This was a riot. A complete feminist rant of a book that delivers on every level. Written by Tricia in response to the infuriating way that men always seem to get more in life despite being on the same level as women in pay and opportunity, Tricia writes a book that tells the story of a world run entirely by women. They keep men as slaves, dress them up in skirts, put make up and jewellry on them, wax them to be hairless, and chain them to the beds making them take pleasure if and only when the women want it. I cant remember laughing so much at a romantasy book ever, some of the situations are hilarious.

That being said, its a great book, Olerra is a general in the army and wants to be the next crown princess and rule the kingdom, so she decides to kidnap a crown prince of a neighbouring kingdom and turn him into her slave to annoy the king. She kidnaps the wrong prince but doesnt realise and Santos, the eldest son of the king doesnt let on either. Over time Santos and Olerra fall head and over heels for each other but a plot by her cousin threatens to over shadow Olerras game plan and take Santos away from her completely.

Its such an interesting flip story, reading about how outraged men are by their treatment at the hands of the women yet they treat their own women in the same way. Realisation and self awareness is an interesting take for these people. and you feel embarrassed that they are so awful, but this is the real world we live in. Patriarchy still rules sadly, and the world is not better off for it. This book is full of fun, drama, intrigue, back stabbing, and slow burn romance. Kinda hoping there is a next book because i think there is another story to be told.

A good read, i enjoyed it.

Since last year, Tricia Levenseller’s books turn out to be my favorite guilty pleasure. Every time I read a book from her, I have a great time so I will definitely read anything she publishes at this point. What Fury Brings is something new but, at the same time, a usual Levenseller book. Gloriously sarcastic and funny, morally ambiguous and, now, trying its boundaries until all limits, I can say this book shows the best and worst she can do.

I have mixed feelings about this book but I know that is because I’m not a fan of dark romance, fantasy or not. This book just proved it that, no matter who is the author, or who does the abuse, that genre isn’t for me. That said, as this is a story most focused on the romance, and in most scenes between the main characters I didn’t feel comfortable about it, I will just say to check the trigger warnings before you read it.

That said, Tricia always had talent to build morally grey characters and, even with my reservations about the main character, I admit that she didn’t lose her touch. However, I think it is obvious that wasn’t my favorite part of it this time. No, this time the plot and the worldbuilding stolen the show. In truth, she nailed it. So, I admit I’m just sad that I didn’t enjoy it more to give it the deserved praise.

What Fury Brings was a surprise at many levels, sometimes good, other times not really. I think it will not be a book for everyone’s taste. I really hope you can enjoy it more than me 💜

Thank you to NetGalley and Pushkin Press for giving me an eARC in exchange of an honest review.

*dnf at 40%*
This was not the book for me. I got so excited when I read the blurb because I loved another series by this author so I was really interested to check out her adult debut. If I knew it was going to be this dark I would have not requested it honestly. Even after reading the author’s note at the beginning about it being a revenge story, I don’t really think it managed to convey that, it was just violence on violence. I had to stop at 40% because this story made me feel unsettled and although I enjoyed the writing I just couldn’t get past certain scenes. Thank you NetGalley and the publisher for an e-arc copy in exchange for an honest review.

when I read the blurb a few months ago, I was immediately sold and couldn’t wait to get my hands on it. unfortunately, the execution fell flat for me.I find it quite difficult to rate this book because there were aspects of the story I really liked, and it’s a thought-provoking read. I actually like that it's a standalone, not everything needs to be a trilogy or long series. however, I did feel like the pacing turned a bit too slow in the middle, then felt rushed in the end.

the author’s note prepares you for the fact that this isn’t a feminist book about equality, but rather a story about fury. I love female rage and support women's wrongs (the Mindf*ck series is one of my favourites), but while the fury was undoubtedly felt, I’m not sure much else was. the justification of ‘you did this to us, so now it’s fine for us to do it to you’ didn’t really work for me.

the romance aspect didn’t grip me. if anything, it made me uncomfortable in a Stockholm syndrome way, and thus I just could not get behind their relationship. to me, the way it progressed wasn’t believable and lacked serious depth.

some quotes made me laugh out loud, like these absolute gems below:
‘at the end of the day, you’re just a man. insecure yet overconfident.’

