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Tortured Souls
Fate bends to no one except the cursed.Official blurb coming soon!
Tortured Souls is book one of two in dark fantasy romance series. It will end in a cliffhanger. As always, your mental health and boundaries matter. It is highly recommended you check the Content Information for the triggers, tags, and tropes for this series before diving in. They can be found on Melissa's website or at the back of the back.
Tortured Souls is book one of two in dark fantasy romance series. It will end in a cliffhanger. As always, your mental health and boundaries matter. It is highly recommended you check the Content Information for the triggers, tags, and tropes for this series before diving in. They can be found on Melissa's website or at the back of the back.
672 pages, Kindle Edition
First published February 12, 2026
1361 people are currently reading
12588 people want to read
About the author
Melissa K. Roehrich
22 books7,257 followersMelissa is a dark fantasy romance author who loves coffee, dragons, and constantly rearranging her bookshelves. She spends her time writing, reading, and homeschooling her three boys in the Middle-of-Nowhere, North Dakota, where she lives with her boys, husband, dogs, multiple barn cats, and chickens on a small farmstead. She is constantly trying to convince her husband they need to add goats and ducks to the mix, and one day, she'll succeed.
She's not here much, so if you're looking to connect, check out the following:
*Facebook Reader Group: Melissa's Dragon Cave
*Discord: https://discord.gg/GTY757MCXF
*Instagram: @melissa_k_roehrich
*TikTok: @authormelissakroehrich
She's not here much, so if you're looking to connect, check out the following:
*Facebook Reader Group: Melissa's Dragon Cave
*Discord: https://discord.gg/GTY757MCXF
*Instagram: @melissa_k_roehrich
*TikTok: @authormelissakroehrich
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 817 reviews
March 12, 2026
Post-read me comforting pre-read me:
Tortured souls indeed.
I've been on a high lately with all the great reads I've had, and the universe said "she needs a little humbling". So I have… things to say, and I’m really sorry in advance for not being diplomatic enough about it. I think I could easily summarise my review of this book by saying it simply wasn’t gripping enough… but why would I deny myself the pleasure of reliving my torture?
This is one of those books that leaves me bouncing between a 3 and a 3.5 star rating. I genuinely can’t put my finger on what irked me about this story because there are too many things and the story just lacked a certain panache. What's more is I can’t believe I’m about to say this, but for a book that is supposed to lean into darker themes, it just wasn’t dark enough for me. I’d almost rather it had fully committed to the darkness instead of sitting uncomfortably somewhere in the middle. But then again, that’s not true. I think I'm slowly coming around to the fact that I simply don’t like Roehrich’s particular brand of dark romance.
I also kept wondering how someone who picked this up without reading the Legacy series or Lady of Darkness would feel. The world-building felt severely lacking. If you’re not already familiar with the universe, I imagine you’d feel a bit underwhelmed. But then again, even the world in the Legacy series itself felt oddly constructed. Between modern-day phones and the presence of magic and gods, the setting felt like a strange kind of paper-mâché world that never fully came together.
World-building aside, I couldn’t fully buy into the story or the romance, which is disappointing considering how many tropes in this book are usually right up my alley.
❏ A supposedly ruthless shadow king with a kingdom in danger.
❏ A heroine with powers the king desperately needs.
❏ A marriage of convenience.
❏ Dragon shifters.
❏ Fantasy.
❏ Dark romance.
I was excited to see Cethin and Kailia’s relationship develop, but the romance let me and my whole existence down. I don’t even know where to begin, so I’ll start with the characters.
Roehrich’s talent for writing incredibly annoying FMCs seriously needs to be studied. The funny thing is that I don’t even think it’s intentional. Kailia feels like a recycled version of Tessa in many ways, just with a slightly sharper weapon and a crown somewhere in her future. Normally I’m very patient with tortured heroines, but this one truly tested my patience.
Kailia is the kind of character who makes you understand why people post reaction gifs instead of words. Any character that forces me to think of this gif is an automatic trigger for me.
I feel like I could ask Siri to curate Kailia, and it would go like this.
Me: Siri, please write me a list of behaviors for Kailia, heroine of another mediocre romantasy novel. We need to create the illusion of tension.
Siri: Okay. Does this please you?
✅ Cannot stand to be touched.
╰┈➤ Very important for sexual tension.
✅ Stabs anyone who dares to touch her.
╰┈➤ Also very important for sexual tension.
✅ Is mysterious, extremely powerful, and somehow unfathomably special
✅ Occasionally attempts to stab the male lead. Again.
✅ Speaks in cryptic sentences that make everyone else in the room deeply tired.
✅ Acts morally superior while simultaneously doing the exact same questionable things she condemns others for.
✅ And of course we must not forget the most essential ingredient: contradiction. Lots of it.
╰┈➤ Hypocrisy too, just for flavor 🤫
Me: Oh yes, Siri. Perfect.
To be fair, the book does give reasons for some of this. Kailia has an extremely dark past and was essentially raised as a weapon, which explains her obsession with violence and revenge. Her life revolves around hunting the people responsible for the horrors she experienced, so the stabbing is… unfortunately on brand.
Still, there is only so many times a character can threaten to kill someone in the same room before it stops feeling intense and starts feeling like a very dramatic customer service complaint. The book is 672 pages long, 78% in and we know nothing about Kailia, so I don’t think I can be blamed for not being able to empathise with her. I kept waiting for the moment where she would surprise me. Instead she mostly surprised people by pulling out another weapon.
This leads me to my next grievance, the enemies-to-lovers trope, which can be summarised to this quote.
❝ How can you possibly have such vitriol for me when you don’t even know me?”
“I know enough,” she said simply, pushing past him to mount her horse. Looking down at him, she added, “Your reputation precedes you. ❞
In the name of all things good and kind…
This just lacks in substance to me. This is the reason? The fact that he’s forcing her to marry him would be reason enough, but this? She admits to not really knowing the man and just hating him based on a reputation despite all the other signs that point to him being different from what she thinks she knows: his behavior toward her especially.
As for Cethin, I really don’t know what else to say except Roehrich’s male characters seem to have three personality traits: grumpy, possessive and growls, and about three facial expressions on constant rotation: mocking smirks, arrogant smirks, and… well, more smirks.
Usually I like this in MMCs as long as there’s more depth to them. But the only things that made Cethin interesting in my eyes are how protective he is and these two quotes:
❝ Can I tell you a secret?” she whispered, the words sounding harsh in the quiet of the room.
“I would sit at your feet for days to hear them all, wife. Then I’d take them all to the grave with me, guarding them even in the After,” he answered...”
“You want me on my knees, I’m at your feet. You want me crawling to you, tell me how far. You want me to prove touch can be ecstasy, done. Tell me how to make you feel good, and I’ll obey every word down to the letter. As long as it’s my name on your lips when you fall into pleasure, I’ll take any orders you want to give me, wife. ❞
This next one is just a personal impression, but at times it felt like the author was internally struggling not to turn this into another why-choose situation. Cethin is incredibly possessive and clearly hates the idea of anyone but him touching or helping Kailia when she’s hurt, not even Razik. I couldn’t help but compare this to a scene in Rain of Shadows and Endings where Theon lets Luka carry Tessa when she’s injured. The contrast was too jarring to go unnoticed or maybe it’s just PTSD speaking. This scene feels like an emphasis on how possessive Cethin is.
Yet despite that, Razik still ends up in Kailia’s proximity after being made her guard. He is even present when she talks about her past with Cethin. For me, that moment is supposed to be intimate between the two of them, so it felt strange to have Razik there as well. Does she really need the sympathy and ire of both men at once to emphasise how much she is treasured? Another choice I don't understand is Razik getting his own POV, as it honestly didn’t add much to the plot beyond fulfilling the promise of dragons being involved and bringing back a familiar character from the previous series. There is no ambiguity about the nature of his relationship with Kailia, but it seems like he was just a decorative character placed there to create tension.
That said, I’m leaving these quotes here as evidence that it wasn’t the setup for my future self in case we’re hoodwinked and pulled into another why choose:
❝ Cethin growled, “Don’t touch her.”
Razik’s lip curled back. “This isn’t the time for your—”
“Go fetch Niara and meet us at the estate,” Cethin interrupted. “It’s an order from your king.”
“Kailia,” he growled, taking another step that forced her to back up again. “Are there any lovers I need to…ensure understand that you are no longer theirs?”
“What I need is for my future wife to not be out with—”
“With my personal guard? Who else am I supposed to go out with?” she cut in.
“Me,” he growled, somehow stepping closer. ❞
Look, he growled in the three quotes I chose and I didn't choose them intentionally. I had to stand in front of a mirror to practise. I love a growling MMC, but I have a hard time imagining what it sounds like saying "dont touch her," for example while growling.
Overall, this wasn’t a good read for me, and it’s easily forgettable. That never really bothered me before with her previous books, because at the very least the previous series was incredibly addictive. This lacked immersive world-building, good pacing, chemistry between the MCs, and the right level of complexity. And honestly… I think I just reviewed myself into plain disliking it.
If you love dragons and possessive shadow kings, do give this a try. I'm still on the fence about reading the second book when it comes out.
Tortured souls indeed.
I've been on a high lately with all the great reads I've had, and the universe said "she needs a little humbling". So I have… things to say, and I’m really sorry in advance for not being diplomatic enough about it. I think I could easily summarise my review of this book by saying it simply wasn’t gripping enough… but why would I deny myself the pleasure of reliving my torture?
This is one of those books that leaves me bouncing between a 3 and a 3.5 star rating. I genuinely can’t put my finger on what irked me about this story because there are too many things and the story just lacked a certain panache. What's more is I can’t believe I’m about to say this, but for a book that is supposed to lean into darker themes, it just wasn’t dark enough for me. I’d almost rather it had fully committed to the darkness instead of sitting uncomfortably somewhere in the middle. But then again, that’s not true. I think I'm slowly coming around to the fact that I simply don’t like Roehrich’s particular brand of dark romance.
I also kept wondering how someone who picked this up without reading the Legacy series or Lady of Darkness would feel. The world-building felt severely lacking. If you’re not already familiar with the universe, I imagine you’d feel a bit underwhelmed. But then again, even the world in the Legacy series itself felt oddly constructed. Between modern-day phones and the presence of magic and gods, the setting felt like a strange kind of paper-mâché world that never fully came together.
World-building aside, I couldn’t fully buy into the story or the romance, which is disappointing considering how many tropes in this book are usually right up my alley.
❏ A supposedly ruthless shadow king with a kingdom in danger.
❏ A heroine with powers the king desperately needs.
❏ A marriage of convenience.
❏ Dragon shifters.
❏ Fantasy.
❏ Dark romance.
I was excited to see Cethin and Kailia’s relationship develop, but the romance let me and my whole existence down. I don’t even know where to begin, so I’ll start with the characters.
Roehrich’s talent for writing incredibly annoying FMCs seriously needs to be studied. The funny thing is that I don’t even think it’s intentional. Kailia feels like a recycled version of Tessa in many ways, just with a slightly sharper weapon and a crown somewhere in her future. Normally I’m very patient with tortured heroines, but this one truly tested my patience.
Kailia is the kind of character who makes you understand why people post reaction gifs instead of words. Any character that forces me to think of this gif is an automatic trigger for me.
I feel like I could ask Siri to curate Kailia, and it would go like this.
Me: Siri, please write me a list of behaviors for Kailia, heroine of another mediocre romantasy novel. We need to create the illusion of tension.
Siri: Okay. Does this please you?
✅ Cannot stand to be touched.
╰┈➤ Very important for sexual tension.
✅ Stabs anyone who dares to touch her.
╰┈➤ Also very important for sexual tension.
✅ Is mysterious, extremely powerful, and somehow unfathomably special
✅ Occasionally attempts to stab the male lead. Again.
✅ Speaks in cryptic sentences that make everyone else in the room deeply tired.
✅ Acts morally superior while simultaneously doing the exact same questionable things she condemns others for.
✅ And of course we must not forget the most essential ingredient: contradiction. Lots of it.
╰┈➤ Hypocrisy too, just for flavor 🤫
Me: Oh yes, Siri. Perfect.
To be fair, the book does give reasons for some of this. Kailia has an extremely dark past and was essentially raised as a weapon, which explains her obsession with violence and revenge. Her life revolves around hunting the people responsible for the horrors she experienced, so the stabbing is… unfortunately on brand.
