I expected to have a nice standalone book or something to review today, but instead I started my year by finishing two series which have been on my TBR for a while and starting a third totally new series. It's a new one for me as I usually avoid series like the plague because I have commitment issues. One thing I hate about reading series, though, is how do you review? It's a stressful situation because you want to talk about them like any other book but if I've just binge read the series surely it makes sense to look at the series as a whole. But then how do you do that without spoilers? But I did want to review something today because it's been a whole so let's talk books!

So here we are and I'm going to figure out how we'll talk about the All Souls series. I admit I am only talking about the original trilogy here. I have not read Time's Convert and currently, I have no plans to read it. I loved the series and it did feel like there could be more, but it also felt like an ending.

I’ll link and give the summaries for the three books below so you have the details of the trilogy if you’ve not read it already. I know each book summary might have spoilers but the important things you need to know are Matthew De Clermont is a vampire from an important vampire family. Diana Bishop is a witch who doesn’t truly practise magic and instead pursued a career as a historian. The series focuses on their romance them navigating the world of vampires, witches and daemons. I think that’s all you really need to know but I guess we’ll find out.

A Discovery of Witches (All Souls #1) – Deborah Harkness

Published: 29th September 2011

Source: Purchased

Genre: Fantasy, Romance

My Rating:

Fall under the spell of Diana and Matthew in the stunning first volume of the No.1 internationally bestsellling ALL SOULS trilogy.

A world of witches, daemons and vampires. A manuscript which holds the secrets of their past and the key to their future. Diana and Matthew - the forbidden love at the heart of it.
When historian Diana Bishop opens an alchemical manuscript in the Bodleian Library, it's an unwelcome intrusion of magic into her carefully ordered life. Though Diana is a witch of impeccable lineage, the violent death of her parents while she was still a child convinced her that human fear is more potent than any witchcraft. Now Diana has unwittingly exposed herself to a world she's kept at bay for years; one of powerful witches, creative, destructive daemons and long-lived vampires. Sensing the significance of Diana's discovery, the creatures gather in Oxford, among them the enigmatic Matthew Clairmont, a vampire genticist. Diana is inexplicably drawn to Matthew and, in a shadowy world of half-truths and old enmities, ties herself to him without fully understanding the ancient line they are crossing. As they begin to unlock the secrets of the manuscript and their feelings for each other deepen, so the fragile balance of peace unravels...

Shadow of Night (All Souls #2) – Deborah Harkness

Published: 10th July 2012

Source: Purchased

Genre: Fantasy, Romance

My Rating:

It began with A DISCOVERY OF WITCHES. Historian Diana Bishop, descended from a line of powerful witches, and long-lived vampire Matthew Clairmont have broken the laws dividing creatures. When Diana discovered a significant alchemical manuscript in the Bodleian Library, she sparked a struggle in which she became bound to Matthew. Now the fragile coexistence of witches, daemons, vampires and humans is dangerously threatened.Seeking safety, Diana and Matthew travel back in time to London, 1590. But they soon realise that the past may not provide a haven. Reclaiming his former identity as poet and spy for Queen Elizabeth, the vampire falls back in with a group of radicals known as the School of Night. Many are unruly daemons, the creative minds of the age, including playwright Christopher Marlowe and mathematician Thomas Harriot. Together Matthew and Diana scour Tudor London for the elusive manuscript Ashmole 782, and search for the witch who will teach Diana how to control her remarkable powers... Fall under the spell of Diana and Matthew once more in this stunning, richly imagined, epic tale.

The Book of Life (All Souls #3) – Deborah Harkness

Published: 14th July 2014

Source: Purchased

Genre: Fantasy, Romance

My Rating:

After traveling through time in Shadow of Night, the second book in Deborah Harkness's enchanting series, historian and witch Diana Bishop and vampire scientist Matthew Clairmont return to the present to face new crises and old enemies. At Matthew's ancestral home at Sept-Tours, they reunite with the cast of characters from A Discovery of Witches - with one significant exception. But the real threat to their future has yet to be revealed, and when it is, the search for Ashmole 782 and its missing pages takes on even more urgency. In ancestral homes and university laboratories, using ancient knowledge and modern science, from the hills of the Auvergne to the palaces of Venice and beyond, the couple at last learn what the witches discovered so many centuries ago.

What I Liked

It wasn’t just vampires and they weren’t these weird recluses!

