ARC Review: A Bargain So Bloody by Vasilisa Drake

Title: A Bargain So Bloody
Author: Vasilisa Drake
Series: Kingdom of Dark Magic #1
Genre: Fantasy/Romance
Publisher: Scarlett Press
Publication Date: Augaust 4, 2026
Edition: Digital
Source: NetGalley
Pre-Order: Amazon US | Barnes & Noble | Books-A-Million | Bookshop | Kobo | Powell's | 

 

 

Synopsis:

   Imprisoned for a crime she didn’t commit, Samara is bullied by guards and tormented by the screams of her fellow prisoners. She’s resigned herself to enduring her fifteen-year term…until she learns the freedom she’s been promised is nothing but a cruel lie.
   Now Samara is faced with a brutal choice: die within the cold walls of Castle Greymere or do the unthinkable and escape. But no one leaves Greymere alive. So to break out, she’ll need help from one of the undead.
   Raphael is the worst kind of monster: a vampire with a thirst for blood—and the same breed that killed her mother. He’s also unspeakably powerful, his supernatural strength tamed only by the enchanted cuffs forced on him. Most importantly, he is Samara’s only chance at a life outside the prison walls.
   The deal is simple: Samara unlocks his shackles, and Raphael helps her escape. But he never promised to let her go once they flee the castle. 

 

(Special Edition Hardback)For the first printing only! This hardcover features gorgeous sprayed edges while the special edition supply lasts. 

 

 

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 I devoured this book. I have been wanting a really good vampire book for years, but none of the other ones that have come out in the past 10 years have been what I wanted. Honestly the last one that I really loved was The Coldest Girl in Coldtown. 

 

  I was very quickly invested in Sam and her journey. I was also very curious as to what leads her to be sentenced to be a servant in that prison. There are still aspects about her that haven't been answered yet, that I really hope are revealed in the second book. 

 

  Raphael is also a very curious character, the why he was drawn to Sam and why he wants her to stay so badly is still mostly a mystery. He is smitten with her perhaps because of her gumption and her will to survive. She is brave to a fault.

 

  I actually really liked that the romance is very understated. She is attracted to him, but she kind of hates that she is because of something that happened involving her mother when she was a child past that's connected to why she was sent to serve at the prison. There are some context clues given, but nothing concrete about what her mother had done for Samara to be serve, and I hope there's a little more clarity on that in the next book, at least a revel about who her father was since he was barely mentioned in this book. 

 

  The magic system was a little confusing, perhaps because Sam is a person who has no magic of her own and has to use the cards that hold magic in them that everyone besides vampires can use. But I also don't exactly know what the cards are supposed to look like. I was picturing Tarot cards, so I hope that's what they were supposed to look like.

 

  The only aspect of the story that I struggled with was why Sam wanted to return to the empire who threw here into an abusive jail for most her life. Maybe the things that have yet to be revealed about her will explain that, because right now I don't understand why she has any amount of loyalty to them.