Still, there is only so many times a character can threaten to kill someone in the same room before it stops feeling intense and starts feeling like a very dramatic customer service complaint. The book is 672 pages long, 78% in and we know nothing about Kailia, so I don’t think I can be blamed for not being able to empathise with her. I kept waiting for the moment where she would surprise me. Instead she mostly surprised people by pulling out another weapon.
This leads me to my next grievance, the enemies-to-lovers trope, which can be summarised to this quote.
❝ How can you possibly have such vitriol for me when you don’t even know me?”
“I know enough,” she said simply, pushing past him to mount her horse. Looking down at him, she added, “Your reputation precedes you. ❞
In the name of all things good and kind…
This just lacks in substance to me. This is the reason? The fact that he’s forcing her to marry him would be reason enough, but this? She admits to not really knowing the man and just hating him based on a reputation despite all the other signs that point to him being different from what she thinks she knows: his behavior toward her especially.
As for Cethin, I really don’t know what else to say except Roehrich’s male characters seem to have three personality traits: grumpy, possessive and growls, and about three facial expressions on constant rotation: mocking smirks, arrogant smirks, and… well, more smirks.
Usually I like this in MMCs as long as there’s more depth to them. But the only things that made Cethin interesting in my eyes are how protective he is and these two quotes:
❝ Can I tell you a secret?” she whispered, the words sounding harsh in the quiet of the room.
“I would sit at your feet for days to hear them all, wife. Then I’d take them all to the grave with me, guarding them even in the After,” he answered...”
“You want me on my knees, I’m at your feet. You want me crawling to you, tell me how far. You want me to prove touch can be ecstasy, done. Tell me how to make you feel good, and I’ll obey every word down to the letter. As long as it’s my name on your lips when you fall into pleasure, I’ll take any orders you want to give me, wife. ❞
This next one is just a personal impression, but at times it felt like the author was internally struggling not to turn this into another why-choose situation. Cethin is incredibly possessive and clearly hates the idea of anyone but him touching or helping Kailia when she’s hurt, not even Razik. I couldn’t help but compare this to a scene in Rain of Shadows and Endings where Theon lets Luka carry Tessa when she’s injured. The contrast was too jarring to go unnoticed or maybe it’s just PTSD speaking. This scene feels like an emphasis on how possessive Cethin is.
Yet despite that, Razik still ends up in Kailia’s proximity after being made her guard. He is even present when she talks about her past with Cethin. For me, that moment is supposed to be intimate between the two of them, so it felt strange to have Razik there as well. Does she really need the sympathy and ire of both men at once to emphasise how much she is treasured? Another choice I don't understand is Razik getting his own POV, as it honestly didn’t add much to the plot beyond fulfilling the promise of dragons being involved and bringing back a familiar character from the previous series. There is no ambiguity about the nature of his relationship with Kailia, but it seems like he was just a decorative character placed there to create tension.
That said, I’m leaving these quotes here as evidence that it wasn’t the setup for my future self in case we’re hoodwinked and pulled into another why choose:
❝ Cethin growled, “Don’t touch her.”
Razik’s lip curled back. “This isn’t the time for your—”
“Go fetch Niara and meet us at the estate,” Cethin interrupted. “It’s an order from your king.”
“Kailia,” he growled, taking another step that forced her to back up again. “Are there any lovers I need to…ensure understand that you are no longer theirs?”
“What I need is for my future wife to not be out with—”
“With my personal guard? Who else am I supposed to go out with?” she cut in.
“Me,” he growled, somehow stepping closer. ❞
Look, he growled in the three quotes I chose and I didn't choose them intentionally. I had to stand in front of a mirror to practise. I love a growling MMC, but I have a hard time imagining what it sounds like saying "dont touch her," for example while growling.
Overall, this wasn’t a good read for me, and it’s easily forgettable. That never really bothered me before with her previous books, because at the very least the previous series was incredibly addictive. This lacked immersive world-building, good pacing, chemistry between the MCs, and the right level of complexity. And honestly… I think I just reviewed myself into plain disliking it.
If you love dragons and possessive shadow kings, do give this a try. I'm still on the fence about reading the second book when it comes out.
February 21, 2026
“𝑪𝒂𝒏 𝑰 𝒕𝒆𝒍𝒍 𝒚𝒐𝒖 𝒂 𝒔𝒆𝒄𝒓𝒆𝒕?” 𝒔𝒉𝒆 𝒘𝒉𝒊𝒔𝒑𝒆𝒓𝒆𝒅, 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒘𝒐𝒓𝒅𝒔 𝒔𝒐𝒖𝒏𝒅𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒉𝒂𝒓𝒔𝒉 𝒊𝒏 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒒𝒖𝒊𝒆𝒕 𝒐𝒇 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒓𝒐𝒐𝒎. “𝑰 𝒘𝒐𝒖𝒍𝒅 𝒔𝒊𝒕 𝒂𝒕 𝒚𝒐𝒖𝒓 𝒇𝒆𝒆𝒕 𝒇𝒐𝒓 𝒅𝒂𝒚𝒔 𝒕𝒐 𝒉𝒆𝒂𝒓 𝒕𝒉𝒆𝒎 𝒂𝒍𝒍, 𝒘𝒊𝒇𝒆. 𝑻𝒉𝒆𝒏 𝑰’𝒅 𝒕𝒂𝒌𝒆 𝒕𝒉𝒆𝒎 𝒂𝒍𝒍 𝒕𝒐 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒈𝒓𝒂𝒗𝒆 𝒘𝒊𝒕𝒉 𝒎𝒆, 𝒈𝒖𝒂𝒓𝒅𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒕𝒉𝒆𝒎 𝒆𝒗𝒆𝒏 𝒊𝒏 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝑨𝒇𝒕𝒆𝒓,” 𝒉𝒆 𝒂𝒏𝒔𝒘𝒆𝒓𝒆𝒅, 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒈𝒐𝒅𝒔. 𝑺𝒐𝒎𝒆𝒕𝒉𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒅𝒆𝒆𝒑 𝒊𝒏 𝒉𝒆𝒓 𝒃𝒆𝒍𝒍𝒚 𝒄𝒍𝒆𝒏𝒄𝒉𝒆𝒅 𝒂𝒕 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒘𝒐𝒓𝒅𝒔.
4.5 ⭐ I AM PICKING MY JAW UP FROM THE FLOOR 😮✨
First off, I want to start this review by saying that you do not need to read her other series to read this one. Nevertheless, I do think that if you have read Lady of Darkness series prior to this one, your reading experience will be much, much superior!!!
This book is about Cethin, who is the King of Avonleya and is desperate to solve the mystery of why Fae keep dying around his kingdom. He comes up with what he thinks is an amazing solution: to make Kailia his wife. OBVIOUSLY there’s more to it, but I’m trying not to give spoilers lol especially if you are like me and don’t even want to read the blurb 😂
I adore the characters so freaking much. Please remember that this is a dark romance due to its darker elements and topics mentioned throughout the book, so PLEASE CHECK TRIGGER WARNINGS ⚠️ Anywayyyy Kailia, omfg, she is a baddie and is afraid of touch. The author did such an amazing job giving us her trauma from the beginning and showing how slowly she adjusts to his touch I AM SAT 🔥 I think that was one of the best parts of the book: me screaming for her to finally let Cethin touch her (as in the brush of their fingers okay!!! but.. specially the other stuff too, wink wink)
“𝒀𝒐𝒖 𝒘𝒂𝒏𝒕 𝒎𝒆 𝒐𝒏 𝒎𝒚 𝒌𝒏𝒆𝒆𝒔, 𝑰’𝒎 𝒂𝒕 𝒚𝒐𝒖𝒓 𝒇𝒆𝒆𝒕. 𝒀𝒐𝒖 𝒘𝒂𝒏𝒕 𝒎𝒆 𝒄𝒓𝒂𝒘𝒍𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒕𝒐 𝒚𝒐𝒖, 𝒕𝒆𝒍𝒍 𝒎𝒆 𝒉𝒐𝒘 𝒇𝒂𝒓. 𝒀𝒐𝒖 𝒘𝒂𝒏𝒕 𝒎𝒆 𝒕𝒐 𝒑𝒓𝒐𝒗𝒆 𝒕𝒐𝒖𝒄𝒉 𝒄𝒂𝒏 𝒃𝒆 𝒆𝒄𝒔𝒕𝒂𝒔𝒚, 𝒅𝒐𝒏𝒆. 𝑻𝒆𝒍𝒍 𝒎𝒆 𝒉𝒐𝒘 𝒕𝒐 𝒎𝒂𝒌𝒆 𝒚𝒐𝒖 𝒇𝒆𝒆𝒍 𝒈𝒐𝒐𝒅, 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝑰’𝒍𝒍 𝒐𝒃𝒆𝒚 𝒆𝒗𝒆𝒓𝒚 𝒘𝒐𝒓𝒅 𝒅𝒐𝒘𝒏 𝒕𝒐 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒍𝒆𝒕𝒕𝒆𝒓. 𝑨𝒔 𝒍𝒐𝒏𝒈 𝒂𝒔 𝒊𝒕’𝒔 𝒎𝒚 𝒏𝒂𝒎𝒆 𝒐𝒏 𝒚𝒐𝒖𝒓 𝒍𝒊𝒑𝒔 𝒘𝒉𝒆𝒏 𝒚𝒐𝒖 𝒇𝒂𝒍𝒍 𝒊𝒏𝒕𝒐 𝒑𝒍𝒆𝒂𝒔𝒖𝒓𝒆, 𝑰’𝒍𝒍 𝒕𝒂𝒌𝒆 𝒂𝒏𝒚 𝒐𝒓𝒅𝒆𝒓𝒔 𝒚𝒐𝒖 𝒘𝒂𝒏𝒕 𝒕𝒐 𝒈𝒊𝒗𝒆 𝒎𝒆, 𝒘𝒊𝒇𝒆.”
Not only her, but we also have Cethin, who like any king has big main-character energy. I love how he is someone who will do ANYTHING for his people, and let’s just say it doesn’t matter what it takes. Please don’t forget this is enemies to lovers so trust me when I say it did not disappoint WHATSOEVERRRR 😮💨🔥
The plot was engaging the whole time from both the “saving the kingdom” perspective to the romance! Also, having the different POVs made the experience even better. Special shoutout as well to our dragon man Razik, who made the grumpy, overprotective, and possessive personality to perfection!
I definitely recommend this to anyone who loves romance, dragons, betrayals, and secrets because this book has it all. BE WARNED it ends INSANE‼️
⋆. ݁₊ ⊹ . ݁˖ . ݁. ݁₊ ⊹ . ݁˖ . ݁⋆.⋆. ݁₊ ⊹ . ݁˖ . ݁. ݁₊ ⊹ . ݁˖ . ݁⋆.
𝗽𝗿𝗲-𝗿𝗲𝗮𝗱 ❀*･ Melissa will torture my soul with this one I just know it 💔
4.5 ⭐ I AM PICKING MY JAW UP FROM THE FLOOR 😮✨
First off, I want to start this review by saying that you do not need to read her other series to read this one. Nevertheless, I do think that if you have read Lady of Darkness series prior to this one, your reading experience will be much, much superior!!!
