In the Veins of the Drowning

De: Kalie Cassidy

Narrado por: Ell Potter

An "atmospheric and evocative" (Rachel Gillig) romantasy about a threatened Siren who forges a bond with a brooding, self-righteous king in order to flee the king who raised her. Perfect for fans of One Dark Window and For the Wolf.

The monster is always slain …

Imogen Nel is in hiding. Hiding from a cruel kingdom that believes Sirens are monstrous, blood-hungry creatures. Hiding from a king and his captain who viciously hunt her kind. Hiding from her own alluring abilities. By keeping herself from the sea, Imogen’s bloodlust is dulled, and her black wings remain concealed beneath her skin.

When a neighboring king comes to visit, Imogen can no longer hide. He knows precisely what she is, and he believes she can save their kingdoms from an even greater monster. But Imogen’s power threatens to violently reveal itself, and the two form a blood bond that protects them both. They flee together, traversing waters teeming with the undead. As the lines between duty to their people and desire for each other begin to blur, Imogen worries her ancestral powers may not be enough to kill what hunts her—the only way to defeat a monster may be to become one herself.

Reseñas de la Crítica

"An absolute riptide of a book. It draws you in, pulls you under. Atmospheric and evocative, Cassidy’s writing sews adventure, romance, and political intrigue together while maintaining its ominous tenor. Monsters lurk, and danger knows your name. I was completely swept away."—Rachel Gillig, New York Times bestselling author of One Dark Window

“A provocative dark fantasy with all the alluring qualities of siren’s song. Sensuous and lushly romantic, In the Veins of the Drowning ensorcelled me from the very first page.”—Ava Reid, #1 New York Times bestselling author of A Study in Drowning

"Cassidy has written your new favorite romantasy couple: a king tormented by his honor and a siren grappling with her monstrosity, each of them walking the knife's edge of duty and desire. Sensual, gripping, and resonant as siren song, In the Veins of the Drowning will sink its lure into you and leave you breathless."—Allison Saft, New York Times and USA Today bestselling author of A Dark and Drowning Tide

"Perilous stakes underscore a defiant, hate-to-love affair that's as vulnerable as it is sexy. In the Veins of the Drowning is a sprawling, incandescent debut that emerges with talons and teeth."—Isa Agajanian, author of Modern Divination

"As glittering as the sea and lush as its foamy waves, In the Veins of the Drowning will lure you in like a siren’s call with its mysterious lore and fierce, yet tender romance. Imogen and Theo are perfect reflections of each other and I have no doubt they will ensnare the hearts of readers the way they’ve ensnared mine. Devastatingly atmospheric and utterly captivating."—Maddie Martinez, author of The Maiden and Her Monster

“Rich with atmosphere and lore, this lush fantasy is like the sea that roars at its heart: fierce and dangerous, darkly glittering. The ferocious tide of Imogen and Theo’s irresistible romance will sweep you off your feet, but it is Imogen herself—grappling with her power and what it means to be a monster—who will steal your heart. A gorgeous, spellbinding debut.”—Claire Legrand, New York Times bestselling author of Furyborn

"In the Veins of the Drowning is a seductive study of the monstrous, weaving a rich tapestry of prose and emotion in which beauty has talons, memories hold magic, and blood runs deep."—Maggie Rapier, author of Soulgazer

"Consider me drowning and gasping for air. In the Veins of the Drowning is as seductive as a siren’s song and as haunting as the sea itself. Don’t miss sinking into this gorgeous debut!” —Brittney Arena, author of A Dance of Lies

Jaw Dropping Listen- Fabulous

Such a deeply rich adventure- full of intrigue , fascinating characters and so good you can’t stop or put it down.

Fast paced, there’s always stakes and never a lull!

I loved this book SO much. One of the best books I’ve read all year. The stakes were never dropped and there was never a boring or dull moment. It was so refreshing.

The tension and the writing are top notch.

Truly cannot wait for the second book. What an amazing debut. This has been the best thing I’ve read or listened to since ACTOR. ALSO THE VOICE ACTING LEFT NO CRUBS. NO NOTES!

A siren fantasy that doesn’t follow the norm

My first ever siren read and it did NOT disappoint.
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

This was interesting from to get go and it didn’t follow the normal “flow” or rules of other romantasies.

She’s a winged siren away from the water.
The rules of this magic was wild. The romance didn’t have horrid miscommunication. Forced proximity, one horse, reluctant lovers, political games, lies, betrayal, hidden identity. The works.

It was a real good time, and the ended had me OUT LOUD questioning. “What?! What did?!”

I’ll definitely be diving back into these mysterious waters when In The Wakes of The Ruined is released in 2026.

Amazing

This story was absolutely fantastic! I loved the fantasy aspects and that it was different from anything else that I’ve read. I cannot wait to read the next book in the series when it comes out

Soooooo goooood!

I listen to this in two days, and didn’t wanna to sleep. It’s a beautiful world, a slow burn, and an interesting magic system.

I need book 2 immediately.

The narrator was amazing and the story was so good. The tensiooonnnnn. I hope we get a happy ending.

Fantastic Across the Board DYING for the Second Book

one of the best books i’ve listened to in a while. shooting myself in the foot for reading so soon after release date!

I love this complex main character!

Unlike ever other romantasy book the main character is not cleary defined as either a princess who is a hidden warrior, a dragon trainer or an assassin. This is an original story with character development and scene setting of a full fantasy novel. The intense love and connection between the mains are just the cherry on top. The world building and creative intertwinning of the sea, the land and the rituals make for great twists and turns and unexpected outcomes.I hope we get the next book soon,

"The Monster is Always Slain"

This book introduces us to FMC Imogen Nel, a Siren hiding what she is. She is under the control of an evil King who is her guardian and who has total control over her. She does not know who her parents were as they died when she was very small. The kingdom that she lives in believes that Sirens are monsters and they actively hunt and kill them. We begin this story as her identity is discovered and she has to flee the island or be killed.

Enter our MMC- King Theo. He is on the island for Imogen's wedding (which does not take place) and he is from a kingdom that does NOT vilify Sirens. Imogen begs him to rescue her and after some convincing, he does. To do that, she agrees to do a blood bond with Theo which protects him from a sirens call and also forces the two of them to become EXTREMELY protective of each other.

Sounds interesting, right? Unfortunately, there were some issues.

The world building is virtually non existent. We are not given any information and do not really understand anything about this world and even though I kept thinking that eventually things would be explained....they weren't. We learn about the two Kingdoms - Theo's and Imogen's. There is another that the Empress and her daughter are from. Is that the entire world? Are there other countries? Is magic a thing everywhere? What kind of magic? There is one Mage Sorceress in Theo's Kingdom, does that mean mages are a thing elsewhere?

There is absolutely no explanation of the history of Siren's. We do not know IF they have magic, or if so, what it is. Imogen talks about a "lure" that she eventually figures out, but even she doesn't understand how it works. If Siren's are so powerful that they need to be hunted, what exactly do they do? There was SO much potential with this concept but nothing was fleshed out.

Then we had the relationship between Theo and Imogen. While I really liked the two of them together, the timeframe that the relationship went from zero to a hundred was unbelievably fast. Yes, there was a blood bond, but supposedly that was only supposed to give the people a very protective streak. It just felt very insta-lovey.

So, did I like it? The crazy thing was...yes. Even with all of that, I still was invested and am curious to know what is going to happen next (YES, there was a huge cliffhanger at the end). There was enough of a good outline that the foundation of the story was there. Hopefully, the next book does a better job of filling in some of the blanks.