Book Review: We Who Will Die by Stacia Stark

Book Review: We Who Will Die by Stacia Stark

Genre: Romantasy

Length: 432 pages

Book 1 of planned 4 books – ongoing series known as Empire of Blood

Currently available on Kindle Unlimited.

Buy on Amazon

What is it?

We Who Will Die is the first traditionally published book by romantasy author Stacia Stark’s. It is also the book that made her a New York Times Bestselling author (and for good reason)!

We Who Will Die is the first book in a planned 4 book series known as Empire of Blood. There is currently no release date for book 2 as book 1 just released in December of 2025.

We Who Will Die is a romantasy book set in an ancient Roman- inspired world ruled by vampires. It’s been marketed as gladiator meets the vampire diaries.

*** This is a fantasy romance book intended for adults. It may not be suitable for all readers. Be sure to check the trigger warnings provided by the author to determine if the book is a good fit for you.

Official Blurb

Life in the perilous Thorn district is a constant battle for Arvelle and her younger brothers. And the vampire standing on her doorstep is about to turn their world upside down.
Faced with an unthinkable choice, Arvelle makes a magically binding vow to do the impossible: kill the emperor, an ancient vampire created by the god Umbros. But first, she must enter the Sundering—an arena where only the fastest, strongest, and deadliest survive long enough to be selected for the emperor’s elite guard.
She quickly draws the ire of the Primus, the powerful figure charged with protecting the emperor. But the vampire under the armor is the last person Arvelle expects to encounter in the emperor’s court.
With her brothers’ lives in the balance, Arvelle has no choice but to ally with the man who once shattered her heart… and with the emperor’s sadistic son, Rorrik—two vampires whose motives are impossible to pin down. Rorrik holds the key to understanding the powers Arvelle is developing—abilities that would put a price on her head if discovered by the emperor.
To survive the arena and complete her mission, Arvelle must get to the bottom of a conspiracy that will change everything she thought she knew about herself—and the two vampires who are deeply entwined with her destiny…

What I did like?

This was my first (and definitely not last) Stacie Stark book. It absolutely did not disappoint!

It’s been a minute since a book has completely consumed me. From the minute I started this book, it was all I could think about- I could not put it down! All I wanted to do was read it.

From the very first page I was hooked! I found myself constantly wanting to know more about this world and these characters. I wanted to put the pieces of their pasts together and understand how they got to the point they were at in this story. One of my favorite things is when books flip back and forth between the past and present and slowly allow you to have information about the characters.

Very honestly, I did not expect to like this book as much as I did. It’s vampires and gladiators, which I thought would be cheesey. But I was wrong! Gladiators meets vampires is every thing I didn’t know I needed in a story. The vampires are the classic monsters that you already know and are infatuated by, but with their own unique twists that make them extremely interesting. They have also created an empire akin to that of the Romans with tons of political unrest and predjudice.

The world also has the sigil marked people who are magic users and a lower caste in this society.

The romance? Was perfect. I found this book at a time when I was beginning to get tired of the same romance in every story. The love story between Arvelle and Tiernan was beautiful and completely unique. It is set up as your classic enemies to lovers storyline, but it quickly becomes apparent that this is a love story with a complicated background. There is also a strong suggestion that this might turn into a love triangle late on in the series (which is not my favorite trope) and, for the first time, I am not rooting of the dark and cranky man in the love triangle.

The best part of this book? What it did to my emotions. I was stressed out for approximately 60% of this book. This is the kind of book where you know bad things are about to happen and you are going to constantly worry about your favorite characters.

What did I not like?

Nothing. I really loved everything about this book.

What to expect/ Tropes

Vampires meet gladiators

Scorned exlovers

She’s hired to kill the emperor-His job is to protect him

Interesting magic

Tons of secrets

Is it spicy?

Yes. There are a few chapters in the book with very tense moments and several chapters with spicy scenes. However, this book is not very spicy. Instead it is very plot and character driven.

Loved this book?

Check out The Kingdom of Lies series by Stacia Stark. All four books are available on Kindle Unlimited

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Thank you to Harper Collins and Netgalley for an e-arc of this book in exchange for my honest review.