“𝐋𝐢𝐞 𝐭𝐨 𝐡𝐞𝐫, 𝐥𝐢𝐞 𝐭𝐨 𝐦𝐲𝐬𝐞𝐥𝐟, 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐭’𝐬 𝐚𝐥𝐥 𝐈 𝐡𝐚𝐝 𝐭𝐨 𝐝𝐨 𝐭𝐨 𝐤𝐞𝐞𝐩 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐛𝐨𝐭𝐡 𝐨𝐟 𝐮𝐬 𝐢𝐧 𝐜𝐡𝐞𝐜𝐤, 𝐭𝐨 𝐬𝐨𝐟𝐭𝐞𝐧 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐜𝐫𝐚𝐬𝐡 𝐨𝐟 𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐟𝐚𝐥𝐥.”

𝑩𝒐𝒐𝒌: House of Bane and Blood
𝑨𝒖𝒕𝒉𝒐𝒓: Alexis L. Menard
𝑽𝒊𝒃𝒆𝒔: 🩸🖤✨💍🦾🐍

Dark mafia-style romantasy. Need I say more.

House of Bane and Blood immerses you in the story immediately. Milla and Nicolai come from two sides of the same coin- both of their lives woven into the grisly business ventures of their city. The premise of the book intrigued me and I am so glad I picked it up. There were all the tropes I love: a marriage of convenience, found family, and ‘where’s my wife?’!! You really cannot beat the ‘where’s my wife’ that comes out of Nicolai’s mouth, that’s all I’m saying.
I really empathized and loved Milla, our fmc. She is gritty and willing to do whatever it takes for her families business. She’s carrying a huge weight on her shoulders but she doesn’t let it keep her down. I loved watching her and Nicolia grow on one another- and the tension was perfect!! I read this book so fast and that’s a testament to the story! It has me needing to know what happens next!!
I rated it 4 stars because I got a bit confused with some of the story line. Being thrown into it so quickly I didn’t understand the bigger dynamics at play until a bit of a ways in and that hindered my immersion. But by the final chapters I was all in. The action and ending were crafted very well. I will definitely be picking up book two!!

4.5 stars

I loved this story. The characters are well written. Camilla is such a great, strong FMC. She is a businesswoman who knows how to handle most situations. Nico is the love interest who is a perfect match for her. He is also a businessman and will do anything to protect his family. Camilla has been through a lot of crap, but still comes out fighting on the other side. I can't wait to read book 2 to see what happens next. I highly recommend this book!

Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for an e-ARC!

"I'm not the princess here anymore, Attano. I'm the f*cking dragon."

Is Milla one of my favorite FMCs ever? ABSOLUTELY.

I read this book when it was indie, and it was truly WONDERFUL to get to revisit it as it is about to be released in trade paperback!

The worldbuilding of this book is truly top notch, and I absolutely adored how you feel the inspiration from Peaky Blinders. You immediately get dropped into this world of crime and intrigue, and Menard continually builds up the world around you as you read (and does it so, so well).

The tension between Nico and Milla is truly so satisfying, and I love that this book contains action, crime, SUPER interesting magic and characters that truly stand on their own. I loved this book so much the first time that I read it, and loved it EVEN more when I was able to read it again.

I truly cannot recommend this book enough!

4.5 ⭐️

Wow. I LOVED this. House of Bane and Blood really nails everything I look for in a marriage convenience as a lover of that trope. The dynamic of Milla and Nico’s relationship is so perfect. They start with a bit of a contentious relationship, but as you see them settle into their marriage you see moments of softness between them. You also see that both of them are willing to burn the world down for each other in order to protect the other. By the end of the book I was so sold on their love. The characters were both great on their own as well. Milla was so badass and willing to march into danger. I found her “recklessness” justified and never thought she was being dumb. Meanwhile, Nico was dangerous, but he was doing everything he did for family, which made his actions valid and made me really enjoy his character.

This book also had a really intriguing world and setting. I’ve never read a romantasy that with this unique of a setting. I loved the vibe of the dueling crime families and the old timey-ness of the world. I will say that some of the world building as far as magic goes was confusing. A glossary of some sort might have helped because there were a few aspects of it that I was still foggy on by the end.

I can’t wait to read book 2!

I loved every single thing about this book. Oh the son and daughter of rival families have to enter into a marriage contract to pay off some debt and prevent a war? Sign me the F up.

