Book Review: We Who Will Die by Stacia Stark

We Who Will Die (Empire of Blood #1) by Stacia Stark
Genre: Adult Fiction (Paranormal/Fantasy Romance)
Date Published: December 30, 2025
Publisher: Avon Books

From the bestselling author of the Kingdom of Lies series comes a slow-burn romantasy set in a Roman-inspired world ruled by merciless vampires. Filled with breathtaking combat, vengeful gods, and magical creatures, We Who Will Die is the epic first installment in an enthralling new series perfect for fans of Carissa Broadbent, Jasmine Mas, and Rebecca Yarros.

Life in the perilous Thorn district is a constant battle for Arvelle and her younger brothers. And the vampire standing on her doorstep is about to turn their world upside down.

Faced with an unthinkable choice, Arvelle makes a magically binding vow to do the impossible: kill the emperor, an ancient vampire created by the god Umbros. But first, she must enter the Sundering—an arena where only the fastest, strongest, and deadliest survive long enough to be selected for the emperor’s elite guard.

She quickly draws the ire of the Primus, the powerful figure charged with protecting the emperor. But the vampire under the armor is the last person Arvelle expects to encounter in the emperor’s court.

With her brothers’ lives in the balance, Arvelle has no choice but to ally with the man who once shattered her heart… and with the emperor’s sadistic son, Rorrik—two vampires whose motives are impossible to pin down. Rorrik holds the key to understanding the powers Arvelle is developing—abilities that would put a price on her head if discovered by the emperor.

To survive the arena and complete her mission, Arvelle must get to the bottom of a conspiracy that will change everything she thought she knew about herself—and the two vampires who are deeply entwined with her destiny…

We Who Will Die is the first book in the Empire of Blood series by Stacia Stark. This is a gladiator like story with lots of supernatural ans fantasy elements and creatures. I love this mix. Add the fact that there was nonstop action and a touch of romance. I was pretty hooked. I enjoyed Arvelle. She was an excellent character who will do anything to keep her brothers safe. She’s not your typical innocent girl.. this girl has already lived through a lot. The supporting characters are significant and really add to the story. They have meaning. I feel like there may be a love triangle on the horizon, and I think I may be rooting for the wrong guy. Is there such a thing in fiction? 

"He thinks I’m weak. Broken. Easily manipulated. He’s going to learn otherwise."

The ARC of We Who Will Die by Stacia Stark was kindly provided to me by the publisher through NetGalley for review. The opinions are my own.

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Stacia Stark is a fantasy romance author who loves writing about found families, self-reliant heroines, and brooding, grumpy heroes.

Originally from New Zealand, Stacia spent over a decade traveling and living in various countries around the world as a freelance copywriter, and attributes both her wanderlust and creativity to those adventures.

When not traveling or writing, Stacia is usually lost in the pages of a good book.

To learn more about Stacia Stark and her books, visit her website. You can also find her on Goodreads, Facebook Group &, Instagram

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Book Review: Heartbreaker by Sarah MacLean

Heartbreaker (Hell's Belles #2) by Sarah MacLean 
Genre: Adult Fiction (Historical Romance)
Date Published: August 23, 2022
Publisher: Avon

A Princess of Thieves

Raised among London's most notorious criminals, a twist of fate landed Adelaide Frampton in the bright ballrooms of Mayfair, where she masquerades as a quiet wallflower--so plain and unassuming that no one realizes she's the Matchbreaker...using her superior skills as a thief to help brides avoid the altar.

A King of Reputation

Henry, Duke of Clayborn, has spent a lifetime living in perfection. He has no time for the salacious gossip that arises every time the Matchbreaker ends another groom. His own reputation is impeccable--and the last thing he needs is a frustrating, fascinating woman discovering the truth of his past, or the secrets he holds close.

A Royal Match

When the two find themselves on a breakneck journey across Britain to stop a wedding, it's impossible for Clayborn to resist this woman who both frustrates and fascinates him. But late-night carriage rides make for delicious danger...and soon Adelaide is uncovering Clayborn's truths, throwing his well-laid plans into chaos...and threatening to steal his heavily guarded heart.

Heartbreaker is the second book in the Hell's Belles series by Sarah MacLean. I loved the whole Match Breaker premise of this one, plus the enemies to lovers, and it was just a whole lot of fun to read. I love the characters and the chemistry between them. I'm a big fan of the bantering. I've seen a lot of people saying it's unrealistic for the times, but you know what? When it comes to this author, I really don't care. I thoroughly enjoy her books for the fictional escape that they are. 

The light was fading fast inside the building, so she worked quickly. Replacing the bottom of the drawer, she returned the ledger books, dismantled her skeleton key, and stood, tucking her snuffbox away and settling the wooden cube into the crook of her arm.

“That doesn't belong to you.”

Her heart leapt into her throat as she looked to the doorway, her free hand already sliding inside her skirts to the false pocket at her thigh, headed for the blade she kept there. She preferred to remain invisible and not leave a mess on missions, but she wasn't above taking out this bruiser if she had to.

