Web of Vows and Vengeance by. Aria Ashbrook | Book Review

My Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️💫

Spice Rating: 🌶️🌶️

Title: Web of Vows and Vengeance (The Hirathean Path, #1)

Author: Aria Ashbrook

Format: ebook (kindle unlimited)

Pages: 542

Publication Date: 1/23/26

Categories: Romantasy, Romance, Fantasy, Series

Stripped of power. Fuelled by vengeance.

She lost everything because of his lie. Now the only way to save her sister is to win a deadly competition that could cost her the only thing she has left: her life.

When Prince Kyor twisted the truth about his mother’s death, Rose paid the price. Her family was stripped of their magic, cast into the slums, and abandoned by the kingdom they once served. Now her parents are gone, and her younger sister’s future hangs in the balance.

Rose’s only hope is the Tournament of the Gifting, a brutal competition held once a century, where the victor earns a blessing from the Goddess of Life. The catch? Every other contender wields the very power she was robbed of.

And Prince Kyor is among them. Commander of the armies. Rider of a bonded dire wolf. Wielder of lightning. He doesn’t just want to win for vanity – he wants the gift for himself. But what could a man who has it all possibly want?

Thrown into a world of magic, monsters, and merciless trials, Rose must fight not only for survival but for the chance to reclaim her future. Along the way, she’ll find unlikely allies, ruthless rivals, and a dangerous connection with her greatest enemy – one that could ruin or remake her.

Web of Vows and Vengeance is a dark, slow-burn enemies-to-lovers romantasy, set in a Nordic-inspired world, featuring deadly trials, found family, gods and goddesses, political intrigue, and an underdog heroine who refuses to stay broken.

This is a story of heartbreak, vengeance, and the kind of power that can never be taken.

Content Warning: violence, death

+~ This is romantasy with many of the common tropes: enemies to lovers, found family, slow burn romance. The story focuses on deadly trials called the Rettenheld, where the winner gets to ask a gift from the Goddess Etta. Rose desperately wants to win so she can restore her family name, magic, and wealth (for her sister’s sake). I didn’t feel like the “Nordic” part of the story came through except for it being cold where they lived. Some of them have dire wolves. I thought it was interesting how this story was about a deadly trial (there are a few), and then right after the trials, a ball. So it does become repetitive in that sense. Now there is a tiny mention, fleeting really, about rebels, but nothing detailed and left kind of open, I think.

+ I did like the found family trope happening in this story since Rose is basically alone. She makes some really good connections and friends during the trials. There are some tragic moments in this story though, which I wish didn’t happen. There is also the issue of trusting people in the trial and waiting to see who would betray who in the end.

+ Rose has been training all her life ever since her family was shunned by high society for a lie told by a young prince who claimed Rose’s mom (a healer), let his mom die during childbirth. The consequences of that lie led to the death of Rose’s baby brother (life for a life), plus her mother and dad fell apart – which led to their deaths. So Rose is angry and she wants everything the way it was before for her younger sister’s sake. But when she hears the Prince has entered the trials, she also wants to kill him to get her reserve. Rose is full of heart but as an FMC, she doesn’t have very good fighting skills, no matter how much training she gets – she just comes off kind of mediocre. Also she has no magic so she’s at a disadvantage. She’s very brave, standing up to bullies, and she makes friends easily which helps her throughout the trials. Also, the attention of the prince also helps her.

+ The romance is a slow burn, enemies to lovers romance between Rose and Prince Kyor. There at first seems to be other options, but once Rose and Kyor get over their hate and anger over with one another and addresses what happened in the past – it accelerates their desire to want to explore their attraction. I thought their flirtation was fun. And I did like the journey of their growing feelings, until the ending twist. Looks like it’s not going to be easy for them if they want to be together.

~ The story is a little long at over 500 pages, and for the most part I think the pace was steady. There were parts that did feel like it was dragging. Some things felt thrown in like I would have loved more insight into the rebels since there was a hint of it in the beginning but nothing more until near the end, but again, nothing that makes it relevant though there is a feeling that the King isn’t a loved ruler. Even the dire wolves are mentioned kind of once or twice and never again.

Final Thoughts:

This one is an easy read with the usual romantasy tropes so sometimes it feels like it brings nothing new to the genre, but sometimes, that can mean it’s a comforting read too if you aren’t looking for major twists and turns. I did find it a little too long though. I loved the secondary characters that made up the found family Rose finds herself with and I thought the trials were dangerous (though sometimes over with kind of quick). The romance is a slow burn and I did like the progress of it, but it does leave me questions about what will happen to them in book two. If I read book two I would like to see more world-building.

Read if you like: