Carved in Crimson Review

I received this book for free in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.

Carved in Crimson (Heirs of Lirien #1) by Annabelle McCormack
Narrator: Elizabeth Grace
Series: Heirs of Lirien #1
on March 19, 2026
Length: 15 hours, 15 minutes
Genres: Fantasy, Fantasy & Magic, Romantasy
Pages: 532
Format: ALC
Source: Provided by PR / as part of author's street team
Goodreads

Sworn enemies. Bound by blood. Tempted by fate.
In the cursed forests of Lirien, Seren Ragnall lives by blood and blade. As a warrior of the rebel Viori, she’s sworn to kill any Lirien loyalist she encounters. But when a Lirien soldier saves her life—wounding himself in the process—Seren does the she spares him. To keep him from execution, she invokes a forbidden blood oath that binds their fates . . . and their souls.
What Seren doesn’t know is that her captive isn’t just any soldier. Rykr Westhaven is the exiled heir to the Lirien throne—a prince with a price on his head and enemies closing in. If the Viori discover who he truly is, they’ll kill him—and her for protecting him.
Condemned to a brutal trial by combat to earn their freedom, Seren and Rykr must fight side by side—against monsters, rivals, and the heat simmering between them. Their bond was forged in blood, but it sparks something darker, hungrier. What began as duty becomes desire, and every touch threatens to unravel the lies they’ve told to survive.
Because when the truth comes to light, the only thing more dangerous than your sworn enemy . . . is the one you can’t live without.
Carved in Crimson is the first book in the Heirs of Lirien series, romantic fantasies set in a mythical land. Content includes violence, battle scenes and wounds, strong language, and open door, steamy romantic content.

 

 Julie’s Review:

I rec’d this book as an ALC as part of the author’s street team, under Crowns and Chaos PR. 

Overall: I think this series has promise, and the second half of the book got interesting, but it took a while for me to get into and care about the characters.

Audio: The audio narration was done by one person, and she did a great job with all the voices. The male and female voices all sounded unique! The issue I experienced might have been due to editing or BookFunnel delivery, but the male voices were so quiet compared to the female voices. Every time the POV changed, I had to turn the book up really loud, but I still struggled to make out everything that was said. I think that took a lot of the enjoyment away.

Plot: It was pure chaos all the time. They kept getting attacked by monsters or by her own people! It starts with these two meeting in the woods, getting attacked by a beast. The MMC saves her life and gets gravely injured. But you see, he’s from an enemy society. A society they are at war with. But the FMC feels honor-bound to save him because she owes him a life debt, so she takes him to her village to heal him. Her people want to execute him for being the enemy, and so, to save his life, she takes a blood oath to bind herself to him as his wife. Real impulsive she is. What I found awkward is that she is the only one in her village who believes she owes him anything for saving her life. So, that felt like a forced plot point. And sentencing them to the trials where few survive felt a bit over the top. But then, until we even got to the trials, all kinds of crazy things happened, which I struggled with. A lot of it felt jumbled and chaotic for a fantasy plot. Also, since there’s a crown on the cover, the secret identity wasn’t that surprising. But there were some surprising plot twists and enemies I didn’t expect to end up being the villain, so that was interesting.

FMC: Like I said, impulsive as get out. Maybe doesn’t think things through enough, which is typical for a barely adult.  Because forcing a bond with your enemy to “buy some time” is silly, especially since it’s so… erm… binding. I didn’t care for her very much. She didn’t have much of a character arc. She wasn’t powerful or strong (not magically or mentally) or able to save herself. A female character written by a female author, and I didn’t root for her at all.

MMC: He has secrets, so he covers up his lies with teasing and jokes and swagger. I liked him quite a bit. See why:

“Trust me, if I ever write a love story, it won’t start with ‘Once upon a time, I was beaten, bound, and married by force.’” – Rykr

“Being flogged, shackled, and held against my will wasn’t how I’d pictured my wedding day, either.” – Rykr

“Insult her again,” Rykr said to Seth, his voice low and dangerous, “and you’ll regret it. Bound or not, I protect what’s mine.” – Rykr

“I knew he was skilled after the nights of training—but this? Five hours straight? What else can he do for five hours?” – Seren (about Rykr)

Romance: It was a slow burn but full of lust from the start. And was it because of the bond, or did they fall for each other despite it? That’s hard to say, because the bond forced their connection to be so severe. I struggle with forced bonds driving the romance because I don’t know if they truly chose each other.  When they finally gave in to their desires, the spice was spicing!  But again, it felt sudden and out of the blue. In one chapter, he’s talking about how he needs to get back to his people and take on his responsibility, and in the next, he’s confessing his love for her. The attraction between them was believable, but the sudden love was not.

The Bond: Because it’s like a character of its own. This bond changed both of them, not just giving them a connection and being able to sense each other as these bonds typically do, but it went deeper. Allowing them to reach into each other and increase their abilities was a really interesting point. The bond had some serious consequences, too, and some shocking reveals at the end. And the MMC got the better end of the deal for sure.

It had potential, but had a rough start. But the ending was very interesting and I am curious to see how it continues in book 2. I am learning not to write off an entire series based on book 1.

 

Tropes: 

🗡️Romantasy

🗡️Enemies to Lovers

🗡️Forced Proximity

🗡️Slow Burn

🗡️Marriage of Convenience

🗡️Forbidden Love

🗡️Blood Oath/Soul Bond

🗡️Elemental Magic

🗡️Unique Magic Systems

🗡️Found Family