He was the opposite of invisible, tall and lean, standing in the shadows just inside the office door, peaked cap pulled low over his brow, doing absolutely nothing to hide the sharp lines of his handsome face—a long, straight nose and an angled jaw that appeared to have been honed by the best of bladesmiths.

This was not one of her father's bruisers.

Even if she hadn't been able to hear it in his proper voice, or see it in the way he held himself, as though it had never occurred to him that he did not belong in a place—even a dark warehouse owned by a hardened criminal . . . even if he didn't look as though he'd spent his youth learning to fence instead of fight . . . it was the nose that gave it away.

He'd never once spent a night hungry. Never once had to brawl for his safety or his supper. Never once had to steal, because he had obviously been born into all he had.

The man was money.

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Sarah MacLean grew up in Rhode Island, obsessed with historical romance and bemoaning the fact that she was born far too late for her own season. Her love of all things historical helped to earn her degrees from Smith College and Harvard University before she finally set pen to paper and wrote her first book.

Sarah now lives in New York City with her husband, baby daughter, their dog, and a ridiculously large collection of romance novels. She loves to hear from readers. Please visit her at www.macleanspace.com

To learn more about Sarah MacLean and her books, visit her website. You can also find her on Goodreads, Facebook, Pinterest, Instagram, and Twitter.

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Book Review: The Last Tale of the Flower Bride by Roshani Chokshi

The Last Tale of the Flower Bride by Roshani Chokshi
Genre: Adult Fiction (Fantasy / Horror)
Date Published: February 14, 2023
Publisher: William Morrow

A sumptuous, gothic-infused story about a marriage that is unraveled by dark secrets, a friendship cursed to end in tragedy, and the danger of believing in fairy tales—the breathtaking adult debut from New York Times bestselling author Roshani Chokshi.

Once upon a time, a man who believed in fairy tales married a beautiful, mysterious woman named Indigo Maxwell-Casteñada. He was a scholar of myths. She was heiress to a fortune. They exchanged gifts and stories and believed they would live happily ever after—and in exchange for her love, Indigo extracted a promise: that her bridegroom would never pry into her past.

But when Indigo learns that her estranged aunt is dying and the couple is forced to return to her childhood home, the House of Dreams, the bridegroom will soon find himself unable to resist. For within the crumbling manor’s extravagant rooms and musty halls, there lurks the shadow of another girl: Azure, Indigo’s dearest childhood friend who suddenly disappeared. As the house slowly reveals his wife’s secrets, the bridegroom will be forced to choose between reality and fantasy, even if doing so threatens to destroy their marriage . . . or their lives.

Combining the lush, haunting atmosphere of Mexican Gothic with the dreamy enchantment of The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue, The Last Tale of the Flower Bride is a spellbinding and darkly romantic page-turner about love and lies, secrets and betrayal, and the stories we tell ourselves to survive.

The Last Tale of the Flower Bride is a standalone dark fantasy by Roshani Chokshi

I wouldn’t call this a romance as the blurb does. The story was mostly about the friendship, if you could call it that, between Indigo and Azure. There was toxicity in both the marriage and friendship. And you flip back and forth between them and Indigo’s marriage to the bridegroom. We never get his name. There was very little romance.  The writing was pretty and flowed beautifully. It painted a very dreamlike picture of the characters.. sometimes the dream turned more nightmare and back again. It’s very alluring, but I couldn’t fully commit to these characters, and that may be because I figured something out way too early...

There is a twist in the ending that I knew was happening from the beginning, but that may be because I listened to the audiobook and by listening, it gives you a big clue that your wouldn't get when reading the book yourself.

Once upon a time, Indigo Maxwell-Castenada found me.

I had been lost a long time, and had grown comfortable in the dark. I didn't imagine anyone could lure me from it. But Indigo was one of those creatures that can hunt by scent alone, and the reek of my desperate wanting must have left a tantalizing, fluorescent trail.

Before Indigo, I avoided places where money served as pageantry rather than payment. I clung to the opinion that they were loud and crass, the shabby but sturdy armor of a poor man. In those days, I was poor. But I had become rich in expertise, and it was in this capacity that I served as a visiting curator to L'Exposition Des Femme Monstreuses. The exhibit had brought me to Paris on someone else's dime and, eventually, to the Hotel de Castenada.

Once one of the royal apartments of Louis XIV and Marie Antoinette, the Hotel de Castenada now ranked among the finest hotels in the world. The vaulted ceiling, a restoration of the original I was told, still showed indifferent, muscular gods reclining amidst gold-bellied clouds. Ivy lined the walls, through which the snarling faces of stone satyrs peered and panted at the guests.

It was common knowledge that each of the Castenada hotels centered around a fairytale motif. I gathered this one was an homage to Perrault's La Belle et la Bete-Beauty and the Beast-and while I hated to admit it, something about it seemed not of this world. It was so lovely I could almost ignore the crowd of models and DJs, red-faced businessmen and whatever other brilliantly arrayed and ostensibly vapid creatures such beautiful places attracted.

