Verdict: A dark, spicy, emotional witch-x-vampire romantasy with crackling enemies-to-lovers chemistry and a gothic Edinburgh heart.
Best for: Readers who want a steamy indie sapphic romantasy heavy on angst, obsession, and slow-building tension.
Heat: 🌶️🌶️🌶️🌶️ High Spice (multiple explicit on-page scenes)
Rating: 4.1 / 5 (Goodreads average across ~800 ratings)
Tropes: Enemies-to-lovers, witch/vampire, forced proximity, grief & healing, dual POV, found family
Will It Hurt? by Lily X is the first book in the Bitten By Magick duology — an indie #1 Amazon bestseller billed as “a spicy sapphic witch x vampire romantasy.” Set in a moody, gothic Edinburgh, it pairs a chaotic wytch with a grieving vampyre in a story of magick, bloodlust, and slow-burning obsession. It’s a natural pick for our list of spicy sapphic fantasy books.
Below is our full breakdown — what works, where readers push back, how steamy it actually gets, and who will love it most.
What Is Will It Hurt? About?
Aisla Laxmi is a wytch prone to chaos, and Jinn is a vampyre haunted by grief and immortality. When their paths collide, the sparks are anything but friendly — the two are immediate adversaries. But circumstance forces them together, and the animosity between them slowly, dangerously, curdles into something far more consuming.
As magic, bloodlust, and old wounds tangle their lives, Aisla and Jinn must decide whether to keep fighting each other or join forces — and whether they can survive letting their guard down for a love neither of them expected.
What Makes This Sapphic Romantasy Work
Crackling enemies-to-lovers tension. The friction between Aisla and Jinn is the engine of the book, and readers consistently praise their chemistry and the slow build from hostility to devotion.
A fresh witch-vampire world. Reviewers note the worldbuilding feels different from the typical witch/vampire setup, with a distinctive gothic Edinburgh atmosphere.
Emotional depth beneath the spice. Grief, protectiveness, and healing give the romance real stakes — it’s angsty and emotional, not just steamy.
Genuinely spicy. With multiple explicit on-page scenes, this delivers the heat its marketing promises, woven together with obsession and tenderness.
Book Synopsis
In a shadow-soaked, gothic Edinburgh, Aisla Laxmi is a young wytch whose talent is matched only by her knack for trouble. Jinn is a vampyre carrying centuries of loss, closed off and dangerous. Their first meeting is a collision — full of suspicion, sharp words, and instant antagonism.
But the magical world they inhabit doesn’t give them the luxury of staying apart. Thrown together by circumstance and a threat neither can face alone, the wytch and the vampyre are forced into an uneasy alliance. Told in dual first-person POV, the story lets readers inside both women’s heads as their wariness gives way to attraction.
As bloodlust, magick, and buried grief rise to the surface, Aisla and Jinn’s bond deepens into something obsessive and tender all at once. To have a future together, they’ll have to confront their pasts, their enemies, and the very real question the title asks — whether love, for two people like them, will hurt.
My Review
I went into Will It Hurt? expecting a fun indie vampire romance and came out genuinely charmed by how much heart it has. Aisla and Jinn’s enemies-to-lovers dynamic is the highlight — the banter is sharp, the tension simmers, and the shift from hostility to obsession feels earned rather than rushed. The gothic Edinburgh setting gives it a distinct, atmospheric flavor that helps it stand out from the crowded witch-vampire subgenre.
It’s also legitimately spicy. There are several explicit scenes, and the intimacy is threaded through with angst, grief, and protectiveness, so the heat lands emotionally as well as physically. Readers who want a romantasy that’s both steamy and feelings-heavy will find a lot to love here.
In fairness, it isn’t flawless. The romance tips toward insta-love for some readers, the book runs long and the pacing sags in the middle, and one recurring pet name gets used a lot. A few reviewers found stretches repetitive. None of it wrecked the experience for me, but if you’re allergic to angst or fast-developing romance, go in aware. For fans of dark, emotional sapphic romantasy, though, this is an easy recommendation.
Tropes & Themes at a Glance
| Category | Details |
|---|---|
| Central relationship | Aisla Laxmi (wytch) & Jinn (vampyre) (F/F) |
| Core tropes | Enemies-to-lovers, witch/vampire, forced proximity, grief & healing, dual POV |
| Setting | A gothic, contemporary Edinburgh |
| Heat level | 🌶️🌶️🌶️🌶️ High Spice — multiple explicit scenes |
| Series | Bitten By Magick #1 (duology; followed by Choke On My Name) |
| Content notes | Blood/feeding, grief and loss, angst, explicit sex |
How Spicy Is Will It Hurt?
Heat rating: 🌶️🌶️🌶️🌶️ High Spice. This one earns its “spicy” label. Readers report roughly five explicit on-page scenes across the book, and the intimacy is charged with obsession, bloodlust, and emotional intensity rather than being purely physical. If you want a vampire romantasy where the heat is a central pleasure — and comes wrapped in angst and tenderness — Will It Hurt? delivers.
Who Should Read This Book?
You’ll likely love it if: you adore enemies-to-lovers tension, witch-and-vampire pairings, angst-heavy emotional romance, gothic atmosphere, and plenty of explicit spice with feelings behind it.
You may want to skip it if: you dislike insta-love or fast-developing romance, you’re impatient with longer books and mid-book pacing lulls, or overused pet names are a dealbreaker.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is Will It Hurt? a standalone?
It’s book one of the Bitten By Magick duology. The central couple’s arc largely resolves, but the series continues in Choke On My Name, which follows connected characters, so you’ll want to continue if you get hooked.
Is it a true sapphic romance?
Yes — it’s an F/F romance told in dual first-person POV between Aisla, a wytch, and Jinn, a vampyre.
How steamy is it, really?
Very — high spice, with multiple explicit on-page scenes. The eroticism is a core part of the book, balanced with a lot of emotional angst.
Do I need to read anything first?
No. Will It Hurt? is the series opener, so it’s the perfect place to start.
Is the romance insta-love?
Somewhat — it starts as enemies-to-lovers, but the attraction develops fairly quickly and intensely. Some readers love the momentum; others find it too fast. It’s angsty and obsessive rather than a slow, quiet burn.
If You Loved Will It Hurt?, Read These Next
If this witch-and-vampire heat worked for you, explore more titles from our spicy sapphic fantasy books guide — including our full review of An Education in Malice by S.T. Gibson for another spicy sapphic vampire romance with gothic atmosphere.
The Bottom Line
Will It Hurt? is a dark, spicy, emotionally charged sapphic romantasy that punches above its indie weight thanks to sharp enemies-to-lovers chemistry and a distinctive gothic Edinburgh setting. It has some pacing and insta-love wobbles, but if you want a steamy, angsty witch-and-vampire love story, it’s well worth a read. You can check Will It Hurt? on Amazon →