Silk and Sword

Scions of the Underworld #1

by P.S. Scott

When Lieutenant General Petronilla meets Acelina, the proprietress of Duality, it is hate at first sight. Forced into prostitution at a young age, Petronilla has rebuilt her life to become one of the highest-ranking army officials in Inferno. She detests everything the pleasure house owner stands for and doesn’t bother to hide it. Forced to spend a night together because of a bet, Petronilla realizes her feelings run deeper than she realized…

Acelina has no idea why Petronilla hates her so much. Only that the hate is mutual. The Lieutenant General never misses a chance to criticize her, and if it weren’t for her VIP customer, General Darius, she would never tolerate Petronilla. But when a secret mission forces them to live together, Acelina takes the opportunity to exact revenge.

As they get to know each other, it becomes harder to deny the attraction that burns between them. What begins as a battle of wills, turns into an undeniable passion, growing into all-consuming love that will stop at nothing.

Silk and Sword is an enemies-to-lovers, forced proximity F/F romance set in a fantasy world.

Genres: Fantasy, Enemies To Lovers, Romance, Lesbian, LGBT, Lesbian Romance

298 pages, Kindle Edition

First published September 22, 2022

About the author

Writer of angsty, emotional stories.

Reviews

[Cami ♡ · Rating 4 out of 5]

Thank you to ntegalley and the publisher for an e-arc in exchange for an honest review :)

More of a 3.75*
I was honestly loving the whole story line until I got more toward the end and some of the stuff that happened I thought were unnecessary and my enjoyment dropped a bit but not enough to make me dislike this book in any way.
The characters, their storylines, the romance, the smut; everything about it was great. It's told in dual povs which I love in romance and the courtesan/general pairing was so so cute. The secondary characters got their times to shine in the story as well which I loved because I thought they were all so inetresting. Beware of trigger warning though because it does get dark at times!
All in all a great story with great characters :) I recommend if you're looking for sapphic rep.

[P.S. Scott · Rating 5 out of 5]

I'm so excited to announce the release of Silk and Sword, the first book in the Scions of the Underworld series. It's set to release on 22nd September 2022. Silk & Sword is an enemies-to-lovers, forced proximity F/F romance set in a fantasy world. I hope you all enjoy reading this book:)

[Sheila · Rating 5 out of 5]

fierce

Heat rises in this intense love story of two beautiful and strong characters. Finding someone that helps you heal and be vulnerable to find a HEA.

[Jessica Rush · Rating 5 out of 5]

⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
🌶️🌶️🌶️🌶️
🗡️👩🏻‍🤝‍👩🏼✉️🌈

Enemies to lovers alright. These two can't stand each other. The hate bouncing between the two was undeniable. Little quips here and there, little acts of revenge to annoy each other. But despite all that, the sexual tension was still there. Despite all the hate and misunderstanding of each other, both couldn't help but fall in love, and the way it was done was believable and amazing.

The back story and fear of intimacy for Petronilla, and how she got through it was amazing to see, because of my own experiences. I hope I can't through it, like her.

I loved the rest of the storyline and the ending was heart-warming. Hopefully, there is book 2 to read to follow Petronilla and Acelina's story, cause if there is, I can't wait to read it.

Thank you Netgalley and PS Scott for a copy of the eBook in exchange for an honest review.

[Samantha (everlasting.with.charm) · Rating 5 out of 5]

Now that is how an enemies to lovers is done! The tension between Petronilla and Acelina was on another level. I felt it through the pages. It’s writing like that, that reminds me why I love reading. The inner dialogue of the two characters really helped make the tension stand out. Outwardly, they were mean (Petronilla) and sarcastic (Acelina), but inside they were yearning for each other.
Watching their interactions go from “I can’t stand the thought of her” to love made me unable to put the book down. Petronilla and Acelina were more than their romance though. We got a lot of their background story as well. I was able to understand were the enemies part in their relationship stemmed from.
I’m a huge character driven reader so to read about Petronilla’s dark past and fears, and then to read about her growth and overcoming those fears, made for a great story. Especially because she had Acelina and Darius.

