The Queen of Blood
Ratings19
Average rating3.9
Winner of a 2017 ALA Alex Award! A Tor.com Best of 2016 pick! Set in the magical world of Renthia, The Queen of Blood is Sarah Beth Durst’s ambitious entry into adult epic fantasy. With the danger of Peter Brett’s The Warded Man, heart of Naomi Novik’s Uprooted, and lyricism of Patrick Rothfuss’ The Name of the Wind, this is the first chapter in a series destined to be a classic. 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.
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3 primary books4 released booksThe Queens of Renthia
The Queens of Renthia is a 4-book series with 3 primary works first released in 2016 with contributions by Sarah Beth Durst.
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This is a preliminary review. I read it for a book club that will discuss later in the month. Maybe the discussion will affect my opinion?
I went into this book excited because I read another book by this author in 2021 and was obsessed with it. Unfortunately, this book didn't quite meet my expectations. The prose was very smooth and kept me turning pages. It never felt particularly draggy/slow. The magic system mostly made sense. The beginning of the book was very intense and probably one of the best parts. And there were several scenes when there were big reveals etc. that I enjoyed. I loved the wooden balls of death. Those scenes kept me on the edge of my seat, metaphorically. Having this adapted in an animated style could be very cool. Unfortunately, this book also had several weaknesses.
The biggest issue for me was probably how the tropes were handled. I know tropes exist for a reason, but these never felt particularly creative or subverted. I may be slightly biased because one of the main tropes used is one of my least favorites. I also wish that some of the characters had gotten a little more characterization. This book could have easily been 20 pages or so longer and let us get to know the characters better so we were more invested.
I've known about this book for a long time but never really looked into it more deeply until I participated in the bingo card challenge from the r/fantasy on reddit. I read this book to fulfill the prompt: book set entirely in the forest.
I felt the story was very quick moving and it kept me very engaged. The audiobook was a great format to experience it through. The narrator did sound the characters a bit younger then I would have thought they would sound, so if that is something that bothers you, skip it.
The strongest point of this book is the magic system for sure. If you are a reader that needs a well fleshed out characters (main and side characters) that come of the page - maybe try a few chapters before buying the book. Even though I liked exploring the world through their view, they aren't the most compelling part of the story for me. The first third of the book makes a lot of time jumps. The focus is definitely on the world and the two main characters.
The ending was a bit predictable but I didn't see it going as dark as it did. I heard that the other books in the series expand the world even more to the other regions. Hoping to get to the sequel by the end of the year while it still fresh in my memory. This could possibly be a new comfort-read author for me.
I absolutely loved this book! I am a big fan of fantasy with the school/academy trope. I also love following a character from the time their abilities first manifest to adulthood. This book had a lot of my favorite things. The magic is great. I loved this world. I can just imagine the towns in trees with connecting bridges. I can't wait to read the next one!
