Bloodrite Chronicles

Bloodrite Chronicles

Slavic dark romantasy where the dead keep receipts. An exiled necromancer, a stolen royal ledger and the prince who betrayed her.

Slavic Dark Romantasy with a Necromancer Heroine and a Decade of Pining

Would you live in a world where magic can be traded like diamonds and bonds are forged in blood?

Welcome to the Bloodrite Chronicles trilogy.

If you have been looking for Slavic Dark Romantasy where the romance simmers under a murder investigation, and the heroine talks to corpses professionally, you found it.

Vidiana Toraven is a judicial death mage. Ten years ago, Prince Zoran Valentian chose her for his Bloodrite bond, then humiliated her in front of the court. She has served her exile as Warden of the Borderlands ever since, stripped of everything except scraps of her power, their unfinished bond and a grudge she keeps polished.

Then the town healer turns up dead, a stolen royal artefact surfaces under her investigation, and the prince she would rather bury walks back into her life.

The Bloodrite Chronicles is dark, epic, and plot-driven. Political intrigue, forbidden magic, and a succession crisis mix with taboo romance and a body count. The slow-burn romance between Vidiana and Zoran runs through all of it, ten years of unresolved history included. Enemies to lovers with an actual criminal record between them.

The world draws on Slavic paganism; if you’re new to it, you get to taste true Slavic mythology written by a native Polish author. Perun’s Night festivals, the Temple of Makosh, blood magic and forbidden Void Walking that carries a death sentence.

If you loved The Jasad Heir, The Foxglove King, or Crown me Dead and wanted more teeth and drier humour, start with Ledger of Souls.

Prince Zoran Valentian
Book One · Pre-Order

Ledger of Souls

Releasing 27 January 2027

Necromancer Vidiana Toraven was chosen by the bastard prince. She has cursed that day ever since. Ten years after his betrayal, she serves as the exiled Warden of the Borderlands, stripped of everything except scraps of her power and their unfinished Bloodrite bond.

Then, the town’s healer turns up dead, and the investigation of her charred corpse leads Vidiana to the Royal Ledger—a stolen artefact that decides the line of succession.

So she does the only sensible thing and hides the damned book under her floorboards.

But the ledger of kings refuses to stay buried.

As warring factions converge, filling the morgue with bodies, her nightmare finds her—Prince Zoran Valentian. The scorned heir whose claim to the throne hangs on the Ledger’s choice.

His touch completes their forbidden bond, but she would rather kiss a corpse than give the book to the traitor who destroyed her. Yet when danger closes in, Zoran shields her with his body and asks her to trust him.

But trust could kill her. And Vidiana did not survive ten years in exile to burn with the kingdom that condemned her.

Vidiana and Zoran. Ten years of rage, one unfinished bond.

What Makes the Bloodrite Chronicles Different from Other Dark Romantasy

Vidiana Toraven

Most fantasy heroines discover their power in chapter one. Vidiana has spent a decade being punished for hers. Death magic is her trade, evidence is her religion and luck is for people who have never been betrayed in public. This is not a coming-of-age story. It is a coming-back story.

The romance carries an actual criminal record. Zoran did not just break her heart, he ended her life as she knew it, and she carries the confinement rune to prove it. When he returns, the enemies part of enemies to lovers is structural. The shift costs them both, and the pining has had ten years to ferment.

The Slavic paganism is lived-in, not decorative. Perun’s Night turns the plot. The Temple of Makosh hosts a bond dissolution ritual. Void Walking, the forbidden art of summoning souls of the dead, hangs over Vidiana as a death sentence. The magic system runs on blood, crystals and consequences.

The humour is dry and the stakes are wet. Murder investigation, succession crisis, smuggling rings and a morgue that keeps filling. Vidiana narrates it all with the gallows wit of a woman who has autopsied worse days than yours.

Trigger Warnings

We appreciate that everyone has a different level of sensitivity and may be triggered by different topics. It is up to your discretion whether you can handle the content in our books.

Ledger of Souls is dark fantasy for adult readers. It contains murder, corpses and forensic scenes, blood magic, violence, torture of the political variety and a heroine branded with a confinement rune. Dark, not grimdark, with dry humour throughout.

Frequently Asked Questions About the Bloodrite Chronicles

Do I need to read Olena’s other books first?
No. Ledger of Souls opens a brand-new trilogy in a new world. If you have read Secrets of Dagome you will recognise the flavour of the politics and the general Slavic doom, but nothing carries over. Start here.
Is Ledger of Souls dark romantasy or epic fantasy?
Dark romantasy that is epic and plot-driven. The murder investigation and the succession crisis drive the story. The bond between Vidiana and Zoran runs through all of it and pays off, so romance readers are safe, but if you came purely for the kissing you will also get a body count.
When does Ledger of Souls release?
27 January 2027. Pre-orders are open now and ARC copies go out to the team ahead of release.
How dark is it?
Dark, not grimdark. There is murder, blood magic, torture of the political variety and a heroine branded with a confinement rune. There is also dry humour in every other paragraph, because Vidiana copes the way most of us do, badly and out loud.
What tropes are in the Bloodrite Chronicles?
Enemies to lovers, second chance with a twist, forced proximity, found family, morally grey heroine, slow burn, a decade of pining, political intrigue, forbidden magic and Slavic mythology.
How many books are in the series?
The Bloodrite Chronicles is a trilogy. Ledger of Souls is book one, with two more to follow.
How do I get an ARC?
Sign up through the ARC form above. ARC copies go out ahead of the 27 January 2027 release in exchange for an honest review.