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jeremy_bearimy's review against another edition
Too violent, unlikeable protagonist with repetitive inner monologues, frustrating exposition dumps, and uneven pacing.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Violence, Murder, Torture, Injury/Injury detail, Racism, Racial slurs, and Sexism
Moderate: Grief and Classism
thereadingskeleton's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
tense
medium-paced
- 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
Thank you to B2Weird Book Club and Harper Voyager for an ARC in exchange for an honest review and promotion. All opinions are my own.
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.
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.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Gore, Violence, Blood, Sexism, Bullying, Racism, Cannibalism, Gun violence, Torture, Confinement, Misogyny, Death, and Grief
Moderate: Xenophobia, Classism, Death of parent, Racial slurs, War, and Sexual content
Minor: Colonisation and Genocide
foreverinastory's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
tense
fast-paced
- 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
Thank you to B2 Weird Bookclub and Harper Voyager for an arc in exchange for an honest review and promotion. All opinions are my own.
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.
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.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Xenophobia, Death, Misogyny, Injury/Injury detail, Medical content, Gun violence, Grief, Racism, Bullying, Torture, Racial slurs, Blood, Cursing, Cannibalism, Classism, Sexism, Death of parent, Violence, Gore, Sexual content, War, and Murder
Moderate: Gaslighting, Colonisation, Alcoholism, Confinement, Genocide, Abandonment, Vomit, and Alcohol
hownovelofher's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
mysterious
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
The Blood Trials
Alternate Title: Hello, my name is Ikenna Amari, you killed my grandfather, prepare to die.
Wow. N.E. Davenport really chose violence. This book snuck up on me! I happened to see it on NetGalley and was drawn in by the cover and description and it lived up to my assumptions!
If you’re a fan of science fiction, magic, camaraderie, revenge plots with tons of twists and secrets, and underlying themes of social justice, this mixed bag will be something you look forward to.
Ikenna Amari is the granddaughter of the recently deceased Verne Amari, Legatus Commander of Mareen. His death was sudden and reeks of foul-play, though when we find Ikenna, she is far from coherent enough to even consider this a possibility. Drowning in grief, she spends her free time succumbing to the oblivion that drinking offers.
When she learns of the suspicious circumstances under which her grandfather’s death took place, her renewed sense of purpose propels her down the path to become a Praetorian, a highly-skilled military combatant for The Republic. Even though she deeply resents The Republic for its racism and bigotry, her mission to find her grandfather’s killer outranks her weariness to join the ranks.
After a series of grueling tests known as The Blood Trials, she will become a Praetorian and finally have the power to avenge her grandfather.
-
Things I thoroughly enjoyed while reading The Blood Trials:
1.) The worldbuilding is fantastic. It’s clean and confident, full of complex politics, peoples, and customs. The amount of information to take in about this world is abundant, as the author spares few details.
2.) I appreciated the amount of sincerity that is put into the struggle of this character due to racism. It really cuts and grinds on you throughout the book, as its easily relatable to real-world issues. Ikenna faces countless taunts concerning her heritage and the color of her skin. Because she is part Khanaian, she has many enemies amongst the Mareenians who are full of racist hatred. Still, she has an amazing amount of restraint in the face of all this adversity as her main goal drives her forward.
3.) Action with a side of romance instead of the other way around. I was a bit nervous whenever a “love interest” was introduced, but it was little more than a brief tryst at first, with a layered and complicated after-math that made it more intriguing. Sometimes attraction just leads to sex, not a fully-developed relationship. And I love that the author chose the path less traveled in YA and NA these days.
4.) Non-apologetic violence. Don’t get me wrong, sometimes the violence can be overdone, but in this story it served a purpose. Everything about this book seeps violence and anger from its pores. From Ikenna’s rage over her grandfather’s murder, to the silent fuming over racist comments, to the brutality of the trials. There’s a ton of dying in this book and much of it is cloaked in strong emotion.
5.) The scenes in Onei’s Expanse. It was horrific and at one point very much disturbing, but it was so full of fast-paced action and plot development that I couldn’t put the book down during that stretch.
