Disclaimer: I received this e-arc and finished copy from the publisher. Thanks! All opinions are my own.
Book: The Blood Trials
Author: N.E. Davenport
Book Series: The Blood Gift Book 1
Rating: 3.5/5
Diversity: Black MC, Biracial side character
Recommended For…: young adult readers, sci-fi, fantasy, revenge
Publication Date: April 5, 2022
Genre: YA Sci-fi
Age Relevance: 16+ (alcohol consumption, violence, torture, gore, death, language, racism, misogyny)
Explanation of Above: The book has a lot of violence, including torture, and gore in the book, especially blood and vomiting. The book shows alcohol consumption and mentions death. There is a lot of cursing in the book as well as racism and misogyny shown.
Publisher: Harper Voyager
Pages: 448
Synopsis: It’s all about blood.
The blood spilled between the Republic of Mareen and the armies of the Blood Emperor long ago. The blood gifts of Mareen’s deadliest enemies. The blood that runs through the elite War Houses of Mareen, the rulers of the Tribunal dedicated to keeping the republic alive.
The blood of the former Legatus, Verne Amari, murdered.
For his granddaughter, Ikenna, the only thing steady in her life was the man who had saved Mareen. The man who had trained her in secret, not just in martial skills, but in harnessing the blood gift that coursed through her.
Who trained her to keep that a secret.
But now there are too many secrets, and with her grandfather assassinated, Ikenna knows two things: that only someone on the Tribunal could have ordered his death, and that only a Praetorian Guard could have carried out that order.
Bent on revenge as much as discovering the truth, Ikenna pledges herself to the Praetorian Trials–a brutal initiation that only a quarter of the aspirants survive. She subjects herself to the racism directed against her half-Khanaian heritage and the misogyny of a society that cherishes progeny over prodigy, all while hiding a power that–if found out–would subject her to execution…or worse. Ikenna is willing to risk it all because she needs to find out who murdered her grandfather…and then she needs to kill them.
Mareen has been at peace for a long time…
Ikenna joining the Praetorians is about to change all that.
Magic and technology converge in the first part of this stunning debut duology, where loyalty to oneself–and one’s blood–is more important than anything.
Review: Overall, this was a good book. I love a good revenge-seeking book and this one had it locked down! I loved how the action kept rolling in the book and the book blended fantasy magic elements with sci-fi. The book had well written characters and the world building was amazingly well done as well. I flew through the book and liked it well enough.
However, the beginning of the book is super confusing and it immediately jumps into the story with little backstory. I feel like some of that backstory is in the synopsis, which is unfortunate. And while the action was rolling continuously in the book, I felt like there was a lot of slow moments.
Verdict: It was good!
BOOK INFORMATION
TITLE: The Blood Trials
AUTHOR: N. E. Davenport
PUBLISHER: Harper Voyager
RELEASE DATE: April 5, 2022
GENRE: NA Scifi, NA fantasy
PURCHASE LINKS:
Barnes & Noble: https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/
Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/
Bookshop: https://bookshop.org/a/25463/
SYNOPSIS:
Blending fantasy and science fiction, N. E. Davenport’s fast-paced, action-packed debut kicks off a duology of loyalty and rebellion, in which a young Black woman must survive deadly trials in a racist and misogynistic society to become an elite warrior.
It’s all about blood.
The blood spilled between the Republic of Mareen and the armies of the Blood Emperor long ago. The blood gifts of Mareen’s deadliest enemies. The blood that runs through the elite War Houses of Mareen, the rulers of the Tribunal dedicated to keeping the republic alive.
The blood of the former Legatus, Verne Amari, murdered.
For his granddaughter, Ikenna, the only thing steady in her life was the man who had saved Mareen. The man who had trained her in secret, not just in martial skills, but in harnessing the blood gift that coursed through her.
Who trained her to keep that a secret.
But now there are too many secrets, and with her grandfather assassinated, Ikenna knows two things: that only someone on the Tribunal could have ordered his death, and that only a Praetorian Guard could have carried out that order.
Bent on revenge as much as discovering the truth, Ikenna pledges herself to the Praetorian Trials–a brutal initiation that only a quarter of the aspirants survive. She subjects herself to the racism directed against her half-Khanaian heritage and the misogyny of a society that cherishes progeny over prodigy, all while hiding a power that–if found out–would subject her to execution…or worse. Ikenna is willing to risk it all because she needs to find out who murdered her grandfather…and then she needs to kill them.
Mareen has been at peace for a long time…
Ikenna joining the Praetorians is about to change all that.
Magic and technology converge in the first part of this stunning debut duology, where loyalty to oneself–and one’s blood–is more important than anything.
AUTHOR INFORMATION
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