While I didn't think this was great, I also didn't think it was terrible. I honestly enjoyed this more than I thought I would.

I loved the concept of a feminist retelling in a more modern setting. This has a very neo-noir vibe to it and at times felt very dystopian. I liked the mystery elements but wish they would have given a little more. The world-building felt very clunky and inconsistent. We would get huge chunks of information all at once instead of getting it gradually over time. The first half of the book had some pacing issues, but the pacing in the second half was great. I definitely think the second half of the book was better than the first. I had no huge issues with the characters, but they felt very shallow, and I would have liked more character development.

Left me wanting the next book asap! What a great spin on lilith’s origin story. Kept me engaged and wanting more - especially when she finally got Z.

Star Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️.25 / 5
Spice Rating: 🌶️🌶️🌶️ / 5

My Summary: Terror at the Gates is the first book in a new series, Blood of Lilith, by Scarlett St. Clair. It's an urban fantasy romance full of mystery, suspense, mythology, feminist retellings, demons, religious trauma, and slow burn romance.

Lilith grew up in one of the five powerful families in the elite realm of Hiram, and once she was old enough, Lilith left her family's home and sought refuge with the leader of another family, Zahariev, in the city of Ninevah. Lilith makes a living by using her magic to seduce and steal from men. One night, she steals a dagger that offers a great payout... until her appraiser drops dead after handling it. Lilith and Zahariev decide to investigate and end up finding a mystery deeper than both of them.

My Thoughts: Terror at the Gates combines urban fantasy with romance and mystery. St. Clair has created a feminist mythological retelling of the demon Lilith. In this world, Lilith is born to one of the five powerful families of Eden, but after withstanding years of religious and sexual abuse, Lilith has had enough. She decides to run away to Ninevah--a district in the city of Eden--to live the life she's always wanted. But when she finds a dagger that seems to kill everyone who handles it but her and the dangerous leader of another powerful family and the ruler of Ninevah, Zahariev Zareth. The two team up to investigate the dagger and find out there's so much more behind it--a mystery that could ruin the church and the power structure they've built.

I love how St. Clair writes Lilith. She's a strong woman who knows what she wants and is not afraid to get her hands dirty. She is reckless at times, which Zahariev loves to remind her, but she wants to make sure her new life is nothing like how she grew up. As Zahariev helps her out of one mess after another, Lilith starts to become frustrated with the unwanted oversight, but is Zahariev doing this out of obligation to her father or is there something more to why Zahariev cares so much about Lilith's wellbeing?

Zahariev's character is so mysterious. We get a little bit of his POV from short chapters in between Lilith's POV, but I think that honestly adds to his mystery and intrigue. And the romance in this book--talk about a slow burn!! I loved watching Lilith and Zahariev banter back and forth, and the build-up made the payoff even sweeter.

I absolutely ate up Terror at the Gates. I can't wait to see where St. Clair goes with this series. There is definitely a cliffhanger, and I'm just chomping at the bit for the next one! Fans of feminist retellings, mythology, magical twists, urban fantasy, and slow burn romance will absolutely love this novel.

Scarlett St. Clair has done it again with the first book in this new series, Blood of Lilith. Terror at the Gates is an urban romance, where women have no value but to be married off and used, and contains religious heavy trauma.

Terror at the Gates had a chokehold on me from start to finish. I literally turned the last page and yelled “WHAT!?!?!?” because I wanted the story to keep going.

Thank you Scarlett St. Clair, SOURCEBOOKS Bloom Books, and Netgalley for this ARC.

Okay so, obsessed doesn’t even begin to cover it.
She did it again y’all! I can’t get over how much I loved these characters. What she put into Lilith made her an amazing and relatable badass. Zahariev is to die for. He falls first and it’s obvious to everyone but her?!!
*screaming. dying. kicking my feet.*
I love the lore she built, reminiscent of many different things pulled together. (And explained beautifully in her afterword)
Mafia vibes and magic is such a great mix.

Please go out and get this book when it comes out. She is a gem and this deserves the highest praise.


I will be obsessing about this series for the foreseeable future seeing as how the book isn’t even out yet. I don’t know how I will survive until book 2.

Thank you to NetGalley and Scarlett St. Clair for the eARC. I don’t think I will ever be the same.

This book had me from the jump! It has everything I wanted and more! Once again Scarlett knocked it out of the park with her world building, character development, lore, tie ins of mythology and religious writings, dialogue, and plot development. I cannot wait for book two and continuing to explore this rich world!