Let's talk about our main characters Nicolai Attano and Camilla Marchese because I am obsessed with both of them. Camilla was an absolute badass with a snarky attitude. I loved that she could hold her own and had such a commanding presence wherever she went. Nicolai is book boyfriend perfection. He's broody, he's mysterious, he's a family man who would do absolutely anything for the ones he loves. The banter between them? Top tier. I was smirking and giggling the entire time. Their slow-burn romance? Again, top tier. We really got to see both of their walls crumble with each other and that moment of vulnerability where they finally let themselves admit what we all knew they were feeling. Ugh, so so good.

Romance aside, I also really enjoyed the magic system and thought it was incredibly intricate and unique. I am a massive Grishaverse fan and the magic here felt reminiscent of the Grisha and the 'small science'. I loved learning about the different types of magic as well as the history with the saints, the remni and the descendants.

The Mafia-style plot was gripping and kept me engaged the entire time. The gaslamp, steampunk, 1920s-but-make-it-fantasy vibes were immaculate. I had such a good time reading this and immediately picked up book 2.

Thank you to the author and Second Sky Books for providing me with an eARC. This review reflects my honest thoughts and opinions.

This was such a fast paced fun read! I did not want to put it down. Think mafia meets fantasy with Peaky Blinder vibes. I ate it up!The romance was my fav! The banter and tension between Nico and Camilla *chefs* kiss! The slow burn was perfect!!

I was equally invested in the side characters. Hopefully we get more in book 2. There was a lot of political movement and secrets that kept me turning the pages. The magic was interesting, I will say I still don't fully understand how it works. I think a chart with the saints and their magic would be helpful.

I am definitely looking forward to reading the second book. This does end on a cliffhanger.

Read if you love:
✨️Peaky Binders vibes
✨️Forbidden Romance
✨️Marriage of convenience
✨️Touch her and die
✨️Slow burn
✨️Political intrigue

“Whatever you want, princess. The heart in your chest, the air in your lungs, I’ll take whatever you offer me, and I won’t regret it. I never do.”

“I would do it all again,” he said in the absence of my denial. “I would run through fire and burn for you. I would lose arm and leg and limb. I’d do it all over, knowing what would happen to me, if it meant eventually having you as I do now."

“Wanting you isn’t hard, princess. It’s all the rest that makes it difficult.”

Overall 4.5⭐️🌶🌶

🗓Releases September 8, 2025

Thank you Secondsky for the ARC. All opinions are my own

This is a book you read for the vibes, and the vibes are everything!!!

Is the magic system underdeveloped and confusing? Yes
Is the writing chopping and a little disjointed? Sure
Did any of that matter to me while I was reading this masterpiece? Absolutely not!!!

This is a romantasy combined with mafia, but set in a steampunk setting and it was just beautiful. Mila and Nico where such wonderful characters and I loved everything about theme separately but also together. They worked so well together and their banter was so good.

I have seen some people call this enemies to lovers, or rivals to lovers, but I would disagree. These two are immediately attracted to each other but it's more of a star crossed lovers things because they both hate the other's family. They battle this attraction to each other because of these family ties, but its clear from very early on they both want each other.

This is a marriage of convenience story and I ate it up. This was such a delight to read that had me giddy and kicking my feet with a giant smile on my face. The plot was fast paced and kept me on the edge of my seat. I didn't want to put this book down.

Thank you to second sky for sending me an advanced reader copy. This book was independently published before being picked up traditionally.

This is one of the most addicting books I have ever read!! As soon as I started I couldn’t put it down!
Love everything about it!! The vibes are perfect. Dark, peaky blinders inspired with perfect tension!

Wow. Just wow. Wooooooow. This was absolutely brilliant.

As someone who loves government and politics, this was just TOP TIER! The maneuvering, the conspiring, the plotting. Just so fantastically well written!

What will you find in here?
- Peaky Blinders vibes
- Mafia style family politics
- Magic vs. Science
- Marriage of Convenience
- Found-ish family?
- so. Much. Politics.


Wow. I’ll be sitting on this one for a while. The world and politics were deep and rich and the world-building was introduced throughout the book. The character develop, plotting, pacing, atmosphere, TWISTS, everything was done so well! I can’t wait to jump into books 2. Buuuuut going in with low expectations just to be safe!

