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mycutykoala's review against another edition
dark
emotional
hopeful
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
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Cursing, Death, Fire/Fire injury, and Sexual content
Moderate: Death, Gore, Grief, Misogyny, Murder, Torture, Death of parent, Blood, and Violence
Minor: Alcohol, Physical abuse, Animal death, Child death, and Slavery
siglerbooknook's review
adventurous
challenging
dark
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.0
I think I could have loved this book if there was more plot and less 🌶️🌶️🌶️.
It had to be 40-50% of the book that was just sex. It got to the point I was skipping whole pages. I like a good romance as much as the next person, but I need plot to hold it together.
I'm honestly disappointed. This book had so much promise. The plot that was there was great. Easy to solve, but very enjoyable. I wish the book had spent more time letting us get to know the characters and the world of Cordova instead of another XXX scene.
Every time Isolde asks a question it goes unanswered, and since I had already figured out the big secret the end reveal felt a little flat.
I did enjoy the quips from the side characters like Sorin. Killian was unlikeable from the start.
To quote a favored character, it was as promising as a pie and disappointing to discover there was no filling.
It had to be 40-50% of the book that was just sex. It got to the point I was skipping whole pages. I like a good romance as much as the next person, but I need plot to hold it together.
I'm honestly disappointed. This book had so much promise. The plot that was there was great. Easy to solve, but very enjoyable. I wish the book had spent more time letting us get to know the characters and the world of Cordova instead of another XXX scene.
Every time Isolde asks a question it goes unanswered, and since I had already figured out the big secret the end reveal felt a little flat.
I did enjoy the quips from the side characters like Sorin. Killian was unlikeable from the start.
To quote a favored character, it was as promising as a pie and disappointing to discover there was no filling.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Murder, Misogyny, Medical trauma, Injury/Injury detail, Sexual harassment, Sexual content, and Sexism
Minor: Infidelity, Abortion, and Infertility
doubletherazzle's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Loveable characters? Yes
3.75
The beginning was a bit rough, but once the story fell into a groove I enjoyed the mystery and fantasy of the story telling and will definitely read the next book.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Blood, Death of parent, Cursing, Sexual content, Death, Murder, and Violence
Minor: Animal death, Injury/Injury detail, Misogyny, Infidelity, Slavery, Sexism, and Racism
starry's review against another edition
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
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.
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
Graphic: Sexual content, Violence, and Fire/Fire injury
Moderate: Fire/Fire injury, Xenophobia, Toxic relationship, and Misogyny
Minor: Slavery and War
regent_ace's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
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
4.0
I was really surprised by the care that went into the world building the main characters along with the supporting characters. I did enjoy the main relationship but I wish there was a bit more development along with a bit more time given to the mc gaining back her memories. I liked the smut at first but then it got repetitive due to the author not really changing it up or going into more detail about it, It felt like the author wrote the same smut scene just changed small details which made it a bit boring to read. But I still thoroughly enjoyed the book despite it and it’s slight cliches
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual content, Death, and Violence
Moderate: Death of parent and Misogyny
karapillar's review against another edition
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
Graphic: Injury/Injury detail, Misogyny, Sexual violence, Violence, Blood, Genocide, Murder, Death of parent, Sexual content, Death, Fire/Fire injury, Animal death, Child death, Gore, Grief, and Sexism
Moderate: Abandonment, Kidnapping, Racism, Stalking, Vomit, War, Domestic abuse, Infertility, Physical abuse, and Cursing
Minor: Infidelity, Alcohol, Xenophobia, Torture, Slavery, and Religious bigotry
our_bookish_reads's review
adventurous
emotional
hopeful
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? Yes
5.0
Can I just give this book 10 stars!!?
This is my first time reading Scarlett St. Clair's work, and holy shit, it was astounding! The way Scarlett writes is absolutely beautiful. The descriptions of colors, food, scents, people, how things feel on skin and emotionally, make you feel like you're experiencing it first hand. I can't wait to start the next book, Queen of Myth and Monsters!
This is my first time reading Scarlett St. Clair's work, and holy shit, it was astounding! The way Scarlett writes is absolutely beautiful. The descriptions of colors, food, scents, people, how things feel on skin and emotionally, make you feel like you're experiencing it first hand. I can't wait to start the next book, Queen of Myth and Monsters!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual content, Fire/Fire injury, Emotional abuse, Grief, Genocide, Blood, Death of parent, Murder, Misogyny, Injury/Injury detail, Violence, and Death
ka_ke's review against another edition
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
Graphic: Sexual content, Sexual harassment, Violence, War, Death, Death of parent, Gaslighting, Misogyny, Blood, Body horror, Colonisation, Cursing, and Grief
Moderate: Injury/Injury detail, Murder, Classism, Genocide, and Mental illness
Minor: Infertility, Slavery, and Torture
midnacine's review against another edition
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 withoutCasteel'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!
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
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
Graphic: Blood, Sexual content, Child death, Death, Death of parent, Injury/Injury detail, Murder, Violence, and War
Moderate: Body horror, Animal death, Genocide, Sexism, Medical content, Misogyny, Grief, Cursing, and Fire/Fire injury
Minor: Body shaming, Fatphobia, Vomit, Racism, Slavery, Alcohol, and Infidelity
kyrstin_p1989's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
hopeful
mysterious
sad
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? No
4.0
I honestly think this one is spicier than the others I’ve read by this author. I loved the love story. It was enemies to lovers but in the best way. I loved the protagonist. I enjoy how she learns and grows as the novel progresses to become a more developed, understanding person - which is how I think we should all live. There was a bit of predictability in the plot and there were a few grammatical issues that led me to a four star rating as opposed to a five star rating.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Infidelity, Injury/Injury detail, Sexism, Sexual content, Sexual harassment, War, Blood, Colonisation, Confinement, Death, Death of parent, Emotional abuse, Fire/Fire injury, Gaslighting, Genocide, Gore, Grief, Medical trauma, Misogyny, Murder, Religious bigotry, Toxic relationship, Violence, and Xenophobia