Reviews with content warning for Slavery - King of Battle and Blood

I read this book in a single sitting because I just couldn't put it down. A fast-paced combination of fantasy romance tropes that St. Clair executes pretty well, but can't distract from the more troubling themes of racism and colonialism that are handled as poorly as is genre-typical.
King of Battle and Blood is like The Vampire Diaries meets From Blood and Ash and The Bridge Kingdom. Human Princess Isolde is betrothed to the Vampire King Adrian in exchange for the safety of her home kingdom from the Vampire King's terrorizing reign and rapid territory expansion. As she is fitted into her wedding gown, Isolde is gifted a golden dagger, and instructed to kill the king and save her home land, no matter the cost. This should be easy for someone who hates vampires as much as Isolde does — only, she can't deny the simmering attraction she feels for him. And the more she learns about Adrian's people and the centuries-long war between his kingdom and hers, the more conflicted she becomes. When attraction starts giving way to something more, will she still maintain the strength to kill her enemy and save her people? And is Adrian even her enemy anymore?
Here's what's up: almost nothing about this book was original. It was like Scarlett St. Clair dug into a mystery grab bag of fantasy romance tropes and then just strung a book together around them. But here's what's also up: I don't mind at all! I don't need my fantasy romances to be original anymore as long as they're fun and keep me engaged. And this book did that! I stayed home and canceled plans so I could keep reading this book. I finished it in a single evening because I didn't want to put it down. For that reason, I would recommend it to other readers of fantasy romance looking for something to scratch that itch. The marriage of convenience was a nice touch, and there's a very-present but unfortunately underbaked element of fated mates here too.
This book has an extended plot for sure, but it is mostly a backdrop used to progress Isolde and Adrian's relationship. If you're looking for fantasy, this is not for you. This is a romance novel in a fantasy setting, similar to SJM, FBAA, etc. I liked the fantasy elements that were there, but a lot of it felt cobbled together.
There are also some aspects to this story (like with SJM and FBAA) that were so troubling. First, Isolde is mixed race. Her father (the king) is white, and her mother (died in childbirth) was darker skinned and called "an island woman." We hear very little about the islands except that the people there are tan and love the sun, they exports shells and pearls, and by the end of the novel, they are all enslaved by another kingdom. These unpictured island people are as far as we are told, the only brown people in this fantasy world, except for Isolde's handmaiden who is also brown. Isolde never knew her mother and had no island influences in her life growing up. When she meets nobles of the vampire kingdom, she wonders if they find her less beautiful or less dignified for being islander. All of these aspects, especially coming from a white author, are super frustrating. Given the opportunity to design a world from the ground up (one with magic and monsters and unique political structures, etc etc etc), St. Clair still chose to enslave the only known kingdom of brown people. Like, what was the purpose? There was opportunity to make Isolde's mixed race heritage an active piece of her identity and personality, but instead it was only ever brought up negatively.
The other majorly troubling factor for me was the pervasive theme of invasion, conquest, colonization. This seems to be a new genre fixture in this pseudo-feminist fantasy romance space where girlbossing is the goal. Thinking back to Aelin of TOG and Poppy of FBAA, the end goal seems to be to spread the good fortune of their kingdom to others, by violently invading other territories and subjecting them to foreign rule. It's a very white, very American view — that these girls can erase injustice by conquering other lands and dethroning their easily-identified-as-evil rulers. It takes a lot of black-and-white worldbuilding to try to justify colonization in your fantasy universe. To be in any way convincing, it also has to lack all nuance. It always leaves a bad taste in my mouth, and this book is no exception. This book ends with Isolde deciding she doesn't want to be a princess or a wife or an assassin or whatever else — she wants to be a conqueror. This is framed by the narrative as huge growth for her character. She's going to take down the enslavers and free her mother's people. She's going to reclaim her homeland and all the other human kingdoms so that she and Adrian can free the magic that has been suppressed and abused across the realm... or so they say. St. Clair doesn't justify her colonialism enough in this book for it to even hold up in-universe, much less outside of it. Adrian's kingdom is shown to be full of as much corruption and in-fighting as the human territories but somehow they're still more fit to lead? Isolde has no leadership experience, and when her own people question her or her motives, she belittles them or kills them. She is erratic in her leadership and abusive of her power, and while I admire her boldness (she kills a high-ranking lord's son on the dance floor of a highly-populated ball, because he touched her shoulder after she said no), I sincerely hope there is a reality check or a humbling of Isolde's character in the sequel. Moments of justice like the one mentioned can be fun, but they became repetitive over time and even began to feel cruel given the present imbalances of power.
I will read the sequel, because I really do like St. Clair's writing style and I remember the Hades x Persephone saga getting better with time. This was definitely an addition to my mainstay fantasy romance shelf, even with the disappointing aspects.

Content Warnings

karapillar's review against another edition

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challenging dark emotional mysterious sad tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

Content Warnings

just_one_more_paige's review against another edition

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adventurous fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.0

So, I read A Touch of Darkness (in one sitting) on Xmas Day, as I was (happily) home alone and relaxing. It was exactly what I wanted it to be. And I was in the mood for more like it as New Year's Day approached. However, I also had been good with where that one finished and wasn't interested in more from Hades and Persephone, at least right now, so I decided to give St. Clair's new book/series a try instead, since the vibe on the first one had been so right. And let me tell you, not only did this hit the spot, it was even better! And honestly now I'm frustrated (in a good way) because I do want more from these characters, but the rest of the series isn't out yet! Gahhhhh!

