3.75/5

Although I was annoyed by the whole purple gelatinous blob demon situation, I still enjoyed the book. It starts off a bit slow, but the pace picks up.

Zahariev’s perspective deserved more—ideally full chapters. I would’ve loved to see how he fell for Lilith, rather than just hearing about it after the fact.

And that ending? Quite the cliffhanger! If the second book were out, I’d already be reading it.

But truly…the gelatinous blob demon situation…it was almost comical, and at times detracted from the story.

Thank you to NetGalley for the e-ARC.

Terror at the Gates is St. Clair's latest romantic fantasy, and one I was very excited to get my hands on an early e-arc from @netgalley and @sourcebooksuk as I've been eagerly anticipating it. (Out next week).

It follows Lilith who is estranged from her powerful family. In a world of elite families ruled by the Church which sees the role of women as being that of wife. Lilith shelters in the district of Nineveh, the city devoted to Sin. A city ruled over by Zahariev Zareth who is one of the heads of the elite families. In Nineveh, Lilith is struggling to find her own path, using magic to steal and make ends meet. When she steals a magic blade, her life begins to unravel and she turns to Zahariev for help.

What follows is a pacy and exciting read which draws you into a world of magic, mystery and religious cults. Scarlett St. Clair certainly delivers a quick paced novel which draws you in and keeps you hooked and this was exactly what I needed to bring my interest back to reading at the start of this month. Although Terror at the Gates is almost certainly just an introduction novel to this world and and I feel like there's much more to be built on in terms of the characters and the wider world.

The element that initially drew me into this book was the artwork designed for the book for Lilith and Zahariev (and how attractive they looked). I was intrigued by the romance and the tension throughout the book between the two was delicious. And whilst I did love them and the development of their relationship, having read Scarlett St. Clair's Hades x Persephone saga I felt some of the characterisation was quite similar. Admittedly I've read the first couple of books in that series several times so I'm not disappointed by that, it just would be nice to see what else St. Clair can deliver.

Terror at the Gates was the perfect read for my mood and I wasn't disappointed. I was intrigued by the premise and drawn in by the romance so I'm excited to see where book two goes. St. Clair is definitely turning into the perfect comfort read for me.

Terror at the Gates - Scarlett St. Clair

4 ⭐️

As someone who are used to read Scarlett’s books (and adores every single one of them) I am biased, for sure, but this book was a must.

Just for the starters, considering how the human kind has been treating - more disregarding, tbh - women since the beginning of times something we can currently see it is more aggressive nowadays, reading books where a woman is worshipped by a man, respected, empowered even, is pure joy, a breath of fresh air.

In this book, the author gives us a portrait of how a patriarchal society works, how stratified is living in a world like that and how religion and mafia interests can relate and influence everything in their surroundings. Which makes us see the need of men to repress women behavior, their need to control them and that leads us to reflect about where their strength resides? Why do they have to blame women for everything they think is bad or wrong?! Something I absolutely adore about the book, same goes to the mythology and religious references throughout the whole story…it is awesome and so well written.

About the characters, Lilith is a force of nature, imo. No doubt an FMC that was born to be seen, heard and considered and that’s exactly what Zahariev, the MMC, does, perfectly! The tension between them and the way they talk to each other…grrrr…I mean how can we resist?! The slow-burn in here almost ki**ed me 🌶️ The way Zahariev worships Lilith…I have no words🖤 Also loved the friendship between Lilith and Coco and how Cherub “melted”, in a way, Lilith’s heart🐈‍⬛

If you like a story retelling, filled with mythology, with a very strong FMC, an MMC who worships the woman he loves, an empowerment dark urban fantasy, with a very noticeable critique to the relationships between religion and politics/governments, a portrait of the greed of the powerful men, then this is the book you’re looking for. Just please check the trigger warnings before you read and keep in mind that are very graphic scenes along the book. That being said I enjoyed every single time I spent reading the book and highly recommend it to everyone, if it pleases you. I can’t wait to read the next one🖤

Thank you very much to Scarlett St. Clair and NetGalley for giving me the access to the ARC

This is the first Scarlett St.Clair book I have read and it will not be the last.

This is a Urban fantasy with supernatural elements mystery throughout the book. The book is set in the modern world with Mafia vibes where women inherit magic through bloodlines but men try to control and wield it.

I felt while reading I knew what was going to happen with the plot but then something happens that I had never seen coming.

