I knew by 25% in this would be my favorite book by Scarlett St Clair to date. By 75% in I didn’t want the story to end (in part for fear of a terrible cliffhanger). Having finished, I can say I was correct, minus the cliffhanger. It definitely has me wanting more immediately, but it’s also not terrible and I think I might survive until we get the next book 😆
In Terror at the Gates we get a gritty, dark tale of corrupt religion, family duties, and feminine rage. I never thought I would enjoy a mafia so much, I I seriously ate this up. I LOVE Lilith! She’s a total brat, strong willed , and contrary as heck. I love her wit and sarcasm. She’s tough but also compassionate and vulnerable at times.
Zahariev is absolutely delicious. I didn’t think I was into the alpha hole, mafioso type but he proved me wrong in this case. He’s the epitome of “touch her and die” when it comes to Lilith. He does everything he can to make her life better without “crossing any lines” he’s created for himself. I honestly don’t know how Lilith can’t see it sooner in the story, especially with everyone around them telling her he’s in love with her.
TATG definitely falls under the SLOW burn category but the tension and banter is sooooo good. Plus, it’s hot AF when the tension finally breaks 🥵
Like I mentioned before, the ending is a bit of a cliffhanger but not unbearable. I definitely had some theories going into it that were neither confined or debunked though so I really really want the next book to see if I was right.
If you are an audiobook junky (and even if you aren’t) I HIGHLY recommend getting this one! I believe this is Laura Horowitz’s best performance yet! Her voice and her vibes go so well with Lilith’s personality. She does a great job with other characters as well and I was captivated by her. Tristan Warden is a new name for me but I liked him. He definitely has the deep voice for darker characters like Zahariev and he did well with the different tones throughout the story.
In short: this story is amazing and the audiobook is AH-MAZING! You definitely want to read this!
A huge thank you to Tantor Audio and NetGalley for this opportunity! 🫶🏻 My thoughts are entirely my own.

There is a lot going on in this story, as is par for the course with St.Clair. The world the FMC, Lillith, lives in is a family run patriarchy with heavy handed theocratic rules. Women have magic but aren’t supposed to use it and witchcraft has a death sentence. Making money through acquiring “rare antiques,”  Lillith bites off more than she expected with her latest find and she’s forced to call in help from her house head of the area she’s residing in. Zahariev does what he has to to take care of his area and his people. And if anyone touches Lillith, he would end them with one word from her. What neither of them expect is the cascade of mysteries that happen after Lillith gets her hands on a dagger.

This book is full of mystery, myth, and high emotions.There was a point a character was introduced and I was already sad because I somehow knew they weren’t going to make it. And even though I had that premonition I was still torn when it happened. St. Clair has such a way of toying with our emotions and keeping us enthralled as she weaves us into intricate worlds. This one is a slow burn that left me chomping at the bit just waiting and pleading for the two MCs to finally get out of their heads! But it was so worth the wait. 

The ending was quite unexpected for me and I am really looking forward to the next book for the explanation.

Terror at the Gates was so good! Scarlett St. Clair has written a fierce, layered female main character in Lilith. The feminist themes are front and centre, woven so naturally into a richly built world that feels both magical and deeply political. The world-building is fantastic—dark, lush, and so immersive, with history, power structures, and tension. And the chemistry? So good. The slow burn, the longing, the high stakes—I was obsessed. It’s the kind of book where every chapter leaves you wanting more. I loved how it balanced romance, rebellion, and identity in such a compelling way. I seriously cannot wait for the next one. If you're into feminist fantasy with bite, this one's for you!

I am so grateful I got approved for the ARC audiobook for this one. I loved the story and the narrators were immaculate!

This was my first read of Scarlett St Clair and I'm immediately adding her other books to my TBR.

This book was so good! I devoured the audiobook and fell in love with the main characters within the first chapter. How I'm I suppose to function while I wait for the next book????

Also I don't know I missed reading Urban fantasy until I started reading this ❤️

I’m have read many of this authors other books, so I already had a feel for her writing.
I would say this book was very much aligned with her writing voice and type - the world was urban fantasy, with power dynamics between love interests, and feminine rage. I think what sold me on this book though was the narration. The narrator sounded so similar to Megara from Hercules, and the tone, inflections, etc lent so much personality to the character that I found myself enthralled just due to that. Liliths sass and wit came out so much more prominently with the audiobook compared to the written text, and I honestly think I would have enjoyed the book less if I had only read it and not added the audio.

