The wolf & the crown of blood: Characters, spice, triggers & more
The Wolf and the Crown of Blood by Elizabeth May is a very very very spicy Beauty & the Beast retelling with shades of Eros & Psyche.
So our girl, Bryony--I’m assuming Bryony is inspired by Briar Rose (because roses, am I reading too much into it)-- is “the beauty”. And the “Wolf”, aka, Evander, the MMC, is the “beast”.
He’s beastly in some physical ways, as in, he growls, he’s ripped, he’s a beast in a physical sense. But mostly, metaphorically, because he’s a figurative monster. He kills peeps. He’s an “enforcer” for this other immortal guy, who's meant to be a king of the gods or something, Alexios. A god of storms, apparently.
Now, I guess, all these characters are morally grey to black. But we end up liking some of them, inevitably. Because we get to empathise with their circumstances. I mean, what is romantasy, if not for empathising with the morally grey and pitch black am I right? *We don’t condone their behavior, but we get to know their trauma, iykwim.
Anyway this story is a very dark romantasy so please mind your triggers. I’ve included everything you need to know in the The Wolf and the Crown of Blood book review and guide, from synopsis, to characters, to spice levels and spicy chapters. Triggers warnings of course. As well as tropes tropes tropes, because this one is full of them. I loved them. But tropes are subjective, so you may wanna check them out before you read it. Or not.
Okay anyway. Happy reading!
The Wolf & the Crown of Blood synopsis.
A thrilling and incredibly sexy new dark romantasy series from Sunday Times bestselling author Elizabeth May.
A princess and a war-weary god met in the ashes of a broken city, forging a pact in blood and sacrifice.
Now, centuries of fragile peace are on the brink of collapse…
Bryony Devaliant was born to die — again and again. In Vartena, royal blood is the currency of peace, with every monarch sacrificed and resurrected to appease the gods. But when rebellion stirs, the god-king sends his deadliest weapon to restore order: an immortal assassin known only as the Wolf.
Evander has perfected the art of killing over centuries — until his latest target becomes the one person he cannot destroy. When forbidden desire burns between the assassin and the sacrificial princess, their connection threatens the fragile boundary between gods and mortals. And when that boundary shatters, empires crumble. Because when gods fall in love with mortals, mortals are always the ones to break.
Inspired by Beauty and the Beast and Eros and Psyche, this dark, seductive tale is perfect for fans of Raven Kennedy's Plated Prisoner series, with the wit and spice of Callie Hart's Quicksilver. Packed with dark fairytale vibes, gothic romance, and tropes like enemies to lovers, forced proximity, death pacts, and villain-gets-the-girl, this is a story where love is as deadly as it is irresistible.
The Wolf & the Crown of Blood characters.
The Wolf and the Crown of Blood is narrated from a first person point of view, from the perspective of two main characters, which I personally find makes the yearning and push pull dynamic more delicious.
Here is a breakdown of our main characters, followed by a list of all The Wolf and the Crown of Blood characters we meet in the book one of the The Broken Accords series, by Elizabeth May.
Main characters.
Art shared by author @_elizabethmay and artist @@queen_joey via Instagram.
Main characters.
Bryony Devaliant and Evander, “the Wolf”, are our two main characters and narrators in The Wolf and the Crown of Blood.
Princess of the Blood, Bryony Devaliant.
Bryony’s life, since she was 5 years old, has been a series of ritual deaths and blood tithes and resurrections as part of a peace treaty brokered between mortals and gods/immortals.
“You grow up so quickly when you’re a ritual sacrifice. We’re vessels first, Devaliants second, and people a very distant third.” - Bryony Devaliant
Evander, the “Wolf”.
A former Prince of Turpori and future god-king of Scillari. Known as “The Wolf”, Evander is an enforcer with healer’s powers, who instead goes around killing “oathbreakers” who dare to defy Alexios, the Eternal of Asteria.
Supporting characters.
Here’s a list of all the characters in The Wolf and the Crown of Blood apart from our main ones.
Amara
Theodora Devaliant (Bryony’s sister)
Idris Devaliant (Bryony’s uncle)
Alexios, Eternal of Asteria, God of Storms
Bastien, aka “The Blade” (Evander's brother)
Elias
Arcadia
Severin
Zephyr
Idris
Lord Markus von Reding, Captain of the Thirt
Gabriel
Vespera
Silas
The Oracles
Kas
Ara
Lord Dunne
Lady Moretti
Mentioned in The Wolf and the Crown of Blood.
Amalthea Devaliant
Odessa Devaliant
Review: The Wolf & the Crown of Blood by Elizabeth May.
View my Wolf & the Crown of Blood review and follow me on GoodReads here.
Spice level: 🌶🌶🌶🌶
4/5, explicit open door, frequent spice
Monsters aren’t born, they’re made and apparently, also quite horny at least in this allegory of what it means to be a “beast” in this loosely inspired Beauty and the Beast retelling, where the roses are sentient and the libido is high.
So, if it is scorching hot spice you seek, then you may wanna give this one a peek. Although… you may not wanna be reading/listening to this on public transport or in front of your family. That could get awkward.
