Reviews with content warning for Death - The Blood Trials

Reviews tagging 'Death'

The Blood Trials by N.E. Davenport

79 reviews

kjanet's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional 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? It's complicated

5.0

I think the main character flaw I can see with the main character was that she let her anger and frustration get the better of her. She was extremely head strong (which I loved), but there were some points in time where that anger, hurt, and frustration lead her toward a mistake. Regardless, I am extremely happy I finally read this book. I heard nothing but amazing things, yet it still took me so long to read it. The main saving grace is that both books are already out so I can dive head first into the next one!

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squids_can_read's review against another edition

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DNF (46%)

Kenna's grandfather is dead. Died of a heart attack or so the corner says. Suddenly information comes to light that her grandfather's death might not have been an accident like everyone says it is. Now Kenna has to fight for her place among the ruthless Praetorians along with finding out what actually happened to her grandfather.

Doesn't that sound great? It would have been if the author had developed the world at all. This is a mix of science fiction and fantasy but neither of these aspects are explained at all. There is random technology that simply exists with no information of how long it's existed or if people are still trying to create new technology. Similar to the fantasy element. Gods are referenced but are not described whatsoever in their effect on the world except for giving some people powers. And these powers aren't explained either. It seems like people with powers are much stronger than everyone else but they get beat up by people without powers. It also doesn't explain all of what they can do. Do they have one power depending on the god or do they have all of them? I was just really confused.

I also didn't like how focused the world was on racism and bigotry. This was a big part of the point of the book and I didn't have a problem with using those ideas to make a commentary on our world. I had an issue with how much was shoved in the reader's face that absolutely everyone where Kenna lives is a terrible person except for her friends, one of whom is from there. It just didn't make a lot of sense to me, especially in terms of the timeline of when these ideas started and where they came from.

As for the characters, I thought that they were okay. All of the characters seemed kind of two-dimensional to me. It didn't feel like they were very complicated, including the main character. But the characters were not why I DNFed this book.

PSA- Despite the fact that this book cover looks YA, this is definitely a book for adults. There is heavy graphic violence that took me a little by surprise. I did get used to it but it was a lot in the beginning, just so you know.

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yessicookie's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging dark emotional funny 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? It's complicated

4.5

A great fantasy scifi book with interesting characters and a relatable main character.
(some parts were a little bit predictable to me, however i did not mind bc there were some plot twists that even i couldn't predict)

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shannahtan's review against another edition

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dark emotional tense fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.5

I found that parts could be more show than tell. I guess maybe some people need the explanation that people are treating her a certain way due to the color of her skin.

is a badass, and it makes me so mad that she has to deal with such trash. I think it’s realistic that even the people you sort of end up rooting for

like Caiman, Greysen & Reed had moments of major racism and misogyny from the first 2. It’s an interesting statement on redemption. Even the best people have bad moments in a racist, misogynist society. The way a system can mess someone up is clear with Brock as well who ended up being privy of Verne Amari’s death. I really didn’t think Selene would betray Ikenna, but it seems like maybe she did? Hopefully, she didn’t know about the pendant blocking Kenna’s powers, and her dad just did it on his own. Do I hope Kenna ends up with Reed? I guess.

It was a fast-paced book with constant drama and twists. It’s definitely gory and violent.

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marinaaurelia's review against another edition

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adventurous 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

4.25

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amyalwaysbooked's review against another edition

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dnf at about 50%

I wanted to love this book! It's gotten such high praise! Unfortunately, I just didn't like the main character. I have no problem with an angry protagonist, but they've got to be written well. Ikenna wasn't fleshed out enough and the supporting cast even less so.

When I got about halfway through and wasn't enjoying myself I knew it was time to throw the towel in. Especially when

Ikenna and Reed suddenly develop the hots for each other just because she's naked. There is ZERO build-up.

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