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kiwi_00's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
Content Warnings
Graphic: Body horror, Death, Emotional abuse, Gore, Hate crime, Racial slurs, Racism, Xenophobia, Blood, Grief, Death of parent, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, War, and Injury/Injury detail
kingrosereads's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
A high sci-fi fantasy new adult novel about a kickass black MC and political drama. Love it!!
I just want to note, that I saw somewhere that this book was labeled as YA, I’m here to tell you it most definitely is not! I learned the hard way as I stomached through the Accursed scenes. Also, check your trigger warnings, there’s a lot of violence and gore, racism, misogyny, bigotry, cannibalism, death, and you know, all the fun stuff my therapist will hear about later.
Can I just say, THANK YOU, Davenport. Thank you so much for writing a sci-fi fantasy that didn’t actively try to hurt my brain. The people have normal dialogue and the world building was explained is a beautiful way that still felt like I was reading about this fantastical world on another planet, without feeling like I wasn’t smart enough to understand and catch on fast enough.
This is likely the first 5 star rating I’ve given to a book where I genuinely don’t care about any shortcomings in the book, that’s how good it was.
The book follows Ikenna Amari, 19 year old recruit for a special warrior group called the Praetorians. The trials to becoming a Praetorian are gruesome and deadly, and Ikenna must overcome racism and misogyny (and attempts on her life) in addition to the shit tasks she and her fellow recruits are given. Ikenna is sort of a legacy Praetorian since her grandfather was one and he was essentially the general for The Republic of Mareen. Her grandfather was a war hero from the war against the Blood Empire (all of the people there are blood-gifted, and having blood-gifts in Mareen is punishable by death) and he eventually rose above the ranks despite the blatant racism and bigotry that was thrown at him for being half-Khanaian (a nation where the population is predominantly black).
Before Ikenna graduates from cadet school and can be recruited for the trials, her Grandfather dies suddenly. For three months, she grieves by drinking and getting into fight, and almost not graduating. That is until her grandfather’s friend and Tribunal member, Brock, tells her that her grandfather was murdered, and it was likely an ordered assassination by one of the other Tribunal members. She enters the trials to get close to the murder suspects so she can exact her revenge. She’s does this, while combating adversity, and also hiding the fact that she is blood-gifted. No one knows who Ikenna’s father is (her mother never told anyone his identity), but it’s clear he’s from the Blood Empire. There’s a lot of action, a bunch of weird creatures and old, vengeful gods, lots of disturbing events, some mystery, a little bit of heat, and a healthy dose of twists and betrayals.
There’s a good chunk of the book that’s just info dumping, but it’s spaced out between action scenes or dramatic ones in a way that you’re not totally bored or overwhelmed. It’s still a lot to take in, but it’s good shit and it is (mostly) relevant. I like that Ikenna is unapologetically herself and she’s not going to reel in her anger for the sake of decorum or “rising above it”. There were a few things that were just repeated too much (like the “I want my knife back…My knives” like the realization of two knives was mentioned too many times). But, it’s whatever in the end.
Ikenna struggles with her identity as Mareenian and the fact the country outright hates her for the color of her skin. I think the book does well in diving into the issue of fighting for a country that doesn’t respect or fight for you. And a country that does a lot of messed up shit. As well as what it’s like to be biracial and be white passing. Then there’s the experience of being a woman and being a black woman that’s shown in this book. Where Ikenna’s friend, Selene, is expected to be a wife and give heirs to her House, Ikenna’s experience is much more violent. Especially since Selene has the added protection of being basically royalty to keep her from actually dying in the trials. I think the range of Ikenna’s experience as a black woman in this mostly white nation of bigots, from microagressions to full-on attempts on her life, was written well and didn’t hold anything back. It’s difficult not seeing the parallels between Mareen and the US. The fact that Mareenians are outright racist and are visibly disgusted by Ikenna, her grandfather, and all Khanaians, while also adopting Khanaian fighting styles, aircraft, and technology was just…I don’t know how to describe the feeling…but the irony of it in this book and it being a thing in real life…
And I’m sorry, but this is a debut? A DEBUT?! Davenport, I hope you fix some things and make some tweaks, but you did it. This is such a great book! Bless you for making it a duology. My heart and brain can only take so many 5+ book series.
