Lady of Darknes, the first book in the “Lady of Darkness” series by Melissa K. Roehrich was rcommended in a Discord server I’m part off. Many people in there read (new adult) romance with spice, so I trust them when they recommend a book. Sometimes their recommendations don’t work for me, sometimes they do. In this case, it definitely did.

Lady of Darkness by Melissa K. Roehrich
Series: Lady of Darkness #1
Published by Independently published on October 1, 2022
Pages: 525
ISBN: 9798549989214
Genres: Fantasy, New adult, Romantasy

A CAGE.

Owned by a ruthless Assassin Lord, Scarlett Monrhoe and her two sisters have been trained since they were children to torture and take life. They are the most feared trio on the continent, but they are also wild and unpredictable. A tragic night has Scarlett finding herself locked away in a noble’s household, trapped and forgotten, until she’s ready to fall into line.

A CHOICE.
Until the day she is presented with a job. If she completes the assignment, her payment will be something she has coveted for ten years. Revenge against the Fae Fire Prince who brutally killed her mother ten years ago. Is she willing to sacrifice her ideals for retribution?

A MYSTERY.
But when children begin disappearing from her home, all her plans are put on hold as she races to save the most innocent. With the help of old friends, a jilted lover, and a mysterious newcomer who claims the magic of the Fae is possible in the mortal lands, Scarlett delves into the darkest corners of the world. Forgotten secrets will come to light, and she will discover the darkness extends far beyond her own kingdom.

Lady of Darkness is a new adult, fantasy, enemies-to-lovers romance and adventure novel that will appeal to lovers of possessive Fae, wicked Witches, sexy Shifters, and arrogant Vampires. It may have triggers of love-hate themes, sexual scenes (both consensual and non), violence, and jealous/possessive themes.

I thought I’ve seen this book somewhere else too, but I can’t remember. Anyway, I didn’t know what this was about, I just scanned the blurb quickly when I found the audiobook and I decided to dive into it straight away. Therefore, I had no expectations really, only that I would enjoy it.

The main character of this book is Scarlett. She immediately raises suspicion and questions, because there clrealy is a mystery to her. This mystery is what kept me hooked the entire time. Roehrich unravels more about her very, very slowly which kept me on the edge of my seat. I wanted to find out what happened to her in the past, why and how she became who she is now. Once she runs into Sorin, there were only more unanswered questions, because he remains a mystery till the very last page as well. Both Scarlett and Sorin are written well and are intriguing because of their character arc. Both are fierce and know how to put up a fight. Their banter is great and very enjoyable too, there definitely is a connection between them. The side characters have their own backstory and therefore are interesting too.

This book is written well, especially for an indie. I barely read independently published books, because I often find them lacking in editing et cetera, but not here. The story is multiple POV, but that doesn’t start till about halfway into the book. It fits the direction this series is going in, changing POVs becomes a necessity. The author also uses flashbacks to tell more of the backstory, which is interesting as well. These flashbakcs are clearly indicated, so no confusion there.

If I have to have a bit of critique, it’s about the plot. It’s definitely intriguing, but quite preditable in some way. It follows the romantasy formula which makes this book a perfect fit within the genre. The atmosphere is dark and tense, although the banter makes it feel lighter at first. When the story progresses, it steadily darkens and so those the atmosphere. The tension is there from the start though, which intrigued me a lot. The mystery surrounding Scarlett and the slow revelations of her past add up to this intrigue. I wanted to continue and continue to find out what will be revealed next. Therefore, I was able to listen to this book in a matter of days. It’s quite a long one, so that’s saying a lot. I haven’t experienced this in a while. The ending makes me really curious for the rest of this series.

Even though I didn’t even know what Lady of Darkness by Melissa K. Roehrich was all about, I enjoyed it heaps. I went into this reading experience blindly and sometimes these are the best. The characters are interesting, so is the plot. There’s lots of mystery surrounding the main characters which makes this book intriguing. The plot fits the romantasy genre perfectly. It’s a bit predictable at times, but I didn’t mindt this at all. I will dinitely be continuing this series as soon as possible.