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avacadosocks's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
3.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Violence, Racism, Misogyny, Death, and Blood
Moderate: Sexual content and Cannibalism
Minor: Death of parent and Murder
linhsreadinghour's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
4.25
If you want a true trial book - THIS IS THE TRIAL BOOK TO READ. High stakes, action packed, political intrigue, great diverse worldbuilding, a blend of fantasy (blood magic) and Sci-fi, with a murder mystery subplot, and tiniest of romance.
Kenna, our FMC, has such a strong voice. She’s so impulsive and rash, that really shows in her actions. If you don’t like your MC like this, you may struggle to like her. I loved all the other characters in this too, everyone had such a distinct voice and personality. You knew who was who. But the characters you’re suppose to dislike, I HATED - WOWW, my blood would BOIL whenever they opened their mouth. Amazing characterisation.
World was so rich, drawing inspiration from African culture. Loved it so much.
The book explores themes of grief really well, but racism and misogyny is huge in the book too. So take care if this is triggering. Also, cannibalism is in this!! Graphic cannibalism - I was not expecting this at all but it definitely added to the stakes.
Actioned packed. Wowee, I felt like I couldn’t rest with the characters. My blood pressure was so high cause of the plot twists and just scenes I didn’t see coming.
I knock a few stars off because the writing was a little bit difficult to read in the sense that some sentences were oddly constructed.
Also, the romance:I love where Reed and Kenna’s relationship was heading. The little spicy scene though (I was giggling, kicking my feet), just felt a little out of the blue. And then NOTHING IS DEVELOPED ANY FURTHER. WHY?!! I WANTED MORE KENNA AND REED 😭😭
Overall, I loved the book though. Could be the best trial book I’ve read so far!
Kenna, our FMC, has such a strong voice. She’s so impulsive and rash, that really shows in her actions. If you don’t like your MC like this, you may struggle to like her. I loved all the other characters in this too, everyone had such a distinct voice and personality. You knew who was who. But the characters you’re suppose to dislike, I HATED - WOWW, my blood would BOIL whenever they opened their mouth. Amazing characterisation.
World was so rich, drawing inspiration from African culture. Loved it so much.
The book explores themes of grief really well, but racism and misogyny is huge in the book too. So take care if this is triggering. Also, cannibalism is in this!! Graphic cannibalism - I was not expecting this at all but it definitely added to the stakes.
Actioned packed. Wowee, I felt like I couldn’t rest with the characters. My blood pressure was so high cause of the plot twists and just scenes I didn’t see coming.
I knock a few stars off because the writing was a little bit difficult to read in the sense that some sentences were oddly constructed.
Also, the romance:
Overall, I loved the book though. Could be the best trial book I’ve read so far!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Racial slurs, Injury/Injury detail, Blood, Cannibalism, Gore, Grief, Murder, Misogyny, Racism, and Violence
Moderate: War, Colonisation, and Cursing
citymouse's review against another edition
5.0
Content Warnings
Moderate: Violence, Sexual content, Death, Blood, Sexism, Vomit, and Grief
Minor: Racial slurs and War
jsreyes's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.75
Content Warnings
Graphic: Torture, Death, and Violence
Minor: Cannibalism
sup3r_xn0va_maya's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
💬: "I’m a cadet. I’m nowhere close to his rank. I’m also so much more than that and good ol’ boy Radson decided to fuck with me on the right day. I smile at Radson while motioning him forward. Feeling the severe strain of my cheek muscles, I know I appear a little psycho."
Davenport, N. E.. The Blood Trials (The Blood Gift Duology Book 1) (p. 9). HarperCollins. Kindle Edition.
📖Genres: fantasy, sci-fi, romance, adult,
📚Page Count: 453
🎧Audiobook Length: 18h 20min
👩🏾🏫My Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ - 5/5
----
The Blood Trials by N. E. Davenport is a sci fi/fantasy ADULT story about a Black woman
who lives in a racist and misogynistic society who finds out her grandfather was murdered when she previously thought he died of natural causes. Ikenna is spending her last night as a cadet with friends when she privately gets the news, she instantly decides that she wants revenge. Joining The Praetorian Trials means that Ikenna can get close to the people who might have had a hand in her grandfathers death, so that's what she decides to do. She's sure that she cans survive the challenges, because she was trained by the best (her grandfather) and she has a secret blood gift to help her. Will Ikenna be able to survive the challenges while also figuring out who killed her grandfather?
