Back of Book: 

In a utopian society ruled by the Twelve Guardians, twenty-three-year-old Saskia has been taught to never question those who protect her city, Xantera, from the Monster who prowls beyond the Wall—even when they demand living sacrifices in exchange for this protection. She eats the food they provide her, works the Healing Center shifts they’ve designated for her, and lives with the partner they’ve assigned her.

But when Saskia finds a strange necklace left behind by a mysterious patient in her Healing unit, she begins to hear a voice in her head that could change everything.

Smooth, deadly, and masculine, the voice teases and tempts her, igniting embers in the emptiest part of her heart and challenging the beliefs that have been instilled there. Before long, she begins to suspect the necklace has connected her mind to the Monster who prowls outside the Wall—a Monster who is nothing like she expected.

And he wants her to let him in.

Book Number: One

Genre: Adult | Fantasy | Romance | Dystopian

Review: 🌟🌟🌟🌟

A dystopian fantasy starring vicious vampires who utilize the citizens of Xantera as ritual sacrifices and a werewolf that is desperate to get inside the walled city. 

Saskia has been raised in a utopian society in which she never desires anything in her life. That is, except to be Chosen by one of the Twelve Guardians that protect the citizens of Xantera from the Monster that prowls outside the city's walls. She's happy to work the healing job she's been assigned, live with the partner they gave her, eat the same food and wear the same clothes as everyone else around her. That is, until she finds a mysterious necklace that allows her to communicate with the Monster and Saskia begins to discover that her entire life has been built on lies. 

This one was recommended to me as one of my twelve Followers Pick My Reads for 2026. I also was lucky enough to win a giveaway from the authors after it was on my radar. Thank you so much to Mariah Montoya and Grace Pearce for the gifted copy! 

I have been eating up dystopian romances as of late, so I was happy to learn that this one falls in that genre. I often adore dystopian fantasies, as they combine corrupt governments with magic. I wasn't expecting a book about rival vampires and werewolves to hit this hard, but it definitely did. 

The setting of Xantera is similar to many other dystopian books I've read, but that didn't make me enjoy it any less. The people's day to day lives are scripted by the Guardians to force them to become complacent. They must wear the same clothes, eat the same food, and aren't privy to any luxury. The citizens of Xantera have their jobs and spouses assigned to them, are given a no tolerance curfew, and even have their time regulated to a tee. Literally, Sundays are the only days they are allowed to do any fun activities, and that is greatly overshadowed by the fact that they are forced to go home and perform sexual intercourse with their partner at the end of the day. 

From the start, it's easy to tell that this book features the classic government that claims to protect you is actually evil trope and that the supposed Monster may not be all that it first seems. The fact that they are a group of twelve vampires raises some nefarious questions, and one can presume that they are doing nothing good to those that they pick as their Chosen. However, I wasn't expecting all the lore that went into the Guardians nor the exact fate of the Chosen. 

Let's talk a bit about Saskia and Lucan. On one hand, they have an extremely unique relationship as they communicate with one another through a magic necklace. On the other hand, much of their relationship is fueled by loneliness and lust. This is totally valid though, as Saskia has been repressing her feelings for over two decades and Lucan is desperate to get back within the walls of Xantera. The more they talk to one another, the more they come to appreciate each other as people, which is nice. 

Despite the two love interests being physically apart this whole book, Saskia and Lucan manage to find a way to get intimate with one another. I am definitely confused by how the magic of the necklace works and why it allows Lucan to have any control of Saskia, but at least they got some physical pleasure out of it, I guess. This has to be the part of the book that has me scratching my head the most. I mean, I know it's a romance, but this still seems rather forced.

This book ends much as I assumed it would. No spoilers obviously, but how do most dystopian books featuring walled cities end? Despite the cliche nature of the ending, it still had some great stakes and has me quite excited to check out the second and final book of the series. 

Overall, "Xantera" is a wonderful blend of dark fantasy and dystopian romance. Vampires and werewolves always make for a great time, and I'm definitely intrigued to learn more about the complex relations between the two parties. The city of Xantera is spooky, and I'm a big fan of the dystopian walled city vibes. Though Saskia and Lucan aren't my favorite couple, I do see their potential and I hope I like them more together in book two. The ending was a tad cliche, but sets up an exciting beginning to book two. I look forward to checking out "Veradel" in the near future! 

Quick Publishing Note: I read the indie version of this one about a year before it was republished traditionally as "The Monster Who Chose Me." This is honestly a banger title, and I'm excited to learn more about the new changes that are coming for this series!