Blood & Steel

The Legends of Thezmarr, Book 1

By: Helen Scheuerer

Narrated by: Mollie Stark, Sebastian Grove

With her death foretold, Althea Zoltaire only has three years to become what she’s always dreamed of being: a warrior legend. Women are forbidden to wield blades, so she has trained in secret her entire life. Now racing against the clock, she fights to secure her place in the elite guild charged with the protection of the five kingdoms.

The sparring and hazing of the new trainees border on deadly, but even more dangerous is her growing attraction to Wilder Hawthorne, her unwilling warrior chaperone. All around them, schemes are afoot and darkness looms.

Will Althea pass the perilous initiation test and take her place as a champion of Thezmarr—or will the invading evil snatch away her dream before it starts?

Blood & Steel is the gripping first book in the heart-pounding, epic romantic fantasy series, The Legends of Thezmarr.

©2023 Helen Scheuerer (P)2023 Dreamscape Media

Amazing start to my new obsession

Wow. This book has been on my TBR for months and I feel like a fool for not picking it up earlier. This was my first Helen Scheuerer book however it will not be my last. This book has all of my favorite elements.

Found Family
Strong MMC
Brooding, Mysterious Hero,
Prophecy
An Epic Quest

I really felt a connection to Althea. She is an incredibly determined woman who, despite all odds knows what she wants, and is willing to fight for it. (even to her own detriment). Althea’s death was predicted when she was a young girl, and as the clock ticks down, she is ready to go all out to achieve her goals. Wilder is our brooding hero and he is everything Althea wishes to be. He has accomplished everything that Althea wishes to and while he doesn’t always believe in her he is inspired by her and is willing to help her fight. All the side characters were very well flushed out. They all had flaws and quirks that made them feel like real people. I really hope that we get to see more Kipp, Cal, Wren and Torj in the future.

I thoroughly enjoyed all aspects of this book. The premises intriguing, the characters are compelling, and the world is fully immersive. I will definitely be entering with this series as soon as possible. And the narration on this audiobook was top-notch.

Loved the Intrigue

This was a truly captivating storyline following on the heels of Slaying the Shadow Prince and setting up another strong storyline.

Narrators are AMAZING

The narration makes this audiobook what it is. The story is easy to follow and enjoyable overall. I did get sick of certain things appearing again and again, but if you like basic fantasy romance, this will check boxes for you.

3.5 stars but rounded up. A solid start

I enjoyed the premise of this book though the “twist” at the end was very predictable. The slow burn romantasy was what I was looking for and I hope the author can hold on to the fantasy story over the smut into the next books and not fully lose the plot like so many others do for the sake of tossing out sex scenes like they’re confetti.

Good storyline

Slow build but good story. Military training with a spicy twist. Definitely going to continue with the series.