There were plenty of things I really liked about this book. I love how the main character made impulsive decisions, now these decisions weren't always the best ones but I felt as if the character's personality really shined through and it was consistent. I liked how Ikenna often remembered her grandfather and how she would think about what advice he might give her. The action scenes were really well described in this book. And although some of the twists in the story were predictable, the story was written well so it was still interesting when revealed.
There was only one thing that I didn't like. I couldn't understand why the challenges were so hard, there were characters dying left and right and it felt like the Praetorians reasoning for the challenges being so hard didn't make sense. If no one survives your challenge then who actually wins? Literally no one, because the Praetorians wouldn't gain any new soldiers. There were so many people dying that it no longer became a shock when someone died, and it was no longer impactful. It ruined the immersion for me. Thankfully the story was written well so I was able to re-immerse myself back into the story a few chapters later.
There was one spicy scene, it was written well but I'm uninterested in spicy scenes between young adults. I'm giving the spicy scene a one chili 🌶️ out of five chilies.
Overall, this book was really good. There was so much I enjoyed and very little I disliked. The theme of this book is "revenge" and it really reminds me of "Iron Widow" by Xiran Jay Zhao and I gave that book a 5. This book definitely deserves a 5 as well. I'm giving this 5 out of 5 stars.
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ - 5/5 Stars
I listened to this for free on the library app [HooplaDigital.com]
Davenport, N. E.. The Blood Trials (The Blood Gift Duology Book 1) (p. 9). HarperCollins. Kindle Edition.
📖Genres: fantasy, sci-fi, romance, adult,
📚Page Count: 453
🎧Audiobook Length: 18h 20min
👩🏾🏫My Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ - 5/5
----
The Blood Trials by N. E. Davenport is a sci fi/fantasy ADULT story about a Black woman
who lives in a racist and misogynistic society who finds out her grandfather was murdered when she previously thought he died of natural causes. Ikenna is spending her last night as a cadet with friends when she privately gets the news, she instantly decides that she wants revenge. Joining The Praetorian Trials means that Ikenna can get close to the people who might have had a hand in her grandfathers death, so that's what she decides to do. She's sure that she cans survive the challenges, because she was trained by the best (her grandfather) and she has a secret blood gift to help her. Will Ikenna be able to survive the challenges while also figuring out who killed her grandfather?
There were plenty of things I really liked about this book. I love how the main character made impulsive decisions, now these decisions weren't always the best ones but I felt as if the character's personality really shined through and it was consistent. I liked how Ikenna often remembered her grandfather and how she would think about what advice he might give her. The action scenes were really well described in this book. And although some of the twists in the story were predictable, the story was written well so it was still interesting when revealed.
There was only one thing that I didn't like. I couldn't understand why the challenges were so hard, there were characters dying left and right and it felt like the Praetorians reasoning for the challenges being so hard didn't make sense. If no one survives your challenge then who actually wins? Literally no one, because the Praetorians wouldn't gain any new soldiers. There were so many people dying that it no longer became a shock when someone died, and it was no longer impactful. It ruined the immersion for me. Thankfully the story was written well so I was able to re-immerse myself back into the story a few chapters later.
There was one spicy scene, it was written well but I'm uninterested in spicy scenes between young adults. I'm giving the spicy scene a one chili 🌶️ out of five chilies.
Overall, this book was really good. There was so much I enjoyed and very little I disliked. The theme of this book is "revenge" and it really reminds me of "Iron Widow" by Xiran Jay Zhao and I gave that book a 5. This book definitely deserves a 5 as well. I'm giving this 5 out of 5 stars.
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ - 5/5 Stars
I listened to this for free on the library app [HooplaDigital.com]
Content Warnings
Graphic: Gore, Gun violence, Drug use, Colonisation, Death, Death of parent, Genocide, War, Child death, Racial slurs, Sexism, Torture, Grief, Violence, Vomit, Blood, Kidnapping, Misogyny, Racism, Body horror, Bullying, Cursing, Injury/Injury detail, and Murder
thenextbookdilemma's review
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.25
Content Warnings
Graphic: Murder, Racism, Racial slurs, Xenophobia, Violence, and Sexism
Moderate: Death of parent
hotkoolaidpotato's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
inspiring
mysterious
reflective
sad
tense
fast-paced
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Injury/Injury detail, Sexual content, Racism, Violence, Blood, Racial slurs, War, Hate crime, Death, and Bullying
queergoth_reads's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
I struggled to get into this at first and then it kicked off about a third of the way in and I was completely hooked. And that ending! I'll have to get to the second one soon because I need to know how on this is all going to play out.
