Review by idealpages - The Blood Traitor

idealpages 's review for:

The Blood Traitor by Lynette Noni

5.0

adventurous challenging emotional funny inspiring mysterious reflective 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

“We’re in this together, Sunshine. You and me. Got it?”

OH MISERY! OH DESPAIR! THE TRAGEDY! One of my favourite book series has come to an end - and what an ending it was. Lynette Noni, I cannot comprehend the words great enough to convey how in awe I am of you. The Blood Traitor is a masterpiece. How Noni wrote this in 46 days blows my freaking mind.

The Blood Traitor doesn’t let up on the brakes from the opening page. Picking up from where The Gilded Cage ended, we’re thrust right back into the action with our hearts in our mouths and stomachs churning with Kiva’s shocking circumstances and heartbreak. Quite literally at rock bottom, Kiva must somehow pick herself up and dust off the pain, to find a way to reunite with her found family and make right the wrongs that have happened.

Just like The Prison Healer and The Gilded Cage, The Blood Traitor is extremely fast paced and is action packed. In order to save the kingdom of Evalon, many of the characters we’ve come to love journey across Kingdoms we’ve not yet seen, encountering challenge after challenge every step of the way. There’s numerous sword battles, cloak and dagger schemes, magic training and an epic climax. It’s adventurous, thrilling and had me on the edge of my seat the ENTIRE time!! The expression action-packed is not used lightly!

If I had to pick an absolute favourite thing in The Blood Traitor, it is the message of hope it promotes. This instalment takes Kiva to a very dark place: book friends, please be mindful that the story explores themes of self loathing and suicidal thoughts. I won’t lie, this made me teary and played havoc with my emotions. But it was/is worth it for the portrayal of someone fighting for their way back to the light. It was nothing short of inspiring and unforgettable. There are many passages in this book I’ve saved to reflect on when I’m having a bad day, because they mean so much, especially coming from characters I love wholeheartedly - thank you Lynette Noni.

The heart in these books is a soothing balm for the soul. The friendship, acceptance and general family vibes certainly brightened up my days and made me feel less alone. Even though I’m disappointed there was only a tiny bit of romance toward the end of the book, Kiva’s friendships with Caldon and CVK (if you know, you know) more than makes up for it.

I love, love, love, LOVE these characters. The entire ensemble were perfect. Additionally, Noni continues to explore and expand the character arcs of supporting characters, which in my past experience when reading book series, either takes away from the main character/story or is a nuisance because I couldn’t care less about them. That is not the case here. I was choked up holding back my tears, I was fist bumping the air with elation… I very much enjoyed getting to know or being reacquainted with newer characters.

And of course! This wouldn’t be The Prison Healer series without some plot twists and drama, wouldn’t it? The craftsmanship of how thoroughly this series was plotted to pull off the number of jaw dropping shocks and turn of events it has, is the definition of genius. And The Blood Traitor is no exception. I could see where some threads were headed and figured out other threads, but Noni still snuck up on me and left me SPEECHLESS! I’m still waiting for my eyebrows to come back down from my hairline.

The Blood Traitor is how you write a conclusion to a series. It takes us out with a bang and delivers an extraordinary end to an absolutely phenomenal YA fantasy series. It’s one my favourite reads ever and I will read it again and again and again in the future. You know a book was a special kind of magic when there is literal pain because it’s all over.
High stakes, heart pounding and completely soul consuming - thank you for the wild ride.

Thank you beyond words to Hodder & Stoughton for an e-ARC in exchange for this honest review.

Content Warnings