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!

I really enjoyed this book. It was a quick read that reminded me of the first season of the Witcher and the Stardust movie. This is definitely not a book that someone would look for if they are used to Sanderson-style high fantasy, but it was light, fun, and an enjoyable read while I was snowed in for an afternoon. This book straddles the line between YA and adult, making for an easy read with some more adult themes.
The plot-to-romance ratio was really well executed, and I liked the way that the relationship between Kas and Claudia developed over time. The author also did a really good job at demonstrating character's power in a way that made sense in the story and didn't come off as ridiculously OP and unbelievable. The action scenes were incredibly written- especially when describing fighting with different techniques and weapons.
While I did very much enjoy this book, I think it would have been better as a 2 book series. There were some issues where "big" fight scenes (especially the last) were resolved very quickly, and there were large time jumps that were fairly confusing. I agree with other reviews that claimed that the worldbuilding or certain scenes weren't covered in depth enough - something that I think would be covered better in other books.
Overall, this was a nice little escapist book to read in an afternoon. It was cozy, fun, and sprinkled with just the right amount of action.

Thank you NetGalley for the arc!

I think this book was a good cozy read. I definitely agree with some of the other reviewers that it was lacking depth. I don’t think this book will have you on the edge of your seat waiting to see what happens next, but I do think it’s a fun read if you’re cool with just being along for the ride.

Personally, I was pleasantly surprised by the action scenes. I often find that action scenes feel a bit cluttered, or hard to keep up with, but the fight scenes in this book were easy to follow. I do wish there was a little more action in this book, or at least more tension. The stakes are set pretty high (the potential return of world ending dragons) but the focus of this book is mostly on the relationship between Claudia and Kas.

If you’re someone who likes cozy fantasy, I think you would enjoy this.

The premise of this book excited me, but when I actually got to reading it, it was hard to get through.
The writing felt flat and took away from what the plot could have been. It also lacked the proper world and character building for me to really form any big connections with the characters, and there was so little focus on romance that I didn't feel connected to their relationship either.
I would have liked more exploration into the main characters relationship with each other, and how their pasts influence their decisions.

Thank you to NetGalley for the ARC, but I'm sorry, I couldn't finish this one. I grant it two stars because there was nothing that angered me while reading - I love the premise and the general character design, but goodness, the writing and dialogue was so stilted. Here's an interaction that made me want to put the book down:

"Hmph," Ves snorted. "Even we can't travel as far and fast as a trastere stone."
"You're right about that. Well, Ves, I don't suppose you have a trastere stone of your own hidden somewhere on your immense person?" she asked the other vampire.

I made it through a quarter of the book, and it sadly did not get any better. There was nothing especially compelling about the world, story, or characters. It makes me sad, I really really wanted to like this one.

I really hoped I would love this but to be completely honest I really struggled to get through it.

Transparently, it’s not my usual taste in books and I’m sure that has a significant influence on my opinions, so do keep that in mind. I generally reach more for fantasy books where romance plays a very minor role (if present at all), but I actually found myself wishing that there was MORE focus on the romance. It felt like a strange point in limbo between being plot focussed vs romance focussed in a way where I simply could not quite get invested in either. I get the vibe that the author’s specialty is cozy fantasy romance with less significant plot and I kind of wish they had leaned more into that.

If you’re into cozy fantasy and a fan of caitvi vampire fanfic you will probably really love this a lot more than I did (and I hope that you do)! There will never be enough sapphic vampires in the world.

Let me preface this by saying thank you so much for the ARC!

Here is my honest review:
I did begrudgingly finish this book. It is a poorly edited work that was not ready for publication. There are too many grammatical mistakes and inexcusable typos. Fixing these issues would have made this a solid 2-star book. It might even be three stars if it were transformed into a YA novel. The writing was too simplistic for adults, and I did not appreciate being told and not shown. It felt lazy and it made me feel lazy reading it. Simply removing the sex scenes and softening some of the violence would turn it into a YA or even middle grade novel.

The premise was promising with plenty of opportunities for character development. As it is, I did not feel invested in any of the characters. Once I learned of their history, it was too far into the story for any empathy to development.

This reads like an outline to a book with strong potential.

'A Ballad of Slayers and Monsters' is an action-packed sapphic take on the Witcher, complete with plenty of strong women, monsters to slay, a host of companions and animals to follow along the adventure. Unfortunately, as strong as the premise of the book is, the execution fell short of expectations.