The tension in the book between to FMC and MMC kept me wondering if anything was ever going to happen and especially since you get to about a third of the way through the book before something happens but when it happens it happens and leaves you needing to read on for more dark romance.

Great world building with mystery and suspense! Also loved the tension between the characters! Wow 🤯 was a slow start with a slow burn but I’m not mad executed perfectly! Scarlett st clair never disappoints!

Amazing fantasy romance in this action packed story. The plot was fantastic and kept me hooked with twists and shocking minets but also the vuild up to events was great!

Rating: ★★★.5

Going into this book I had no idea what this was about and I don’t know if it would’ve been something I picked. But, I did enjoy the reading experience I just wish we got a little bit more.

I enjoyed the starting and the learning of a new world. I feel it fell a little flat after 200 pages of more a less the same thing happening and the story not advancing.

Zahariev is morally grey, but soft and has a cute nickname for Lilith. Lilith is fiery and powerful and a bit morally grey herself. The side characters added great things to the plot, from Coco’s friendship to Cassius’ one liners, I did enjoy the characters, especially Cherub (IYKYK!).

I really liked the concept of the “dual pov” used in this book. It added a little extra something getting to see a bit in to Zahariev’s thoughts as well but it’s in such a different way than your normal dual pov.

The tension between the main characters was amazing, I love a tension filled slow burn. The sex scenes I feel personally, were placed weirdly in the plot. Maybe placed somewhere else it would’ve worked, but I just thought the whole time, “why are they doing it at a time like this, you need to go read that important thing you’ve just got so we can learn more” but instead they were banging for like an hour(?) and I feel like this could’ve been missed.

I don’t know how many books are gonna be in this, whether it’s a duology or 3 book series (it can’t be more than that surely) but I do feel like if we didn’t have that filler bit in the middle and depending on what the author wants to add, I feel like this could’ve been one book.

I wanted a bit more female rage* but I’m hoping that it could possibly be ramped up in the next book from how we’re left?

Overall, I did find it interesting and I’d like to see what happens next for them all.

[thank you netgalley + sourcebooksuk for an eARC ~ all opinions are my own]

SPOILERS:
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*IM SO GLAD SHE GOT TO KILL HER RAPIST THOUGH!!!!!! FUCK ARCHBISHOP ALARICH LISK!!!!

The sex scenes were really weirdly placed, an hour of sex when they literally just got back with a book full of content they might need but nope, let’s fuck in this car for an hour. Not appropriate timing at all lmao

WHY DID ESTHER HAVE TO DIE?????? But also, I agree with another person who reviewed this book, they definitely needed a tw for a pregnant woman dying.

Terror at the Gates was an enjoyable read. I dove in with no expectations and it was a nice book to pass the time. It does delve into the darker aspects of religion and mythology, particularly Christianity, which might be upsetting or triggering for some. Personally, I didn't find it an issue. I felt empathy and anger for Lilith, especially given the treatment of women in this world as mere possessions to be married off. In some aspects, it rang a bit close to home. I truly hope Lilith gets retribution and burns the system to the ground. Zahariev and Gabriel were standout characters. All in all, I enjoyed the story and plan to read the second book to see what happens next.

Terror at the Gates is the first book that I've read by Scarlett St. Clair but it delivered.

Set in a world dominated by a corrupt Church and rife with systemic misogyny, the narrative was both infuriating and empowering. It’s a rage-inducing read at times, serving as a poignant reflection of historical issues still plaguing women today. The parallels were striking and painfully current day.

I was on the edge of my seat the whole time and I was very intrigued by the politics involved. Very interested in the magic and where this series is going.

An actually morally grey love interest, 8 years older, has a touch her and you die energy that had me feral and the yearning... His only soft spot is her and I'm here for it.

Thank you to Netgalley and Sourcebooks UK for this eARC.

Terror at the Gates was my first book by Scarlett St. Clair... and unfortunately, it might also be the last. I was very intrigued by the premise, and this book promised female rage, an urban fantasy setting, mafia vibes, and frenemies to lovers, so I was sold. Sadly, it missed the mark for me.

