Review: A Vow of Shadow and Blood by Charlene Antrobus

A VOW OF SHADOW AND BLOOD
Series: Blood Vows #1
Author: Charlene Antrobus
Genre: Fantasy Romance
Release Date: October 15, 2025

An enemies-to-lovers romantic fantasy perfect for fans of Penn Cole, Sable Sorensen, and Rebecca Yarros.

In the Kingdom of Kalyn, humans are good for two things. Hunting and owning.

Adina Barron was bred to serve the ruling-class vampires. Owned from birth by Blackwood House, her only desire has been to keep herself and her sister safe. But Adina harbors a dark secret. She possesses the power to turn her blood into a deadly poison that kills vampires. An ability she swore never to use until she learned that her sister was dying. After discovering that vampire venom can extend life, Adina has spent the last year risking exposure and execution to hunt and kill the creatures she was born to obey.

But desperation leads to foolish mistakes, and when she accidentally reveals her power to a mysterious stranger, she is forced to make a difficult choice. Use her ability to assassinate the Crown Prince or watch her sister die.

The decision is easy, and it’s not long before Adina manages to use her wits and cunning to embed herself into the prince’s life. But making the kill is not as simple as she anticipates, especially when fate seems hell-bent on drawing the pair together. And when whispers of a war start to arise, Adina realizes that there may be bigger issues than just saving her sister.

But time is closing in, and soon she will be forced to make a choice. Her sister? Her kingdom? Or her heart? Because one thing is clear, she cannot save them all.

This is book one in Charlene’s slowburn, romantic fantasy series, Blood Vows.

AMAZON

You can either go there of your own volition, or I will drag you there myself.” “You lay a hand on me and I wi—” “You will what?” he asks before dropping his voice down low. “Moan like you have all the other times my hands have touched you. I’m not really seeing a downside for you here.”

Holy WOW. When I tell you that this book had me in a complete chokehold for the 3 days that it took me to read it, I mean I was obsessed. It’s been a hot minute since I read a fantasy romance, but this reminded me exactly what made me fall in love with the genre to begin with.

The world building? Immaculate.
The characters? multifaceted and vivid.
The story? Absolutely addictive.

This is a true enemies to lovers with a slow burn so slow, it hurts so good. But what ultimately hooked me was the premise of the story.

Adina, the FMC, is a pureblood. A human bred to serve the ruling-class vampire with the potency of their blood. Year ago, a fierce battle took place between humans and vampires. And now, the humans are living with the reality of existing for two things only; to be owned or to be hunted down like the prey they’ve become. But Adina hides a dark secret and an ability that can either be her salvation or get her killed. When her sister is in trouble, she’s forced to make a deal for her life; kill the vampire prince and one of the most dangerous and powerful vampires to exist. And to do that and get close to him, she needs to become the prince’s main blood donor.

Careful, little witch, if you keep looking at me like that, it might just make me believe that you enjoy me feeding on you just as much as I like the taste of your blood.”

I spent the first 30% of the book just trying to figure out who the true villain was and who the MMC was and you know what? I loved that! The world building had me so wrapped up that I could see it like a movie reel behind my eyes as I read.

Adina is such a fierce heroine, though at times a bit too much so that I wanted to shake her. I loved her warrior heart but I wished that she would stop to see reason at times and found her approach to things could be inconsistent at times. But this did nothing to lessen my enjoyment.

The story itself is gritty and spares no feelings. If you like a book that will hurt you in the best and worst of ways, look no further. Because I felt eviscerated in many a parts. Some of it hurt so good and some of it just plain HURT. Like scream at the ceiling and have to stare at a wall for an hour kind of bad.

And then that ending? Holy cliffhanger! I’m honestly not sure how I’m going to survive the wait for book two, but Charlene has a new rabid fan in me and I am FERAL for more in this series.

Gods, Adina, do you have any idea the power you have over me? I would destroy realms to have you. To kneel before you and worship you with my tongue.”