I stumbled upon this book while scrolling through NetGalley. I really liked the cover and that was enough. All that to say, I went in blind. I knew nothing about the story, the author, anything. I went in with no expectations, but it blew me away anyways. This authentic, thought-out, wholehearted feminism that doesn't compete with the plot. The scenery of this book was exceptional and immersive. It never slows down to a boring pace so I ripped through this book. I was only disappointed when I reached the last page and ran out of words. I can't wait to reread it.

It breaks my heart to read a book that includes both vampires & Sapphics, two things I adore, and fail to feel like I want to shower it with praise. Unfortunately, the writing style and consistent typos in this novel made it very challenging for me to get through. It's with geuine disappointment (and apologies) that I say I DNFed this one... Than you to NetGalley for the ARC!

Wow! Where do I even begin with A Ballad for Slayers & Monsters? This book is an absolute gem that deserves all the hype it has been receiving! From the stunning cover, which perfectly captures the essence of the story, to the well-crafted characters, every element comes together to create a compelling narrative.
Having first come across this book on Twitter, I was thrilled to have the opportunity to read an ARC. The story revolves around a Slayer falling for a Vampire, and it’s sapphic! What's not to love? I found myself utterly captivated and unable to put it down—each page pulled me further into this enchanting world.
The characters are deeply relatable and dynamic. Aara, their daughter, is adorable, and I can't help but root for her happiness. Claudia, a fierce cinnamon roll, has a sweet side that shines through amidst her strength and resilience. And Kas—my heart! She’s the epitome of strength and beauty, and her relationship with Claudia gave me all the feels. Their witty banter and reluctant allies-to-lovers arc is delightful and relatable.
One of the standout aspects of this book is its strong, predominantly female cast. The feminist themes are seamlessly woven throughout the narrative, making the experience refreshing without feeling preachy. Rubin's ability to infuse humor and heart into difficult subjects is commendable, and the emotional depth of the story is truly moving.
While the pacing is thrilling for most of the book, I did feel the final battle dragged a bit. There could have been a major twist that would elevate the stakes even higher, but that didn’t significantly detract from my overall enjoyment. The emotional writing during Serisa’s arc tugged at my heartstrings, although it left me wanting a bit more in terms of resolution.
In a genre often filled with clichés, A Ballad for Slayers & Monsters is revolutionary with its original all-female cast. It’s an empowering read that reminded me of the strength and resilience women possess, all while delivering a gripping adventure filled with excitement and emotional depth.
With beautifully written prose, well-developed characters, and breathtaking world-building, this book will surely stay with me for years to come. I can't wait for its release in April—I've already pre-ordered multiple copies! This book deserves a spot on everyone’s reading list—trust me, you won’t regret it.

Perfect for fantasy fans (think The Witcher with more women), with family drama and a sapphic romance twist. The worldbuilding is great fun, and Kas and Claudia are a WLW slayer/vampire enemies-to-lovers romance to root for. I would definitely read more stories set in this universe, with its Eastern European fantasy elements, a rip-roaring adventure vibe, and, dragons. Always love dragons.

A Ballad for Slayers and Monsters opens with a dark, tragic backstory for our heroine, Kas, who then devotes her life to hunting monsters. Trouble arises when she falls in with a half-vampyric, and together they must go on a quest to save the world from destruction at the hands of ancient dragons.

Content warnings: fantasy violence, including mentions of cannibalism; child and parental death; trauma/grief; moderate sexual content.

A lesbian Witcher-esque monster versus hunter is totally my vibe! And I really liked the characters, however the plot was a bit flat in parts and in ways it felt more young YA? I still enjoyed the read but felt there was more to give.

Thank you to Netgalley for the ARC of this book. Unfortunately, I found the writing to be too on the nose and stilted--I really felt like the author was trying to keep "The Witcher" vibes going, but the mix of humor and monster fighting was not working in the same way those books do so well. The dialogue just felt super cheesy and the descriptions were repetitive --I kept rolling my eyes when Kas talked, especially. I also felt like the three POV switches were not needed and didn't offer much new perspective when we did switch. There was a lot going on and not enough time to really flesh out the storyline in a way that felt meaningful because things just happened offscreen a lot.

