I'm hooked. I'm a sucker for fae related books. I read from start to finish in less than a day. I can't wait to read more!

I really, really wanted to love this book, but alas it’s a no from me.

Emma is chained, beaten, and lost in her own home. Her father is her tormentor caging her magic behind an iron collar which causes her immense pain if she can’t keep her magic under control. Her world begins to change when a mysterious stranger wrapped in shadow saves her.

I had a really hard time with how wordy this book was, page upon page of text with no break for dialogue made it really difficult for me to stay engaged with the book. This book fell into the trap of telling instead of showing.

With thanks to the author, Ali Stuebbe and NetGalley for the opportunity to read and provide my honest opinion of the book.

From Debut author, Ali Stuebbe, with a promising premise, Blood of Desiderium (Book 1, Divide Series) will appeal to the FBaA or Plated Prisoner audience.

I thoroughly enjoyed Blood of Desiderium and rollicked through it in a weekend. The easy reading writing leant to a YA style however, the mature content means check the content warnings.

Although I enjoyed the story and read it without expectations I was struck that the overall story felt like it was one of thirds. The second and final third built without rest after an extended and sluggish beginning. I would have loved more of the found family and quest rather than dwelling on the Court of Asov.

The world building and magic was complex enough however, I was confused a couple of times and want to know more on the scope of magic at play. The world lore was a little less developed leading to the moments where I felt the largest plot holes were. I felt a number of character decisions leant to more simplistic resolutions rather than taking a twisty twist.

The Fierce FMC, Emma, was a contrary force of immaturity and survivor. Simply put, frustrating! The written scenes of her trauma were head on. Her torture, magical suppression and physical wants were a strong plot angle. Yet I am still asking questions.

The supporting cast, Cora, Kye and Fynn are the core of a fantastic found family. They were recognisable sidekicks yet their characters fell victim to “tell not show” when they were on the page. I have high hopes for a secondary romantic story developing.

Our Shadowy MMC was a standout character. His dour, secretive, shifter identity and defender of innocents persona was nicely done. Some of the character language choices didn’t sit well but, modern turns of phrase in fantasy do pop up. I enjoyed the MMC and I look forward to seeing more of him.

Blood of Desiderium was a fantastic set up for Book 2, Soul of Salvation.

5⭐️ 3🌶️ 3☠️

Whew, I forgot how much I LOVE this book. It has EVERYTHING I want in a dark romantic fantasy.
-shadow daddy
-vulnerable yet strong FMC
-found family
-hidden powers
-fae & gods
-delicious spice
-epic scenes
And a few other biggies but keeping them quiet as to avoid spoilers.

On a second read, it was just as good at the first. It hit all the feels. And that ending. Oh my gosh that hurt. It ends on a big cliffy!

The plot was in my opinion was unfortunately very messy. I had a hard time connecting to the MC in this book and did not feel any chemistry between love interests. There was just a lot going on and it felt as if the author tried to pack too much in one book. It has promise it’s just too busy which makes it a confusing and complicated read.

The cover art is absolutely gorgeous.

I received this book via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

'Blood of Desiderium' delves heart of Deyadrum, bringing to life a tale of magic, dark secrets, and a quest for freedom. What begins as a princess’s struggle with powerlessness in a world saturated in enchantments evolves into an epic exploration of truth and deceit. Stuebbe has written a world fraught with intrigue, where every ally might be an enemy, and love blossoms in the most unlikely of places.

The characters have a wonderful depth of emotion written into them. Emma is sheer vulnerability wrapped in determination. The dance between Emma and her would-be assassin turned protector is one of animosity and an unyielding undercurrent of attraction, creating a wonderful slowburn romance.

However, ‘Blood of Desiderium’ isn’t without its issues. At times, the pacing lags and much of the narrative is steeped in predictability. Additionally, the use of modern colloquialisms and the swift unveiling of key identities are a bit jarring and detract from the story’s immersive experience. However, these elements don't diminish the overall impact of Stuebbe's debut, which is brought to life by a robust magic system and a plot that captivates with its twists and turns.

