I was lucky to get an ARC of this, as I’m a big fan of Stacia Starks other series. This book takes us to a realm where vampires and magic folk (sigilmarked) are not exactly friends. Arvelle is forced into a deal with someone who holds her family against her. She must do the unthinkable to gain freedom and create a better life for her brothers.

In the process she must participate in a set of trials that prove to test her beyond belief. These are run by the Emperor who’s also a vampire. And a not so nice guy. Not just physically but emotionally too. She’s working through loss while finding something she held dear in the process and coming to terms with new found strength.
It is low spice but the plot is good and keeps you glued to the pages.

This book takes you on a ride where you think you have something/someone figured out and then BOOM hard left then and you’re left saying “who wait a second!!”
This was a good read and I’m excited to see where this series takes us next because that ending has me reeling.

This is the third series I have started by Stacia Stark. Her ability to create unique and captivating characters and storylines is unmatched. I wasn’t initially excited to read another hunger games/royalty’s champion type book, but this one had some unique qualities, characters, concepts, and plot twists. The star cross lovers story sucked me in from the very beginning and was well written and played out I couldn’t put this book down for two days straight and cannot wait to read more.

Oh. My. Freaking. GOD. This book was nothing short of spectacular. Thank you HarperCollins and Stacia Stark for approving me on Net Galley for this ARC. This review is my own thoughts.


We Who Will Die follows Arvelle, a human, who makes a bargain with a vampire to enter a gladiator type contest in order to heal one of her brothers.


If Gladiator and True Blood had a love child, this book would be it. I am utterly blown away by all the developments that occur throughout the book. Each plot development and reveal was so artfully crafted. I literally could not put this book down. WoW, just WOW!

I am pretty speechless to be honest and I don't know what to really say (without giving away any spoilers because the surprises are SO WORTH IT) - just please pick up this book!

Read this book if you like:

-vampires and magical creatures
-high stakes gladiator contests
-grief and trauma rep
-survival at all costs
-medium spice

Just finished and I thought it was really good! Very romantasy vibes. Two main magic groups: Vampires and Sigil Marked. As well as mundanes (non magic). The FMC was strong and likable. Very serious. I really enjoyed all the twists of this book. Besides trials, there is a mystery to solve and love interest. Low key I was rooting for the male character I probably wasn’t supposed to. The author has built a whole world and with that there is a lot of created words that you have to learn. After a few chapters you get used to it!

I love everything Stacia writes and that continues to be the case with We Who Will Die. Vampire Diaries meets Gladiator is incredibly accurate. This book was so much fun!

There are so many twists and turns (some I saw coming and some that shocked me, all in the best way) as Arvelle navigates the Sundering, her mission to save her brother, and who she can trust along the way. There are an incredible amount of side characters, all of whom are well fleshed out and memorable.

The world building is complex and immersive and I cannot wait to learn more in the next book.

Thank you so much to Stacia Stark, Avon and Harper Voyager, and NetGalley for the ARC!

I absolutely loved this book! Omg !!! I am obsessed. I couldn't stop.
The FMC is a strong character. I couldn't stop reading. I love reading about the different creatures, especially the vampires in this book.

The high stakes had me gripped and gosh, how I binged this book.
I love our MMCs and oh boy oh boy,
Anything Stacia writes, I will read! Obsessed.

Thank you for the early copy for an honest review.

Anyone who likes Romantasy add this to your tbr and preorder it right now. This book is going to BLOW UP when it’s published. I hit 30% and I immediately went and preordered a physical shelf trophy of this book.

The plot was action packed I couldn’t put this book down, literally every moment I had outside of work and sleep I was trapped in this book.

This story mixes vampires and Roman-like gladiators. It has forbidden romance, magic, magical creatures and the series has the opportunity for THE BEST enemies to lovers I have read in a loooong time. This is going to result in picking a side and I’m on team Rorrik 🥵but I also would be ECSTATIC with a who choose cause damn the longing and heartbreak and pain with Tiernon left my heart on the ground.

There’s plot twists around every corner, deadly trials, political unrest, emerging magical powers. You get a second chance forbidden romance with Arvelle and Tiernon. There’s angst with heart wrenching yearning & longing. But then theres also this volatile, scorching hot banter and chemistry with Arvelle and the morally dark and delicious Rorrik (did I mention they’re brothers 😉). I CANT WAIT TILL BOOK 2 and this first one doesn’t come out for another 6 months 😭😭😭

Thank you to HarperColins for the opportunity to read this ARC!

I don’t think there will be a single book written by Stacia Stark that I won’t love. Time and time again Stacia has delivered more than I expected.

The plot was solid, the world building perfectly explained, the magic was complex and the character development was consistent.

