I didn’t love this one. No one is more sad than me. I have heard from friends that they really enjoyed it. I think from the start, the narration didn’t quite click for me. The male leads voice sounded a bit off. The world building was all over the place and didn’t really add up. I can usually let that go because fantasy goes way over my head anyways- but it was non existing. The story line itself felt scattered or like I was missing chucks of the story. I did like the bad a female lead and the lengths the male love interest would take to save her. The little kitten was a nice touch. Overall, think this is going to be up to the reader. 3 stars.

This was my first time reading a Scarlett St. Clair novel, and I was genuinely intrigued—especially given my love for myth reimaginings and dark romantasy. Terror at the Gates promised a seductive blend of forbidden power, political intrigue, and a fresh take on the Lilith myth. Unfortunately, it didn’t quite live up to its potential for me.

As a retelling, I found the portrayal of Lilith lacking. The mythological roots felt superficial, and the use of her name didn’t feel fully earned—this could have been any character with a different name, and it wouldn’t have made much difference. The lore read like a surface-level blend of Judaic and Christian elements, and I wish the narrative had dug deeper or chosen to abandon the retelling altogether.

The worldbuilding and magic system also felt underdeveloped. In a society where only women possess magic, it was jarring to see men still hold all the political and religious power—without any meaningful exploration or critique. The overall dynamic leaned more toward mafia romance with a fantasy aesthetic than a fully realised romantasy world.

The pacing was another issue. A large portion of the book felt slow and uneventful, with most of the action crammed into the final stretch—by which point, I wasn’t particularly invested. I also struggled to connect with the characters, which made the emotional stakes fall flat.

The audiobook narration was decent. The primary narrator delivered a solid performance, but the inclusion of a male narrator felt unnecessary—he appeared only briefly, and his voice didn’t quite suit the character, disrupting the flow rather than enhancing it.

Overall, this book wasn’t for me. It felt somewhat generic and forgettable, and I don’t see myself continuing the series. That said, readers who enjoy mafia-style romances with light fantasy elements might find more to enjoy here. I’m sure it will find its audience.

Hello fellow Heathens! Terror at the Gates is a sexy, feminist retelling of Lilith in a dark mafia urban romantasy setting where the vibes are emasculate! 🖤🩸🗡️

Lilith has always been one of my favorite religious figures because she’s the most misinterpreted female character to ever exist. This retelling is downright delicious and satisfying in Lilith justice.

Juxtapose to the MMC, Zahariev - who is the dark brooding bad boy yet lover boy to his core. This man is dangerous yet so protective of his little love, Lilith.

Lilith & Zahariev are such a hot couple together I was eating every moment up with them! They bleed into the urban fantasy setting so perfectly. And let’s not forget about Cherub the cat who might be my favorite side character! She carries Cherub like a baby 😭

This story is gripping with heartbreaking life altering moments for Lilith. Please read the trigger warnings before reading!

Themes:
🗡️ F*ck the Patriarchy
🗡️ Women are magical
🗡️ Feminine Rage
🗡️ Fighting against Religion

Vibes:
❤️‍🔥 Mafia Vibes
❤️‍🔥 Urbanfantasy
❤️‍🔥 Unholy 🙏🏼

Tropes:
🖤 Friends to Lovers
🖤 He Falls First
🖤 Slow Burn
🖤 Touch her & 💀
🖤 Age Gap
🖤 Forbidden Romance

Thank you NetGalley, Tantor Audio and Bloom Books for letting me read this amazing book in exchange for an honest review.

Unfortunately I couldn’t get into it and I DNFed it
I feel I am not the right person for giving a feedback at this stage.

Please be mindful of your limits and check trigger warnings. There are different hard topics incl. but not limited to grief. There are tough few pages.
This world is built around religion and patriarchy, so much so that women are used only for their magic and breeding purposes.
The last chapter was pretty unexpected and I'm not sure where we're heading, but I'll keep up with the serie.
The audiobook narration is great, mainly as Lilith, but the few pages from Zahariev POV are narrated by a man.
I read some Scarlett St Clair before an let's say this has, in my opinion, more substance than King of Battle and Blood.

*Thanks to NetGalley and RBmedia for access to the audiobook against an honest review.*

Maturity Level: 18+

For fans of:
- Zodiac Academy
- City of Souls
- Crescent City

Lilith lives in constant rebellion. A rebellion against her family, her church, her high priest, her job, even her friends. In a world that begs her to be subservient, Lilith refuses to comply. Still, the world pushes back on her, and she finds herself caught in a violent web of religious conspiracy and she finds herself alone facing her darkest fears.

