Thank you Netgalley, author, and BooksGoSocial for the ARC of this book.

With a lot of buzz going around in Instagram about this book, I set myself up for a nice, weekend read about how a witch--or how Bailey coined it: Cerise--would inevitably take revenge for her dead family... While also adding in some of the elements from the very famous The Selection series. I now realize it must have been the love triangle and nothing more.

First, my greatest pet peeve in romantasy books that I discovered years ago while reading From Blood And Ash: using modern terms in an otherwise medieval setting. I'm really having a hard time imagining "mindfuck" is a word coined in a time when there is no electricity and people killed women for being witches. That, and "bills" (in the context of paying one's bills like electricity, water, heater, whatever). Did people in the medieval era have a corrupt government and ridiculously high cost of living too? Must have been because of a certain pandemic. Needless to say it took me out SO MUCH when I was reading.

Second, the FMC. I liked her so much until I didn't. Khiara advocated for women and their rights. She's a no-nonsense kinda gal that would stab you if you breathed wrong in her direction.

She also had a traumatic experience (I could only assume the R word, but I won't ever find out now) that made her so aversed to touch and intimacy, particularly a man's penis, and coitus. As quoted from the book:

"I don’t like when men look at me because looking leads to touching and touching leads to sex, and that will never happen. I’ve experienced one penis in my life. One horribly crooked, purple-veined monster that was disgusting enough to make me never want a thing like that near me again."

Understandable. As someone who had experienced SA in her early years of existing, I'm finally finding something we have in common... Until the contradictions happened.

Khiara DOES NOT like being stared or looked at by the opposite sex. Even if it's her self-proclaimed best friend, Ezra. Quoted from the book again:

"Ezra's dark gaze sweeps over my body approvingly and lingers on my exposed legs longer than any of my other assets. His hungry eyes make my skin crawl. I have to resist the urge to hug myself because that look, the one that says I'm a prize no other can have , reminds me of Graves."

There are similar things she has told us as well, such as feeling sick when being touched, shying away from romance and love because she's meant to die (or she assumes there is a risk) during her revenge.

But then she gives us THIS.

"I swivel, purposefully pressing my ass into Ezra’s lap, and shift to where he is the sole object of my attention. I drape one arm around him, mimicking what I saw Sage do with Harrison earlier, and play with the little black curls at his collar."

Whatever happened to feeling sick? Nevermind that she had to pretend to like and pet him, or else her cover is blown, because 2 paragraphs later she becomes "too feisty" by talking back to them and blows her cover anyway. No, she did this because she is "angry":

"I cross my legs at the knees , left over the right, so that my skirt exposes the freckles of my thigh while concealing the dagger and strap I am hiding. I should stop here and not tease Ezra with what he’ll never have, but I’m angry , and I want him to feel my frustration."

I got whiplash. Who are you, Khiara? What do you really stand for?

And did I mention right before this happened, she met a scarred and handsome man in the woods? She didn't even cringe when he touched or flirted with her because, well, according to our FMC, he's "HAWWWWT 🥴":

"I turn too quickly and step on the hem of my cloak. Embarrassment has my cheeks flushing red as I realize I’m going to fall, but before I can kiss the ground, a strong hand steadies me and pulls me close. “Are you alright?”the man asks, his breath a warm whisper on my skin. My heart flutters and an annoying heat paints my face a new shade of red. I don’t know what’s happening or why I feel this way. I want this man to touch me. Anywhere. Everywhere. Which is the opposite of how I usually react to someone being this close. “Yeah, thanks.”"

GOOD GOD. I can't help but feel like she's belittling her traumatic experience. Like she's some kind of liar, or the author just put it there for ✨ a dark past ✨ trope.

At this point, I stopped taking the story seriously until around the 50th page? Then I DNF'ed. I just couldn't stand another moment with her. And if she's going to be with me for the next 240 pages, I'd rather stare at the clock for the duration of my read.

The Cerise is a book that really reminds me of The Selection, as the description said. I didn't expect it to go that way at first, since the FMC is on a mission. To kill the man that destroyed her family and took everything for her (btw, you may want to check the TWs).