This is perfect for Fantasy readers, especially those who love Romantasy. There’s a great combination of action, magic, high stakes tension, political intrigue, and romance!

Everything tied together seamlessly. This is the book of the year!

Definitely recommend, I couldn't put it down! It was a lot of information with the world building, but it wasn't overwhelming. I do feel like Velle made some questionable choices, but I think she's going to grow a lot in the next book. Really gave Elena S1 vibes.
Also.
Team Rorrik all the way <3

First and foremost, much gratitude to Avon Books and Harper Voyager US as well as Stacia Stark for access to this eARC.

I received this eARC on 6/18/25 and finished it on 6/20/25. This is a four star read for me. I truly enjoyed coming back to this book after a long day and following the characters from one high intensity scene to the next. Though this book is relatively short at 416 pages it still packs a punch. So much information and plot twists are crammed in here that it could’ve easily been 100 or more pages. But isn’t that the hallmark of a good book and an intelligent author? To leave us wondering and wanting more? Stacia Stark is at the top of her game with this one. She knows what the romantasy addicts want and she supplies it every time.

As for the love triangle trope; it’s nothing groundbreaking. It feels reminiscent of those in TOG, ACOTAR and Twilight. Does that mean it’s predictable or boring? Absolutely not. Who doesn’t love the affable and long suffering first love after all? But most of us fall for the morally grey secondary MMC. The tension between the two love interests versus the tension between the trio as a whole is palpable and delightful.

The FMC epitomizes what it means to be the eldest daughter and all the emotional trauma that entails. Add in substance use issues and poverty to round out a character that we all can relate to either from personal circumstance or from observations in our own community. I do wish we would’ve gotten more backstory on what is going on Arvelle’s sigil mark, but perhaps that will be explored in a future book. I do think Stacia does a good job of showing how Arvelle grows emotionally throughout the book.

As for the supporting characters; let’s start with Ev and his lung issues. The mine story feels random, but I think it serves the story in the sense that we understand Arvelle’s motives and we see how she sacrifices for others. I think the same thing could’ve been accomplished if he were born with the condition. Bran could’ve been fleshed out a bit better imo because we really aren’t that invested in him and he just appears at times randomly. Leon could’ve benefited from more emotional exchange with Arvelle given the immense amount of history between them. I just wanted more growth for them. As for Tiernon; he gives me Tamlin vibes. He believes that Arvelle needs to be coddled and protected and the moment the Primus is introduced as a mysterious character who never takes his helmet off it is painfully obvious that he is her childhood lover. Rorrick on the other hand gives Rhysand vibes. He sees Arvelle as his equal in most ways and pushes her to lean more on her own intuitions and instincts. He doesn’t romanize who she is. He is delightfully complicated and terribly moody. Maeva is such a girls girl and we love that for Arvelle who so badly needs a friend to fill the hole left by Kassia. Maeva doesn’t want to be Kassia and that makes her so much more interesting.

The spice level in this book is low, but the plot survives and even thrives in spite of that. The world building could’ve been better, but since this is going to be a series this has the potential to expand on this more as the story continues. There are enough loose ends that you are filled with anticipation for the next book. Personally, I’m glad I got an advanced copy don’t get me wrong. However, I’m sad that the wait for the next one will feel even longer.

Absolutely devoured this read! Stacie does a fantastic job balancing tension, action, and storytelling. I loved the gladiator inspired plot with a strong FMC lead. Book 2 can't come soon enough!

5/5 stars :)

I am so emotionally invested in this like the wait for the second book is going to be treacherous.

This plot is pretty complex in this one so you definitely have to pay close attention, but there's so many things to keep your interested piqued between the mystery, lots of character development, & high intensity moments (my jaw was dropping over and over). There's so much left to explore I just know this is going to develop so well across the next books of this series.

I will say there were some points were small details seemed to be a bit inconsistent/confusing but idc the vibes were too good to not give 5 stars.

I am also SO dialed in for Rorrik...like it's so serious to me.

Thank you so much to netgalley for the arc!!

I wanted to love this book (it seems everyone else has! I’m an outlier here) but I just didn’t. There was a LOT going on and it was confusing, it just felt a bit all over the place. I’m not even sure how to describe it, it just felt clunky.

On the positive side - I did enjoy the love triangle (something I’m normally not a fan of). But it was well done and that is the one thing that would make me want to read book 2. I also didn’t see the twist at the end. So that was nice.

Not a bad book, just not my fav.

Impulse control is at zero but we still thriving. This book takes you on a JOURNEY. There’s trials, political plots, romances, possible love triangles, friendship. It’s kind of jam packed and I was entertained.

Why this doesn’t get five stars from me is because I feel like there’s plot holes. I tried to convince myself I was missing things but it kept happening. I also felt like a lot was packed in but not unpacked enough. I’m hoping that is fixed in book two.

