In the Veins of the Drowning by Kalie Cassidy
The Siren Mage #1
Fantasy Romance/Romantasy
July 15, 2025- by Little, Brown and Company
ARC

Review by Angela

Imogen Nel is a prisoner at court. A siren in a land where sirens are hunted, she hides away her true self and accepts whatever the king demands. Even if it happens to be marriage to the very captain who has killed so many of her kind. During the week of her nuptials royals from surrounding kingdoms arrive and Imogen meets a darkly handsome king from another land. He just might be her salvation and a way to connect with her siren magic and escape a dangerous situation. They form a blood bond, one that they agree to sever as soon as they reach safety. But their alliance will start a war.

This was such unique world-building. Out of all the fantasy romance I’ve read lately, and there has been A LOT, I don’t think any have had sirens, in their viscous winged and taloned forms, and magic inherited by the god’s direct ancestors. I was drawn in immediately. The begrudging allies to lovers romance does build slowly, despite a blood bond that won’t let the two main protagonists get more than a few feet away from each other without pain.

I won’t go too much into the plot itself, but the entirety of the book is pretty much Imogen discovering who she is and why she was essentially trapped at court her whole life. There is political intrigue, an interesting history of the gods and sirens, and two people who are pretty much at each other’s throats until about the 60% mark. I would say this is a darker fantasy, as there is a lot of violence and dark themes.

This is absolutely a set-up for at least a trilogy. With the ending I can’t see the author wrapping this up in just one more book. I do think with the ending readers will be eager to find out what happens next. The romance slowly develops from unwilling allies to forming an attachment that is ripped away at the end, so I’m also interested to find out how this couple navigates their relationship moving forward. I’m also supremely invested in the secondary characters and their relationship. Which I guess means that I will absolutely be picking up the next book in the series.

Final grade- B