Into The Darkness (Her Villain Era Book 1) by Brenna Bustamante

Perfect for readers who enjoy:

•     Dark fantasy grounded in morally complex characters
•     Assassin-driven narratives with layered character dynamics
•     Enemies-to-lovers arcs built on tension and restraint
•     Unrest, faction conflict, and urban fantasy settings
•     High-stakes survival stories with emotional depth
•     Slow-burn attraction shaped by danger and proximity

In a city unraveling under violence and ideology, survival is no longer about completing the mission. It is about deciding who and what is worth saving.
This book is meant for 18+. Please check the trigger warnings in the beginning of the book.

Into The Darkness (Her Villain Era Book 1)
by Brenna Bustamante
June 30, 2026 
Genre: Very Dark Romantasy
Enemies-to-lovers
Morally gray assassins
Forced alliances
Dangerous attractions
Good vs evil
Antagonist turned ally
All hope lost
The antihero
Evil overlord 
Point of no return
The price to pay
Feminine rage
Forbidden magic
Found family

She was trained to end lives without hesitation.
He learned to survive by becoming something lethal.

Neither of them expected to hesitate when it mattered most.

Aza has built her life on precision, discipline, and distance. As a shadow-wielder and trained assassin, she survives by following orders and never questioning the outcome.

Her latest assignment should have been routine: eliminate a rival operative and disappear without a trace.

Instead, it becomes the moment everything fractures.

Before Aza can complete the kill, the Stars descend on the district, an extremist faction intent on eradicating every shadow-wielder they can find. What was meant to be a controlled execution spirals into chaos, forcing enemies into proximity and turning the city into a battlefield.

For the first time, Aza is not in control.

Cut off from certainty and hunted alongside the very man she was meant to eliminate, she is pushed into an uneasy alliance shaped by necessity rather than trust. Survival demands cooperation. Survival demands compromise.

But neither comes easily.

As violence spreads and the Stars tighten their grip, Aza’s priorities begin to shift. Protecting her sister and closest ally becomes inseparable from the fragile partnership she never intended to form. The lines between enemy and ally blur, and with them, the clarity she has always relied on.

What emerges in its place is something far more dangerous than hesitation.

Because proximity breeds understanding.
And understanding has consequences.

In a world where loyalty is fleeting and power is contested in blood, Aza is forced to confront the cost of everything she believes in: revenge, survival, and the identity she has carefully constructed.

When the moment arrives to choose between finishing her mission or preserving what remains of the district, the decision will demand more than skill.

Trigger Warnings:
Sexual assault and abuse, physical violence, death of a child, death, kidnapping and abduction, torture, war, killing, sex killing, assassination, violence, death and dying, sexism, racism, classism, grief and loss, hate crimes, poverty, sexism & misogyny, white supremacy, sex work & sex slavery, sex work shaming, sexual harassment, abandonment, child abuse, emotional abuse, sex addiction, building collapse, cults, explosions, hostage situation, imprisonment & incarceration, knife, sword & axe violence, physical assault, murder & attempted murder, poisoning, torture, genocide, massacres and mass murders, alcohol consumption & abuse, dead bodies & body parts, decapitation, dismemberment, genital mutilation, needles, physical injuriess:

Sexual assault and abuse, physical violence, death of a child, death, kidnapping and abduction, torture, war, killing, sex killing, assassination, violence, death and dying, sexism, racism, classism, grief and loss, hate crimes, poverty, sexism & misogyny, white supremacy, sex work & sex slavery, sex work shaming, sexual harassment, abandonment, child abuse, emotional abuse, sex addiction, building collapse, cults, explosions, hostage situation, imprisonment & incarceration, knife, sword & axe violence, physical assault, murder & attempted murder, poisoning, torture, genocide, massacres and mass murders, alcohol consumption & abuse, dead bodies & body parts, decapitation, dismemberment, genital mutilation, needles, physical injuries

Amazon 

About the Author:
Linktree
I was born in the Philippines, grew up in Papua New Guinea, and migrated to the US 11 years ago (after over 21 years of waiting for a visa). From experiencing living in a culture where cannibals were normal, to growing up in a culture where we're taught to just appreciate what we have and just shake away the negative emotions, I feel like I have a lot of demons to fight that I'd love to put into stories. I've traveled a lot, having been to most of Asia and North America. With all of the experiences I have and the background I've come from, my entire life I've had to deal with mental health issues. 

With regular therapy, a lot of self-reflection and acceptance of who I am and what my body allows me to have, and my love of writing, I'd like to write books that help women with managing their mental health, too. 

Currently, I'm a UX content designer, writing content for software apps. I live in the mountains of Colorado with my husband, 2 dogs, and a cat.