For example, a character who was maybe mentioned once was murdered and the FMC was asked to identify the body because she knew them?? Knew who? And the FMC at one point abandons her plan completely but there were multiple people helping her with said plan and also so many risks for abandoning it. I was like what are you doing, girl??

I’m very interested to see where the love triangles takes us though so I’m looking forward to book two!

Thank you to NetGalley and the author for this opportunity to read and review this book.

Check out this review on Fable
https://fable.co/review/d3124a39-b064-4aac-a753-c8e464f06eba/share

Thank you to NetGalley for this ARC! I really enjoy her fantasy books and this one was a page turner. There were surprises that weren’t expected along the way as well as good character development. There are some aspects I have read in romantasy novels before but there are some new aspects to this one as well.

I appreciated the deep dive into the grief she felt over losing her best friend and the healing that took place along the way as the book progressed. Leon’s character was a constant safe place for Velle.

The contrast between the brothers was interesting and her pull to each of them in different ways was engaging. I loved the childhood flashbacks!

There are so many unanswered questions and several directions the story could go which makes me excited for the next in the series!

“The pain of loss never ends. It never gets better. Anyone who says it does is lying. The agony of "what if' chews at you, hour by hour, minute by minute, until you'd give almost anything for it to just put you out of your misery. And then, when you finally begin to function again, it waits, silently, and slams into you full force when you least expect it.”

“Silence stretches between us. We used to spend hours in silence. Content silence. Comfortable silence. The kind of silence two people have when they don't need to share their thoughts, because the other person knows them down to the bone.”

Thank you to NetGalley, Harper Collins, and the author for this ARC!

✅ second chance romance with a first love
but also….
✅ a very different, very morally grey man in the mix 👀
✅ intricate world building
✅ ‘fight or die’ trials
✅ tyrannical vampire government and ancient gods at play
✅ FMC who has always been a badass, but has to find herself along the way

This one checked all the boxes!

Okay. So. We Who Will Die by Stacia Stark? I was not prepared.

This book throws you into a brutal, Roman-inspired vampire empire—think The Vampire Diaries meets Gladiator. Our girl Arvelle is fierce, reckless, and totally driven by her love for her younger brothers. She doesn’t want power—she just wants to keep them safe, even if it means volunteering (if you can call it that) for the Sundering: a gladiator-style bloodbath with freedom as the prize.

The fights? Brutal. The romance? Painful in the best way.
• Interest One: The boy from her past, full of “what ifs” and unresolved heartbreak. Their past is messy, but Arvelle is not the same girl she used to be. Honestly, their scenes broke my heart a little.
• Interest Two: The infuriatingly seductive, dangerously perceptive, and entirely morally grey vampire that has a way of getting under Arvelle’s skin.

It’s not a simple love triangle—it’s full of broken trust, blood ties, and impossible choices. And Arvelle? She’s changing. Developing powers no one can explain—powers that might shake the entire vampire system.

The world building is incredible – from the brutal politics to the savage vampire hierarchy, it is layered, immersive, and served to us in digestible chunks that don’t feel completely overwhelming.

Even with the heavy arena scenes and power plays, the pacing still feels natural—romance scenes, back story flashbacks, and quieter character moments balance the blood and betrayal.

Dark, emotional, messy, and addictive.

Stacia does not miss. I have loved everything she has written, whether I read a physical book or listen via audio. It’s so good.

Excited to dive in! Thank you, Avon & Harper Voyager & net galley for the advanced copy.

vampire diaries in a roman empire setting. Gladiator style fightingng. Unexpected plot twists. Possible love triangle. say no more. This book will blow up in 2026.

Okay, I’m obsessed with this book!
Finally, a Romantasy that feels truly unique!
It’s like Romantasy meets Roman gladiators with vampires, deadly trials, gods, political drama, magical creatures, an evil emperor, romance, AND plot twists I did not see coming. I was hooked from page 1 and didn’t want it to end. Now I’m desperate for book 2!
Seriously, if you’re into fantasy romance with danger, betrayal, and mystery. Add this to your TBR immediately!

The story follows Arvelle, who’s been through hell and would literally do anything to protect her brothers, even if it means making a dangerous deal with a vampire. That deal leads her to join the emperor’s elite guard, where she trains just to get close enough to do the unthinkable: assassinate the emperor himself.

But something dark is stirring in the empire. Mysterious murders are on the rise, and Arvelle is changing. Powers she doesn’t understand are waking up inside her and she can’t risk anyone finding out.

To survive, Arvelle must work with the mysterious Primus and the emperor’s son, Rorrik, to harness her powers and stay one step ahead of the emperor’s wrath.
Because if she fails, she won’t just lose her chance at revenge.
She might lose everything.

Read it. You won’t regret it!