Kas is a Slayer, driven by a need for revenge against the Vampyrics who killed her family in front of her. However, when she encounters Claudia, a half-vampyrics in possession of a relic capable of ending the world, it quickly becomes clear that that there is safety in sticking together. Especially when Claudia’s vampyric half-sister is on their trail and desperate to reclaim the relic and free the dragons it keeps locked away. As Kas and Claudia keep on the move, they find themselves embroiled with new companions, a variety of intimidating monsters, and no shortage of danger. At the same time, they find themselves drawn to the other despite their natural enmity.

This book had all the set-up to be something I really enjoy. I am always looking for action-packed sapphic stories, especially when said story comes with a motley mix of found family and a few fun companion animals. Unfortunately, the execution of this book often lacked the weight that would give this story any meaning. The book is very focused on action first, with character development often falling to the wayside. A lot of the story revolves around a long journey, but the reader just jumps between action scenes without ever seeing the quieter moments in the middle. Relationships can be built in the heat of battle, but without establishing what is ‘normal’ in the weeks between written scenes, it is impossible to tell what about a scene or encounter is special. For example, at one point a character is shocked that another is willing to speak of their past, alluding to them always being too closed off to share details about themselves. However, because the book only shows the points of high action and high emotions when they don’t know if they’ll make it through, that character actually shared an awful lot in all the scenes the reader has seen. A lot of the book is like this: characterization often happens off-page. This is especially clear for the companions: the book is so fast-paced that what time it has to make the character relationships meaningful is almost solely devoted to the main pair. For example, the book expects the reader to be deeply attached to a companion animal that has been present throughout the story but, as the reader rarely sees the animal interact with the people in any particular or interesting way, it is hard to feel connection to it.

I also felt that the writing style detracted from the book. The sentence structure is often awkward, with incomplete sentences being a major writing device. However, the use of choppy, incomplete sentences was not used to add to the tension of a harrowing scene, to depict an incomplete perception of an event, or in any other way that would have contributed to the feeling of reading the book. Instead, they were mostly random and often felt jarring to read. When a character is recalling an event from earlier in the book, the reader is not trusted to remember the event or put pieces together; instead, the character’s every thought is spelled out in a way that loses subtlety and comes across as awkward. Also, major events in the book are given little weight. There are multiple times where a chapter ends with a moment where a character should, for all intents and purposes, have died from their injury; however, the very first line of the next chapter assures you that everything is completely fine and there was never anything to worry about in the first place. It causes the big moments to lose a lot of their impact as it becomes clear that the characters are not facing any major risks. Finally, this book often chooses to tell rather than show.

I am giving this book 2.5 stars, rounded up to 3. I think there’s an interesting plot amid the distracting writing style and poor characterization. This is the kind of fantasy book that I could see appealing to readers who enjoy an action-focused story. Also, as a queer woman, I have a great appreciation for someone seeing parts of popular fantasy archetypes that feel very influenced by the male gaze and flip it around. More books should have a bunch of badass ladies running around, kicking butt, and being hit on by the local ladies.

This was a fun premise and it was so refreshing reading a fantasy so sapphic and centered around women!

Unfortunately, it felt lacking in depth to me and I wish I could’ve felt more invested in the plot or characters

Thank you to NetGalley, Rita A. Rubin, and Victory Editing NetGalley Co-op for allowing me access to the e-arc.

4.5 stars

Overall, I enjoyed this book. It was a cozy fantasy romance with many slaying monsters and fighting scenes. I will say the feeling of this book reminded me of the way Godkiller felt. I liked the plot of this book but the characters made me love it. Kas is a monster slayer who was traumatized by an attack on her family by vampires. Claudia is half vampire half human. She is an outcast on both sides. They end up having to work together to protect humanity. I would have liked to see Kas learn to slay monsters. I also wish the ending wasn't rushed. I wouldn't have minded spending more time with the characters.

✨Sapphic
✨Trans Rep
✨All Female Cast of Characters
✨Sibling rivalry

TW: Grief, gore, and transphobia

I would highly recommend it!

“A Ballad for Slayers & Monsters” by Rita A. Rubin is a sapphic fantasy novel, featuring the main characters of Kas, a monster slayer, and Claudia, a half “vampyric” monster. The two form an unlikely alliance to stop, Serisa, a full vampyric from using a relic to reawaken dragons and doom humanity.

