The never list

The sumptuous first book in the Never List series from Presley (The Veil of Blood & Magic) combines deliciously smutty romance with a surprisingly strong fantasy foundation. In the stratified kingdom of Lumathyst, Rylee is an Ashlander, a group condemned to a life digging in the kings' mines, and a thief. But she's also secretly a demi, someone with the blood of the goddess running through their veins--and if that ever got out, her life would be in danger. Lumathyst is ruled by four cruel, immortal god-kings, each of whom has a son, a quartet of princes known collectively as the Legends of Chaos. To cement their power, these princes must find one woman strong enough to be the fated mate of all four of them. Multiple choosing ceremonies, where this mate is selected, have gone awry, and during the most recent failure, Rylee's sister mysteriously disappeared. So when the princes try again, she disguises herself and sneaks into the ceremony to investigate--only to wind up getting chosen herself. Intrigue flies as Rylee keeps her identities secret from her new lovers. Meanwhile, the polyamorous love story packs some serious heat: brooding Jax, sweet Axl, intellectual Pierce, and gentle Kal each bring something unique to their spicy romances with Rylee, but it's when they're all together that the relationship works best. This is BookTok catnip. (Apr.)

A woman beset by four gorgeous, magical princes enjoys them all in this rollicking fantasy romance. Rylee Gray, a downtrodden Ashlander in the kingdom of Lumathyst, infiltrates the royal palace to snoop for information on her missing sister, Erin, by attending the Choosing, a masked ball at which a woman is selected to be the collective mate of the Legends of Chaos, the realm's four princes. Rylee hates royalty and is dismayed when she herself is chosen, which contractually obligates her to have sex with the Legends; but her dismay ebbs when she beholds their handsome faces, splendid physiques, and beguiling powers. There's nice-guy Kal, who can fly; earthy horndog Axl, who controls the sea; suave brainiac Pierce, who reads minds; and, most tantalizing of all, brooding bad-boy Jax, dubbed the Nightmare for his wolfish grin and ability to emotionally manipulate people into feeling terrified. To assess compatibility, Rylee spends a month at each Legend's estate getting to know him personally and carnally, and, for good measure, she helps fight a rebel group called the Faders. But she worries that she will be executed if it's discovered that she's an Ashlander as well as a "demi" with the power to control wind; both conditions disqualify her from matehood. She also fends off Jax's cruel father, King Baydel, who vacillates between trying to rape her and wanting to kill her. Rylee's courage, compassion, and erotic adventurousness soon has the Legends--even prickly, sardonic Jax--eating out of her hands. She then faces a final hurdle to becoming their official mate: the Athanry, a ritual that will make her immortal--if she survives it. Presley's sketchily developed fictive world is full of contrivances designed mainly to set up Rylee's lavish, graphically detailed sex scenes, which include spanking, bondage, disembodied mental sex, group sex, and floating-up-in-the-sky sex. Fortunately, her punchy prose conveys it all with elegant characterizations--"She was a jagged diamond of indifference in a sea of attention-seeking wealth"--and horny verve. ("He's so damn tall, with bronze skin over tons of muscle, and his energy is just as large. It's a marvel there's space enough for him in this room; it makes me wonder what else about him might be big.") Rylee's mix of public feistiness and bedroom submissiveness to her buff suitors will keep readers stimulated. An entertaining sex romp sprinkled with sword-and-sorcery pixie dust. Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.