King Adrian and his vampire army are on the doorstep of Isolde's kingdom and she would do anything to save her people from their vengeful conquering. So, when her father invites Adrian in to treat with him, and his offer of peaceful power transfer is contingent on Isolde becoming his wife, she agrees. Her secret plan, of course, is to use this opportunity to get close enough to kill him, but when her assassination attempt fails, she realizes she may need to get to know him better to really uncover any weaknesses. Over the time she spends with him traveling back to his home country of Revekka, and the weeks with him there, Isolde starts to realize that there may be more to his monstrousness than she'd originally thought. And there is absolutely no denying the physical pull between them, the sexual tension (and lots more than tension!) are real.

Y'all, there was nothing deep about this book. Nothing. And I loved every flipping second of it. First, and most importantly, there was so much sex. And it was so good and so steamy. I saw a review of this one on Goodreads that said "This might be for you if your first priority is vampire sex." And while that was a one-star review...it was also exactly right. And since I went into it with vampire sex as a priority, I'm giving it a very high star rating for the exact same reason. Moral of the story: know what you are getting into because it's exactly what you get. And for me, it was exactly what I wanted. Related, there was some light, interesting, reflection on how desire and lust are often coated in shame (especially for women) and it does not have to and should not be that way (and the recognition of love and sex not having to exist hand in hand, even if they eventually do).

Other than that, I have to admit that I am also a sucker for the "good monster" trope. Like, in this world, vampires are expected to be terrible and, in fact, are not, it's a lot of misinformation and misconception. I am particularly drawn in by this when it's in contrast or juxtaposition with a "bad human" alternative, as it was here. Great messaging around how looks/assumptions can be so deceiving. Another thing I was totally here for was Isolde's bloodthirstiness. I mean IRL, I obviously vote for the "trial and proven guilty" and whatnot. But in this fantasy setting, I’m *down* with all the immediate stabbing of icky men (and Adrian's unrepentant support of it).

Plot-wise...this is where I was surprised. There was a lot more to the world-building here than I had expected. The story behind Adrian's "curse," the connection that Isolde has to his past, the history of witches and magic and how that ties in with Adrian's current-day conquest(s) and his interest in Isolde was all way more interesting than I had anticipated. And then that ending, with Isolde's father's visit - shocking! - along with a bit of a cliff-hanger that definitely makes me want to know more. I also appreciated that, while this was mostly entertaining and fun and sexy, this plot gave it a bit more complexity as it introduced/intertwined the concept of perspective in history, and the dominant voices being the ones whose story persists, even when that story is not, in fact, the "factual" truth.

This novel had a bit of everything you want in an escapist read: magic and magical creatures (yea, I love vampires, I blame Buffy), drama (political and interpersonal), fantasy-style fighting and violence, and spectacular (quality and quantity) sex scenes. Like I said, I thought I'd be "one and done" with this series because I was with A Touch of Darkness, but the fantasy and surrounding world here grabbed me so much more and I want to see where everything goes next (plus I need more of Adrian and Isolde together, *sweating* thinking about it). So, here I am now, unexpectedly having to wait for the next book to be published. Haha.

“There was a difference between a monster and someone who could be monstrous.”

“History is just perspective. It changes depending on your side.”

“Secrets only make the world curious. Better to display than to hide.”

“What have you learned? \ Things that scare me, I said. \ Do you mean that you have learned the truth? he asked.”

“I did not want to die a hero. I wanted to live as a conqueror.”

Content Warnings

kloughlin's review against another edition

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challenging emotional mysterious medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.5

Content Warnings

lizzye33's review against another edition

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adventurous dark emotional tense slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

2.25

Content Warnings

ka_ke's review against another edition

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adventurous dark emotional 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

What can I say? I’m a sucker for sexy vampires and witches, especially when they don’t sparkle. Scarlett St.Clair is a master at catching ones attention and holding it in a firm grip. While simple, the magic and political systems are truly immersive. I do think Killian needs an ass whooping though, courtesy of Issi.

Content Warnings

negs's review against another edition

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adventurous dark emotional medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.5

Reads like a fanfiction. Which was actually nice, when you were trying to stay awake for 10h flight. Plot and characters were easy and felt like i've read this before, just change the setting and you get pretty little romance/fantasy book. Still i enjoyed this!

Content Warnings

midnacine's review against another edition

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adventurous dark 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

I really wanted to include a specific quote in my review for this book, but I'm having trouble finding it and I'm an impatient bitch, so we're just not including it.

Maybe I'm just really into trashy romance novels recently but I fucking loved this book. It feels like this is what a condensed version of JLA's From Blood and Ash would have been without

Casteel's deception plot

. I love that series so it makes sense I would love this too.

It was interesting coming to this after having read A Touch of Darkness because the writing style was so much different and engaging. To me it seems like Scarlett St. Clair really found her voice in this story, and I can't wait to read the second one in December!

Content Warnings

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