Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for the free ARC in exchange for a review! Rating- 3.5/5 stars

Ok....I'm conflicted with this one. A lot of the previous reviews have mentioned how this will be the next big romantasy book in 2026, and to be honest, I agree with them. This will definitely do well over on Booktok. But did I like it/ think it should be the next big book? ....Not really.

Don't get me wrong, this was a fun read, reasonably fast-paced, and the world itself was quite interesting. However, the world building itself felt incohesive at times, as if the author had just smushed two favourite tropes together for maximum effect. There was a bit of an info-dump regarding this at the start of the book too. Similarly, the flashbacks felt quite jarring in the narrative, and not clearly delineated enough for me.

As for our characters, Arvelle was...fine. She wasn't a standout FMC, but had quite a cool personality- I just personally didn't quite mesh with her or feel real attachment. The love interests were similarly a bit bland and didn't truly give off any romance/ attraction to me.

This book was fast-paced and reasonably original, so still worth a read, but not my personal cup of tea.

Thank you again to Netgalley and the publisher!

I really loved the Kingdom of Lies series so I was really excited for this book. But I think this book just was t for me. It’s very exposition heavy in the beginning which takes away from the tension of the main character. It’s also unclear why the main character is so physically unfit when she works as a bodyguard, which she even states means that she has to get into physical fights a lot. And she trains other fighters herself. So the fact that she is so out of shape never really makes sense, it just feels like a way for her to feel less likely to succeed. I just think this felt a bit rushed and with a bit of polish this could be a really interesting concept. I like the main character and her devotion to her brothers, and the world being based on Ancient Rome is interesting. I think it just needed a bit more editing and time.

It was my first ever book from Stacia Stark and oh my god did she not disappoint! This is going to become the next big romantasy book, make my words.

This book was SO GOOD. It’s hunger games meets gladiator. It has everything I love in a romantasy book - good world building, amazing characters growth, intriguing storyline, and of course romance.

The characters are honestly amazing. I absolutely loved Arvelle, the FMC - she is deeply grieving and trying to survive as much as she can when we first meet her; and throughout the book we slowly see her becoming stronger, growing into herself and healing from her past. Her growth is so inspiring. I just love when the characters are flawed because they’re so much more reliable and the growth is so much more genuine.

The other characters (I won’t say too much as I don’t want to spoil) are honestly great too - so many of them made the story even better. The “villain”/dark MMC is CHEF KISS and I cannot wait to see where his storyline goes…

I honestly loved the Ancient Greek/Roman touches, mixed with vampires, Mythical creatures and magic/power.

So many things happened throughout the book (it’s drama packed) without it being too confusing; it all just flows really well and comes together perfectly : rebellions, gladiator games/hunger games style training, murders, Gods being Gods…. The plot twists were very good; some I guessed before it came out and some I was actually very surprised!

The romance is also 👏🏼 it’s not overwhelming at all and definitely comes second to the rest of the story but it’s making it even more intriguing. I’m genuinely SO curious to see where the author is going to go with that “love” triangle.

Honestly if I could give it 6 stars I would. I CANNOT wait for book 2!!!

Arvelle, a sigilmarked whose powers never awakened, is forced into a deadly contract with a vampire who holds her brother’s life in his hands—literally. In exchange for the medicine he needs, she agrees to enter the Sundering: three brutal arena trials where only the smartest and strongest make it out alive. If she survives, she’s given one final task—kill the Emperor.
Along the way, she forges unexpected alliances, and the story takes twist after twist that kept me absolutely hooked.

I devoured this. Honestly, it’s one of my favourite reads of the year so far. It was gripping from the start and impossible to put down. The pacing was on point—so much happens, and it’s packed with reveals, betrayals, and turns I never saw coming. (Some I definitely saw coming, but it didn’t take away from the experience at all!)

It had everything I love: gladiator-style games, vampires, murder, found family, long-lost loves, gods, dark and dangerously compelling bad guys—this book really delivers. The magic system was super unique too—slightly confusing at first, but it made sense the further I got into the story.

Arvelle was a strong female lead. She did irritate me a few times, but honestly, by the end, most of that was explained really well, and it made sense—so she’s fully forgiven. I also loved the romantic threads and the glimpses we got into her past relationships.
I am fully team Rorrick.
No notes. I’m so invested in these characters it’s actually a problem.

The only negative is that this isn’t published until December, which raises the urgent question: when is book two happening?? Because I need it yesterday.
Also, I’m going to need significantly more Rorrick in the next one. Please and thank you.

Thank you to Stacia Stark and Michael Joseph, Penguin Randomhouse for the ARC. I’m leaving this review voluntarily.

4.5 ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️✨
This book was so much fun! Deadly games, blood-soaked battles, a murder mystery, and not one—but two brooding, hot vampire brothers? Count. Me. In. 😍

This was my first Stacia Stark novel and definitely won’t be my last. I loved the writing style, the pacing, and the electric character dynamics. It gave me major Hunger Games training montage meets Gladiator meets The Serpent and the Wings of Night vibes (take that with a pinch of salt—this book isn’t a carbon copy of any of those, but it carries that same intense, survivalist energy).

I’ll admit, I wasn’t sure at first—what with all the talk of Gladians, I half expected the FMC to be running around in gladiator sandals and a toga 😂 Thankfully, my girl was wearing armour. (I’m a simple girl with simple wants when it comes to my fantasy, and togas aren’t one of them.)