OKAY UM HELLO. This audiobook was AMAZING. The story was so good. Lilith is one of my favorite stories, but Scarlett St. Clair wrote her story in such a new empowering way. The feminine rage oooooozed out in every corner of it. And the NARRATORS omg, they did an incredible job of bringing these characters to life.

Mafia, fantasy, retellings oh my gosh this book is everything I needed. I absolutely love Scarlett St. Clair as an author and have for many years. I dropped off for a bit because life but this book. What a way to come back to the Scarlett verse than this.

I absolutely loved this story. There’s so much of myself that I felt was written into this book. The struggle of beliefs and those things being challenged throughout the story was amazing. Rage and anger toward current circumstances and just needing to find freedom. I resonated with Lily a lot.
There’s so much magic and realness and I just adore it! Please read it!!!

I absolutely loved this book and the FMC. This is one of those rare instances where I actually love the FMC more than the MMC. Lilith is everything that I try to be in a strong and resilient woman. The story had from the first page until the last.

Absolutely loved this book as it's a new take in Lilith as a person and didn't just make her a villain (as she usually is). As someone who's read St. Claires books before I knew and was familiar with her style so I devoured this book as soon as I started it. I've been recently slowly getting back into romantasy/romance and this is definitely worth a read. With lots of plot twist and amazing writing i definitely recommend this to fans of the romantasy and urban fantasy books as well as mythology retellings. Also without spoilers who doesn't love a familiar sidekick 😉
4.6/5

I received an ARC audio copy on NetGalley for this book (HELL YEAH) and it was SOOO good. Mind you I have been following all of the updates for this book since Scarlett started teasing it so I about died from happiness when I got accepted to arc listen.

This book was my most anticipated read of 2025 and by far my favorite book of the year as well. The world is set in a semi modern fantasy era, with very religious and mythological plot points. It was unlike anything I have read so far, it was nice to read a fantasy book that was not like all of the main stream books where you can guess what happens next. It starts with a mystery that follows throughout and the lore behind it was very intriguing, I could not stop listening. The feminine rage I got over the way the women are treated, and especially Liliths story, was palpable. Liliths character is portrayed so beautifully. Trying to escape from the trauma of her past and a society that looks down on women; she is fierce and unapologetically herself which I absolutely loved. You see the emotinal rollercoaster she is going through and how she just keeps pushes and pushes back. Inspirational. Of course we cannot leave Zahariev out, as he is my new favorite book boyfriend, that man could get me to obey anyday. The friendship he has with Lilith was killllling me, the banter, the tension, it was perfection. Highly recommend this book to anyone that is looking for a great fantasy read.

https://www.amazon.com/review/create-review/thankyou?asin=1464239657&channel=reviews-product-thankyou

https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/6871684494

I have gone back and forth on how to rate this book.

I gave it a three star because while it does have some very interesting elements, the pacing is choppy and not well done and unfortunately Lilith is just not that likeable. I'm definitely in my feminine rage era so I fully expected to like this story, but Lilith come across more as a self-centered brat than a fully formed woman who wants to forge her own path. She makes a lot of silly decisions and continually needs rescueing from Zahariev.

I also thought her reaction to her friend's death made her more unlikeable. It was a big deal that Lilith finally had real friends because Zahariev told her not to make fake friends, but then she didn't act like a real friend by skipping the funeral.

I did love the religious cult mixed with mafia vibes. It made for a contrasting but gritty world. I also really liked the very small snippets of Zahariev's point of view. This was a fun and effective way to give us some insight into his characters. I want to see more books do this!

I really loved both narrators - they were excellent. My only comment (and maybe this is because I listen on a faster speed) is that there was too much emphasis by the female narrator on the word "fuck." If a character is going to say that word that many times, it'll have the same emphasis as the rest of the words in the sentence but it sounded like it was always said emphatically which really grated on my after the 100th time.

