Book Review: We Who Will Die by Stacia Stark
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We Who Will Die by Stacia Stark
Thank you to NetGalley and Avon and Harper Voyager for the free copy of this book!
Publishing Date: December 30, 2025
Series: Empire of Blood #1
Genres: Adult // Fantasy, Romance
Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️.5
Spice Rating: 🌶️🌶️🌶️ (Open Door)
Quick Thoughts: I had a lot of fun with We Who Will Die, a Roman-inspired romantasy featuring vampires and gladiator trials. Once the plot got moving, it was hard to put down. The childhood-friends-to-lovers romance had me emotionally invested, but the glimpses of a potential love triangle are intriguing. My one complaint is that the world-building felt incomplete, but definitely continuing this series to see what happens next!
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Death
Violence
Injury/Injury Detail
Addiction
Suicide
Loss of Parent
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Vampires
Roman-Inspired Setting
Deadly Trials
Childhood-Friends-to-Lovers
Potential Love Triangles
What is We Who Will Die About?
From the bestselling author of the Kingdom of Lies series comes a slow-burn romantasy set in a Roman-inspired world ruled by merciless vampires. Filled with breathtaking combat, vengeful gods, and magical creatures, We Who Will Die is the epic first installment in an enthralling new series perfect for fans of Carissa Broadbent, Jasmine Mas, and Rebecca Yarros.
Life in the perilous Thorn district is a constant battle for Arvelle and her younger brothers. And the vampire standing on her doorstep is about to turn their world upside down.
Faced with an unthinkable choice, Arvelle makes a magically binding vow to do the impossible: kill the emperor, an ancient vampire created by the god Umbros. But first, she must enter the Sundering—an arena where only the fastest, strongest, and deadliest survive long enough to be selected for the emperor’s elite guard.
She quickly draws the ire of the Primus, the powerful figure charged with protecting the emperor. But the vampire under the armor is the last person Arvelle expects to encounter in the emperor’s court.
With her brothers’ lives in the balance, Arvelle has no choice but to ally with the man who once shattered her heart… and with the emperor’s sadistic son, Rorrik—two vampires whose motives are impossible to pin down. Rorrik holds the key to understanding the powers Arvelle is developing—abilities that would put a price on her head if discovered by the emperor.
To survive the arena and complete her mission, Arvelle must get to the bottom of a conspiracy that will change everything she thought she knew about herself—and the two vampires who are deeply entwined with her destiny…
We Who Will Die Review
When I was younger, I was absolutely obsessed with Ancient Rome, so when I saw We Who Will Die was a Roman-inspired romantasy with vampires and gladiator trials, I knew I wanted to pick it up immediately. I had a lot of fun reading this and thought it was a good "brain-off" read, though it definitely had some issues that kept me from loving it.
World-Building & Pacing
The story took a while to get moving, with the first half of the book being mostly setup and world-building coming at us in little snippets scattered throughout. I felt like the author was trying to avoid info-dumping, but the piecemeal delivery of context made the world-building feel incomplete and unclear. When a story is introducing us to multiple deities, magic systems, or politics between courts (or all of the above!), I appreciate some longer, exposition-heavy sections early on so I'm not confused halfway through. As it was, I found myself constantly searching my Kindle for missing explanations or definitions, which pulled me out of the story.
That said, once Arvelle hit her stride in the trials and I had enough information to piece together the stakes, it was hard to put down. The action and bloody trials were entertaining, and I genuinely liked Arvelle as a tough FMC who knows how to look after herself.
Romance
Now, the romance: the main romance is a childhood-friends-to-lovers and second chance romance between Tiernon and Arvelle. Tiernon is the sweet male love interest who never hesitates to protect Arvelle and put her first. We got just enough of their backstory for me to get emotionally invested. If you love second chance romances and characters working through their feelings, you might like their relationship. There is also spice between them, but nothing to write home about.
This book is also marketed as a love triangle. It needs further development, but the vibes are definitely there. Rorrik, the emperor’s cruel elder son, is clearly being set up as the cold, morally gray male that’s typical in romantasies. A lot has to happen to get to a believable love triangle, but the intrigue is there and I need to continue the series to find out which male character ends up being the endgame.
So, should you read We Who Will Die?
Overall, I recommend this for anyone looking for a popcorn read or if you typically like deadly trials, vampires, and gritty FMCs. Just go in knowing the world-building isn’t perfect and there is a potential for a love triangle to develop in later books.
Check out this review on Goodreads or Storygraph.
Happy reading!
Kim
We Who Will Die FAQs
Some of the answers may be spoilers if you haven’t read it already. Proceed with caution!
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No, We Who Will Die by Stacia Stark is not a standalone. It’s the first book in the Empire of Blood series.
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We Who Will Die is a 3 🌶️ or open door. Readers are in the room when the spice scenes happen but we’re spared from a lot of explicit detail.
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The spicy chapters in We Who Will Die are:
Chapter 25
Chapter 27
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As of the publishing of this book, the sequel to We Who Will Die has not been announced yet.