My only thing I wasn't so keen on is a huge plot spoiler so proceeded with caution.I felt like thete were a lot of character deaths that just didn't draw a lot of emotion from me as I felt like I didn't really know them. This is particularly true for Zayne. I felt Ikenna's emotion but I didn't feel much for Zayne as he was kind of pushed to the side for a lot of the story, which just made me feel like some of the impact was lost. But at the same time I don't know how much of this is just me. I think I just wanted to know them more before we lost them.
My only thing I wasn't so keen on is a huge plot spoiler so proceeded with caution.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Misogyny, Death, Racial slurs, Murder, Blood, Medical content, Violence, and Racism
Moderate: Injury/Injury detail, War, Gore, and Sexual content
squids_can_read's review
DNF (46%)
Kenna's grandfather is dead. Died of a heart attack or so the corner says. Suddenly information comes to light that her grandfather's death might not have been an accident like everyone says it is. Now Kenna has to fight for her place among the ruthless Praetorians along with finding out what actually happened to her grandfather.
Doesn't that sound great? It would have been if the author had developed the world at all. This is a mix of science fiction and fantasy but neither of these aspects are explained at all. There is random technology that simply exists with no information of how long it's existed or if people are still trying to create new technology. Similar to the fantasy element. Gods are referenced but are not described whatsoever in their effect on the world except for giving some people powers. And these powers aren't explained either. It seems like people with powers are much stronger than everyone else but they get beat up by people without powers. It also doesn't explain all of what they can do. Do they have one power depending on the god or do they have all of them? I was just really confused.
I also didn't like how focused the world was on racism and bigotry. This was a big part of the point of the book and I didn't have a problem with using those ideas to make a commentary on our world. I had an issue with how much was shoved in the reader's face that absolutely everyone where Kenna lives is a terrible person except for her friends, one of whom is from there. It just didn't make a lot of sense to me, especially in terms of the timeline of when these ideas started and where they came from.
As for the characters, I thought that they were okay. All of the characters seemed kind of two-dimensional to me. It didn't feel like they were very complicated, including the main character. But the characters were not why I DNFed this book.
PSA- Despite the fact that this book cover looks YA, this is definitely a book for adults. There is heavy graphic violence that took me a little by surprise. I did get used to it but it was a lot in the beginning, just so you know.
Kenna's grandfather is dead. Died of a heart attack or so the corner says. Suddenly information comes to light that her grandfather's death might not have been an accident like everyone says it is. Now Kenna has to fight for her place among the ruthless Praetorians along with finding out what actually happened to her grandfather.
Doesn't that sound great? It would have been if the author had developed the world at all. This is a mix of science fiction and fantasy but neither of these aspects are explained at all. There is random technology that simply exists with no information of how long it's existed or if people are still trying to create new technology. Similar to the fantasy element. Gods are referenced but are not described whatsoever in their effect on the world except for giving some people powers. And these powers aren't explained either. It seems like people with powers are much stronger than everyone else but they get beat up by people without powers. It also doesn't explain all of what they can do. Do they have one power depending on the god or do they have all of them? I was just really confused.
I also didn't like how focused the world was on racism and bigotry. This was a big part of the point of the book and I didn't have a problem with using those ideas to make a commentary on our world. I had an issue with how much was shoved in the reader's face that absolutely everyone where Kenna lives is a terrible person except for her friends, one of whom is from there. It just didn't make a lot of sense to me, especially in terms of the timeline of when these ideas started and where they came from.
As for the characters, I thought that they were okay. All of the characters seemed kind of two-dimensional to me. It didn't feel like they were very complicated, including the main character. But the characters were not why I DNFed this book.
PSA- Despite the fact that this book cover looks YA, this is definitely a book for adults. There is heavy graphic violence that took me a little by surprise. I did get used to it but it was a lot in the beginning, just so you know.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Alcoholism, Bullying, Gore, Alcohol, Body horror, Gun violence, Physical abuse, Sexual content, Cannibalism, Blood, Classism, Racial slurs, Racism, Addiction, Death, Genocide, Grief, Injury/Injury detail, Misogyny, Murder, Torture, War, and Violence