Criticisms aside, the novel was a delight. Emma’s transformation is one of physical escape, but it is also an internal struggle – a battle against the darkness within, and against those that seek to control her destiny. Packed with wit, darkness, and rich with well-crafted characters and seamless storytelling, Blood of Desiderium is an incredibly engaging read, offering a great deal to look forward to in future installments. While it does tread familiar ground, Ali Stuebbe’s distinct voice and the vivid world she has fashioned help this novel hold its own among the other novels of the fantasy romance genre. Fans of this genre, who can appreciate a powerful story of transformation – fraught with danger, magic, and a touch of romance – will certainly find something to enjoy in this darkly enchanting tale.

I DNF’d this at 20%. The cover art is STUNNING. And I really really like the premise. But it felt plodding, with not enough dialogue and too much inner monologue. Not enough development with both the characters and the lore, and not enough editing. And the use of modern language, which sometimes doesn’t bother me, didn’t work here.

"When light and dark collide, your fate will be split in two. The stone of light and dark lies with death."

Mariam. The Mortal lands of Helestria. A painful, pleading request. A girl with silver eyes. Lydia. King Oren. Emma. A lying, murderous king.

Whispers, darkness, and a phantom touch. A father king, Deyadrum. Cora. Captain Calloway. Fated pairs, a mate.

The iron collar cracks. Black veins.thr Princess of Asov, little demon. The Cursed. Corruption. Death. Eyes of pure black.

Shade. A vigilante. A masquerade. Dragon blood. The dark prince Draven. Books upon books in a vast library.

I am loving this dark fantasy, full of castles and princes and horrible kings and a romance like a burning bright thing between the two main characters.

Anytime a main character shares my passion for romance books and reading and fawns at libraries is a good fashioned MC after my own heart. Like Belle and her beast.

Tulle and blood, a caught bird in cage, the key locked away with the king and her betrothed. Dragons, God of Darkness. 🌟🌟🌟🌟/5 Stars!

Thank you to NetGalley for the chance to read and review this work. There were aspects of the story which I really enjoyed, and overall I felt like it had great potential. That being said, I could see the twist at the end coming from a mile away, so that left the cliffhanger ending to be a little lackluster. And overall, I just felt like there were a lot of inconsistencies with the characters. In particular, Emma. She was sad, mad, sullen, flippantly girly, and then a spitfire. I just didn't think it worked. I wanted to like Kye, Cora, and Fynn as great side characters/friends, but their comic relief felt very forced. Lastly, Draven was very not dark for someone who was supposed to be so dark.

A rough beginning but a great ending. I almost DNF it. I couldn't get attached to the characters and the fact that Emma got aroused every time a man was paying attention to her was getting on my nerves. I have absolutely nothing against smut when it is accessory to the intrigue. But this time it felt like the story was the accessory. Mostly because it was taking from the intrigue of the book.
And it is really sad since the story is good and so is the concept. Part 3 of the book kind of got it back to the three Star I gave it.
The world building was interesting and I wanted to know more. I found some plot twist very predictable but it wasn't ruining it for me.

A betrothal that tests her.
A mysterious vigilante who teases her.
A Dark Prince who doesn’t trust her.
And a phantom that invades her dreams.

This was really good. I don't read a ton of dark fantasy romance, but I really enjoyed this one.

THE ENDING. I’m on the edge of my seat and I can’t believe I have to wait for book two.

This is a dark read so definitely check warning contents before reading. Emma’s story starts in a very tragic manner, we get to know her, her mind and her life and it’s not pretty. I very much appreciated the slow start for me to get to know her, her character is a complex one. Once Emma gets to travel and meets Prince Draven I could not stop reading. The tension between these two was high. This slow-burn was totally burning and it pays off, i promise.

The big plot on this was also enthralling. I was invested with Emma and Draven’s characters so much but it still did not make the bigger plot get lost and I really enjoyed that. I definitely had way more fun reading this than I thought I would. Now to wait for the second book.

Emma has everything ripped from her as a child, her entire world becoming reduced to the confines of the castle walls, shackles rendering her powerless while she suffers at the hands of the one she calls father. She slowly learns that everything she ever believed was a glossed over lie and she sets off to make things right again.

The themes are rather dark and adult, with a few spicy, open door scenes sprinkled in to remind you that this is definitely not a children's story, despite the more YA writing style. Blood of Desiderium is therefore easy to read, but the world building is intricate enough and the themes mature enough to keep things interesting for adults.

