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A Study in Shadows #1

Reign of Night

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Fans of Sarah J. Maas and The Witcher will eat up this enemies to lovers dark fantasy about a huntress bonded to an ancient vampire.

She has hunted him for years. Now if she could only kill him.

Lyssandra’s life is a lie. As a hunter of the Helius Order, she’s dedicated to slaying vampires and protecting the innocent. But she’s also a vampire’s human servant.

If her secret comes out, her own order will execute her.

When she finds Asher, she’ll cut out his heart for tying her to him, even if he only did it to save her. Even if it kills her too. But when a young girl is found dead, Lyssandra’s mission is derailed. In the gaping hole where the girl’s heart once was, lies single red rose. Lyssandra has seen the signature before, left by the vampire who took her uncle’s life.

Karpov is one of the ancients, and his death is the only one Lyssandra wants more than Asher’s. Unfortunately, Karpov is also the only being—dead or undead—who holds the key to Asher’s whereabouts. If Lyssandra ever wants to find him, she’ll have to work with her uncle’s murderer.

Asher’s death could finally bring her peace, but can she accept it when it means leaving her uncle’s killer alive? Or will she fall into his waiting arms, unable to fight the pull of the master and servant bond . . .

Find out in Reign of Night, a first person Epic Fantasy packed full of murder and intrigue, with a slow burn, steamy enemies to lovers romance.

381 pages, Kindle Edition

Published July 11, 2022

3008 people are currently reading
13321 people want to read

About the author

Sara C. Roethle

125 books907 followers
Sara C. Roethle is a Fantasy author and part-time unicorn. She enjoys writing character driven stories in various fantasy realms with elements of Celtic and Norse myth, humor, and metaphysical ponderings.

Her series include:

Tree of Ages
The Thief's Apprentice
The Moonstone Chronicles
Xoe Meyers
Bitter Ashes

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5 stars
1,479 (37%)
4 stars
1,395 (35%)
3 stars
823 (20%)
2 stars
209 (5%)
1 star
66 (1%)
Displaying 1 - 30 of 283 reviews
107 reviews7 followers
August 9, 2022
Maybe I’m just not in the mood for this one? I stopped at around 35% because I was getting so annoyed with the main character. She’s the human servant to a vampire, and she hates his guts, even though he saved her life (which is literally the reason she is still alive) and by this point in the book he has saved her TWO MORE TIMES and she’s still like “he’s the worst I’m going to work with this other vampire who LITERALLY MURDERED MY UNCLE IN FRONT OF ME to kill Asher who continuously saves my life.” Um, what girl?

I truly cannot understand all the high reviews. Maybe she gets better over time but I don’t have the patience for it.
Profile Image for booknuts_.
836 reviews1,809 followers
September 20, 2022
this is a one sided "enemies-to-lovers" troupe.

Slow burn? pffft not a true slow burn.

This is a huge bookTok book that I have been constantly seeing around. But I feel like this did not live up to the hype. Nor was it labeled correctly. Not a true enemies to lovers or a true slow burn.

The writing was meh. I will say that I think the author has potential to improve. I'd like to see more of her work later on, books that were written after this one.

The storyline was meh.

The romance was meh.

Thank goodness for the 2 side characters that I like otherwise this would totally be a bust.

Would I recommend this? probably not unless something like this is what you're looking for.
Pure fluff.

Sexual Content: moderate
Language: mild/moderate
Violence: moderate/heavy
Drugs/Alcohol: mild
LGBTQ: none

Profile Image for clara smith.
21 reviews3 followers
January 2, 2023
I’ve only read two GOOD vampire books in my life, one of them being this book.


At first when I read the summary of the book I was super confused but once I got into the book everything made sense. It was written really well and I liked the main character, especially her tension with the love interest. I thought it was going to be a smutty badly written vampire book but no it was super good and HAD A PLOT, thank god. I will say though there isn’t much smut just more of tensions between the two (which was fine with me i still loved it). I also wasn’t expecting murder mystery type beat in the second half but I loved every second of it.

