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jcrocker95's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
4.75
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Sexual content, Violence, Blood, and Murder
hereiskyra's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? N/A
4.0
I’m not sure exactly what I was expecting but I think I’m pleasantly surprised. Honestly, I tried and tried but I could never quite nail down the vibes in this one… I saw someone say flapper era and I definitely felt that. It felt dark and moody yet glamorous too. An heiress in beautiful jewel toned gowns surrounded by powerful and gritty.
I liked our two main characters and that they were given some time to form chemistry and a bond before throwing them into a “relationship” of sorts. Each had their own personality that made them endearing and easy to like.
The magic in this one is a little different than what I’ve seen so far and I really enjoyed it. I’m pretty sure this book got an entire star for the familiar tattoo alone. That was one of my favorite things. Maybe ever.
There were times, especially the beginning, that I couldn’t really get into the story but the last half had me on the edge of my seat. And towards the ending it felt like watching an old western movie of a train heist. My brain is weird but it was a great time. 🤣
I think this story is set up to be really good moving forward. Off to buy the second one now. Also really want to watch Peaky Blinders now so thanks for that, Alexis. 🫡
Tropes:
Marriage of Convenience
Rivals to Lovers
Found Family
Heiress FMC
Magic
Spice: 🌶️🌶️
Favorite quotes:
“Wanting you isn’t hard, princess. It’s all the rest that makes it diffucult.”
“You are what I want every morning when I wake, every need of my flesh, every dream when I close my eyes.”
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Gun violence, Sexual content, Violence, and Injury/Injury detail
midnightrose_reads's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
funny
mysterious
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
House of Bane and Blood is the first book in the Vows of Vengeance duology by Alexis L. Menard. I really enjoyed this romantic fantasy marriage of convience, rivals to lovers story. The banter between the two leads is fantastic. Nico and Camilla are characters that you really root for, and the found family aspect was excellent! Can’t wait to read the next book in this duology.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child death, Cursing, Death, Gore, Gun violence, Sexual content, Suicide, Violence, Blood, Kidnapping, Grief, Death of parent, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Torture
novellearts's review against another edition
adventurous
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
This book needed some further editing done. There were some grammatical and structural errors throughout the book that I found but it was otherwise, pretty well written.
I enjoyed the first book much more than the second. I'm not really sure what went wrong in this one, but it felt lacking to me. It took me quite a while to finish due to not really being super interested in the story. Some aspects of the story felt forgotten.I didn't get the discussion between Milla and Nico about Milla's time spent as a prisoner that I was hoping for. It almost felt like it was swept under the rug and dismissed. I didn't think this book showed a realistic depiction of the trauma and healing that she inevitably would've had to go through after being held prisoner and being tortured. Unless she is just incredibly resilient, I suppose.
I also felt let down by Camilla's use (or lack of use) of her powers. Camilla was set up to be a powerhouse of a character with really intriguing abilities, but we didn't get to see much display of them except when she was forced to use them as a prisoner. Once she was freed, she (for the most part) went back to avoiding her powers and how she learned to use them.
The story was repetitive for me as well. The conflicts seemed flat and overused. I felt as though I kept reading the same conflict interactions throughout the whole book and ultimately they all had the same resolutions. The ending also seemed rushed.We find out that Camilla's mother is still alive and looking to be found by Camilla and then the book simply ends! It felt as though there should've been at least 1 more book in this series.
I'm upset because I really wanted to like this! Book 1 was better rounded, overall more enticing and enjoyable.
I enjoyed the first book much more than the second. I'm not really sure what went wrong in this one, but it felt lacking to me. It took me quite a while to finish due to not really being super interested in the story. Some aspects of the story felt forgotten.
I also felt let down by Camilla's use (or lack of use) of her powers. Camilla was set up to be a powerhouse of a character with really intriguing abilities, but we didn't get to see much display of them except when she was forced to use them as a prisoner. Once she was freed, she (for the most part) went back to avoiding her powers and how she learned to use them.
The story was repetitive for me as well. The conflicts seemed flat and overused. I felt as though I kept reading the same conflict interactions throughout the whole book and ultimately they all had the same resolutions. The ending also seemed rushed.
I'm upset because I really wanted to like this! Book 1 was better rounded, overall more enticing and enjoyable.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Confinement, Cursing, Death, Drug use, Gun violence, Physical abuse, Torture, Violence, Blood, and Murder
danilouisev's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.5
Pros: the concept is really unique, I am invested in the characters and the story & will read the second book. I do think there’s something really creative & interesting here!
