This week on Genre’d, we’re talking We Who Will Die by Stacia Stark: a romantasy gladiator-trials situation with vampires, sigil-marked magic, corrupt monarchy vibes, and a main character who is (1) deeply traumatized and (2) absolutely not a strategic thinker.

But first, we have some things to say: Katy’s quest to become a lip liner girlie (feat. the L’Oréal Blur Filler Blurring Lip Contour “thick boy”), Elyse accidentally forcing herself into Adobe Premiere like a creative director, and a quick detour into the Blake Lively/Taylor Swift text message rabbit hole because celebrities are, unfortunately, just like us.

Spoiler warning: First ~20 minutes are spoiler-free (synopsis, characters, vibes). Full spoilers after that.

In the spoiler-free section, we get into:

• Trials, “Chosen One” energy, found family, and a very Hunger Games / Gladiator-coded setup

• Worldbuilding that’s actually doing something (vampires + daylight deprivation as a whole personality)

• The magic system: sigils, power scaling, and Arvelle’s tiny gold mark that starts getting… suspicious

Then we go full spoilers on!

Next pick: My Husband’s Wife by Alice Feeney (we’re taking a hard left into thrillers to cleanse the palate).

As always: rate, review, and subscribe — and remember, no genre shaming unless it’s funny.