Web of Vows and Vengeance (The Hirathean Path, # 1)
By: Aria Ashbrook
Publication: February 27, 2026 by Hellhound Press Limited
542 pages
Genre: Adult, Fantasy, Romantasy
Source: Personal Kindle Library
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Goodreads description--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.
I kept seeing Web of Vows and Vengeance praised on Instagram. And then I believe I got it on sale.
I will say that Web of Vows and Vengeance has several tropes that romantasy readers will be familiar with. Enemies to lovers. Deadly trials. Betrayal. But the magical world was unique enough for me that I wasn't bothered by similarities most of the time.
Rose's mother was a healer/midwife. I can't remember if her magic was of a healing kind or if she was just familiar with herbs and tonics in a more non-magical way. But she was called to deliver the queen's baby. Yet complications arose, and the queen begged for Rose's mother to save the baby and not herself. Rose's mother complied, but in the end both baby and mother died in childbirth. Rose was present, if I remember correctly. And for some reason, so was Prince Kyor--though only a child at the time. Prince Kyor was so grieved that he lied to the king and told his father that the queen begged for her life to be saved. As punishment, the king stripped Rose's entire family of their magic as payment for not saving the queen and ordered Rose's newborn brother to be killed as payment for the son's life that he lost. Rose's mother and father both died shortly after. I can't remember exactly what the cause of death for the mother was said to be, but the father fell into drunkenness, which ultimately led to his death. Rose was left to take care of herself and her younger sister Kay while banished to the slums.
Every hundredish years, the Retterheld is a tournament offering a chance to win a gift from the Goddess of Life in this magical world. The would-be participants have to sneak into a guarded temple and offer a sacrifice of tears to enter their name in the tournament. And then the goddess tells her priestesses the names of those whose offering she accepts. Of course, Rose's offering is accepted. And Prince Kyor's offering as well. It isn't hard to understand what Rose hopes to be gifted. She wants a better life for herself and Kay, what was stripped from them. But not many (or any) of the other contestants are willing to share what it is they are hoping to be gifted should they win. And so we are left wondering about that.
The contestants are to be kept separate from their families throughout the contest, yet they aren't without interaction with some outsiders, like staff or training commanders. The contestants need allies to complete several of the challenges. Rose, thankfully, allies herself with the contestants from the Eastern Isles. And over time, Prince Kyor comes to realize he needs to atone for his lies, and he tries to do so by training Rose and helping her in whatever ways he can.
I was annoyed with a few things. All of the side characters that we know anything about their romance situations fit into diversity categories. Also, why does every book that includes deadly trials also have various balls thrown in? Jonas was basically Dain from Fourth Wing. And then that ending frustrated me so much. It ends in what I call a "negative cliffhanger." Those things serve a purpose, but they actually have me dreading the next book in the series rather than dying to know what's going to happen next.
Also, there were several things introduced into this book/world that never got addressed again. One would assume they will come back around as important in other books in the series, yet, I'm having a hard time wondering why Dinah gave Rose the specific dagger that she did yet the only purpose it had in this book was to drive her to the library, where she never did find any information about the blade, or if she did besides a name, it never came into play during her trials at all. She never even used it. Ruben never came back around. How or why one bonds a dire wolf, and what the connection actually means, is never addressed. What's the deal with the ravens? What about this tonic that her mother used to make that she should be taking but isn't? It doesn't seem to be the preventative type of tonic. It's more of a health tonic that she disregards now that she's being fed properly, but why mention it at all if it isn't going to come back around? Why even introduce William? He is a superfluous character if I ever saw one.
Favorite quotes:
-Starvation encourages many nefarious skills. I regret none of my lessons though, only the circumstances that led me to them.
-...no matter how deadly a monster is, you need only fear it when it draws close enough to bite. Which is why I intend to show them all how well the past years have sharpened my teeth.
-‘From my experience,’ he says, ‘one who cannot find happiness within the gifts they have already been given will struggle to be satisfied by more.'
-‘The best thing you can do is know yourself. Know your weaknesses. Know your fears. Know your strengths. Know when you can push yourself, and when you need to slow down. Knowing yourself inside and out, that’s the best preparation you can get.’
-'...a life lived in hate is no life at all.’
Web of Vows and Vengeance wasn't a perfect read for me. It had a slow start, and I kept falling asleep. But once I got invested, I wanted to keep reading. I found a lot of things mentioned once and never addressed again. At this point, I'm giving the authors the benefit of the doubt that all or most of them will come into play in future books, but if not, then that's frustrating. I don't love the forced diversity. You can tell because the ratio of characters is off. And I did get annoyed with the spicy scenes. Once the spice starts, it takes over the storyline a bit too much for my preferences. Also, the ending of the book was a bit stupid (aka, frustrating). In the end, Web of Vows and Vengeance gets 3.5 Stars. If the hanging pieces come into play in the other books, then I might be willing to change this rating. Have you read Web of Vows and Vengeance? Let me know!
This review is part of my All Things Halloween event--a month of fantasy, paranormal, supernatural, mystery/thriller, etc reviews and books.