Between fierce battles, the heart of the story is a lovely romance between two sworn enemies. Both carrying the baggage of traumatic pasts, they reluctantly team up and realize, along the way, that they have more in common than they once thought.

The novel has a good premise, especially with a classic enemies-to-lovers trope, and has an interesting world full of monsters. However, the way so many magical creatures were included felt like going through bullet points or a list of monsters. I also assumed (my fault) that the book is YA, but the slaying and battle scenes can get quite violent. So, if you, like me, assumed the age range based on the cover, just know this book does include fairly explicit scenes of violence and sex.

The book includes multiple perspectives from characters including Kas, Claudia, and Serisa. I enjoy reading multiple perspectives but the switches in this book were often sudden and short-lived and slightly overlapped each other. I found that switching so often took me out of the story a bit, especially when reading the same dialogue as the previous page.

Although I had some issues with the pacing and wished some things were given more time to flesh out, I enjoyed the book. I think “A Ballad for Slayers & Monsters” is a super fun fantasy and romance novel with lots of action scenes too. I love the inclusion of queer characters and I am a fan of the star-crossed lovers, enemies-to-lovers, vibes. I think the book feels a bit like a dnd campaign, so if these vibes are for you, I definitely recommend reading!

I truly enjoyed this book. While I have some minor complaints, I was completely engaged in the story from start to finish. The pacing is perfect for 90% of the book—it maintains a break-neck speed and hits all the high notes! There’s never a dull moment.

I also have to praise the strong, predominantly female cast, which makes the feminist themes feel naturally integrated rather than forced or dumbed down. It felt refreshing without being heavy-handed, which is ALWAYS a pet peeve of mine in such books.

That said, while I wouldn’t call the plot predictable, I do feel the book lacks a major plot twist or a gasp-worthy reveal. The final battle felt like it dragged on, which was disappointing because the pacing had been so tight until that point. I was also a bit disappointed [MAJOR SPOILERS, Part IV-ch. 7/89%] || <spoiler>by the resolution of Serisa’s arc. She’s on the verge of achieving her goals/winning the big battle, but suddenly crumbles because of the necklace McGuffin? That felt anticlimactic. While her ending is emotional and beautifully written, the way she gets there broke my suspension of disbelief to be honest.</spoiler> ||

Part IV is really my only complaint, though, in what was otherwise a truly amazing book. I felt like I went on a real adventure with these characters, and it’s a story I’ll remember fondly for many years to come!

3,75⭐️

A Ballad for Slayers & Monsters by Rita A. Rubin is a fast-paced fantasy romance.

I was drawn in from the beginning by the cover and the premise; The Witcher but make it sapphic and with vampires? Say less.

I was very taken with the story so I consider this novel a pretty enjoyable read overall.
Nonetheless, I would’ve liked to see a deeper exploration of the characters and perhaps of the romance between the two protagonists.

While I wasn’t particularly fond of the ending, I would still recommend this book to any fantasy lovers, especially those who love a pretty much all-female cast of characters.

Thank you to the author, the publisher and NetGalley for the ARC.

no one is more sad than i to say i will be dnf’ing this one for now :(

i must say i was immediately drawn in by the cover (which i unabashedly related to vi and caitlyn from arcane- sue me!) but i just was notttt connecting with the characters or their motives and that was a big turn off. that is not to say this is a bad book and i would still 100% recommend for those looking for a solid queer fantasy, i will simply just have to sit this one out!

This was really good, the witcher but for the girls and the gay. The first chapter immediately pulls you in, it was so gruesome. I liked the romance even tho it went from 0 to 100.

I picked this up for the premise, which sounded promising. There was a lot of potential with this book, but unfortunately I found the execution very poor. I won’t get into everything for the sake of brevity, but I will mention my two biggest gripes. First, the writing was about as subtle as a sledgehammer. Talk about belaboring the point. Over and over again. Using italics for emphasis, just in case we missed it the first dozen times. I felt practically infantilized. Second, the character work was uninspired. Every character just had some sad, horrible thing happen in their past which they revealed in expository dialogue. That is not enough to make them interesting. They need to be interesting in the time the narrative is actually taking place if I’m supposed to care about them in any way. As it was, I found myself very underwhelmed.

