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emilydaisies's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Graphic: Body horror, Bullying, Gore, Racism, Blood, Medical content, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Sexual content
Minor: Cannibalism
thereadingskeleton's review against another edition
- 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
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.
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
foreverinastory's review against another edition
- 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
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.
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
bookinitwithahtiya's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
Graphic: Bullying, Gore, Sexual content, Blood, and Cannibalism
Moderate: Misogyny, Racism, Sexism, Grief, and Colonisation
Minor: Death of parent
locpressedbooks_'s review against another edition
4.5
Graphic: Bullying, Cursing, Misogyny, Cannibalism, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism
Moderate: Racial slurs, Racism, Sexism, Sexual content, Vomit, and War
internationalreads's review against another edition
- 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
Graphic: Body horror, Bullying, Child death, Confinement, Cursing, Death, Genocide, Gore, Gun violence, Misogyny, Racial slurs, Racism, Sexism, Sexual content, Torture, Violence, Blood, Vomit, Medical content, Grief, Cannibalism, Death of parent, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, Gaslighting, Abandonment, Alcohol, Colonisation, War, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism
dionnesims's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
Graphic: Bullying, Cursing, Death, Violence, Blood, Grief, Murder, War, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism
Moderate: Confinement, Racial slurs, and Sexism