This breathed life into the romantasy genre for me. It felt like something so different then all the rest I have been reading.

For one this is no fae romance. It's actually an urban steam punk setting, there's guns and politicians and a war between the humans and the magic users. But the non magic users use science to help even the playing field.

There's an important train😂

A marriage of convenience

A metal hand👀

Our male main character is known to be ruthless but a serious softie at heart.

I loved the banter between them, but also loved the small moments between them.

Please please please pick this one up

•• “𝘈𝘯𝘺𝘰𝘯𝘦 𝘸𝘩𝘰 𝘱𝘶𝘵𝘴 𝘢 𝘨𝘶𝘯 𝘵𝘰 𝘮𝘺 𝘨𝘪𝘳𝘭’𝘴 𝘩𝘦𝘢𝘥 𝘸𝘪𝘭𝘭 𝘭𝘰𝘴𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘪𝘳 𝘩𝘢𝘯𝘥 … 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘯, 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘺 𝘸𝘪𝘭𝘭 𝘭𝘰𝘴𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘪𝘳 𝘩𝘦𝘢𝘥”

Did you ever wonder what Tommy Shelby would have been like if he had magic? I did, and Alexis L. Menard gave me everything I could have hoped for and even more. A marriage of convenience that’s bursting with tension, an air of mystery and suspense, gas lamp vibes, and banter that had me blushing - trust me when I say this should be at the top of your tbr.

•• “𝘐 𝘱𝘢𝘳𝘵𝘪𝘤𝘶𝘭𝘢𝘳𝘭𝘺 𝘭𝘪𝘬𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘸𝘢𝘺 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘴𝘢𝘺 𝘮𝘺 𝘯𝘢𝘮𝘦 𝘸𝘩𝘦𝘯 𝘺𝘰𝘶’𝘳𝘦 𝘧𝘳𝘶𝘴𝘵𝘳𝘢𝘵𝘦𝘥, 𝘢𝘴 𝘪𝘧 𝘨𝘪𝘷𝘦𝘴 𝘮𝘦 𝘢 𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘵 𝘰𝘧 𝘩𝘰𝘸 𝘺𝘰𝘶’𝘥 𝘴𝘢𝘺 𝘪𝘵 𝘪𝘯 𝘮𝘺 𝘣𝘦𝘥”
“𝙉𝙞𝙘𝙤𝙡𝙖𝙞!”
“𝘛𝘩𝘢𝘵𝘴 𝘳𝘪𝘨𝘩𝘵. 𝘒𝘦𝘦𝘱 𝘱𝘳𝘢𝘤𝘵𝘪𝘤𝘪𝘯𝘨”

Oh Nicolai. I loved just about everything that came out of this man’s mouth and his pov was perfect. He’s ruthless and will cross any line to protect those he cares about, but also knows when Milla needs him to be soft and sweet - not that she’d ever admit it. He had me laughing often, and ready to burst into flames the rest of the time.

•• “𝘈𝘳𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘴𝘦 𝘱𝘭𝘢𝘯𝘴 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘨𝘰𝘰𝘥 𝘰𝘳 𝘦𝘷𝘪𝘭?”
“𝙒𝙞𝙘𝙠𝙚𝙙 𝙥𝙪𝙧𝙥𝙤𝙨𝙚𝙨, 𝙤𝙛 𝙘𝙤𝙪𝙧𝙨𝙚”
“𝘋𝘰𝘯’𝘵 𝘴𝘵𝘢𝘳𝘵 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘮𝘦, 𝘱𝘳𝘪𝘯𝘤𝘦𝘴𝘴. 𝘠𝘰𝘶 𝘢𝘳𝘦 𝘪𝘯 𝘯𝘰 𝘴𝘩𝘢𝘱𝘦 𝘵𝘰 𝘩𝘢𝘯𝘥𝘭𝘦 𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘳𝘺𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘐 𝘸𝘰𝘶𝘭𝘥 𝘥𝘰 𝘵𝘰 𝘺𝘰𝘶”

While this is romance heavy there’s still lots of action and mystery, giving a nice balance to the plot. There’s betrayals around every corner, unlikely allies to be found, and battle between remnant magic and arcane science that makes this impossible to put down. Hope may seem lost at the end but don’t worry, Nicolai will handle it 😉