The first few chapters were great, and captured my attention, but it just went downhill from there.... Let's start with the world-building: there is none. Lilith lives in Nineveth, one of the five districts in Eden, which is.... what? A city? A continent? Are the districts like neighbourhoods? Or different cities close to one another? It just wasn't explained well and I really struggled to picture it. Each district is controlled by one of five families, who form the Commission, which is where the mafia vibes come in; but only Lilith's and Zahariev's families are mentioned at the start, the other three are not introduced/mentioned until later in the book. There's also magic in this world, which apparently only women from these families inherit, but because society is completely controlled by a misogynistic church, they have no say and have to do whatever the men want. We are not told about how this magic manifests, what kind of powers are there... we find out at the start of the book that Lilith has "sex magic" (I'll come back to this), and later on it's mentioned that women from one of the other families can control the weather... and that's all. I was constantly expecting more explanations about the magic system, the world where the book takes place, etc., but they never came.

What to say about the characters... all of them felt flat and one-dimensional. Lilith is the daughter of the head of one of the five families, the Leviathan family. She was supposed to be this bad-ass heroine, with a heart-breaking backstory, and give us the female rage that we were promised, but she just wasn't it. She obviously had a traumatic backstory (always check trigger warnings ahead of reading!) and it led to hear leaving the church, her family, and her district, and moving to Nineveth, the district that Zahariev controls. However, I feel like her backstory was delivered in two paragraphs, and that was it. It's not like I want to be reading pages of traumatic events, but the way that we were told her backstory was very quick and it felt like it was kind of brushed over, so I struggled to form an emotional connection to her. Throughout the story, another detail would be revealed, but it was just mentioned in one sentence and then never thought of again, so it kind of felt like filler. Honestly, no one can blame her for leaving her family, since they only cared about what she could do for them by means of an arranged marriage, but I didn't understand her decision to keep in touch with her father, when he was as much to blame as her mother. As the Leviathan heir, her magic manifested when she was 18, and she got "sex magic"... At first I thought "interesting, cool concept, let's see how this works", but then I realised how useless it was! She can only use it if the person she's talking to is lusting after her, and surprise surprise, not everyone was! So she uses it a couple of times at the start of the book, and then it's forgotten about. She always says a million times that she is not a spoiled brat, and yet constantly behaves as such, so yeah, I struggled to connect with her character and towards the end, everything she did or said annoyed me. Finally, I am not sure where the female rage was, because she constantly had to ask Zahariev or other men for help to get out of trouble, and was not able to do anything by herself. Also, hating on other women because they might be attracted to the same guy as you, or because "she is a bitch" with no reason why it's not very feminist...

Zahariev was kind of boring, and yet one of the 2 stars I'm giving this book is for the chapters in his POV (which were 1 page long on average, so I think that's quite telling). He's the head of the family, he's apparently super busy and has to deal with so many things, yet he's always available whenever Lilith calls, and he's always waiting for her to show up in places. The "frenemies" vibes weren't really there, because Lilith wants to jump him from the first moment he shows up in the book, they have known each other for years, he's constantly helping her get out of trouble, let's her stay in his district and stands up for her with the other families... so where is the enemies part of the "frenemies"?? Lilith was stubborn and immature whenever they interacted, and he was happy to just stand there and take it, so yeah, meh. He's also been resisting his attraction and feelings for her for years, and tried to keep his distance, but she begs him to f*ck her twice, and he gives in and immediately they are a thing... okay, sure. The spicy scenes were kind of cringy, but it's likely because I didn't care about them.

Lilith's friend group was weird, and something that constantly made me feel like I had been dropped in the middle of a story rather than at the start. Lilith shares a flat with Coco, who she met when she moved to Nineveth... how? When? How did they get to be roomates and became best friends? She's also very close friends with Gabriel, who works for Zahariev, and his girlfriend Esther, and she thinks of them as her brother and sister. So once again, how did that happen? How did they meet and get to have such a strong relationship? There is not a single bit of backstory relating to any of her friends, so you just have to believe that they are incredibly close and roll with it. Also, Gabriel calls her "baby girl" constantly, seriously, pretty much in every sentence he says to her, and it was veeeeery icky. And Esther... have you ever been introduced to a character and known immediately that they were going to die at some point in the book? Yep, that was Esther for me. The whole thing regarding her death was weird, and the way that Lilith behave after was honestly kind of gross? Blaming Gabriel for it, acting like a brat, ignoring his calls and messages, and not wanting to even meet the baby and running away... Running away to Esther's apartment to fight with Zahariev, question him about who he had sex with, and pathetically begging him to f*ck her, like... are you serious? I understand not dealing well with big emotional things but that was all over the place and showed how shitty of a friend she was, she made it all about herself and did not think once about how her loving "brother" was feeling. She did not even go to the funeral!!! I just couldn't understand her actions and it completely pissed me off.