The ending? Sensational. The found family vibes, the intense Gladian rivalries, the yearning (oh my god, the yearning)—absolutely swoon-worthy. And Rorrick?? He stole the show for me. Smug, sarcastic, a little dangerous… I was obsessed. But don’t worry—our broody main love interest still brought the angst and mystery I live for. Every main character had their moment to shine, and I genuinely loved (most of) them ✨

All in all, I went in unsure and came out obsessed. I’m SO glad I gave this a chance—and now I’m counting down the (painful) days until book two.


🪬Tropes🪬

• Childhood friends to Lovers
• Enemies to lovers (⁉️)
• Deadly games
• Rivalries
• Found family
• Murder mystery
• Hot vampire blood-drinking scenes
• Hidden identities

This is a fantastical book based in a roman empire setting with vampires and magic. The magic system was unusual and intriguing, it was exciting to understand. The world building was complex and felt quite heavy, there's a lot to take in alongside the story, characters and magic system.

This was such an easy five star! We Who Will Die captured my interest right from the beginning and gave me that five star feeling from the first few chapters!

I absolutely loved the combination of a Roman Empire inspired world with vampires! It worked so well and the Emperor was such a wonderful and believable villain.

The pacing was great and there are a few separate plot lines woven together so you’re never quite sure what’s about to happen. I was constantly trying to work out where the story was going but the reveal towards the end caught me off guard completely. The magic system is interesting and mysterious, it feels like there’s a lot we still don’t understand about it that will get explored in later books.

Arvelle was a likeable character and I enjoyed reading from her perspective. I won’t say much about the romance here. I feel like it’s more fun if you go in blind like I did, but I absolutely adore the direction it seems to be going in. It feels like we haven’t even scratched the surface of the tension and relationship drama that’s to come but I’m already obsessed.

The only thing that didn’t work for me was the sheer number of named characters. It was difficult to keep them all straight which made the plot confusing at times and didn’t give the opportunity to get to know any of them or get attached enough to care if they were killed. I feel like the story would have benefited from fewer, more developed side characters and I hope we get a bit more of this in later books. I really liked what we saw of Maeva and found her backstory interesting so I’d love to see more of her especially.

We Who Will Die has easily made it into my favourite books of the year and I can see this series being an all time favourite once it’s complete!

Thank you to the author and publisher for allowing me an e-ARC of this book! It did not influence my review and all opinions are my own.

This was my first ever Stacia book, and it did not disappoint. This has convinced me to read every other book she’s written! Let’s get right into the review because I need to spill my feelings!!

First of all, sign me up for any other books in this series. You want my firstborn? Done. You want my soul? Done. I would give anything for the next book.
In terms of the characters, the development throughout the book is nothing short of incredible. We have a few morally grey characters who we can’t help but love, we have the worst people imaginable who we absolutely hate, and we have characters who are in between who we probably like but aren’t huge fans of. The depth of these characters went above and beyond my expectations. I see a lot of myself in the FMC; she feels responsible to keep everyone around her safe, she battles with grief and guilt, she has difficulty trusting others, but we can’t help but love her. I would put my life on the line for the MMC, and probably his brother too (I love a damaged boy I can’t help it. The more he’d ruin my life the better). It’s so refreshing to see a FMC who is aware of all of her faults but is actively trying to fix them.

The plot was to die for (no, really). There were a few twists that I literally said ‘oh my god’ at because I didn’t expect them at all. This kept me hooked through the book and made me want to keep reading. If someone asked me for a book that is going to ruin their life, I’d recommend this one.

There’s clear inspiration from Gladiator/The Hunger Games/Greek mythology, but this book was so beautifully unique in its own way. My favourite Greek reference was the gorgon!!
The diversity was wonderful too, and I hope Maeva and her girlfriend live beautiful happy lives.
Tropes included forced proximity, trials, forbidden love, magic, and there was plenty of angst.

Overall, an excellent Stacia novel, although I’m sure nobody is surprised!

Rating: 5/5 stars (⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️/⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️)

I was really excited to dive into this one, after loving the series Kingdom of Lies, anything new from Stacia Stark is an automatic addition to my TBR!
We Who Will Die kicks off a new romantasy trilogy inspired by Ancient Rome, with a unique magical twist involving sigilmarked humans and vampires. The concept is bold and imaginative, and as always, Stacia Stark’s writing is incredibly engaging. Her world-building, especially early on, is rich, immersive, and full of vivid detail that pulled me in right away.

That said, I’ll admit the mix of vampires, Roman influences, mythical creatures, vengeful gods, and an entirely new magic system felt a little overwhelming at times. There was just a lot going on, and my brain struggled to keep up with it all at times!

The core plot does follow some familiar romantasy tropes, but it still hits all the right beats for an enjoyable read. I was entertained throughout, and I’m completely hooked on Rorrik, he’s hands down the standout character for me. I have to know what “he saw her first” really means! I’ll definitely be picking up the second book, if only to find out where his story goes.

Thank you NetGalley and Michael Joseph, Penguin Random House for the ARC.

We Who Will Die is fast paced and full of drama. The magic system was unique and interesting, although the world building itself was a bit more difficult to grasp.
I found some elements of the setting harder to believe, it impacted my rating a lot.
I think this would appeal to fans of Blood of Hercules and also perhaps Quicksilver.