Review: Our Rogue Fates by Sarah Glenn Marsh

Our Rogue Fates

Sarah Glenn Marsh

(Rogue Devotions #1)

Publication Date: April 28, 2026

Hardcover, 352 pages, Alcove Press

Genres: Adult, Romantasy, LGBTQ+

Goodreads

On the hunt for hidden treasure, two former best friends turned adversaries must put the past behind them if they hope to make it home.

 

This childhood-friends-to-lovers male/male romantic fantasy in the tradition of Tusk Love and Sara Raasch crackles with tension and heat.

 

When he isn’t training as a Warden to become half the hero his father was, Griff Sayer is in the business of breaking hearts all across the town of Mayfair, although that slows down after settling in with his current boyfriend. Griff's ex-best-friend, Mal Pryce, meanwhile, is in business with whatever or whoever puts good money in his hands. Now in their mid-20s, Griff and Mal have only exchanged scathing looks and carefully barbed jabs since the fight that sent them their separate ways years ago. But all that begins to change when an attack Mal plotted for his shady boss leaves Griff near death and their childhood friend Alys is his savior, forcing them back into each other’s orbit.

 

Livid at his boss, Mal makes a deal to earn his freedom and Griff’s safety. He has just four weeks to retrieve an ancient treasure from Rotrose Mire, a remote swamp known for its ghostly and beastly dangers, the same treasure Alys’s beloved father Rhun had been searching for when he disappeared for good. Armed with a map and a broken blade of Rhun’s, Mal sets off—with Alys and a reluctant and newly single Griff in tow.

 

Yet the explosive tension between the two men—along with the dangers of the mire pressing in around them—make for a more difficult journey than any of them could have anticipated. As Griff and Mal peel back their tough facades, and shared feelings heat up in unexpected ways as they learn to trust again, they also realize that someone—or something—seems to be following their path. Someone who doesn’t want them to succeed, no friend to their parents’ old enemies, but also no friend to would-be heroes…

 

Our Rogue Fates is a second-chance spicy Achillean romance with the questing spirit of Dungeons & Dragons, perfect for fans of Critical Role.

My Review

Our Rogue Fates isn't quite a cozy fantasy story, but I think it gives those vibes. It's not a sprawling epic and there aren't paranormal love interests. It's just an adventure between three people who grew up together and have a tense history. The entire story definitely has a Dungeons & Dragons feel to it, as the three main characters are searching for treasure and random mythical creatures and obstacles get in their way. There are spirits, elves, orc heads, and a persistent knack for the main characters to get into trouble. Oh, and it's blurbed by Sean Astin. How the heck did that happen?! That's so cool!

I will say, however, that Our Rogue Fates isn't quite what I wanted it to be. I was hoping for something with a bit more umph to the world and the love story. Instead, the story was just a bit... messy. The beginning honestly threw me off a lot. I almost DNF'ed even though I try really hard not to leave my review copies unfinished. But this one, it just started out really slow and tossed the reader into a world that wasn't well described and wasn't all that interesting with characters who also weren't super interesting or even good people. They end up committing a terrible crime in the first few pages of their treasure-hunting journey that made it difficult to ever really like them at all.

Griff and Mal, the two male main characters, aren't introduced to the book particularly well. Griff is obsessed with Mal enough to where he leads his current boyfriend on and leaves him at a moment's notice when Mal comes calling. And Mal is a criminal who managed to arrange Griff getting stabbed, which is the inciting incident of the story. And Alys, well, I don't understand her at all. I think she has kids, though I don't remember anything about them or who her partner was/is. Also, Alys can randomly talk down trolls. Not sure how she did that. Honestly, I didn't care enough to question it too much.

 While I didn't particularly like any of the characters or the initial world building, I will say the story did pick up around the halfway mark. I think it's because of the romance. It actually made things interesting when Griff and Mal started talking to each other because, before that point, I had no idea why they had even liked each other when they were kids and how the fight between them lead to them going their separate ways. Halfway through, Mal and Griff were kind of cute together. Especially when one of them was injured and the other was playing doctor. And I was having some fun with the story through the last half of the book up until the very end. Now, I'm going to share some SPOILERS here, so look away if you don't want to be SPOILED. We didn't even get to see the trio obtain the treasure. The author completely skipped over that part after writing a book that was dedicated to a treasure hunt. I was flabbergasted when that happened. I couldn't believe an author would do that to a reader. And the actual ending was kind of nonsensical with flying dogs added for no reason whatsoever. There's also a book two coming out, which I'm surprised by. I think the story ended in a way that it doesn't seem necessary for more.

All in all, I am sad to label this book as simply "messy." It starts off with unlikeable characters, fixes it a little mid-way through, and then throws the plot into disarray at the very end. But maybe, if you're a fan of adventure/cozy-type stories where characters make stupid, deadly mistakes, Our Rogue Fates might be for you. I just warn against expecting a satisfying ending. Oh, I do love that cover art, though. It's very pretty.

*Note: I received a copy of this book to review from the publisher via NetGalley. This in no way affected my opinion/review.