Quick Synopsis –War doesn’t scare Jerusalem – she’s a Saint. Thanks to powerful reflexes, endurance, and strength, she’s fearless. Confederates have declared civil war and have partnered with the vampires who benefitted off slavery. Jerusalem, her battalion of Saints, and an Ancient Vampire Alexei are essential to the Union army. Together, they set out to change the course of the war and take down the vampire who destroyed everyone Jerusalem loved. But for her, it’s about more than justice, it’s about killing a God.

Song This Reminds Me Of – Jericho by Iniko

Publication Date –May 14, 2024

Content Warnings – This book takes places during the Civil War in America and contains graphic depictions of slavery, torture, violence, and racism. There is a romantic scene in the book that isn’t too graphic, but just a head’s up.

Spicy Rating – 🌶

Overall Rating – 3 out of 4 ⭐

Review – This book is told from dual points of view; some chapters are from Jerusalem and others are from Alexei. Something I found a little jarring is that the chapters would start as one POV and shift to another throughout the chapter. The author does indicate when the shift is happening, but I just prefer it when POV shifts happen with chapter changes. In addition, part of this book is told through flashbacks. I thought the flashbacks were a little messy. For the most part, I thought that Jerusalem’s time enslaved and Alexei’s time being tortured could have been better told either as separate chapters interspersed throughout the novel or in order at the beginning of the book.

I really loved the magical realism of this book; the writing style reminded me a lot of Dread Nation by Justina Ireland. Jerusalem is a fierce main character and Alexei was just kind of okay. I felt like there was not enough between them to really warrant a love story. Almost all of their conversations are surface level, and that’s just not enough for me. I think the language used in the book was also just a little too modern. I do like a good revenge story, and I enjoyed reading this book.

This was a fast read for me and had some really interesting elements, but for me, it was a little jumbled and just an okay read.

Thanks to NetGalley and Wednesday Books for the ARC. All opinions are my own.