He doesn’t treat her well and only agrees to the idea of them marrying and producing an heir in order to gain Yvenne the throne so that he can have his revenge. Maddek is grieving and angry over his parents deaths and holds Yvenne accountable for luring them to her country to begin with.

Maddek and Yvenne begin as wary allies without trust or respect. You will either love it or dislike it and have issues with its intensity. This book isn’t an easy read and I predict that there won’t be a lot of three star “meh” reviews. Their relationship begins when Maddek learns of his parents deaths at the hands of Yvenne’s family and vows vengeance. Vane introduces readers to Maddek, leader of the Parsathean warriors and son of their King and Queen, and to Yvenne of Nyset, heir to the throne who has been locked away and abused for the entirety of her life by a father who craves power and control. I could have read another 400 pages.ĭepicted as a barbarian romance and set in a medieval like fantasy world, Ms. Worldbuilding with depth and complexity, wonderfully fleshed out characters, and packed with brutal fight scenes and heart rending emotion. I imagine I will lovingly place this book on my keeper shelf and revisit it often because A Heart of Blood and Ashes was everything I had hoped it would be. I will admit that I dove into this world as soon as the ARC hit my Kindle in November, which means I’ve already finished a reread in anticipation of writing this review. If you haven’t had a chance to read this wonderful steampunk/fantasy romance yet, do yourself a favor and go one click because it’s simply amazing and Zenobia and Ariq are magnificent. Milla Vane, also known as Meljean Brook, is the author of one of my all time favorite romances, The Kraken King. This was my most anticipated read of 2020.

Milla vane's a heart of blood and ash