It was nice to have these various creatures all living within our world and whilst did have their own rules on how to live, none of them felt outside of our world and society. I know that sounds weird, but normally you read a vampire book and find yourself seeing this vampire that is almost totally separate from normal society. They seem to be otherworldly or whatever, and they are, but it's nice to see them just living a normal life and humans are aware there's something different about the creatures, be they vampire, witch or daemon, but they don't know what it is that's caught their attention. It was an intriguing concept even if it did have me rolling my eyes at how everyone seemed interested in Diana. It felt different, even though I know you guys can probably tell me a dozen other books doing this.

Vampire feeding wasn’t this whole killer situation.

The whole blood thing with vampires was dealt with very differently. I'm not saying vampires didn't drink blood, don't be ridiculous. But it was common for vampires to just drink animal blood. We didn’t have a whole Twilight thing with the Cullens valiantly resisting their killing urges. Instead, the issue with vampires was there was a blood rage lurking in certain vampires which meant that vampires had closely monitored their bloodlines. I won't say too much as it becomes a focus later on but it was nice to see vampires not presented as these bloodthirsty monsters (not to say they didn't have destructive tendencies). Vampires were viewed as deadly because they were strong and fast but it was almost more sinister as they all presented themselves to be so civilised so when they did become the killer they could be it was surprising.

The romance.

Look, I may be struggling to read contemporary romance right now but I did find the romance between Matthew and Diana addictive to read. I remember that was what really hooked me when I originally read the first two books (way back when the third book hadn't even been released). I think I liked the whole star-crossed lover thing they had going on. Sure, them having their whole special snowflake moments together was a little ridiculous but we are allowed to enjoy cheesy things sometimes. I loved them and was ready to fight anyone who got in their way. They were obviously meant to be and I enjoyed seeing them fall for one another.

The secondary characters

Every single one of these books was a tome. Like nearly 600 pages of drama (although they did drag at times) but they weren't painful to read because even when Matthew and Diana were being drips there were some amazing secondary characters to love. Ysabeau was spectacular as Matthew's mother, and I loved how she was just a total badass deceiving everyone as this pleasant cultured woman but she could just as soon rip your face off. And Philippe! I would die for Philippe, he deserved his own book to be honest and he was one character who could kill you without blinking but still made me cry. Don't even get me started on the rest of Matthew's extended family (where is Gallowglass's book I ask you?). I would happily have read a book about any of his family as they had so much history to explore (which is why I might eventually read Time's Convert). And let's not ignore Diana's family and friends either because they were just as brilliant. I appreciated seeing Chris later on in the series, he did make me smile with his ridiculous nicknames and his slight flirtation with Miriam. There was a strong cast of characters, which is probably why I can see this so easily translating well to TV because each character feels fully fleshed.

The history!

I know I’ve probably mentioned this a few times but I studied history at university. I chose the subject because I like learning and history seemed the place to be to just learn random stuff, sadly they expected me to write essays and a dissertation but that’s a whole other issue. One of the modules I did was the history of science so a lot of this book I was like I know these names! It was so much fun to read a book with historical info I actually knew about, not in detail because I was nearly 10 years ago I graduated, but still exciting. There was history galore here, especially within the second book, so if that appeals go and check them out.

And My Grumbles

They’re a little long.

I mentioned they were tomes, right? Because they were long, and I don't think they necessarily needed to be. The first book dragged for a good long while, and I get there was world-building to be done but good god I couldn't wait to be out of Oxford. And I swear there's one point in the first book I thought it was close to the end but then they're at Diana's family home and a whole bunch of nothing happens and it was boring. She was learning and exploring her magic, brilliant, but where was the nice quick montage to get through that I ask you? And the second book kept stopping and starting, it was a pain. I remember DNFing through one attempted reread of Shadow of Night, which is why it took so long for me to finish this series. I think the third book was the only one I didn't struggle with, but I also didn't do much else other than read to finish it because it was time-consuming. It also helped it was my first read of the third book so it was all new to me, a reread might reveal moments that dragged as well.

Matthew and Diana could be a little annoying (but I still loved them)

It was a little annoying how Matthew and Diana could become drips that were a little too invested in themselves and their love. I know I said I liked the romance, and I really did, but they were so very focused on themselves! It got a little frustrating because it was obviously meant to be some Romeo and Juliet type situation with everyone trying to keep them apart but they really didn’t think about how it affected others until after the fact. I get it, no one should be in the relationship but the couple but come on! They knew it would cause problems, but then if they didn’t get together there would be no series to enjoy so there’s that. But then after they’d dragged everyone into their relationship they forgot that might also mean others getting hurt! I enjoyed it but I could see that whole thing annoying me if I was in a different reading mood.