While the book is fast paced, I didn't feel like the characters were plain. Instead she has an interesting past that was heavy influenced by her mother (and I hope we get more about that), complex relationships (and while she's a loyal friend, we get a love triangle) and all in all, she's a badass Cerise, which is some sort of witch.

I still have many questions left unanswered, but the next book is the perfect opportunity to get some answers, and while they are shrouded in mystery, it feels very intentional.

Maybe I’ve just oversaturated myself with romantasy lately?

I didn’t realise that this would end in an odd love triangle-esque romance, that’s on me. I wish we’d leave this trope in the 2000’s ya dystopian phase.

Overall this was a little slow paced and left me a little disappointed. Khiara was just not as badass as described? An assassin who doesn’t really assassinate? I prefer to be shown rather than just told.

I... am not sure. My feelings about this book are complicated. I like it, in some moments, but I hated and skipped about probably no less then 20% of the book. I think I also know in which direction this series is headed and even though I wasn't enamored by it, I will probably continue reading the next books.

Omg wow!! Ok I was skeptical about this in the first quarter of the book but, it really finds it's footing! The world building is really interesting and the political aspects add a lot of complexity to the plot and romance. I really enjoyed the magic portion and how it was explained like a web that Khiara controls at will. Riot was %100 my favorite character. I love a good grumpy soldier! I think what I didn't enjoy was how indecisive Khiara was. The whole first third of the book her emotions and intentions changed so often I couldn't keep track. This pretty much stabilized after like page 70 but it made the book hard to get into. I will be reading more after that sick ending!

I can't quite wrap my feelings around this book. Did I enjoy it? Yes. Was I invested in the story and the world? Yes. Did I like the MC? No, I don't think I did. Did I expect a love triangle? Nope, not at all.

Ok, to be fair, it wasn't really a love triangle, but it also was at the same time, and I really don't enjoy them personally. The MC's constant contrasting thoughts left me boggled and gave me whip lash with how quickly she says one thing, then goes and does another thing or feels another thing. I definitely feel like this first book would be better without the spell (no spoilers here) and would have made the MC more enjoyable to read and without the warring thoughts and actions. I even believe that even if the spell was included that it could have been dealt with early on and wouldn't have become the main focus. However, if my suspicions are correct for how the love triangle is going to go and play out in future books, I understand why it's there and played out this way, but personally, I'm not sure how much I'm going to: a, be shocked by its predictability (obviously); and b, find it a suitable motivation for the paths it could lead certain people down. Either way, I'll have to continue reading the series once the next books come out to see if I'm correct and where the "love triangle" is heading.

I loved the world that was created in this book and the underlying secrets and history that were teased and waiting to be discovered in the next book/s. At times it did feel a little jumpy, but I boil that down to the MC's voice for this. When I think back on the book, not a lot actually happened plot wise, but it was great as a lead up and a warmer to get into the series and the intricate world that has been created. I do wonder what the time period is that this book is centered around, because they've got light switches, but also have carriages? I know it's fantasy and can technically be both modern and olden technology, but it's not very present so little things like this stick out as a curiosity.

Despite my issues with the MC and the "love triangle", I really enjoyed the book and wanted to keep reading to find out more about the world, about her powers, the history and the rest of the plot points that were introduced.

If you're a fan of love triangles, I definitely recommend this book, as personal preferences will make it a more enjoyable read on top of the great story and world building.

Thanks to the author, publisher, and NetGalley for giving me access to this ARC.

I was originally drawn in to the story because I the synopsis sounded like something I would like. I’m a huge fan of romantasy books. It had a lot of my favorite tropes! I liked the characters a lot and can’t wait to see if there’s a second book.

This story was so beautifully written! I loved the plot and the character development. Can’t wait to read more from this author!

Thank you for NetGalley and Rebellion Publishing for providing this Arc in exchange for an honest review.

I chose this book because the synopsis sounded like something I would really enjoy and while there were parts of it that had potential there were some other things that made this story a bit cringe.

