and why he left.
Now Rorrick is another story altogether. I would go from liking him to yelling at him to just like wtf was that. I can't quite figure out if he is good or bad... but maybe he is both? After all... is there anyone who is entirely good or evil? All I know is that there is more there and I be Stacia has some curve balls coming.

We Who Will Die has such a good story to it also. You read all the time about the Greek pantheon . I mean there are more Hades X Persephone retellings that I can count. But I have not read a lot of retellings of the Roman gods. The lore is really starting to intrigue me, and I am probably gonna spend the next couple days researching it.

One other aspect I am absolutely in love with is the maginari. I've always loved reading about all the mythical creatures and I am hoping that the other books will bring them even more into the story.

🤩🤩Stacia Stark has done it again and I am here for this🤩🤩

INCREDIBLE. This was SO GOOD!

I’ll admit I was skeptical at first. The beginning of the book was a bit of a slow start for me, but things began picking up around the 35% mark and halfway through I was HOOKED.

So much happens in this book; I honestly did not know where the story was going most of the time. In other books this may have resulted in a story that is too convoluted, but thankfully that was not the case here. Stacia Stark does an amazing job of building a rich world/magic system, and a dynamic plot, that is very well executed and flows seamlessly.

I’m not always a fan of love triangles, but this one was really well done and sets itself up perfectly for book two. Fans of The Vampire Diaries will absolutely eat this up. Rorrik is 100% for the Damon and Rhysand girlies, and he quickly cemented his place as a top-tier MMC for me.

I would recommend this book for any and all Romantasy lovers, and if the beginning feels slow, all I can say is trust the process with this one. You won’t regret it. There’s no way I won’t be picking up book two; good luck trying to pry it out of my greedy little hands once it releases.

Thank you to NetGalley and Avon Books for the e-arc in exchange for my honest review.

Massive thank you to NetGalley and the publisher Avon and Harper Voyager for an ARC ebook for this.

I loved this book! Stacia Stark has been one of my favorite authors since her Deals With Demons series, which I’ve read several times. This is such a strong book 1 that I think this may be my new favorite series of hers. I already cannot wait for book 2.

The world building is interesting, the characters grow so much, and the handling of mental health repercussions of events are incredibly well done. Having read Stark’s work for so long, I can tell that she’s really honed her craft and the result is a book that I would recommend to everyone. It’s filled with action, interesting magic, living gods, and emotional highs and lows. I also enjoy how she handled vampires, which are my favorite paranormal creature and which I’m super picky about, lol.

Overall, I’m incredibly happy to have been given an ARC copy of this book. I’ll be recommending it to anyone who asks. :)