Things I struggled to get past:
1.) Ikenna is strong and unapologetic, that I admire. However, at times she borders on completely irrational and flies off the handle at minor confrontations, yet keeps her cool under other more serious forms of duress. She was difficult to root for and even more difficult to like. Her allegiance flip-flops FAR too easily. If I could describe her in one sentence I would be, “Jumps to conclusions like she’s auditioning for Frogger.”.
2.) Her frequent, long-winded introspective monologues were redundant at times, enough so that I found myself skimming bits.
3.) Special Girl Syndrome. Too much power given under not enough detailed development, with little to no checks.
4.) Pacing. Whew, it was all over the place. Slow to start, action packed, then slow again, rinse and repeat. In the last 1/3 of the book suddenly, and without much preamble, we get a change of setting as Ikenna and her crew head to another location. The transition is so jarring that I had to go back several times just to be sure I didn’t accidentally skip a chapter. For some reason it felt like the book should have ended with Ikenna making it out of the trials alive. It seemed the natural conclusion and I was very confused when the story progressed even further from there. Because of this, we get another round of heavy info-dumping that would have been better served (in my opinion) at the start of the next book.
Still, I got a lot of enjoyment from this story and it didn’t feel like a repeat of anything else I’ve read in the past. I believe Nia Davenport is a wonderfully skilled writer and I will be reading book two. Look out for this author, I don’t think you’ll wanna miss her!
Extra Notes:
Take care of yourself if you are a POC, especially black, while reading this.There is so much racism in this book that it’s almost constant. Many of the slurs are world-specific, but obviously you can derive what they are meant to insinuate.
Read this if you’re a fan of: The Hunger Games, Divergent, Dystopia and Sci-Fi + Magic
Trigger and Content Warnings: A LOT of racism, misogyny, blood, gore, violence, use of guns and various other weapons, torture, death, grief, explicit sexual content (one scene, about halfway in)
Alternate Title: Hello, my name is Ikenna Amari, you killed my grandfather, prepare to die.
Wow. N.E. Davenport really chose violence. This book snuck up on me! I happened to see it on NetGalley and was drawn in by the cover and description and it lived up to my assumptions!
If you’re a fan of science fiction, magic, camaraderie, revenge plots with tons of twists and secrets, and underlying themes of social justice, this mixed bag will be something you look forward to.
Ikenna Amari is the granddaughter of the recently deceased Verne Amari, Legatus Commander of Mareen. His death was sudden and reeks of foul-play, though when we find Ikenna, she is far from coherent enough to even consider this a possibility. Drowning in grief, she spends her free time succumbing to the oblivion that drinking offers.
When she learns of the suspicious circumstances under which her grandfather’s death took place, her renewed sense of purpose propels her down the path to become a Praetorian, a highly-skilled military combatant for The Republic. Even though she deeply resents The Republic for its racism and bigotry, her mission to find her grandfather’s killer outranks her weariness to join the ranks.
After a series of grueling tests known as The Blood Trials, she will become a Praetorian and finally have the power to avenge her grandfather.
-
Things I thoroughly enjoyed while reading The Blood Trials:
1.) The worldbuilding is fantastic. It’s clean and confident, full of complex politics, peoples, and customs. The amount of information to take in about this world is abundant, as the author spares few details.
2.) I appreciated the amount of sincerity that is put into the struggle of this character due to racism. It really cuts and grinds on you throughout the book, as its easily relatable to real-world issues. Ikenna faces countless taunts concerning her heritage and the color of her skin. Because she is part Khanaian, she has many enemies amongst the Mareenians who are full of racist hatred. Still, she has an amazing amount of restraint in the face of all this adversity as her main goal drives her forward.
3.) Action with a side of romance instead of the other way around. I was a bit nervous whenever a “love interest” was introduced, but it was little more than a brief tryst at first, with a layered and complicated after-math that made it more intriguing. Sometimes attraction just leads to sex, not a fully-developed relationship. And I love that the author chose the path less traveled in YA and NA these days.