This was great! Basically a sapphic ‘The Witcher’ meets epic fantasy with vampires, warecats, slayers and monsters a plenty plus more fantastic beasts throughout.

We meet Kas a slayer who lost her family to a set of vampires at a young age who sets to rid the world of the terror she faced. She is one tough, sword wielding, monster slayer that runs into Claudia the half human, half vampire. There are sparks almost immediately that throws both of them! They are set to stop Sersia (Claudia’s half sister, vampire half that is!) from her rampage to free a terrifying monster of the ages.

This story is a wild ride that cuts into three POV plus parts that drift back to an origin story with Sersia and what made her the monster she is.

There is a lot separate parts that really build to the budding found family that has various members of their tribe including lesbian, bi and trans representation . There is a trigger warning at the start by the author to murder, loss, violence, blood, suicide (off page) and a few spicy moments. The budding romance is not lost in the pace of the tale. At some stages I was exhausted for Kas and Claudia during some of the fight scenes.

My only criticism is that I would have liked more of the budding romance and the ending exhausted as it was a bit flat in comparison to the body of the story.

I would highly recommend as it was a very enjoyable read and come out of the 15th April 2025. Thank you for the opportunity to be part of the ARC team to read this prior to release via NetGalley, the publisher and the author.

The plot of this book didn't really feel like it was going anywhere. The relationships felt either rushed or they just didn't have chemistry. The writing also felt very choppy at times with pretty bad pacing.

I really enjoyed A Ballad for Slayers and Monsters!
I liked the characters, the LGBTQ+ rep, the world building and the character relationships.
Personally, Kas’ development is my favourite. I think out of the main characters she changes the most in terms of adapting her world view based on what she sees and experiences. I love the different kids of monsters!
I did not enjoy how quickly the villain changed right at the end. It didn’t feel particularly natural or realistic to the character. I would love to see Kas and Claudia on their new travels and what happens with them!
A Ballad for Slayers and Monsters is a fun, action packed, enemies to lovers, found family, badass women fuelled read!

Honestly I don't have much to say. It's Vi Arcane in the Witcher with unoriginal fantasy ideas. The issue with most romantasy is that they all have boring uninspired fantasy setting so they need to compensate with good romance and romance writing but most can't even do that. Nothing made the characters stand out. They're basic, I have seen this story before with nothing to spice up the clichés. I am not even happy that lesnians are also getting low quality romantasy like the straights because we can barely get good ones.

This book was fun to read but I felt the plot was lacking. It should take place over a few months but almost none of that was shown. Because of that, all the relationships between characters seemed rushed and/or flat. Neither really had any attraction to each other until other than physically; and only after Claudia bites Kas on the ship. They don't have a moment of reflection on how they like non-physical aspects of the other.
There were also some plot holes. The main one I have issues with is how Serisa knew where the Slayers keep is. The Slayers keep has been there for hundreds or thousands of years and no vampyre/ or other monsters have gone in and killed the slayers? How does that make sense? Was there a reason this hasn't happened yet? Kas describes it as a place where not a lot of Slayers are there at one time so maybe that's why, but it still doesn't have sense. The fighting/ action scenes were really fun. This is one of the books you read you read for vibes not to read something life changing; or if your in a reading slump and need a quick read.

When I started reading this book, I was expecting a very different story and for the first 20% I even thought I would not like this book very much. Fortunately, this changed and I enjoyed the plots, spins and POVs more and more.
Were the side characters more fleshed out and the final plot twist a bit more detailed, I would have landed on 4 stars, so its 3,5 for me.

4.5 stars!!
Thank you to Rita Ruben and Netgalley for the ARC!!
Wow this was honestly such a breath of fresh air for me
I loved the story and plot for this book so much, it felt like I was embarking on the adventure with them and the banter and conversations between all of the characters felt so natural!
Kas and Claudia have my heart, like I love the lesbians so much
There was a lot of rep in this book!! I loved Aara’s trans rep, got a lot of lesbian relationships and different character traits and looks
I felt like this was just a super fun ride and I loved it the whole time
The pacing was also pretty good, it had plenty of action while also having lots of downtime for character development and exploring their world which I loved, all the traveling they did felt fun
Not to mention how Kas and Claudia had a pretty good enemies to lovers relationship, it worked out super well
The only thing I would change is for it to be longer :D

This is a great book for fans of fast paced monster/hunter dynamics with a multi-POV focus. For readers looking for something akin to The Witcher with classic fantasy lingo and settings that will leave those hoping for a darker, stormier, grungier slayer-book satisfied.

