Book Summary and Reviews of Anathema by Keri Lake

Anathema by Keri Lake

Anathema

A Dark Gothic Fantasy (The Eating Woods, 1)

by Keri Lake

  • Published:
  • Sep 2025, 624 pages
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Book Summary

Banished beyond the dreaded Witch Knell, Maevyth Bronwick stumbles into a cursed realm―and into an immortal assassin sworn to keep her hidden…or kill her.

With her blood tied to a sleeping evil and his to a dark prophecy, their fates are bound by secrets, temptation, and a love that could doom them both.

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

There are whispers about what lurks in Witch Knell―the forest where sinners go to die. The villagers call it The Eating Woods because what's taken is never given back. Only those who've lost their senses would dare to go near it.

Or the banished.

Maevyth Bronwick knows better than to breach the misty labyrinth of trees, but a tragic turn of events compels her beyond the archway of bones, to a boundary no mortal has crossed before. One that cloaks a dark and fantastical world that's as dangerous as it is alluring.

It's there that he dwells, the cursed lord of Eidolon. The one tasked to keep her hidden from the magehood that seeks to crucify her in the name of an arcane prophesy. Zevander Rydainn, known to his prey as The Scorpion, is the coldest, most calculated assassin in all of Aethyria and he'd sooner toss his feisty ward to a pack of vicious fyredrakes than keep her safe.

If only he could.

Maevyth's blood is the key to breaking his despised curse and vanquishing the slumbering evil in Witch Knell. Unfortunately for Lord Rydainn, fate has other plans for the irresistible little enchantress. And his growing obsession with her threatens to destroy everything. Including himself.

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This information about Anathema was first featured in "The BookBrowse Review" - BookBrowse's membership magazine, and in our weekly "Publishing This Week" newsletter. Publication information is for the USA, and (unless stated otherwise) represents the first print edition. The reviews are necessarily limited to those that were available to us ahead of publication. If you are the publisher or author and feel that they do not properly reflect the range of media opinion now available, send us a message with the mainstream reviews that you would like to see added.

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Author Information

Keri Lake

Keri Lake is a Gothic romance author who specializes in demon wrangling, vengeance dealing and wicked twists. Her stories are gritty, with antiheroes that walk the line of good and bad, and feisty heroines who bring them to their knees. When not penning books, she enjoys spending time with her husband, daughters, their rebellious Labrador (who doesn't retrieve a damn thing) and rescue pup. She runs on strong coffee and alternative music, loves a good red wine, and has a slight addiction to dark chocolate.

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