Thanks NetGalley and Harper Collins UK for the arc!

You think a mix of vampires, the underworld of Greek mythology and a general mood and rural setting slightly reminiscent of Marissa Meyer`s Gilded sounds interesting? Well congratulations, you found another addition to your (probably already overflowing) tbr!

A steep and savage path follows the journey of our brave, stubborn and lovable main character Irina into the underworld in hopes of finding her not-quite-dead sister and bringing her back. But as we all know, living things do not belong to the land of death, so in order to have a chance at succeeding in her mission, she needs a guide - a guide dead enough to bring her into the underworld yet alive enough to be of any use for, well, guiding. Fortunately for her (and only her), a nearby village is terrorized by a monstrous vampire, slaying villagers in cold blood and spreading carnage and fear. Whilst any person with a healthy survival instinct would stay at least a days march away from such a place, Irina sees a chance of finding someone to take her to her sister in this circumstance. Together, they embark on a journey through the land of the death reminiscent of the tales of Alice in Wonderland, meeting all kinds of odd creatures and impossible situations whilst maybe realizing that a monster is often not born, but made.


I really liked this one! It was a wonderful combination of so many lovely elements, from the east European villages to the fantastical settings in the underworld. It was a creative yet eerie approach to the life beyond dead which I am sure will keep me thinking. The writing style was extremely pleasant without lingering too long on descriptions whilst also painting a clear picture of everything going on. I was surprised to like Irina so much, as I feared she just was a naive, hot headed hero trying to save her sister at any cost, but the author managed to create great character depth for both her and Stefan - and honestly every other character

The ending felt a tiny bit rushed and the division in 5 parts felt a little bit unnatural to me. Also, I think this book would have worked really great without a romance plot, instead experiencing friendship and trust between two likely yet so unlikely people in an impossible situation - but that might just be my taste.

Overall, I would definitely recommend for fantastical world building, lovable characters and a fun spin on classic concepts.

Thank you to the publisher and Netgalley for approving me to read this book, I’m rating it 4.0 stars.

This is a fun adventure with the purest intentions (on the FMC’s part). I love the way this involves vampires and death, it takes fantasy using mythical creatures and lands we’ve read about before but gives it a fresh twist, and I really like the motivations that set the FMC on her path.

This is a fun and somewhat fast paced romantasy, the world building and dangerous scenarios kept me hooked.

A STEEP AND SAVAGE PATH is a vampiric quest to the underworld.

This book combines largely Greek mythology on the underworld with Eastern European vampire folklore. I liked that it never committed exactly to which versions of the tales were being used, instead using them as a starting point for the author's own interpretation of them. It's not the Greek underworld as we know it, but it's familiar enough to feel like the Greek myths are the tales that escaped, warped and misremembered.

It's quite fun to try and spot the different myths that have made it into the book, but also to see the other elements that have been added. The town walls made of tombstones was particularly unsettling because it's so benign on the surface but super creepy when you spend any amount of time thinking about it.

There are a fair few "descent into the underworld" stories being published right now, but the fact this one is married with a vampire trope helps it stand out. The pair have an antagonist relationship but have something the other wants, forcing them into an alliance. It was a lot of fun watching that push and pull turn into desire as they're forced to rely on one another.

The climax of this book is an emotional choice rather than a big fight sequence. It's a really nasty choice and I liked watching Irina wrestle with it. I wasn't sure which way she was going to go with the choice until she did it - there were arguments to be made for each, which I liked.

The book has no chapters, only five parts (which are the only points the book is split at.) It does make it harder to find points to stop and put the book down. If you have a decent chunk of time and can read from section to section, it's great as it means you don't have anything stopping you. If you do need to put it down (say there are chores to do) it's a little harder.

A Steep and Savage Path is a breathtaking, heart-shattering story that I know will stay with me for a long time. Inspired by Greek mythology and Romanian folklore, it follows Irina, a young woman willing to risk everything to bring her sister’s soul back from the underworld, and Stefan, the reluctant vampire she enlists to guide her. Together, they navigate the eerie and beautifully detailed underworld—a setting so vivid and original it feels like a character in its own right.

The writing is haunting and atmospheric, weaving together gut-wrenching grief, tender hope, and flashes of dark beauty. Every step through the underworld revealed new lands and new trials, and the depth of the world-building blew me away. From the crumbling cobblestones to the chilling details of each realm, you can feel how much love and thought went into crafting this story.

