The story follows Freya Thorne, a young woman condemned to the Severing, a ritual that strips the unworthy of their very identity. In Selvarra, worth is measured by the beasts you bond with and the divine magic you wield. Freya fails. She’s left unbonded, cast into the margins, and expected to fade away. But instead of vanishing, something older and darker takes root inside her. A chain that awakens when everything else has abandoned her. What unfolds is both survival and defiance as she discovers a hidden path, the Ashen Chain, and begins carving out a destiny no one planned for her.

The prose is sharp, almost like it’s meant to cut, but there’s beauty in that edge. Kaye doesn’t waste words, and the imagery lingers. Blood, ash, chains that breathe. The writing feels alive, dangerous even, and I found myself rereading sentences just to taste them again. Sometimes it was overwhelming, like being dragged under by a tide, but it always felt deliberate, like the author wanted me to breathe with Freya, to choke when she did. There were moments I felt both exhilarated and unsettled, which, honestly, is exactly what I want in a fantasy like this.

As for the characters, they don’t come polished. Freya’s anger, her hunger, her brokenness, they’re messy and raw, and that’s what made me care. Kellen is fire wrapped in restraint, and their dynamic has this slow-burning pull that had me tensing every time they shared a scene. It’s not clean romance; it’s jagged and full of what-ifs. The world itself is merciless, dressed in ceremony and illusion but rotten underneath. That contrast between beauty and brutality made me furious at times. I hated how the system treated the Severed, and yet I loved how the story leaned into that cruelty to show what resistance really looks like.

By the end, I wasn’t just reading a fantasy about chains and beasts. I was sitting with questions about who gets to decide worth, about the violence of erasure, and about the power in refusing to disappear. It’s a dark book, but also strangely hopeful, like a flame in the ash that refuses to go out.

I’d recommend She Who Was Severed to readers who like their fantasy fierce and unflinching, who want characters that bleed and bite instead of saints who smile through suffering. If you liked The Poppy War or Serpent & Dove, you’ll probably love this too. It’s not for those looking for easy escapes, but if you want a story that claws at you and won’t let go, this is it.

Pages: 313 | ASIN : B0FKCM3L3D