To be honest, there was more to love than hate with the books. I know they’re long and might not be for everyone but I really did enjoy reading. I will definitely revisit their world… but I might just binge-watch the show instead because finally I can without risking spoilers!

Have you read this series at all or have you seen the show? What are some of your favourite vampire romances because who doesn’t need more to add to their TBR?

Seducing the Sorcerer – Lee Welch

Published: 23rd September 2021

Source: Purchased

Genre: Fantasy, Romance, LGBTQ+

My Rating:

Homeless and jobless, Fenn Todd has nearly run out of hope. All he has left is his longing for horses and the strength of his own two hands. But when he’s cheated into accepting a very ugly sackcloth horse, he’s catapulted into a world of magic, politics and desire.

Fenn’s invited to stay at the black tower, home of the most terrifying man in the realm: Morgrim, the court sorcerer. Morgrim has a reputation as a scheming villain, but he seems surprisingly charming—and sexy—and Fenn falls hard for him.

However, nothing is as it seems and everyone at the tower is lying about something. Beset by evil hexes, violent political intrigue and a horse that eats eiderdowns, Fenn must make the hardest choices of his life.

Can a plain man like Fenn ever find true love with a scheming sorcerer?

Let's begin by saying Seducing the Sorcerer was 100% a Nick influenced purchase. I had seen her mention it on Twitter and as soon as I read her review of Seducing the Sorcerer over at The Infinite Limits of Love I knew I needed it in my life. It perfectly fit my reading mood and it was just such an easy read. It was exactly the perfect book for my mood as I've been reading a lot of fanfic after falling into a slight reading slump but the writing style and characters were lovely and it just perfectly fit my reading mood.

I wasn't certain at first as Fenn was a homeless drunk who seemed to have a weird obsession with horses. That is basically what you get from the first couple of pages anyway. I was seriously questioning what I was reading and if I was going to become invested. Luckily, after another couple of pages I swiftly retracted my initial thoughts as he wasn't a drunk, he simply got a bit caught up in his drink one night and made a the foolish decision to follow a fine looking horse. Who hasn't found themself drinking more than they intended? And he was homeless but, as I learnt later, it was because he couldn't allow himself to be restricted to a boring job stuck indoors which would suck the life out of him, instead he knew he needed to be out in nature. And I definitely know a few people who can relate to that job struggle. Fenn was simply a man down on his luck. He thinks his luck is becoming worse when he appears to have been duped after a hard days labour to be given a scarecrow of a horse made of sackcloth and sticks waiting for him instead of the knackered old horse he had been promised to be able to sell to the knackers yard himself for a bit of cash. He takes the cruel joke on the chin but that sackcloth horse had far more magic within than he realised and leads him off on a grand adventure to Morgrim's door. Fenn was easy to love as he might have appeared gruff and rough looking, he was an absolute sweetheart once you got to know him. He was so soft-hearted and any man who cared for animals as much as he did couldn't be anyone bad.

Morgrim should have been the grumpy one I was slow to warm to. He was the court sorcerer with a fearsome reputation as cold and uncaring, along with being scheming and manipulative. It was a reputation he was happy to nurture because having a reputation as such meant people would think twice about crossing him. I was suspicious of him taking Fenn and his magical horse in at first and did guess some of his reasons fairly quickly. But I could tell that his reputation was undeserved as he was so kind and he cared so much about people. He didn't become the court sorcerer to abuse his power but he wished to help people and give them the assistance he could and felt guilt over those he couldn't help when he felt he should. How could I not be charmed by him?

Fenn and Morgrim might have seemed like an odd couple. They had lead different lives until they met but they were both such kind men who did care about helping others. They balanced one another as well and I loved their slightly awkward courtship of being polite and making eyes at each other whilst Fenn went about simply fixing things and helping Morgrim with silly little tasks to show he could help care for Morgrim even if he wasn't what people would call a gentleman. Their romance seems like it should be totally sweet but they definitely had a little kink when it came to the bedroom with them exploring a little light BDSM. That was something I'd expected after reading Nick's review but it was something a little different to a lot of the romance I'd read lately. It was handled very well with frequent check ins between both of them to be sure they were comfortable with how things were progressing and boundaries were set which is always good to see. And did I mention that both Morgrim and Fenn were in their 40s? It's so refreshing to read a romance with older MCs it can be a little boring to continually be reading about young twenty something's off falling in love.

