House of Bane and Blood

Order and Chaos Series, Book 1

By: Alexis Menard

Narrated by: Jacci Prior, James Cavenaugh

In a city split into two opposing sides, power comes in many forms: bloodlines, money, love, and—most importantly—secrets.

An heiress in the most notorious family in Lynchaven, Camilla Marchese is doing all she can to keep her family's syndicate, the Iron Saint Railway, from slipping into bankruptcy. When the gorgeous and depraved Nicolai Attano, the leader of a rival family, offers to pay off the inspector in exchange for her hand, she has no choice but to give up not only her throne—but her name.

Nico has his own motivations for their union beyond maintaining peace with her family. A serial kidnapper known as The Collector has been ravaging the streets of Remnant Row, stirring up mistrust between natives and descendants. If Milla can help restore safety to his streets, he'll have no need for her or her family's company. Find the Collector, prevent a war between their sides of the city, and pay off the family debt before she turns twenty-one. If Milla can fulfill her end of the bargain, she'll walk away with more freedom than she's ever had before.

This deal plunges Milla into the city's dark underbelly where remnant magic and arcane science compete in a deadly game of depravity. When forbidden feelings rise for her new husband and dark family secrets come to light, Milla must discover the truth about her past before it gets them both killed or worse—collected.

Set in a post-industrial age setting on a magical isle, Peaky Blinders meets the magic system of the Grishaverse in this rivals-to-lovers adult fantasy romance.

©2023 Alexis L. Menard (P)2024 Podium Audio

Amazing narration!

The narrators really brought this story to life! So well done. Can't wait for the next book!

Enjoyable

Overall, this was a great listen. My only issue is that it seemed a bit familiar. More and more stories like this are saturating the genre. Some are terribly written and lose plot to overdo spice. This story does not fall into this category. Decent plot, great character development, and general writing ability. There's not too much spice, but the slow burn is pretty good. Although, I have no clue why the author chose the female main character's kink. I have noticed more books including this particular kink, and, to me it's just unappealing. After all the great steamy build up and then the bizarre pivot into a kink that seemed forced, I was disappointed. Anyway, the story was good though. I kind of felt like ACOTAR and Crescent City got together with a little Steampunk and had a baby with the storyline. I'll most likely continue the series.

ENCASED!!!

I could see and feel ever detail of this story. ACTOR meets my favorite man of all time from Peaky Blinders. This was delicious and I am DYING for the next release!!!!! Bring on City of Mirth!!!

peaky Blinders

I loved this! Peaky Blinders but make it magic and throw some romance in it. my only complaint is its not a duet style audiobook.

newest book boyfriend!

storyline / plot✔️
audio narrators ✔️
slow burn ✔️
new book boyfriend who is a grumpy golden retriever ✔️
Obsessed with this series and this is only the 1st book ✔️

No spoilers

fantastic narrators well written book lots of action some romance rolled into a mystery. looking forward to the next book

Fantasy meets Peaky Blinders

It started slow for me but the story really picked up and I enjoyed the discoveries at the end. It’s a cliff hanger but nothing crazy.

Gritty post-industrial urban fantasy

“Not all cages are built with bars. Some, like mine, were made from the shackles of duty and the chains of domestic obligations.”

House of Bane and Blood by Alexis L Menard is a gritty post-industrial inspired urban fantasy romance with magic, rival factions, revenge plots, cunning mind games, complicated family dynamics, and a marriage of convenience brimming with tension and chemistry.

- marriage of convenience
- rival families
- disability visibility (hero is an amputee and uses a prosthetic hand powered by his wind magic)
- slowburn with spice
- book 1 in a completed duet

Camilla may be the heiress to her family but it doesn’t stop her older brothers arranging a marriage for her to help the family business. She isn’t keen on it so she grab onto a chance to have one last night of freedom and unknowingly becomes entangled with the head of a rival family. When Nicolai learns of her upcoming marriage, her quickly devises a plan to marry her himself.

They both have something to gain from their union, but that doesn’t make the start any less rocky. Camilla has been fed all sorts of lies about his family and Nicolai is hesitant to trust her. But they soon discover their true enemy is elsewhere and maneuver to unravel the secrets they need to succeed.

They’re both interesting characters with layers that make them easy to root for. I loved Nicolai’s family and Camilla’s family made me feel conflicted over their actions and motivations. The worldbuilding is light (things are explained as they go) so it’s easy to get into and I’m intrigued by the mystery they’re figuring out. The narrators were amazing and I can’t wait to dive into book 2!

His performance makes this book extra special for me.

This is lovely and I mostly loved it. There’s a lot I like about it and I wanted to give it a higher rating. Her narration (especially the way she voices males), her character, and the last couple hours of the book are why I shaved off some points. The writing was quite good, quite lovely. I only found one writing error or maybe it was a narration error (“to which I ignored” in chapter 29). I usually find many more errors when reading and it often distracts me. I especially loved all the nods to elements from other books in this genre.

Unique Story with great flow

Although my first listen to this was on audiobook, I do feel like I need to buy the physical copy for my shelf. I loved this unique plot line, I enjoyed the character and world building. I look forward to having a copy that I can highlight, tab, and read again with greater insight.