This book is about Cethin, who is the King of Avonleya and is desperate to solve the mystery of why Fae keep dying around his kingdom. He comes up with what he thinks is an amazing solution: to make Kailia his wife. OBVIOUSLY there’s more to it, but I’m trying not to give spoilers lol especially if you are like me and don’t even want to read the blurb 😂
I adore the characters so freaking much. Please remember that this is a dark romance due to its darker elements and topics mentioned throughout the book, so PLEASE CHECK TRIGGER WARNINGS ⚠️ Anywayyyy Kailia, omfg, she is a baddie and is afraid of touch. The author did such an amazing job giving us her trauma from the beginning and showing how slowly she adjusts to his touch I AM SAT 🔥 I think that was one of the best parts of the book: me screaming for her to finally let Cethin touch her (as in the brush of their fingers okay!!! but.. specially the other stuff too, wink wink)
“𝒀𝒐𝒖 𝒘𝒂𝒏𝒕 𝒎𝒆 𝒐𝒏 𝒎𝒚 𝒌𝒏𝒆𝒆𝒔, 𝑰’𝒎 𝒂𝒕 𝒚𝒐𝒖𝒓 𝒇𝒆𝒆𝒕. 𝒀𝒐𝒖 𝒘𝒂𝒏𝒕 𝒎𝒆 𝒄𝒓𝒂𝒘𝒍𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒕𝒐 𝒚𝒐𝒖, 𝒕𝒆𝒍𝒍 𝒎𝒆 𝒉𝒐𝒘 𝒇𝒂𝒓. 𝒀𝒐𝒖 𝒘𝒂𝒏𝒕 𝒎𝒆 𝒕𝒐 𝒑𝒓𝒐𝒗𝒆 𝒕𝒐𝒖𝒄𝒉 𝒄𝒂𝒏 𝒃𝒆 𝒆𝒄𝒔𝒕𝒂𝒔𝒚, 𝒅𝒐𝒏𝒆. 𝑻𝒆𝒍𝒍 𝒎𝒆 𝒉𝒐𝒘 𝒕𝒐 𝒎𝒂𝒌𝒆 𝒚𝒐𝒖 𝒇𝒆𝒆𝒍 𝒈𝒐𝒐𝒅, 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝑰’𝒍𝒍 𝒐𝒃𝒆𝒚 𝒆𝒗𝒆𝒓𝒚 𝒘𝒐𝒓𝒅 𝒅𝒐𝒘𝒏 𝒕𝒐 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒍𝒆𝒕𝒕𝒆𝒓. 𝑨𝒔 𝒍𝒐𝒏𝒈 𝒂𝒔 𝒊𝒕’𝒔 𝒎𝒚 𝒏𝒂𝒎𝒆 𝒐𝒏 𝒚𝒐𝒖𝒓 𝒍𝒊𝒑𝒔 𝒘𝒉𝒆𝒏 𝒚𝒐𝒖 𝒇𝒂𝒍𝒍 𝒊𝒏𝒕𝒐 𝒑𝒍𝒆𝒂𝒔𝒖𝒓𝒆, 𝑰’𝒍𝒍 𝒕𝒂𝒌𝒆 𝒂𝒏𝒚 𝒐𝒓𝒅𝒆𝒓𝒔 𝒚𝒐𝒖 𝒘𝒂𝒏𝒕 𝒕𝒐 𝒈𝒊𝒗𝒆 𝒎𝒆, 𝒘𝒊𝒇𝒆.”
Not only her, but we also have Cethin, who like any king has big main-character energy. I love how he is someone who will do ANYTHING for his people, and let’s just say it doesn’t matter what it takes. Please don’t forget this is enemies to lovers so trust me when I say it did not disappoint WHATSOEVERRRR 😮💨🔥
The plot was engaging the whole time from both the “saving the kingdom” perspective to the romance! Also, having the different POVs made the experience even better. Special shoutout as well to our dragon man Razik, who made the grumpy, overprotective, and possessive personality to perfection!
I definitely recommend this to anyone who loves romance, dragons, betrayals, and secrets because this book has it all. BE WARNED it ends INSANE‼️
⋆. ݁₊ ⊹ . ݁˖ . ݁. ݁₊ ⊹ . ݁˖ . ݁⋆.⋆. ݁₊ ⊹ . ݁˖ . ݁. ݁₊ ⊹ . ݁˖ . ݁⋆.
𝗽𝗿𝗲-𝗿𝗲𝗮𝗱 ❀*･ Melissa will torture my soul with this one I just know it 💔
Review of advance copy received from Author
What an amazing start to a new series by Melissa K Roehrch!
I have been a fan of her books for years and was so excited to read an ARC of Tortued Souls. This story, true to MKR style, is immersive and well planned with amazing world and character building, and easter eggs peppered throughout the story.
Kailia is an amazing FMC. She is complex and layered, flawed but tough, traumatized and smart. She has a hard time understanding social cues and an aversion to touch because of her traumatic past, which causes her difficulty when interacting with people. She is written in a way where you can't help but to understand her and all the baggage that she has, and admire the strength it takes for her to carry it all.
Cethin is intense and broody, but in a way that had me swooning. He is driven to save his people and won't let anything stop him from it, no matter the cost. He carries his own trauma and guilt, and as it slowly eats away at him he find himself even more desperate to find a solution to his kingdoms problems. When he forces Kailia to marry him he sets off a chain of events there is no way he could have predicted.
Razik..this man. I have loved his broody, angry ass since the Lady of Darkness series and I so love getting more of his story in Tortured Souls. What's not to love about a hot, moody dragon?
The way that MKR develops her stories and weaves everything together is just magic. The relationship building coupled with that slow burn tension and yearning, along with never being quite sure who is the predator and who is the prey in this story, had me hooked! I absolutely devoured this book and I will just be over here slowly dying as I wait for the next one to be released.
I have been a fan of her books for years and was so excited to read an ARC of Tortued Souls. This story, true to MKR style, is immersive and well planned with amazing world and character building, and easter eggs peppered throughout the story.
Kailia is an amazing FMC. She is complex and layered, flawed but tough, traumatized and smart. She has a hard time understanding social cues and an aversion to touch because of her traumatic past, which causes her difficulty when interacting with people. She is written in a way where you can't help but to understand her and all the baggage that she has, and admire the strength it takes for her to carry it all.
Cethin is intense and broody, but in a way that had me swooning. He is driven to save his people and won't let anything stop him from it, no matter the cost. He carries his own trauma and guilt, and as it slowly eats away at him he find himself even more desperate to find a solution to his kingdoms problems. When he forces Kailia to marry him he sets off a chain of events there is no way he could have predicted.
Razik..this man. I have loved his broody, angry ass since the Lady of Darkness series and I so love getting more of his story in Tortured Souls. What's not to love about a hot, moody dragon?
The way that MKR develops her stories and weaves everything together is just magic. The relationship building coupled with that slow burn tension and yearning, along with never being quite sure who is the predator and who is the prey in this story, had me hooked! I absolutely devoured this book and I will just be over here slowly dying as I wait for the next one to be released.
February 11, 2026
OMGGGGGG 🫠🫠🫠🫠 full review to come but I'm a puddle - instant book hangover
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Tortured Souls by Melissa K Roehrich
Avonleya book 1 (planned duology)
Releases 1/12
Dark fantasy romance
Multiple POV, forced marriage/proximity, found family, neurodivergent stabby queen, reluctant morally grey king trying to save his people, super grumpy dragon shifter, mental health rep, queer normative world, slow burn, touch her and find out, banter, he falls first, f*ck it, who's hunting who?, emotional whiplash, angst and yearning, meddling gods, traumatic backstory, touch aversion, politics
Dedication: "For my fellow neurodivergents afraid to be seen, this one is for you." 🥹
Cethin has been making plans and setting them into motion in secret to protect his kingdom that has been cut off from the rest of the world. No one can figure out the new phantom monsters that keep showing up, but suddenly a feisty female appears with weapons that can kill them. Cethin quickly folds her into his plans. Kailia just wants her arrow back, but she keeps stabbing the king and it has ended up with her forced into a bargain with him to be his wife. Razik, the commander's son and resident grumpy dragon shifter, thinks there is more to Kailia that meets the eye, and the commander offers him the spot as her personal guard to figure her out.
For those who haven't read anything in this universe (yet!), the stories are related, but you can read whichever series you would like first. I am partial to Lady of Darkness series first because that is the way I did it and I am biased, but these two books will be a prequel of sorts to Lady of Darkness, so you can absolutely jump into this book now! These worlds have fae, gods, shifters, vampires, witches and more! And Melissa writes the best mental health rep and found families! I adore this world and the characters so much! Those of us that have read the Lady of Darkness series know and love several of them, but we get to see their stories and how they came to be a found family! This book was EVERYTHING I wanted and more and I am an emotional puddle after reading it and absolutely yearning for the second book!
-------
Tortured Souls by Melissa K Roehrich
Avonleya book 1 (planned duology)
Releases 1/12
Dark fantasy romance
Multiple POV, forced marriage/proximity, found family, neurodivergent stabby queen, reluctant morally grey king trying to save his people, super grumpy dragon shifter, mental health rep, queer normative world, slow burn, touch her and find out, banter, he falls first, f*ck it, who's hunting who?, emotional whiplash, angst and yearning, meddling gods, traumatic backstory, touch aversion, politics
Dedication: "For my fellow neurodivergents afraid to be seen, this one is for you." 🥹
Cethin has been making plans and setting them into motion in secret to protect his kingdom that has been cut off from the rest of the world. No one can figure out the new phantom monsters that keep showing up, but suddenly a feisty female appears with weapons that can kill them. Cethin quickly folds her into his plans. Kailia just wants her arrow back, but she keeps stabbing the king and it has ended up with her forced into a bargain with him to be his wife. Razik, the commander's son and resident grumpy dragon shifter, thinks there is more to Kailia that meets the eye, and the commander offers him the spot as her personal guard to figure her out.
For those who haven't read anything in this universe (yet!), the stories are related, but you can read whichever series you would like first. I am partial to Lady of Darkness series first because that is the way I did it and I am biased, but these two books will be a prequel of sorts to Lady of Darkness, so you can absolutely jump into this book now! These worlds have fae, gods, shifters, vampires, witches and more! And Melissa writes the best mental health rep and found families! I adore this world and the characters so much! Those of us that have read the Lady of Darkness series know and love several of them, but we get to see their stories and how they came to be a found family! This book was EVERYTHING I wanted and more and I am an emotional puddle after reading it and absolutely yearning for the second book!
February 8, 2026
Spoiler free review: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ / 🌶️.5
Y’all. At this point, Melissa K Roehrich could literally write a how-to guide on watching paint dry and I’d be the first to rate it 5⭐️. Every story (cough: piece of art) she’s ever written has been nothing short of a masterpiece, and Tortured Souls only confirms that triple fold. I knew this would be yet another infinity star read not only bc it’s MKR, but because I teared up at not page one, but the DEDICATION!!
Tortured Souls takes place pre Lady of Darkness, and the way it connects so seamlessly to her other series?! Hands down favorite multiverse of all time. Ever. EVER. The worldbuilding was intricate yet easy to grasp, plot kept me on the edge of my seat frantically trying to unravel its mysteries, and the characters and relationships were achingly complex and beautiful. Add in found family, mental health rep handled with such tender, profound care, and plot twists that will have you absolutely REELING - what’s not to love?!
“𝒯𝒽𝑒 𝓋𝑒𝒾𝓁 𝒷𝑒𝓉𝓌𝑒𝑒𝓃 𝓁𝑜𝓋𝑒 𝒶𝓃𝒹 𝒽𝒶𝓉𝑒 𝒾𝓈 𝓉𝒽𝒾𝓃, 𝓉𝒾𝓃𝓎 𝒻𝒾𝑒𝓃𝒹. 𝐵𝑜𝓉𝒽 𝒶𝓇𝑒 𝒻𝓊𝑒𝓁𝑒𝒹 𝒷𝓎 𝓅𝒶𝓈𝓈𝒾𝑜𝓃, 𝒶𝓃𝒹 𝐼 𝓉𝒽𝒾𝓃𝓀 𝐼’𝓁𝓁 𝒷𝑒 𝒻𝒾𝓃𝑒 𝓌𝒾𝓉𝒽 𝑒𝒾𝓉𝒽𝑒𝓇 𝑜𝓃𝑒 𝒻𝓇𝑜𝓂 𝓎𝑜𝓊.”
The story follows our neurodivergent FMC, Kailia: a wildly astute, hilarious, and very much stab-first-ask-questions-later kind of gal, trying to heal from past trauma while finding her place in an unfamiliar world. Her dry, matter-of-fact view of the world had me laughing out loud, and watching her slowly learn to trust felt healing in more ways than one. And Cethin? Intense, broody, alluring, and dangerous all wrapped in one. He shot quickly up my MMC rankings, and his relationship with Kailia was so patient and intentional, yet shrouded in mystery. It had me swooning, laughing, and needingggg to know what happened next. As for Razik… 😫❤️🔥 if I could love his broody dragon ass any more it would honestly be concerning, and yet this book somehow made me do exactly that.
And don’t even get me started on that ending!? Criminal. Absolutely criminal, so on brand, & 12/10 would recommend again. After finishing, *I’m* now the Tortured Soul bc all I can do is say thank you and patiently wait for book 2 while I stare at a wall.
TLDR; if you love your fantasy romance books with complex characters, intricate yet seamless worldbuilding, heart-aching romance filled with banter and yearning, jaw dropping plot twists, and peak emotional damage - welcome to your new favorite read.
- Forced marriage
- Banter & yearning (!!!)