As for the plot and magic system, it wasn't overly complex. It was easier to understand and there wasn't the need for pages of world building, which I really appreciated because I think it would have slowed the book down and really detracted from the good things I read. I really enjoyed this and so I know this book won't be the last I read from Lee Welch.

Have you read this book or anything from lee Welch? And please give me some fantasy romance recs because that is obviously what I keep coming back to reading.

Darrow is a Helldiver, one of a thousand men and women who live in the vast caves beneath the surface of Mars, generations of people who spend their lives toiling to mine the precious elements that will allow the planet to be terraformed. Just knowing that, one day, people will be able to walk the surface of the planet is enough to justify their sacrifice. The Earth is dying, and Darrow and his people are the only hope humanity has left.

Until the day Darrow learns that it is all a lie. That Mars has been habitable - and inhabited - for generations, by a class of people calling themselves the Golds. A class of people who look down at Darrow and his fellows as slave labour, to be exploited and worked to death without a second thought.

Until the day Darrow, with the help of a mysterious group of rebels, disguises himself as a Gold and infiltrates their command school, intent on taking down his oppressors from the inside.

But the command school is a battlefield - and Darrow isn't the only student with an agenda.

Ender's Game meets The Hunger Games in this, the first in an extraordinary trilogy from an incredible new voice.

Rivers of London (Rivers of London #1) – Ben Aaronovitch

Probationary Constable Peter Grant dreams of being a detective in London’s Metropolitan Police. Too bad his superior plans to assign him to the Case Progression Unit, where the biggest threat he’ll face is a paper cut. But Peter’s prospects change in the aftermath of a puzzling murder, when he gains exclusive information from an eyewitness who happens to be a ghost. Peter’s ability to speak with the lingering dead brings him to the attention of Detective Chief Inspector Thomas Nightingale, who investigates crimes involving magic and other manifestations of the uncanny. Now, as a wave of brutal and bizarre murders engulfs the city, Peter is plunged into a world where gods and goddesses mingle with mortals and a long-dead evil is making a comeback on a rising tide of magic.

The Final Empire (Mistborn #1) – Brandon Sanderson

Brandon Sanderson's epic fantasy trilogy overturns the expectations of readers and then goes on to tell the epic story of evil overturned in a richly imagined world.

A thousand years ago evil came to the land and has ruled with an iron hand ever since. The sun shines fitfully under clouds of ash that float down endlessly from the constant eruption of volcanoes. A dark lord rules through the aristocratic families and ordinary folk are condemned to lives in servitude, sold as goods, labouring in the ash fields.

But now a troublemaker has arrived and there is rumour of revolt. A revolt that depends on criminal that no-one can trust and a young girl who must master Allomancy - the magic that lies in all metals.

A word of mouth success in the states the Mistborn trilogy has, this year, broken onto the New York Times Bestseller list. The time is ripe for its success to cross the Atlantic.

A single wish will spark a new dawn.

Every millennium the missing pieces of the Scroll of a Thousand Prayers are hunted, for they hold the power to call the great Kami Dragon from the sea and ask for any one wish.

As a temple burns to the ground Yumeko escapes with its greatest treasure – the first piece of the scroll. And when fate thrusts her into the path of a mysterious samurai she knows he seeks what she has. Kage is under order to kill those who stand in his way but will he be able to complete his mission? Will this be the dawn that sees the dragon wake?

Enter a beautiful and perilous land of shapeshifters and samurai, kami and legends, humans and demons…a world in which Japanese mythology and imagination blend together.

Cooper Grant is not my type. Yes, he’s drool-worthy, with that glint in his blue eyes and the jaw-dropping way he fills out his jeans. Yes, other women might fall all over themselves for a glimpse of his slow, crooked smile. I’m not other women.
​
He hates me. And the feeling is mutual.
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In a town as small as ours, it’s pretty hard to avoid him...and it’s completely impossible once I wake up in a hospital bed to find Cooper pacing the floor of my room.
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He’s rumpled. He’s frantic. And he’s swearing I’m his fiancee.
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What the hell?
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I hate him, but he saved my life. So when he asks me to lie and pretend we’re engaged, I have no choice but to play along. One moment we’re fighting like usual, the next moment he’s kissing me and slipping a gorgeous ring onto my finger. It’s enough to give me whiplash… again.
​
And maybe it’s the bump on my head, but it’s getting pretty easy to pretend I’m in love with him.
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Now, instead of avoiding him, I’m surrendering to his crushing kisses. Our fiery hatred for each other isn’t nearly as hot as the nights we spend entwined.
The engagement is fake. The love is pretend.
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But the way I ache for him is real.
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And now I want to know… Can your worst enemy be your best lover?