The focus that the main female character had red hair. I get that is what makes her special. But how many times does it need to be mentioned. Why do al the fantasy girlies need to be red heads. I think being brunette is more rare in fantasy worlds than any other colour.

The love interest were just obnoxious. She first proclaimed to have trauma with touch and love because of a rape. And then one of the love interest kisses her without consent because she had a panic attack? In what world do we do that?

For me the writing at times felt quite simple and young while at other times the story really tried to be a new adult story by adding spice to it.

It is fast paced which makes it a very easy read you could probably get through in just a couple hours and I think for this story that works for the best. If the story would have dragged on without anything happening I would have dnd’ed but because of the pace I was able to finish it.

In the end it was fine, it was not a book I would rave about and recommend to everybody. But if you like simple romantasy books and want something short and sweet, give this a try.

Slowburn in both romance and plot, but well executed. Enjoyed this more than I originally thought. If you’re a fan of ACOTAR (mainly in writing style) then I think you’d really like this. I think the highlight of the book for me is the plot. I love a good ‘on the run’ type story. The immediate danger of being a witch in a world where magic is forbidden definitely sets the scene for the rest of the book to follow. This combined with the story being a rescue mission makes for a really compelling story. (Though the book is kind of marketed as the main character being this assassin out for a revenge killing and that begins and ends at the very beginning of the book which is a bit of a let down, but the rest of the plot kind of makes up for it.)

The author also does an incredible job giving you characters that you can root for, especially Khiara. I think the author developed a strong female main character that is not a typical archetype for fantasy books. Where this book does fall into typical stereotypes is with the love triangle. I think there is a definite favorite (or at least you can tell who the author favors) from the get. I don’t really think the love triangle is compelling enough for me to be torn between the two options. I mean I love a good enemies to lovers just wish that was a bit fleshed out some more. And I wish it was a bit harder for me to choose between the two love options but maybe that’s just me.

I will say that the beginning of the book is a bit hard to get into and I think there are definitely points along the story where you get confused as to what’s going on and where they are (geographically), but I think overall the plot was interesting, the characters were fun and the magic was compelling enough to keep me entertained. Interested to see how the next book unfolds.

The description for this book intrigued me, but unfortunately I disliked it. I found it poorly-written and mediocre.

First of all, you could hear the gears grinding something awful. It felt like the author had a checklist of “fantasy book necessities” and was just going down the list. Introduce overarching plot, check. Introduce subplot, check.. Introduce love triangle, check. The flow of the story was overshadowed by the mechanism of the story itself.

Second of all, the plot was all over the place. It introduced so many plot elements and then just never developed any of them, I suppose leaving them for future books but really just muddying the waters. I felt like this book was one big unskippable cut scene where I had to watch a play-through of a side quest that I didn’t really care about. There were so many little plot holes, and some really big ones, like right at the beginning we’re told that having red hair, being a Cerise, is deadly. This is the whole reason her family and village were slaughtered. She’s so paranoid about her hair giving her away, but literally nobody cares. She goes right into the castle nobody bats an eye.

Third of all, the characters were shallow puppets of the plot. There was no character growth and no reason for any of the characters to do what they did except that the plot demanded it of them. We are often told things about the characters rather than shown. For example, Ezra is supposedly Khiara’s best friend, but we see them interact one time before he starts going insane and never really get to know him or understand why she wants to rescue him so badly. Or, when Riot falls in love with her, it’s so sudden, out of the blue, because they’ve interacted twice and there’s no hint from that as to his feelings.

Speaking of Riot the smut in this book was cringey and made me laugh. That’s all I have to say about that.

Overall, this was an interesting idea poorly executed. Would not read again, will not continue the series. Two stars.

Love triangle, power struggles, and a complex FMC. This book caught me by surprise and I'm glad I stuck with it. There's a great blend of magic and romance, but not overly graphic. Looking forward to the next book in the series, because WHOA I wasn't expecting it to end like that.

Warning, this book has rape in it. Overall I found the beginning of the book really confusing and wasn't sure what direction or how things happened. The ending has a cliff hanger. Overall an interesting book but lacking of details in the beginning which could be. confusing.