*A copy was given to me for review. My opinions are my own.

[ana maría · Rating 3 out of 5]

I was expecting this book to be mainly fantasy with hints of romance, so I was disappointed when I found myself reading page after page of the couple's relationship and almost no focus on the fantasy aspect. I wouldn't be able to explain the plot of this book because I feel like nothing really happened

I also wasn't as invested in the couple as I usually am in romance books, so I found myself not really caring about what happened with their relationship. moreover, the narration was a bit confusing at times, since there was a dual POV but sometimes they got mixed up during the same scene

I do have to say that I liked the world built by the author and I feel like it has potential if it were explored in more depth. I also liked the way the author broached some sensitive topics

[Nightwitch]

As other reviewers have mentioned, the writing didn't feel strong; I also didn't appreciate the FMCs' early interactions with each other. It didn't feel like "enemies" - it felt more juvenile than that, like they were high schoolers sniping at each other in the locker room or something. The vibe just didn't work for me, unfortunately.

[Sasha Clinton · Rating 5 out of 5]

I had the immense pleasure of reading this book before its release and it's one of the most memorable books I've read this year. Both characters are deep, complex, and three-dimensional. Watching their romance develop against the backdrop of the fantasy plot was a delight. I was biting my nails during the tense scenes, swooning at the developing romance between Petronilla and Acelina in the romantic scenes, and hoping for a happy resolution throughout. I will definitely be keeping an eye out for the next book in this series by P.S. Scott!

[lauraღ · Rating 2 out of 5]

This was fine. Unfortunately it was chock-full of a lot of my nitpicks, wasn't very narratively cohesive, and I sometimes struggled to understand the character motivations and character actions. It definitely wasn't a book that I can say that I disliked, and it was really easy to read. I never really felt an urge to put this down. But now that I've finished, my thoughts are a resounding... 'okay.'  

This is an enemies to lovers f/f romance set in a fantasy world filled with angels, demons, humans and some people who are a mix. Petronilla is a lieutenant general in the army, and Acelina is the mistress of a popular, high-end brothel. They got off to a bad start years ago, and have been thoroughly misunderstanding each other ever since then. An assignment from the king means that Petronilla needs to spend time in the brothel, and the forced proximity leads to them getting to know more about each other, and perhaps clearing up some of the things that stand in their way. It's a pretty compelling premise, and I was intrigued by the fact that we were going to be exploring Petronilla's trauma with regard to sex work. But the book on the whole was very shallow. The entire plot about the spy and the letters... so paper thin. I kept getting distracted by little editing things. If one character has a line of dialogue, and then a different character has another line of dialogue, then that second character's line should always start a new paragraph. That's just one of the little things that, sadly, really bugged me. The ending conflict involved something that was really obviously telegraphed, and just happens to be a plot thing that I never really enjoy reading about. The characters react to certain things in ways that I just did not get. Acelina is supposedly something like 1500 years old, but she has, like, 1% of that maturity.  

I don't know. Nothing about this was outright bad, but a lot about it made me cranky. The relationship showed a lot of promise, because I like enemies to lovers, and it was sufficiently slow burn. It was also pretty hot, and there was a lot of lovely intimacy in that sexiness. Which you don't always get! But ultimately it just wasn't that good of a reading experience. Your mileage may vary. I'd love to see this with a closer edit and a tighter plot. The characters definitely had the potential to be just my thing, so I might try this author again. The world building for this particular series was kind of nebulous in this book, but the plot of the second book seems like something I might enjoy.  