This is also probably the first time a 5-star book has taken me a week to complete. Because I needed to put this book down. Some scenes were too much (again, the Accursed scenes really disturbed me) and some had me so heated I needed a minute to cool down and just do something else or read a lighter book. Ikenna is 19 and she’s just had her entire world turned on its head, so she doesn’t make the best decisions, and she shouldn’t be expected to be perfect and avoid mistakes, she’s a human being and she’s NINETEEN!
I was suspicious of everyone and like Ikenna, I was ready to kill these characters on the spot, she showed so much restraint, I don’t know if I could in her shoes.
And can I just say, the friggin sexual tension in this book not only kind of came out of no where (in hindsight, it was like a sneaky, slow build), but it was friggin amazing. I loved it. Reed, my expectations for you were low and I had zero faith in you in the end scene, but you surprised me, and I love you. If Ikenna won’t have your babies, I will.
So yeah, go read the book. Learn some things and be entertained. Let me know when it’s April.
I just want to note, that I saw somewhere that this book was labeled as YA, I’m here to tell you it most definitely is not! I learned the hard way as I stomached through the Accursed scenes. Also, check your trigger warnings, there’s a lot of violence and gore, racism, misogyny, bigotry, cannibalism, death, and you know, all the fun stuff my therapist will hear about later.
Can I just say, THANK YOU, Davenport. Thank you so much for writing a sci-fi fantasy that didn’t actively try to hurt my brain. The people have normal dialogue and the world building was explained is a beautiful way that still felt like I was reading about this fantastical world on another planet, without feeling like I wasn’t smart enough to understand and catch on fast enough.
This is likely the first 5 star rating I’ve given to a book where I genuinely don’t care about any shortcomings in the book, that’s how good it was.
The book follows Ikenna Amari, 19 year old recruit for a special warrior group called the Praetorians. The trials to becoming a Praetorian are gruesome and deadly, and Ikenna must overcome racism and misogyny (and attempts on her life) in addition to the shit tasks she and her fellow recruits are given. Ikenna is sort of a legacy Praetorian since her grandfather was one and he was essentially the general for The Republic of Mareen. Her grandfather was a war hero from the war against the Blood Empire (all of the people there are blood-gifted, and having blood-gifts in Mareen is punishable by death) and he eventually rose above the ranks despite the blatant racism and bigotry that was thrown at him for being half-Khanaian (a nation where the population is predominantly black).
Before Ikenna graduates from cadet school and can be recruited for the trials, her Grandfather dies suddenly. For three months, she grieves by drinking and getting into fight, and almost not graduating. That is until her grandfather’s friend and Tribunal member, Brock, tells her that her grandfather was murdered, and it was likely an ordered assassination by one of the other Tribunal members. She enters the trials to get close to the murder suspects so she can exact her revenge. She’s does this, while combating adversity, and also hiding the fact that she is blood-gifted. No one knows who Ikenna’s father is (her mother never told anyone his identity), but it’s clear he’s from the Blood Empire. There’s a lot of action, a bunch of weird creatures and old, vengeful gods, lots of disturbing events, some mystery, a little bit of heat, and a healthy dose of twists and betrayals.
There’s a good chunk of the book that’s just info dumping, but it’s spaced out between action scenes or dramatic ones in a way that you’re not totally bored or overwhelmed. It’s still a lot to take in, but it’s good shit and it is (mostly) relevant. I like that Ikenna is unapologetically herself and she’s not going to reel in her anger for the sake of decorum or “rising above it”. There were a few things that were just repeated too much (like the “I want my knife back…My knives” like the realization of two knives was mentioned too many times). But, it’s whatever in the end.