This book includes:
- Catholic Iconography
- religious abuse and conspiracy (TW)
- childhood friends facing adulthood
- rebellion
- evil mothers (TW)
- familiars

This book as a fantastic concept. I am a sucker for Catholic imagery and themes exploring religious abuse. The cyberpunk setting is rich and I found myself perfectly able to envision Lilith's world. I also loved the dynamic between Lilith and all of her friends. I think my issue with this book was the narrator. I could not enjoy a single second of this book because Lilith came off as so spoiled, narcissistic, vindictive, and ungrateful. Every character in the book was so subservient to her, and I don't think that was the author's intention. However, I think that the narrator's whiney tone really exacerbated this, and if I had read it traditionally I think my brain would have interpreted her differently. Like she probably would have just been annoying rather than horrible. The writing was just not strong enough to win in the battle vs the voice actor. I would be willing to give this book another try in a different format, just because it has so many of my favorite elements.

I received this audiobook as an ARC in exchange for an honest review. Thank you to NetGalley, Scarlett St. Clair, and Tantor Audio for the opportunity to review this book. This review has been posted to GoodReads check out my profile https://www.goodreads.com/user/show/62314863 and it will be posted to my bookstagram account https://www.instagram.com/tinynightingales/ and booktok https://www.tiktok.com/@tinynightingales?is_from_webapp=1&sender_device=pc

Thank you so much to Netgalley and Sourcebooks UK for accepting my request to read and review this stunning book!

I adore fantasy romance with religious elements and had a feeling this book would be really enjoyable and it was.

Lilith and Zahariev have incredible tension, the dance scene was *chefs kiss*. I enjoyed that this book was a slow burn with pining but that we got to see hints from Zahariev on how obsessed he was with Lilith.

I also adored Lilith as a protagonist. She reminded me a bit of Bryce from Crescent City, badass and beautiful and seductive and confident. But not without her faults and her own trauma. Her showing her vulnerability to Zahariev despite the hard image she holds of herself was amazing.

Whether intentional or not, I think Scarlett St. Clair has done an astounding job at speaking on a lot of hypocrisies and truths about the church and the way it is often harmful, controlling, and terrifying. From the corruption of priests, to the greed of the church, and the hurt it causes people. As someone who went to a Christian high school and saw this hypocrisy firsthand, I appreciate the author for speaking on these issues so well.

I did struggle a bit with the plot of this, I felt as though often the plot wasn't terribly strong or easy to follow, and we were kind of just swung place to place. Additionally, I found the world building to be a bit confusing. How does this world work? What is the world like outside of this very small area of Eden and Nineveh? I struggled to imagine it.

But that ending was so so good I need to know what's happening next. Highly recommend this book.

I felt like the audiobook narrator was the perfect voice for Lilith, and I definitely would listen to this again if I reread it in future.

DNF at 42%.

I really wanted to enjoy this book, however I just could not engage. It felt like the same issues just kept coming up over and over, without anything actually happening. I did enjoy the narrators, which is probably why I was able to get as far as I did.

Love everything that she writes and this was no different. Fabulous back story to see how the characters got to where they were and the struggles they faced getting there. Lilith is on point and I absolutely love her. The narrators are fabulous and give the book the justice it deserves.

Terror at the Gates is a fantastic first installment in a new romantasy series from Scarlett St. Clair. Full of biblical and religious imagery and symbolism, the world instantly sucked me in. Lilith Leviathan is the only daughter of one of the most powerful families, destined to be married off to ensure the continuation of their family's legacy. To avoid that fate, she has found refuge in Ninevah, a city of sinners and exiles. She makes ends meet by illicitly using her magic to help her steal items to fence in the city's seedy underbelly, but she is also under the protection of Zahariev, head of the Zareth family and ruler of Nineveh, a man twelve years her senior, who she has always felt drawn to. But 0ne night she steals a bejeweled dagger. She's suddenly plagued by nightmares, and bodies start piling up.

Terror at the Gates has definite Crescent City vibes--it's a world with both magic and technology, corrupt leadership, and tenuous alliances. I was a tad skeptical going in, but it quickly drew me in with its unique world-building. It was simple enough to understand, but complex enough to feel believable. The ending left me shocked, and I can't wait for the second book.

I loved the narrators. I follow Laura Horowitz on socials, and her performances are always fabulous. And Tristan Warden did a great job as Zahariev.

Thank you so much to Tantor Media for the advance listening copy.

Scarlet Saint Clair never disappoints with her retellings. In this book we go about a retelling of Lilith. Truly a masterpiece I was hooked from the very beginning. I can’t wait to read more of her work.

WOW i devoured this in one sitting!
Loved pretty much everything about it.
The FMC narrator was absolute perfection to me and suited her perfectly.
I did like the MMC narrator but didnt feel as seemless in places
Pacing is so so good and i didnt get bored at any point!