My only half complaint is that there are two parts in the book and I feel like it would’ve made more sense if it was two books instead of 2 parts of one book but I honestly don’t mind much.

I can’t wait to read the second book!
Profile Image for amandathebookworm 📚🪱.
201 reviews655 followers
January 30, 2025
This was fun! I feel like if you’re new to romantasy or fantasy things a super easy entry point. I’d give this probably 3.75-4 ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️. Plot, pros, & cons below 👇🏼

PLOT
Lyssandra is a member of the elite vampire hunting unit & is one of the best but she has a secret. She’s bonded to an incredibly powerful & ancient vampire. When sent on a mission by the king, she gets tangled with him as well as other powerful creatures in her realm that make her hunting more difficult & dangerous by the day. This book has
- vampires, vampire hunters, & other monsters
- found family
- magical bonds
- reluctant allies/almost enemies but not quite
- tension
- new adult — steamy vs. spicy


PROS
- Lyss is super easy to root for & a fun read. She’s smart & malleable & tough as nails while having a kind heart.
- Her fellow vampire hunters are also pretty likable & entertaining.
- I love Asher idc. I need more of him.
- Nonstop action.
- Easy to follow & understand. This would be great for people who want to get into romantasy but are a little maybe intimidated by it.


CONS
- I’m just not OBSESSED, ya know? Like it’s definitely fun but I’m not fiendish for more.
- I’d love a little more character/world building! I like all the characters but the only one I love is a mystery & by design ha.
Profile Image for Genny KB.
63 reviews
March 27, 2023
Overall I enjoyed the cast of characters and larger plot of the book. For a story like this, I expected more world building; or at least a bit more time and detail spent on descriptions of the setting. This isn’t our world, so explain the sights, sounds, textures, etc. which I am supposed to be exploring. The magical and supernatural aspects of the world could have used some additional depth, as well.

I know several reviewers were annoyed with the MC’s dislike of a certain character, but I understood it. She had been raised to think and believe very specific things - things which went above and beyond the normal human even in her world - and he challenged that. If she lets him challenge her foundational beliefs which inform her thoughts and actions and justifications for her life’s work, then what does she have? So, instead, she clings stubbornly to her anger and frustration that her agency and autonomy was taken away from her. (I don’t think it’s all that difficult to understand; especially when you realize that she was raised and indoctrinated to believe that death would be the better option.)

I’ve seen this categorized as a slow burn, but I don’t know if it fully works for me. I can’t exactly put my finger on why, other than the actual interactions in the first act are so limited.

I wouldn’t consider this a favorite read, but it peaked my interest enough that I’ll move on to the second book today - though if I had to wait a few months for it’s release, I might not pick it up.
Profile Image for Amy .
173 reviews9 followers
August 23, 2022
I wanted to like this more. The heroine aggravates me too much. Another tstl girl.
Profile Image for E.L. Irwin.
Author 8 books138 followers
June 20, 2023
Truly enjoyed this book. It was like a cross between Twilight and Throne of Glass. Loved the characters, the plot, the writing style. Well done. Definitely getting the next one.
Profile Image for V.ya.
388 reviews33 followers
dnf
July 5, 2024
DNF at 44%.

Yeah, I decided I don’t care enough about the plot to read on. The female lead is super annoying with her obsession to kill the vampire who saved her. I think I read another reviewer said about her: TSTL, which she deserves. The romance also doesn’t take off because of that. This could have been fun, bad-ass, and steamy (my expectations), but unfortunately it’s nothing but.
Profile Image for Aidan.
10 reviews
January 12, 2023
4.5/5

I literally could not put this down. The TENSION!?!? Obsessed.

