The year of the lady knight continues in this phenomenal epic fantasy! The yearning between Grey and Keir is top notch and some of the best I’ve read in a while. Brilliant magic system with a unique plot. This first booked wrapped up nicely but I’m very interested to see what the author does with book 2!

Another lady knight book. I’m here for it. Ammmmmaazing. Everyone needs to read this
I loved grey and kier so much.

This had every ingredient necessary to be the most devastating novel I have ever read - but something just didn't land for me.
I loved the history and slow-burn element behind Grey and Kier's romance. Their relationship felt so solid and unwavering and it was a beautiful thing to watch unfold. I also loved the relationships they developed with side characters (and also loved the queer representation in their team) and how it felt meaningful to the development of Grey's trust and faith in herself.
The story and the lore felt beautiful and I loved the idea of the mage/well duality. I feel like the novel really captured me for the first 40%, but after this, the pace seemed to drop off, to the point where it felt slightly anticlimactic when I finished it. I feel like I overall enjoyed the novel and loved Bovalino's style of writing, but the tension was drawn too thin and I struggled to keep up my motivation to finish the story.
Overall, this was intricate and beautifully written, and I would definitely look out for future work by Bovalino.

Thank you to author and publisher for the arc!

holy smokes this is by far my favourite book of the year. This was such a gritty and real book with such strong characters and the yearning. Oh the YEARNING!!

Bovalino has a way with words that is so unique and mesmerising and I found myself completely lost within the pages, almost feeling as if I was a part of this story. It was so amazing and I cannot wait to read more of Bovalino’s work.

I would highly recommend this book to literally anyone that will listen, my friends will be forced to read this by me

I was not expecting to love this book as much as I did. And believe me, no one is as surprised as I to read such a wonderful story, about grief, finding yourself and taking your destiny into your own hands.
It was hunting, and beautiful. It also had a refreshing take on that yearning to be loved by your closest friend. It transported me back to the feeling of first love, and I found that wonderful.

This book had such a refreshing take on magic!
Magic is channelled through wells; people who have the ability to be wells work alongside mages and act as their source of power. It was a super interesting magic system that created emotional tension between Grey (well) and Kier (mage), whose relationship slowly shifts from friends to something more. And I'm a sucker for friends to lovers
I appreciated how grounded and engaging the story felt. The first 80% were so well done, and the pacing was fast but not so fast as to disturb the reading experience.
The characters, the setting, the mood? It was all so perfect.

That said, my only grief with this book was the last few pages. It introduced a plot twist that felt a bit too convenient. Not a dealbreaker, but enough to keep this from being a five-star read.

Still, a beautifully written, character-driven fantasy that I recommend to anyone who enjoys emotionally layered magic with that little spice of friends-to-lovers that leaves you on the edge of your seat.

Wow! I haven’t read a book that has immersed and enraptured me like this one did in a very very long time
The setting and writing was reminiscent of Rachel Gillig’s writing style in the best way possible!
I LOVED both Grey & Kier so much, and their relationship was so interesting throughout, and to see two individuals that love eachother so deeply was spellbinding
The world building was interesting and digestible and I LOVED the magic system
I cried at least 3 times whilst reading it, it was such a rollercoaster of emotions in the best way
I cannot wait to read any thing this author writes in ten future

The Second Death of Locke was one of my most anticipated reads of 2025! I love the concept of lady knights, so my expectations were quite high going in.

V.L. Bovalino is an amazing writer, and this store was so beautifully written I really enjoyed it! I felt fully immersed in the story and world for the first like 70%. While I did find it quite fast paced and exciting, I felt like it dropped a bit at about the 70% mark and I felt my mind starting to wander. But this was the only negative for me!

I really liked Grey and Kier's relationship, and I'm an absolute sucker for friends to lovers. The magic system was also so unique I loved it!

I would recommend everyone going in blind, so that you get the full effect of the twists for sure. This is going to be a popular one, rightfully so!!

The Second Death of Locke is a beautifully written, devastating tale of grief, loyalty, longing, and love. It completely swept me off my feet!

It’s a tension-filled romantasy, but one that leans heavily into classic fantasy world-building, full of political intrigue with complex and diverse characters. The romance is lead and central, but it never overwhelms the richness of the character-driven plot.

Grey and Kiernan absolutely stole my heart. Gray is such a complex FMC with so much depth. Their relationship is the complete opposite of insta-love, there’s so much history between them and an aching, slow-burn devotion that feels really raw and real. It’s not just about lust, but about something deeper and soul-binding. The yearning, the chemistry - it’s everything!

