Tortured Souls (The Avonleya Series)

Valerie - vanelena.reads

Exciting and Tension Filled

"Tortured Souls is a darker, fantasy romance with lots of tension, political intrigue, meddling gods, and secrets. Cethin has recently been named king of Avonleya after his parents' passing. He needs to deep his dark magic in check, but is struggling with a recent wave of attacks on the Fae. His council believes a marriage may boost sprits and provide a Source for Cethin to replenish his magic. Kailia is an Ash Rider, a mysterious woman who appeared unexpectedly, but whose weapons are one of only two ways to defeat the phantoms hunting Avonleyans. When Cethin offers a marriage proposal - protection in exchange for her help with the phantoms - Kailia reluctantly agrees. Razik, a moody dragon shifter who has known Cethin all his life and has no love for the king, is tasked with guarding Kailia, and hopefully finding out more about her and her motivations. The three do not get along, and all are keeping secrets. I really enjoyed this one! I am newish to the Chaosverse, but coming off a recent read of the Legacy Series, I am loving how intertwined this series is with Melissa's other books. Yet, Tortured Souls can totally be read as a standalone. It is prequel of sorts to Lady of Darkness and Legacy, and there is some crossover which can be a bit of a spoiler, but Tortured Souls follows different characters and also provides important information that informs the other series. First, all the characters are fantastic - they are all flawed, they each have secrets, and as readers we are only given little glimpses of their true motivations. For me, this led to an engaging and exciting read, because I was constantly trying to figure them out, because they are so much deeper and more intricate than what they show on the surface. Razik is rebelling against a future he never wanted and didn't have a chance to choose. Cethin wants to help his people, but he knows how they perceive him, and he suddenly feels disconnected from his friends and isolated given his new role. Kailia struggles with social interactions and touch, and has her own hidden motivations for being in Avonleya. The plot develops nicely along with the character development, keeping me totally hooked throughout my read. The ending was absolutely insane, and is a true cliffhanger. I need book two as soon as possible! Thank you so much to Melissa K. Roehrich for the advanced copy of this amazing book! All opinions are my own. ["

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February 13, 2026 Verified Purchase

S

Emotional damage despite knowing where characters end up in Lady of Darkness

"To begin I would like to say I enjoyed the book and am excited to read the next. However, as someone who has read lady of darkness and the legacy series, I think I would have enjoyed this book more if I had less knowledge of her other series. For context I read legacy books 1 and 2, then all of lady of darkness, then the rest of the legacy series. I really liked that reading order and wouldn’t change it. The legacy series is my absolute favorite thing I have ever read. Personally, I enjoy a lot of mystery while reading. My blindness while reading the legacy series I think is part of why I loved it so much. In terms of reading order now that tortured souls is out, I would have kept it the same but read tortured souls before reading lady of darkness. For this book I would say at 25% is where I got invested in the story (we finally get all the characters together and the story picks up). I was really excited about a touch averse FMC. As someone who likes personal space and only enjoys hugging a very select few of people, I was interested to see a touch averse FMC explored. At first, I was slightly disappointed in the portrayal. While the MMC was respectful, I felt he could have been more respectful. However, given the way the book ends, I feel I understand now why the MMC was acting that way. It’s important to not forget that Melissa writes morally grey characters (my favorite kind of characters). Despite knowing a lot the lore and characters beforehand and understanding a lot of the bread crumbs, I will say that I felt betrayal (in a good way, from multiple fronts) at the end of the book. I personally felt hurt on behalf of the characters, which is why Melissa is one of my favorite authors (she has done this to me a few times). I am honestly really excited for the next book and I think I will enjoy it more than this one since the world is now set up. I also really enjoyed the exploration of Kailia and Razik’s dynamic. I think their personalities work well with each other. Kailia trying to figure out the history/tension between Cethin and Razik was hilarious. I liked learning about Razik and his source, which is definitely a grumpy/sunshine personality dynamic. It was nice and different to read about a neurodivergent FMC. I enjoyed that despite Kailia’s neurodivergence (and sometimes lack of social awareness), she was still very cunning and running laps around everyone else. Her love of a competition was endearing despite the aggressiveness. I really liked Cethin’s character in Lady of Darkness because of the things he was willing to do for the people he loves. In this book you really get to see how adamant he is in that endeavor. He definitely reminds me of someone in lady of darkness, especially the impulsiveness ;) ["