- Mental health rep
- Slow burn
- Neurodivergent FMC
- Dragons, meddling gods, witches, fae
Y’all. At this point, Melissa K Roehrich could literally write a how-to guide on watching paint dry and I’d be the first to rate it 5⭐️. Every story (cough: piece of art) she’s ever written has been nothing short of a masterpiece, and Tortured Souls only confirms that triple fold. I knew this would be yet another infinity star read not only bc it’s MKR, but because I teared up at not page one, but the DEDICATION!!
Tortured Souls takes place pre Lady of Darkness, and the way it connects so seamlessly to her other series?! Hands down favorite multiverse of all time. Ever. EVER. The worldbuilding was intricate yet easy to grasp, plot kept me on the edge of my seat frantically trying to unravel its mysteries, and the characters and relationships were achingly complex and beautiful. Add in found family, mental health rep handled with such tender, profound care, and plot twists that will have you absolutely REELING - what’s not to love?!
“𝒯𝒽𝑒 𝓋𝑒𝒾𝓁 𝒷𝑒𝓉𝓌𝑒𝑒𝓃 𝓁𝑜𝓋𝑒 𝒶𝓃𝒹 𝒽𝒶𝓉𝑒 𝒾𝓈 𝓉𝒽𝒾𝓃, 𝓉𝒾𝓃𝓎 𝒻𝒾𝑒𝓃𝒹. 𝐵𝑜𝓉𝒽 𝒶𝓇𝑒 𝒻𝓊𝑒𝓁𝑒𝒹 𝒷𝓎 𝓅𝒶𝓈𝓈𝒾𝑜𝓃, 𝒶𝓃𝒹 𝐼 𝓉𝒽𝒾𝓃𝓀 𝐼’𝓁𝓁 𝒷𝑒 𝒻𝒾𝓃𝑒 𝓌𝒾𝓉𝒽 𝑒𝒾𝓉𝒽𝑒𝓇 𝑜𝓃𝑒 𝒻𝓇𝑜𝓂 𝓎𝑜𝓊.”
The story follows our neurodivergent FMC, Kailia: a wildly astute, hilarious, and very much stab-first-ask-questions-later kind of gal, trying to heal from past trauma while finding her place in an unfamiliar world. Her dry, matter-of-fact view of the world had me laughing out loud, and watching her slowly learn to trust felt healing in more ways than one. And Cethin? Intense, broody, alluring, and dangerous all wrapped in one. He shot quickly up my MMC rankings, and his relationship with Kailia was so patient and intentional, yet shrouded in mystery. It had me swooning, laughing, and needingggg to know what happened next. As for Razik… 😫❤️🔥 if I could love his broody dragon ass any more it would honestly be concerning, and yet this book somehow made me do exactly that.
And don’t even get me started on that ending!? Criminal. Absolutely criminal, so on brand, & 12/10 would recommend again. After finishing, *I’m* now the Tortured Soul bc all I can do is say thank you and patiently wait for book 2 while I stare at a wall.
TLDR; if you love your fantasy romance books with complex characters, intricate yet seamless worldbuilding, heart-aching romance filled with banter and yearning, jaw dropping plot twists, and peak emotional damage - welcome to your new favorite read.
- Forced marriage
- Banter & yearning (!!!)
- Mental health rep
- Slow burn
- Neurodivergent FMC
- Dragons, meddling gods, witches, fae
February 19, 2026
Tortured Souls by Melissa K. Roehrich
Book Blurb:Fate bends to no one except the cursed.
The King
The safety of his kingdom has been the highest priority for Cethin since the moment he was born, but he’s been on the throne less than a year when new threats find their way to his lands. Past sacrifices mean nothing if he can’t figure out what is hunting his people. Desperate to protect his kingdom but also free Avonleya from the curse that keeps them locked away from the rest of realm, he’ll do anything to ensure his people know peace. Even if that means being a villain in one story to be a savior in another.
The Queen
When Kailia steps in to save the Avonleyan king from certain death, she never expected to be punished for it. Then again, maybe she’s being punished for accidentally stabbing him a few weeks later. Whatever the reason, she suddenly finds herself forced into a marriage and onto a throne. But she’s not from here. She’s from across the sea where the Avonleyan king is only whispered about. Wicked. Cursed. Cruel. That’s fine. She can be all those things too, and she’ll have to be to get what she came to the kingdom for. She lives for the hunt, and she’s never the prey.
Rating: ****
Feels: Amused, Heat, Engaged, Stunned.
Style: Fantasy, Romantasy, Fantasy Romance, Dark Romance, Dark Fantasy
First published February 12, 2026: 672 pages
Dark, emotion filled enemies thrown together and forced to cooperate. I love how the world building always leaves you guessing what exactly is going on and the ride is always so good !! I love getting to come back to this authors world and I was not even prepared for these characters. If you think you know their story you do not !! Kailia is just an absolute joy .... to read about. I adore her. She puzzles and frustrates the entire court and it was sooo much fun to be along for the ride. Poor poor Cethin. Its so much fun to see those two interact. The banter, tension and ... the stabbing. Love everything. I have always been such a Razik fan so it was so much fun to get to see so much of him. This read was definitely emotional, dark and engaging. Prepare for this read !! Can not wait for the next book and more from this world !!!
Favorite Quote: "How can I possibly convince people I'm in love with you when I hate the fact you exist at all? "
This book has:
Dark Romantasy
Forced Marriage
Banter
Yearning
Forced Proximity
Slow Burn
Neuro Divergent Rep
Political Intrigue
Book Blurb:Fate bends to no one except the cursed.
The King
The safety of his kingdom has been the highest priority for Cethin since the moment he was born, but he’s been on the throne less than a year when new threats find their way to his lands. Past sacrifices mean nothing if he can’t figure out what is hunting his people. Desperate to protect his kingdom but also free Avonleya from the curse that keeps them locked away from the rest of realm, he’ll do anything to ensure his people know peace. Even if that means being a villain in one story to be a savior in another.
The Queen
When Kailia steps in to save the Avonleyan king from certain death, she never expected to be punished for it. Then again, maybe she’s being punished for accidentally stabbing him a few weeks later. Whatever the reason, she suddenly finds herself forced into a marriage and onto a throne. But she’s not from here. She’s from across the sea where the Avonleyan king is only whispered about. Wicked. Cursed. Cruel. That’s fine. She can be all those things too, and she’ll have to be to get what she came to the kingdom for. She lives for the hunt, and she’s never the prey.
Rating: ****
Feels: Amused, Heat, Engaged, Stunned.
Style: Fantasy, Romantasy, Fantasy Romance, Dark Romance, Dark Fantasy
First published February 12, 2026: 672 pages
Dark, emotion filled enemies thrown together and forced to cooperate. I love how the world building always leaves you guessing what exactly is going on and the ride is always so good !! I love getting to come back to this authors world and I was not even prepared for these characters. If you think you know their story you do not !! Kailia is just an absolute joy .... to read about. I adore her. She puzzles and frustrates the entire court and it was sooo much fun to be along for the ride. Poor poor Cethin. Its so much fun to see those two interact. The banter, tension and ... the stabbing. Love everything. I have always been such a Razik fan so it was so much fun to get to see so much of him. This read was definitely emotional, dark and engaging. Prepare for this read !! Can not wait for the next book and more from this world !!!
Favorite Quote: "How can I possibly convince people I'm in love with you when I hate the fact you exist at all? "
This book has:
Dark Romantasy
Forced Marriage
Banter
Yearning
Forced Proximity
Slow Burn
Neuro Divergent Rep
Political Intrigue
Want to read
February 20, 2026I can’t skip a Melissa K Roehrich release. No one writes dark, twisted, and complex like she does!
Want to read
February 12, 2026Happy release day! ♥️ Can not wait for my Physical copy to get here on Sunday! 🥰
February 2, 2026
Melissa Roehrich has officially done it again, Tortured Souls didn’t just meet my expectations, it absolutely obliterated them. If there was ever any doubt about her being my favorite author, this book cemented her place firmly at the top.
I devoured this in less than 24 hours because putting it down simply wasn’t an option. Every chapter pulled me deeper into the story until I reached that final page wondering how I was supposed to function while waiting for the next book.
Kailia is easily one of my all time favorite FMCs. She is layered, raw, and profoundly human. Watching her navigate trauma, mental health struggles, discomfort with touch, and the weight of social situations felt incredibly authentic and handled with so much care. Characters with real challenges always resonate with me, and Roehrich wrote Kailia with empathy, strength, and emotional nuance that made her unforgettable.
And our king… the mystery, the broodiness, the quiet intensity, I am completely gone for this man. Somehow I love him even more here than in the Darkness series. Seeing pieces of his story unfold was both satisfying and tantalizing, especially because Roehrich intentionally kept so much of these characters shrouded in mystery before now.
Then there’s Razik, a character I have loved every single time he’s appeared and finally getting more of his backstory was EVERYTHING. His journey is just as compelling, adding even more depth to a world I already never want to leave.
Speaking of this world… Roehrich is an absolute mastermind. The way she threads connections together, plants Easter eggs for longtime readers, and expands the emotional landscape of her universe is nothing short of brilliant. You can feel the intention behind every reveal.
The pacing is steady, the world-building is immersive, and the storytelling is utterly addictive.
Yes, this is a prequel, but new readers can absolutely start here. At the same time, longtime fans will be rewarded in the best possible ways.
And that cliffhanger? PERFECT. Sharp enough to leave me feral for the next installment, but not so abrupt that it feels cruel.
Books like this are exactly why Melissa Roehrich remains an auto read author for me. When she writes stories this powerful, this emotional, and this consuming… I honestly don’t see that changing anytime soon.
I loved every second of this reading experience and already know this is a story I’ll be thinking about for a very long time.
I devoured this in less than 24 hours because putting it down simply wasn’t an option. Every chapter pulled me deeper into the story until I reached that final page wondering how I was supposed to function while waiting for the next book.
Kailia is easily one of my all time favorite FMCs. She is layered, raw, and profoundly human. Watching her navigate trauma, mental health struggles, discomfort with touch, and the weight of social situations felt incredibly authentic and handled with so much care. Characters with real challenges always resonate with me, and Roehrich wrote Kailia with empathy, strength, and emotional nuance that made her unforgettable.
And our king… the mystery, the broodiness, the quiet intensity, I am completely gone for this man. Somehow I love him even more here than in the Darkness series. Seeing pieces of his story unfold was both satisfying and tantalizing, especially because Roehrich intentionally kept so much of these characters shrouded in mystery before now.
Then there’s Razik, a character I have loved every single time he’s appeared and finally getting more of his backstory was EVERYTHING. His journey is just as compelling, adding even more depth to a world I already never want to leave.
Speaking of this world… Roehrich is an absolute mastermind. The way she threads connections together, plants Easter eggs for longtime readers, and expands the emotional landscape of her universe is nothing short of brilliant. You can feel the intention behind every reveal.
The pacing is steady, the world-building is immersive, and the storytelling is utterly addictive.
Yes, this is a prequel, but new readers can absolutely start here. At the same time, longtime fans will be rewarded in the best possible ways.
And that cliffhanger? PERFECT. Sharp enough to leave me feral for the next installment, but not so abrupt that it feels cruel.
Books like this are exactly why Melissa Roehrich remains an auto read author for me. When she writes stories this powerful, this emotional, and this consuming… I honestly don’t see that changing anytime soon.
I loved every second of this reading experience and already know this is a story I’ll be thinking about for a very long time.
February 14, 2026
“You are a distraction I cannot afford, but one I am finding myself so utterly obsessed with, I keep forgetting why it’s a terrible thing.“
5 ★’s
Pardon me that ending.. criminal and my feelings are hurt.
The plot had me immediately hooked. We’re getting political intrigue, mysterious monsters, a forced marriage and so much plotting.
I love these characters. Melissa is the queen of writing complex, flawed and emotionally damaging characters.
❥ Razik, our grumpy, broody dragon - but we already knew that! I loved getting to see him in a different light and learn more about him as a character.
❥ Kailia, what a stabby, poor tortured soul. The little bits of her backstory we get are so tragic, but despite what she’s been through she’s still so strong. I also love her cunning! She’s one of those characters where you never know where their true intentions lie. Also, love her friendship with Razik because they’re both grumpy and I just adore that dynamic!
