If you’re into forbidden fated mates, tortured dragon riders, and slow-burn fantasy heat, this ARC is calling your name.
Sometimes, you get a second chance—and this one might just come with dragon wings and a dangerous secret.
If you missed your first shot to dive into Sacred Struggle by Rochelle L. Wilcox, here’s your chance to fix that. This is your invite to round two of ARC signups for one of this year’s most emotionally intense romantasy debuts.
This slow burn, releasing May 22, blends elven rebellion, dragon lore, and a fated love that threatens to burn everything down.
And here’s the kicker: active ARC readers may be invited to the Elite Dragon Riders—a special group with perks like eBooks of the full series and potential access to exclusive PR boxes. 👀
So if you’re a sucker for forbidden yearning and dragons you’ll want to adopt, don’t sleep on this.
Dive into Sacred Struggle:
An elf hiding from a malicious queen.
A rider whose dragon will be tortured if he chooses his fated mate.
What will they risk when forbidden love threatens everything else?In the land of Vanatia, Sifa’s doomed to the elven prison if she’s found.
Desperate to unearth the queen’s secrets, Sifa’s chasing answers by doing the city overseer’s dirty work. But when her boss sends her with a dangerously handsome dragon rider to the brutal prison she barely escaped years ago, she fights desire even as she confronts demons she’s still battling.Fhord’s torn between his dragon and fated mate.
When Sifa joins him on a job, he spurns their bond because in Vanatia, dragons suffer when their riders sin. If he flouts his oath to the crown by harboring an elf, Fhord won’t be able to shield his beast from the queen’s wrath.Terrified Fhord will discover her secret and betray her to the monarchy, Sifa battles their growing passion. And though Fhord’s dragon will pay the price if he falls for Sifa, his need for his mate may outweigh the risk.
Can Sifa and Fhord overcome their yearning for each other as they journey toward the prison that could threaten her freedom and his bond with his dragon?
📚 Book Details
📅 Release Date: May 22, 2025
📖 Format: Kindle Unlimited
📏 Length: 432 pages
💘 Tropes & Themes
🔮 Fated Mates
💔 Forbidden Love
⭐ Star-Crossed Lovers
⛺ Forced Proximity (One Tent!)
🌅 Slow Burn Romance
🐉 Dragon Riders (with dragons you might love even more than the people)
😠☀️ Grumpy/Sunshine Dynamic
🧝♀️ Badass Elf FMC
🎭 Secret Identity
❤️ He Falls First
🏰 Found Family
👥 Quirky Sidekicks (featuring a murderous troll and an extra-grumpy cat)
🗡️ “Touch Her and Die” Protective MMC
⚠️ Content Warnings
⚠️ Torture involving people and dragons
⚠️ Sexual assault (not between the main characters)
⚠️ Genocide (involving elves)
✍️ About the Author
Rochelle L. Wilcox is a retired lawyer who traded legal briefs for magical beasts. With an English degree in her back pocket and a love for Norse mythology, she’s now writing the stories that used to live only in her head. After finishing her first series, The Road to Ragnarök, Rochelle is back with Tales of the Vanir—a new romantasy series packed with dragons, dangerous love, and fierce heroines.
Connect with Rochelle L. Wilcox:
They were never supposed to meet. Now the world might burn because they did.