It’s not normally something I think too much about, but I would have loved a dual POV reading this. We gain such a deep understanding of Grey, of all her strength, insecurities, and fears laid bare through her perspective. As we only see Kier through Grey’s eyes, he comes across as so wonderfully perfect it left me curious if we’d see more aspects of his character from his own POV.

The pace I felt was on the slower side at times- but this did allow natural space for the evolution of Grey and Kier’s relationship.

It felt like a breath of fresh air, I loved it from start to finish!

Okay, The Second Death of Locke totally got its hooks in me from the first page. It’s got that dreamy, eerie, almost gothic vibe that I really love in YA fantasy, but also hits you with emotion when you least expect it.

I wasn’t sure what to expect going in, but I ended up really vibing with Grey as a character. She's messy and complicated and so human, even with all the death-y stuff going on (trying not to spoil anything, but like... the title is a hint, right?). There’s this constant push and pull between life, death, memory, and identity, and it’s done in a way that doesn't feel over-the-top or preachy.
The writing is so atmospheric. It has this poetic, melancholic quality that really adds to the whole “death but make it beautiful” thing. I honestly highlighted a bunch of lines because some of the phrasing just hit.

Also, side note: the pacing felt a tiny bit slow in the middle for me, but the vibes carried me through, and it all paid off emotionally by the end.

If you like your fantasy a little sad, a little weird, and full of heart, definitely give this one a shot.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the opportunity to read and review an early copy of this book.

Unparalleled YEARNING 😩 I've never wanted to smoosh two characters together so badly - like barbies in the hands of a child determined to make them kiss.

In The Second Death of Locke, the romance takes center stage and is handled beautifully, unfolding through a tender and deeply moving friendship between our MCs. As their bond develops throughout the story, it seamlessly intertwines with the central plot, heightening the emotional stakes in such a powerful way.

The plot does take something of a back seat. Don’t get me wrong, I was genuinely intrigued by the world, the magic system / relationship between mages and wells as well as the tragic history of our FMC. But for some reason, I didn’t feel fully immersed in the world the same way I would when reading other fantasy books, and I can’t quite pinpoint why.

That said, I still need book 2 like right now. The yearning continues - only now, it's just me, waiting for the next book.

This book had me shaking the bars of my enclosure, I need more! Bovalino knows how to write and how to write well.

I really liked the book, the writing style goes well with the topics covered. The main character amazed me. I recommend reading it.

Thank you to the publishers, the author and NetGalley for providing me with the arc!

4.5 ⭐️ rounded up to 5!

This was an absolutely beautiful read! 🫶🏻
I love an FMC who’s both strong and empathetic, and for ONCE in a fantasy romance the FMC isn’t the one giving everything up for the sake of a man. Love love LOVE that!

The romance was sweet and tender — the devotion between the two had me melting into a puddle on the floor ❤️‍🩹 so much hurt/comfort/trauma bonding, but it was beautifully navigated.

The lore/world building was excellent!! The world truly felt alive and I loved reading all the little letters/transcripts/excerpts at the beginning of each chapter, it really added a lot to the story and the characters as a whole. The story itself was right up my alley, full of found family, battles, politics, betrayals and quests.

If you love anything related to the Arthurian legends, if you’re into women knights or just medieval vibes in general, then I’m sure The Second Death of Locke is a story you’d love! (Especially if you enjoyed The Knight and The Moth) 🦋

This one hurts to write because I was genuinely excited about it. The premise? Brilliant. The writing? Strong. The knight/mage bond between Grey and Kier? Packed with emotional tension. But the pacing is so slow. I kept waiting for something to click, for the story to really grab me—and it just didn’t.

I’ve been torn for days about whether to DNF. Because while I was honestly bored, I do care how the slow-burn romance plays out. I can feel there’s something special simmering under the surface, but I’m just not invested enough right now to stick with it. Maybe it’s just me being impatient—I definitely prefer a fast-paced opener—but it makes me sad, because I wanted to love this.

That said, I’m still rating it 3.5 stars for the beautiful writing, the exciting concept, and the tender, complicated dynamic between Grey and Kier.

I unashamedly adored The Second Death of Locke and I just don’t care, I ate all of it up with a big shiny ladle. Grey Flynn in a power well and she is teamed with her Mage Kier who draws on her power and wields it battle, he is also her childhood bestie and she’s been hopelessly and unrequitedly in love with him forever. But that is not all Grey also happens to be the lone survivor of the Isle of Locke, and island that was the source of all magical power that was destroyed sixteen years ago under mysterious circumstances. Grey knows what they are as she is the inheritor of all the Islands power and if she dies so does all the magic. Gasps! This book had everything I want in a romantic fantasy, there was angsty pining, sexual tension you could cut with a knife, bloody battles, life threatening injuries, troublesome runaway teens, missing heirs, dead siblings, bad cooking, dirty clothes, the reality of having your period while on a death mission, tough moral dilemmas, found family, love in all its variations. Just all that real all good stuff. Grey is an excellent heroine she is complex and fully rounded and she knows how to use a sword. Keir is slightly too good to be true but we will let him get away with it because he is annoyingly handsome. Highly recommend.

