New Release Giveaway

Welcome to the Blog Tour for Forgiving Darkness!

Today, we are thrilled to spotlight Forgiving Darkness, the first book in the Binary Souls Duology by Cat Sirota. If you love fantasy romance, this book is a must-read!

Title: Forgiving Darkness
Series: Binary Souls Duology (Book 1)
Author: Cat Sirota
Genre: Fantasy Romance
Release Date: December 13th 2024
Purchase: Amazon

United by fate. Bound by secrets. Burned by betrayal.

As the runaway daughter of the tyrant King Rodden, a powerful nineteen-year-old witch Estrid lives a life of furtive exile. She will do anything to escape the iron-clawed grip of her father and his blood-soaked reign, even if it is her birthright.

But Estrid’s solitude is fractured during a hunting trip in the Dark Forest, when she stumbles upon a wounded, ethereal being unlike any she’s seen before. The Fae is golden-haired, rippling with power, and dressed in the finery of a wealthy lord. Even weakened and bleeding, he’s the most beautiful—and deadliest—creature she’s ever encountered.

But Estrid isn’t the only one harboring a secret identity. The Fae’s arrival could threaten the freedom she’s fought so hard for and the kingdom she loves.

Forgiving Darkness is the first epic installment of the seductive dark fantasy romance duology, “Binary Souls.”

5 Books That Changed My Life

What books shaped your worldview or influenced your writing style?

I love this question. I never did a creative writing degree as an undergrad, but I did take a short creative writing course at Oxford University to upskill. That was great, but I needed more, so I joined the Novelry, run by Louise Dean. There, the writing mentors gave you an abundance of support and knowledge, but the most significant piece of advice was to read. When you’re writing, you need to read and read the types of books that you aspire to write. 

So with that, I read, and read, and read. Here are my top five books and why:

1. On Writing, by Stephen King, is a bit of an autobiography as much as it is a book about the writing craft. King gives you his unbiased view of what it takes to be a good writer while giving you snippets of his own life of writing. King’s approach to writing is very methodical and very logical. 

2. Big Magic – by Elizabeth Gilbert (author of Eat, Pray, Love). In contrast to King’s view of writing, Gilbert has a more magical take on writing, where ideas come from, and how you harness them. I loved this book, as I do believe there is an element of magic, luck, or deep subconscious thinking when it comes to writing and idea creation. 

3. Throne of Glass by Sarah J Maas was my first foray into fantasy romance after reading more traditional fantasy books from authors like George. R. R. Martin, and Raymond. E. Feist. Seeing fantasy with a romance subplot that grows into a full-blown romance plot changed how I read, but it also inspired me to think about picking up the pen myself. Fantasy itself can be incredibly daunting to write, but Maas demonstrated that you can do so with a feminine style that has immense world-building but appeals to a broader audience because it doesn’t feel like your brain is about to do a HIIT workout. 

4. The Magician – by Raymond. E. Feist was my first step back into fantasy reading after taking a few years break following Game of Thrones and diving into crime thrillers like Don Winslow’s Power of the Dog (which is one of my favorite books). The Magician was a fantastic series, as while it followed the main character, the series comprised many side stories that kept it fresh. It made me think about how you can effectively write more books in a series but incorporate the side character’s stories as their books. 

5. Legacy of the Nine Realms – by Amelia Hutchins – these books destroyed me emotionally. I love them because Amelia is such a dark writer, and again, her writing opened my eyes to another facet of romance writing. One where there’s not a happily ever after, or the MMC is a real asshole, but somehow you still want him. It’s a contract to Maas, but I’ve drawn inspiration from Hutchins that you can be nice to your characters. Writing a book without tension or agency is boring, so you need to build it, and then tear it down to build it all again. Make the characters work for their spot in the limelight, don’t just give it to them.

Connect with the Author

Cat moved to Middle Earth (known informally as New Zealand) at the age of twelve. The moody, romantic landscape inspired her passion for fantasy novels and would go on to shape her own fiction writing, setting the scene for lush worldbuilding, dark characters, and satisfying plot twists.

Every morning, at 5 a.m., long before her rambunctious household has risen, Cat pours a cup of coffee and gets to work. When she isn't writing and editing, she's lost in the stories of her favorite authors like LJ Andrews Penn Cole, and Jennifer L. Armentrout. For Cat, only one thing trumps the magical alchemy of reading, and that is crafting new portals of escapism in her own stories.

If you'd like to escape with Cat and hear about exclusive up-and-coming adventures, characters, and treats, join her newsletter via her website or her readers group on Facebook. Otherwise, follow her on Instagram or TikTok for general fun and shenanigans.


Don’t miss your chance to win signed copy! Enter the giveaway below:

Happy reading! ✨

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