Trigger warnings for: Gore, violence, attempted sexual assault

This is a slow burn, both in the romance as well as the plot. Two characters, both killers, neither of them truly terrible people nor truly good find themselves in a hellish purgatory where they are isolated from the other people there. Ogata Asami seems to be the only woman (there may have been others, but if so they didn’t stand out to me), and deliberately isolates herself from the men. She builds a shelter where she can feel safe and protected just in case.

MacRaith is tired of violence and fighting. He’d rather study this new world, relax and find peace, but the leader of the fallen warriors — Mohan — may allow Asami her privacy, because ruling a collection of men trained for battle and killing might cause scenes if allowed to come into contact with a woman; he will not, however, allow MacRaith to sidestep his duties to kill the undead, or his duty to bow to Mohan’s will.

It’s a conflict of ideologies, as well as showing how long conflict can warp someone, altering their view of what is and is not acceptable. And MacRaith, by choosing his own path, might give other men the idea that they don’t have to obey, don’t have to mindlessly follow Mohan. More plot and mysteries and hits of even more afterlives and choices are dangled before the reader … just in time for a cliffhanger.

Thank you so much to Net Galley and the publisher for the ARC.

There's a lot to like here! The art is exceptional in many places, and acceptable in the rest. The story itself is engaging and I'm looking forward to finding out more. But I think calling itself a romance is definitely a stretch, at least in this first trade.

Not quite at catching up monthly status yet, but will definitely check out future trades.