Book Review: In the Veins of the Drowning by Kalie Cassidy

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ | Really liked it! Highly recommend.

Read In the Veins of the Drowning if you like sirens, haunting vibes, and a cinnamon roll MMC who falls first and falls HARD.

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Looking for fantasy romance you can binge in just two books? You might like my full list of duologies where In the Veins of the Drowning is listed.

📖 What’s Inside:

🧜‍♀️ Sirens + gods
Single POV
🩸 Blood and gore
On-page intimacy 🔴
Reluctant allies to lovers
🌈 Inclusive
Magical bonds 💞
Explicit language
🐎 Only one horse

Book Boyfriend Meter: 🧡

Would consider. Would absolutely regret something.

👉 If you prefer morally grey book boyfriends over cinamon roll MMCs… this free starter pack was made for you.

✨ Vibes:

This Woven Kingdom — only because of that intense, blood-bond connection energy
To Kill a Kingdom — sirens, danger, and ocean-laced tension

Basically: haunting, atmospheric fantasy with blood ties, reluctant allies, and an ooey gooey cinnamon roll hero

💭 My Thoughts:

Okay listen—

I tried to start this book multiple times.

And every time?

Didn’t stick.

(To be fair, I was giving it like… three sentences to impress me 😂)

But I knew I’d like it. So I kept picking it up. And eventually?

I hit the line.

And here’s my hot take:

The first spoken line should’ve been the opening line.

No notes. Because when I hit:

“How you agreed to marry a man whose job it is to hunt and kill—”

I was IN. Hooked. Sold.

That’s the line that finally pulled me under.

And once I locked in, I couldn’t put it down.

This book is… different.

Like actually different.

Not “this reminds me of five other books but slightly rebranded” different.

Unique.

Yes, there are sirens. Yes, there’s political tension.

But the way it all comes together?

Truly a fresh take on the fantasy romance story structure.

The romance:

Now, some people might call the romance insta-love or insta-lust.

I don’t.

As someone who is very much turned off my insta-love romances, to me, it reads more like:

Reluctant allies + immediate attraction + emotional unraveling.

And the MMC???

Not my usual type.

At all.

I love a morally grey man waving red flags like it’s a hobby. (In case your new here, there’s a whole book boyfriend leaderboard that outlines my type)

But this man?

Cinnamon. Roll.

But like—

Done RIGHT.

✔️ Falls first
✔️ Falls hard
✔️ Would give up his entire kingdom for her

And I ate it up.

My one critique:

I wanted more sirens.

Like yes—our FMC is a siren.

But we rarely get to experience her in that form.

She’s mostly on land, mostly human.

And in a story set during a brutal siren-hunting era?

I just wanted more of that world.

More ocean, and sirens. More immersion.

Overall, this book is haunting. Beautiful. Unique.

It’s the kind of story you read to break out of the “everything feels the same” fantasy slump.

And it absolutely delivered on that.

Also yes—I’ve already requested the ARC for book two.

Please send approval vibes because I need it immediately 😭

📚Read Alikes:

If you’re chasing that same haunting, atmospheric read:

To Kill a Kingdom — sirens, danger, and enemies-to-lovers tension
This Woven Kingdom — intense magical bonds and slow-building connection
One Dark Window — atmomspheric, haunting tension and unique magic

If your TBR isn’t already out of control… it will be. Get my free Morally Grey Book Boyfriend Starter Pack and meet even more men you absolutely shouldn’t fall for (but will).

Should you add In the Veins of the Drowning to your TBR?

Yes.

If you’re here for:

✔️ Unique fantasy worlds
✔️ Atmospheric, moody vibes
✔️ Cinnamon roll MMCs who fall hard
✔️ Reluctant allies to lovers

You’ll love this.

🛒 Buy Now

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