Blurb:

She’s heiress to the throne. The throne her father stole from him.

Nizzara has always been able to perceive spirits better than the average caster. When she enters a deadly tournament to end her betrothal, she's determined to win without succumbing to the addictive spirit magic she channels or taking a life in the duel ring. Finding herself outmatched, Nizzara must face her fear of power and team up with Dagen—an enemy who is half-ghost and all charm—to survive the tournament.

Dagen, the last King of Zarr, was killed by Nizzara’s father ten years ago. Now a half-ghost—able to phase between his human and spirit form—he is stuck in another realm, hunting wretched souls. When his keeper offers him a chance to reclaim his freedom in exchange for Nizzara’s soul, Dagen takes the deal.

There’s only one catch: she must freely give it to him by the tournament’s end or his own soul is forfeit.

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Fourth Wing meets The Serpent of Wings & Night in the first instalment of this action packed romantasy as they deal with the bargain hanging over their heads. Family, love, power and deception collide as Nizzara and Dagen make decisions that could change their realm forever.

Review:

Overview

Winn has crafted a stunning debut featuring a half-ghost king who must convince a stabby FMC to willingly give her soul, or else he will forfeit his own, before the end of a deadly tournament in which she battles to gain the ability to annul her betrothal. Vellesses has all of the classic elements of a romantasy but with a twist.

Characters

Winn has crafted memorable and unique characters that you can’t help but root for, even when they are on opposing sides. The female lead, Nizzara, is an angry violent princess with a heart of gold. Learning her back story as the novel progressed was heartbreaking and I grew to enjoy her character the more I learned about her. I loved Dagen, our male lead, from page one. A half-ghost soul collector who has stricken a dangerous bargain for his freedom, he must get Nizzar to willingly give him her soul, else he will lose his own. There is only one problem, she is the daughter of the man who assassinated him. The dynamic between these two is by far my favorite part of this book, the banter, the tension, the spice!

Worldbuilding

I really enjoyed the world that Winn has built, it has a classical fantasy feel with a twist that includes sports cars and a destroyed kingdom responsible for the advanced technology that no one knows how to maintain. Vesselless features a unique magic system based on vessels that link a caster to a ghost to channel their magic, there is one catch, lean too far into the power and the caster will go mad. The magic system combined with a one-on-one dueling tournament kept things interesting! 

Plot

Winn does an excellent job of introducing the world of the Merslcless Relmes series, slowly peeling back layers and making connections but also leaving plenty to be explored in the upcoming books. Watching Nizzara and Dagen both fight for a future for their realm and to achieve their own goals, which are more in line than either of them may have suspected, but knowing only one of them can win builds the tension. Add to that a budding enemies to lovers romance and Vesseless becomes impossible to put down as the story progresses. 

Enjoyment

Vesselless is a blast to read, from the combat sequences in the tournament to the dynamic between Nizzara and Dagen, to all of the mysteries of the world Winn has created. There is a reason Vesselless is a viral Tiktok sensation! This one is a must-read for all romantasy fans. 

Romance

Vesselless is a classic, pure, enemies to lovers romance. Not only is Nizzara’s father the usurper to Dagen’s throne, but Dagen is actively trying to steal Nizzara’s soul. The progression of their relationship and how they come to see each other is masterfully crafted. There is one spicy scene that is two peppers on my spic-o-meter. 

Vesslless is touted as Fourth Wing meets the Serpent and the Wings of Night and in my opinion it one hundred percent delivers. If you are a romantasy reader looking for your next read this is the book for you!