Ikenna struggles with her identity as Mareenian and the fact the country outright hates her for the color of her skin. I think the book does well in diving into the issue of fighting for a country that doesn’t respect or fight for you. And a country that does a lot of messed up shit. As well as what it’s like to be biracial and be white passing. Then there’s the experience of being a woman and being a black woman that’s shown in this book. Where Ikenna’s friend, Selene, is expected to be a wife and give heirs to her House, Ikenna’s experience is much more violent. Especially since Selene has the added protection of being basically royalty to keep her from actually dying in the trials. I think the range of Ikenna’s experience as a black woman in this mostly white nation of bigots, from microagressions to full-on attempts on her life, was written well and didn’t hold anything back. It’s difficult not seeing the parallels between Mareen and the US. The fact that Mareenians are outright racist and are visibly disgusted by Ikenna, her grandfather, and all Khanaians, while also adopting Khanaian fighting styles, aircraft, and technology was just…I don’t know how to describe the feeling…but the irony of it in this book and it being a thing in real life…
And I’m sorry, but this is a debut? A DEBUT?! Davenport, I hope you fix some things and make some tweaks, but you did it. This is such a great book! Bless you for making it a duology. My heart and brain can only take so many 5+ book series.
This is also probably the first time a 5-star book has taken me a week to complete. Because I needed to put this book down. Some scenes were too much (again, the Accursed scenes really disturbed me) and some had me so heated I needed a minute to cool down and just do something else or read a lighter book. Ikenna is 19 and she’s just had her entire world turned on its head, so she doesn’t make the best decisions, and she shouldn’t be expected to be perfect and avoid mistakes, she’s a human being and she’s NINETEEN!
I was suspicious of everyone and like Ikenna, I was ready to kill these characters on the spot, she showed so much restraint, I don’t know if I could in her shoes.
And can I just say, the friggin sexual tension in this book not only kind of came out of no where (in hindsight, it was like a sneaky, slow build), but it was friggin amazing. I loved it. Reed, my expectations for you were low and I had zero faith in you in the end scene, but you surprised me, and I love you. If Ikenna won’t have your babies, I will.
So yeah, go read the book. Learn some things and be entertained. Let me know when it’s April.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Bullying, Death, Gore, Gun violence, Hate crime, Misogyny, Racial slurs, Racism, Sexism, Torture, Violence, Xenophobia, Blood, Grief, Cannibalism, Death of parent, Murder, Gaslighting, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Alcoholism and Alcohol
Minor: Genocide, Slavery, Vomit, and War
thereadingskeleton's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
Thank you to B2Weird Book Club and Harper Voyager for an ARC in exchange for an honest review and promotion. All opinions are my own.
Rep: Black MC, biracial LI, Black side characters
What. A. Ride.
Honestly, what else can I say?
Actually, a lot.
First of all, this book is extremely violent, bloody, and gory. It follows Ikenna Amari as she enters the Praetorian Trials, a brutal military initiation, to search for her grandfather’s murderer. With a premise like that (not to mention a name like The Blood Trials, amiright?), I went in expecting violence—but, even so, there was A LOT. I wasn’t particularly bothered by it, but if you’re squeamish, you might want to skip this one.
If I had to choose one thing about the book to gush over, it would be the blending of science and magic. I love science fantasy; it’s a genre I never get enough of. In The Blood Trials, Kenna’s home country of Mareen has eschewed magic in favor of technology—so much so that they’ve executed anyone in the country born with magic. This is a big problem for Kenna, since she secretly has a blood gift—one of the most reviled forms of magic. Throughout the novel, Kenna embraces her gift more and more, and I’m hoping that, in Book 2, that extends to the world and we get to see more mixing of magic and technology.
There were a couple of things I wasn’t as big a fan of. For one, Kenna hardly experiences any character growth. I expect we’ll see more in the second book, but it was frustrating to see her consistently making the same kinds of mistakes without learning a single thing. I was extremely frustrated with her for most of the book. That honestly didn’t detract much from my enjoyment of the story, because I was really here for the action-packed (if not always the least predictable) plot, and I’m excited to see the plot threads that were left dangling get picked back up in the sequel.
I also highly recommend the audiobook version! The narrator, Jeanette Illidge, did a fantastic job.
As a last note, this book is not YA. It is firmly in the adult category, and I definitely wouldn’t recommend it for younger teens. Some older teens will probably enjoy it, though.
