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annabelle's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
mysterious
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
3.5
Did I decide to give this author another chance because someone said that the love interest was basically Alucard from Castlevania? Yes. I absolutely did. And I ate it up!!! The story captured my attention. The characters were very entertaining. I liked the world and all the creepy monsters. I really hope we get to learn more about the monsters, goddesses, and countries in this world. Maybe even visit some new places in the next book!!
Now was this groundbreaking literature? Not really. The writing was simple. The plot was predictable. Some important moments of plot/character development were definitely glossed over in favor of the horny moments. It got to the point near the end where I genuinely was like “I appreciate and understand that you are horny for each other, but can we PLEASE discuss what is going on for more than five seconds??!!!” I think I got too invested in the plot and world building for a horny vampire book lmao.
Overall, I had a good time reading this. Isolde is a violent girlboss and we love that for her. Adrian is a classic emo vampire with a tragic past. It’s just a good time. There is mystery, betrayal, magic, and LOTS of stabbing. What more could you ask for?!
Now was this groundbreaking literature? Not really. The writing was simple. The plot was predictable. Some important moments of plot/character development were definitely glossed over in favor of the horny moments. It got to the point near the end where I genuinely was like “I appreciate and understand that you are horny for each other, but can we PLEASE discuss what is going on for more than five seconds??!!!” I think I got too invested in the plot and world building for a horny vampire book lmao.
Overall, I had a good time reading this. Isolde is a violent girlboss and we love that for her. Adrian is a classic emo vampire with a tragic past. It’s just a good time. There is mystery, betrayal, magic, and LOTS of stabbing. What more could you ask for?!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death of parent, Misogyny, Murder, Sexual content, Sexism, and Violence
Moderate: Death and Grief
Minor: Slavery
unsuccessfulbookclub's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
- 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
3.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death of parent, Child death, Violence, Injury/Injury detail, Gore, Fire/Fire injury, Cursing, Murder, War, Body horror, Blood, Sexual content, and Death
Moderate: Physical abuse and Torture
Minor: Slavery
sennaje's review against another edition
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
1.25
Content Warnings
Graphic: Body horror, Child death, Confinement, Death, Sexual harassment, Slavery, War, Blood, Colonisation, Death of parent, and Murder
maregred's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
mysterious
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? It's complicated
2.25
Why so much girl on girl hate? Isolde needs to brush up on the tenants of feminism and stop trying to fight basically every other women she comes across. This book was also very, VERY inspired by FBAA.
Additionally, for enemies-to-lovers this was very insta-lovey (yes there are ~reasons~ But still).
I like the Hades and Persephone series but I do not think I will be continuing this one.
Additionally, for enemies-to-lovers this was very insta-lovey (yes there are ~reasons~ But still).
I like the Hades and Persephone series but I do not think I will be continuing this one.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual content
Moderate: Murder, Death, Injury/Injury detail, Cursing, and Death of parent
Minor: Fire/Fire injury, Injury/Injury detail, Domestic abuse, Slavery, War, and Bullying
mayvisin's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.5
I enjoyed the first half quite a bit, but the second half felt rushed. I think the Big Discovery could have been more dramatic and potentially more of a cliff hanger.
Spoilers in this next bit:
Am I out of line for feeling like the way slavery was discussed in this book was problematic? It felt... gratuitous, like maybe we could have found a different external plot generator that didn't include enslaving the predominantly black nation.
Spoilers in this next bit:
Am I out of line for feeling like the way slavery was discussed in this book was problematic? It felt... gratuitous, like maybe we could have found a different external plot generator that didn't include enslaving the predominantly black nation.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Slavery
deesquared's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Blood, Death, Death of parent, Fire/Fire injury, Murder, Injury/Injury detail, Sexual content, and Violence
Moderate: War
Minor: Slavery and Bullying
allisonwonderlandreads's review against another edition
dark
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
2.0
A King of Battle & Blood tells the story of a tumultuous affair with a cacophony of emotions. And also vampires. It features high smut content from the start, throwing human Isolde into a diplomatic marriage with vampire overlord Adrian come to conquer her father's kingdom. It relies on common vampire paranormal tropes (violence, possessiveness, jealousy & angst), so if you like that feel or if you enjoy fantasy romance that keeps things approachable with only light world-building, you'll get what you're after here.
For me, this one was a miss. In terms of romance, I thrive on stories with a growing emotional connection and a slow build of tension. Without that, the (to me, not as a generalizable fact) abrupt and early arrival of smut on the scene left me sort of disconnected and uninterested in the proceedings. The generic plot elements also kept me at a distance. We have a woman who's been so sheltered that she hates all vampires and doesn't understand their history or humanity. She's forced to marry a vampiric hottie who she's attracted to on a nearly alarming level but who she also views as the root of all evil and would like to murder. The reader knows through it all that Isolde's weak understanding of the world will be overturned, and the entire story is building up to an obvious revelation that took too long to arrive given its predictability.
Meanwhile, the author works very hard to convince us that vampire god-among-men Adrian is the epitome of respect and attentiveness. He's certainly the king of instalove, which is explained away through a fantasy plot device. There's also a lot of energy put into convincing us that this is a balanced, consenting relationship. Adrian listens to being told no, Isolde is enthusiastic, and her past lover provides the foil as the needy, controlling human man on offer. However, Adrian's ability to read minds made me a bit uncomfortable. While he assures us it's outside his control, I wasn't happy with the choice to include it. Also, the jealous, obsessed, antagonistic way the two leaned into each other stressed me out.
On either the romance or fantasy front, I was not overly involved in this story. However, I can see why it would be engaging to readers with different interests and priorities, so I've tried to be specific here to help others decide for themselves. I need to stop trying vampire series, basically (but we all know I can't stay away).
For me, this one was a miss. In terms of romance, I thrive on stories with a growing emotional connection and a slow build of tension. Without that, the (to me, not as a generalizable fact) abrupt and early arrival of smut on the scene left me sort of disconnected and uninterested in the proceedings. The generic plot elements also kept me at a distance. We have a woman who's been so sheltered that she hates all vampires and doesn't understand their history or humanity. She's forced to marry a vampiric hottie who she's attracted to on a nearly alarming level but who she also views as the root of all evil and would like to murder. The reader knows through it all that Isolde's weak understanding of the world will be overturned, and the entire story is building up to an obvious revelation that took too long to arrive given its predictability.
Meanwhile, the author works very hard to convince us that vampire god-among-men Adrian is the epitome of respect and attentiveness. He's certainly the king of instalove, which is explained away through a fantasy plot device. There's also a lot of energy put into convincing us that this is a balanced, consenting relationship. Adrian listens to being told no, Isolde is enthusiastic, and her past lover provides the foil as the needy, controlling human man on offer. However, Adrian's ability to read minds made me a bit uncomfortable. While he assures us it's outside his control, I wasn't happy with the choice to include it. Also, the jealous, obsessed, antagonistic way the two leaned into each other stressed me out.
On either the romance or fantasy front, I was not overly involved in this story. However, I can see why it would be engaging to readers with different interests and priorities, so I've tried to be specific here to help others decide for themselves. I need to stop trying vampire series, basically (but we all know I can't stay away).
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual content
Moderate: Blood, Emotional abuse, Grief, Murder, Sexism, Sexual harassment, Toxic relationship, and Violence
Minor: Death of parent, Fire/Fire injury, Slavery, and War
rabidpookie's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
mysterious
reflective
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual content, Blood, Violence, Murder, Gore, Fire/Fire injury, and Cursing
Moderate: Death of parent
Minor: Slavery and Suicide
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