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Verity Guild by Mai Corland: Intrigue Over Romance
Last Updated on July 3, 2026 by Sierra Richard
Verity Guild by Mai Corland is a Roman-inspired whodunit fantasy with dual POV and political intrigue, though I found the marketed romance never fully delivered. Here’s my full take.
Disclaimer: Thank you to Mai Corland, and Red Tower Books for providing this book for review consideration. All opinions are my own. Commissions may be earned on links in this article marked with “*”.
Book Recap
Kerasea Vestal is the newly appointed High Priestess following her father’s recent death. As she embarks on her first conclave where all the senators, herself, and the Praetorian are locked on a mountain together, people begin to turn up dead and she’s being framed for the murders. While being trapped with a murderer, Kerasea must turn to the Praetorian who hates her due to their past in order to clear her name and hopefully make it out of the conclave alive and with her own secrets intact. This is the first book in the Verity Guild duology.
Top Tropes/Themes:
- Historical Fantasy
- Romantasy
- Roman-inspired
- Whodunit mystery
- Religious dogmas
- Political intrigue
- Enemies-to-Lovers
- Dual POV
Spice Rating: 🌶️🌶️🌶️ (a couple detailed open door scenes)
Release Date: May 5, 2026
Let’s talk about it…
I love a book with strong political intrigue and Verity Guild* definitely hits that mark. From the beginning, the dual POV set up of this book kept me on my toes as I pieced information together from both Kerasea’s and Torren’s POVs. I have found first person dual narrations to be difficult to read in the past as they often don’t feel like each character has a distinct personality, but this book seems to do a good job of keeping Kerasea and Torren’s personalities separate and wholly different throughout the book.
The Political Intrigue and Whodunit Mystery
The entire time reading Verity Guild I felt like I was on the brink of figuring out the next twist, but a new piece of information would unravel my previous beliefs and I would have to put a new theory together. While there were moments that felt a bit repetitive (like Kerasea never listening to directions), I still didn’t want to put this book down and read it very quickly.
I personally enjoyed the mystery aspect of the story and the political intrigue was well done. I would have appreciated a bit more world building and backstory into the political system earlier in the book since we jumped right into meeting with all the political leaders, but I was still able to follow the story.
Where was the Romance?
My biggest issue with the book was that it is classified as a romantic fantasy, but there wasn’t much in the way of true romance. Torren and Kerasea have a complicated relationship due to their past, but their “romance” never felt more than lustful even at the end of the book. It seemed much more like enemies-to-friends-with-benefits than enemies-to-lovers. At best, this book was a political historical fantasy with a romance subplot.
The Cliffhanger Ending (Or Lack Thereof)
The cliffhanger ending left the plot completely wide open and made me want to read more as soon as possible. However, from the minimal information I can find at the time of writing this review, it looks like that won’t be until at least May 2027.
Should You Read Verity Guild?
Overall, I really enjoyed this book and believe it did live up to the hype I had for it from a mystery perspective but lacked the emotional connection between the characters that I typically look for in a romantasy.
If you enjoy whodunit mysteries, political intrigue, and roman-inspired fantasy I highly recommend checking out this book. I know I will be picking up the next one in the series as soon as it hits shelves (or before if the ARC gods were to bless me with an early copy again).
FAQs: Verity Guild by Mai Corland
Is Verity Guild spicy?
Yes, Verity Guild has multiple detailed open door romance scenes. I rated it 3/5 chili peppers. This book is a slow burn with all the spicy scenes appearing in the last third of the book.
Is Verity Guild a standalone?
No, Verity Guild is the first in the Verity Guild Duology by Mai Corland. The second book does not have a release date at the time of writing. There will be a third book released in the same world, but this will be a standalone story with its own mystery.
Does Verity Guild end in a cliffhanger?
Yes, the final pages of Verity Guild ends in a huge cliffhanger that will have you going, “Wait, what just happened!?” The plot was left wide open, and I am desperate for more answers! From what I have found online, we likely won’t see the conclusion to the duology on shelves until at least May 2027.
What other books are similar to Verity Guild?
If you want the Roman-inspired romantasy, check out Fallen City* by Adrienne Young. While it doesn’t have as much of a mystery, there is plenty of political intrigue. If you like the twists and turns of Mai Corland’s writing, check out her trilogy, Five Broken Blades*.
Is Verity Guild an Enemies-to-Lovers Romance?
Sort of. While marketed as enemies-to-lovers, the relationship between Torren and Kerasea felt much more like enemies-to-friends-with-benefits to me given the lack of romantic connection that we see on the page.
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