Rep: Black MC, biracial LI, Black side characters
What. A. Ride.
Honestly, what else can I say?
Actually, a lot.
First of all, this book is extremely violent, bloody, and gory. It follows Ikenna Amari as she enters the Praetorian Trials, a brutal military initiation, to search for her grandfather’s murderer. With a premise like that (not to mention a name like The Blood Trials, amiright?), I went in expecting violence—but, even so, there was A LOT. I wasn’t particularly bothered by it, but if you’re squeamish, you might want to skip this one.
If I had to choose one thing about the book to gush over, it would be the blending of science and magic. I love science fantasy; it’s a genre I never get enough of. In The Blood Trials, Kenna’s home country of Mareen has eschewed magic in favor of technology—so much so that they’ve executed anyone in the country born with magic. This is a big problem for Kenna, since she secretly has a blood gift—one of the most reviled forms of magic. Throughout the novel, Kenna embraces her gift more and more, and I’m hoping that, in Book 2, that extends to the world and we get to see more mixing of magic and technology.
There were a couple of things I wasn’t as big a fan of. For one, Kenna hardly experiences any character growth. I expect we’ll see more in the second book, but it was frustrating to see her consistently making the same kinds of mistakes without learning a single thing. I was extremely frustrated with her for most of the book. That honestly didn’t detract much from my enjoyment of the story, because I was really here for the action-packed (if not always the least predictable) plot, and I’m excited to see the plot threads that were left dangling get picked back up in the sequel.
I also highly recommend the audiobook version! The narrator, Jeanette Illidge, did a fantastic job.
As a last note, this book is not YA. It is firmly in the adult category, and I definitely wouldn’t recommend it for younger teens. Some older teens will probably enjoy it, though.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Bullying, Confinement, Death, Gore, Gun violence, Misogyny, Racism, Sexism, Torture, Violence, Blood, Grief, and Cannibalism
Moderate: Racial slurs, Sexual content, Xenophobia, Death of parent, War, and Classism
Minor: Genocide and Colonisation
rebeccajost's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
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? Yes
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Body horror, Confinement, Death, Gore, Gun violence, Hate crime, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Racism, Sexism, Sexual content, Torture, Violence, Xenophobia, Blood, Medical content, Grief, Cannibalism, Medical trauma, Murder, and War
Moderate: Kidnapping, Death of parent, Gaslighting, and Alcohol
foreverinastory's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
Thank you to B2 Weird Bookclub and Harper Voyager for an arc in exchange for an honest review and promotion. All opinions are my own.
4.5/5 Y’all this book took me on a ride.
This was so bloody, but I loved it all! The Blood Trials is an immersive, bloody military fantasy that follows Ikenna Amari. She has just graduated her training and is planning to take time off to grieve the loss of her beloved Grandfather. When she learns he was murdered, she decides to pledge to the Praetorians to find out who killed him. But she’ll only find out if she survives the fatal trial process.
There is so much action in this story, and a shit ton of graphic and violent content. I loved going on this journey with Ikenna. She was a character I enjoyed getting to know. She doesn’t have everything figured out, but she has a goal in mind and nothing will stop her from getting there.
The magic and world building was really well done. There are so many cool parts to the societies to explore and I cannot wait to learn more about them all in the sequel! I really hope we get to see more of the other countries besides Mareen, because I am so curious about them all. Especially Ikenna's friendship with the Crown Prince. I need more details Ikenna!
Overall, I highly recommend this book.
Rep: Biracial Black cishet female MC, white cishet female side character, biracial cishet male side character, various Black male side characters.
CWs: Racism, racial slurs, xenophobia, violence, gore, blood, injury/injury detail, cursing, death, cannibalism, misogyny, sexual content (on page and discussions), classism, sexism, grief, war, bullying/hazing, torture, murder, death of grandparent/parent, gun violence, medical content. Moderate: vomit, alcohol, alcoholism, confinement, gaslighting, colonisation, genocide, abandonment.
4.5/5 Y’all this book took me on a ride.