This book was incredible! It already felt like a five star read from about 10% of the way through but it still exceeded my expectations! There wasn’t a single moment that I wasn’t completely engaged and invested.

It follows Grey, the missing heir to the island of Locke, destroyed when she was a child, who has been hiding in plain site ever since. Grey now serves in the army of a nearby region as a well (a power source) to her childhood friend Kier, a Mage. The story starts with Grey and Kier being sent on a journey with a group of other soldiers to protect a child who is claiming to be the heir of Locke, but goes in a completely different direction in the second half. I don’t want to spoil anything but I absolutely loved where the plot took us and it ended up being such an emotional read, I teared up about five times!

The romance was done perfectly. The pining and longing in the first half made it so satisfying when things progressed and Grey and Kier’s connection and love for each other felt so genuine. All of the characters and the friendships that developed between them were wonderful, they each had such distinct personalities and felt very real.

While this is book one in a series, I loved that the plot wraps up so neatly at the end that it could have been a standalone. You get a really satisfying ending that I desperately needed after all the twists and turns this story took. I loved every minute I spent reading the Second Death of Locke and cannot wait to read future books in this series!

I had an incredible time reading The Second Death of Locke. This is exactly my kind of book.
Gray is an incredibly strong yet sensitive heroine, and I could see myself in her. She resonated with me on a deeper level. I also loved Kier, strong, yet kind. Their relationship developed slowly, gently, delicately, and I appreciated that it was more about romance and emotion than spice and lust. That’s exactly what I look for in a book.

The world the author created is rich and well-developed. I really liked the magic systems and the plot.

If I had to point out something that could be improved, it would be the pacing. The plot progressed a little too slowly at times, weighed down by conversations that could have been edited down, a bit of info-dumpy worldbuilding, and flashbacks. It took me until about the 20% mark to really get into the story. I wasn’t that interested in the flashbacks, even though I understand their purpose, showing how the relationship between Gray and Kier developed. But the second half of the book was action-packed.

This is the best debut I’ve read this year, and also one of my favourite books overall. I felt such a strong connection with Gray, I already actually miss her. I can’t wait for the sequels. I loved this! <3

P.S. Did the author watch Severance? I have to know where the name Kier came from. It would’ve been 5 stars only for his name.

Well and Mage
Hand and Heart
Love and Sacrifice
Locke and Kier

This book has a very unusual structure where it feels like the first half and the second half of the book are two separate entities. And I can't help but wonder if it is to further the duality that I hinted at above. We have two halves of the same, where one can't exist without the other. Two parts that make a whole.
And I'm thinking this because I feel totally safe in the hands of Tori Bovalino with this story.

Grey is the well to Kier's existence as a mage. A source of magic and a wielder of magic. But furthermore, Grey is the lost heir to the island of Locke, where magic originates from. And she is bound to Kier in ways beyond imagination.

The worldbuilding, the yearning, the romance, the vibes, the sacrifices - everything got me hooked in this book. As a bonus there is even found family. And horsie.

The story does not end on a cliffhanger, but the storyline gets resolved. And yet, there is more to come in this world and I can't wait.

4,5/5 stars

Thank you @netgalley and @littlebrownbookgroup_uk für the eARC!

#TheSecondDeathOfLocke #Netgalley #Bookstagram #LadyKnight

This book had me hooked from the first page. It was originally the cover that peaked my interest, but the story itself delivered exactly what I wanted from it.
One of my favourite reads of the year so far!

This book was an unexpected delight. The story building was mind boggling. Even getting to see how the characters progressed throughout the story was an amazing experience. In the book you see the FMC grow, love and open up to others when she's always scared of losing everyone. It was beautifully written.
I've never been much of a fan of friends to lovers so I won't say I was attracted to this book because of it or still am but I would still love to read this book again. The romance was a little slow paced even if you know from the starting that they're gonna end up together but I think it was needed to create a certain kind of depth to the characters.
I would have liked that the FMC being the heir of Locke would've revealed later as a mystery but it works either way. That's the only negative here.
In conclusion (as I've ranted here too long), I would recommend this book to everyone. It is a beautiful and romantic story about loss and fear and learning to be happy again.
**Thank you Little, Brown Book Group UK and Netgalley for the ARC**