Irina and Stefan’s relationship is everything. While you could call it enemies-to-lovers, that description hardly does it justice. Their bond is born from mutual need and wariness, slowly blossoming into something so genuine and tender it completely broke my heart. It’s a slow-burn romance built on healing, vulnerability, and learning to truly see and accept each other. Both characters carry so much pain, and watching them grow together was both beautiful and devastating. I also loved the quiet, subtle ways they were queer-coded—it added another layer of depth to an already rich and emotional story.

This book isn't just a journey through the underworld; it’s a journey through grief, forgiveness, and self-discovery. It explores the desperate, reckless love we have for those we’ve lost and the difficult path toward letting go and moving forward. I laughed, I ached, and by the final pages, I was ugly crying in a way that very few books have ever made me. It absolutely gutted me—and I loved every second of it.

If I have any complaint, it’s only that the book is structured into five long parts without traditional chapters, which sometimes made it harder to find natural stopping points. But honestly, I didn’t want to stop reading anyway. I was so invested that the real world just disappeared around me.

A Steep and Savage Path is a rare, beautiful story that left me feeling hollow and full at the same time. I can’t recommend it enough.

The premise of this story had a lot of potential: a young woman marrying a "dead man" to make a dangerous bargain with a vampire, all in the hopes of rescuing her sister’s soul. However, the execution didn’t fully deliver for me.

The romance between Irina and Stefan felt rushed and lacked emotional build-up. Their dialogue leaned heavily on modern colloquialisms, which felt jarring against the supposed 19th-century Romanian setting. The world-building also struggled; the underworld, a setting that could have been rich and atmospheric, ended up feeling repetitive and lacking depth. Similarly, while Irina was somewhat more fleshed out, Stefan came across as a fairly flat character, making it hard to invest in their relationship.

There were some creative ideas throughout, and the ending showed flashes of strong storytelling—although a last-minute twist felt unnecessary and somewhat confusing. Ultimately, while I found parts of the concept intriguing enough to finish the book, the overall experience didn’t meet my expectations

DNF'd at 46%

This book had a lot of promise. I loved Irina and Stefan's banter but the fact that the book is separated into parts and has no chapters was a huge turn off for me and I found myself struggling to get through the book which was also beginning to put me in a reading slump.

This was a brilliant book. It felt different to the past vampire books that I have read, it's refreshing to find a new take on a vampire story.

Irina needs to get to the world of the dead. Her sister has had an accident which has caused her living soul to become trapped in the afterlife. Meanwhile, a vampire is terrorising a local village and they believe that if they marry someone off to the vampire, then perhaps it would lay their soul to rest. Irina takes this opportunity as she believes that if anyone can help her find her way to the world of the dead, a vampire would be able to do so.

I loved it! It's an urban/folklore fantasy, set in Transylvania, Romania. I enjoyed the characters and the slow build of information. Not everything is revealed straight away, and this really helped with getting to know Irina and Stefan. The characters have strong arcs and they've definitely been on a personal journey as well as a physical one. Also the twists keep on coming, I feel like I've been on a journey with the characters.

The description of the settings were also riveting. It gave a slight Labyrinth movie vibe. Irina travels from area to area searching for her sister in an unknown, unusual world. I found it very interesting and I bet it would look amazing visually in a tv show or movie.

DNF @ 60% - YA fantasy

Irina agrees to marry the vampire, Stefan, who is tormenting a village in an effort to go to the underworld to find her sister’s soul. Stefan is unaware of the marriage but agrees to help her if she lets him into the villagers homes after he helps her.

I really tried to give this one a chance after previously DNFing my last two arcs but it was not meant to be. I have read in other reviews it picks up in the last 30% but I don’t think this would have increased my rating significantly.

I had several issues with this story:
No chapters - this made the story feel really slow paced.

Lots of description but lack of dialogue /plot progression - I felt myself skim reading paragraphs of descriptions just to get to the dialogue of the characters.

Strange underworld setting - markets and villages? No mention of Hades or the devil etc. It genuinely could have been a village in the normal world and it wouldn’t have made much of a difference.

Irina made no effort of trying to find out Stefans background - she instantly judged him and at 60% there was very little in terms of romance or even friendship.

Overall, again a brilliant sounding premise but poor execution for me personally.

I really like JJA Harwood books as she takes fairy tales/folklore and gives it a real twist and makes it ok for adults to read them. "A Steep and Savage Path" is loosely based on the Persephone myth (although I enjoyed this much more than my experience of Hadestown). The lead character is to marry a vampire so that the village can stop his killings. However Irina has other motives and before you know it she's being led into the land of the dead. Yes, there is a vampire/romance element but I likened it more to "His Dark Materials" when Lyra and Will enter the land of the dead so they can find Roger. Loved it!

