Thank you to Hachette Children's Books for the ARC!

𝙄𝙣 𝙩𝙝𝙞𝙨 𝙨𝙬𝙚𝙚𝙥𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙧𝙤𝙢𝙖𝙣𝙩𝙞𝙘 𝙛𝙖𝙣𝙩𝙖𝙨𝙮, 𝙖 𝙙𝙖𝙣𝙜𝙚𝙧𝙤𝙪𝙨 𝙙𝙚𝙖𝙡 𝙗𝙞𝙣𝙙𝙨 𝙖 𝙮𝙤𝙪𝙣𝙜 𝙟𝙚𝙬𝙚𝙡𝙚𝙧'𝙨 𝙖𝙥𝙥𝙧𝙚𝙣𝙩𝙞𝙘𝙚 𝙩𝙤 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙢𝙮𝙨𝙩𝙚𝙧𝙞𝙤𝙪𝙨 𝙎𝙚𝙧𝙥𝙚𝙣𝙩 𝙆𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙞𝙣 𝙖 𝙢𝙖𝙧𝙧𝙞𝙖𝙜𝙚 𝙤𝙛 𝙘𝙤𝙣𝙫𝙚𝙣𝙞𝙚𝙣𝙘𝙚, 𝙩𝙝𝙧𝙪𝙨𝙩𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙝𝙚𝙧 𝙞𝙣𝙩𝙤 𝙖 𝙙𝙚𝙖𝙙𝙡𝙮 𝙜𝙖𝙢𝙚 𝙗𝙚𝙩𝙬𝙚𝙚𝙣 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙘𝙪𝙣𝙣𝙞𝙣𝙜, 𝙛𝙚𝙖𝙧𝙨𝙤𝙢𝙚 𝙧𝙪𝙡𝙚𝙧 𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝙝𝙞𝙨 𝙧𝙚𝙗𝙚𝙡𝙡𝙞𝙤𝙪𝙨 𝙝𝙪𝙣𝙩𝙨𝙢𝙖𝙣. 𝙋𝙚𝙧𝙛𝙚𝙘𝙩 𝙛𝙤𝙧 𝙛𝙖𝙣𝙨 𝙤𝙛 𝙏𝙝𝙚 𝙒𝙧𝙖𝙩𝙝 & 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝘿𝙖𝙬𝙣 𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝙊𝙣𝙘𝙚 𝙐𝙥𝙤𝙣 𝙖 𝘽𝙧𝙤𝙠𝙚𝙣 𝙃𝙚𝙖𝙧𝙩!

This was a lovely YA romantasy and I had a great time reading it. I really liked the magic system and the jewelsmithing. The yearning tension and slow build were exactly what I like in a romantasy. It is firmly YA so there is not any spice.

This book is chock-full of incredible lore, fascinating jewel magic, and harrowing escapes from the Imperial Guards hunting Saphira. I loved Saphira's character and how she builds trust slowly with Rane, lowering walls that have kept her alive and safe for years. Her abilities as a jewelsmith were incredible to read about, and I loved her golem companion, Grimney. He stole the show in every scene he appeared in.

Overall, I had a good time. I think it’s worth picking up for the magic system alone, but really the entire book is so interesting

Wow. I loved this one—absolutely devoured it.

This book was everything I wanted and more. Embrace the Serpent is rich, intense, and brimming with emotion. The writing is gorgeous, the world feels dark and mythic, and the characters? Completely unforgettable.

I was hooked from the first chapter. The tension, the magic, the emotion—it all hit so perfectly. There’s this underlying ache to everything, like you know things could fall apart at any second, and yet there’s still so much beauty and hope woven in. And the romance? Chef’s kiss. Deliciously complicated in all the right ways.

Sunya Mara has this way of making every moment feel meaningful, and I found myself fully swept up in the story. I didn’t want it to end.

Rating: 5/5 – Powerful, poetic, and packed with feels. I’m obsessed.

*thank you to netgalley and the publisher for an early copy of this book in exchange for an honest review*