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.)