❥ Cethin… my man. He’s also clearly a tortured soul. He’s so secretive, sneaky, cunning, dark and unapologetic. He’s also a complete simp for Kailia. Like, this man thought it was worth being stabbed because he was then able to sleep next to her. Not to mention he is so patient and understanding, and so incredibly observant of her. Also, him constantly calling her “wife” I melted. Then the nickname “tiny fiend”!? I cannot.
I feel deeply betrayed by the end of this book. I’m going to need some of these characters to grovel before I can forgive them bc they hurt my heart.
5 ★’s
Pardon me that ending.. criminal and my feelings are hurt.
The plot had me immediately hooked. We’re getting political intrigue, mysterious monsters, a forced marriage and so much plotting.
I love these characters. Melissa is the queen of writing complex, flawed and emotionally damaging characters.
❥ Razik, our grumpy, broody dragon - but we already knew that! I loved getting to see him in a different light and learn more about him as a character.
❥ Kailia, what a stabby, poor tortured soul. The little bits of her backstory we get are so tragic, but despite what she’s been through she’s still so strong. I also love her cunning! She’s one of those characters where you never know where their true intentions lie. Also, love her friendship with Razik because they’re both grumpy and I just adore that dynamic!
❥ Cethin… my man. He’s also clearly a tortured soul. He’s so secretive, sneaky, cunning, dark and unapologetic. He’s also a complete simp for Kailia. Like, this man thought it was worth being stabbed because he was then able to sleep next to her. Not to mention he is so patient and understanding, and so incredibly observant of her. Also, him constantly calling her “wife” I melted. Then the nickname “tiny fiend”!? I cannot.
I feel deeply betrayed by the end of this book. I’m going to need some of these characters to grovel before I can forgive them bc they hurt my heart.
February 8, 2026
Five freaking stars. I adored this book. The way I don’t wanna wait for book 2 but I know Melissa needs time to make magic.
Tortured Souls is the prequel series to one of my Roman Empire series Lady of Darkness. Do you need to read that first?…I’d say no! I was actually worried this book wouldn’t be as impactful because I know a lot of “the things”. Boy was I wrong! I first off forgot about some of the details from LOD so some things I was like OH WAIT. Then there were things I never knew happened, the inner workings of a relationship we don’t see a ton of in LOD. The plot is also its own storyline that keeps you at the edge of your seat with the mystery of disappearing fae in the kingdom. And that ending. BRUTAL.
The tension between Cethin and Kailia was perfection. The slowest burn of all burns. But rightly so. Kailia and her quirks were done so well. I applaud Melissa in the writing of her character and giving light to those with the neurodivergence in their lives.
I also came into this book as a Raz STAN, I feared I wouldn’t love him more…lies. I love him more and more each time he graces the pages of a book.
Thank you to Melissa for the e-ARC. I cannot wait for new fans and ol chaosverse veterans to get this in their hot little hands.
Tortured Souls is the prequel series to one of my Roman Empire series Lady of Darkness. Do you need to read that first?…I’d say no! I was actually worried this book wouldn’t be as impactful because I know a lot of “the things”. Boy was I wrong! I first off forgot about some of the details from LOD so some things I was like OH WAIT. Then there were things I never knew happened, the inner workings of a relationship we don’t see a ton of in LOD. The plot is also its own storyline that keeps you at the edge of your seat with the mystery of disappearing fae in the kingdom. And that ending. BRUTAL.
The tension between Cethin and Kailia was perfection. The slowest burn of all burns. But rightly so. Kailia and her quirks were done so well. I applaud Melissa in the writing of her character and giving light to those with the neurodivergence in their lives.
I also came into this book as a Raz STAN, I feared I wouldn’t love him more…lies. I love him more and more each time he graces the pages of a book.
Thank you to Melissa for the e-ARC. I cannot wait for new fans and ol chaosverse veterans to get this in their hot little hands.
February 5, 2026
Whoa.
I think this one may have pulled me from a reading slump. Melissa K. Roehrich truly just writes bangers, and Tortured Souls is no different.
As someone who absolutely LOVED the Lady of Darkness series, I am always excited when I have the ability to jump back into that universe with different stories and characters. While Tortured Souls is technically a standalone duet and you do not need to read Lady of Darkness, I would recommend it. Simply because there are some spoilers for Lady of Darkness within Tortured Souls, and I also think it improved my reader experience.
I had so much fun reading this one. Kailia is just such a witty FMC and packs a punch (stab is probably better) with her remarks. Kailia is a very stabby FMC with a touch aversion, and that was something I really enjoyed seeing her work with throughout the book.
The banter between all the characters, specifically among Cethin, Razik & Kailia had me smiling at my kindle like a loser.
Then we have the secrets, the betrayals, the lies….. oh my, SOOO much happened in the last 20% that I am just begging for book two.
I think this one may have pulled me from a reading slump. Melissa K. Roehrich truly just writes bangers, and Tortured Souls is no different.
As someone who absolutely LOVED the Lady of Darkness series, I am always excited when I have the ability to jump back into that universe with different stories and characters. While Tortured Souls is technically a standalone duet and you do not need to read Lady of Darkness, I would recommend it. Simply because there are some spoilers for Lady of Darkness within Tortured Souls, and I also think it improved my reader experience.
I had so much fun reading this one. Kailia is just such a witty FMC and packs a punch (stab is probably better) with her remarks. Kailia is a very stabby FMC with a touch aversion, and that was something I really enjoyed seeing her work with throughout the book.
The banter between all the characters, specifically among Cethin, Razik & Kailia had me smiling at my kindle like a loser.
Then we have the secrets, the betrayals, the lies….. oh my, SOOO much happened in the last 20% that I am just begging for book two.
February 18, 2026
Rating: 4.25★
"The veil between love and hate is thin, tiny fiend. Both are fueled by passion, and I think I'll be fine with either one from you."
MELISSA! Brb because I'm going to turn into an ash rider and hunt MKR down after that ending!
I am forever obsessed with MKR's writing and the wonderful worlds that she creates. All of her series take place in the same multiverse which has just made it so fun to learn about different worlds, characters, and their unique stories especially when we see parts come together.
PLOT: If you love fantasy romance with a dark twist, her books are for you. But as always, there are dark themes so read content warnings ahead of time. I think this book in particular is perfect for people who enjoy complex characters, multiple storylines, and a bit of mystery! MKR gave us just the right amount of hints without making the storyline too predictable. While I had my theories, there were some parts that caught me completely off guard or that I didn't see coming. You can still sense that something is coming so it was fun to try to figure out how it would all come to fruition. I kinda felt like I was in it with the characters, just as confused trying to pick a part at everyone's secrets.
Tropes:
-Forced proximity
-Forced marriage
-Slow burn
-Touch her and die
-Court/political intrigue
CHARACTERS: Morally grey on steroids. If you like shadow daddies, you're going to love Cethin. BUT, you're also going to love our stabby neurodivergent ash rider, Kalia (LOVE the representation). And throw in a broody dragon Razik and you're set. But seriously, I loved all three of these characters. They're all made for each other in a way but they also have their flaws and their secrets which makes it perfectly chaotic. The story follows all three of them so they get mostly equal screen time. I loved getting to know Kalia and Razik's backstory and see their growth and now I can't wait to learn more about Cethin.
Overall: I loved the plot, I loved the characters, I loved the action, and the ending??? I will be gnawing at the bars of my enclosure until book 2 is released. Every time I put the book down I found myself eagerly awaiting the chance to pick it back up again. I couldn't wait to see how secrets unraveled, characters would grow, and relationships would progress.
What could have been better? Sometimes this miscommunication gets tiresome but also I feel if you understand these characters, it's warranted. Because they each have their own flaws, it's only natural that they don't know how to communicate or properly navigate these relationships especially with the trauma they've all endured. I hate it when there's that disconnect in books and I feel like MKR does a good job at showing that it's a STRUGGLE to heal and you get to see that struggle in order to really appreciate the growth. I do wish we got to see a little bit more of the growth between some of the characters but again, these characters have secrets and if they let everyone in in book 1 then they would not be the characters that they are.
So did I convince you yet? Run to your favorite local bookstore NOW.
"The veil between love and hate is thin, tiny fiend. Both are fueled by passion, and I think I'll be fine with either one from you."
MELISSA! Brb because I'm going to turn into an ash rider and hunt MKR down after that ending!
I am forever obsessed with MKR's writing and the wonderful worlds that she creates. All of her series take place in the same multiverse which has just made it so fun to learn about different worlds, characters, and their unique stories especially when we see parts come together.
PLOT: If you love fantasy romance with a dark twist, her books are for you. But as always, there are dark themes so read content warnings ahead of time. I think this book in particular is perfect for people who enjoy complex characters, multiple storylines, and a bit of mystery! MKR gave us just the right amount of hints without making the storyline too predictable. While I had my theories, there were some parts that caught me completely off guard or that I didn't see coming. You can still sense that something is coming so it was fun to try to figure out how it would all come to fruition. I kinda felt like I was in it with the characters, just as confused trying to pick a part at everyone's secrets.
Tropes:
-Forced proximity
-Forced marriage
-Slow burn
-Touch her and die
-Court/political intrigue
CHARACTERS: Morally grey on steroids. If you like shadow daddies, you're going to love Cethin. BUT, you're also going to love our stabby neurodivergent ash rider, Kalia (LOVE the representation). And throw in a broody dragon Razik and you're set. But seriously, I loved all three of these characters. They're all made for each other in a way but they also have their flaws and their secrets which makes it perfectly chaotic. The story follows all three of them so they get mostly equal screen time. I loved getting to know Kalia and Razik's backstory and see their growth and now I can't wait to learn more about Cethin.
Overall: I loved the plot, I loved the characters, I loved the action, and the ending??? I will be gnawing at the bars of my enclosure until book 2 is released. Every time I put the book down I found myself eagerly awaiting the chance to pick it back up again. I couldn't wait to see how secrets unraveled, characters would grow, and relationships would progress.
What could have been better? Sometimes this miscommunication gets tiresome but also I feel if you understand these characters, it's warranted. Because they each have their own flaws, it's only natural that they don't know how to communicate or properly navigate these relationships especially with the trauma they've all endured. I hate it when there's that disconnect in books and I feel like MKR does a good job at showing that it's a STRUGGLE to heal and you get to see that struggle in order to really appreciate the growth. I do wish we got to see a little bit more of the growth between some of the characters but again, these characters have secrets and if they let everyone in in book 1 then they would not be the characters that they are.
So did I convince you yet? Run to your favorite local bookstore NOW.
February 14, 2026
“you are a distraction i cannot afford, but one i am finding myself so utterly obsessed with, i keep forgetting why it’s a terrible thing.”
—
i don’t know what melissa puts in her books to make them SO addicting. i finished this almost 700-page book in a day and a half?? like hello??
cethin, my new book bf. he’s trying to do what’s best for his people after being forced into a role he didn’t necessarily want. and he is so down bad for kailia so fast. this man would give her the world if she only asked. the slow burn was SLOW. especially with him constantly being stabbed but i ate it up every single time.
kailia was such a perfect fmc! a stabby, neurodivergent queen with touch aversion. she is such a fun character. i loved seeing this handled with so much care. both cethin & razik being patient, caring, and respectful while slowly helping her navigate that struggle genuinely made my heart melt
razik’s friendship with lia is everything to me. i’ve loved him since lady of darkness, and this made me love him even more. who doesn’t love a grumpy, protective dragon who doesn’t want anyone touching his bowl? he tries so hard not to care about anyone because of his past… but watching him slowly add more people to that list? my shayla.
all of these characters are so cunning and intelligent that i love being in their heads. they’re all relatable in such different ways, and i cannot wait to see even more growth in book two of this duology.
the betrayals??? one after another. my jaw was on the floor. i swear you think you won’t be stressed reading this if you’ve read LOD… but that was NOT the case. why am i already worried about how this is going to wrap up? i need book two immediately.
(btw kailia constantly being convinced raz & cethin were past lovers was the funniest thing)
“𝒔𝒉𝒆 𝒄𝒐𝒖𝒍𝒅 𝒉𝒂𝒕𝒆 𝒉𝒊𝒎, 𝒃𝒖𝒕 𝒔𝒉𝒆 𝒘𝒂𝒔 𝒔𝒕𝒊𝒍𝒍 𝒉𝒊𝒔. 𝒊𝒏 𝒕𝒉𝒊𝒔 𝒍𝒊𝒇𝒆𝒕𝒊𝒎𝒆 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒂𝒍𝒍 𝒕𝒉𝒐𝒔𝒆 𝒕𝒐 𝒄𝒐𝒎𝒆.”