This sounded like something I would really enjoy. But sadly I found myself unable to become invested. I didnt care for any sort of relationship forming between the two characters either.

What do you think of vampire stories - garlic, daylight, holy water, terror? Well, once again JJA Harwood takes everything that is traditional, does their research and then shakes it all up to deliver a story that is unique, engaging, and truly emotional!

Irina’s is in a mission, she’s pledged to marry a dead man to give him a better death and help direct him towards a better death rather than his current vampire death and the terror he us inflicting on his village.

Irina isn’t just doing this to save the villagers or her dead husband, Irina has her own objective, she wants to save her sister and for that, she needs to marry a vampire and persuade him to take her to the land of the dead.

What can I say? This book totally drew me in, from the fractured, patchwork landscape of the land of the dead, to the poppies/red flowers that bloomed from drops of Irina’s blood to the weaving of myths and legends that surround Death, dying and the underworld, Harwood created a world within which a vampire and a human woman would cross the underworld to save a child’s soul that totally pulled me in.

This compact story packs a punch, weaving a romance founded on opposition, self-interest, loss and desperation that flowers into a beautiful, selfless, partnership of trust and mutual support. I absolutely fell for Irina and Stefan, and the land in which their romance truly blossomed.

Thanks to HarperCollins and Netgalley for this arc in exchange for my honest and unbiased review.

I do love a gothic novel but this one surprised me by how much I enjoyed it. You felt as though you were going on the dangerous journey yourself and the characters and places were so well written you felt very much involved in the story.

I was initially drawn to this after seeing it being compared to The Cruel Prince and Crimson Moth, both of which I adored, so I went into this excited but also sceptical as those are big names to live up to. However, this was an enchanting read, and quite emotional too, which I was not expecting. I liked the greek mythology and romanian folklore woven throughout the book.

There's a beautiful vivid world building, and I really enjoyed the author's writing style. Yes, it's very descriptive, but in a way that lures you in rather than bombards you with detail.

It's hard to describe, and I'm sure I'll edit my review later to provide more clarity, but this isn't like other books on the market currently, and I highly recommend this one for lovers of romantasy.

I was really intrigued by the premise behind this book and it did not disappoint! I loved that it had me hooked from the start by getting straight into the action, and my attention was immediately captured by starting in this way.
Our FMC wants to find her sisters soul after she’s had an accident and she offers herself as a human bride to our dead vampire MMC so she can use his help. They make a deal to travel to the land of the dead in exchange for her letting him drink her blood.
The story is well written, with plenty of world building and explanation's so you can picture everything going on. There is emotional depth in the characters development throughout the story which makes you care for the main characters. It was also emotional so as long as you don’t mind feeling sad!
Overall I really enjoyed this book and would recommend it and would definitely read it again.
Tropes
- marriage of convenience
- enemies to lovers
- vampires
- forced proximity

Thank you to NetGalley for providing me with this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

shooketh

- Vampire
- Death
- Land of the dead
- Mystery
- Romance M/F

This book had me crying and laughing.

The World building

This is only a short book so the world building isn't indepth but thats fine for this. Learning all the intricate details of the land of the dead was so interesting and had me gripped. I was trying to make a map of it in my head as I read.

The Romance

This was a nice slow build to it from basically enemies to being in love. The slow build of trust and fondness in their relationship was so nice to see develop and watching them fall for each other was so cute. The main characters are young so if you're looking for fully fledged adults this isn't for you.

The plot

The plot is A girl trying to bring back her little sisters soul and getting help from a murderess vampire to do it. It is such a fun ride and not always a happy one. The idea of her living blood causing red flowers to bloom from the floor I feel like echos the poppies after ww1, giving a sad but hopeful undertone. The idea that after you die you will never want for anything and that you will be reunited with your family when the time comes is so sweet and hopeful.

I reccomend this book aslong as you like vampires, romance and are fine being a bit sad.

Thank you to HaperCollins and Netgalley for this arc in exchange for an honest review.

Written in five parts, without any chapters, this book could feel like a slog at times, but ultimately I loved it. Vampires + Hades/Persephone + a long journey and a heartbreaking quest. The development of Irina and Stefan's bargain-to-friendship-to-romance was so sweet and well-written. I would not consider this enemies-to-lovers, but there is a bit of some version of fake dating, as a treat! Happily, I can report that their behavior and interactions were suitable for their age and experiences. The ending was pitch perfect.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for providing my ARC in exchange for an honest review.