The book is broken down into two parts, which could of been separate books as there isn’t much overlap between the two parts, but it reminded me of a season of a TV series where little bits of the main plot are kinda thrown into episodes that come together at the end. My main gripe with this book was the lack of world building (none). You kind of figure it out as you go, but I was so sucked into the story that it really didn’t matter to me.
193 reviews3 followers
May 25, 2024
I kept seeing this book on social media with tonnes of high reviews so thought I’d give it a go. My expectations were managed from the start, I just wanted a bit of fun with a sprinkling of spice and some decent monsters.

DNF at around chapter 10. Here’s why.

The mc is a vampire hunter who has been secretly turned into a vampire servant albeit one on a loose lead still free to kill other vampires. She cannot tell anyone about this or her fellow vampire hunters will execute her. So by about the third or fourth chapter she’s told two other hunters who don’t care and are ready to help her hunt down her master but not kill him because they don’t want her to die as a consequence because if her master dies she dies too.

She is also given a magic sword that warns her of danger because her already heightened senses and abilities from being a vampire hunter and a vampire servant aren’t enough to protect her.

By chapter 10 she’s had two fights. One against a vampire, she loses but the vampire doesn’t kill her because he wants to talk to her. The second against a vampire like creature that isn’t a vampire, but she only survives because her master turns up and gives her his strength. So she’s an all powerful vampire hunter who only survives because vampires let her.

There is no world-building or mythology of note which was disappointing. We have families of vampire hunters (think Castlevania) but not their history. We don’t know how the vampires came to be, and people don’t seem overly scared of them. In fact people seemed more worried about the mc having red hair, a sign she’s a witch, than the monsters she’s hunting.

All in all, it felt very flat and the one scene we have between the mc and her vampire master is very bland. It did not leave me tingling for their next encounter.

Then finally there were the inconsistencies. The MC is training another hunter and he’s on his second hunt. Then he’s on his first. Then back to the second.

The bit that finally did it for me was when the mc and her two friends had saved a village from a soul stealing 18yo girl and the whole village turned on them because the soul stealing 18yo girl’s brother was a sidhe and used his magic to escape unnoticed and the villagers blamed the mc because of her red hair. Clearly she used her witchy magic (the one power she doesn’t have) to help him escape. So she threatens to curse them and that sends the villagers running BUT the vampire hunters have to run away without their horses gear because they are too afraid of the villagers she’s just sent running. WHAT?!

Honestly, I gave up at that point. As a reviewer, my TBR pile is a conveyor belt of books and I don’t have time to read something for fun that might get better by book 3 and the writer has found her stride.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
Profile Image for Jess.
95 reviews2 followers
August 12, 2022
I wasn’t really sure what to expect going into this book, but I thoroughly enjoyed it.

Lyssandra is a hunter for the Helius Order - an ancient organization of hunters who protect the innocent from vampires. She’s unusual since there aren’t many female hunters in the order. She’s also hiding a secret that makes her even more unusual - she’s bonded to an ancient vampire as his human servant. If the order found out, she would be killed.

When another ancient vampire (Karpov) from her past reappears with a proposition for her, she’s given an opportunity to hunt down her bonded vampire (Asher). Even though Karpov killed her uncle, she’s tempted by the offer. She’s spent many years trying to find Asher again, to kill him for tying her to him. Even though it will mean her death too. Things don’t quite work out the way she thought they would and she finds herself torn between killing the vampire she’d been bonded to, or killing the one who murdered her uncle. She also comes to realize that the bond between her and Asher is very real, despite their distance over the years.

I enjoyed Lyssandra as a FMC - a highly skilled hunter who feels no remorse for the killing she has to do to protect others, but also compassionate, empathetic, and loyal when it counts. I initially had to wonder about that first part when she kept constantly ignoring her instincts and the warnings her magical sword was giving off… but, she is still human. It also created the situations where she and Asher were brought back together, and I am 100% invested in seeing where that leads. I actually wish we would have seen more of Asher… he’s mysterious and aloof most of the time, but definitely is aware of the bond they share. I’m assuming we’ll get more of them together in the second book, which I am looking forward to.