—
i don’t know what melissa puts in her books to make them SO addicting. i finished this almost 700-page book in a day and a half?? like hello??
cethin, my new book bf. he’s trying to do what’s best for his people after being forced into a role he didn’t necessarily want. and he is so down bad for kailia so fast. this man would give her the world if she only asked. the slow burn was SLOW. especially with him constantly being stabbed but i ate it up every single time.
kailia was such a perfect fmc! a stabby, neurodivergent queen with touch aversion. she is such a fun character. i loved seeing this handled with so much care. both cethin & razik being patient, caring, and respectful while slowly helping her navigate that struggle genuinely made my heart melt
razik’s friendship with lia is everything to me. i’ve loved him since lady of darkness, and this made me love him even more. who doesn’t love a grumpy, protective dragon who doesn’t want anyone touching his bowl? he tries so hard not to care about anyone because of his past… but watching him slowly add more people to that list? my shayla.
all of these characters are so cunning and intelligent that i love being in their heads. they’re all relatable in such different ways, and i cannot wait to see even more growth in book two of this duology.
the betrayals??? one after another. my jaw was on the floor. i swear you think you won’t be stressed reading this if you’ve read LOD… but that was NOT the case. why am i already worried about how this is going to wrap up? i need book two immediately.
(btw kailia constantly being convinced raz & cethin were past lovers was the funniest thing)
“𝒔𝒉𝒆 𝒄𝒐𝒖𝒍𝒅 𝒉𝒂𝒕𝒆 𝒉𝒊𝒎, 𝒃𝒖𝒕 𝒔𝒉𝒆 𝒘𝒂𝒔 𝒔𝒕𝒊𝒍𝒍 𝒉𝒊𝒔. 𝒊𝒏 𝒕𝒉𝒊𝒔 𝒍𝒊𝒇𝒆𝒕𝒊𝒎𝒆 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒂𝒍𝒍 𝒕𝒉𝒐𝒔𝒆 𝒕𝒐 𝒄𝒐𝒎𝒆.”
February 7, 2026
WOW. twisty, jaw dropping, and action packed from the very beginning, this was impossible to put down. the stabby, witty banter throughout had me GIGGLING. this book has some of the best banter i’ve ever read 🤭 there are so many quotes in this book that are going to live in my head forever.
melissa’s writing has a way of pulling you straight into the core of each character’s humanity. the way she explores healing, trauma, and other emotional complexities is always portrayed with so much care. her storytelling and lore development throughout this entire chaosverse is masterfully done. i’m obsessed with finding the interconnected easter eggs. this book is a perfect example of why i’ll read anything she writes.
and just when i thought i couldn’t be more obsessed with raz..? 👀 i LOVED learning more about his past, while also getting so much of kailia, and cethin’s lore. idc what anyone says 🙂↔️ i adore kailia, she completely stole my heart from her first chapter. her inner monologue felt incredibly relatable. this book launched her straight to my top fmc list. there are so many more layers to discover about these three. this was an incredible reading experience. i highly recommend! and i cannot wait for the second book! 💛
this duology is technically a prequel to the events of lady of darkness, and the legacy series, but can be read at any point. i personally read both lady of darkness, and the legacy series before reading this duology and highly recommend that order for a completely spoiler free experience.
thank you so much to melissa, and team for an early copy of this earc 💛
melissa’s writing has a way of pulling you straight into the core of each character’s humanity. the way she explores healing, trauma, and other emotional complexities is always portrayed with so much care. her storytelling and lore development throughout this entire chaosverse is masterfully done. i’m obsessed with finding the interconnected easter eggs. this book is a perfect example of why i’ll read anything she writes.
and just when i thought i couldn’t be more obsessed with raz..? 👀 i LOVED learning more about his past, while also getting so much of kailia, and cethin’s lore. idc what anyone says 🙂↔️ i adore kailia, she completely stole my heart from her first chapter. her inner monologue felt incredibly relatable. this book launched her straight to my top fmc list. there are so many more layers to discover about these three. this was an incredible reading experience. i highly recommend! and i cannot wait for the second book! 💛
this duology is technically a prequel to the events of lady of darkness, and the legacy series, but can be read at any point. i personally read both lady of darkness, and the legacy series before reading this duology and highly recommend that order for a completely spoiler free experience.
thank you so much to melissa, and team for an early copy of this earc 💛
February 5, 2026
5⭐️ Melissa is truly a genius!! Tortured souls is right because boy are these characters tortured!
If you have read the lady of darkness series, you have met these characters but this book shows you how they got there and boy do they go through it.
• Cethin: the newly appointed fae king trying to figure out why the fae in his kingdom are being killed.
• Kailia: the ash rider with an extreme aversion to touch.
• Razik: the broody dragon shifter.
We have a marriage of convenience, so much yearning, secrets beyond secrets, and an fmc who loves stabbing the mmc. All these characters hate each other so much and that just made the bickering and banter so good. I was highlighting full on paragraphs in this book.
THE ENDING?! Melissa hello?? Truly jaw on the floor and can’t wait to see what happens in book 2. Just blown away as always!
• Marriage of convenience
• Touch averse fmc
• All MCs hate each other
• She stabs him multiple times
• *you do not have to read her other series to read this*
Huge thank you to Melissa for this advanced copy!!
If you have read the lady of darkness series, you have met these characters but this book shows you how they got there and boy do they go through it.
• Cethin: the newly appointed fae king trying to figure out why the fae in his kingdom are being killed.
• Kailia: the ash rider with an extreme aversion to touch.
• Razik: the broody dragon shifter.
We have a marriage of convenience, so much yearning, secrets beyond secrets, and an fmc who loves stabbing the mmc. All these characters hate each other so much and that just made the bickering and banter so good. I was highlighting full on paragraphs in this book.
THE ENDING?! Melissa hello?? Truly jaw on the floor and can’t wait to see what happens in book 2. Just blown away as always!
• Marriage of convenience
• Touch averse fmc
• All MCs hate each other
• She stabs him multiple times
• *you do not have to read her other series to read this*
Huge thank you to Melissa for this advanced copy!!
Review of advance copy received from Author
where to start with this one, first of all the characters, cethin kailia and razik have already my love and my respect and own my heart since lady of darkness, razik definitely more than cethin and kailia but with this one we meet them way before they become the amazing people they are in lady of darkness and in here they're not friends they don't really like each other and specially kailia is "forced" into a marriage with cethin in a kingdom she doesn't really know and cares for so obviously there was complications but these two cethin and kailia had the best banter and tension and the little moments they had were actually so good and they had a good development and obviously at the end all of it goes to shit!! tortured souls is really about what the title says, about complex characters and their traumas and their tortured souls working through life with weapons and just trying to do the best they can but with a lot of secrets!
the book is so fast paced, there's always something happening and you just want to know more and more and you can't stop reading, these characters pull you in and you don't truly know if you should trust them or not, they always have something at their sleeve and when you think you know bam, they surprise you with another revelation that will mess with you head!! idk i just love how melissa writes these characters and this amazing chaos world and the gods and their believes and the connection between the characters, the romance, the banter, her books just makes me feel some type of way and im obsessed i can't wait for more and this one was a little bit better than the legacy in my opinion but im biased because i already knew them in lady of darkness and then razik became one of my fave characters sooo!! this one made me love and care for cethin and kailia even more and at the time i was so confused like the decisions and their actions sometimes made me so mad and frustrated and all the feelings, soo that's how i know this book will be amazing and i will eat it up and i did!! for some may be a little bit slow pace but for me it was wonderful and i love this type of pace for a fantasy book, a lot of secrets and court problems and forced/arranged marriage and enemies to lovers, then a bond, i love it all!!
also the representation and how strong kailia really is damn i got chills seriously!!
thankful for melissa and her team to let me read this arc, forever grateful and i did cried when i received the email, i wasn't really expecting so happy!!
BUT THAT ENDING WHY i, every time i think about it i just want to cry, need book two right now
----
rtc but five freaking stars THIS BOOK THESE CHARACTERS OH MY IM OBSESSED THAT ENDING I ANDKDK comes out february 12!!!!!!!!
the book is so fast paced, there's always something happening and you just want to know more and more and you can't stop reading, these characters pull you in and you don't truly know if you should trust them or not, they always have something at their sleeve and when you think you know bam, they surprise you with another revelation that will mess with you head!! idk i just love how melissa writes these characters and this amazing chaos world and the gods and their believes and the connection between the characters, the romance, the banter, her books just makes me feel some type of way and im obsessed i can't wait for more and this one was a little bit better than the legacy in my opinion but im biased because i already knew them in lady of darkness and then razik became one of my fave characters sooo!! this one made me love and care for cethin and kailia even more and at the time i was so confused like the decisions and their actions sometimes made me so mad and frustrated and all the feelings, soo that's how i know this book will be amazing and i will eat it up and i did!! for some may be a little bit slow pace but for me it was wonderful and i love this type of pace for a fantasy book, a lot of secrets and court problems and forced/arranged marriage and enemies to lovers, then a bond, i love it all!!
also the representation and how strong kailia really is damn i got chills seriously!!
thankful for melissa and her team to let me read this arc, forever grateful and i did cried when i received the email, i wasn't really expecting so happy!!
BUT THAT ENDING WHY i, every time i think about it i just want to cry, need book two right now
----
rtc but five freaking stars THIS BOOK THESE CHARACTERS OH MY IM OBSESSED THAT ENDING I ANDKDK comes out february 12!!!!!!!!
February 10, 2026
Holy Cliffhanger…
Man I loved this story so much and I can’t wait for book 2 to pick up after that ruthless ending. I really liked getting to know everyone before they became so close in Lady of darkness and I was quite surprised at how much animosity there was between them in this book at the same time I really loved it and I just know when we get the second book to this duet, the found family trope is gonna hit so hard. I’m convinced Cethin and Kailia are the hottest couple Melissa has written to date and you can’t change my mind. Also I’ve missed our broody man Razik so much.
The forced marriage trope was done so well in here and the whole time you’re questioning who’s really playing who. Both of our main characters have secrets they keep close and they’re both trying to figure out the other’s motives all while this burning tension between them grows.
If you want a book with really good banter and angst a neurodivergent FMC with a traumatic past and that’s a stab and ask questions later kind of gal. An MMC that’s completely and utterly infatuated with our FMC and will do anything to make her his, and helps her with said trauma, AND a grumpy dragon that cannot stand his king. Then you need to pick this up ASAP.
Thank you Melissa for the ARC of this book it was truly a delight to read.
Man I loved this story so much and I can’t wait for book 2 to pick up after that ruthless ending. I really liked getting to know everyone before they became so close in Lady of darkness and I was quite surprised at how much animosity there was between them in this book at the same time I really loved it and I just know when we get the second book to this duet, the found family trope is gonna hit so hard. I’m convinced Cethin and Kailia are the hottest couple Melissa has written to date and you can’t change my mind. Also I’ve missed our broody man Razik so much.
The forced marriage trope was done so well in here and the whole time you’re questioning who’s really playing who. Both of our main characters have secrets they keep close and they’re both trying to figure out the other’s motives all while this burning tension between them grows.
If you want a book with really good banter and angst a neurodivergent FMC with a traumatic past and that’s a stab and ask questions later kind of gal. An MMC that’s completely and utterly infatuated with our FMC and will do anything to make her his, and helps her with said trauma, AND a grumpy dragon that cannot stand his king. Then you need to pick this up ASAP.
Thank you Melissa for the ARC of this book it was truly a delight to read.
February 18, 2026
Same font, different time period of the same series is how I would describe this. Reading Lady of Darkness and the Legacy series first has definitely influenced my rating and overall bias toward this prequel. While I enjoyed the worldbuilding in those series, I found the FMCs extremely frustrating, which affected my enjoyment.
I did like these characters in Lady of Darkness, and it was interesting getting more of their backstories here, even though they were never my personal favorites. I especially enjoyed seeing Kailia’s origins and her starting out more villainous — that added depth to her character.
Part of me does wish I had started with this prequel series because I already know who ends up with who and who dies, which removes some of the suspense. That said, there were still some solid plot twists, especially toward the end.
I also appreciated that this book leaned more into the male POV. The FMCs in the previous two series were incredibly frustrating to me, and while Kailia has some of those same traits, she felt slightly toned down — thankfully, because I don’t think I could handle much more of the bratty energy. Also, the nickname “tiny fiend” being used 71 times was excessive and definitely got old.
