What Fury Brings by Tricia Levenseller

Synopsis:

There's a shortage of men in the kingdom of Amarra. After a failed rebellion against the matriarchy, most noblemen in the country are dead. Now the women of Amarra must obtain their husbands (should they want one) by kidnapping them from other kingdoms.

Olerra, a warrior princess vying for the throne, is determined to prove her worth by kidnapping a husband. And not just any husband. To outmaneuver her treacherous cousin, she needs the best. Fortunately, the second-born prince of their greatest enemy is widely known for both his looks and his sweet, docile temperament. He's the perfect choice to secure her claim to the throne.

Sanos, heir to the Kingdom of Brutus, has nothing but contempt for the idea of a society run by women. Trained from birth to fight, lead, and follow in his father's overbearing footsteps, his path has always been set. Until he takes his younger brother's place in a drunken prank and finds himself kidnapped, carted off to the Amarran Palace, and informed that he is to become the husband of Queen Potential Olerra. Sanos needs to escape before anyone learns his real identity, but the more he gets to know his captor, the less sure he is of what he truly wants. 

My Review:

This Book Left Me Breathless—in the Best Way Possible

There are over 170,000 words in the English language, and somehow none of them feel adequate enough to describe what this book made me feel. Dramatic? Maybe. But I’m sitting here stunned, raw, and absolutely in awe. This book didn’t just entertain me—it cracked me open. It gave me something I didn’t even know I was looking for. And now that I’ve found it, I can’t stop thinking about it.

Nothing I’ve read comes close to this. It plunged into uncharted emotional territory and forced me to confront truths I didn’t realize I was avoiding—even as a self-proclaimed feminist. There were moments I caught myself thinking, Wait…no, this can’t be right, only to realize how deeply internalized certain beliefs were. And that’s the brilliance of this story: it challenges, it provokes, and it transforms.

Let’s talk about the characters—because wow. Olerra, our fierce female main character, is a general in her kingdom’s army. In her world, women are divinely gifted with strength, physically. And Olerra? She’s the embodiment of everything I want to see more of in fiction: powerful, compassionate, strategic, plus-size, and unapologetically herself. She’s not just a warrior—she’s a queen in every sense of the word.

Then there’s Sanos, the man she steals—yes, steals—as part of a tradition to prove her dominance and worthiness to rule. Initially resistant and brutish (true to his culture), he slowly begins to unravel the toxicity of his own male-dominated upbringing. Watching his growth, his understanding, and his quiet strength evolve was nothing short of captivating. He’s not just a love interest—he’s a revolution in motion.

This book is a brilliant "what if"—a mirror flipped. What if the power dynamics were reversed? What if women ruled the world and men had to endure what women have for centuries? It’s a bold, biting, and utterly unforgettable exploration of gender, power, and the systems that shape us. Tricia Levenseller channels generations of feminine rage and wraps it in a story that is at once fantastical and painfully real.

If you’re craving a book that breaks the mold, that dares to ask the hard questions and doesn’t flinch from the answers, add this to your TBR immediately. Prepare to question everything, to feel everything, and to come out the other side changed.

This isn’t just a book—it’s an awakening.