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February 12, 2026 Verified Purchase

Brooke Kathrene

Tortured Souls will go down as one of my top reads of the year

"If Melissa writes it, I read it. As simple as that. I went into this book expecting nothing but the best because I’m obsessed with Lady of Darkness and the Legacy series. Melissa writes some of the best characters you’ll ever read and incorporates their stories flawlessly into a top tier plot. Tortured Souls was no exception. Razik is one of my favorite characters ever, so I was super excited to learn more about his past and his dynamic with Cethin and Kailia. I loved getting so many of his POVs and diving into why he is the way that he is: broody, blunt, loyal, intense, and strong. Kailia became a new favorite character of mine. I have autism, and even though these characters live in a different world with different language and societal systems, I felt so much of myself reflected in her. It was a beautiful thing to witness neurodivergency be presented as it was in this book. Kailia is authentic, cunning, skilled, intelligent, and unexpected. Cethin is a whole different situation. I started out unsure of him because we’ve only had a few interactions with him in Lady of Darkness. Throughout this story, he was a complicated and infuriating character but in a way that shows how intelligent and creative Melissa is as a writer. This book left me with my jaw on the floor. I thought I knew what I was getting into because this is a prequel to LOD, but I was so wrong and I’m glad I was wrong. I loved everything about this book and the journey it took me on, and I will be eagerly waiting to continue the story in book 2. ["

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February 13, 2026 Verified Purchase

Alli

Infinity Stars

"CALLING ALL DARK ROMANTASY LOVERS AND NEURODIVERGENT FANTASY READERS: THIS ONE IS FOR US ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ (literal infinite stars) “Because sometimes you had to be the villain in one story to be the savior in another.” To the surprise of absolutely no one, Melissa K Roehrich has done it again. Tortured Souls takes place in Avonleya, about 20 years before the events that happen in his Lady of Darkness Series. The world building is complex, layered, but easy to grasp— and ties in BEAUTIFULLY with the rest of the multiverse. Our FMC, Kailia, is perhaps my new favorite FMC of all time. She’s blunt, neurodivergent, deeply traumatized, and stabby as hell. As a fellow neurodivergent, Kailia made me feel SEEN in a way I have never dare dreamed To find in a book. Her dry, matter of fact commentary and banter had me ceaselessly entertained. But Watching her learn how to trust and how to HEAL? And find people who were patient enough to help her learn the world around her? My heart exploded. 🥹🥹 Our MMC, CETHIN, is coming into his own on his throne after having lost his parents. Powerful and intoxicating beyond all reason, he’s willing to do whatever it takes to ensure the safety of his people and those he loves. Morally gray as all hell, but the banter between him and Kailia? Unmatched. And Razik…Our stubborn, broody, possessive, dragon? I’m in love with him and nothing will change my mind. The plot is incredible. Well paced, with PLENTY of twists to keep you on your toes. At almost no point was I correct about what was happening, or what was going to happen next. The betrayals. The turns. The stakes. The absolutely criminal cliffhanger ending?? 100000/10. MKR was already an auto buy author for me, and Tortured Souls may well be her best work yet. Did I finish This book? Or did this book finish me? It remains to be seen…but the fact remains— whatever else she writes, I’m reading it. ["

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February 12, 2026 Verified Purchase

forsakenfates

The best banter

"Melissa does such a great job with weaving her series. Even though this is a prequel series and we know these characters, there was so much we do not know and got to see in this book. Seeing the beginning of their story unfold was so much fun. My favorite part of this book was all the banter between Kailia, Cethin, and Razik. ["

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February 24, 2026 Verified Purchase