4.) Non-apologetic violence. Don’t get me wrong, sometimes the violence can be overdone, but in this story it served a purpose. Everything about this book seeps violence and anger from its pores. From Ikenna’s rage over her grandfather’s murder, to the silent fuming over racist comments, to the brutality of the trials. There’s a ton of dying in this book and much of it is cloaked in strong emotion.
5.) The scenes in Onei’s Expanse. It was horrific and at one point very much disturbing, but it was so full of fast-paced action and plot development that I couldn’t put the book down during that stretch.
Things I struggled to get past:
1.) Ikenna is strong and unapologetic, that I admire. However, at times she borders on completely irrational and flies off the handle at minor confrontations, yet keeps her cool under other more serious forms of duress. She was difficult to root for and even more difficult to like. Her allegiance flip-flops FAR too easily. If I could describe her in one sentence I would be, “Jumps to conclusions like she’s auditioning for Frogger.”.
2.) Her frequent, long-winded introspective monologues were redundant at times, enough so that I found myself skimming bits.
3.) Special Girl Syndrome. Too much power given under not enough detailed development, with little to no checks.
4.) Pacing. Whew, it was all over the place. Slow to start, action packed, then slow again, rinse and repeat. In the last 1/3 of the book suddenly, and without much preamble, we get a change of setting as Ikenna and her crew head to another location. The transition is so jarring that I had to go back several times just to be sure I didn’t accidentally skip a chapter. For some reason it felt like the book should have ended with Ikenna making it out of the trials alive. It seemed the natural conclusion and I was very confused when the story progressed even further from there. Because of this, we get another round of heavy info-dumping that would have been better served (in my opinion) at the start of the next book.
Still, I got a lot of enjoyment from this story and it didn’t feel like a repeat of anything else I’ve read in the past. I believe Nia Davenport is a wonderfully skilled writer and I will be reading book two. Look out for this author, I don’t think you’ll wanna miss her!
Extra Notes:
Take care of yourself if you are a POC, especially black, while reading this.There is so much racism in this book that it’s almost constant. Many of the slurs are world-specific, but obviously you can derive what they are meant to insinuate.
Read this if you’re a fan of: The Hunger Games, Divergent, Dystopia and Sci-Fi + Magic
Trigger and Content Warnings: A LOT of racism, misogyny, blood, gore, violence, use of guns and various other weapons, torture, death, grief, explicit sexual content (one scene, about halfway in)
Content Warnings
Graphic: Injury/Injury detail, Gore, Grief, Racism, Sexual content, Violence, Racial slurs, Body horror, Classism, Gun violence, Misogyny, Blood, and Death
Moderate: Alcoholism, Vomit, Torture, and War
Minor: Cannibalism and Confinement
locpressedbooks_'s review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
4.5
This book was an absolute thrill ride straight from page one! We join our MC Ikenna on the eve of her graduation and she’s got a lot of emotions going on right now after just losing her grandfather, Vern Amari, the legendary Legatus of the Republic of Mareen. She learns that he was murdered from a close friend of his and Ikenna has to gather the strength to not give up on herself as well as her grandfather’s love and legacy. She decides to join the Praetorians to get close to those who might have had a hand in his death. Not only does she have to face these gruesome trails where life and limb hang in the balance, Ikenna has to battle the suffocating fools that love to use misogyny and racism to try and discredit and deem her by any means necessary.
She’s fighting for her life trying to survive these trials, investigating her grandfathers death and on top of all that she carries a secret that could not only get her kicked out of the trails but killed for simply being who she is! This is a military science fiction/ fantasy story set in a dystopian society. It’s action pack, full of fight, and some seriously creepy creatures of the night. High tech battle gear and magic mix in this young adult debut novel. I’m so happy that it lived up to this amazing cover.