This story is part dystopian, part modern urban fantasy, with horror elements. It was very unique in its plot, and strange in the religious or anti-religious elements. A rebellious FMC navigates a world of feminine suppression and male egotism where women of prominent families are armed with magic from the god and men vie to control the women in their lives as a power play. There are suspected “Demon” creatures creating chaos by controlling those they overtake. The communities speak in quiet circles of stories of alternate gods, hidden away behind mysterious gates and people whose goal is to release them. Tropes included are: forbidden love, female suppression, end-world mentalities, power hungry political families, found family. This one is a slow burn, but wowza… when it gets to the burn…. I found the plot flowed well and was engaging, and as always, this narrator does not disappoint! Many thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for gifting me an ALC of this title. These opinions are my own.

DNFd at 25%. I thought the pacing was extremely choppy and the reader is essentially dropped right in the middle of mess. Very little world building takes place, and we barely are able to get our footing with who the characters are and what their function is. Lilith is literally so insufferable that it's unsettling—she came across very childish and impulsive to me, and it made it impossible for me to like her or at least be interested in her journey. As someone who grew up in fundamentalist Christian faith, I am very intrigued by stories about Lilith or retellings, and Terror at the Gates tries to toe a line with the modern and the ancient that just didn't thread for me. This just fell extremely short for me which sucks because this was one of my most anticipated reads of the year.

The female narrator was phenomenal. She fit Lilith's overall vibe really well! Zahariev's narrator sounded a bit more mature than Zahariev's character is coded, so that threw me off a bit to be honest.

Thank you to Tantor Audio and NetGalley for providing me with an ALC!

🎧 ALC REVIEW 🎧

Thank you @tantoraudio for an early listening copy of Terror at the Gates by Scarlett St. Clair. I received an advance listening copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily. 🤍

Rating: ⭐⭐⭐/5
Release date: July 8th, 2025

🛑Read on with caution; review may contain spoilers🛑

Terror at the Gates is a dark romantasy that reimagines the myth of Lilith in a grim, patriarchal world. The story follows Lilith Leviathan, a magical thief in the sinful district of Nineveh, who comes into possession of a mysterious dagger—and must turn to the powerful and enigmatic Zahariev Zareth for help in unraveling church corruption, ancient power, and their growing, dangerous connection. While I found the blurb intriguing, I found the plot quite chaotic and all over the place. There were a lot of scenes that felt like a filler and could have been removed and made the book shorter and nothing would have changed. The world-building needs more development as well, or we may have more of it in the next book so I can’t complain much.

Lilith gives off a strong, independent woman vibe on the surface, but she is constantly getting herself into sticky situations and needing to be saved. I found her a bit too damsel in distress, which made her character annoying for me.

What I really enjoyed about this was the audiobook listening experience - the narrator for Lilith? Chef’s kiss! Her voice was sultry and clear, and just SO perfect for the character. Plus she nailed the different character voices, which made the dialogue easy to follow and super entertaining.

Not a fave, but not a flop either. I just wish the story had a little more bite and a little less fluff.

Dark, Divine, and Dangerously Addictive 🔥🗡️
Scarlett St. Clair strikes again with a bold, seductive start to a new romantasy series that does not hold back. Lilith is the kind of heroine I live for—powerful, angry, and unapologetically rebellious. Her dynamic with Zahariev? Smoldering. The tension between them is everything. 🔥

The worldbuilding is lush, twisted, and laced with religious corruption and dark magic, pulling you in from page one. That blade is more than just a weapon—it’s the spark that lights the fire of an epic rebellion. And Lilith? She’s the match.

Packed with betrayal, forbidden desire, and a heroine who refuses to be silenced, Terror at the Gates is a fierce, blood-soaked anthem for every woman who’s ever been told to sit down and stay quiet. I can’t wait to see where this series goes next. 👑🖤

Rating: 3/5

Rating 2.25⭐
Spice 🌶️🌶️

ALC REVIEW

sighhhhh So where should I start?

I honestly think the book was not her greatest book she has ever written. I have read Hades x Persephone and Adrian x Isolde series and they did a better job than whatever this was. I have seen a pattern where all her FMCs are basically the same? This all talk no bark FMC and very self absorbed, which I will get into about Lilith in a bit

The sad part is? The story had SOOOOOOO much potential. Most of her stories have such great potential and just fall flat. The book is mainly character driven with too many sub-plots and a lot of confusion. I didn't know what I should be paying attention about.

