Published By: HQ
Pages: 384
Released On: 07/10/2025
Old Magic. New power. A contest to die for.
Sophia DeWinter has been bound to her cruel uncle, the Collector since he exacted a blood bond from her as a child. When she learns of Killmarth, an elite academy for magic wielders outside of the Collector’s control, she grabs it as her only chance to break free.
Each hopeful must prove their worth by competing in brutal and deadly challenges – the Ordeals. And that’s just the beginning, because hopefuls are also being viciously picked off one-by-one. To survive, Sophia could team up with another challenger. Perhaps the powerful wielder Alden Locke. But how to identify an ally from a rival? Or even a murderer?
In her haste to escape the Collector’s power over her, has Sophia risked everything only to run from the flames and into the fire?
*****
Thanks to NetGalley and HQ for the advanced copy of this title in return for an honest review.
I love Rachel’s books and so I was super excited to read this, but it didn’t quite live up to my expectations.
Firstly I will say that she creates such a stunning sense of space. You are instantly drawn into this world. It sounds normal, an every-day pub for example, but there is this undercurrent of magic that flows through it and I think that’s expertly done. It’s recognisable but there is an edge to it.
There is an almost Hunger Games/Harry Potter aspect to it, at least to begin with.
I was fun and exciting but it wasn’t anything new, and I suppose that’s what I was hoping for. Rachel is amazing at creating these unique worlds and interesting characters, and whilst I don’t have anything specifically wrong with it, I am not raving about it as, in its parts, it was quite familiar.
It does give you all the tropes you expect from a romantasy novel: dark academia, enemies to lovers, romance, deadly trials etc.
The romance didn’t completely win me over. In books, especially romantasy books, I like a slow burn a build up of romance, the enemies to lovers trope, teasing each other and the reader. But this starts so early on and then seems to revert backwards into, not quite enemies, but strangers. It just felt like it didn’t know what it wanted to be. And so I couldn’t really invest in it because it was too obvious.
It’s billed as an adult book I believe, but I’d say it’s more YA. Yes there are some more unsavoury bits in it that aren’t appropriate for younger readers, but I felt the language, the storytelling, the plot itself is a bit too young for the average adult reader. But that’s not necessarily a negative, because I love YA book, but it just feels like YA with some adult themes.
It isn’t my favourite book of hers, but it’s not necessarily a bad book. It is fun but it feels a bit lost. The characters felt underdeveloped, the romance seemed unnecessary, there’s not a whole lot of tension in it. I would recommend it to the upper age of YA readers and if I’m honest, I probably won’t seek out the sequel
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Rachel herself has already announced the publication of a second book in this series – I believe it’s meant to be a duology. In doing so, there wasn’t much jeopardy or trepidation as to whether our main characters would survive their ordeal (pun very much intended), which took the power out of it a bit.
Books By Your Bedside 