An excellent read, I picked this up expecting the focus to be a vampire romantasy and was thrilled to find the repeated references to The Aeneid. While the slow burn, enemies to lovers romance was excellent, I particularly loved the depictions of the underworld, and how their journey through the realms of Death bought Stefan and Irina closer together. Irina slowly piecing together Stefan's history, and recognising that perhaps he wasn't the monster she had originally thought, was beautifully done, the characters getting to know each other at the same pace as the reader. While by no means a ground-breaking depiction of the Underworld, it was a vision not commonly explored in modern fantasy and I love that Harwood drew bits from several mythologies to create something a little bit different, but still recognisable.

And the ending - excellent! I was sobbing my eyes out after the meeting with Death, unable to see a way for everybody to return to life, and so the final twist was the absolute high point of the book for me! Drawing parallels with Hades and Persephone in the seasonal return to life, having Irina's blood be the key to that meant that our plucky heroine had saved everyone, which was fully deserved after everything she'd been through!
My only complaint is that the villagers didn't get more confrontation! I would have liked to see her fully address the villagers for their role in Stefan's death, and while the perpetrators had been brutally murdered by Stefan, some open acknowledgment of what they had done would have been fitting. Their behaviour was just another type of monstrous, and they should have been confronted with that.
Still, I suppose we know their judgement awaits on the other side!

On the whole a charming romantasy that I can't wait to add to my shelves!
Thanks to Harwood, NetGalley and HarperCollins/Magpie for the chance to read ahead of release.

A Steep and Savage Path blends gothic fantasy with Eastern European folklore, following a woman's journey through the underworld to reclaim her sister’s soul. The writing is atmospheric and rich in detail, creating an immersive and emotionally resonant reading experience.

If I could give six stars, I would.

ASteep and Savage Path is nothing short of spellbinding. I’ve been obsessed with this book since the very first proof was teased online, and when I got approved for the ARC over the weekend, I absolutely inhaled it in two days. What I expected to be beautifully eerie ended up being so much more—layered, emotional, vividly atmospheric, and genuinely funny.

From the very first page, Harwood’s writing style swept me away. It’s lyrical, haunting, and so deeply immersive that I felt like I was walking beside Irina through every eerie corridor and across every chilling threshold of the underworld. The worldbuilding is chef’s kiss—dark and rich and weirdly comforting in the most uncanny way, kind of like The Good Place but more folkloric and deeply emotional.

Irina and Stefan’s relationship absolutely melted me. Their connection is so seamless, so earned—one of the most natural and rewarding love stories I’ve read in a while. Stefan is the softest, purest soul and we must protect him at all costs. And Irina—what a compelling, layered lead. Their banter was everything, and it added the perfect levity to a story that still managed to rip my heart out by the end (yes, I cried—no, I don’t usually cry. Shocker).

The supporting cast is just as vivid: Catarina was adorable, the inn’s landlady was an icon, and I would read an entire novella on Irina’s mum alone. And the priest? The priest made me want to reach through my Kindle and shake him. I haven’t had that kind of visceral reaction to a character in a while. All that is to say that I grew very attached to the characters and I cared about all of the leads, anxiously reading the last few parts waiting to see how everything unfolded.

Also—as someone who grew up in Hungary just a short drive from the Romanian border, this book felt like home. The cultural touches, the humour, the folklore-infused setting, and the salty pork moment (!!!)—I have never felt so seen. That Hungarian name drop at the end had me screaming. This is representation.

Favourite quotes? “All those love songs that had never seemed to apply to her suddenly made sense” broke me. And “Please someone come and get this child. It’s sticky”—I haven’t laughed that hard at a book in ages.

This story was eerie, emotional, and completely unforgettable. I already can’t wait to hold the finished copy in my hands. J.J.A. Harwood, you are a legend—this is one of my favourite reads of the year.

A story mixing Romanian and Greek myths, with vampires, the Underworld, a long journey and lost souls.

The start was really great and so promising. Instead of playing the victim, Irina has a strong will and a clear agenda, as she lets herself get married to a dead groom.

Stefan is a vampire with a tragic backstory, and willing to help Irina in exchange for her blood.

Their path through the underworld and through portals starts intriguing, but soon gets repetitive and has lost me in the process.

There's romance and finding yourself and others, but ultimately it didn't grip me.

It still has its strong moments though, and it's way more soft and heartwarming than I thought.

3,5/5 stars

Thank you @netgalley and @harpervoyager_uk and @rachelquinmarketing for the eARC!

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