Anathema – by Keri Lake
Book 1 in The Eating Woods Duology

Only the banished know what lies beyond the woods...

Whispers haunt the village of Witch Knell—of a forest that devours the lost and the damned. They call it The Eating Woods, where sinners go to die and the mist never lifts. None who enter ever return.

But when tragedy drives Maevyth Bronwick beyond the archway of bones, she crosses a boundary no mortal was meant to breach—and finds herself trapped in a realm of cursed souls, ancient magic, and monstrous beauty.

There, in the heart of the dark, dwells Zevander Rydainn, the Scorpion Lord of Eidolon—an assassin bound by a curse as old as the woods themselves. Cold, ruthless, and unwilling to protect the woman whose blood could destroy him, he finds his fate twisted with hers in ways neither can escape.

Desire is a dangerous weapon. And in a world where prophecy bleeds and monsters rule, even love can be a death sentence.

✨ Tropes: gothic fantasy, enemies-to-lovers, reluctant protector, cursed hero, forced proximity, forbidden magic, slow-burn obsession
✨ For fans of: For the Wolf, The Serpent and the Wings of Night, Kingdom of the Wicked, and A Dowry of Blood
✨ Features: a haunted forest of bone and mist, a cursed assassin with a monster’s heart, a heroine with forbidden power in her veins, and a love story that defies both prophecy and damnation
✨ Dark, atmospheric romantasy where horror and desire entwine—and salvation may be the cruelest curse of all.

"In the woods that eat the living, even monsters crave a taste of redemption"