I got the audiobook (I listened at 1.4x speed) and I really loved it, Jeanette Illidge is the narrator and she’s done some of my other favorites such as The Good Luck Girls and A Blade So Black. She really brought these characters and the story to life for me I never wanted to miss a word. Inflections in the voice, mannerisms, I never got confused on who was speaking. I thought she did a great job and I will definitely be picking up the sequel, The Blood Gift, next year. Thank you again @nia.davenport, @harpervoyagerus and @b2weird for this opportunity.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Bullying, Classism, Cursing, Injury/Injury detail, Misogyny, and Cannibalism
Moderate: War, Racism, Racial slurs, Sexism, Vomit, and Sexual content
natashaleighton_'s review against another edition
adventurous
dark
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
Content Warnings
Graphic: Racial slurs, Classism, Xenophobia, Torture, Misogyny, War, Body horror, Blood, Murder, and Violence
internationalreads's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
funny
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? Yes
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Alcohol, Blood, Body horror, Abandonment, Classism, Gun violence, Injury/Injury detail, Cannibalism, Child death, Confinement, Cursing, Gaslighting, Genocide, Gore, Murder, Racial slurs, Racism, Colonisation, Grief, Bullying, Sexism, Death, Death of parent, Fire/Fire injury, Sexual content, Torture, War, Violence, Vomit, Medical content, and Misogyny
xalrynne's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
1.75
I had been very excited to read The Blood Trials for quite some time, ever since I first saw the amazing cover a few months ago, and I was very lucky and ecstatic to receive an early copy of it, which I immediately jumped into. Unfortunately, however, this book had so much language and violence in it that I almost DNFed it in chapter 3 for that reason alone. I persevered, though, because I really wanted to read this book and enjoy it, but the vulgarity and violence only got worse.
The story here is surrounding Ikenna, a strong female protagonist who is hot-headed and quick to start a fight, in the aftermath of her grandfather’s murder. Her grandfather was the former Legatus Commander, a high-ranking official who trained her to keep her Blood gift a secret. Determined to discover who killed her grandfather and avenge his death, Ikenna pledges in the Praetorian Trials, a grueling set of physical tests that mean death for most who try. But Ikenna has an advantage with her Blood gift, a power that no one knows she has and that the government of Mareen tried to wipe out years ago. If she is found out, she will be killed. If she fails the trials, she will be killed. She might just be killed anyway because of her mixed heritage and dark skin color. But she will die fighting if that’s what it takes.
One of the very first things I noticed about this book, which continued throughout the whole story, is that the writing is very choppy. There are lots of short sentences right after each other instead of being combined with commas and contractions. Stopping at so many periods so frequently was jarring and made for a reading experience that wasn’t too enjoyable for me. There also was not a lot of worldbuilding at all—just a little bit about the government of Mareen and the Pantheon of gods they may or may not believe in, but not much else. The writing style really makes this book feel like a debut novel to me. I kept being pulled out of the story because of how something was explained or the word choices made, and it made it clear that this story has a really cool concept but with poor execution.
The trials started with over a thousand people, then there were 600, then 300 people left, yet the same five people are the only ones who ever get mentioned. It feels like no one important dies and no one else is even present because the lack of talk about them. Why do the training officers pick on the same handful of people in every chapter when literally hundreds of more options are out there? I know Ikenna isn’t going to interact with every single person in the trials with her, but how few people were actually mentioned made it feel rather unrealistic and like there was only a small group of people present the whole time.
I could not connect to or care about any of the characters besides Ikenna. A lot of minor characters I got mixed up because they would be referenced once or twice in the beginning and then not at all in the middle and then again at the end, or there would be a ton of side characters introduced at once with no distinguishing traits between them and I was expected to remember them all. Just not very good character work in this book, in my opinion.
This definitely feels like just a dystopian with a little bit of futuristic technology, instead of the science-fiction / fantasy crossover that I thought this was and that the cover and synopsis alluded to. I absolutely love the cover for this book, but I think it’s the wrong cover for the story within. The appearance of multiple planets and spired buildings are not indicative of the type of story this is; the vibrant colors on the cover make it seem more lighthearted, action-packed but fun, instead of the dark aggressive story focused on murder, racism, and bigotry that it is.
