Reviews tagging 'Death of parent'

The Blood Trials by N.E. Davenport

49 reviews

emilyvictoria98's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional mysterious sad tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.75

I really enjoyed how fast paced and exciting this book was throughout, there are so many twists and turns (some I saw coming, some I didn't) that you never really knew who you can trust which was part of the point of the book. We were really along for the ride. I did find at times that the writing was repetitive and some of the dialogue was a bit stilted (e.g. I could tell when a conversation was happening purely for exposition's sake) and at times Ikenna's decisions frustrated me but I think this developed throughout the book and she does grow as a character. I'm really excited for the next one!

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Violence, Racism, Blood, Injury/Injury detail, and Death

Moderate: Gore, Death of parent, Sexism, and Misogyny

Minor: War

emfass's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark mysterious tense fast-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? It's complicated

3.5

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Torture, Gun violence, Classism, Injury/Injury detail, Murder, Sexual content, Cursing, Misogyny, Body horror, Xenophobia, Death of parent, Violence, Blood, Racism, Sexism, Gore, Death, Racial slurs, and Bullying

Moderate: Cannibalism, Confinement, Alcohol, War, Grief, and Colonisation

shannnne_reads_words's review against another edition

adventurous dark mysterious sad tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes

4.25

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexual content, Grief, Injury/Injury detail, Torture, Violence, Blood, Death, and Gore

Moderate: Racism, Cannibalism, Classism, Misogyny, Murder, Sexism, Bullying, Racial slurs, Death of parent, and War

miriam_in_life's review against another edition

adventurous dark funny mysterious 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

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Gore, Xenophobia, War, Violence, Racism, Racial slurs, Police brutality, Physical abuse, Murder, Misogyny, Blood, Injury/Injury detail, Gun violence, and Grief

Moderate: Death of parent

gabbadabbadoo's review against another edition

adventurous dark funny mysterious tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

one of my first few books of the year and it set the bar impossibly high!

i went into this not expecting much -- there's no shortage of protagonists trying to avenge dead family members in the fantasy genre -- but I was extremely pleasantly surprised. i personally haven't read a book that was so consistenly action-packed, there is literally never a dull moment. this book is violent and bloody and cruel and i am obsessed with it!! reading some of the characters injuries and deaths made me wince a bit, but i respect Davenport for being able to come up with so many ways for people to hurt. so, if lots of blood and violence and death are your thing look no further. the brutal nature of the trials initially struck me as a little superfluous, but it makes more sense and the country's history and culture develop more as you read.

the mc also sold this book for me. i typically don't like characters that are easily blinded by rage, but i loooooove Ikenna. there were more than several times where she'd do smt and i thought were unneccessary and would come back to bite her in the ass, but i support women's rights and women's wrongs!!! but fr i'd read and wonder if she was trying to get herself killed, but she never beat someone's ass who didn't deserve that or worse. and she'll do it again!
 
i also loved that the romance was extremely minor. like eensy teensy weenie minor. a bigger romantic subplot would definitely ruin a book like this, so i loved that the cehemistry was definitely there and i saw it coming, but it never took over the plot. hg has revenge to get and people to kill, she is on a mission.

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Death of parent, Racism, Gun violence, Violence, Blood, Murder, Injury/Injury detail, Misogyny, Sexual content, and Racial slurs

Moderate: Cursing, Grief, and War

Minor: Torture and Alcohol

nytephoenyx's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

The Blood Trials was a great story set up, and I enjoyed it. There was the right amount of action and just enough character and background to set everything up for a great book two—honestly, a great debut.

Why four stars instead of five? The Blood Gift Duology should be a trilogy. There were clear signposts for an ending after the Praetorian trials, but the book continued for another 150 pages. The next book comes out next year (and I will be reading it!), and I assume there's a similar point that will feel like a transition should have happened. There was a three-act feel to it, and the last third of the book felt disjointed.

That is honestly my only complaint! Otherwise, I liked the lore and the twists (so many twists!), and I eagerly anticipate the bloody, grimy story the next book is sure to tell.

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Blood, Death of parent, Racial slurs, Classism, Racism, Gun violence, Death, Sexual content, and Violence

Moderate: Medical content, Alcohol, and Hate crime

Minor: War

kbairbooks's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional hopeful mysterious sad tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

Wow! Between this and Queen of Nothing I’ve been reading some of the most vicious, blood thirsty, and VIOLENT books I’ve ever read. It makes for a really intense experience. The backstabbing, betrayal, who can be trusted, political agenda absolute beast this book is took me by storm. I couldn’t put it down! I was gripped and at the end I was staring into space experiencing this book. Incredible storytelling, incredible challenges, incredible strength and resilience in times of adversary. Wow.

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Cannibalism, Cursing, Gaslighting, Gore, Racism, Torture, Violence, Classism, Death of parent, Grief, Misogyny, Racial slurs, Toxic friendship, Hate crime, Injury/Injury detail, Blood, Body horror, Bullying, Confinement, Death, Emotional abuse, Gun violence, Murder, Outing, Sexism, and War

shaipanda's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional mysterious tense fast-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? It's complicated

4.5

Ok this book is bat shit insaneeee - I absolutely loved it but definitely did not expect exactly how dark it is so keep that I mind if you read this. However despite that, I really loved Kenna and this was a superrr engaging book. Despite it being  darker than I tend to prefer I’ll almost definitely read the sequel when it comes out cause omg so well doneee :) 
However I will say I personally didn’t give it a 5 star because of how unlikeable pretty much every character is at various parts of the story (including Kenna occasionally lol) and I tend to prefer to at least somewhat like the characters I’m reading about 
Oh also reallyyyy look at the trigger warnings fr cause this book is insanely dark and has no issues killing off characters 

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Torture, Confinement, Racial slurs, Racism, Violence, Xenophobia, Death of parent, Gore, Misogyny, Injury/Injury detail, Hate crime, Medical content, Blood, Body horror, Cursing, Grief, Murder, Death, Gaslighting, Physical abuse, and Sexism

Moderate: Cannibalism, Sexual content, War, and Vomit

Minor: Toxic friendship

lycanhood's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? N/A
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.25

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Xenophobia, Torture, Bullying, Racism, Sexism, Injury/Injury detail, Blood, War, and Violence

Moderate: Colonisation, Sexual content, Cannibalism, Classism, and Death of parent

Minor: Genocide

tahsintries's review against another edition

4.0

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Cannibalism, Blood, and Torture

Moderate: War, Xenophobia, Grief, Racism, Misogyny, Death, Racial slurs, Genocide, Sexism, and Death of parent