Author: Elizabeth May
Series: The Broken Accords #1
Genre: Dark Fantasy/ Romance/ Adult
Publisher: Bloomsbury USA / Aria
Publication Date: January 27, 2026
Edition: Ebook
Source: NetGalley
Pre-Order: Amazon US | Barnes & Noble | Bookshop | Kobo | Powell's |
Synopsis:
A princess and a war-weary god met in the ashes of a broken city, forging a pact in blood and sacrifice. Now, centuries of fragile peace are on the brink of collapse…
Bryony Devaliant was born to die — again and again. In Vartena, royal blood is the currency of peace, with every monarch sacrificed and resurrected to appease the gods. But when rebellion stirs, the god-king sends his deadliest weapon to restore order: an immortal assassin known only as the Wolf.
Evander has perfected the art of killing over centuries — until his latest target becomes the one person he cannot destroy. When forbidden desire burns between the assassin and the sacrificial princess, their connection threatens the fragile boundary between gods and mortals. And when that boundary shatters, empires crumble. Because when gods fall in love with mortals, mortals are always the ones to break.
A thrilling and incredibly sexy new dark romantasy series from Sunday Times bestselling author Elizabeth May. Inspired by Beauty and the Beast and Eros and Psyche.
Bryony Devaliant was born to die — again and again. In Vartena, royal blood is the currency of peace, with every monarch sacrificed and resurrected to appease the gods. But when rebellion stirs, the god-king sends his deadliest weapon to restore order: an immortal assassin known only as the Wolf.
Evander has perfected the art of killing over centuries — until his latest target becomes the one person he cannot destroy. When forbidden desire burns between the assassin and the sacrificial princess, their connection threatens the fragile boundary between gods and mortals. And when that boundary shatters, empires crumble. Because when gods fall in love with mortals, mortals are always the ones to break.
A thrilling and incredibly sexy new dark romantasy series from Sunday Times bestselling author Elizabeth May. Inspired by Beauty and the Beast and Eros and Psyche.
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I always like it when authors provide a list of content warnings, as I am not very good and noticing what could be triggers for other readers, as what makes me uncomfortable is often pretty circumstantial, these are what I pulled from the author's website:
Additional content warnings for:
Graphic violence with extreme gore and body horror
Trauma and PTSD
War crimes and massacres
Substance abuse
Mention of sexual assault.
The relationship depicted is a dark romance, with content warnings for:
Emotional manipulation
Dominance and submission
Rough play
Power dynamics that blur ethical lines
Darker intimate content with dubious consent, blood play, knife play, breath control, impact play (spanking), primal play, and consensual pain/bruising.
Graphic violence with extreme gore and body horror
Trauma and PTSD
War crimes and massacres
Substance abuse
Mention of sexual assault.
The relationship depicted is a dark romance, with content warnings for:
Emotional manipulation
Dominance and submission
Rough play
Power dynamics that blur ethical lines
Darker intimate content with dubious consent, blood play, knife play, breath control, impact play (spanking), primal play, and consensual pain/bruising.
Elizabeth May really is a master of writing dynamic (and messy) romance.
This is a dark romance, there is an enemies to lovers aspect that
actually felt like real enemies. Sure, they were both very attracted to
each other very early on and they were both mad about it. I would have preferred if that aspect hadn't happened as early on as it did. Drawing out their hate for each other would've made when they started finding each other attractive and eventually fall for each other feel more earned, just a little more slow-burn than this was. I still did enjoy the romance aspect, as even though it's more of a romance forward book the world-building and background character didn't suffer for it. The other conflicts still got the attention they needed for the world to feel lived in and not set dressing.
As for the characters, I like that they all kind of suck as people. Nobody is somebody I would call a 'hero'. The protagonists are just less shitty as people than the antagonists. Both Bryony and Evander have valid reasons for why they hate each other's race (species?). There is an aspect of "sins of the father", where Bryony and her family are being blamed for what her ancestors did. Even though their crimes against the Eternals was pretty horrendous. As for Bryony, her role is to be sacrificed repeatedly to maintain a treaty. It's a thankless job for the most part. The people of the city respect her, and aside from her sister, the rest of the nobility just expects it of her and seems to be offended that she hates her role.
There is a layered conflict in this book that was woven together nicely. Although only one of them was resolved in this book. I suspect the other more world-level conflict is going to be covered in the other books in the series. I would've liked a little bit of headway on the 'other' conflict in this book, at least in the epilogue or something. It felt like a big deal whenever that plot-line was brought up.
Overall, I really enjoyed this book, and I look forward to the sequel.
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