•• “𝘛𝘩𝘦 𝘩𝘦𝘢𝘳𝘵 𝘪𝘯 𝘺𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘤𝘩𝘦𝘴𝘵, 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘢𝘪𝘳 𝘪𝘯 𝘺𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘭𝘶𝘯𝘨𝘴, 𝘐’𝘭𝘭 𝘵𝘢𝘬𝘦 𝘸𝘩𝘢𝘵𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘳 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘰𝘧𝘧𝘦𝘳 𝘮𝘦, 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘐 𝘸𝘰𝘯’𝘵 𝘳𝘦𝘨𝘳𝘦𝘵 𝘪𝘵. 𝘐 𝘯𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘳 𝘥𝘰”

What you can expect:
•𝗣𝗲𝗮𝗸𝘆 𝗕𝗹𝗶𝗻𝗱𝗲𝗿𝘀 𝘃𝗶𝗯𝗲𝘀
•𝗠𝗮𝗿𝗿𝗶𝗮𝗴𝗲 𝗼𝗳 𝗰𝗼𝗻𝘃𝗲𝗻𝗶𝗲𝗻𝗰𝗲
•𝗥𝗶𝘃𝗮𝗹𝘀 𝘁𝗼 𝗹𝗼𝘃𝗲𝗿𝘀
•𝗧𝗲𝗻𝘀𝗶𝗼𝗻 / 𝗯𝗮𝗻𝘁𝗲𝗿
•𝗙𝗼𝘂𝗻𝗱 𝗳𝗮𝗺𝗶𝗹𝘆
•𝗗𝗲𝗮𝗱𝗹𝘆 𝗳𝗮𝗺𝗶𝗹𝘆 𝘀𝗲𝗰𝗿𝗲𝘁𝘀

House of Bane and Blood is an exciting fantasy with magic, an arranged marriage, powerful families vying for control, and a secret that could destroy everything.

"I'm not the princess here anymore, Attano. I'm the dragon."

Camilla Marchese is the heir to a powerful family that runs the steam railway in and out of the city. But after the death of her father, her family's empire is in ruins. When a mysterious offer arises that could restore her name and her business, Milla has no choice but to accept. Unfortunately, this means and arranged marriage with one of her greatest rivals, Nicolai Attano, of the Attano benders clan. Nico is not what she suspected - ruthless yes, but he needs to secure a powerful alliance with Milla, and is willing to pay off her families debts if they can make it to six weeks of marriage in exchange for her help. But when mysteries begin adding up, Nico and Milla realize they need to work together and their relationship might be deeper than either of them could have ever expected.

Amazing! I LOVED this so much! If you like fantasy romance with Peaky Blinders vibes, marriage of convenience, and a unique magic system, you need to pick this book up!! I love the worldbuilding and the gaslamp vibes of this book mixed with the mob type rival families. The overarching plot gets deeper and more intricate, and the relationship between Milla and Nico is wonderful. I love their tension and banter, and when they finally realize their feelings for one another, ah, so good. The ending is intense, and had me absolutely reeling.

I had read this book previously as an independent release, and I am so, so thrilled to see it get picked up by Forever/Second Sky Books. It is an amazing story and one of my absolute favorite duologies.

Thank you so much to NetGalley and Second Sky Books for the advanced copy of this incredible book. All opinions are my own.

The story, plot and characters are incredible- gives magical peaky blinders vibes throughout!

Nico is a protective, deadly cinnamon roll! He’s so consistent in his love and protection of those he cares about! He’s always a step ahead!

Milla is everything we love in a FMC- independent, strong and with a great character arc! Milla and Nico together are full of tension, banter and just the perfect concoction! I can’t wait to see where their story goes 👀😮‍💨

What you can expect:
🚂 Steampunk, magic, peaky blinders vibes
🚂 Hidden identities, plot twists, cliffhanger
🚂 🌶️🌶️
🚂 Tension, banter, forced proximity
🚂 Arranged marriage, “my wife” 😋
🚂 Unique world

I first read this book in 2023 when it was indie, and I’m so pleased it’s been picked up.
The book is original and unique, yet contains all the tropes we know and love in romantasy. My absolute favourite thing about it is the magic system and worldbuilding because it’s unlike anything I’ve read before and it’s so expansive. It does take a minute to get your head around, but once you do, it’s absolutely fascinating.
The characters have immense growth, and the plot is unpredictable. I enjoyed having a romantasy where I didn’t predict every plot element for once.