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3.55 AVERAGE
3.55 AVERAGE
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
hopeful
mysterious
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
I DNF’d this book at 10%. I just couldn’t get into it and I tried for a solid few weeks
adventurous
challenging
emotional
hopeful
mysterious
fast-paced
Oh my gosh. This book brings out all the emotions. I loved it and definitely shed some tears in the end. People say this is pretty similar to the movie Gladiator. I’ve never seen it so I can’t speak on that. But if you have seen the movie just take that into account. Overall so good. Would recommend.
Rating: 5 / 5 ⭐
"Hate will fuel my vengeance."
I saw the low ratings and I respectfully disagree.
I freaking loved this book.
Two things about me: I love the male POV in books and I love deadly trials.
Bloodguard has both. Leith is a gladiator trying to earn his freedom for not only himself but his family. Meave is a Elven princess. Their interactions start with hilarious misunderstandings and I ate it up.
The action scenes were honestly giving Hunger Games. The ante was upped to take Leith out of the equation yet he continued outsmarting and outmaneuvering his opponents (both within the arena and out of it). Despite his life of killing, he still has his humanity and boy does he cling to it. We love to see it.
The twist? The twist. I did not see it coming and I balled. This book absolutely got me right in the feels. I think I experienced every emotion while reading this book.
I am pumped for book 2.
"Hate will fuel my vengeance."
I saw the low ratings and I respectfully disagree.
I freaking loved this book.
Two things about me: I love the male POV in books and I love deadly trials.
Bloodguard has both. Leith is a gladiator trying to earn his freedom for not only himself but his family. Meave is a Elven princess. Their interactions start with hilarious misunderstandings and I ate it up.
The action scenes were honestly giving Hunger Games. The ante was upped to take Leith out of the equation yet he continued outsmarting and outmaneuvering his opponents (both within the arena and out of it). Despite his life of killing, he still has his humanity and boy does he cling to it. We love to see it.
The twist? The twist. I did not see it coming and I balled. This book absolutely got me right in the feels. I think I experienced every emotion while reading this book.
I am pumped for book 2.
adventurous
dark
funny
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
I like Leith and found his inner monologue entertaining which is why I bothered to keep reading this. It started off strong but by a quarter way through there were 4 half-thought through plot lines going. They all took random turns and huge gaps in development. I’m glad I borrowed it from the library and don’t buy it. If you like reading just straight up gore and don’t care about the background plot, you’d enjoy this.
Absolutely no interest in finishing. Read the first 2% over and over and over about five times before I gave up and decided this book is just not the book for me.
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
This book starts off with a lot of action. It could be overwhelming at first to find your footing in this world. The lore was built throughout the story with no info dumping. I enjoyed the dual POV of Leith and Maeve.
I don’t read many fantasy books with a male main character that does more than what is entwined with the accompanying FMC. That was a refreshing change that I enjoyed. The main characters had as much going on separately as they did together.
The pacing of this book was a bit variable. It would begin to lose me and then suddenly catch me again. I almost quit it several times.
I didn’t like the romance in this book. It didn’t feel right. There was no chemistry between Leith and Maeve. It made more sense to me for them to be close friends getting to know each other rather than romantic partners.
This was a very action forward fantasy with many gory and elaborate fight scenes. It was not necessarily what I enjoyed in a book, but I could understand the appeal for others. I would just get a bit bored with the gladiator matches. Overall, it was an okay book.
challenging
emotional
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
adventurous
dark
emotional
mysterious
sad
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
I didn't hate it, but it just didn't do anything for me.
The plot felt far too fast, people died at such a rapid rate that I didn't really care, and I just felt so detached from the plot and the characters while reading. The ending was set up well for a sequel, but I'm most likely not continuing in this world.
The fight scenes were far too long, and although Maeve had some dimension to her character, Leith unfortunately did not. He fell very flat (for being the main character).
There were some really funny one-liners, and i did cry once, but other than that, I'm kind of glad it's over lol.
The plot felt far too fast, people died at such a rapid rate that I didn't really care, and I just felt so detached from the plot and the characters while reading. The ending was set up well for a sequel, but I'm most likely not continuing in this world.
The fight scenes were far too long, and although Maeve had some dimension to her character, Leith unfortunately did not. He fell very flat (for being the main character).
There were some really funny one-liners, and i did cry once, but other than that, I'm kind of glad it's over lol.