You need to sign in or sign up before continuing.
Take a photo of a barcode or cover
hawkeyegonzalez 's review for:
Bloodchild
by Anna Stephens
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
sad
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
I'm not sure how to feel about this book. Don't get me wrong, it's an excellent conclusion to a very good series. But I can't remember the last time I've felt as hopeful and depressed after finishing finishing it that I do after this one.
The story picks up right where Darksoul left off. The Rilporians are trying to regroup and losing their city to the invading Mierces army, including the Fox God who is trying to retaliate before the Blessed One can bring back the Dark Lady. There isn't much more to the story than that, which in most cases seems like a pretty simple story. However, there is so much depth and character development here that the story is extremely engaging even during the very brutal moments.
Because this series is essentially limited to a single city and a few surrounding areas, there has never been much world-building taking black, and that's true in this book as well. Therefore, it really has to rely on characters, and it excels in this. For me, this book has the best character development of the trilogy. There are quite a few POVs, and not a single one is boring to read, whether it's Dom, Mace, Rillirin, Corvus, the Blessed One, etc. However, by far my favorite is Tara. She is such an incredible character, and I went through the whole gamut of emotions with her. She is easily one my favorite female characters ever written, up there with Nona Grey, Gwenna Sharpe, Pyrre Lakatur, and Vin.
The only issue I really have with this book is the final battle. Leading up to this last book, the Red Gods felt like very dangerous, manipulative, and complex villains. In this one, they feel more generic, almost mindless bad guys just going through motions. I didn't like that change.
Overall, this is an excellent series and definitely deserves to be considered one of the darkest series out there. I've read quite a few that claim to be dark but have failed to live up to the hype. This one does not, so be warned going into it. However, the experience is well worth it.
The story picks up right where Darksoul left off. The Rilporians are trying to regroup and losing their city to the invading Mierces army, including the Fox God who is trying to retaliate before the Blessed One can bring back the Dark Lady. There isn't much more to the story than that, which in most cases seems like a pretty simple story. However, there is so much depth and character development here that the story is extremely engaging even during the very brutal moments.
Because this series is essentially limited to a single city and a few surrounding areas, there has never been much world-building taking black, and that's true in this book as well. Therefore, it really has to rely on characters, and it excels in this. For me, this book has the best character development of the trilogy. There are quite a few POVs, and not a single one is boring to read, whether it's Dom, Mace, Rillirin, Corvus, the Blessed One, etc. However, by far my favorite is Tara. She is such an incredible character, and I went through the whole gamut of emotions with her. She is easily one my favorite female characters ever written, up there with Nona Grey, Gwenna Sharpe, Pyrre Lakatur, and Vin.
The only issue I really have with this book is the final battle. Leading up to this last book, the Red Gods felt like very dangerous, manipulative, and complex villains. In this one, they feel more generic, almost mindless bad guys just going through motions. I didn't like that change.
Overall, this is an excellent series and definitely deserves to be considered one of the darkest series out there. I've read quite a few that claim to be dark but have failed to live up to the hype. This one does not, so be warned going into it. However, the experience is well worth it.