The Blood Trials is very dark and gritty and violent, most of the book focusing on what Ikenna has to go through to survive the brutal trials. This honestly looks like a young adult book cover, but this is very much an adult book with adult content, and that’s to this book’s disadvantage because it is likely that the type of audience that will be drawn to the cover is not the type to be prepared for the directions the story takes (like me).
I wanted to love this book, but I spent most of the story just waiting for it to end because I wasn’t enjoying it as much as I wanted to. I think this will be an amazing book for the right audience, and I thought that was me before I started it, but now after having read it, I know I’m not the right audience anymore.
Because Ikenna is Black and suffers unnecessary racism in her world because of her mixed heritage, I think Black women looking for a strong female protagonist that they can see come out on top of all the suppressors would really enjoy this story. The author is Black and the main character is Black, and this just feels like a story written for the strong Black women out there who feel like they don’t belong but are powerful, determined fighters. This is a book for them, and that’s great because we need more books like that. But that’s not me.
Even though this is a book I would describe as “good,” I didn’t particularly enjoy it. Ikenna faces so much hatred and injustices that it constantly made me just so mad. I read books to feel happy, so I didn’t want to keep returning to this story that I knew was going to keep making me angry with every passing page.
I quit reading at 84% and skimmed to the end, reading dialogue here and there and then reading the last page. I just couldn’t do it anymore. I had been suffering through this book for over two weeks, reading during every spare second I had, and it still would not end. I brought the book on vacation with me and read and read and read it, and I still was not done. From about 50% onward is when I switched from being engaged in the story to just wanting it to be done simply because I was not enjoying it anymore, but I pushed forward until I eventually decided to stop at 84%. The trials end at the 70% mark and the last 30% is just politics that set up the story that will take place during the sequel, which I already know I won’t be reading. Plus, even though I normally like political intrigue, I did not care about a single thing the characters were talking about or doing. I didn’t know who they were talking about or what the nations and alliances were, and I certainly didn’t care about the future of any one character or country.
Overall, I am very disappointed with The Blood Trials. I wanted both more fantastical elements and more science-fiction elements, and I wanted less graphic on-page violence and less vulgarity. I also wanted more character development and world-building. I expected this book to be a new favorite, but I struggled to push myself through it and found myself not caring what happened in the end. Even though this book didn’t work out for me, I think this will be a great book for the right audience, so I encourage you to check if out if you’re interested. Just know ahead of time the content gets very dark.
The story here is surrounding Ikenna, a strong female protagonist who is hot-headed and quick to start a fight, in the aftermath of her grandfather’s murder. Her grandfather was the former Legatus Commander, a high-ranking official who trained her to keep her Blood gift a secret. Determined to discover who killed her grandfather and avenge his death, Ikenna pledges in the Praetorian Trials, a grueling set of physical tests that mean death for most who try. But Ikenna has an advantage with her Blood gift, a power that no one knows she has and that the government of Mareen tried to wipe out years ago. If she is found out, she will be killed. If she fails the trials, she will be killed. She might just be killed anyway because of her mixed heritage and dark skin color. But she will die fighting if that’s what it takes.
One of the very first things I noticed about this book, which continued throughout the whole story, is that the writing is very choppy. There are lots of short sentences right after each other instead of being combined with commas and contractions. Stopping at so many periods so frequently was jarring and made for a reading experience that wasn’t too enjoyable for me. There also was not a lot of worldbuilding at all—just a little bit about the government of Mareen and the Pantheon of gods they may or may not believe in, but not much else. The writing style really makes this book feel like a debut novel to me. I kept being pulled out of the story because of how something was explained or the word choices made, and it made it clear that this story has a really cool concept but with poor execution.
The trials started with over a thousand people, then there were 600, then 300 people left, yet the same five people are the only ones who ever get mentioned. It feels like no one important dies and no one else is even present because the lack of talk about them. Why do the training officers pick on the same handful of people in every chapter when literally hundreds of more options are out there? I know Ikenna isn’t going to interact with every single person in the trials with her, but how few people were actually mentioned made it feel rather unrealistic and like there was only a small group of people present the whole time.
