We Who Will Die by Stacia Stark— Genre’d Podcast Episode 16
- genredpodcast
- 5 days ago
- 5 min read
This week on Genre’d, we’re talking We Who Will Die by Stacia Stark, a romantasy that said: what if Hunger Games energy, but make it vampire empire, gladiator trials, and a heroine whose coping mechanism is “be mean to everyone and fight about it.”
But first, we have some things to say. Katy’s been on a mission to become a lip liner girlie (and finally secured the thick-boy liner of her dreams), Elyse accidentally became an Adobe Premiere power user to fix a truly cursed echo situation, and we take a quick detour into the Blake Lively and Taylor Swift text-message discourse because celebrities are, unfortunately, just like us.
💥 Spoiler warning: The first ~20 minutes are spoiler-free (synopsis, characters, tropes, vibes). Full spoilers after that.
About We Who Will Die
Arvelle is doing everything she can to keep her brothers alive in the brutal Thorn District. When survival stops being enough, she makes a binding magical vow that forces her into a deadly set of trials meant to forge the emperor’s elite guard.
Inside the arena and the court, Arvelle runs into the Primus who once broke her heart, and the emperor’s sadistic son Rorrick, both of whom feel like threats and potential allies at the worst possible time.
As Arvelle’s powers begin to surface, she realizes the real danger is not just the games. It is what the empire is built on, what it is hiding, and what she might be capable of becoming.
We have some things to say
💄 Katy vs. the lip liner industrial complex: after weeks of research, store stalking, and one very early Ulta run, she finally got the L’Oréal Blur Filler Blurring Lip Contour, aka the thick liner that might actually make overlining work without leaving her stranded in Visible Lip Liner Outline Jail.
🎧 Elyse fixes audio like a full-time post-production gremlin: a rogue echo forced Elyse into deep tutorial land, and yes, she ended up in Adobe Premiere like she belongs in the Creative Suite. Did it work? Shockingly, yes.
📱 Celebrity texts are a jump scare: we touch the Blake and Taylor texts because the main takeaway is that famous people are just like us, except their group chats can become public exhibits.
What we cover in this episode
Genre & vibes
Romantasy with gladiator trials and arena politics
Corrupt monarchy, class divide, and a court that feels like it runs on fear
“Are you not entertained” energy, but underground
Tropes and story DNA
Trials and training arcs
Chosen One vibes and power awakening
Found family energy, plus trauma-led decision making
It’s giving Hunger Games, but also Roman colosseum and vampire court
Characters to watch
Arvelle: traumatized eldest daughter energy with a sword and a hero complex
Tiernan: noble first love, now the Primus, now also complicated
Rorrick: the sadistic son of the emperor, who is truly not nice
Bran: a crusty dusty vampire with a deal and a weird arc
Maeva: the audience surrogate friend who forces Arvelle to face her own behavior
Kassia: the best friend in the past whose loss shapes everything
Worldbuilding we actually liked
Vampires who are not just blood. They eat, they do business, they run the empire
Daylight deprivation as a real vampire problem, including “sun addiction”
Sigilmarked power scaling that feels both cool and a little wonky
Magical creatures we want more of: griffins, pixies, wyverns, gorgons, and general magical animal chaos
Would our mother read this
No.
One line plots
Katy: Arvelle fights her way through a brutal lottery that promises freedom, only to lose almost everything and return six years later with even less to lose.
Elyse: A deeply traumatized eldest daughter gets voluntold into a lethal trial and spirals into a full vampire diary situation, but with more gods and magical animals.
⚠️Spoilers ahead⚠️
Okay. Spoiler alarm. Spoiler, spoiler.
The big trope problem
This book sets up brother lovers, which Katy hates with the fire of a thousand suns.
Once Tiernan is revealed to be not only the Primus but also the emperor’s son, the love triangle shape becomes extremely clear, and it soured the rest of the reading experience for Katy in real time.
Plot twists and why we were not seated
We get a lot of reveals, including:
Tiernan’s identity and family ties
Rorrick’s agenda being bigger than “mean vampire prince”
A serial-killer-style sacrifice plot tied to a grief-fueled plan to resurrect the god of death
Bran’s late-game monologue plan that is, frankly, not a smart plan
Some twists surprised us, but others landed with a thud because the emotional investment just was not there.
Addiction as an unexpectedly heavy theme
One of the most interesting through-lines is addiction in multiple forms:
Arvelle’s mother and a drug addiction that impacts the family
Vampires addicted to sun exposure and sun potions
Addiction to vampire blood as a corrupting force
There is a moment where the book gets genuinely thoughtful about what it means to love someone who is addicted, and we were not expecting that depth in the middle of vampire politics and arena violence.
What we wish we had more of
More clarity on Arvelle’s evolving magic and what exactly triggers it
More magical creatures and the broader world outside the empire
More explanation of the hybrid power situation (vampire plus sigilmarked), especially for Rorrick and Tiernan
More momentum. This one took Elyse a surprisingly long time to finish, which is always a sign
Final ratings
⭐️⭐️⭐️ Katy: 3 stars. The brother lovers setup is an immediate no, plus we read something extremely similar right before this.
⭐️⭐️⭐️ Elyse: 3 stars. The trope did not bother me as much, but it did not grab me. I kept reaching for other books, and the sequel is not a must-read.
Mentions
L’Oréal Blur Filler Blurring Lip Contour (Katy’s thick-boy liner era begins)
Adobe Premiere / Adobe Creative Suite (Elyse’s “never stop learning” arc)
The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins (vibes comparison)
Vampire Diaries energy (brother dynamic comparison)
What’s next on Genre’d
Next episode, Katy is taking us out of romantasy court politics and straight into twisty thriller land with My Husband’s Wife by Alice Feeney.
Join the conversation
Are you a trials-and-training romantasy person, or do you need a break after one too many “castle arena” books in a row?
And also, important: are you anti brother lovers like Katy, or can you handle it when the plot decides to be messy?
Tag us, DM us, and tell us your take.
Listen and follow along
👉 Listen on Spotify | Apple Podcasts | YouTube
👉 Explore more episodes of Genre’d Podcast
👉 Follow us on Instagram & TikTok @genredpodcast
⭐ If you like the show, please rate, review, and subscribe.
📚 Remember: no genre shaming unless it’s funny.
Fast facts
Book: We Who Will Die
Author: Stacia Stark
Genre: Romantasy
Episode format: spoiler-free first ~20 minutes, then full spoilers
Our rating: 3 stars from both hosts
Mini FAQ
Is this episode spoiler-free?
The first ~20 minutes are spoiler-free. After that, we get into full spoilers.
Who should read We Who Will Die?
If you like romantasy with arena trials, power awakenings, corrupt monarchy vibes, and vampire court politics, you will probably have a good time.
Are there magical creatures?
Yes, and we wanted more of them. There are griffins, pixies, wyverns, and more.
Does it end on a cliffhanger?
Not exactly, but it clearly sets up a sequel and a bigger arc.
Will Genre’d be reading book two?
Katy is out. Elyse is a maybe, but not an immediate add to the list.