Unfortunately, this wasn’t for me.

The synopsis sounded very promising and exciting but the overall execution didn’t live up to those expectations, personally.


Plot:

I like that we didn’t get the answers to the whole story all at once, but a lot of the key puzzle pieces were missing here which ended up leaving a lot of gaps and question marks in the plot.

The story could’ve harboured more unique aspects, though this wasn’t much of an issue for me as I like revisiting similar fantasy plots. However, the plot read in a very contemporary way at times (‘hype’, ‘landfill’ etc) which was distracting from the setting itself.

The Culling was not as gripping as I’d hoped. It would’ve been nice for the MC to engage a bit more with it, which would then allow the relationship between the MC and the love interests to build up more evenly.


Characters:

I really wish the FMC from the synopsis and the intro chapter was the FMC that we got throughout the book. Khiara is described as an assassin but we’ve not actually seen this side of her at all in the book - she carries a knife but never uses it.

The love interests were not particularly likeable - I thought they forced a lot of affection onto the FMC (always kissing her cheek, her hands etc) which didn’t feel natural/convincing. The ‘dammit woman’ comments also were quite icky.

I liked Aisha and the scene in which she appeared, and I wish this part bore more significance.


Magic system / world building:

I feel as though clearly defining the main character’s abilities from the beginning would’ve avoided confusion and a lack of immersion into the plot for the readers. E.g there were inconsistencies regarding the consequences of The Cerise having red hair - at the beginning, the MC hides the colour of the hair because it’s dangerous to be seen with it and then in the next few chapters it starts to not matter anymore.
Things that are labelled as threats to the MC end up not having very much weight later on.

There were mentions of the forbidden forest peppered through but this was never explored in detail, despite there being an emphasis on it. I would’ve loved to see more of this, perhaps by marking it with an important scene, memory or character interaction.

The distance travelled between the different locations is a bit inconsistent - for example, the distance between where Ezra is held and the castle, and the journey from the West to Central Arcane.


Spice:

I didn’t expect the bit of spice that we got at the end which really threw me off. The build up between the love triangle felt rushed towards the end. The spice didn’t add to the plot and the reading experience would’ve been better without it. More importantly, I thought the explicit scenes were not appropriate/didnt coincide with the MC’s trauma that she experienced.

A quote I liked:
“I was born from fire and will never again die by its hand”

This was a quick read for me. I wanted to sit down and get it all done in one sitting but that unfortunately didn’t happen. However, when I did get to sit down and read, I was pulled in and engaged the whole time. The plot of the book was overall good and kept you wanting more.
Khaira is a Cerise and her kind is normally killed. People fear her type and do not want them around. Khaira is out for revenge for her family and isn’t going to stop at anything until it’s taken care of.
We are then introduced to two guys who catch Khaira’s attention. Bash is a charming guy who instantly clicked with Khaira but man does she get him wrapped around her finger and quick.
Then there is Riot who instantly won my vote. He was the perfect guy, witty, protective, sweet and had the looks. He was so protective over Khaira the whole time and didn’t want anything to happen to her!
The book left off on a cliffhanger which I hate but it just makes me want to read the next book that much more. The book was well written and kept you engaged for not only the plot but also the love triangle going on!

Thank you, NetGalley, for giving me the chance to read this book and give my honest review! Thank you, Bailey Black, for writing a book that kept me engaging and wanting more! I can’t wait to read your next book and more from you!

The Cerise

Thank you NetGalley and Bailey B for the e-ARC of this book for a review, this is a 100% honest review! There will be spoilers below so please do not continue if you do not want the book spoiled.

The Plot
Overall this book had a great concept, but was executed with too little detail. Part of what makes romantasy so gripping is the backstory, how an author pulls readers in to care deeply about their characters and their relationships and this fell flat for me.

I loved how noble, independent and perceptive Khiara was, she, at every point, seemed to be half a step ahead and I appreciated that we weren’t dealing with a damsel. However, her storyline of being an assassin was mentioned a couple of times but never really drawn into, it would have been interesting and pulled depth into the character if we had a bit more information into her past actions.