I love the setting and the magic system.
I think book 2 will give even more lore and im excited for that part to be explained further.
I loved the friendships
I loved the commentary on the role of woman

I just really loved it!

Thank you to NetGalley and Tantor Audio

Scarlett St. Clair has crafted a good retelling about the life of Lilith. I liked the relationship between her and Zahariev. Who can resist a forbidden romance? I also liked the setting, the strained relationship between Lilith and her father as well as her character development. The best part, however? The ending. What a twist at the end! I did not see that coming and loved how surprised I was!

THAT ENDING 🫠🫠🫠

Wow this book really hit the nail on the head! Biblical references with oppressed powerful women, angels and demons, and urban style romantasy! It was refreshing and unique! The spice was yummy and the tension was thick! No critiques!

Thank you to NetGalley and Tantor Audio for an ALC.

I will start by saying this book is not my normal genre. It looked interesting and I really like the narrator. That being said this ended up being fine for me—- I didn’t dislike it—- but I think there is an audience that would be more enthusiastic. If Romantasy is your normal jam, I think it can work more for you!

In Eden, only women have magic, but they are considered second class citizens. Lilith is the daughter of a high ranking family, but sets off on her own, loath to bend to the whims of family and church. When a dagger she stole leaves a pawnbroker dead, she is swept up in a dangerous and deadly mystery.

Overall I enjoyed this well enough. It was an intriguing story that drew me in from the start. A very solid first book in an Urban Fantasy series. The characters weren't my favorite. The FMC was a bit annoying and I didn't really get the depth of the MMC; he felt like just a generic broody man who would do anything for the main character for some reason. I really wished we got more of his point of view. The tiny snippets at the end of the chapters were not enough to be helpful at building his character or being useful at all. I also hate cringey nicknames for FMCs and there were two different ones used constantly. I did really enjoy the ending. The reveal, the cliffhanger; it made me want to continue on to see what happens.

While I generally enjoy Laura Horowitz's narration (I've listened to another book she's done before as well), I feel like she makes the FMC sound angry/whiny often. I thought it was kind of odd when they brought in a male narrator to narrate the 15 second parts at the end of the chapter for the MMC. I enjoyed his voice but his narration seemed a bit choppy.

I rated it 3.25 rounded down to 3/5 stars.
Thank you to NetGalley and RBmedia for the advanced listeners copy!

4.5⭐️
"I'll always be here for you, following in your shadow. I am not afraid of your freedom."

Okayyyyyy so how am I actually supposed to wait for the next book😭 let me just say… Yessss. Read this book. It gave me everything; tension, spice, tears, friendship. Lilith and Zahariev are so freaking sexy. I also loved every supporting character. I listened to the audiobook and the narrators were perfect. Seriously could not recommend this more!

Tropes:
♥️Frenemies To Lovers
♥️Urban Fantasy
♥️Slow Burn
♥️He Falls First

i feel like this book was rushed in character development. it had potential but i’m hoping there will be more books to explore the ending.

HOLY.WOW. I don’t even know where to start with this review because this book was SO GOOD. I will say that it absolutely is the best Scarlett St. Clair novel to date, and I am already on the edge of my seat anxiously awaiting the next book. The characters are dynamic, their emotions come off the page and hit you in the face. This book gave me ALL THE FEELS. I laughed, I smirked, I cried, I roared in frustration. This book is an absolute rollercoaster. And Lilith is a BAMF. This girl makes no apologies for her behavior, she wants what she wants and refuses to accept less than that. I loved that about her, because it’s not written in a bitchy I’m a feminist and I do what I want way. It’s more of an I’m a woman and I’m not going to let that alone stop me from chasing what I want, which to me was perfect. I listed to this as an audiobook, and the narrators, were STELLAR. They embodied the characters so well, and really brought them to life. I’ve read most everything Scarlet has written, and you can tell how much she has grown and developed as an author in this book. If you’ve read her work before, and didn’t enjoy it, I would seriously recommend giving this one a try as you may enjoy it- it has a completely different tone and maturity to it. If you are a fan of Scarlett’s I think you will absolutely love this book too. I cannot wait to get more of Lilith and Zahariev!

5 stars ⭐️ Terror at the Gates has an absolute choke hold on me!! It gives feminine rage vibes. I love Lilith. She is a total badass. I also love all of the little bits of Zahariev‘s POVs. Give me more!! I can’t wait for book 2!

What to expect:
✨ Urban Fantasy
✨ Slow Burn
✨ Forbidden Romance
✨ Duel Narration

10/10 recommend the audiobook! It was so well done. Laura Horowitz and Tristan Warden’s narration was immersive. I loved listening to them!

Thank you to NetGalley and Tantor Audio for the ALC. All opinions are my own 🫶🏼