Souls in Ruin

Raven Kennedy's Gild meets Jennifer L. Armentrout's From Blood and Ash in this dark and riveting romantasy following a bastard princess caught up in the revenge of gods, the first book in a trilogy about survival, obsession, and the quiet fury of a woman who won't be forgotten. A marriage forged in blood. A kingdom bathed in silence. And a princess who refuses to break. As the king's bastard daughter, Mireille has spent her entire life scorned by her father's court. When she's forced to wed the infamous conqueror threatening her kingdom's borders, she accepts she's nothing more than a bargaining chip for a people who don't care whether she lives or dies. However, the Blood King is not what Mireille expects. His cold eyes and sharpened words stir a heat within her unlike anything she's ever known, and she wonders if this arrangement might be a blessing in disguise. Instead of being reviled by one kingdom, she could rule another. Yet the gods are not so merciful. When Mireille's wedding turns into a nightmare, the man who should have been her escape becomes her captor. Imprisoned and tormented in her own castle dungeons, she quickly learns her father's past sins are not so easily buried. In the darkness, she finds a single thread of light: the voice of the prisoner in the cell beside her, a man as mysterious as he is volatile, as dangerous as he is alluring. Dragged into a brutal struggle for survival, Mireille is caught between two powerful beings that threaten to consume her entirely—one who wants her obedience, and one who craves what little soul she has left. But Mireille was not born to kneel.

Jacqueline White is a dark romantasy author who writes emotionally driven stories about power, survival, and connection, shaped by the belief that life exists in the gray spaces. Her work blends mythic world-building with psychological depth, centered around morally complex characters whose choices are forged through trauma, desire, and resilience. She writes for readers who crave intensity and emotional honesty and find beauty not in easy answers but in endurance. When she isn't being consumed by fictional worlds, Jacqueline can usually be found curled up on the couch with Mr. White, baby White, and their rescue dog, or wandering New York City with an iced matcha in hand.