Review--Roots of Darkness by Demi Winters

 

Join Hekla and the remnants of the Bloodaxe Crew as they battle the evil, poisonous mist threatening the citizens of Istré - and perhaps all of Íseldur - in Roots of Darkness by Demi Winters, an epic romantasy novella following the events of Kingdom of Claw .

Traveling the Road of Bones was only the start of Hekla's troubles.

The Bloodaxe Crew have arrived at the village of Istré - beleaguered and missing three of their members. They might be down in numbers, but Hekla "Rib Smasher" is determined they'll complete their job all the defeat the monstrous, sentient mist, and keep the citizens of Istré safe. What she didn't expect is for Istré's bullheaded chieftain to block her every move.

Exasperated, Hekla throws caution to the wind for a single passion-filled night. But to her horror, the mysterious, red-cloaked warrior to whom she's spilled her deepest secrets is the Bloodaxe Crew's new temporary leader and ally - Eyvind Hakonsson.

Hekla must now learn to play by Eyvind's rules while guarding her heart. But when it becomes clear that his plans align with the chieftain's, Hekla takes matters into her own hands.

Nothing will stop her from keeping the innocent people of Istré safe - not even the man who haunts her thoughts.

Roots of Darkness is a romantic companion novella to the Ashen series from BookTok sensation Demi Winters.

So I breezed through Demi Winters' The Ashen series to date and I decided I wanted to read Roots of Darkness because I was deeply missing Hekla and the rest of the gang! This novella takes place a week before the end of Kingdom of Claw...which time is so hard to comprehend in any series sometimes. Because a matter of days can go by if someone gets knocked unconscious or it can takes weeks to travel and all the while we read maybe 5-10 pages of this time! So basically this book takes place in the tail end events of book 2 from what I gather!

Hekla, Gunnar, and Sigrun are finishing the mission that the Bloodaxe Crew set out to do before Silla came into their lives. They are headed to the village of Istre to help them deal with a deadly mist that has been attacking their people. People have gone missing and Hekla is determined to solve the case and rid the town of their problem. Except she's dealing with problems of her own. Rey told her an old friend of his would meet her there to help her out since he was traveling with Silla. Gunnar and Sigrun have been slightly out of sorts since Ilias' death.

Hekla has a bit of a one night stand with another hunter while in Istre and when she goes to meet up with Rey's friend the next day, naturally, it turns out to be her one night stand. Eyvind is a man who challenges and infuriates her all at once. Hekla has always had to work harder to prove herself in her line of work that is dominated by males. Eyvind is working to prove himself in his own way as well, so the two naturally butt heads. Hekla has it slightly harder though as the town's leader refuses to cooperate with her and he favors Eyvind more.

So naturally, Hekla does some rule breaking in order to figure out what is going on in this town and what exactly this mist is and as you might have guessed it, chaos ensues.

This novella was definitely interesting and enjoyable. I missed seeing the Bloodaxe Crew in the second book, so this little side adventure of theirs more than made up for it. I kept wondering throughout Kingdom of Claw what the crew was up to during all this time and now we get the answer! There were definitely some shocking twists and puzzles that I did not see coming happen and I am anxious to see how this will play out in the next book! Really hoping there's a reunion of the whole crew, but we'll have to wait and see for that. I still need to go read the blurb now that I am caught up! Lol.

I was also pretty surprised that Winters included a little recap in this one since it was a novella, but appreciated nonetheless! Recaps are a blessing and I ADORE any author who includes one in their long running series! Especially one with this much detail! But really, love a recap regardless!

As it tends to be with novellas, one likely does not "have" to read this one before they dive into the next book. This is usually considered "bonus" material I feel like. Yes, you'll know the full details when this story's plot points get mentioned, but still, this was a fun and enjoyable read! There's a talking animal friend that really livened things up! I was chuckling when this guy popped up on the page!

Hekla and Eyvind's relationship was definitely more of a physical sort. I mean Hekla anticipated just a fun night with a random stranger, only to find out that he's going to be her "coworker" for this job of hers. It's a laughable situation to be sure and of course comes with its own hijinks and troubles ahead!

Needless to say this book really gets you amped up for the third book! I may have to dive into that one sooner rather than later after this too! If you're a fan of The Ashen series, I highly recommend giving this novella a try! It's a fast and delightful read that's sure to keep you entertained for a few hours!

Overall Rating 4.5/5 stars