Terror at the Gates is an urban fantasy read inspired by the story of Lilith. A unique and intriguing story filled with biblical and mythological elements. It is the first in the Blood of Lilith series and a pretty enjoyable start.

While it is dual POVs of the main characters, Lilith and Zahariev, the story follows the heroine so the hero’s chapters were very short. There were also some great tropes like an age gap, frenemies to lovers, touch her and die, and found family.

The first half of this book was quite slow, as the pacing dragged and there was quite a lot of info-dumping. The second half was definitely stronger and focused more on the lore and mystery. I will say though, the world building in this was easy to follow and understand. There were also several secondary characters, friendships and heartfelt moments that I ended up loving.

There was a lot of commentary about the abuse of power by church leaders, religious trauma, and female rage. I did enjoy these discussions and thought they were written perfectly.

While Lilith’s character ARC wasn’t the strongest, she did have some intriguing and exciting moments. I will say though, she did spend a good portion of this book crying due to all the stuff that happened to her, which was a bit annoying. I am curious to see more development and growth from her in the next book though. My favorite character was definitely Zaheriev. His chapters were minimal but so interesting. He definitely had the dark mysterious mafia vibe.

The romance between them was definitely a slow burn but filled with amazing angst, tension and banter. His devotion, protectiveness and understanding of who she was, was swoon-worthy. He never tried to change or dismiss her thoughts or actions, which I loved.

The ending did leave off on a slight cliffhanger but nothing too bad. I am curious to know what’s next for Lilith. Overall, just an enjoyable reimagining of Lilith’s story.

Thank you to the publisher via Netgalley for providing me with an ARC in exchange for my honest review.

I started with this author with hades and persephone and she just keeps getting better. I was so hooked with Lilith and zahariev. After hades and persephone I was like can she upp her game cause their chemistry was off the charts. But Lilith and zahariev did not disappoint. Also can't wait for the next book cause u have really left me in a dilema loved the side characters Coco and Cassius may they could be a thing cause first starts the fighting then it blossoms into love who knows. Felt bad for gabriel hope he gets a happy ending can't wait don't make us wait long for the next book please

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️.5
🌶️🌶️

I LOVED THIS SOOOO MUCH!!

i love all scarlet st clair books and this one is no exception. firstly, lilith is a fantastic fmc. shes just trying to escape the society around her built on oppressing women and in doing so, finds strength to overcome her past and get her revenge. feminine fucking rage to a T!!

Z was sooooo hot. i loved the age gap between the fmc & mmc. i also adored how Z wanted to let her be wild & free, damn the concequences. i’m so obsessed with him.

the pacing/world building started off slow but i didn’t mind at all. this would be a great book for someone to dip their toes into the romantasy genre!

the book had me hooked from the very first chapter and i’m already needing book 2! ESPECIALLY after that cliffhanger!!!

🐍tropes/vibes🐍

🗡️romantasy
🗡️unique magic
🗡️violence & death + grief
🗡️prophecy
🗡️feminine rage
🗡️religion
🗡️gods & goddesses
🗡️morally grey characters
🗡️touch her and die
🗡️age gap
🗡️found family
🗡️slowwww burn
🗡️forbidden romance

Scarlett is one of my fav authors! This was amazing, great balance of intricate world building/magic system and fully fleshed characters with a ton of depth, slow burn, ah loved it so much!

𝐓𝐄𝐑𝐑𝐎𝐑 𝐀𝐓 𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐆𝐀𝐓𝐄𝐒 𝐛𝐲 𝐒𝐜𝐚𝐫𝐥𝐞𝐭𝐭 𝐒𝐭. 𝐂𝐥𝐚𝐢𝐫
~ 𝑩𝒍𝒐𝒐𝒅 𝒐𝒇 𝑳𝒊𝒍𝒊𝒕𝒉 #𝟏

⭐⭐⭐⭐✨ | 𝐟𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐩𝐨𝐢𝐧𝐭 𝐟𝐢𝐯𝐞 𝐬𝐭𝐚𝐫𝐬

"𝐅𝐨𝐫 𝐲𝐨𝐮, 𝐈 𝐡𝐚𝐯𝐞 𝐚𝐥𝐥 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐭𝐢𝐦𝐞 𝐢𝐧 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐰𝐨𝐫𝐥𝐝."

𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗳𝗶𝗿𝘀𝘁 𝗶𝗻 𝗮𝗻 𝗮𝗹𝗹-𝗻𝗲𝘄 𝗳𝗮𝗻𝘁𝗮𝘀𝘆 𝘀𝗲𝗿𝗶𝗲𝘀 𝗳𝗿𝗼𝗺 #𝟭 𝗡𝗲𝘄 𝗬𝗼𝗿𝗸 𝗧𝗶𝗺𝗲𝘀 𝗯𝗲𝘀𝘁𝘀𝗲𝗹𝗹𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗮𝘂𝘁𝗵𝗼𝗿 𝗦𝗰𝗮𝗿𝗹𝗲𝘁𝘁 𝗦𝘁. 𝗖𝗹𝗮𝗶𝗿. 𝗜𝗻 𝘁𝗵𝗶𝘀 𝗯𝗶𝘁𝗶𝗻𝗴, 𝗳𝗲𝗺𝗶𝗻𝗶𝘀𝘁 𝗿𝗲𝘁𝗲𝗹𝗹𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗼𝗳 𝗟𝗶𝗹𝗶𝘁𝗵'𝘀 𝘀𝘁𝗼𝗿𝘆, 𝗟𝗶𝗹𝗶𝘁𝗵 𝘄𝗶𝗹𝗹 𝗿𝗶𝘀𝗲 𝗳𝗿𝗼𝗺 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗮𝘀𝗵𝗲𝘀 𝗼𝗳 𝗵𝗲𝗿 𝗳𝗼𝗿𝗺𝗲𝗿 𝗹𝗶𝗳𝗲 𝘁𝗼 𝗱𝗲𝘀𝘁𝗿𝗼𝘆 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗮𝗻𝗰𝗶𝗲𝗻𝘁 𝗽𝗼𝘄𝗲𝗿 𝘁𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝘀𝘁𝗼𝗹𝗲 𝗲𝘃𝗲𝗿𝘆𝘁𝗵𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝘀𝗵𝗲 𝗹𝗼𝘃𝗲𝘀.

I love reading feminist retelling and this also happened to be my first book from Scarlett St. Clair and I was absolutely blown away from Terror at the Gates.

The writing style was easy to follow and I was able to follow the flow of the writing. The setting was urban-esque with a magic system that had women being the only ones who could weild magic.

The slow burn romance was keeping me at the edge. I have so much new found respect for Zahariev's patience and character. His way of dealing his feelings for Lilith and finally loosening his reins was amazing to see.

Lilith is a such a relatable character to me personally. I couldn't put this book down solely because of her. I absolutely adore her character and my heartbreaks for everything she's been through.

The political and religious intrigue was explored a lot. This books deals with HEAVY topics and I'm so glad that this book was even written because it can be so impactful in an emotional way to do many people suffering from the hands of abuse from authority at Church.

𝘛𝘩𝘢𝘯𝘬 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘴𝘰 𝘮𝘶𝘤𝘩 𝘵𝘰 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘢𝘶𝘵𝘩𝘰𝘳 𝘚𝘤𝘢𝘳𝘭𝘦𝘵𝘵 𝘚𝘵. 𝘊𝘭𝘢𝘪𝘳 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘱𝘶𝘣𝘭𝘪𝘴𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘚𝘖𝘜𝘙𝘊𝘌𝘉𝘖𝘖𝘒𝘚 𝘉𝘭𝘰𝘰𝘮 𝘉𝘰𝘰𝘬𝘴 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘤𝘰𝘮𝘱𝘭𝘪𝘮𝘦𝘯𝘵𝘢𝘳𝘺 𝘦𝘈𝘙𝘊 𝘤𝘰𝘱𝘺. 𝘈𝘭𝘭 𝘵𝘩𝘰𝘶𝘨𝘩𝘵𝘴 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘳𝘦𝘷𝘪𝘦𝘸 𝘢𝘳𝘦 𝘮𝘺 𝘰𝘸𝘯 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘭𝘦𝘧𝘵 𝘷𝘰𝘭𝘶𝘯𝘵𝘢𝘳𝘪𝘭𝘺.

Terror At the Gates was incredible with many tropes that our readers will love. It has an interesting plot, feminine rage, romance and fantastic fleshed-out characters. I loved it. With the writing I found it played out like an exciting movie and cannot wait for the sequel AFTER THAT ENDING!

🐍 🗡️ 💕

Terror at the Gates was an amazing read, with slow burn, intriguing magic systems, and a plot that kept me reading, finishing the book in two sittings. The world building was fast paced and not overwhelming. Lillith is a likable and relatable FMC and while the romance is gripping, so is the plot. I can’t stop raving about this book and highly suggest you pick it up upon its release July 8th, 2025.