The culling is an interesting concept and I enjoyed the drama of the day of but give me more information on it! Why was it happening this year? How were each of the girls picked? Has it ever been done before? Loved that Bash was the prince, it definitely surprised me in a good way!

The Relationships
I understood her wanting to save a friend, (Ezra) but I didn’t care about him at all, we had two interactions with him, one where he was pining after her and she wasn’t letting him down gently and the other where he was under a spell. I didn’t particularly care about their relationship or if he was saved.

I liked how complicated her relationship was with her Uncle, I felt like it was a good representation of how complicated family can be. She very clearly was upset with him but still wanted to do what she could to protect him and their family home.

The Romance
I loved Riot, I loved that she ‘picked’ him, however they jumped into bed SO unexpectedly that it made my head spin, I would have loved more angst, more pining, but I’m a massive fan of slow burn so that’s just preference. 🙂
The immediate puppy dog love from the prince was confusing too, I never really understood where that came from right away. However I feel like that might be explained in the next book and that he might be using her for some nefarious plot and wanted to gain her favor quickly with flattery.

Overall, I really liked the book and I”m excited for the second one, the cliffhanger, amazing! I would have just loved to have more detail written on the relationships Khiara had!
Also loved the line “They say a lot of things to keep the women in this kingdom obedient. All of it is bullshit”. You tell ‘em.
3.5 stars :)

Ok first off, the cliff hanger has me hungry for the second book! I loved everything about this book! From the characters to the witchy vibes! I couldn't put it down! The Cerise was an unexpected 5 star read!

Forbidden powers, hidden societies, mortal enemies, multiple love interests, what's not to love?

Khiara is special. She has secret forbidden powers, & beautiful red hair. The men in her life can sense that she is special, & it seems everyone wants in on her magic. Two of the four main men in her life try to take from her forcefully, and one succeeds -leaving her on deaths door, but her magic saves her. Her focus from then on out is revenge... until her best friend decides he is no longer happy being a friend & tries to force her hand. Along the way, she meets a stranger, and his guard, who become allies and additional love interests to complicate things. All the while she still needs to exact her revenge & save her friend.
It seems "men want what they can't have, and a Cerise is the ultimate guilty pleasure."

I really enjoyed this story and will read any sequels - especially considering that cliffhanger ending!

Thank you netgalley for an e-ARC in exchange for an honest review.

I was really captivated by this book from what I saw in the synopsis, but unfortunately was left disappointed.

I will say, the premise of the book was really well thought out, I just wish it could have been executed better. I believe this will be a series but even with that some things just felt incomplete and forgotten about. Key elements were about main characters were hard to understand. I just found myself being more confused while reading and I just wish these elements were easily to understand.

Overall, this novel was not bad, the idea was really good and the story had potential to be told in a captivating way.

As an ARC reader through NetGalley, I delved into this book with high hopes, being an avid fan of fantasy novels. However, despite its promising premise, the story felt all too familiar, as if I've traversed similar plots numerous times before. One of the main drawbacks was the scattered narrative, with significant jumps that left me grasping for details that were never fully provided.

A glaring issue was the lack of clarity surrounding the main character's powers. It took me far too long to piece together their abilities, which hindered my immersion in the story. A more thorough explanation early on would have greatly enhanced the coherence of the plot.

Moreover, the portrayal of the love triangle felt forced and unconvincing. I was particularly unsettled by the romantic encounters involving the protagonist, especially considering her past trauma. The lack of agency she had in these moments, particularly in the wake of her traumatic experiences, was deeply unsettling.

While the book maintained a PG13 rating for the most part, the sudden shift in tone and content towards the end was jarring. The introduction of explicit scenes felt out of place within the overall narrative, disrupting the established atmosphere and detracting from the story's appeal.

In conclusion, this book offered an easy read but fell short in several crucial aspects. With a more cohesive plot, clearer exposition of supernatural elements, and a more sensitive approach to sensitive topics such as trauma and consent, it could have fulfilled its potential as a captivating fantasy novel.

Rating: 2.5⭐️