Early Review – The Dark in Her Veins by M.K. Lobb (3/5 stars)

Reading Level: Adult
Genre: Paranormal
Length: 335 pages
Publisher: Sourcebooks Casablanca
Release Date: August 25, 2026
ASIN: B0FXBR4JM1
Stand Alone or Series: 1st book in The Dark in Her Veins series
Source: eGalley from NetGalley
Rating: 3/5 stars

“In Valestadt, everything has a price. Sin leaves its mark in the form of the Bloodrot, a slow-creeping disease that leads to madness, then death. The rich outsource their violence. The poor sell theirs and suffer the cost.

Talin Keller is a sinner. Employed by the holiest man in the city, the Prophet, she stains her hands so his can stay clean. But with her Bloodrot rapidly advancing, Talin knows her next job could be her last.

Then a new assignment puts Talin on a collision course with the Warden, a shadowy figure whose name is spoken like a warning. If she can get close, she can trade his life for her own freedom—and escape the death her sins have promised. That is, if she can stay steady on the knife’s edge.

Because Talin is dangerously drawn to the Warden. He is sharp, cruel, and whatever blazes in him sparks against every dark part of her. If she isn’t careful, her plans will burn.

As savior and sinner tangle, Talin uncovers a conspiracy tied to the past she thought dead. And in Valestadt, where sin is currency, she’ll have to decide what she’s willing to pay to survive.”

Series Info/Source: This is the first book in a series. I got this on ebook to review from NetGalley.

Thoughts: This was very engaging and readable, but I wasn’t a huge fan of the dynamics between the main characters. The world-building was also spotty and a bit confusing. I didn’t realize that this is the first in a series (the author did come on Goodreads to mention that there is a sequel). However, when I picked this up for review on NetGalley it seemed to be a stand alone. It ends on a huge cliffhanger with no resolution, so if you hate that (like I do), maybe wait for the sequel to come out before you read this book. This story has a vintage paranormal romance feel to it. The heroine is very damaged, and the male lead gives very dangerous alpha vibes. It reminds me of paranormal romance I read in the late 1990’s, early 2000’s.

This book follows Talin Keller, a professional sinner. She works for the holy leader of the city, the Prophet Gabriel. Her job is to do what Gabriel can’t and commit sins (murder, extortion, etc) on his behalf. Her latest job has her meeting the Warden, a twisted and cruel man who runs the seedier district of the city. When she learns secrets about the Warden that the Prophet can’t let the public learn, she strikes a deal with the Prophet. She will help the Prophet on one more job to take out the Warden, and then she wants to be free to sin no longer and hopefully stop the Bloodrot that is taking over her body.

This is an incredibly dark world and story. I found the idea of people having a physical manifestation of sin become apparent on their body intriguing. Unfortunately, the world-building itself feels a bit incomplete. We get some background on the world through excerpts from various books at the beginning of each chapter. However, the story is very much limited to a single city, and while there is occasional mention of other parts of the world, I couldn’t really figure out if this religious rule was a world-wide thing or a city-wide thing or what. I also never fully understood why the Bloodrot started happening. It sounds like it didn’t used to be a thing and now it is? So, yeah, the world is a bit confusing if you think about it too much.

The plot of the story is fairly basic. Talin is trying to perform a bait and switch between two very dangerous men in hopes of getting away from Gabriel or somehow getting cured. She desperately doesn’t want to be killed by the Blootrot taking over her body.

All of the characters in here are dark and moody, with dark and dangerous personalities and wants. This is not at all a light-hearted book. The “relationship” between Talin and either man (Gabriel or the Warden) is definitely not one of mutual respect. The Warden seems to enjoy Talin’s fierceness, and Talin says she hates him but is strangely drawn to him. This kind of “romance” always makes me roll my eyes a bit. However, the author does wrap this into the fact that both Talin and the Warden are into BDSM and both like to be tops and bottoms. Kudos to the author for trying to portray this as a respectful relationship (if not a healthy one). The Warden does talk about how he respects strong women like Talin and enjoys the fact that he can help them find pleasure by taking the lead.

While I respect what the author is trying to do here, it wasn’t really for me. All the characters in this book feel a bit off and unpleasant to me. I think some readers will really enjoy the dark and twisted vibes to these characters. I even think a younger me would have enjoyed it more. However, I just like my characters a bit more respectful of each other and a bit more self-actualized.

My Summary (3/5): Overall this was okay. I liked the idea behind this world but also found it a bit shallow and confusing. I liked that the author tries to portray the BDSM scenes as something that can be done between mutually respectful partners, however this falls short because the female lead doesn’t seem to feel the same way the male lead does. Both the story and the world take a back seat to the dark romance here. I don’t plan on finishing the sequel to this even though this ended on a horribly cliffhanger. At the end of this, I mostly thought, “Well, good, maybe everyone will get what they deserve here.” because I didn’t really like any of the characters. If you are looking for a dark urban fantasy romance with BDSM vibes this might be for you.