‘mothers with children born of the same father? ludicrous.’

thank you so much to the author, Pushin Press and Netgalley for the e-arc in exchange for my honest thoughts.

3.5 stars.
This was a tricky one. I started off loving the twist with women being in charge. The notes at the beginning about this book being about revenge had me so hyped but I have to admit I felt very uncomfortable in some of the scenes, it almost felt like Stockholm syndrome but I’m unsure is that was the aim? Women in books over the years have been treated as he was but I’m not sure it was executed correctly.

The plot I loved, I honestly think it’s a fab book and for some they will eat this up and the writing was brilliant, descriptive and fast paced, it kept me really entertained though out, I just felt some of the spice scenes not quite hitting the mark.

R E V I E W

What Fury Brings by Tricia Levenseller

☆☆☆

What Fury Brings is Tricia Levenseller's first foray into adult fantasy. I am a huge fan of her Shadows Between Us world, and despite it being YA, it is still a duology I recommend to this day. So, with that in mind, I was eagerly anticipating this release from Levenseller, especially with it being traditionally published and produced by both Fairyloot and The Bookish Box.

Unfortunately, this is one of those times where my expectations did not meet reality. Whilst this is definitely a more adult book - with crude language, on-page sexual bondage and ass play and explicitly referenced crimes against humanity (parental abuse, rape, sexual abuse, slavery), this more mature content sadly did not result in a better narrative.

I know the author expresses that this is not a story everyone will like right from the outset and that this is a tale of rage and not justice. But regardless, a lot of the plot didn't sit well with me. Instead of being immersed in the fantasy aspect and routing for the characters, I found it difficult to know how to feel.

Where often we can overlook morally grey behaviour from our protagonists, Olerra's self-righteous attitude in spite of the crimes committed by her own people was a little difficult to swallow. I know this is a story that depicts heinous acts that have happened to women throughout history, only in reverse, and I know that it is probably hypocritical for a woman to find morally grey qualities less palatable in another woman but unfortunately it is how I felt.

Was I pleased with the outcome for Olerra and Sanos? Sure. Would I have preferred a stronger character in the male lead? Probably. Can I understand what the writer was trying to do with this book? Certainly. Unfortunately, all of this doesn't leave me with a better taste in my mouth or a better review to write. This one just wasn't for me sadly, and I don't think I will be alone in that.

Thank you to NetGalley & Pushkin Press for an eArc of What Fury Brings by Tricia Levenseller.

⭐️⭐️⭐️

Definitely a dark romantasy with a LOT of trigger warnings, so please proceed with caution as this definitely will not be everyone's cup of tea.

For a book that explores what would happen in a world where the same atrocities that have been committed against women are committed against men, I think it does a good job of exploring those themes and flipping them on their head. It can feel uncomfortable to read at times but equally, that is the whole point and it really makes you question how deeply we have been influenced by patriarchal society. it was extremely eye opening and it's not often you find books that stand on their own and are really unique. I would have liked to see more accountability on both MCs and how we can move into a new world where both genders are more equal?? I did enjoy this book, however I do have really mixed feelings about some aspects of it as I'm not usually one to read a lot of dark romantasy.

The story starts with our FMC who is set on kidnapping one of the Princes from the enemy kingdom, to secure the crown and become Queen. Along the way, the kidnapping is not as simple as it may seem and so the story unfolds. I think one of the strongest aspects of What Fury Brings is the pacing and overall development of the plot. It didn't feel like any part dragged and I binged this book quite quickly as I didn't want to put it down. This is also a standalone which is hard to come by when it comes to the romantasy genre.

Like I mentioned already, I think it's important to check the trigger warnings before proceeding and reading previous reviews to get a feel for what this book is going to be about as it will not be for everyone!

A warrior princess kidnaps the wrong man to be her husband, forcing them together as her rivals threaten her kingdom and her life. Fast paced, well written, with a clever premise – a flipped world where women have exceptional strength and rule over men – but just not particularly well executed. While the author tries to lay out her intentions, it reads as a revenge novel, full of abuse, strange non-consenual dom/sub dynamics, and deliberate cruelty. Not one for me

What Fury Brings by Tricia Levenseller.
Thank you NetGalley & Pushkin Press for the ARC of a book that has been on my pre order radar.