This was so bloody, but I loved it all! The Blood Trials is an immersive, bloody military fantasy that follows Ikenna Amari. She has just graduated her training and is planning to take time off to grieve the loss of her beloved Grandfather. When she learns he was murdered, she decides to pledge to the Praetorians to find out who killed him. But she’ll only find out if she survives the fatal trial process.
There is so much action in this story, and a shit ton of graphic and violent content. I loved going on this journey with Ikenna. She was a character I enjoyed getting to know. She doesn’t have everything figured out, but she has a goal in mind and nothing will stop her from getting there.
The magic and world building was really well done. There are so many cool parts to the societies to explore and I cannot wait to learn more about them all in the sequel! I really hope we get to see more of the other countries besides Mareen, because I am so curious about them all. Especially Ikenna's friendship with the Crown Prince. I need more details Ikenna!
Overall, I highly recommend this book.
Rep: Biracial Black cishet female MC, white cishet female side character, biracial cishet male side character, various Black male side characters.
CWs: Racism, racial slurs, xenophobia, violence, gore, blood, injury/injury detail, cursing, death, cannibalism, misogyny, sexual content (on page and discussions), classism, sexism, grief, war, bullying/hazing, torture, murder, death of grandparent/parent, gun violence, medical content. Moderate: vomit, alcohol, alcoholism, confinement, gaslighting, colonisation, genocide, abandonment.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Bullying, Cursing, Death, Gore, Gun violence, Misogyny, Racial slurs, Racism, Sexism, Sexual content, Torture, Violence, Xenophobia, Blood, Medical content, Grief, Cannibalism, Death of parent, Murder, War, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism
Moderate: Alcoholism, Confinement, Genocide, Vomit, Gaslighting, Abandonment, Alcohol, and Colonisation
natashaleighton_'s review against another edition
adventurous
dark
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? Yes
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Body horror, Misogyny, Racial slurs, Torture, Violence, Xenophobia, Blood, Murder, War, and Classism
xalrynne's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
1.75
I had been very excited to read The Blood Trials for quite some time, ever since I first saw the amazing cover a few months ago, and I was very lucky and ecstatic to receive an early copy of it, which I immediately jumped into. Unfortunately, however, this book had so much language and violence in it that I almost DNFed it in chapter 3 for that reason alone. I persevered, though, because I really wanted to read this book and enjoy it, but the vulgarity and violence only got worse.
The story here is surrounding Ikenna, a strong female protagonist who is hot-headed and quick to start a fight, in the aftermath of her grandfather’s murder. Her grandfather was the former Legatus Commander, a high-ranking official who trained her to keep her Blood gift a secret. Determined to discover who killed her grandfather and avenge his death, Ikenna pledges in the Praetorian Trials, a grueling set of physical tests that mean death for most who try. But Ikenna has an advantage with her Blood gift, a power that no one knows she has and that the government of Mareen tried to wipe out years ago. If she is found out, she will be killed. If she fails the trials, she will be killed. She might just be killed anyway because of her mixed heritage and dark skin color. But she will die fighting if that’s what it takes.
One of the very first things I noticed about this book, which continued throughout the whole story, is that the writing is very choppy. There are lots of short sentences right after each other instead of being combined with commas and contractions. Stopping at so many periods so frequently was jarring and made for a reading experience that wasn’t too enjoyable for me. There also was not a lot of worldbuilding at all—just a little bit about the government of Mareen and the Pantheon of gods they may or may not believe in, but not much else. The writing style really makes this book feel like a debut novel to me. I kept being pulled out of the story because of how something was explained or the word choices made, and it made it clear that this story has a really cool concept but with poor execution.
The trials started with over a thousand people, then there were 600, then 300 people left, yet the same five people are the only ones who ever get mentioned. It feels like no one important dies and no one else is even present because the lack of talk about them. Why do the training officers pick on the same handful of people in every chapter when literally hundreds of more options are out there? I know Ikenna isn’t going to interact with every single person in the trials with her, but how few people were actually mentioned made it feel rather unrealistic and like there was only a small group of people present the whole time.
