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A review by onthesamepage
The Blood Trials by N.E. Davenport
dark
mysterious
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.5
ARC provided by the publisher through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
I'm going to start this review off by saying that this is NOT a YA book but definitely adult, and the book goes to some pretty dark places accordingly.
We follow Ikenna as she undertakes the Praetorian trials, a brutal initiation at the academy that trains the elite soldiers of Mareen. Her goal: to find out which of the Praetorian guards murdered her grandfather, and who commanded it. Statistically, only a quarter of the participants survive the full trials, something that quickly becomes clear. Yes, a lot of characters will die. No, your favourites aren't guaranteed safe. Be prepared for a lot of blood and chaos.
The story is action-packed, and most of it focuses on the trials and how Ikenna deals with them. We quickly find out that Mareen has a racist attitude towards her because of her heritage and the colour of her skin, and this racism is also found among the Praetorians. She is often singled out and treated unfairly, but she never lets it get her down. If we're talking about strong female characters, Ikenna can kick major ass. Her stubborn refusal to go down without a fight was my favourite part about her.
Unfortunately, she's also extremely hot-headed, and clearly not a fan of logical thinking. She easily suspects people of being involved with her grandfather's death without a single shred of proof, and then sets about plotting their demise. Innocent until proven guilty is not something she knows. I found this pretty frustrating to read about, and kept wanting to shake some sense into her so she'd stop being so rash and foolish. I do think this was intentional and just part of who she is as a character though. I wish this hadn't been written in first person POV; that would've probably frustrated me less. There's some uneven writing here and there, specifically phrases that didn't make much sense and subsequently pulled me out of the story. We also get a minor romantic subplot; I didn't really buy into their chemistry, but I am intrigued by Reed as a character.
The last part of the book suddenly speeds up and gets even more hectic. I did really like where the plot ended up going because it's something I wasn't expecting, so I look forward to the sequel.
I'm going to start this review off by saying that this is NOT a YA book but definitely adult, and the book goes to some pretty dark places accordingly.
We follow Ikenna as she undertakes the Praetorian trials, a brutal initiation at the academy that trains the elite soldiers of Mareen. Her goal: to find out which of the Praetorian guards murdered her grandfather, and who commanded it. Statistically, only a quarter of the participants survive the full trials, something that quickly becomes clear. Yes, a lot of characters will die. No, your favourites aren't guaranteed safe. Be prepared for a lot of blood and chaos.
The story is action-packed, and most of it focuses on the trials and how Ikenna deals with them. We quickly find out that Mareen has a racist attitude towards her because of her heritage and the colour of her skin, and this racism is also found among the Praetorians. She is often singled out and treated unfairly, but she never lets it get her down. If we're talking about strong female characters, Ikenna can kick major ass. Her stubborn refusal to go down without a fight was my favourite part about her.
Unfortunately, she's also extremely hot-headed, and clearly not a fan of logical thinking. She easily suspects people of being involved with her grandfather's death without a single shred of proof, and then sets about plotting their demise. Innocent until proven guilty is not something she knows. I found this pretty frustrating to read about, and kept wanting to shake some sense into her so she'd stop being so rash and foolish. I do think this was intentional and just part of who she is as a character though. I wish this hadn't been written in first person POV; that would've probably frustrated me less. There's some uneven writing here and there, specifically phrases that didn't make much sense and subsequently pulled me out of the story. We also get a minor romantic subplot; I didn't really buy into their chemistry, but I am intrigued by Reed as a character.
The last part of the book suddenly speeds up and gets even more hectic. I did really like where the plot ended up going because it's something I wasn't expecting, so I look forward to the sequel.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Gore, Violence, Cannibalism, Racism, and Misogyny