The author has a reputation for crafting fierce heroines & immersive worlds, the book did deliver in most aspects on this but abit a bumpy journey IMO. I really struggled to get into the book partly from having to flick back to the front to understand the terminology, which at time added complexity that didn't need to be there & affected the flow of the reading journey.

That aside, the female lead, is a standout. Shes powerful, strategic & unapologetically bold, both in battles & the bedroom. Her journey to secure the throne through a husband-kidnapping ritual is both feisty & compelling, while also giving a little Stockholm syndrome! While she navigates political intrigue & personal growth, the relationships she builds, especially with her allies, adds emotional depth & warmth to an otherwise brutal setting & a character that could have come off as one dimensional, cold & vengeful.

Overall, What Fury Brings still offers a unique twist on gender dynamics & power structures. Its not a perfect read, but fans of strong female leads & morally complex worlds will enjoy it & likely the next one to follow.

The synopsis made me really excited for this book. I really liked that the author flipped the patriarchy on it's head and created a woman-centric hierarchy. I just think that the writing and the story could have been executed better.

Unfortunately this was not for me. It really felt all over the place and didn't make sense a lot of the time.

This book was ok. I could see the idea the Author had when writing this and it sounded amazing, however I think the execution could of been improved.

The characters were great together but there wasn't too much depth to them. Although I enjoyed the overall story.

Thank you to Netgalley, the author and publisher for an eARC copy of this book in exchange for my honest review.

I stopped reading this book a third of the way through, if it wasn’t for the compelling writing style of Tricia Levenseller (which I loved so much from her previous books), I don’t think I would’ve made it that far.

The concept of the flipping of the patriarchy within a fantasy setting was compelling, but unfortunately I found it fell a little flat. Now I am all for absurdism to highlight a point, and piece of media that did this well was the Barbie movie, which did an excellent job of highlighting the issues of a society under the patriarchy.

In the FMC’s kingdom men are nothing more than sexual objects and/or servants, one character is said to sexually assault minors and adults alike, this goes unchallenged, the FMC commentary was basically “it’s a bit gross…I feel sorry for them”. Throughout the book we learn more and more that ‘claiming a man’ is more of kink than a commentary on the patriarchy.

I found the politics to be poorly formed, we have two kingdoms under politically and socially opposite systems, one kingdom under the patriarchy and another under a matriarchy, and she hopes to unite them? As well as there is many kingdoms on the map and we learn almost nothing about any of them, or why they are fighting.

I found both the FMC and the MMC to be unlikeable, the FMC was arrogant and annoying, however some of comments she made earlier in the book did make me chuckle, but the MMC had no redeemable qualities, he was infuriating, a supposedly strong man who had been hardened by his father, allows himself to loose all self respect as soon as he is tempted with lust? Overall didn’t care for them and I found the Aunts were much more likeable.

Overall i am glad she attempted such a topic and approached it with diversity by including trans, Lesbian, and non-binary characters, and I truly hope the author looks to make more books that challenge societal systems, however I hope she does it in a more nuanced way that doesn’t just feel like a flipped prejudice. Maybe I interpreted the blurb wrong but I felt it was advertised as a societal commentary with a side of romance, and I unfortunately felt it just didn’t hit the brief.

#WhatFuryBrings #Netgalley

'For that is What Fury Brings'

This was dark romantasy at its core and I don't think this will be for everyone but I enjoyed it and found it unique! Its rare to read a book you can't compare anything to and I found the roles being reversed really eye opening for what I've 'let slip' in other romantasies!

In the Queendom of Amarra, women hold the swords, crowns, and political power 💪🏻, while men are valued for beauty, heirs, and domestic skills.

Olerra, a warrior princess and contender for the throne, decides to make a point after an enemy invasion: kidnap a prince and force him into marriage. Bold. Petty. Iconic. Except… she kidnaps the wrong prince. Instead of the sweet poet she meant to humiliate, she drags home Sanos-the grumpy, battle trained heir who looks at her like she just interrupted him during his favourite night time activity (because, she did).