I could not connect to or care about any of the characters besides Ikenna. A lot of minor characters I got mixed up because they would be referenced once or twice in the beginning and then not at all in the middle and then again at the end, or there would be a ton of side characters introduced at once with no distinguishing traits between them and I was expected to remember them all. Just not very good character work in this book, in my opinion.
This definitely feels like just a dystopian with a little bit of futuristic technology, instead of the science-fiction / fantasy crossover that I thought this was and that the cover and synopsis alluded to. I absolutely love the cover for this book, but I think it’s the wrong cover for the story within. The appearance of multiple planets and spired buildings are not indicative of the type of story this is; the vibrant colors on the cover make it seem more lighthearted, action-packed but fun, instead of the dark aggressive story focused on murder, racism, and bigotry that it is.
The Blood Trials is very dark and gritty and violent, most of the book focusing on what Ikenna has to go through to survive the brutal trials. This honestly looks like a young adult book cover, but this is very much an adult book with adult content, and that’s to this book’s disadvantage because it is likely that the type of audience that will be drawn to the cover is not the type to be prepared for the directions the story takes (like me).
I wanted to love this book, but I spent most of the story just waiting for it to end because I wasn’t enjoying it as much as I wanted to. I think this will be an amazing book for the right audience, and I thought that was me before I started it, but now after having read it, I know I’m not the right audience anymore.
Because Ikenna is Black and suffers unnecessary racism in her world because of her mixed heritage, I think Black women looking for a strong female protagonist that they can see come out on top of all the suppressors would really enjoy this story. The author is Black and the main character is Black, and this just feels like a story written for the strong Black women out there who feel like they don’t belong but are powerful, determined fighters. This is a book for them, and that’s great because we need more books like that. But that’s not me.
Even though this is a book I would describe as “good,” I didn’t particularly enjoy it. Ikenna faces so much hatred and injustices that it constantly made me just so mad. I read books to feel happy, so I didn’t want to keep returning to this story that I knew was going to keep making me angry with every passing page.
I quit reading at 84% and skimmed to the end, reading dialogue here and there and then reading the last page. I just couldn’t do it anymore. I had been suffering through this book for over two weeks, reading during every spare second I had, and it still would not end. I brought the book on vacation with me and read and read and read it, and I still was not done. From about 50% onward is when I switched from being engaged in the story to just wanting it to be done simply because I was not enjoying it anymore, but I pushed forward until I eventually decided to stop at 84%. The trials end at the 70% mark and the last 30% is just politics that set up the story that will take place during the sequel, which I already know I won’t be reading. Plus, even though I normally like political intrigue, I did not care about a single thing the characters were talking about or doing. I didn’t know who they were talking about or what the nations and alliances were, and I certainly didn’t care about the future of any one character or country.
Overall, I am very disappointed with The Blood Trials. I wanted both more fantastical elements and more science-fiction elements, and I wanted less graphic on-page violence and less vulgarity. I also wanted more character development and world-building. I expected this book to be a new favorite, but I struggled to push myself through it and found myself not caring what happened in the end. Even though this book didn’t work out for me, I think this will be a great book for the right audience, so I encourage you to check if out if you’re interested. Just know ahead of time the content gets very dark.
The story here is surrounding Ikenna, a strong female protagonist who is hot-headed and quick to start a fight, in the aftermath of her grandfather’s murder. Her grandfather was the former Legatus Commander, a high-ranking official who trained her to keep her Blood gift a secret. Determined to discover who killed her grandfather and avenge his death, Ikenna pledges in the Praetorian Trials, a grueling set of physical tests that mean death for most who try. But Ikenna has an advantage with her Blood gift, a power that no one knows she has and that the government of Mareen tried to wipe out years ago. If she is found out, she will be killed. If she fails the trials, she will be killed. She might just be killed anyway because of her mixed heritage and dark skin color. But she will die fighting if that’s what it takes.