"Sir?" A slim, dark-skinned waitress appeared at my side. This was the second time she'd stopped by my table. I had chosen one near the back of the room so I might keep an eye on the entrance. "Are you sure I cannot get you anything?"

I glanced at the menu beside the haphazard collection of notes I'd prepared for the evening. The cocktails started at 50 euros. I smiled at the waitress, raised my half-filled glass of water and then tapped the empty dish of complementary spiced nuts.

"Perhaps another of these?" I asked. "My guest must be running late."

The waitress managed a brittle smile and took the dainty, porcelain dish-the cost of which was likely more than what I'd spend on dinner-and walked away without another word. She probably thought I was lying about meeting someone. And truly, part of me thought I might be lying if I believed my intended guest would deign to meet with me.

After months of searching for the whereabouts of a 131h century grimoire, I had traced it to the private collection of the Castenada family. Initially, my requests to view the piece had gone unanswered. This was not surprising. I was well-known only in academic circles, a Middle Ages historian with an interest in the preservation of incunabulum. I had nothing to lose but time. So, I wrote letter after letter, stood for hours as the fax machine spit them out into offices around the world. I lost a tiny fortune in long-distance phone calls until, finally, I received a message one week before I flew to Paris.

You may meet me at the Hotel on the 711• of November. 8 o'clock.

-I.MC

I.M.C. Indigo Maxwell-Castenada. The heir of the Castenada fortune.

I knew nothing about him, and I preferred it that way. I have never understood this preoccupation with the rich and famous and how they spend their existence. The way some people clung to celebrity coincidences-"our birthdays are the same!"- as if this were something shared and sacred.I checked my watch: 8:45 p.m.

Roshani Chokshi is the award-winning author of the New York Times bestselling series The Star-Touched Queen, The Gilded Wolves and Aru Shah and The End of Time, which Time Magazine named one of the Top 100 Fantasy Books of All Time. Her adult debut, The Last Tale of The Flower Bride, was a #1 Sunday Times bestseller. Her novels have been translated into more than two dozen languages and often draw upon world mythology and folklore. Chokshi is a member of the National Leadership Board for the Michael C. Carlos Museum and lives in Georgia with her husband and their cat whose diabolical plans must regularly be thwarted.

To learn more about Roshani Chokshi and her books, visit her website. You can also find her on Goodreads, Instagram, and Twitter.

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Book Review: The Silent Woman by Minka Kent

The Silent Woman by Minka Kent
Genre: Adult Fiction (Mystery)
Date Published: September 27, 2022
Audiobook Publisher: Blackstone Publishing

Newlywed Jade Westmore has finally found her forever in husband Wells, a charming, successful, and recently divorced architect—only there’s one caveat. Behind the gates of their elysian estate, hidden from street view in the caretaker’s cottage … lives Wells’ first wife, Sylvie.

Three years ago, the original Mrs. Westmore suffered an unfortunate accident—and hasn’t uttered a sound since. Not a physician, psychologist, or world-renown specialist has been able to elicit so much as a word from the silent woman … until now.

On an ordinary Tuesday while Wells was away—despite instructions to never disturb the fragile woman—Jade visited her isolated predecessor bearing a peace offering: a bouquet of white lilies. Only she wasn’t expecting Sylvie to have something for her as well: a slip of torn notebook paper with a single word scrawled in shaky black ink.

That word? Run.

The Silent Woman by Minka Kent is a mystery that will keep you reading until the end. I wouldn't call this one a thriller, as the 'thriller' aspect was pretty short. I figured out bits of the mystery pretty easily. I knew who committed the actual crime the moment they appeared. I just knew it had to be that person. I really expected one thing to be different. I REALLY did! And I wish I could say what that one thing is, but dang it.. I can't! Honestly, I'm a little disappointed, and I can't say why either! Uggh! This is rough! So, I'll say this... All in all, even though it was fairly easy to predict, it was entertaining. I enjoyed getting to know the characters, and I'd pick up another book by this author.

Minka Kent has been crafting stories since before she could scribble her name. With a love of the literary dark and twisted, Minka cut her teeth on Goosebumps and Fear Street, graduated to Stephen King as a teenager, and now counts Gillian Flynn, Chevy Stevens, and Caroline Kepnes amongst her favorite authors and biggest influences. Minka has always been curious about good people who do bad things and loves to explore what happens when larger-than-life characters are placed in fascinating situations.

In her non-writing life, Minka is a thirty-something wife and mother who equally enjoys sunny and rainy days, loves freshly cut hydrangeas, hides behind oversized sunglasses, travels to warmer climates every chance she gets, and bakes sweet treats when the mood strikes (spoiler alert: it’s often).

To learn more about Minka Kent and her books, visit her website. You can also find her on Goodreads, Facebook, Instagram, & Pinterest.

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