What follows is a volatile, gender-flipped enemies-to-lovers where the 'enemies' part is scalding hot and the 'lovers' part makes you question if HR should be called.

Tropes:
⛓️ Enemies to lovers
🎭 Mistaken identity
👑 Matriarchy
🗡️ Dark romantasy
💍 Arranged marriage (via kidnapping)
🫦 A “good boy” who kneels
💅 Walks him like a dog
🍆 Guillotine

This isn’t a feminist fantasy, it’s patriarchy flipped on its head and turned up to eleven, pulling the ugliest parts of power dynamics into the light. It’s violent, uncomfortable, morally black, and occasionally laugh out loud feral.

The romance? Messy. At times, it felt more like Stockholm Syndrome than swoon (I like this trope though so I'm a bit bias.) There were humiliation scenes that had me questioning whether I should DNF… and yet I kept reading. Because despite the discomfort, it’s impossible to look away.

The worldbuilding is sharp, the role reversal fascinating, and the characters manage to be loveable, hateable, and wildly compelling all at once. But please, read the trigger warnings.

If you want soft and fluffy, turn around now. If you want rage, gender politics with teeth, and a romance subplot that feels like a political coup… What Fury Brings will give you exactly what the title promises-and then some.

I honestly can't decide whether I liked this book or not. At times it made me deeply uncomfortable, but I think that is part of the point because our patriarchal society is so ingrained in us. It was certainly an interesting read and an interesting concept - I almost want to time jump 10 years to see how things have changed after the story concludes.

I received a copy from the publisher in exchange for an honest review

I had high expectations for this one, but sadly it fell short. The idea of a kingdom ruled by women, sign. Me. Up.

We meet Olerra, who wants to be the next Queen of Amarra and to do so, she needs to find a husband. So she steals the heir of their neighbouring kingdom and enemies, Brutus.

The relationship between the two just didn’t live up to the expectations. Sanos literally hated Olerra for about 70% of the book and then suddenly he loves her and wants to stay with her. It just made no sense. I 100% don’t think they’d last.

There is also the fact that Olerra expected Sanos to fall in love with her, despite being kidnapped from his life and being forced to be her partner. And her idea of wooing him was mental, honestly.

Like I said, this one wasn’t for me at all. It had such a strong premise but fell flat.

I don't know how to start this review but i was on a 50/50 with this book. I was on a love and hate relationship with it that it pains me so much.

I did love the writing and the quick pace. It kept me entertained even when I hated it. I wanted to dnf it multiple times, but was still interested in the story enough to keep going.

I loved the ending, especially the part at the gates, but I would've loved to see an actual plan to make things better instead of just saying that they'll make changes.. It felt hollow.

“From now on it would be a woman’s job to rule. It was a man’s job to endure.

🌟 rating: 5
📚 Genre: Romantasy (but with some darker elements)
🗓️ Publication date: 25-09-2025 ———Arc received from the netgalley and pushkinpress
🌺 Tropes: -
👫 POV: dual point of view
🌶️ level: 2
#️⃣ pages: 368

Thank you so much pushkinpress for providing me with this arc trough netgalley in exchange for an honest review. I am a huge fan of tricialevenseller YA books so I was hyped when she announced to bring out an adult book, and even more hyped when j read the description, and I almost lost it when I got approved for an e-arc. However, after that I got a little anxious because I realised my expectations might have been to high. However, I had nothing to worry about because this book delivered, and it delivered well 😏😏.

tricialevenseller creates an amazing matriarchal fantasy world in which women rule and men have to follow, and she does it with amazing nuance. I appreciated how she didn’t write this world as perfect but showed how this can have flaws too, but also how such a world can benefit not only cis-women. There are some darker moments in this book and I do recommend reading the trigger warnings to make sure you know what you get into. But if you do that and you know what you are about to start, then there is absolutely no reason for you to dislike the book. You might be a bit uncomfortable so now and then, but I am quite sure this is intentional, and I had a lot of wow moments while reading.