Content warnings: forced prostitution, rape, csa

[Maaike Bateson · Rating 2 out of 5]

Many thanks to Victory Editing Co-op and P.S. Scott for the advanced copy of Silk and Sword via NetGalley, in return for my honest and unbiased review. Quick note: I don’t recap plots in my reviews, as it’s easy enough to read the book’s synopsis and blurbs, I purely focus on my feelings & opinions of how the books makes me feel.

Unfortunately, I did not find much to like about this book.

What I did like was the overall body positivity featured in the story. Also, the strong, sapphic female characters are something I like to read, so I also liked that. Sadly, this is where my enjoyment ended.

The enemies-to-lovers trope was taken too far for my liking, with the communication being just too crass and mean. Overall, communication between all characters was awkward and stilted.

The language and imagery used by the author was alternatively bland, cliched and confusing. The POVs weren’t consistent, and at times the narrative aspect and tense changed.

I think this book may have been rescued with more spice to ‘cover up’ the poor writing. But overall, it just fell flat for me, with 1-dimensional characters, poor narrative and bad writing.

Moods: dark
Tropes: enemies to lovers, forced proximity, redemption/dark past
Pace: medium
Character development: weak
Plot or character driven: plot
Diversity: medium
Spice: 2.5/5
Trigger warnings: Blood/Gore, Child abuse, Death, Prostitution, Violence

Rating 2/5

Unfortunately, I will not be reviewing this book on my blog (www.mymentalshelf.com)

[Sara · Rating 4 out of 5]

Silk and Sword by P.S. Scott.

Thank you Netgallery and Victory Editing NetGalley Co-op for an ARC for an unbiased review.

This was, as suggested in the synopsis, a enemies to lovers trope.
It was done well, and made for a believable premise.
Petronilla's past is also interlinked with the present in more ways than one, and it enabled us to see facets of her character come through in different ways.

Whilst we saw Acelina's past reflected in the story, including how it might shape the present or future as a result, it wasn't as detailed for me. I personally would have perhaps liked a little more detail on who Acelina was. This is a small quibble, and a personal preference. But that is why I will be saying 4/5 stars. Some might not see it reason enough knock a star off.

There are aspects for possible trigger warnings on abuse, especially for Petronilla's past, but it isn't done in a gratuitous manner, and fits perfectly into her actions and story. But just be aware of it being there.

I would certainly like to see a 2nd book to witness how Acelina and Petronilla's life continues. I feel there is enough to continue their story, and I'd like to see how their lives progress with some serious upcoming changes to them both, individually and together, even though the book wrapped up on an ending that could be a standalone.

Overall a solid enough story I enjoyed. I am happy to give 4/5 stars 🌟

[Kathi · Rating 3 out of 5]

Silk and Sword by P.S. Scott is the first book in the Scions of the Underworld series. Lieutenant General Petronilla and Acelina, the proprietress of Duality, cannot stand each other. Patronilla hates everything Acelina embodies. But when they are forced to spend time together because of a military assignment, both realize that there might be hidden romantic feelings for each other.

I have very mixed feelings about this book. On one hand, I really liked it. It had romance, spice, some action and fantasy. On the other hand, the enemies in the enemies-to-lovers part was evil. They were downright cruel to each other. Hurting each other on purpose, making each other do things they were uncomfortable with. There was so much hatred. Other than that, the book had some pretty dark themes. Lots of talk about sex work, exploitation, rape and trauma. But the chemistry between both women was great after they got over their hating each other stage. They helped and respected each other. And just as a sidenote: I find their names quite weird.

And unfortunately, my edition had so many editing mistakes. Punctuation wasn't right. There were gaps were no gaps should be. This made reading not that enjoyable.

This book was not a bad read. We had some ups and downs, but in the end, everything turned out fine. There are a few more stories in this series I might be interested in. We will see if I get back to this series in the future.

[Melissa · Rating 4 out of 5]

Petronilla and Acelina can barely stand each other. Petronilla is a Lieutenant General with a traumatic courtesan past, and Acelina is the owner of the most prestigious brothel, Duality, in Inferno City. They see each other occasionally through work, but every encounter is hostile. When Petronilla is forced to stay at Duality for work, both women discover feelings that leave them in awe.

