Series: The Wretched Trilogy #1
Release date: February 24 2026
Publisher: Indie
Pages: 487
Find it: Goodreads Amazon
Source: The author kindly sent me an E-ARC to review
Rating: 5/5 stars

Synopsis

For a Godless like Azreal the Wretched, peace might be a more profitable time, but it’s no less bloody…

A decade into the armistice with Inath, the North, once united against invasion, finds itself a divided kingdom. Azreal – an infamous mage of the Northern military – operates in his native land as a contract killer, employed to hunt traitors by a king who is squabbling against his would-be usurpers.

But when the completion of his latest bounty unveils a foreign plot to dethrone the North altogether, Azreal is the only one who can cross the border and respond in kind…

Or he would have been, until betrayal at the final moment resulted in his killing of the wrong man and capture by those that he’s spent half his life fighting.

Now, imprisoned and awaiting his execution for the murder of an Inathian crown prince, Azreal finds himself across the interrogation table from Anamira Lestrade. A career criminal investigator, Ana is tasked with extracting the truth behind the assassination or dying in failure – linking the two through one last story that could stave off both their gruesome ends.

Possessed of few friends, countless enemies, magic blades that feast on his emotions, and the haunting rumors of how he won his name, Azreal the Wretched’s narrative pits him against traitorous conspiracy, brutal magical feuds, and broken promises of love. And if there is any hope of making it out alive at its end, he’ll need to conquer the price it cost him to paint the tale

Fear.

Review

Holy shit, this was a rollercoaster of a book. If you’re a grimdark fan, you do not want to miss The Price of Fear.

Initially, I was keen to pick this one up because of that brilliant cover, but the premise is so intriguing – Azreal the Wretched is one of the Godless, and he’s currently imprisoned for the murder of the crown prince of Inath. Justice Anamira Lestrade is tasked with extracting his confession before his execution. If she doesn’t succeed, she too will be executed. As Azreal recounts his dark and bloody tale, Ana soon learns there might be more to this story than she ever thought possible.

I absolutely adored this book, and it is without a doubt one of my favourite books of the year so far. This book is action-packed, it is gruesome and bloody and a completely captivating plot. I inhaled this book in just a few days, and I am already counting down the days till the release of book two. This grimdark tale has excellent worldbuilding and a really unique magic system that I was completely fascinated by – all the Godless have different powers, but that power comes at a cost, and everyone pays a unique price for that magic.

There were lots of things I loved about this book, but the standout has got to be our main character, Azreal. He’s witty and sarcastic, and the dark humour in this book definitely had me cackling on more than a few occasions. I particularly enjoyed the scenes between Azreal and Ana as she attempts to extract his story and he tries his best to push her buttons in the process. The characters all felt really well developed, and I cannot wait to see where Lyon takes the characters in the next two instalments.

The Price of Fear is an addictive, wild ride of a book. If you’re a fan of authors like Joe Abercrombie and Jay Kristoff, you definitely need to check this one out  – it’s going to be right up your street.