Then the the main relationship between Olerra (FMC) and Samos (MMC). Their relationship is the main focus of the book, but due to the whole captor situation romance only starts to really be a thing more towards the end. But given the context I did not mind this and actually think this was the best way to go. I appreciated how @tricialevenseller didn’t rely on popular romantasy tropes for them and I didn’t miss those for a second. Moreover, I loved how Olerra and Samos grew closer and how their dynamics changed as well as their world view trough their interactions with the other. And the spicy scenes between them wow were they a fresh breath. Both characters go trough an amazing growth in this book and both of them have valid points. And the ending was the perfect climax (😏) of this story and the epilogue (which are always tricky) was amazing too.

When I finished this book I clapped and I cannot wait to reread it again. And I can only recommend this book as it’s a perfect combination of fun and learning moments.

This book is a stand-alone but the ending does give some hints for a potential second book focusing on a different character so I am keeping my fingers crossed for that!

Thank you NetGalley and the publisher for an e-ARC in exchange for my honest review.

3.5 rounded to 4.

The content warning at the beginning of the book was WILD tbh, I had no idea what I was getting into. I will warn you all, this is a pretty dark romantasy. There's kidnapping, forced servitude, abuse, and a lot of violence. The thing is, its all flipped on its head. How many times have you read a romantasy where the FMC is kidnapped or unwillingly sold off into marriage to some total brute? Well this time, its the prince who gets taken against his will to a matriarchal society where men are second class citizens. The familiar romantasy tropes are all there. And I think you'll like this if you're into a darker and more violent fantasy world. The writing is at times simplistic, but I did find myself reading quickly and wanting to know how it would all end.

I’ve never fluctuated this much with my feelings on a book.

I requested this book as an arc because the premise of a matriarchal society sounded interesting, and I was looking forward to thoughtful commentary on our current society when it comes to gender.

Instead it was basically just our society but reversed (as mentioned in the author's note) with the women in that world excusing their behavior because “if they don’t do it, the men will do it to them”. It felt extremely shallow and was especially disappointing because I was looking forward to something deeper. Even our FMC Ollera who says she doesn’t agree with how the men are treated then turns around and participates in the rules of that society without acknowledging it or ever having a real conversation about it. There’s no reflection or growth from the characters, our FMC keeps telling our MMC “well, look at how your people treat women!” whenever he would point out how the men are treated in their society. Like yes, good point, but also never once is the fmc self-aware enough when it comes to the abuse she supports and let’s fester around her. It felt like for most of the book the FMC Ollera was trying to show the MMC how badly the women are treated in the patriarchal nation Brutus and how horrible it is and then turning around and then justifying the fact that her nation is doing the same thing to men.

The book starts with our FMC kidnapping the Brutus Prince to be her husband, as are the traditions in Amarran. The prince obviously wants to go home, but is being told that getting married to our fmc is an honor.

In my opinion a romance was extremely out of place in this book, I couldn't get on board with it because the prince was there against his will. This was basically Stockholm syndrome. The development of the relationship feels out of left field because what do you mean you’re in love with her after all that? The whole premise of our fmc being one of the good ones and that’s why the prince ends up falling for her just felt icky to me.

Amarran is a society that depicts abuse against men, we see them captured, humiliated, sold, and be treated as lesser than, because they did it to women first 500 years ago and there’s not one in depth conversation about gender specific violence always being wrong no matter who the perpetrator is. The reader is just supposed to accept the way things are.

The positives were that the book is incredibly fast paced and the writing was good and easy to follow. The beginning had me intrigued and I was curious to see how the story would develop. It had me chuckling a few times because the direct parallel of how women were talked about historically and even today was then used for men and that really opens your eyes on how silly the things people say about women are.

Though the pace felt a bit off at times, because the whole goal of the book was our fmc becoming queen but then nothing really happened for the most part?

The author mentions that this book isn’t supposed to be feminist, and instead stems from feminine rage but even then I feel as though more could've been done with this idea. Reading about women treating men horribly because well they did it to us first wasn’t what I was hoping for.

Thank you to netgalley and pushkin press for the e-arc in exchange for an honest review.