One of the very first things I noticed about this book, which continued throughout the whole story, is that the writing is very choppy. There are lots of short sentences right after each other instead of being combined with commas and contractions. Stopping at so many periods so frequently was jarring and made for a reading experience that wasn’t too enjoyable for me. There also was not a lot of worldbuilding at all—just a little bit about the government of Mareen and the Pantheon of gods they may or may not believe in, but not much else. The writing style really makes this book feel like a debut novel to me. I kept being pulled out of the story because of how something was explained or the word choices made, and it made it clear that this story has a really cool concept but with poor execution.
The trials started with over a thousand people, then there were 600, then 300 people left, yet the same five people are the only ones who ever get mentioned. It feels like no one important dies and no one else is even present because the lack of talk about them. Why do the training officers pick on the same handful of people in every chapter when literally hundreds of more options are out there? I know Ikenna isn’t going to interact with every single person in the trials with her, but how few people were actually mentioned made it feel rather unrealistic and like there was only a small group of people present the whole time.
I could not connect to or care about any of the characters besides Ikenna. A lot of minor characters I got mixed up because they would be referenced once or twice in the beginning and then not at all in the middle and then again at the end, or there would be a ton of side characters introduced at once with no distinguishing traits between them and I was expected to remember them all. Just not very good character work in this book, in my opinion.
This definitely feels like just a dystopian with a little bit of futuristic technology, instead of the science-fiction / fantasy crossover that I thought this was and that the cover and synopsis alluded to. I absolutely love the cover for this book, but I think it’s the wrong cover for the story within. The appearance of multiple planets and spired buildings are not indicative of the type of story this is; the vibrant colors on the cover make it seem more lighthearted, action-packed but fun, instead of the dark aggressive story focused on murder, racism, and bigotry that it is.
The Blood Trials is very dark and gritty and violent, most of the book focusing on what Ikenna has to go through to survive the brutal trials. This honestly looks like a young adult book cover, but this is very much an adult book with adult content, and that’s to this book’s disadvantage because it is likely that the type of audience that will be drawn to the cover is not the type to be prepared for the directions the story takes (like me).
I wanted to love this book, but I spent most of the story just waiting for it to end because I wasn’t enjoying it as much as I wanted to. I think this will be an amazing book for the right audience, and I thought that was me before I started it, but now after having read it, I know I’m not the right audience anymore.
Because Ikenna is Black and suffers unnecessary racism in her world because of her mixed heritage, I think Black women looking for a strong female protagonist that they can see come out on top of all the suppressors would really enjoy this story. The author is Black and the main character is Black, and this just feels like a story written for the strong Black women out there who feel like they don’t belong but are powerful, determined fighters. This is a book for them, and that’s great because we need more books like that. But that’s not me.
Even though this is a book I would describe as “good,” I didn’t particularly enjoy it. Ikenna faces so much hatred and injustices that it constantly made me just so mad. I read books to feel happy, so I didn’t want to keep returning to this story that I knew was going to keep making me angry with every passing page.
I quit reading at 84% and skimmed to the end, reading dialogue here and there and then reading the last page. I just couldn’t do it anymore. I had been suffering through this book for over two weeks, reading during every spare second I had, and it still would not end. I brought the book on vacation with me and read and read and read it, and I still was not done. From about 50% onward is when I switched from being engaged in the story to just wanting it to be done simply because I was not enjoying it anymore, but I pushed forward until I eventually decided to stop at 84%. The trials end at the 70% mark and the last 30% is just politics that set up the story that will take place during the sequel, which I already know I won’t be reading. Plus, even though I normally like political intrigue, I did not care about a single thing the characters were talking about or doing. I didn’t know who they were talking about or what the nations and alliances were, and I certainly didn’t care about the future of any one character or country.
Overall, I am very disappointed with The Blood Trials. I wanted both more fantastical elements and more science-fiction elements, and I wanted less graphic on-page violence and less vulgarity. I also wanted more character development and world-building. I expected this book to be a new favorite, but I struggled to push myself through it and found myself not caring what happened in the end. Even though this book didn’t work out for me, I think this will be a great book for the right audience, so I encourage you to check if out if you’re interested. Just know ahead of time the content gets very dark.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Cursing, Death, Misogyny, Racial slurs, Racism, Sexism, Torture, Violence, Xenophobia, Murder, War, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism