Once Upon a Demon’s Heart by K.M. Moronova is a stunning enemies-to-lovers romantasy with demigods and demons reckoning with a brutal war and the dangerous consequences of prejudice. It’s the first book in the ongoing Cruel Fates Duet.
He has slain me on the battlefield in twenty time loops, but this time I’m marrying him.
For thirty years, the demons and the demigods have been at war, and the demigods are on the brink of extinction.
Alira, a demigod knight, is stuck in a time loop. Each time she is slain by the fearsome demon known as the Blood Knight, she finds herself reset, one week before his raid on her kingdom. No one believes her, and no matter how hard she fights, she can’t stop it.
So she decides to try something new, something completely insane. If it works, it will damn her for the rest of her life. Alira offers herself as the bride required to wed a demon to fulfill the terms of the proposed peace treaty.
Her rare bloodline makes her an enticing candidate, and the demon king accepts the offer, but to Alira’s warring dread and relief. When it is time for her to surrender herself to her betrothed for the sake of peace in the realm, she finds out the Duke she is set to marry is none other than the Blood Knight himself, and he plans to make her suffer.
Once Upon a Demon’s Heart is a true enemies-to-lovers story. There is deep and painful hatred between these characters. They are both brutal warriors who have seen some serious shit that weighs heavily on their souls and impacts every interaction they have.
Somehow, despite that, there remains from the start a dark sort of attraction between Alira and the demon. It’s an impressive balance that the author is able to strike with these characters, walking the thin line between love and hate.
I wish it wasn’t you, little godling
Given the relationship between Alira and the Blood Knight, there is the trademark tension that makes enemies-to-lovers so divine. There is immediately a heat and fire that comes from their hatred.
The sparing sex scenes in this book were amazing, and felt very authentic to the characters, but also very much felt like a tease for what’s to come in the series.
This story sets up the conflicts and begins the world-building very quickly and clearly. It’s easy for readers to find footing in this fantasy that seemed to give Roman Empire vibes in places.
Amidst all this spicy fantasy excellence, there are deeper themes at play in this story. There’s a focus on how these warring sides are much more alike than they realize, although they are dedicated to demonizing each other. Beyond that, there is a clear lesson in these pages about the dangerous cost of prejudice.
Once Upon a Demon’s Heart had me falling hard for this world and these characters. I absolutely loved this story, and I can’t wait for the conclusion of the duet, Once Written in Gilded Blood, coming July 21st, 2026.
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