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The Bounty of Blood and Nails

N.K. Brown

3.79

Tam is a heartless, ruthless bounty hunter—or so her handler would have you believe.

With her ability to use forbidden blood magic, Tam tracks and captures her prey. The same blood magic that curses her to a life of servitude under a cruel handler—one wrong move and not only her life, but her family’s will be at stake. But when she’s sent to a remote, superstitious northern town where even a glimmer of magic will send you to the gallows, she’s forced to confront the darker consequences of her work.

After the murder of her bounty, innocent townspeople are blamed—and Tam’s conscience begins to stir. But there’s no turning back. Her handler raises the stakes, and her next mission is even more infiltrate the royal castle and capture the enigmatic Prince Bellinor. Disguised as a maid, Tam is drawn into a world of deadly secrets, where her words are whispered into the prince’s ears through an ancient magic she’s never faced before.

To get close to the prince, she befriends his loyal bodyguard, Clement, but the deeper she digs, the more she realizes that Clement’s destiny is tied to the prince. With time running out and the castle tightening, Tam is forced to watch the trial of the people blamed for her own prior actions. But will she complete the mission—or risk it all as she falls in love with the person whose life she must destroy?

In this fast-paced, thrilling tale of magic, betrayal, and forbidden love, Tam will have to decide if being the bad guy is worth losing everything.

FantasyScience FictionRomanceParanormal RomanceAdult
Pages
302
First published
March 3, 2026
Edition
Ebook

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Reviews

  • Started February 9, 2026 · Finished February 18, 2026

    Thank you to The Nerd Fam for the gifted eARC! I really liked the premise of this book. A bounty hunter is sent to kill a prince after the countless disappearances and murders of young women who cross his path. However, once she gets there, things are not as they seem, and more is at stake than she initially thought. The setbacks and frustrations in this book felt very real. I liked the descriptions of the food, the clothing, and the environment a lot. I loved the general creepiness of the castle, especially with its off-kilter prince and labyrinthine magic. What fell short for me was the way relationships formed and faltered between our characters. To me, our FMC and her love interest felt too insta-lovey, their sexual tension short-lived and sated in a kind of mundane way. And her relationship with her employer was just uncomfortable at times to read. I liked her sisterly dynamic with Lilyanna though: a perfect embodiment of (platonic) grumpy x sunshine. Overall, I still really liked this book. I just wish it were longer though, to give these relationships a little more time to develop at a pace that didn’t feel stunted. THE BOUNTY OF BLOOD AND NAILS comes out on 03/03/2026!