Clare L. Deming

I picked up one of author Tricia Levenseller’s YA fantasy / romance books on a whim several years ago and have since found her novels to be comfortable and satisfying. When her debut adult romantasy novel, What Fury Brings, was announced, I had this on my to-be-read list and was fortunate to receive a copy courtesy of NetGalley (paid link).

I have reviewed two of the author’s other books (a duology) on this blog:

• Blade of Secrets (The Bladesmith #1) – review here / purchase link here
• Master of Iron (The Bladesmith #2) – review here / purchase link here

Here is the blurb:

There’s a shortage of men in the kingdom of Amarra. After a failed rebellion against the matriarchy, most noblemen in the country are dead. Now the women of Amarra must obtain their husbands (should they want one) by kidnapping them from other kingdoms.

Olerra, a warrior princess vying for the throne, is determined to prove her worth by kidnapping a husband. And not just any husband. To outmaneuver her treacherous cousin, she needs the best. Fortunately, the second-born prince of their greatest enemy is widely known for both his looks and his sweet, docile temperament. He’s the perfect choice to secure her claim to the throne.

Sanos, heir to the Kingdom of Brutus, has nothing but contempt for the idea of a society run by women. Trained from birth to fight, lead, and follow in his father’s overbearing footsteps, his path has always been set. Until he takes his younger brother’s place in a drunken prank and finds himself kidnapped, carted off to the Amarran Palace, and informed that he is to become the husband of Queen Potential Olerra. Sanos needs to escape before anyone learns his real identity, but the more he gets to know his captor, the less sure he is of what he truly wants.

This novel opens with a note from the author that serves as both a warning for sexual and violent content (18+), as well as an explanation of her motivation in writing this book, coming as a reaction to her own experiences with sexism and misogyny both in her career and in the wider sense.

The world that the protagonist, Olerra, inhabits is “a reflection of our own but reversed,” with women holding all of the positions of power in the government, the military, and in trade and anything else in daily life that matters to society. Men must remain meek and submissive, and a little bit of fantasy goddess-powered magic helps to ensure that this system stays in place.

When politics drives Olerra to capture a husband from a rival nation, the story shows how foreign it feels to Crown Prince Sanos to be placed into a role based solely on his sex and not his abilities. Of course, this is also a romance story, so the conflict between Olerra and Sanos cannot be all insults and abuse in the name of training him to be a proper Amarran husband. Fortunately Sanos is more enlightened and open-minded that many in his country. His reputation for being identical to his tyrannical father is a farce that he has kept up to protect his mother and sister from his father’s violence.

The main source of tension comes from Sanos’ hidden identity and the ramifications of its inevitable discovery. This kept me interested in the plot for its own sake, because I found the message exhibited by the female-dominated society to be more heavy-handed than it always needed to be.

In terms of the spiciness of the romance, this book is vastly more descriptive and takes everything further than the author’s YA work (as I would have expected). I think that the opening note from the author gives an adequate warning of the types of things to expect.

This is a stand-alone novel and the story concludes in a satisfying fashion, bringing the character arcs together for a dramatic final scene. While the ending leaves open the possibility of more books set in this world, it doesn’t require a sequel. Overall I found this to be a solid novel that moved quickly and provided characters to cheer for as they fought for their nations and families. Thank you again to NetGalley for the opportunity to read and review it.

Have you read any of Tricia Levenseller’s other books? Which one is your favorite? Let me know in the comments!

You can find more of my reviews here.