Review 2.5 ⭐️/3 ⭐️

I was super excited to read this book as the cover was stunning and the premise of the book sounded super interesting. A sapphic Witcher themed story of a monster hunter and half monster teaming up together to destroy a dragon remnant and stop them returning to the world, travelling together and battling other monsters and meeting new friends whilst also falling for each other along the way.

Unfortunately I think the writing was a little choppy and almost child like in places, even with the violence and adult themes. The sentence were all very matter of fact and didn’t really allow the reader to interpret things for themselves. Although the plot was a very linear course (meet, travel together, finish the quest) it seemed that during the travel, the relationship between the two main characters seemed to develop very suddenly when they were natural enemies and wanted to kill each other from the get go.

Overall I think that the book was very promising but seemed to have fallen flat slightly, it was still a very enjoyable read and I wouldn’t mind seeing what else the author creates in the future.

Thank you to Victory Editing NetGalley Co-Op for the ARC!

I really loved the queer representation in this book! The premise of the book was interesting and I enjoyed reading from the three main character's POVs. However, the writing took so much away from the book. The pacing wasn't good and the writing and sentence structure was choppy. At times the dialogue also fell flat. The story could be predictable at times, and the way the author was over explaining everything and not letting the reader interpret things for themselves was tiring. I did not get very invested in the characters and their development as well, which was disappointing because I feel like more could have been done with this book.

A Ballad for Slayers & Monsters is a fun, action-packed sapphic fantasy with a compelling enemies-to-lovers romance. I loved the queer representation but the pacing felt uneven, and I wished for more depth in the characters and their relationships. The writing also felt a bit fragmented at times. Still, it’s an enjoyable read for fans of sapphic fantasy and romance!

Vampires and dragons oh my !
This sapphire take on Vampire Slayers I loved!
It was amazing.
I loved the characters so much.
It was really sad and dark but a lovely sapphire romance .
I'd definitely read more of this wonderful author.

I was immediately captivated with this novel from the very beginning. What a way to kick this story off! 'A Ballad for Slayers and Monsters' is such a fierce and beautiful story, and I loved every second!

Full of magical lore, and action-packed epic fights and battles with monstrous creatures, we follow our two main characters on a quest to protect their world from ruination. Kas of Veldenier - a menacing monster hunter - and her begrudging companion Claudia the vampyric were brilliant characters, with lots of background to their pasts, and great character arcs as the story progressed!

This novel was a heartfelt sapphic tale of enemies to lovers; a romance that felt forbidden in its nature. Their conflicting desires for each other battled against their growing bond as they traversed together alongside their animal companions. A vampyric and a Slayer could never be, Claudia is a heartless monster, after all. And yet the connection they formed was so intimate and beautiful to read! They were truly prepared to burn for the other.

This book was a thrilling adventure, and I ate up every page! It felt inspired by the 'The Witcher', as well as having incredible DnD vibes!

Thank you so much NetGalley and the publisher for giving me the chance to read and review this! I had an amazing time!

*I received this book as an Advanced Readers Copy (ARC) for free in exchange for an honest review*

Thank you NetGalley and Rita A. Rubin for this ARC!

If I could, I would give this book a 4.5/5 rating.

The story has a strong opening, showing us how Kas came to be a Slayer, and from the start I was captivated by how well the action scenes were executed. It was easy for me to follow what was happening and I never felt lost. However, I wish there were more quieter scenes in between all the action. Kas and Claudia's relationship developed quite quickly and I was left wishing to see more down time where we could see them connect.

The chapter structure took a bit to get used to, but once I did I enjoyed getting different perspectives from Kas, Claudia and Serisa. The only downside is how awfully short some of the chapters came out to be, not giving me enough time to connect with what's going on from one perspective before jumping to another.

Despite these issues I had, I still thoroughly enjoyed this book. The queer characters are written wonderfully. The enemies-to-lovers and slayer/vampire romance was wonderful and in the end, I wish the book was longer so I could spend more time with the characters!