"A true man won’t cut you down as you fight your battles, nor will he fight them for you. A true man will help sharpen your sword, guard your back and fight at your side, in the face of whatever darkness comes."

With her death foretold, Althea - Thea - only has three years to become what she’s always dreamed of being: a warrior legend.

But in Thezmarr, women are forbidden to wield blades, so she has trained in secret her entire life. Now racing against the clock, she fights to secure her place in the elite guild charged with the protection of the five kingdoms.

The sparring and hazing of the new trainees border on deadly, but even more dangerous is her growing attraction to Wilder Hawthorne, her unwilling warrior chaperone.

All around them, schemes are afoot and darkness looms. Will Thea pass the perilous initiation test and take her place as a champion of Thezmarr – or will the invading evil snatch away her dream before it starts?


Blood & Steel is the gripping first book in the heart-pounding, epic romantic fantasy series, The Legends of Thezmarr.

Wilder and Thea will steal your breath, tear your heart into pieces, and leave you wanting more. Romantasy fans will love this enthralling tale . . . The enemies to lovers romance woven throughout is a symphony of skillful ripostes as these two lovers come so inexorably together - and you, the reader, fall and burn with them. -- Meg Cowley, USA Today Bestselling Author
Blood and Steel is the kind of book that grabs you by the heart and pulls you in for a glorious all nighter. A sumptuously rich fantasy world steeped in a romance that will have you begging for more. If you like enemies to lovers, found family, training sequences and stories packed full of steam you're going to devour this just like I did. -- Sacha Black, Bestselling Author
It left me both breathless and on tenterhooks for what's to come . . . Helen gives us a troubled heroine with a bold spirit and big dreams. -- Immersed in Books

Helen Scheuerer is the Sunday Times bestselling author known for her romantasy series The Legends of Thezmarr and The Ashes of Thezmarr. Her work has been highly praised for its strong, flawed female characters and its action-packed plots.

Helen’s love of writing and books led her to pursue a creative writing degree and a Master’s in Publishing. She has been a full-time author since 2018 and now lives among the mountains in New Zealand, where she is constantly dreaming up new stories.