Rating: ★★★.74
Audience: NA Historical Romantasy
Length: 496 pages
Author: Sophie Clark
Publisher: Knopf Books
Release Date: May 20th, 2025
Image & Other Reviews on: Goodreads

BOOK SUMMARY:

An epic new fantasy about a demon hunter and a foot soldier thrown together in a centuries-old war… and the forbidden love that could change the course of history.

A bloody war between demons and the Vatican has waged for more than a century, with two elite soldiers now at its center: Selene Alleva, a high-ranking exorcist running from a dark family legacy, and orphan Jules Lacroix, recruited by the Vatican and unrivalled on the battlefield.

When their paths cross over a series of unprecedented demon attacks, the distrust–and unwelcome attraction–they have for each other is immediate. But to get to the bottom of the breaches they strike an uneasy alliance to avoid suspicion. With Jules posing as Selene’s estranged fiance, they head to the Vatican in search of answers. But even as Selene questions who her most dangerous enemy is, Jules has begun to suspect that it’s him.

Now Jules’ very existence challenges every truth Selene thought she knew, and suggests a terrible conspiracy at the heart of the Vatican. Unable to ignore their growing feelings, the two must make an impossible choice between love and duty.

They say love conquers all – but can it win in a war between demons and exorcists? Or will it tear them apart…

Thank you to PRH Audio for the gifted audiobook and Get Underlined for the ARC.

I THINK I LIKED THIS?

I will say the audiobook production was fantastic. I loved all of the narrators and the seamless switches between characters.

Now, the book itself. Well, I think I’ve decided the bones of the story are good. I loved the historical elements and the combination of religion + politics + war looming scenario. There were many scenes I was all over. And I didn’t mind the characters either. I could get behind them and can see the growth coming for the series (duology?) too.

The pacing is what threw me off. It can’t quite decide if it wants to be quick or slow or somewhere in between. And that kept taking me out of the book. I did enjoy the romance. I liked the snarky star crossed enemies banter. It’s got an edge of insta-love that didn’t bother me all that much.

I do have plans to read book two, which honestly is a statement of its own that I liked it enough to continue.

Overall audience notes:

• NA Historical Romantasy
• Language: mild
• Romance: one fade to black; light innuendo
• Violence: high
• Content warnings: mild blood/gore, self harm (for magic use), loss of loved ones

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