The dual POV of view was a bit repetitive at times, and I felt like some decisions were made rather hastily. At times I was left wondering how in the world Emma went from X to Y in one paragraph!

Be warned, the ending is a major and heart wrenching cliffhanger! And while I had guessed and was therefore expecting one of the story twists, I was really left slack-jawed by another! I will definitely be reading book two because I need to know how this all plays out.

Thank you for the ARK Ali and Netgalley. I wanted to bow out and pushed myself. 100 plus pages in and it started to really get good. Early on, the book was not clicking with me. The story wasn't grabbing me. But boom at about page 111 it sucked me right in. The amount of disappointment I have in having to wait tp find out what happens and being left in utter despair will haunt me until the next book.

Wow, this book was so good!
The characters, the world building, the magical system were all amazing!

Firstly I loved Emma, I though she was such a great leading female character.
I loved how she grew throughout the story and how we see her go to great lengths for her friends and the people she cared about. I loved Draven, I loved the “good girl” moments, the dragon within ands the fated mates aspect.

I thought the side characters Kyle, Cora and Flynn were perfect additions to the story, they offered some comedy to the story. I loved the banter between Cora and Flynn.

I loved the storyline I though it was so great, I thought some moments were quite fast and would have liked a little more exploring before the final battles, but other than that is was amazing!

First, thank you to the author for the copy of the book.

I really wanted to love it. The premise sounded so magical and interesting that I couldn’t wait to dig in. However, I kept finding myself so confused over what was happening and wasn’t sure if it was me or if the story was just making me feel so lost. After chapter 8, I realized that I was lost. I was catching a lot of what was going on, but there is so much fluff in between that it wasn’t flowing very well. Conversation between characters was stunted because there was so much inner monologue from Emma that I just didn’t like. Also, some information would just pop out of nowhere and I would try to fit it in and just couldn’t.

I wanted to love this book. I think with a solid edit that it would benefit greatly and I’d give it a go again if that occurs because the premise sounds so beautiful.

I enjoyed the story quite a bit! I loved the banter and the spice! I didn't love everything about it but I do believe that Ali will continue to grow as an author and we'll see some amazing work in the near future!

Thank you for providing me this arc in return for my honest review

Unfortunately, I could not find it in myself to finish this book. The writing is childish and all over the place. The first 6 chapters were incredibly confusing and lacked backstory. The idea for the novel was there, however, it did not suit my taste. I could not read more than 100 pages of this book without ripping my hair out.

I think the novel would benefit from more structure in terms of plot and backstory, as well as, writing technique.

Thank you to Netgalley for providing this ARC for my unbiased review.

I found myself enthralled by the premise and plot of this story, as Ali Stuebbe weaves a heart wrenching tale of learning to find worth and purpose in a life steeped in trauma from those who should have cared for her the most.
This story has dark themes, and it is highly recommended to check the trigger warnings before reading.
What I loved about this story was that it was not afraid to showcase the trauma and mental processes that resulted to the FMC as a result of her experiences.
I loved the plot and the internal battle with light versus dark, feeling versus numbness, love versus apathy. However, I found myself a bit disappointed by some of the world and character building as it seemed to jump around a bit - sometimes shifting major topics within the same paragraph. Much of the world building was told to the reader rather than shown which made some of it fall a bit flat, and while it was important to the story, the presentation didn’t hold my attention or intrigue me like I wanted. This same issue occurred in some of the side characters development as well, which left me wishing for just a bit more attention to these areas to smooth out the delivery. This book felt like it could be one of my favorites of all time if those portions felt more natural and in tune with the story. I am interested in seeing where the second book takes Emma, especially after that surprising cliffhanger! I have read several series that the writing becomes stronger which each book and I am hopeful that this series becomes one of them that ties my heartstrings into knots with anticipation for these characters to find a resolution and HEA.

To start, there is quite a lot of potential here and some of the characters are interesting enough to build a rounded story. This would be done with a robust edit. There are significant pacing issues, character dialogue and voice issues, and not a clear understanding what the actual plot is. The reliance alone on genre standard tropes does nothing except exacerbate the looseness of the book around them. The actual plot doesn't start until around 60% in of this 600 page novel, but again, there isn't enough clear exposition to be able to support it and therefore the pacing is wild from 60% on.

This was a high DNF potential book, but I stayed because of the potential here.