This is such a beautiful and intense love story. I love the character growth that we get from both women as they learn about each other and truly support one another. The employees of Duality are such a joy to read, and they all add different elements to the story. I was intrigued by the introduction to the world that we received, with the different kingdoms and their relationships to one another. I am really excited to see how this world develops in the next books.

If you like fantasy, FF romance, and generous spice – this book is a must-read for you!

[stephanie cox · Rating 4 out of 5]

Silk and Sword - Scions of the Underworld, book 1 is definitely a enemies to lovers' romance and that is right up my alley.
Petronilla is a Lieutenant General and Aceline is the owner of a brothel in Inferno City. Both Aceline and Petronilla cannot stand each other so when they do come across each other their encounters are anything but nice. That is until Petronilla is forced to stay where Aceline works, finding themselves in close quarters they realize they have feelings for each other.

I enjoyed this story. Following along with Petronilla and Aceline as they grow from enemies to lovers is heartwarming. The character building is great. The world building and different Kingdoms will only grow with the series.

[The Freckled Cyn · Rating 5 out of 5]

One of the top wow fantasy stories I've read in a while

I really enjoyed the book and I'll be honest in saying I didn't expect too because with a few exceptions most lesbian fantasy books on kindle suck horribly. This one surprised me, I was drawn in before I realized what happened! And I can already tell I will be thinking about different parts of the story later. The characters are fully fleshed out and really come to life. The setting and the world the author created was so descriptive and visual. I would highly recommend this story. Angels, demons, escorts, and kingdoms all come together in a fantastic way in this story. If this author writes any other lesbian romance I will most definitely be giving it a read.

[Lucien St Clare · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a story that actually took me by surprise it is more fantasy than sci-fi but it is set in an alien realm and the characters are actually not bad. I liked the building and development of the relationship between the two protagonists our Lieutenant Petronella and the courtesan Acelina. They get thrown together and develop a relationship, there's a little action, some angst even some politicking i dont want to give to much away but it is a good romantic read.

[Bekah Mondy · Rating 4 out of 5]

Everything about this story is an excellent romance in another world. The tension is simply excellent, the overcoming of previous trauma is spectacular, and the character growth for both of our main characters brings them to a place of understanding themselves better than they ever thought that would. Silk and Sword is a great story for enemies to lovers with a little bit of spice.

[Monique S. · Rating 4 out of 5]

I was dithering with my rating here between three and four stars, because I really didn't like this world! in the end, though the two great women won the day with their difficult but wonderful romance and I rounded up to four stars, as in the end, when the world around them didn't really play a role any more, I really enjoyed the read.

[Purpleallison Hoffman · Rating 2 out of 5]

The positives of this book: The characters were interesting and had good backstories.
The negatives: strap in, here we go.
The formatting on the ebook was atrocious, and made it difficult to read sometimes. A sentence would stop halfway through and continue starting in a new line or even new paragraph. I don't think the final draft was anywhere even remotely near an editor. I was often confused as to who was speaking a line. And the narration would sometimes contradict itself. She followed him through a door, but then was stopped by the guards outside the club? Also, I'd really like to know what kinds of cockroaches and other vermin politely keep themselves contained to one supply closet.
There was so much extra fluff and unnecessary context that this book could probably be about half the length.

Definitely not going to continue reading this series.

[Alexandra Nguyen · Rating 1 out of 5]

Came here for the traumatised sapphics

Yeah no. It was awful.

[Camari Anguiano · Rating 4 out of 5]

loved the story

Loved the story but could have been written better but overall would read again. Characters had depth and made the story more enjoyable.

[Xerna Zaragoza · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a really well written F/F enemies to lovers. I was hooked from the very beginning!