itle: Anathema (The Eating Woods #1) by Keri Lake

Published: September 8, 2024

Genre(s): fantasy, romance, gothic, romantasy

Read as: ebook, Kindle Unlimited

Rating: 3

Only the banished know what lies beyond the woods …

There are whispers about what lurks in Witch Knell—the forest where sinners go to die. The villagers call it The Eating Woods because what’s taken is never given back. Only those who’ve lost their senses would dare to go near it.

Or the banished.

Maevyth Bronwick knows better than to breach the misty labyrinth of trees, but a tragic turn of events compels her beyond the archway of bones, to a boundary no mortal has crossed before. One that cloaks a dark and fantastical world that’s as dangerous as it is alluring.

It’s there that he dwells, the cursed lord of Eidolon. The one tasked to keep her hidden from the magehood that seeks to crucify her in the name of an arcane prophesy. Zevander Rydainn, known to his prey as The Scorpion, is the coldest, most calculated assassin in all of Aethyria and he’d sooner toss his feisty ward to a pack of vicious fyredrakes than keep her safe.

If only he could.

Maevyth’s blood is the key to breaking his despised curse and vanquishing the slumbering evil in Witch Knell. Unfortunately for Lord Rydainn, fate has other plans for the irresistible little enchantress. And his growing obsession with her threatens to destroy everything.

Including himself. (Goodreads)

This story had the potential to blow me away. Forbidden romance, hidden evils, and a woman exploring who she is and having the opportunity to safely embrace her true self. In theory, this should have been fantastic. Unfortunately it was fairly forgettable. The will-they-won’t-they romance quickly became more annoying than full of sparks and the grumpy Zevander had too many immature characteristics to make his proposed dark and brooding badass trope believable.

Overall, this book was okay. It didn’t leave me fuming and grumpy or blown away. It is a middle of the road romantasy that could easily get lost in all the other romantasy novels currently flooding the market.