Thank you @authorscarlettstclair , @netgalley , and @read_bloom for the opportunity to read this book 📚

#bloombooks #arcreader #bookreviews

I would like to thank NetGalley and SOURCEBOOKS Bloom Books for allowing me to read an eARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.

I am a huge Scarlett St. Clair fan, and have been excited about this book ever since hearing about its release. Mafia Fantasy Romance? Yes please.

Terror at the Gates follows FMC Lilith who comes into possession of a mysterious dagger, that makes whoever touches it bleed from the eyes. It causes a lot of trouble for her and the MMC/territory leader, Zahariev, who is also her love interest.

There is a lot of mystery and suspense in this book, and definitely some sexual tension and enemies-to-lovers romance. And a cute little kitten named Cherub who steal every scene. I really like the chemistry between Lilith and Zahariev, and between Lilith and Ester & Gabriel. The supporting characters really make the story and make everything feel more real and believable.

I am excited that this is the first book in a new series, and can't wait to read Book 2!

well. i wasn’t completely ready for the amazing fuckery of this story, but i am absolutely obsessed.

i love love loved lilith. she’s strong, sassy, and trying to survive in this new life away from the entitlement and expectation of her name. zahariev is a little crunchy and a lot gone for lilith and i was here for it. together these two have history and chemistry for days. i adored how much zaheriev listened to and supported lilith and how lilith found stability and safety in zaheriev.

plot wise, there are a good amount of moving pieces and the world building sometimes felt like i should have already known what was going on, but it was easy to over look because i was so invested in the progression of the characters. the last couple of chapters when in a direction that i could have never ever expected and it was perfection.

overall, i know i’ll be thinking about this story for a while and i can’t wait to see how it all plays out.

FYI: talk of child molestation and rape. nothing on the page, but mentioned a few times.

**Huge thanks to the publisher for providing the arc free of charge**

Foremost, I am really appreciative to have been given an ARC for this book because it was one of my most anticipated reads of 2025.

Which is exactly why I wish I could have rated it much higher.

What appealed to me the most about this book was its promise of feminine rage. Absolutely I wanted to read a feminist retelling of Lilith saying fuck the patriarchy. Considering how extensively this was marketed as that, I am genuinely let down that it didn’t deliver. Lilith was ultimately an unlikeable character who did rely on men despite preaching about opposing them ruling women. Everything that she needed to accomplish was only accomplished when she was accompanied by a man, and despite her attempting to be strong and independent, she still had to ask the MMCs permission to work and bow to being his personal dancer so she could afford her rent (which he ended up paying for anyway).

This book read as though there was a predecessor I didn’t read. There were characters and storylines that seemed underdeveloped, and I often wondered if I was meant to know more than I did. Deep relationships had already been built up between characters, but we weren’t privy to them and so we just had to accept they were close enough to have pet names for Lilith despite not knowing why. There seemed to be history between the two MCs that we didn’t know about, and they both had trauma that was highly relevant but not expanded on.

The world building was minimal. The world featured many districts that were run by powerful families, all situated in varying distances from Eden, and all being home to different devotions and personalities. That’s all I know. I think it was a really cool concept, but I still can’t even picture the layout in my mind so that’s about all I can offer on this one. There was more description of a mozzarella stick than the world.

I think the characters and their relationships could have made more sense if you have a biblical understanding, but I am not religious and so I do not. Regardless, I’d have expected to still have been given better depictions of them. As it is, Lilith was not a likeable character. She attempted to be independent and badass, but she ended up just being rash and stubborn. Her backstory could have been way more powerful if it had been given more attention, but again, it was as though there was a reliance on the lore to build it up for us. As for the MMC, Zahariev, he was kind of just there. I don’t harbour any everlasting feelings for him. He was supposed to be a badass man who ran a district and was heavily feared, but I think he was also victim to minimal character development. As for their relationship development, I again think there was an expectation to anticipate their history, because there was nothing that ever made me think they were pining for each other, nor did I care much for their eventual relationship. I know it was a slow burn, but it more seemed that Lilith decided she wanted to fuck him to prove she could, and then she was relentless in pushing him to do it. It was genuinely just a lacklustre and underdeveloped slow burn.

