A review by neith
Blood Gift by Vela Roth

5.0

“Fall in love with me all over again”

The entire series is like therapy for me. This is how found family should be done. This is how casual everyday diversity should be done. This is how love, loss, longing, and joy should be done. I spent the first few chapters crying and squealing with pure joy. I missed these characters. I missed Orthros. I missed Zoe and Mak and Lyros. Cassia and Lio. Their parents. Their aunts and uncles and cousins. Sisters and brothers. It felt like a homecoming. And I loved every minute of it. Thank you to Ms. Vela for sending me this ARC in exchange for my honest review.

The happiness waned as we entered the hell that was the conflict. I am outdone by these plot twists x reveals. Holy hell. The rivalries between Lio and Solia, Solia and Monsoon, Cassia and her magic, and Lio and his self-confidence/insecurities, are perfectly entangled with the larger plot and conflict between Cassia and her father and this multi-regional conflict with the Cordian mages, the Empire, Orthros, and Tenebra.

The world-building is fantastic (as per usual). Cassia's magic opens an entirely new world with new rules and surprises and chaos. I love how interconnected the world-building and character developments are. With every stride we take towards a deeper understanding of the various environments, we also learn more about the characters. With each discovery, our images of the characters change. We learn that Lio may be physically strong, but he's still working on his emotional strength. He can be strong for others but is often unable to carry that certainty inwards to nurture himself. We learn that Cassia is powerful beyond measure, but only as a result of the things she's given up. We watch her make sacrifice after sacrifice, as she fails to realize her actions are truly unselfish. Lio and Cassia are so similar, and yet different and their love is a reflection of that.

The romance, the intimacy, the relationships.... top tier. There's nothing else to say. I have never been so in love with someone else's love. Cassia and Lio love each other unconditionally in the most beautiful way. But they also love others outside of their relationship with the same strength and ferocity. It is so amazing to see different types of love equally represented and prioritized. Familial, platonic, and romantic intimacy are designed and positioned thoughtfully and with care. There is nothing reckless about the way Solia and Cassia protect each other or accidental in Lio's relationship with Eudias or inauthentic in the bonds between Hesperine Graces.

I'm aware that this has become less a review and more a love letter to this series, its characters, its world, and its author, and I'm okay with that. I will say that the pacing lagged a bit when finding out new information about Cassia's magic and anything to do with Flavian (mostly because I hate him), but the twist with the deranged individual near the end completely made up for it. I was terrified through that entire ordeal, but the soft ending delivered everything I have waited 7 books for.

Thanks again to Vela Roth for the ARC and a beautifully written story.