Summoned to the Wilds

I adored A.K. Caggiano‘s Villains & Virtues series opener, Throne in the Dark, so I couldn’t wait to continue the trilogy. The second book is Summoned to the Wilds, re-released earlier this year. Picking up right where the first installment left off, Summoned to the Wilds follows a newly “kidnapped” Amma and Damien down a winding road of tentative allies and certain enemies. While trying to find a way to safely free Amma from Damien, she’s also learning about her own skills… and they’re both finding it harder to ignore their growing feelings for each other.

What I Liked:

• Continued fun and hilarity. As with the first book, this one is pure joy from start to finish. This one may be the meandering middle, but it’s exciting, the relationship between Amma and Damien is getting deeper, and certain plot points are coming together. Damien’s interactions with Zander are particularly funny; demons have a way of twisting common phrases! Amma is also getting a lot bolder, sometimes with surprising results. This whole book was indulgent in the best way.
• This demon is good. Damien may be a prince of darkness and evil and whatnot, but he’s actually genuinely caring. He treats Amma honorably at a certain point with regards to her consent, and seems to be transforming into someone altogether more, well, good than he’s ever seen himself. He’s at odds with his shocking lack of evil behavior lately.
• Slow burn romance. The relationship that started between Amma and Damien in the first book continues to flourish here. The feelings are developing for both of them, slowly but surely. Readers looking for some quick spice won’t find it here. But if you like the gentle evolution from one book to the next, you’ll be as gleeful watching these two as I am. They might even kiss by the end of this book!

Final Thoughts

Summoned to the Wilds is a delightful continuation of the Villains & Virtues series, and I can’t wait to see how it all concludes. The final book, Eclipse of the Crown, just came out, so look out for my review within the next week!

Special thanks to Sourcebooks and NetGalley for providing me with an ARC of this book!

Get the Book

You can buy Summoned to the Wilds here – it’s available as a paperback, ebook, and audiobook.

Summoned to the Wilds by A.K. Caggiano
Series	Villains & Virtues (#2)
Audience	Adult
Genre	Romantasy
Number of Pages	480
Format I Read	Ebook (NetGalley ARC)
Original Publication Date	March 24, 2026 (re-release)
Publisher	Sourcebooks

Official Summary

She’s promised to be loyal, dutiful, and obedient, but to whom?

Lady Ammalie Avington, Baroness of Faebarrow, has discovered the truth, and it should not come as a surprise: the blood mage who threatened, spellbound, and abducted her intends to bring ruin to the realm–the very one she is sworn to serve. It’s just a terribly inconvenient fact to learn because, well…he’s rather cute.

But it’s not safe to pine after the son of a demon, especially not whilst locked up in a tower surrounded by infernal beings and a rival for your affection, nor trapped below ground in a den of beguiling vampires, nor even in the heart of a wild jungle under the tutelage of esoteric witches. Amma just can’t help herself around Damien Maleficus Bloodthorne, danger be damned, but, truly, what danger is there? Damien’s heart, the one he swears to not have, has been softening right before her eyes. Nevermind the weird smoke that sometimes unwittingly emanates from his hands or that faraway look he gets to his eyes, and a voice she can’t hear telling him that he’s meant to be a vessel? Surely it’s all just a bad dream.

After finally tasting freedom and learning that Amma may have ancient, innate magical powers of her own, why not use them to do exactly as she pleases?