I do think the book could have been a bit shorter. I’m not completely obsessed with this new series — which might just be burnout from reading the author’s other two series back-to-back — but I’m still interested enough to look forward to book two.
I did like these characters in Lady of Darkness, and it was interesting getting more of their backstories here, even though they were never my personal favorites. I especially enjoyed seeing Kailia’s origins and her starting out more villainous — that added depth to her character.
Part of me does wish I had started with this prequel series because I already know who ends up with who and who dies, which removes some of the suspense. That said, there were still some solid plot twists, especially toward the end.
I also appreciated that this book leaned more into the male POV. The FMCs in the previous two series were incredibly frustrating to me, and while Kailia has some of those same traits, she felt slightly toned down — thankfully, because I don’t think I could handle much more of the bratty energy. Also, the nickname “tiny fiend” being used 71 times was excessive and definitely got old.
I do think the book could have been a bit shorter. I’m not completely obsessed with this new series — which might just be burnout from reading the author’s other two series back-to-back — but I’m still interested enough to look forward to book two.
February 10, 2026
Okay, I think it’s important to note that I haven’t read Lady of Darkness yet so I went into this only knowing Razik from the Legacy series! What. A. Ride. I was instantly intrigued with Kailia and finding out her backstory! Cethin infuriated me (just like Theon) with how he was handling the situation with Kailia. I loved all the breadcrumbs we got throughout the story that ultimately led to the ending, and what an ending it was!!! I’m seriously still thinking about it a week later!! I was shocked by so many things, but I don’t want to spoil how amazing it was so my lips are sealed!! Please go read this!! I need to start LOD immediately!!
February 6, 2026
I really enjoyed this book! It’s a MKR book, so I wasn’t expecting to dislike it, but I had such a fun time!! And by fun, I kind of mean emotionally devastating, but you know, classic MKR.
The banter was bantering! By far my favorite part of the book. The slow burn is done so well (and it’s really slow by the way). The banter along the way gives such a good taste of what’s to come, and it does not disappoint. Every time they interacted, I felt like squealing or smiling or laughing, and I just loved them.
The plot is also of course incredible. It’s intense, dark, and amazing in every way. It’s not my favorite MKR book, but it definitely deserves a top slot.
I had a great time reading this, and I’m looking forward to seeing where the story takes us.
You do not need to read other MKR books to enjoy this one! It will definitely spoil some things from other series, but you can simply just read this one and have a blast while reading.
Thank you very much to MKR and her team for the copy of this book! All opinions are my own.
The banter was bantering! By far my favorite part of the book. The slow burn is done so well (and it’s really slow by the way). The banter along the way gives such a good taste of what’s to come, and it does not disappoint. Every time they interacted, I felt like squealing or smiling or laughing, and I just loved them.
The plot is also of course incredible. It’s intense, dark, and amazing in every way. It’s not my favorite MKR book, but it definitely deserves a top slot.
I had a great time reading this, and I’m looking forward to seeing where the story takes us.
You do not need to read other MKR books to enjoy this one! It will definitely spoil some things from other series, but you can simply just read this one and have a blast while reading.
Thank you very much to MKR and her team for the copy of this book! All opinions are my own.
Review of advance copy received from Author
MKR just gets fantasy. She truly never misses.
I love that this is the first book in a duology because it’s absolutely jam-packed. We have mysterious, political intrigue in a seamlessly built world somewhere in the Chaosverse, a new place for us to discover and fall in love with. The characters are complex and will have you simultaneously rooting for them and wanting to shake them silly. Plus, the easter eggs we get along the way and that ending will have you gasping.
I adored our ensemble. I so appreciated the authentic neurodivergent representation in Kailia, as well as her layered character, given what she has been through, while not letting it define her and what she is capable of. Cethin was broody and possessive, and had my attention from beginning to end. The chemistry between Kailia and Cethin was insane - their interactions had me screaming. And if we thought Cethin was moody, then Razik takes the cake. I love the lore we’re getting from him in this book, especially since this isn’t his first appearance in the Chaosverse.
All I have to say is: Buckle up for all the lies and deception, you're in for a ride! 🏹
Thank you to the author for providing me with an e-ARC in exchange for an honest review.
I love that this is the first book in a duology because it’s absolutely jam-packed. We have mysterious, political intrigue in a seamlessly built world somewhere in the Chaosverse, a new place for us to discover and fall in love with. The characters are complex and will have you simultaneously rooting for them and wanting to shake them silly. Plus, the easter eggs we get along the way and that ending will have you gasping.
I adored our ensemble. I so appreciated the authentic neurodivergent representation in Kailia, as well as her layered character, given what she has been through, while not letting it define her and what she is capable of. Cethin was broody and possessive, and had my attention from beginning to end. The chemistry between Kailia and Cethin was insane - their interactions had me screaming. And if we thought Cethin was moody, then Razik takes the cake. I love the lore we’re getting from him in this book, especially since this isn’t his first appearance in the Chaosverse.
All I have to say is: Buckle up for all the lies and deception, you're in for a ride! 🏹
Thank you to the author for providing me with an e-ARC in exchange for an honest review.
February 11, 2026
I have eaten up everything Melissa has written since I discovered the Lady of Darkness series.. and one thing that always has me coming back is the fact that Melissa manages to utterly destroy me. EVERY. SINGLE. TIME. It is rare for an author to be able to do that consistently and to make me question everything whilst I’m reading their book. You think you have it sussed and then Melissa pulls the rug from your feet as if to say “lol. Think again”. I’m sure she giggles to herself when writing these books knowing we’re gonna eat it up and welcome the destruction.
Now Tortured Souls.. you think you know Razik’s, Cethin’s and Kailias story? No. No you don’t. This book has me question how TF did they get to where they were when we first meet them? (Or if you read tortured souls first… you’ll still say WTF).
- Forced marriage
- Banter & yearning (🥵)
- Mental health rep
- Slow burn
- Neurodivergent FMC
- Dragons, meddling gods,
Razik… Oh Razik you broody grumpy dragon. To get things from his POV even in the early days was soooo heart wrenching. Yes let’s be real, he’s a dick and only cares for a couple of people. However when you dig deep, the realisation as to why he’s like that really hits home. I really related to it on a personal level and my heart broke.
Cethin.. Honestly… I just couldn’t. Throughout the book he is predominantly an arrogant arsehole. I’m glad he got injured as many times as he did! I’d have done it too! However. For all his faults throughout this book, he is just a man trying to navigate being a King to a place that is struggling. He cares deeply for his Kingdom and that much is obvious. His manipulation tactics were not ok at all.. that being said.. his patience and devotion to Kailia was really touching. The development of their relationship was both funny and weirdly sweet to me.. the interactions were plotted so well that I wasn’t sure whether my reaction was going to be one of laughter, frustration or happiness. But either way I looked forward to when it was between them.
Kailia, My Queen. My stabby stab Queen. I LOVED Kailia as soon as she made an appearance. Her forwardness and bluntness always had me laughing (especially the lovers comments IYKYK). Her aversion to touch was honestly so beautifully written and Melissa did it so well without trying to exaggerate it and glorify it.
Kailia is a complex character and tbh I couldn’t guess her intentions throughout the book. Does she care for Cethin? Does she care for Razik? Are they means to an end? Are they mutually exclusive? Does she care for the Kingdom? So many questions that I was constantly thinking throughout. That being said one thing I was sure of.. she is one of my favourite female characters I’ve ever read.
Now don’t even get me STARTED on the ending. You think you know where it’s leading to and how it’s going to end? HAHAHAHAHAHA.. back to the drawing board you go. I was not prepared at all and will now be staring at a wall contemplating life for the foreseeable future. But I do know I loved it and I welcome the destruction of my heart from this book.
I truly could not recommend this beautiful book more if I tried. I may have to scream about it in the streets to help. I am forever grateful I got to get an ARC for it.
Now Tortured Souls.. you think you know Razik’s, Cethin’s and Kailias story? No. No you don’t. This book has me question how TF did they get to where they were when we first meet them? (Or if you read tortured souls first… you’ll still say WTF).
- Forced marriage
- Banter & yearning (🥵)
- Mental health rep
- Slow burn
- Neurodivergent FMC
- Dragons, meddling gods,
Razik… Oh Razik you broody grumpy dragon. To get things from his POV even in the early days was soooo heart wrenching. Yes let’s be real, he’s a dick and only cares for a couple of people. However when you dig deep, the realisation as to why he’s like that really hits home. I really related to it on a personal level and my heart broke.
Cethin.. Honestly… I just couldn’t. Throughout the book he is predominantly an arrogant arsehole. I’m glad he got injured as many times as he did! I’d have done it too! However. For all his faults throughout this book, he is just a man trying to navigate being a King to a place that is struggling. He cares deeply for his Kingdom and that much is obvious. His manipulation tactics were not ok at all.. that being said.. his patience and devotion to Kailia was really touching. The development of their relationship was both funny and weirdly sweet to me.. the interactions were plotted so well that I wasn’t sure whether my reaction was going to be one of laughter, frustration or happiness. But either way I looked forward to when it was between them.
Kailia, My Queen. My stabby stab Queen. I LOVED Kailia as soon as she made an appearance. Her forwardness and bluntness always had me laughing (especially the lovers comments IYKYK). Her aversion to touch was honestly so beautifully written and Melissa did it so well without trying to exaggerate it and glorify it.
Kailia is a complex character and tbh I couldn’t guess her intentions throughout the book. Does she care for Cethin? Does she care for Razik? Are they means to an end? Are they mutually exclusive? Does she care for the Kingdom? So many questions that I was constantly thinking throughout. That being said one thing I was sure of.. she is one of my favourite female characters I’ve ever read.
Now don’t even get me STARTED on the ending. You think you know where it’s leading to and how it’s going to end? HAHAHAHAHAHA.. back to the drawing board you go. I was not prepared at all and will now be staring at a wall contemplating life for the foreseeable future. But I do know I loved it and I welcome the destruction of my heart from this book.
I truly could not recommend this beautiful book more if I tried. I may have to scream about it in the streets to help. I am forever grateful I got to get an ARC for it.
February 3, 2026
Once again, Melissa has brought me into the world she has created and made me fall in love with the characters. As someone who has read both Lady of Darkness and Legacy series, I though I had a general idea of what to expect, and boy was I wrong.
Avonleya has a problem. Well, a few problems. The fae are mysteriously dying, the people are being attacked by wraith-like creatures (targeting Cethin specifically), and the council wants Cethin to be married like yesterday. Enter, Kailia. Cethin thinks he has the perfect plan to get Kailia and her abilities to help his people; Kailia wants nothing to do with him; and our favorite grumpy dragon despises Cethin and tentatively starts to build a friendship with Kailia.
My favorite part of Melissa's books is the depth to the characters.
Cethin is feeling the pressure of the Crown after the passing of his father. He is willing to do anything to find a way to protect his people, including bringing in an outsider that nobody knows anything about. He pushes past his limits and finds creative ways to help. And of course, he is keeping the most secrets from everyone - not only his council, but also his new wife.
Kailia is such a great character because she has so much depth. While her background starts as a mystery, it is clear that she is heavily traumatized (as evidenced by her touch aversion). She has a "stab first and ask forgiveness later" mentality which doesn't earn her the most fans. But Kailia doesn't let anyone tell her what to do, at least without a lot of work on their part. While she is navigating a new world, new customs, and new responsibilities, she has to learn how to let Cethin in and prove herself worthy of her new title. But Kailia might be keeping the most secrets of them all.
Razik. Razik, Razik, Razik. He is just as grumpy as I remember him from the other books, but he really tugged on my heartstrings in Tortured Souls. As one of the last descendents of Sargon, Razik is still hurting from being left in the realm. He is only close to a few people, and feels so alone. He thinks that he has found a kindred soul in Lia, but secrets have a way of catching up with everyone. Once everything ends, will Razik be more alone than ever?
The world building is also done in a way that isn't a total info dump but makes sense. Yes, there are a lot of Gods, and yes there are a lot of different types of beings, but they're explained well.
Tropes in Tortured Souls include
Arranged (forced) Marriage
A whole lot of Yearning
One Bed
Hunter x Hunted
It is not necessary to read Lady of Darkness or Legacy before reading this book, but it was definitely fun to see easter eggs throughout the book. And trying to figure out how the characters get from Point A (Avonleya) to Point B (Lady of Darkness) is an extra level of entertainment.