Eva Leigh launches a seductive new series that sizzles with the dark secrets of London’s underworld…

‘It’s not my habit to seduce impoverished widows…’

The Duke of Greyland lost his heart – and a princely sum – to a charming, beautiful and destitute widow who, after one passionate night, vanished without a trace. Cassandra Blair grew up on the city streets, picking pockets to survive. Greyland was a rich mark – to be fleeced and forgotten – only she’d never forgotten him.

Years later, chance brings them together again, in a London gaming hell. Grayland is desperate to have her… never suspecting everything about his lover was a lie. But finding herself in dire financial straits, at risk of losing everything, Cassandra has no choice but to beg the man she betrayed for help.

The proud Duke will assist her under one condition: she doesn’t leave his sight until her debts are paid! But can the real Cassandra – the smart, streetwise survivor – steal his heart all over again?

Book one in the Scandalous Ladies of London series

When Nik Paterson went to the Dodgers game with her C-list actor boyfriend, Ford, for his birthday, she expected nothing more than a few boring hours with him and his bros. She certainly didn't expect a Jumbotron proposal. Or her name to be misspelled. Or to go viral in minutes...

Carlos Ibarra wants to hang out with his sister, catch a Dodgers game, and relax for once. But when a camera crew descends on Nik after the disastrous proposal, he has to rescue her. After they flee the stadium, he delivers her into the arms of her supportive girlfriends, and they both think they'll never see each other again.

Fate has other plans. Nik and Carlos keep crossing paths, accidentally and on purpose. When they finally give in to their attraction to each other, they are on the same page: sex and nothing more. But the proposed friends-with-benefits relationship is turning into something more, and the pair have to decide if they have room in their lives for love.

First Earl I See Tonight (debutante Diaries #1) – Anna Bennett

An heiress with a daring proposal. An earl who’s determined to resist her. And a love that just might be written in the stars…

Recently jilted by his fiancée, David Gray, Earl of Ravenport is not in the market for a wife. Even if Gray didn’t have his hands full renovating his crumbling country house, it would take more than a bold marriage proposal from a headstrong young beauty to thaw his frozen heart. Gray is confident that spending a week at his ramshackle estate will change her mind about marriage, but every passionate moment he spends with her tempts him to change his…

A talented artist, Miss Fiona Hartley desperately needs her dowry money to pay off a blackmailer set on ruining her sister. The handsome earl seems a sensible choice for a husband…if only she can convince him that romance will play no part. But marrying in name only may prove difficult for Fiona. Gray can’t help but be dazzled by her genuine warmth. Yet as their feelings deepen, Fiona’s deadline looms. Will her secrets destroy them, or is true love their final destiny?

Smooth-Talking Cowboy (Gold Valley #1) – Maisey Yates

Welcome to Gold Valley, Oregon, where a rough-and-tumble rancher and the girl next door are about to learn that opposites attract

Olivia Logan has a plan: win back her ex by making him see what he’s missing. But first she needs to find a man who’s willing to play along. With his laid-back cowboy charm and knack for getting under her skin, Luke Hollister is an unlikely hero—but he wants her help convincing her father to sell him land, which means he needs her as much as she needs him.

Luke likes his life—and his women—uncomplicated. So why does good girl Olivia heat his blood like no one else? She’s always been off-limits, but the more time they spend as Gold Valley’s hottest new “couple,” the more real it’s starting to feel. Luke was supposed to help her win back another man…not keep her in his arms. But now that he has her there, he’s not sure he’ll ever let go.

Beneath The Citadel – Destiny Soria

In the city of Eldra, people are ruled by ancient prophecies. For centuries, the high council has stayed in power by virtue of the prophecies of the elder seers. After the last infallible prophecy came to pass, growing unrest led to murders and an eventual rebellion that raged for more than a decade.