I also enjoyed the side characters and her friendships with them. I’m pretty sure the potentate of the Helius order is some sort of wild card in the plot… not really sure how I feel about him yet, but my spidey senses say something’s not quite right. I do wish the human servant bond had been explained a bit more. I found myself with questions about the bond, but maybe more will be explained in the second book. I shall wait not-so-patiently until then.
13 reviews
December 19, 2022
Could have been great, but poor writing ultimately killed this book for me.
Profile Image for Christen.
149 reviews
January 25, 2023
This is a slow start. I think the concept is interesting. The execution needs some work. Someone else said the plot is too convenient and I couldn't agree more.

The main character is a vampire's servant, which is apparently a crazy secret, except everyone knows it. She either tells them or they "sense" her secret. Her secret is about to be revealed? Don't worry, the hunters that find out are also a vampire's servant and his friend that won't tell.

The sidhe and nattmara are supposed to be these mythical creatures that don't exist anymore, but she encounters a family of them. They are all-powerful, but she kills one, and her newbie sidekick kills another. The third is the real bad guy, but he escapes? Don't worry, she encounters yet ANOTHER sidhe to teach her how to defeat him.

Romance with a vampire with judgmental hunter friends? Don't worry, the hunters that know - who are SWORN to kill vampires - are just fine with your budding romance.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
Profile Image for Nex.
28 reviews
July 17, 2023
I had heard good things about this book and was slightly confused by the low ratings. After dragging myself through the last few chapters, I find myself agreeing with them.

Don't get me wrong, I loved the idea of the book. There was a lot of action reminiscent of the Witcher series, and there was a lot of promise, but that's sadly the extent of the excitement of this book for me.

The main character was one note for the entire book, and I just found myself getting bored. There was a LOT happening, but at the same time, I felt like nothing was actually happening. If that makes sense?

As for it being a "slow burn".....let's just say it's the book equivalent of watching a sloth cross a road and I wasn't living for it.

Having said that, I wasn't going to abandon the read as much as I wanted to, and I will read the second book.....eventually.
Profile Image for Shanda.
219 reviews
October 2, 2022
I had seen some clips on TikTok on this book and I decided to read it.

Unfortunately, this book wasn’t for me. There is a lot of back and forth on what being a ‘vampire’s servant’ means. For most servants it’s means servitude. For our leading lady it means it barely effects her.

She had two hunters with her and the banter between the three fell flat. With both men, bowing to her command most of the time.

The relationship between Asher and the leading lady also fell flat. She has spent her entire life wanting to kill him for turning her into a vampire’s servant.. but if he hadn’t she would have DIED. She’s angry he didn’t let her die. Interesting.

I only made it to about thirty five percent when I decided to DNF. I really wanted to like this book.
Profile Image for Meaghan.
38 reviews
December 19, 2022
DNF. I just couldn’t get into this book. I’m not sure if it was the pacing or the plot in general but I only made it to the tenth chapter and had to give up 🤷‍♀️
Profile Image for *-The Pink Dahlia -*.
435 reviews10 followers
October 28, 2024
This was a fun read!

Lyssandra is a hunter of the Helios Order. She was born and trained to hunt vampires. And she’s very good at what she does. One of the best in fact.
The fact that she is secretly a vampires servant, unfortunately, is both an asset and a liability to her.

She is stronger, quicker, she can hear better, and her senses are sharper because of it.
Unfortunately, if anyone in the Order find out? She’ll be executed immediately.

So Lyss has been tracking Asher, her vampire master, for a long time. Although he is virtually impossible to find unless he wants to be found.

A spree of killings lead Lyss and other hunters on a chase that bring her closer to Asher and other ancients, and hopefully they can solve the murders before she has to confront Asher.
Because when she kills Asher? She dies too.

