Review: The Serpent and the Wolf by Rebecca Robinson

Title: The Serpent and the Wolf
Author: Rebecca Robinson
Series: Dark Inheritance Trilogy #1
Publication: November 19, 2024 by Simon & Schuster/Saga Press
Genre: Romantasy
Find it on: Amazon | Apple Books | Barnes & Noble | Kobo | Waterstones
Rating: 5/5★

Perfect for fans of Raven Kennedy and Thea Guanzon, Rebecca Robinson’s thrilling romantasy debut combines high-stakes political intrigue and a steamy, slow-burn, enemies-to-lovers romance.

All her life, Vaasa Kozár has been sharpened into a blade.

After losing her mother—her only remaining parent—to a mysterious dark magic that has since awakened within her, Vaasa is certain death looms. So is her merciless brother, who aims to eliminate Vaasa as a threat to his crown. In one last political scheme, he marries her off to Reid of Mireh, a ruthless foreign ruler, in hopes that he can use her death as a rallying cry to finally invade Reid’s nation. All Vaasa has to do is die.

But she is desperate to live. Vaasa enters her new marriage with every intent to escape it, wielding the hard-won political prowess and combat abilities her late father instilled in her. But to her surprise, Reid offers her a deal: help him win the votes to rise in power, and she can walk free. In exchange, he will share his knowledge about the dark magic running through her veins—and help keep it at bay.

This proposal may be too good to refuse, yet Vaasa and Reid’s undeniable attraction threatens to break the rules of their arrangement. As her brother’s lethal machinations take form, everything is at stake: Vaasa must learn to trust her new husband, but how can she, especially when their perfect political marriage begins to feel like the real thing?

I absolutely loved and devoured The Serpent and the Wolf by Rebecca Robinson. I’ve had my eye on it for quite some time but didn’t actually read it until now and obviously I’m regretting that because, damn, this is what I want romantasy books to be like. I’m also really impressed that this is the author’s debut novel because it hit the mark with me right away. I listened to the audiobook but I’m going to have to get myself a hardcover copy of it now for sure!

In The Serpent and the Wolf we meet Vaasa Kozár. After losing her mother to a mysterious and deadly magic, which now has been passed on to her, she knows she is a dead woman walking. Not only is she worried about that, she also has to worry about her cruel brother who wants her dead anyway because she is a threat to his crown. Then he marries her off to a foreign ruler, Reid of Mireh. In a desperate attempt to escape, she almost kills Reid on their wedding night and flees. When he managed to find her, he proposes a bargain: help him secure votes to gain power by pretending to be madly in love, and he’ll grant her a divorce, letting her go wherever she wants. In return, he’ll share what he knows about the dark magic in her and help suppress it. Vaasa knows this is the best deal she’ll get and accepts his offer. But the more time she spends with Reid, the more she feels that the pretending isn’t actually pretending anymore. Can she learn to trust him in a world full of political machinations and a brother who wants her dead?

I don’t know where to start with this book since I loved it all so much. I really liked Vaasa as a protagonist. She went through so much in her past with her family. It wasn’t difficult to understand why she was so wary of trusting anyone, including her new husband. In the book Reid introduces Vaasa to his mother who leads a coven of witches that will help her out with her new and destructive magic. I really loved this because the women in the coven really took Vaasa in and treated her like one of their own. She even learns to control and expand the magic that she was once so scared of. I loved this for her. Now the romance… Ugh, it was so good! Reid had the most perfect golden retriever vibes while also being strong, accepting and a consent king. It started as a enemies-to-lovers which lead to allies which lead to friends and then finally lovers. It was a slow burn and the author wrote it extremely well. The sexual tension between Vaasa and Reid was thick enough to cut with a knife and when they finally admitted to their feelings… it was the chef’s kiss!

This story also had a lot of political scheming, some done by Reid and Vaasa herself. There was also a betrayal I hadn’t seen coming for myself which actually made me gasp out loud since I liked this particular character. Twists and turns were definitely abound. Another thing I loved was the magic. Especially Vaasa’s and her new coven. It was a dark magic and very originally written, in my opinion. I want to warn that the book ended with a pretty big cliffhanger that pretty much made me scream. I have no idea when the next book of this trilogy is going to be released but I need it ASAP!

The Serpent and The Wolf by Rebecca Robinson was a page-turner like no other. It was a romantasy full of political intrigue, with found family vibes and a scorching hot romance that I couldn’t get enough of. I can’t wait to see where the next book is going to take Vaasa and Reid!

About the author:

Rebecca Robinson is a writer of fantasy romance novels and the author of the Dark Inheritance Trilogy, published with Saga Press, an imprint of Simon & Schuster. She is represented by Samantha Fabien at Root Literary.

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