Let's move on to the plot: I don't think there was one, and if there was, I completely missed it. Lilith has to steal from people to be able to pay for rent. One night she steals a dagger, and when she is showing her usual buyer, he dies after touching it. In the next couple of days, most people that touch the dagger die, apart from her and Zahariev. All she gets is these extremely weird and confusing dreams where she is wandering the desert and that I still don't understand. They decide to give the dagger away, and then when she finds it in her bag, she doesn't think to mention it to anyone. She then tries to get rid of it by throwing it in the river, and once again, the dagger appears in her room, and once again, she doesn't tell anyone!!! At least she tries to find out some information about it. During all of this, she finds Esther in the apartment, after which she dies, and she immediately assumes that she was killed by the Archbishop and it was all to hurt her - huh?! Don't know where she got that idea from, seriously. She then finds a purple/pink blob/creature in the baby's room, something that she has never seen or heard of before, and immediately assumes that it is a demon, who possessed her friend, and that's why she took myrrh and died, and it's all the Archbishop's fault. Like, I am not defending this guy, but where are you getting all of these ideas from!? Where is the evidence??? They were constantly jumping to conclusions that we just had to believe without questioning, and I just couldn't do it. I seriously don't know what the plot is because it felt like this book was all over the place, nothing made sense, and even the "amazing and twisty ending" that I have seen people talk about felt flat and boring. The only reason why I did not DNF and pushed through to finish this book was pure morbid curiosity to know where the author was going to take the story, and whether it could be saved, which it wasn't for me.

I am aware now that this whole review might sound like a rant, and I guess it is in some ways, but I just felt like this book had so many inconsistencies, plot holes, and unlikable main characters that I was frustrated by it. The writing felt immature and very basic, so that did not help either (one of the chapters starts with "Wanna fuck?" Seriously). I feel like with a few more rounds of editing, it could have been good, but as it is, it just wasn't for me. As I said, one star for Zahariev POV chapters, and half a star because I finished it and it didn't take too long to read, so we'll round up to 2 here.

Of course, this is my personal opinion, and I'm sure lots of people will disagree, and that's okay! Thank you to Sourcebooks UK, NetGalley, and the author for the eARC in exchange for my honest review.

It... Just... Ends...
You could have given us a few more pages Scarlett before just dropping the story.

For the most part I did enjoy this book but I can't help feeling a bit disappointed that we didn't get a bit more of a character reaction to that cliffhanger/plot twist.

3.75 stars

This is my first Scarlett St. Clair book, so I wasn't too sure what to expect. Terror at the Gates is a Lilith retelling, with a feminist rage vibe throughout.

I liked the story, I thought it was a really interesting take and very unique. There were so many ups and downs, twists and turns that I felt like I was on a rollercoaster. The use of magic was interesting, I don't know how much value it added to the progression of the story other than at the very start, but perhaps it will come into play a bit more in the second book.

Zahariev is the morally grey character of my dreams, I loved his character. His devotion to Lilith is perfection! I also like the side characters, although I learnt early in the book not to get too attached.

I would love to see a reduction in the f-bombs dropped all throughout the book. I'm not usually bothered, but this was a bit excessive, particularly in the second half of the book (and after our two MCs stop pretending they aren't madly in love).

The ending was a total surprise, I wasn't expecting it. I'm looking forward to picking up the second book when it's released.

This book was absolutely sensational. I didn’t know how badly I wanted a story about Lilith, but damn this was addictive. I sincerely did not want it to end. Zahariev is the most delicious MMC, the tattoos, the dark hair, the mafia boss esque vibe and even the smoking, raw. I really had no expectations going into Terror at the Gates, but it the urban fantasy vibes definitely reminded me of Crescent City in the best way. I loved all the characters excluding the priest and Lilith’s parents of course. I also was starved for Z’s POV, the little snippet we got at the end of each chapter left me positively feral. I am absolutely sat and I cannot wait for the next book (there has to be a next book right???) If you are a fan of a sloooow burn, you need this one in your life, trust me.

4.5 stars! scarlett did it again. I was hooked and I knew ill be out my slump in no time. Think a modern day fantasies with controlling families. A FMC trying to escape her future and a protective MMC that has too many feeling. With events that is from another world. this kept me gripped and hooked.