I am honored to be part of Melissa's ARC team and share my love for this chaosverse with you all!
Tortured Souls releases February 12 2026.
Avonleya has a problem. Well, a few problems. The fae are mysteriously dying, the people are being attacked by wraith-like creatures (targeting Cethin specifically), and the council wants Cethin to be married like yesterday. Enter, Kailia. Cethin thinks he has the perfect plan to get Kailia and her abilities to help his people; Kailia wants nothing to do with him; and our favorite grumpy dragon despises Cethin and tentatively starts to build a friendship with Kailia.
My favorite part of Melissa's books is the depth to the characters.
Cethin is feeling the pressure of the Crown after the passing of his father. He is willing to do anything to find a way to protect his people, including bringing in an outsider that nobody knows anything about. He pushes past his limits and finds creative ways to help. And of course, he is keeping the most secrets from everyone - not only his council, but also his new wife.
Kailia is such a great character because she has so much depth. While her background starts as a mystery, it is clear that she is heavily traumatized (as evidenced by her touch aversion). She has a "stab first and ask forgiveness later" mentality which doesn't earn her the most fans. But Kailia doesn't let anyone tell her what to do, at least without a lot of work on their part. While she is navigating a new world, new customs, and new responsibilities, she has to learn how to let Cethin in and prove herself worthy of her new title. But Kailia might be keeping the most secrets of them all.
Razik. Razik, Razik, Razik. He is just as grumpy as I remember him from the other books, but he really tugged on my heartstrings in Tortured Souls. As one of the last descendents of Sargon, Razik is still hurting from being left in the realm. He is only close to a few people, and feels so alone. He thinks that he has found a kindred soul in Lia, but secrets have a way of catching up with everyone. Once everything ends, will Razik be more alone than ever?
The world building is also done in a way that isn't a total info dump but makes sense. Yes, there are a lot of Gods, and yes there are a lot of different types of beings, but they're explained well.
Tropes in Tortured Souls include
Arranged (forced) Marriage
A whole lot of Yearning
One Bed
Hunter x Hunted
It is not necessary to read Lady of Darkness or Legacy before reading this book, but it was definitely fun to see easter eggs throughout the book. And trying to figure out how the characters get from Point A (Avonleya) to Point B (Lady of Darkness) is an extra level of entertainment.
I am honored to be part of Melissa's ARC team and share my love for this chaosverse with you all!
Tortured Souls releases February 12 2026.
March 12, 2026
4.75 ⭐️
This universe has me so down bad. 🥲
This book is very character-driven. The world-building and overall plot feel lighter compared to the in-depth relationship dynamics we get between the characters. The pacing is steady and the story was very immersive, I did not want to put this down!!
Cethin is such a prick and I LOVE him for it. He would do absolutely anything for his people. He is at his core lonely, but it’s masked by arrogance that just drips off the pages. He honestly gives me Damon Salvatore energy from The Vampire Diaries. His jealousy and possessive behavior toward Kailia? I’m sorry but it’s so hot.
Kailia truly embodies the title Tortured Souls. Her trauma and aversion to touch is such a central part of the story and I really loved seeing it explored. She’s a total badass and officially secured a spot on my favorite FMC list. It was also really refreshing to see neurodivergence represented in a fantasy novel. Watching her navigate social cues and feel conflicted about interpreting people’s intentions added so much depth to her character, and it made her journey feel authentic and layered. Not to mention her unintentional dry humour had me laughing out loud on multiple occasions.
And Razik… I mean PLEASE. I’ve been in love with this grumpy protective dragon since day one. Perfectly imperfect, he balances out the duo with his perceptive nature.
Is it a bit repetitive at times? Ya, the dialogue can get a little exhausting. But honestly I didn’t care. The nicknames, the banter, and the chemistry between the three main characters carried the entire book for me.
This was pure vibes and I ate up every second of it. 😭🔥
Neurodivergent rep
Mental health rep
Forced Proximity/Marriage
Found Family
dragons, meddling gods, witches, fae
This universe has me so down bad. 🥲
This book is very character-driven. The world-building and overall plot feel lighter compared to the in-depth relationship dynamics we get between the characters. The pacing is steady and the story was very immersive, I did not want to put this down!!
Cethin is such a prick and I LOVE him for it. He would do absolutely anything for his people. He is at his core lonely, but it’s masked by arrogance that just drips off the pages. He honestly gives me Damon Salvatore energy from The Vampire Diaries. His jealousy and possessive behavior toward Kailia? I’m sorry but it’s so hot.
Kailia truly embodies the title Tortured Souls. Her trauma and aversion to touch is such a central part of the story and I really loved seeing it explored. She’s a total badass and officially secured a spot on my favorite FMC list. It was also really refreshing to see neurodivergence represented in a fantasy novel. Watching her navigate social cues and feel conflicted about interpreting people’s intentions added so much depth to her character, and it made her journey feel authentic and layered. Not to mention her unintentional dry humour had me laughing out loud on multiple occasions.
And Razik… I mean PLEASE. I’ve been in love with this grumpy protective dragon since day one. Perfectly imperfect, he balances out the duo with his perceptive nature.
Is it a bit repetitive at times? Ya, the dialogue can get a little exhausting. But honestly I didn’t care. The nicknames, the banter, and the chemistry between the three main characters carried the entire book for me.
This was pure vibes and I ate up every second of it. 😭🔥
Neurodivergent rep
Mental health rep
Forced Proximity/Marriage
Found Family
dragons, meddling gods, witches, fae
February 3, 2026
Sooo, this finished me. I mean I finished this. One may wonder how I’m feeling.. FERAL! That’s how I’m feeling! Because I’m sorry WHAT DO YOU MEAN THAT IS WHERE YOU ARE LEAVING ME DANGLING OFF THE PEAK OF MOUNT EVEREST MELISSA?!!
I was absolutely consumed by this story from beginning to end. I didn’t want to eat, I didn’t want to sleep. Work? What’s that? Do I know how this found family ends up because I’ve read the Lady of Darkness series (multiple times), yes. Does it matter? Fucking no! And also, I’m now questioning everything that I know of these three from LoD! You know why? Because Cethin, Kailia and Razik are a found family anomaly. The ultimate in enemies to still enemies and maybe greater enemies than when they started out. 🥴
Tortured Souls is moves and counter moves, it’s who’s hunting who? It’s who and what can I trust? Can I even trust myself? Manipulation and deception and stabbing. It’s ARE YOU FKKING KIDDING ME?! The character work, the chess game, the mind blowing revelations at the end will have you staring at a wall while simultaneously internally raging.
Kailia is our neurodivergent FMC with a tragiccc past; she’s uncomfortable in crowds, hates being touched, and who needs shoes and pants anyway?! She is a breath of fresh air with her blunt replies, snarky comments, and stabby ways yet also relatable given her raw emotionality and the depth of her character. She’s like an onion with all of the layers that need to be peeled away.
Cethin, the moody, mysterious, powerful king who will do anything to save his kingdom, including pushing past his power limits, sanity & happiness. His constant understanding and gentleness with Kailia solidified my love for this male. But the way these two just manipulate the shit out of each other was honestly impressive!
And then we have RAZIK! Our favorite broody, bitter, bowl-loving dragon 🖤 I love how well Razik and Kailia connected, he gained her trust in a totally different way than Cethin did and their banter was some of my favorite! They both have dry humor, they’re blunt and don’t really GAF about hurting feelings and it was the best! And her taunting him about the BOWL, CLASSIC! In total transparency, I was worried about reading his storyline because I knew we were going to experience his source bond with Wren and it always feels a little like cheating when we KNOW who & what the endgame. But Melissa handled this SO TASTEFULLY! It was all kind of glossed over in a way that made it easy to read and I’m so glad there really weren’t more emotional ties between the two than there were! So have no fear, if this is also a concern if yours going into this book! Also, the further insight into Razik’s past & his history with Cethin was so needed! Their anger and hate towards each other is palpable. I continue to understand this dragon more and more with each series and I will never get enough of him!
As I said before, the ending left me dying. I’m 💀. Gone from this world. I need you all to read this ASAP if you love MKR, LoD, or want to read a story about 3 people who truly HATE each other with a passion.
The end. Goodbye.
I was absolutely consumed by this story from beginning to end. I didn’t want to eat, I didn’t want to sleep. Work? What’s that? Do I know how this found family ends up because I’ve read the Lady of Darkness series (multiple times), yes. Does it matter? Fucking no! And also, I’m now questioning everything that I know of these three from LoD! You know why? Because Cethin, Kailia and Razik are a found family anomaly. The ultimate in enemies to still enemies and maybe greater enemies than when they started out. 🥴
Tortured Souls is moves and counter moves, it’s who’s hunting who? It’s who and what can I trust? Can I even trust myself? Manipulation and deception and stabbing. It’s ARE YOU FKKING KIDDING ME?! The character work, the chess game, the mind blowing revelations at the end will have you staring at a wall while simultaneously internally raging.
Kailia is our neurodivergent FMC with a tragiccc past; she’s uncomfortable in crowds, hates being touched, and who needs shoes and pants anyway?! She is a breath of fresh air with her blunt replies, snarky comments, and stabby ways yet also relatable given her raw emotionality and the depth of her character. She’s like an onion with all of the layers that need to be peeled away.
Cethin, the moody, mysterious, powerful king who will do anything to save his kingdom, including pushing past his power limits, sanity & happiness. His constant understanding and gentleness with Kailia solidified my love for this male. But the way these two just manipulate the shit out of each other was honestly impressive!
And then we have RAZIK! Our favorite broody, bitter, bowl-loving dragon 🖤 I love how well Razik and Kailia connected, he gained her trust in a totally different way than Cethin did and their banter was some of my favorite! They both have dry humor, they’re blunt and don’t really GAF about hurting feelings and it was the best! And her taunting him about the BOWL, CLASSIC! In total transparency, I was worried about reading his storyline because I knew we were going to experience his source bond with Wren and it always feels a little like cheating when we KNOW who & what the endgame. But Melissa handled this SO TASTEFULLY! It was all kind of glossed over in a way that made it easy to read and I’m so glad there really weren’t more emotional ties between the two than there were! So have no fear, if this is also a concern if yours going into this book! Also, the further insight into Razik’s past & his history with Cethin was so needed! Their anger and hate towards each other is palpable. I continue to understand this dragon more and more with each series and I will never get enough of him!
As I said before, the ending left me dying. I’m 💀. Gone from this world. I need you all to read this ASAP if you love MKR, LoD, or want to read a story about 3 people who truly HATE each other with a passion.
The end. Goodbye.
February 12, 2026
*ARC REVIEW*
SAYLAH IS ABOUT TO WHOOP ASS 👏🏻
I am forever awed by Melissa’s brain and her ability to weave these stories.
SAYLAH IS ABOUT TO WHOOP ASS 👏🏻
I am forever awed by Melissa’s brain and her ability to weave these stories.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
February 12, 2026
MKR has done it again!
Melissa K Roehrich has done it again!!!
Every book she writes is with an emotional precision that makes every interaction feel charged.
The tension, the banter, the quiet moments, all layered with meaning. Her characters feel painfully real, especially the FMC, whos inner world is written with such care and authenticity.
Seeing a neurodivergent heroine portrayed with this level of sensitivity was deeply moving. Her thoughts, perceptions and emotional responses felt honest and raw, creating an incredibly strong emotional connection for me as a reader. Nothing felt exaggerated or reduced, just human.
This book is angsty, thoughtful and emotionally immersive, with moments that made me pause just to breathe. And yes...it absolutely leaves you wanting more!
This is a powerful, lingering read.
You need to add Tortured Souls to your TBR!
Melissa K Roehrich has done it again!!!
Every book she writes is with an emotional precision that makes every interaction feel charged.
The tension, the banter, the quiet moments, all layered with meaning. Her characters feel painfully real, especially the FMC, whos inner world is written with such care and authenticity.
Seeing a neurodivergent heroine portrayed with this level of sensitivity was deeply moving. Her thoughts, perceptions and emotional responses felt honest and raw, creating an incredibly strong emotional connection for me as a reader. Nothing felt exaggerated or reduced, just human.
This book is angsty, thoughtful and emotionally immersive, with moments that made me pause just to breathe. And yes...it absolutely leaves you wanting more!
This is a powerful, lingering read.
You need to add Tortured Souls to your TBR!
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