I could not connect to or care about any of the characters besides Ikenna. A lot of minor characters I got mixed up because they would be referenced once or twice in the beginning and then not at all in the middle and then again at the end, or there would be a ton of side characters introduced at once with no distinguishing traits between them and I was expected to remember them all. Just not very good character work in this book, in my opinion.
This definitely feels like just a dystopian with a little bit of futuristic technology, instead of the science-fiction / fantasy crossover that I thought this was and that the cover and synopsis alluded to. I absolutely love the cover for this book, but I think it’s the wrong cover for the story within. The appearance of multiple planets and spired buildings are not indicative of the type of story this is; the vibrant colors on the cover make it seem more lighthearted, action-packed but fun, instead of the dark aggressive story focused on murder, racism, and bigotry that it is.
The Blood Trials is very dark and gritty and violent, most of the book focusing on what Ikenna has to go through to survive the brutal trials. This honestly looks like a young adult book cover, but this is very much an adult book with adult content, and that’s to this book’s disadvantage because it is likely that the type of audience that will be drawn to the cover is not the type to be prepared for the directions the story takes (like me).
I wanted to love this book, but I spent most of the story just waiting for it to end because I wasn’t enjoying it as much as I wanted to. I think this will be an amazing book for the right audience, and I thought that was me before I started it, but now after having read it, I know I’m not the right audience anymore.
Because Ikenna is Black and suffers unnecessary racism in her world because of her mixed heritage, I think Black women looking for a strong female protagonist that they can see come out on top of all the suppressors would really enjoy this story. The author is Black and the main character is Black, and this just feels like a story written for the strong Black women out there who feel like they don’t belong but are powerful, determined fighters. This is a book for them, and that’s great because we need more books like that. But that’s not me.
Even though this is a book I would describe as “good,” I didn’t particularly enjoy it. Ikenna faces so much hatred and injustices that it constantly made me just so mad. I read books to feel happy, so I didn’t want to keep returning to this story that I knew was going to keep making me angry with every passing page.
I quit reading at 84% and skimmed to the end, reading dialogue here and there and then reading the last page. I just couldn’t do it anymore. I had been suffering through this book for over two weeks, reading during every spare second I had, and it still would not end. I brought the book on vacation with me and read and read and read it, and I still was not done. From about 50% onward is when I switched from being engaged in the story to just wanting it to be done simply because I was not enjoying it anymore, but I pushed forward until I eventually decided to stop at 84%. The trials end at the 70% mark and the last 30% is just politics that set up the story that will take place during the sequel, which I already know I won’t be reading. Plus, even though I normally like political intrigue, I did not care about a single thing the characters were talking about or doing. I didn’t know who they were talking about or what the nations and alliances were, and I certainly didn’t care about the future of any one character or country.
Overall, I am very disappointed with The Blood Trials. I wanted both more fantastical elements and more science-fiction elements, and I wanted less graphic on-page violence and less vulgarity. I also wanted more character development and world-building. I expected this book to be a new favorite, but I struggled to push myself through it and found myself not caring what happened in the end. Even though this book didn’t work out for me, I think this will be a great book for the right audience, so I encourage you to check if out if you’re interested. Just know ahead of time the content gets very dark.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Cursing, Death, Misogyny, Torture, Violence, Classism, War, Murder, Racial slurs, Racism, Xenophobia, Sexism, and Injury/Injury detail
mikayreadsandwrites's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Racial slurs, Sexism, Gore, Violence, Blood, Cannibalism, Cursing, Death, Injury/Injury detail, and Grief
Moderate: Classism, Gaslighting, Racism, Sexism, and Medical trauma
dionnesims's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
sad
tense
fast-paced
- 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
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Blood, War, Murder, Grief, Bullying, Classism, Violence, Injury/Injury detail, and Cursing
Moderate: Sexism, Confinement, and Racial slurs
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