Blood Queen Review

Blood Queen: Dark & Spicy Fae Romantasy With Deadly Trials (The Trials of Death and Honor Book 2) by Karolina Wilde
Series: The Trials of Death and Honor #2
Genres: Dark Fantasy, Fantasy & Magic, Romantasy
Format: eARC
Source: Provided by author for honest review
Goodreads

Vengeance is within my grasp. If I can survive the trials.

After six brutal months of training, I’ve earned my place in the lethal Order of Ezkai, the first human in history to do so. The Ezkai General himself had plans for me, and I was ready to climb the ranks until I had the power to end King Franci’s life.

Then the General is assassinated.

Chaos consumes the Order.

A new leader must rise, and the only way to claim the title is to survive the deadly trials.

One victor. Everyone else dies.

An unlikely ally offers me a path to the throne, and I know what I have to do.

Win the trials.

Take the power.

Use it to destroy my enemies.

But nothing in Ekios is ever simple.

The man I love has entered the trials, too.

And in the end, only one of us will walk away.

Blood Queen is a dark, seductive romantasy sequel to Vicious Princess, perfect for fans of Fourth Wing, Throne of Glass, and From Blood and Ash, where deadly trials, ruthless ambition, and forbidden passion collide.

 Julie’s Review of Blood Queen: Dark & Spicy Fae Romantasy With Deadly Trials (The Trials of Death and Honor Book 2)

When I first started reading this book, I shared this post on Insta about how I was terrified this book was going to rip out my heart. I mean, I wasn’t wrong.

Blood Queen begins in a comfortable place with our FMC Phoenix, the only human graduate of the elite Fae military academy, and her former instructor secret boyfriend, now colleague boyfriend, living their best life. Spice is spicing, they even cook together! But that can’t last in fantasy, as we know.

Phoenix has been through some trauma, and deep to her core she wants revenge and the blood debt she is owed. The feminine rage is fierce! Her drive toward that one goal puts her in the trials to become the next General. Only one will survive the trials (it’s kill or be killed). Her boyfriend also joins the trials. Here’s where I thought my heart would be absolutely torn out of my chest. But by the end of the book? Burn it all down with him inside. The feminine rage leapt off the pages and into my soul.

The trials raise the stakes higher and higher, and I do love a book with trials. It checks out with my other 5 star read this year so far. The training and mentorship is fabulous with the old crone being absolutely sassy and making Phoenix dig deep into herself to be bigger and better. And I just love the friendship building between sponsor and champion. And even the silly sidekick who I wasn’t so sure about at first started to grow on me by the end, like he did on our champion.

The MMC starts out absolutely adorable and adoring of Phoenix, but just remember that males can’t be trusted. For real! Little by little as she finds out the truth and really gets to know who he is, well, I don’t want to spoil anything but it is absolutely horrific what he is a part of and what he would do. Betrayal goes deeper as you peel back the layers of the onion. Does he love her, is the yearning and begging her to drop out and be with him real, or is something darker going on? Only time tells.

So this is a solid 4.5 and really the only thing keeping it from being 5 I think is the awkward sudden POV switches. Phoenix is our main narrator, but a handful of times we just get another voice in the first person. No chapter heading telling the name, but I did eventually realize the image icon thing at the top of the chapter changes. But it took me out of the immersion of the story several times. I think that could have been done better.

Check your triggers because there are some dark topics in this book. The ending of the book had me gasping and I know book 3 is going to be wild.

Tropes:

• Deadly Trials
• Love vs Revenge
• Dragons
• Feminine Rage
• Evil Criminal Organizations doing despicable things
• Lying men
• Betrayal
• Found Family

Thanks to the author’s team for providing this ARC for review. Glad to be on the ARC team since reading the first book!

Read my review of Book 1: Vicious Princess 

 

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