⭐️ Plot: 3/5
🌶️ Spice: 0,5/5
📖 Genre: Fantasy
🏞️ Setting: Medieval villages (fantasy world)
🗣️ POV: Single
🛏️ Tropes:
- Vampires
- Magical Creatures
- Hunters
- Found Family
- Bonded to vampire
- Mystery
- Murder of the day
- Medieval vibes
- Badass FMC, prickly, independent
Profile Image for Shelby Hill.
206 reviews5 followers
January 10, 2023
Reign of Night:
Stars: ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️
Spice: 🌶️
Great world and character building. Easy read. Loved the main character, she’s a strong woman and she can take care of herself. I also highly enjoyed the monsters. I thought it was going to be just a world of vampires but it took a nice dive behind that. Asher swoon I don’t know who to picture The Witcher or Daemon from House of the Dragon. Either way I find him to be too sweet to be either one. Favorite comments from the book “I glared, tugging my cloak more tightly around me. My advice to you would be to accept what you can get."
His smile broadened. Dear Lyssandra, that is what I have been doing with you from the start."
Also I adored that he called her his so many times throughout the book.❤️ Cannot wait to start the next book.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
340 reviews3 followers
January 16, 2023
4-4.5 stars. I thoroughly enjoyed this book and will definitely be reading the next book. The flow was amazing, the world development, the character development both main and side were perfect. I love the little side stories that took place while the plot was moving so at no point did you ever get bored. There was no filler to try and keep things going it was just very well written. I very much like that Asher and lysandra did not get together in this book so we can really get a chance to see how their relationship is growing and developing through the series. I love that we got closure for some things in this book but there's still the bigger questions left to answer which we will hopefully see develop through the other books in the series.
Profile Image for Jemma sellar.
115 reviews4 followers
May 26, 2023
This book just wasn’t the one for me. I wanted to like it but I just couldn’t, the premise had potential but the execution wasn’t done well in my opinion. There was just no depth to the MC, she was very bland and quite frankly was annoying as hell. The story was very one dimensional, I wasn’t invested in any of the romance and it seemed so forced and didn’t make sense. It was pretty back and fourth a lot and the vampire/ vampire servant thing was so contradictory to the first 60% of the book. The writing wasn’t amazing and read really young in my opinion.

There is some good little action parts but it was just lacking in all aspects for me. Finishing it was a slog, I don’t think I would have finished this if I wasn’t listening to it as an audiobook. - I also wasn’t a fan of the narrator either so yeh. That’s my thoughts.

Probably won’t pick the second book up. 🙄
Profile Image for Ash Rowe.
71 reviews3 followers
January 22, 2023
While the writing was punchy and interesting and the concept of being a human servant to a vampire whilst being charged with hunting them down was awesome I felt like this book left a lot to be a desired.

There was a fair deal of action and yet I often felt like nothing was happening at the same time. I was promised a slow burn romance and there was barely even a simmer. Additionally, I found the main character kind of wooden. There wasn’t all that much character to her and certainly no development over the course of the story. I did like her two side characters and will read the second because I am cursed with “needing to know what happens” but this was a hard book to finish in the end.

Profile Image for Claire Austin.
95 reviews2 followers
March 24, 2025
Did I even like this book? Not really. I’ll give it 3 stars because I liked some of the elements that were uniquely different in the world - Nattmara and Sidhe were interesting different beings that I enjoyed learning about to make this world unique. Read for Romantasy book club, but this book had maybe 0.5/5 for romance

Will I read the second book? Yes. But only because I need to see Asher and Lyssandra get it on
Profile Image for s.has.
79 reviews
February 4, 2023
This book took me by surprise! This was a Booktok recommendation and I really love it. The plot and the characters including the creatures was very engaging! The world building and the orders of hunters, its giving me ancient time Buffy the vampire slayer.

The book was very well written and I cannot wait to read the next one in the series. I am here for the storyline and mystery!
Profile Image for Wendy Stachura.
34 reviews
October 20, 2024
I feel like this book snuck up on me much like Rhapsodic did. I didn’t go into this with any preconceived notions and by the end of the book, I couldn’t wait to start the next one. This is definitely an extremely slow burn for the main relationship but I am here for it. I can’t wait to see more of Asher and Lys in the next book.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
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