The twists and turns were a lot to keep you guessing the ending was superb and honestly I still don't know who to trust.
the slow burn was good and the spice when it hit, hits. I was obsessed with our Lilith and I can't wait to see her character build.
this book does touch on some darker topic so be aware but I'm so excited to continuing reading this series.

thank you source book and netgalley!

Terror at the Gates is my first book that I've read by Scarlett St. Clair. The book follows Lilith, a woman who is trying to strike out on her own in a world where women are second-thoughts. There's some magic, a lot of religious persecution, and a lot of yearning.

For me, this novel fell a bit flat. It felt very superficial and not as fleshed out as I would have liked to have seen. The world was so interesting with the different cities and head families, and I was very intrigued by the politics involved. I would have loved to see more descriptions about the settings in which Lilith and our sidecast of characters found themselves. I LOVE urban fantasy, and this had the potential to be great, but just fell a little short. I also would have loved to see more fleshed out characters all around, as aside from Lilith and Zahariev, our characters all simply seemed like decorations with no thoughts or motivations of their own, save what would benefit our main characters. That being said, there were a lot of moments that made me laugh out loud, and some moments that tugged on my heartstrings, as well. I loved that there was a glossary, and I wish there was also a map.

I thought the mystery was good, and I did not see the twist coming at all. I was enthralled by the dagger and its story, and I can't wait for it to be explained more. I am hoping that future novels will include more descriptions so that I can fully immerse myself in this entertaining story. If you like mafia romance, age gap, forbidden love, then you'll like this novel!

Thank you to Netgalley and Sourcebooks UK for this eARC in exchange for my honest and unbiased review.

Having previously read and enjoyed Scarlett St. Clair’s other series, I went into Terror at the Gates with high hopes. Unfortunately, this instalment fell somewhat flat for me. While there are certainly elements that I appreciated, the overall execution didn't quite live up to the potential.

One of the main issues I encountered was with the pacing. The chapters were excessively long, which disrupted the narrative flow and made it harder to stay immersed. Instead of building momentum, the lengthy sections often dragged.

That being said, I did appreciate the inclusion of brief glimpses into the male main character’s MMCs POV at the end of each chapter. These snippets added a layer of depth to his character. I found myself looking forward to those short perspectives.

The romantic dynamic was another mixed bag for me. While the story promised a slow burn romance, it didn’t quite deliver in the way I was hoping. The FMC frequently threw herself at the MMC, which undermined the slow-burn tension and made the progression feel inconsistent. When the romantic relationship did finally happen, the payoff felt repetitive rather than satisfying.

5 Stars ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Please take in mind it’s my opinion, and everyone is allowed to have one.

This book started off with such a bang! I was hooked ever since the first chapter, I literally flew through this book. My emotions were all over the place with this book (if any of you could see my notes). The world building was actually nice. The characters were so great I absolutely loved them! Let me tell you Lilith is such a queen, but sorry not sorry Zah is my man.. Honestly miss the ending of this book??? I just need book 2 like now.

Thank you so much for this arc - I’d seen the teasers by Scarlett and I was SO excited!
Lilith is such a strong FMC with determination to not let the patriarchy win- I can relate haha!
I was fully OBSESSED with Zahariev all the way through - his POV chapters were done so cleverly to give you just snippits in side his head I was desperate for every moment of them!
The spice in this was HOT and had a well paced lead up to it!
I had noooooo idea where this was going or how it would end but I need book 2 IMMEDIATELY!!!
All the stars! Loved loved loved!!

I found the pronunciation guide at the beginning very helpful.

There were quite a few info dumps from the very first page. It meant that the world building felt dense and too much.

The pacing was slow and while the chapters were long, sometimes it felt like not much had actually happened.

The slow burn between Lilith and Zahariev was too dragged out and predictable.

The spice was ok but sometimes it was focused on so much that the actual plot was forgotten.

I struggled to keep reading and actually had to DNF at around the 60% mark.

I'm sure other readers would enjoy this book but just wasn't for me

*Thank you to @Netgalley, the author and the publisher for providing this ARC. This is my own opinion and an honest review, which I am leaving voluntarily*

Terror at the Gates was a wild ride! I was on the edge of my seat the whole time, and the suspense was just incredible. The author really knows how to build tension, and I found myself completely immersed in the story. It was super gripping, and I definitely recommend it if you're looking for a an exciting romantasy read. Almost a perfect five, just a tiny bit shy of absolute perfection for me!