Life in the perilous Thorn district is a constant battle for Arvelle and her younger brothers. And the vampire standing on her doorstep is about to turn their world upside down.
Faced with an unthinkable choice, Arvelle makes a magically binding vow to do the impossible: kill the emperor, an ancient vampire created by the god Umbros. But first, she must enter the Sundering—an arena where only the fastest, strongest, and deadliest survive long enough to be selected for the emperor’s elite guard.
She quickly draws the ire of the Primus, the powerful figure charged with protecting the emperor. But the vampire under the armor is the last person Arvelle expects to encounter in the emperor’s court.
With her brothers’ lives in the balance, Arvelle has no choice but to ally with the man who once shattered her heart… and with the emperor’s sadistic son, Rorrik—two vampires whose motives are impossible to pin down. Rorrik holds the key to understanding the powers Arvelle is developing—abilities that would put a price on her head if discovered by the emperor.
To survive the arena and complete her mission, Arvelle must get to the bottom of a conspiracy that will change everything she thought she knew about herself—and the two vampires who are deeply entwined with her destiny…
ISBN: 9780063436718
Pub Date: 30 Dec 2025
REVIEW
Thank you to Avon and Harper Voyager and NetGalley for an eARC in exchange for my honest review.
From the very first chapter, We Who Will Die pulled me straight into a world that feels both brutal and intoxicating. Stacia Stark builds an empire dripping with danger, politics, and blood-soaked spectacle, and it genuinely felt like taking that first bite of a multi‑course meal…you just know there’s so much more deliciousness coming. The FMC, Arvelle, is the kind of heroine I latch onto immediately: gritty, loyal, stubborn in all the right ways, and carrying the weight of her family on her back. The pacing is relentless in the best way, with action, strategy, and tension woven through every chapter. I found myself devouring scenes just to see how she’d claw her way through the next impossible situation.
The arena sequences were a standout for me! They were visceral, high‑stakes, and layered with political undercurrents that hint at a much bigger game being played behind the scenes. And the morally gray characters? Delicious. The Primus, the emperor’s son, even the vampires tied to Arvelle’s fate all have this magnetic unpredictability that kept me guessing. Stark gives us just enough slow‑burn tension to make you lean in, but not enough to satisfy, which honestly feels intentional for a first installment. It’s the kind of setup that makes you want to theorize, reread, and argue with your friends about who’s trustworthy and who’s absolutely not.
Closing the
book left me with that familiar, slightly giddy feeling, like I’ve only just
stepped into a world that is about to get much bigger, darker, and more
addictive. I’m eager to learn more about the empire’s origins, the gods’
influence, and the true scope of Arvelle’s power. If this is only the
beginning, I am definitely strapped in for the rest of the series. Five stars!
This review can also be viewed on my Goodreads page, here.
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#NetGalley #Avon #HarperVoyager #StaciaStark #Romantasy #Vampires #Romance
#Magic #Paranormal #SlowBurn #Fantasy #Fiction
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