I absolutely didn't like Lilith at all. Absolutely not. What really give me a huge ick was (spoilers here) Her friend Esther just died, and yea sure I understand everyone grieves differently, that doesn't mean you should iono try to sleep with a man you clearly want at the scene of the crime?????? To add on, what really upset me (for me personally) was that she didn't want to go to the funeral.....but she went to the gala (that she clearly didn't want to go but her parents want her there) on the SAME DAY of the funeral. Make that make sense??? (spoiler ends here) Also, I get it sure she's suppose to be a "mean girl" but she just a blatant spoiled brat who gets what she wants because of her status and Zahriev. I did the math...It doesn't really flat out say how old Lilith is, so i did the math. Homegirl is 28 years old.. Do with what you will with that information. Everything about her just wasn't great. If it was intentional, then good job St. Clair.

Now the romance. It was suppose to give of "slow burn" romance trope. Yeaaa....not really. We didn't see enough interactions between the FMC and MMC. Like REAL interactions, not just her yelling and complaining at him over her and her consequences. Their romance was too slow to the point the the "tension" (there was none) snap it was too quick. I'm am very sad when the spicy scenes did come, I didn't care for it.

With some comparing/contrasting with St. Clair's other books. I feel they were more enjoyable because we had more development in the side characters and they were more or least likeable or had an actual background story. The Hades x Persephone Series had A LOT of side characters that made the story more manageable to get through. This book? We get Coco, but it wasn't enough to the point I can determine to like her as a character.

The build up for the ending was...subpar I guess? I didn't feel the shock factor or cliffhanger hit me. was at the point I just wanted to be done with the book. Again, the premise of the story seemed soo good and had soo much potential, but it just fell short.

Lastly, Laura Horowitz did a pretty decent, it was the male narrator that wasn't so great. The way he spoke was SOOOOO SLOW and really long pauses. I didn't know if the sentence was finished or not as it would just abruptly stop

I received the ALC through Netgallery approved by the publisher. These are my true and honest thoughts.

Wow what a great start to a new fantasy i can not wait for book 2. But I'm hooked and I'm left wanting the next part of the story.
The only part I could do without is the baby girl. Not for me

Thank you NetGalley for this audio arc in exchange for my honest thoughts

Feminine rage and a corrupt religious government, what a time in society to read a book like this. A world built on religion and patriarchy, a woman who grew up to question society's rules. The hypocrisy and manipulation in government. Blurred lines between church and state. All of this is wrapped in an intriguing dark fantasy with a slow-burn romance. Sign me up.

This may have sparked a new love for Lilith retellings for me. I do not have much experience with the lore, but I am intrigued. The quote-unquote "first" woman to be labelled a monster when all she did was refuse to make herself smaller for a man, yeah, I am here for it.

Side note, I listened to the audio of this book. I would say 80-90% of the book is told from Lilith's POV, and Laura Horowitz did fantastic. I think this is the first time an audiobook has made me cry. No spoilers, but a certain scene and the emotion in Laura's voice, I was a goner. And Tristan Warden as Zahariev?? Chef's kiss omg.

Thank you to NetGalley and Tantor Audio for this arc in exchange for an honest review!

Thank you Netgalley for the A-ARC.

A compelling and addictive urban fantasy draped in Christian mythology, with a bit of mafia style romance just thrown in there for good measure. We follow Lilith as she’s estranged from her parents, and trying to make it on her own in Nineveh—and things get intense.

The worldbuilding is dark and seductive, but carries themes that feel really heavy on the heart, but don’t let that deter you, it was quite easy to get swept up in the story. Lilith’s journey is messy and fierce, and the chemistry? Slow burn to the max.

The audiobook was a highlight—the female narrator brought this powerful, sensual energy to Lilith, while the male narrator nailed Zahariev’s broodiness. It was a a really enjoyable listen overall.

10/5 stars!! I was not anticipating loving this book. i’ve never read a scarlet st. clair book and I fear that her other books will be moving up quicker on my tbr. The characters in this book were chefs kiss. I absolutely loves lilith and could relate to her inner turmoil of being perfect for her mother. The romance in this was smoking hot!!