Everything has a spirit: the willow tree with leaves that kiss the pond, the stream that feeds the river, the wind that exhales fresh snow...
But the spirits that reside within this land want to rid it of all humans. One woman stands between these malevolent spirits and the end of humankind: the queen. She alone has the magical power to prevent the spirits from destroying every man, woman, and child. But queens are still just human, and no matter how strong or good, the threat of danger always looms.
With the position so precarious, young women are chosen to train as heirs. Daleina, a seemingly quiet academy student, is under no illusions as to her claim to the throne but simply wants to right the wrongs that have befallen the land. Ven, a disgraced champion, has spent his exile secretly fighting against the growing number of spirit attacks. Joining forces, these daring partners embark on a treacherous quest to find the source of the spirits' restlessness—a journey that will test their courage and trust and force them to stand against both enemies and friends to save their land . . . before it's bathed in blood.
Goodreads Ratings: 3.89 stars with over 11,300 ratings
Genre Listing: Fantasy, Magic, High Fantasy, Fiction, Romance, Adventure
Goodreads Challenge: 43/30
2023 Reading Challenge: #53 Read a book that has the letter Q in the title (Find the entire challenge here)
Book Review:
Hello, Readers! As always, I hope everyone is doing well. I am doing what I set this blog up for - individual book reviews. Yeah! Go me. Before the review, I have a quick life update- I got a kitten! Her name is Nebula Jane, and she is five months old. Adorable pictures will be after the review for those who care.
Anyways, on to my riveting thoughts on The Queen of Blood by Sarah Beth Durst. I picked this up randomly at a used bookstore when I was still in Minnesota. I didn't realize it then, but the copy I have is autographed. This doesn't have anything to do with the thoughts on the book; I thought that was a cool tidbit.
The book was a little hard to get into at first. Although I was interested, it covers many years in a concise amount of pages, making it hard to follow. Once the timeline stayed consistent, it was easier to follow. I really liked the world Sarah Beth Durst created. I thought living in trees was interesting, and the combination of magic and spirits was unique. I also liked the hierarchy that the kingdom had.
Character development fell flat for me. There wasn't much difference between how the characters were written. While I didn't feel like she grew in the story, I liked that Daleina is resourceful and clever. She can step back and think of different ways to work with the spirits instead of controlling them like the others in her class.
I think this is a good option if you're looking for a short high fantasy. It's just under 400 pages but has some interesting world-building. It has romance, but it doesn't have graphic sex scenes- it just alludes to them and then moves on to the next scene. Overall, I liked it, but I don't need to rush out and read the second or third books in the trilogy.
And now, pictures of Nebula!
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