Moreover, I really struggled with the plot, in which I don’t think there was much of one. I didn’t at any time know where we were heading, what the point was or how it would span a few more books. There were scenes that could have been cut out, important scenes that were skipped over, and many times that something seemingly significant was rushed over. This was a really long book that could have been halved if Lilith didn’t wander around so much, and it was blatant that she only did so to give Zahariev an opportunity to flex his power and bail her out. As well, the plot seemed to be furthered by dialogue, but I can’t say it was strong dialogue. It was rushed, surface level, and I really struggled with how every dialogue tag was ‘he said’ and ‘she said’. Despite a question being asked and the dialogue ending with a question mark, the dialogue tag still denoted it as a statement. As well, in general I found the writing to be ambiguous and disjointed. I hate saying that but the short, rushed dialogue didn’t leave much room to hide.

No one is more disappointed than me that I have to write so many negatives, but I have to be honest here. As someone who really enjoyed the Adrian x Isolde series, I’m not sure what happened here. I think perhaps a bit more of a deep-dive into the lore and some more time developing the characters and their stories could have made a world of difference. Thank you to NetGalley for this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

I don't normally go for mafia romances, but the moment you add a magical twist, I'm sold, which is exactly the case here. I was instantly hooked in the first few pages. It's a gritty, dark, atmospheric retelling of the story of Lilith, with an added kick of feminism and rebellion, and complete with all the modern day problems of the Church (including SA, readers beware, make sure you check the trigger warnings!). You can't help but feel for Lilith and all the sh*t she has had to suffer through in her life, in addition to being a woman in a patriarchal society that already treats women less-than. The story comes with all sorts of twists and turns, which will keep you guessing until the massive plot-twist at the very end.

The tension between Lilith and Zahariev was such a tortuous slowburn, but damn it was absolutely worth the wait. I loved the banter, and all the little ways Zahariev takes care of Lilith that she doesn't even notice. Morally-grey MMC with a burn-it-all-down-for-those-he-loves attitude? Absoltely sign me up!

This is my first Scarlett St. Clair book that I've read, but it most definitely will not be my last.

Terror at the Gates by Scarlett St Clair is an urban fantasy romance that mixes neo noire vibes with mafia elements. Threading frenemies to lovers, he falls first and slow burn throughout.

Terror follows the story of Lilith a thief who lives in a religious society where women are meant to be quiet little house wives. When Lilith steals the wrong item, Zahariev has to step in to help her, and they must work together with tensions building.

The book has a slow build up, with the first 20-30% taking its time to work into the plot points that start to really drag you into it, pulling you into the emotional connections and world within the story; before catapulting you into the plot turns.

Scarlett has done her usual work and crafted a wonderful book, however this was a book that is setting the scene for everything that is to come, woth a lot of introduction and world establishment. I cant wait to see where the series continues to go and whats to come

Trigger warnings; Religious trauma . SA. Emotional abuse by a parent & authority figures in the church

DNF @ 51% — The writing style felt somewhat simplistic, and the dialogue tags were limited to “he said” and “she said,” which made it difficult to engage with the characters. Additionally, the world-building could use more depth and coherence. I was looking forward to themes of female empowerment and a strong “f*ck the patriarchy” narrative, but unfortunately, the main character did not resonate with me, and I found it hard to connect with the plot alongside this.

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

My love of Scarlett knows no bounds and Terror at the Gates is no exception. It is Book 1 in the Blood of Lilith series and I was immediately captivated by this new world from Scarlett.

If you are a fan of an Urban Fantasy Romance with Frenemies to Lovers, Mafia and Neo-Noir Vibes, Pet Name, He Falls First, Animal Sidekicks, Slow Burn and so much more!

In a religious society where women’s purposes are to be quiet and be good little housewives, Lilith dares to defy what they say she should be, even though she is the daughter of one of the ruling families. Working/Hiding out in Nineveh, Lilith who happens to be a thief of sorts, gets herself in trouble one night when she takes a knife that has deadly consequences.

There is more to the knife than meets the eye, and when others come seeking it, Lilith must work with Zahariev, the ruler of Nineveh, to figure out why it is so important but she keeps him at arms length. When she starts having strange dreams, Lilith sets out on a mission to figure out strange occurrences with her cat Cherub in tow because she doesn’t think Zahariev would help her. But little does Lilith know that he would do anything she asked of him.

Gosh I just loved their sexual tension filled banter, Lilith was always trying to hit on Zahariev to push his buttons but he wouldn’t budge but this man is secretly protecting her and doing anything to make things better for her. Who knew buying a woman a dryer could be so sexy? When they finally give into each other they heat up the pages.

There were great twists and turns and just when I thought I knew what was going to happen Scarlett left me shocked and begging for more. I cannot wait to see what happens next in the series!

Spice: 🌶️🌶️🌶️