 
In the present day, Cassa, the orphaned daughter of rebels, is determined to fight back against the high council, which governs Eldra from behind the walls of the citadel. Her only allies are no-nonsense Alys, easygoing Evander, and perpetually underestimated Newt, and Cassa struggles to come to terms with the legacy of rebellion her dead parents have left her — and the fear that she may be inadequate to shoulder the burden. But by the time Cassa and her friends uncover the mystery of the final infallible prophecy, it may be too late to save the city — or themselves.

Callie Delgado always puts family first, and unfortunately her brother knows it. She’s emptied her savings, lost work, and spilled countless tears trying to keep him out of trouble, but now he’s in deeper than ever, and his debt is on Callie’s head. She’s given a choice: do some dirty work for the mob, or have her brother returned to her in tiny pieces.

Renting souls is big business for the religious population of Gem City. Those looking to take part in immoral—or even illegal—activity can borrow someone else’s soul, for a price, and sin without consequence.
To save her brother, Callie needs a borrowed soul, but she doesn’t have anywhere near the money to pay for it. The slimy Soul Charmer is willing to barter, but accepting his offer will force Callie into a dangerous world of magic she isn’t ready for.

With the help of the guarded but undeniably attractive Derek—whose allegiance to the Charmer wavers as his connection to Callie grows—she’ll have to walk a tight line, avoid pissing off the bad guys, all while struggling to determine what her loyalty to her family’s really worth.

Losing her brother isn’t an option. Losing her soul? Maybe.

Pestilence (The Four Horsemen #1) – Laura Thalassa

They came to earth—Pestilence, War, Famine, Death—four horsemen riding their screaming steeds, racing to the corners of the world. Four horsemen with the power to destroy all of humanity. They came to earth, and they came to end us all.

When Pestilence comes for Sara Burn’s town, one thing is certain: everyone she knows and loves is marked for death. Unless, of course, the angelic-looking horseman is stopped, which is exactly what Sara has in mind when she shoots the unholy beast off his steed.

Too bad no one told her Pestilence can’t be killed.

Now the horseman, very much alive and very pissed off, has taken her prisoner, and he’s eager to make her suffer. Only, the longer she’s with him, the more uncertain she is about his true feelings towards her … and hers towards him.

And now, well, Sara might still be able to save the world, but in order to do so, she'll have to sacrifice her heart in the process.

Miryem is the daughter and granddaughter of moneylenders... but her father isn't a very good one. Free to lend and reluctant to collect, he has loaned out most of his wife's dowry and left the family on the edge of poverty--until Miryem steps in. Hardening her heart against her fellow villagers' pleas, she sets out to collect what is owed--and finds herself more than up to the task. When her grandfather loans her a pouch of silver pennies, she brings it back full of gold.

But having the reputation of being able to change silver to gold can be more trouble than it's worth--especially when her fate becomes tangled with the cold creatures that haunt the wood, and whose king has learned of her reputation and wants to exploit it for reasons Miryem cannot understand.

The dream chooses the dreamer, not the other way around—and Lazlo Strange, war orphan and junior librarian, has always feared that his dream chose poorly. Since he was five years old he’s been obsessed with the mythic lost city of Weep, but it would take someone bolder than he to cross half the world in search of it. Then a stunning opportunity presents itself, in the person of a hero called the Godslayer and a band of legendary warriors, and he has to seize his chance or lose his dream forever.

What happened in Weep two hundred years ago to cut it off from the rest of the world? What exactly did the Godslayer slay that went by the name of god? And what is the mysterious problem he now seeks help in solving?

The answers await in Weep, but so do more mysteries—including the blue-skinned goddess who appears in Lazlo’s dreams. How did he dream her before he knew she existed? And if all the gods are dead, why does she seem so real?

Welcome to Weep.

Princess Lira is siren royalty and the most lethal of them all. With the hearts of seventeen princes in her collection, she is revered across the sea. Until a twist of fate forces her to kill one of her own. To punish her daughter, the Sea Queen transforms Lira into the one thing they loathe most—a human. Robbed of her song, Lira has until the winter solstice to deliver Prince Elian’s heart to the Sea Queen or remain a human forever.

The ocean is the only place Prince Elian calls home, even though he is heir to the most powerful kingdom in the world. Hunting sirens is more than an unsavory hobby—it’s his calling. When he rescues a drowning woman in the ocean, she’s more than what she appears. She promises to help him find the key to destroying all of sirenkind for good—But can he trust her? And just how many deals will Elian have to barter to eliminate mankind’s greatest enemy?