I went in with high hopes and I was sorely disappointed. I love enemies to lovers but I felt as if it was too fast and not really compelling. I also noticed many mistakes throughout it that bothered me. I felt like I was reading a fanfiction.

Characters: 3/5
Plot: 1/5
Romance: 1/5
Writing: 1/5

I really wanted to like this!

ＮＥＴＧＡＬＬＥＹ
ＲＥＶＩＥＷ

𝙩𝙧𝙤𝙥𝙚𝙨:
- slayer x vampire
- sapphic
- enemies to lovers
- the witcher and castlevania vibes
- dragons, monsters and different types of creatures

𝙧𝙚𝙫𝙞𝙚𝙬:
Unfortunately, I’ve decided to DNF this book at 12%. I would still rate it around 3 stars (average but not outstanding), because I can see how the premise, world and characters could be enjoyable for the right reader. However, I struggled too much with the writing style to fully engage with the story.

My main issue is with the grammatical structure of the sentences, which felt too unnatural or fragmented. For example:
“It didn’t take long before Claudia reached the edge of the forest, where she was greeted by a small farmhouse. With clothes left out on a washing line.”
“ It was an arduous trek up the mountain that no human would make lightly. Making the old castle an ideal lair for vampyrics.”
Sentences like these appear way too frequently, where a short sentence is followed by an additional fragment that should have been part of the original sentence. This sadly disrupts the flow and made the whole story feel choppy.

Additionally, the writing is quite simplistic, often telling rather than showing. This way I as the reader didn’t feel immersed in the world, unfortunately pulling me out and making me take double takes in a way that makes the prose feel flat.

All that being said, I do think readers who can look past these writing quirks might still enjoy the story and characters.
If the book gets another editing pass, I believe the reading experience would improve significantly, making it easier to appreciate the underlying story.

𝘛𝘩𝘢𝘯𝘬 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘵𝘰 𝘕𝘦𝘵𝘨𝘢𝘭𝘭𝘦𝘺, 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘱𝘶𝘣𝘭𝘪𝘴𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘢𝘶𝘵𝘩𝘰𝘳 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘈𝘙𝘊 𝘪𝘯 𝘦𝘹𝘤𝘩𝘢𝘯𝘨𝘦 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘮𝘺 𝘩𝘰𝘯𝘦𝘴𝘵 𝘳𝘦𝘷𝘪𝘦𝘸.

☆ Fun Factor 5/5
☆ Writing Style 3/5
☆ Characters 4/5
☆ Plot 2/5
☆ Setting 1/5
☆ Feels 2/5
☆ Spiciness 4/5 (several sex scenes and a really sweet slow burn romance)

Ultimate verdict ☆☆☆☆/5

☆☆☆Best Character Award goes to:☆☆☆ CLAUDIA my girl!!!!

Review: LETS GO LESBIANS!!!

Marketed as a sapphic Witcher homage, you get exactly what you're asking for. Kas is Geralt-ing all over the place with TWO silver swords mind you, except she's not as philosophical, conflicted, or nuanced as he is. For a majority of the book, she sees a monster, it dies. And just like Geralt, every woman on two legs thinks she's the hottest thing in town; it was oddly endearing and refreshing to see a lot of the tropes from such a masculine genre as monster-slayer fantasy reflected with a 95% female cast of characters. Everybody here is lesbians, and I love it!!! It's unapologetically a play on a very dude bro dominated genre and I was having a blast.

There's some kind of monster for Kas to kill in pretty much every chapter, from griffins to merfolk to DRAGONS. Yea, if you read the Witcher series and complained "he spends too much time being sad and not enough killing things," your prayers have been answered.

Claudia, Kas's half-vampire love interest, gives off massive Alucard of Castlevania energy, and not just from her beautiful platinum hair and cool rapier either. She's got the same sort of sadness Alucard does about a mortal parent dying and the grief the immortal one went through at the loss, and then without spoiling anything, this becomes a save the world plot because of grief for a beloved lost. It just worked.

Have we seen these tropes done before? Ohhhh yes. Did I care? No. Not at all. Did this start it's life as a Witcher x Castlevania fanfic but with lots of lesbians? Maybe, but good for Rita. This was a really really fun read.

Ultimately though the romance between Kas and Claudia is the real heart of everything. Their banter, the gradual gains in trust and respect for each other that ultimately turn into love. It's just incredibly sweet.

Thank you to NetGalley, the author, and the publisher for an early copy in exchange for an honest review!