Cons: writing style - just not 100% for me. I know it’s an independently published book and I could tell. I don’t want to to knock it for that, but it could use a few more rounds of editing. The pacing felt a bit off at times; while I believed and understood the attraction between the MCs, their physical relationship needed more development imo. The smut was just so-so.
Cons: writing style - just not 100% for me. I know it’s an independently published book and I could tell. I don’t want to to knock it for that, but it could use a few more rounds of editing. The pacing felt a bit off at times; while I believed and understood the attraction between the MCs, their physical relationship needed more development imo. The smut was just so-so.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Death, Gun violence, Sexual content, Violence, and Kidnapping
tguccione's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Content Warnings
Moderate: Body horror, Confinement, Death, Gore, Gun violence, Physical abuse, Violence, Blood, Police brutality, Medical content, Kidnapping, Grief, Death of parent, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, Abandonment, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism
Minor: Suicide and Sexual harassment
gildedspines's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
mysterious
medium-paced
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Death of parent, Fire/Fire injury, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Gore
belle13's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.75
❤️Arranged Marriage of Convenience
❤️Peaky Blinders Vibes
❤️Family Dynamics
❤️Rival Families
❤️Magic and Science
❤️Slow Burn
❤️ Rivals to Lovers
Amount of spice:🔥 - Extreme Slow Burn
Explicitness: 🌶️🌶️🌶️
I’ll be honest, I wasn’t expecting to love this as much as I did but I absolutely ate it up. They just had such a fun dynamic and I loved the way Milla was actually the one saving Nico most of the time, she was such a sassy little badass. I’m also a huge fan of a slow burn and for me, this was just the right amount of burn and by the time they actually got physical I was absolutely hooked.
There were lots of twists and turns and it was a bit of a wild ride at times. There were parts that felt a little confusing and hard to keep up with but I was addicted nonetheless. The last 20% was particularly wild and it ends on such a bang!
The only thing I would have liked more of was the family dynamics. The supporting characters have so much potential and I desperately want to know more about all of them so I hope we get to see more of them and that they become a little more fleshed out - each encounter with them seemed a little too brief.
I would recommend it if you liked Kingdom of the Wicked or Serpent and Dove or you love a badass FMC and an MMC that can’t help but fall head over heels for her.
❤️Peaky Blinders Vibes
❤️Family Dynamics
❤️Rival Families
❤️Magic and Science
❤️Slow Burn
❤️ Rivals to Lovers
Amount of spice:🔥 - Extreme Slow Burn
Explicitness: 🌶️🌶️🌶️
I’ll be honest, I wasn’t expecting to love this as much as I did but I absolutely ate it up. They just had such a fun dynamic and I loved the way Milla was actually the one saving Nico most of the time, she was such a sassy little badass. I’m also a huge fan of a slow burn and for me, this was just the right amount of burn and by the time they actually got physical I was absolutely hooked.
There were lots of twists and turns and it was a bit of a wild ride at times. There were parts that felt a little confusing and hard to keep up with but I was addicted nonetheless. The last 20% was particularly wild and it ends on such a bang!
The only thing I would have liked more of was the family dynamics. The supporting characters have so much potential and I desperately want to know more about all of them so I hope we get to see more of them and that they become a little more fleshed out - each encounter with them seemed a little too brief.
I would recommend it if you liked Kingdom of the Wicked or Serpent and Dove or you love a badass FMC and an MMC that can’t help but fall head over heels for her.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Death, Panic attacks/disorders, Blood, and Death of parent
karapillar's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.75
Content Warnings
Graphic: Body horror, Child death, Confinement, Death, Gore, Gun violence, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Torture, Violence, Blood, Kidnapping, Grief, Stalking, Death of parent, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, Abandonment, Alcohol, War, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Hate crime
Minor: Cursing, Infidelity, Racial slurs, Slavery, Xenophobia, Vomit, Medical content, Trafficking, Gaslighting, and Colonisation
jilliri's review against another edition
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Gore, Gun violence, Toxic relationship, Blood, Grief, Car accident, Alcohol, War, and Classism
Moderate: Confinement, Sexual content, Death of parent, and Classism
Minor: Vomit and Kidnapping