Conversely, I wouldn’t recommend The Wolf and the Crown of Blood if you don’t like spice. Because it’s abundant and frequent.
Just to set expectations, while this is technically enemies to lovers, it’s also very much instant lust combined with ideological hatred. A bit of “I despise your entire bloodline and totally wanna kill you in revenge… but you’re very hot and I’m DTF.” So yes, this vibe to me was excellent because I loved how it elevated the tension with that push pull dynamic.
In regards to the Beauty & the Beast vibes, what I really appreciated about this aesthetic was the fact that Evander, the wolf (the “beast”), wasn’t Bryony’s jailer. Bryony is free to leave if she pleases, but she chooses to stay with her future executioner for safety reasons, which adds a layer of agency which the OG B&B doesn’t have.
I think many readers are going to recognise a lot of familiar tropes in this, which is of course an entirely subjective preference. Personally, some tropes I love, some of them aren’t for me, but even the ones I’m not a huge fan of I thought were executed decently.
We're talking enemies to something, forbidden love, touch her and die, who did this to you with a splash of deadly trials. There are a lot more but naming them would be spoiling the fun.
The first half to me was stronger than the second half, but I still had fun. I suspect seasoned romantasy readers may find certain scenes reminiscent of another very popular series. Some will love it, some won’t.
Here are some aspects that did not quite check my boxes, though they may check yours, because reading preferences and art is subjective: a 21-year-old FMC, ~thousand year age gap and the virginal FMC trope. Personally, I'm bone-deep tired of it. However, I appreciated that Bryony's sister, Theo, doesn't play into the doe-eyed virgin archetype and I'm sure I'd be much more interested in her story.
What I DID love were the themes of sisterhood, grief, choice and agency, female rage and mental health representation.
Fwiw, pretty sure this can be read as a standalone!
Definitely check the content warnings before going in because this is quite a dark and bloody and stabby book.
Thanks so much to NetGalley and Daphne Press for the ARC.
View my review and follow me on GoodReads here. I chat about books a lot.
The Wolf & the Crown of Blood book FAQs.
SPOILER ALERT:
Some answers WILL spoil this book if you haven’t read it already. Proceed with caution.
Is The Wolf and the Crown of Blood part of a series?
Yes, The Wolf and the Crown of Blood is the book one in the The Broken Accords series by Elizabeth May. However, it can be read as a standalone as it is a complete story with beginning and end of Evander and Bryony’s romance. Each book in the series focuses on a different couple, all introduced in The Wolf and the Crown of Blood.
When will book 2 in the The Wolf and the Crown of Blood series by Elizabeth May come out?
Not too sure. Watch this space for further updates!
What are the content and trigger warnings?
War crimes and massacres
Blood
Death
Death of parent
Injury and injury details
Explicit sexual content
Violence
Murder
Classism
Gore
Torture
Grief
Cursing
Genocide
Toxic relationship
Confinement
Coercion
Child deaths/resurrection
Domestic abuse
Emotional abuse
Panic attack
Fantasy drugs
Dismemberment
PTSD
Blood play
Knife play
Blood drinking
Mention of sexual assault
Dominance and submission
Is The Wolf and the Crown of Blood spicy?
Yes The Wolf and the Crown of Blood is very very spicy!
What is the The Wolf and the Crown of Blood spice level?
Spice level: 🌶🌶🌶🌶
4/5, explicitly detailed open door spice.
What are the The Wolf and the Crown of Blood spicy chapters?
This is my personal subjective spice rating for the Wolf and the Crown of Blood, but the author has also kindly given out her spice map, so feel free to compare both ratings.
As always, spice is rated on a highly subjective spice scale, ranging from one chilli for mild and more chillies for the hotter and more explicit. Here’s where all the The Wolf and the Crown of Blood spicy chapters and action lives.
Chapter 8: 🌶️ (blood/knife play)
Chapter 15: 🌶️
Chapter 17: 🌶️
Chapter 20: 🌶️
Chapter 23: 🌶️ (blood/knife play)
Chapter 28: 🌶️
Chapter 29: 🌶️🌶️
Chapter 31: 🌶️
Chapter 32: 🌶️🌶️
Chapter 33: 🌶️🌶️🌶️
Chapter 34: 🌶️🌶️🌶️🌶️
Chapter 35: 🌶️🌶️🌶️🌶️
Chapter 37: 🌶️🌶️🌶️🌶️
Chapter 42: 🌶️🌶️🌶️
Chapter 48: 🌶️🌶️🌶️
Chapter 52: 🌶️🌶️
What are the The Wolf and the Crown of Blood tropes?
Morally grey to black characters
Dual POVs
Forbidden romance
Mortal enemies to lovers
Touch her and die
Who did this to you
Hurt/comfort
Female rage
Soul bonds/mates
Deadly trials
Beauty and Beast vibes
Eros and Psyche
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A Court of Thorns & Roses | A Court of Mist & Fury | A Court of Wings & Ruin | A Court of Frost & Starlight | A Court of Silver Flames
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