The Wolf and the Crown of Blood by Elizabeth May
The Broken Accords #1
Dark Fantasy Romance
January 27, 2026 by Aria
ARC

This is one of those books that grows on you slowly, the pacing kept me from being hooked immediately, but by the end I was flipping pages as fast as I could to get to the HEA. Readers should be aware that this is a darker romantasy, and a true enemies to lovers romance. Check out the content warnings on the author’s website here.

Bryony Devaliant is a princess who dies and is resurrected over and over, willingly, for her people in order to satisfy an agreement that was made between one of her ancestors and a god hundreds of years ago. Evander is a god, but also a weapon who is often unleashed upon the masses to keep them in order. They come together when Evander is tasked with killing Bryony, but he reluctantly becomes intrigued by her strength instead. When she is attacked, by someone she should have been able to trust, and dumped on his doorstep, he not only heals her, but sets out to kindle her rage and bloodthirstiness and teach her to fight for herself.

Woo but this book is dark and spicy. The first half of the book felt like a game of slow back and forth, a will they or won’t they if you will. Him being a creature of darkness and danger, with a past that makes him loathe her bloodline, but nonetheless he can’t seem to stay away from her. She a woman who has sacrificed her whole existence to fulfill a blood pact, her feelings of anger and loneliness are understandable. Despite the fact that they should be natural enemies, their chemistry is off the charts hot and their growing connection inevitable.

The second half of the book is a raging inferno of lust, longing, and a desperation to find a way to stay together. I LOVED EVERY MINUTE. I am also so intrigued by the secondary characters and what seems to be the setup for future couples. I am absolutely picking up the next book in the series. I might even beg for an early copy.

Crown of War and Shadow by J.R. Ward
Kingdoms of the Compass #1
Fantasy Romance
February 17, 2026 by Bramble
ARC

I picked this book for review because I was curious about J.R. Ward’s foray into romantasy. I’ll be honest when I say that I haven’t read this author in years yet was a rabid fan of those first twelve books of The Black Dagger Brotherhood series.

The setup for Crown of War and Shadow fits in well within the genre- a mysterious woman shunned by her village, alone but for one friend, who is only sought out when villagers become desperate for her healing abilities. A town surrounded by a wall of magic that is failing, which means the evil caught inside is slowly leaking out into the world. A mercenary who finds her intriguing for mysterious reasons and ultimately becomes her rescuer when the town turns against her. A heroine’s journey of self-discovery and the truth of her origins.

The pacing was a mix of a slow journey, and Sorrel coming into her own, and action-packed action scenes as all manner of creatures and men come across their path. In true J.R. Ward fashion both the hero and heroine have interesting, yet tragic backstories. It took me a bit to finish this book, when the pacing slowed down, I felt a real struggle to dive back in, then the action scene would hit and I was interested again. I mean I’m glad I pushed through to the end, but if this hadn’t been an ARC I would have probably DNF’d. This is one of those series that I might consider picking up the next book, but it depends on how I’m feeling at the moment.